---
title: "Clarke"
description: "Verse Daniel 5:1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast — This chapter is out of its place, and should come in after the seventh and eighth. There are di"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5"
---

Verse [Daniel 5:1](../../../kjv/daniel/5/1). ***Belshazzar the king made a great feast*** — This chapter is out of its place, and should come in after the *seventh* and *eighth*. There are difficulties in the *chronology*. After the death of *Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach* his son ascended the throne of Babylon. Having reigned about *two* years, he was slain by his brother-in-law, *Neriglissar*. He reigned *four* years, and was succeeded by his son *Laborosoarchod*, who reigned only *nine months*. At his death *Belshazzar* the son of *Evil-merodach*, was raised to the throne, and reigned *seventeen years*, and was slain, as we read here, by Cyrus, who surprised and took the city on the night of this festivity. This is the chronology on which Archbishop *Usher*, and other learned chronologists, agree; but the Scripture mentions only *Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach*, and *Belshazzar*, by name; and Jeremiah, [Jeremiah 27:7](../../../kjv/jeremiah/27/7), expressly says, "All nations shall serve him (Nebuchadnezzar,) and his son (Evil-merodach,) and his son's son (Belshazzar,) until the very time of his land come;" i.e., till the time in which the empire should be seized by Cyrus. Here there is no mention of *Neriglissar* nor *Laborosoarchod*; but as they were *usurpers*, they might have been purposely passed by. But there remains one difficulty still: *Belshazzar* is expressly called the *son of Nebuchadnezzar* by the *queen* mother, [Daniel 5:11](../../../kjv/daniel/5/11): "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and in the days of THY FATHER light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him: whom the king NEBUCHADNEZZAR THY FATHER, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians." The solution of this difficulty is, that in Scripture the name of *son* is indifferently given to *sons* and *grandsons*, and even to *great grandsons*. And perhaps the *repetition* in the above verse may imply this: "The king, Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king thy father." The king thy father's father, and consequently thy grandfather. If it have not some such meaning as this, it must be considered an idle repetition. As to the *two other kings, Neriglissar* and *Laborosoarchod*, mentioned by *Josephus* and *Berosus*, and by whom the chronology is so much puzzled, they might have been some *petty* *kings*, or *viceroys*, or *satraps*, who affected the kingdom, and produced disturbances, one for *four years*, and the other for *nine* *months*; and would in consequence not be acknowledged in the Babylonish chronology, nor by the sacred writers, any more than finally unsuccessful rebels are numbered among the kings of those nations which they have disturbed. I believe the only sovereigns we can acknowledge here are the following:
1. *Nabopolassar*;
2. *Nebuchadnezzar*;
3. *Evil-merodach*;
4. *Belshazzar*; and with this last the Chaldean empire ended.
***To a thousand of his lords*** — Perhaps this means *lords* or *satraps*, that were each over *one thousand* men. But we learn from antiquity that the *Persian* kings were very profuse in their entertainments; but it does not follow that the *Chaldeans* were so too. Besides, *one thousand lords* and their appropriate attendants would have been very inconvenient in a *nocturnal assembly*. The text, however, supports the common translation. Literally, "Belshazzar the king made bread for his lords a thousand; and against the thousand he drank wine." That is, say some, he was a very great drinker.

Verse [Daniel 5:2](../../../kjv/daniel/5/2). ***Whiles he tasted the wine*** — He relished it, got heated by it, and when WINE got *fully in*, WIT went *wholly out*; and in consequence he acted the profane part of which we immediately read.

Verse [Daniel 5:4](../../../kjv/daniel/5/4). ***And praised the gods of gold*** — They had gods of *all* *sorts*, and of *all metals*; with *wooden gods*, and *stone* gods, beside!

Verse [Daniel 5:5](../../../kjv/daniel/5/5). ***Fingers of a man's hand*** — The fingers were collected about the *style* or *pen* as in the act of writing.

Verse [Daniel 5:6](../../../kjv/daniel/5/6). ***The king's countenance was changed*** — Here is a very natural description of fear and terror.
1. The face grows pale;
2. The mind becomes greatly agitated;
3. Pains seize on the lower part of the back and kidneys;
4. A universal tremor takes place, so that the knees smite against each other;
5. And lastly, either a *syncope* takes place, or the *cry of distress* is uttered, [Daniel 5:7](../../../kjv/daniel/5/7): "The king cried."

Verse [Daniel 5:7](../../../kjv/daniel/5/7). ***Whosoever shall read this writing*** — He knew it must be some awful portent, and wished to know what.

Verse [Daniel 5:8](../../../kjv/daniel/5/8). ***They could not read the writing*** — Because it was in the *pure Hebrew*, not the *Chaldean character*. See below.

Verse [Daniel 5:10](../../../kjv/daniel/5/10). ***The queen - came*** — This is generally allowed to have been the *widow* of Nebuchadnezzar; if so, she was the queen *Amiyt*, daughter of *Astyages*, sister of *Darius* the Mede, and aunt of *Cyrus*, according to *Polyhistor*, cited by *Cedrenus*. See *Calmet.* Others think that *Nitocris* was the person who is said to be queen when Cyrus took the city; and is stated to have been a lady of eminent wisdom and discretion, and to have had the chief direction of the public affairs. She was the mother of *Labynithus*; and, if this be the same as *Belshazzar*, she must be the person here introduced.

Verse [Daniel 5:11](../../../kjv/daniel/5/11). ***Nebuchadnezzar thy father*** — [Daniel 5:1](../../../kjv/daniel/5/1).

Verse 16. ***Dissolve doubts*** — *Untie knots - unbind what is bound*. An expression used in the east to signify a *judge* of eminent wisdom and skill.

Verse 17. ***Let thy gifts be to thyself*** — They could be of little use to any, as the city was *in a few hours* to be taken and pillaged.

Verse 18. ***Nebuchadnezzar thy father*** — Or *grandfather*, as the *margin* reads, [Daniel 5:2](../../../kjv/daniel/5/2). [Daniel 5:1](../../../kjv/daniel/5/1).

Verse 19. ***Whom he would he slew*** — The genuine character of a *despot*, whose *will* is the only *rule* of his conduct.

Verse 20. ***He was deposed from his kingly throne*** — Became insane; and the reins of government were taken out of his hands.

Verse 22. ***Hast not humbled thine heart*** — These *judgments* and *mercies* have had no good effect upon thee.

Verse 23. ***But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord*** — And the highest evidence of this rebellion was, the profaning the sacred vessels of the Lord's house.

Verse 24. ***Then was the part of the hand sent*** — This was the filling up of the cup of thy iniquity; this last act made thee ripe for destruction.

Verse [Daniel 5:25](../../../kjv/daniel/5/25). ***And this*****is*****the writing*** — Had the words been written in the *Chaldean* character, every wise man there, every one that could read the *alphabet of his own language*, could have read and interpreted them. Let it be observed, -
1. That the *character* which we now call *Hebrew* is the *Chaldean* character.
2. That the true *Hebrew* character is that which we call the *Samaritan*.
3. Daniel could easily read this, for it was the character used by the Jews previously to the *Babylonish* captivity.
4. It appears that it was simply on account of the strangeness of the *character* that the Chaldeans could not read it.
I shall set down the words in both characters, by which the least learned reader may see that it was quite possible that one might be well known, while the other might be unintelligible.
It should be observed, that *each word* stands for a *short* *sentence*; מנא mene signifies NUMERATION; תקל *tekel*, WEIGHING; and פרש *peres*, DIVISION. And so the *Arabic* translates them. [Arabic] *mokeeson*, measured; [Arabic] *mewzonon*, weighed; [Arabic] *mokesoomon*, divided. All the ancient Versions, except the *Syriac*, read the words simply *Mene, Tekel, Phares*, as they are explained in the following verses; without the repetition of *Mene*, and without the *conjunction* ו vau, and *plural termination*, ין in, in *Peres*.

Verse [Daniel 5:29](../../../kjv/daniel/5/29). ***Clothed Daniel with scarlet*** — ארגונא *argevana*, more probably with *purple*. The *gold chain* about the neck was an emblem of magisterial authority. It is often thus mentioned in Scripture.

Verse [Daniel 5:30](../../../kjv/daniel/5/30). ***In that night was Belshazzar - slain.*** — Xenophon says, he was despatched by two lords, *Gadatas* and *Gobrias*, who went over to Cyrus, to avenge themselves of certain wrongs which Belshazzar had done them. We have already seen that Cyrus entered the city by the bed of the Euphrates, which he had emptied, by cutting a channel for the waters, and directing them into the marshy country.

Verse [Daniel 5:31](../../../kjv/daniel/5/31). ***Darius the Median took the kingdom*** — This is supposed to be the same as *Cyaxares*, son of *Astyages* and maternal uncle of *Cyrus*, to whom he gave the throne of Babylon, after himself had had the honour of taking the city.
Daniel speaks nothing of the war that raged between the *Babylonians* and the *Medes*; but Isaiah speaks particularly of it, [Isaiah 13](../../../kjv/isaiah/13), [Isaiah 14](../../../kjv/isaiah/14), [Isaiah 45](../../../kjv/isaiah/45), [Isaiah 46](../../../kjv/isaiah/46), [Isaiah 47](../../../kjv/isaiah/47); and so does Jeremiah, [Jeremiah 50](../../../kjv/jeremiah/50), [Jeremiah 51](../../../kjv/jeremiah/51). I need not add, that it is largely spoken of by profane authors. The Medes and Persians were confederates in the war; the former under *Darius*, the latter under *Cyrus*. Both princes are supposed to have been present at the taking of this city. *Mandane*, daughter of Astyages, was mother of Cyrus, and sister to Cyaxares.

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/images/missing.jpg","width":640,"height":370,"caption":"Clarke's Commentary -  Daniel 5"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5","name":"Clarke's Commentary -  Daniel 5","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5#primaryimage"},"datePublished":null,"dateModified":null,"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Verse Daniel 5:1. Belshazzar the king made a great feast — This chapter is out of its place, and should come in after the seventh and eighth. There are di","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries","name":"Commentaries"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary","name":"Clarke's Commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel","name":"Daniel"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/daniel/5","name":"5"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]}
```