0. Welcome
Opening Question: Do we sometimes feel that the Jewish people is at the center of world affairs? If so, why? And for what reason?
President-elect Abraham Lincoln , Address to the New Jersey State Senate
Trenton, New Jersey - February 21, 1861
...in my childhood, the earliest days of my being able to read, I got hold of a small book, such a one as few of the younger members have ever seen, "Weem's Life of Washington." I remember all the accounts there given of the battle fields and struggles for the liberties of the country, and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New-Jersey. The crossing of the river; the contest with the Hessians; the great hardships endured at that time, all fixed themselves on my memory more than any single revolutionary event; and you all know, for you have all been boys, how these early impressions last longer than any others.
I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have been something more than common that those men struggled for; that something even more than National Independence; that something that held out a great promise to all the people of the world to all time to come; I am exceedingly anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for which that struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be an humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty, and of this, his almost chosen people, for perpetuating the object of that great struggle.
https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/trenton1.htm
1. Plan for this Class
2. Introduction to Chapter 5
3. Questions for our passage
4. Our Text
5. Discussion and Commentaries
6. Summary and Next Class
2. Introduction to Chapter 5
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: Bēl-šar-uṣur, meaning "Bel, protect the king"; Hebrew: בֵּלְשַׁאצַּר Bēlšaʾṣṣar) was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (r. 556 – 539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. (Wikipedia, Belshazzar)
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• 626–605 BC |
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• 605–562 BC |
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• 562–560 BC |
Amel-Marduk (in Tanach, known as אויל-מרודך / Evil Merodach) |
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• 560–556 BC |
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• 556 BC |
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• 556–539 BC |
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History |
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626 BC |
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612 BC |
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587 BC |
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539 BC |
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3. Questions for Chapter 5
- What other kingly feast parallels the feast of Belshazzar?
- What offense(s) does Belshazzar commit at his feast?
- We see divine or angelic writing in chapter 5. Are there other examples of such writing in Tanach?
- Why can't the magicians and Chaldeans understand the writing on the wall?
- Who is the queen who suggests summoning Daniel?
- What does the writing on the wall say literally?
- What stands out for you in this chapter?
4. Our Text: Belshazzar's Feast - Chapter 5
(1) King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his thousand nobles, and in the presence of the thousand he drank wine. (2) Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar ordered the gold and silver vessels that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem to be brought so that the king and his nobles, his consorts, and his concubines could drink from them. (3) The golden vessels that had been taken out of the sanctuary of the House of God in Jerusalem were then brought, and the king, his nobles, his consorts, and his concubines drank from them. (4) They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
(5) Just then, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace opposite the lampstand, so that the king could see the hand as it wrote. (6) The king’s face darkened, and his thoughts alarmed him; the joints of his loins were loosened and his knees knocked together. (7) The king called loudly for the exorcists, Chaldeans, and diviners to be brought. The king addressed the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its meaning shall be clothed in purple and wear a golden chain on his neck, and shall rule as one of three in the kingdom.”
(ח) אֱדַ֙יִן֙ (עללין) [עָֽלִּ֔ין] כֹּ֖ל חַכִּימֵ֣י מַלְכָּ֑א וְלָֽא־כָהֲלִ֤ין כְּתָבָא֙ לְמִקְרֵ֔א (ופשרא) [וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ] לְהוֹדָעָ֥ה לְמַלְכָּֽא׃ (ט) אֱ֠דַ֠יִן מַלְכָּ֤א בֵלְשַׁאצַּר֙ שַׂגִּ֣יא מִתְבָּהַ֔ל וְזִיוֺ֖הִי שָׁנַ֣יִן עֲל֑וֹהִי וְרַבְרְבָנ֖וֹהִי מִֽשְׁתַּבְּשִֽׁין׃ (י) מַלְכְּתָ֕א לׇקֳבֵ֨ל מִלֵּ֤י מַלְכָּא֙ וְרַבְרְבָנ֔וֹהִי לְבֵ֥ית מִשְׁתְּיָ֖א (עללת) [עַלַּ֑ת] עֲנָ֨ת מַלְכְּתָ֜א וַאֲמֶ֗רֶת מַלְכָּא֙ לְעָלְמִ֣ין חֱיִ֔י אַֽל־יְבַהֲלוּךְ֙ רַעְיוֹנָ֔ךְ (וזיויך) [וְזִוָ֖יךְ] אַל־יִשְׁתַּנּֽוֹ׃ (יא) אִיתַ֨י גְּבַ֜ר בְּמַלְכוּתָ֗ךְ דִּ֠י ר֣וּחַ אֱלָקִ֣ין קַדִּישִׁין֮ בֵּהּ֒ וּבְיוֹמֵ֣י אֲב֗וּךְ נַהִיר֧וּ וְשׇׂכְלְתָנ֛וּ וְחׇכְמָ֥ה כְּחׇכְמַת־אֱלָקִ֖ין הִשְׁתְּכַ֣חַת בֵּ֑הּ וּמַלְכָּ֤א נְבֻֽכַדְנֶצַּר֙ אֲב֔וּךְ רַ֧ב חַרְטֻמִּ֣ין אָֽשְׁפִ֗ין כַּשְׂדָּאִין֙ גָּזְרִ֔ין הֲקִימֵ֖הּ אֲב֥וּךְ מַלְכָּֽא׃ (יב) כׇּל־קֳבֵ֡ל דִּ֣י ר֣וּחַ ׀ יַתִּירָ֡ה וּמַנְדַּ֡ע וְשׇׂכְלְתָנ֡וּ מְפַשַּׁ֣ר חֶלְמִין֩ וְֽאַֽחֲוָיַ֨ת אֲחִידָ֜ן וּמְשָׁרֵ֣א קִטְרִ֗ין הִשְׁתְּכַ֤חַת בֵּהּ֙ בְּדָ֣נִיֵּ֔אל דִּֽי־מַלְכָּ֥א שָׂם־שְׁמֵ֖הּ בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֑ר כְּעַ֛ן דָּנִיֵּ֥אל יִתְקְרֵ֖י וּפִשְׁרָ֥ה יְהַֽחֲוֵֽה׃ {פ}
(8) Then all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing or make known its meaning to the king. (9) King Belshazzar grew exceedingly alarmed and his face darkened, and his nobles were dismayed. (10) Because of the state of the king and his nobles, the queen came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke up and said, “O king, live forever! Let your thoughts not alarm you or your face darken. (11) There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him; in your father’s time, illumination, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods were to be found in him, and your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, exorcists, Chaldeans, and diviners. (12) Seeing that there is to be found in Daniel (whom the king called Belteshazzar) extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, to explain riddles and solve problems, let Daniel now be called to tell the meaning [of the writing].”
(יז) בֵּאדַ֜יִן עָנֵ֣ה דָנִיֵּ֗אל וְאָמַר֙ קֳדָ֣ם מַלְכָּ֔א מַתְּנָתָךְ֙ לָ֣ךְ לֶֽהֶוְיָ֔ן וּנְבָ֥זְבְּיָתָ֖ךְ לְאׇחֳרָ֣ן הַ֑ב בְּרַ֗ם כְּתָבָא֙ אֶקְרֵ֣א לְמַלְכָּ֔א וּפִשְׁרָ֖א אֲהוֹדְעִנֵּֽהּ׃
(13) Daniel was then brought before the king. The king addressed Daniel, “You are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah whom my father, the king, brought from Judah. (14) I have heard about you that you have the spirit of the gods in you, and that illumination, knowledge, and extraordinary wisdom are to be found in you. (15) Now the wise men and exorcists have been brought before me to read this writing and to make known its meaning to me. But they could not tell what it meant. (16) I have heard about you, that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known its meaning to me, you shall be clothed in purple and wear a golden chain on your neck and rule as one of three in the kingdom.” (17) Then Daniel said in reply to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself, and give your presents to others. But I will read the writing for the king, and make its meaning known to him.
(18) O king, the Most High God bestowed kingship, grandeur, glory, and majesty upon your father Nebuchadnezzar. (19) And because of the grandeur that He bestowed upon him, all the peoples and nations of every language trembled in fear of him. He put to death whom he wished, and whom he wished he let live; he raised high whom he wished and whom he wished he brought low. (20) But when he grew haughty and willfully presumptuous, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was removed from him. (21) He was driven away from men, and his mind made like that of a beast, and his habitation was with wild asses. He was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he came to know that the Most High God is sovereign over the realm of man, and sets over it whom He wishes.
(כב) (ואנתה) [וְאַ֤נְתְּ] בְּרֵהּ֙ בֵּלְשַׁאצַּ֔ר לָ֥א הַשְׁפֵּ֖לְתְּ לִבְבָ֑ךְ כׇּל־קֳבֵ֕ל דִּ֥י כׇל־דְּנָ֖ה יְדַֽעְתָּ׃ (כג) וְעַ֣ל מָרֵֽא־שְׁמַיָּ֣א ׀ הִתְרוֹמַ֡מְתָּ וּלְמָֽאנַיָּ֨א דִֽי־בַיְתֵ֜הּ הַיְתִ֣יו (קדמיך) [קׇֽדָמָ֗ךְ] (ואנתה) [וְאַ֨נְתְּ] (ורברבניך) [וְרַבְרְבָנָ֜ךְ] שֵֽׁגְלָתָ֣ךְ וּלְחֵנָתָךְ֮ חַמְרָא֮ שָׁתַ֣יִן בְּהוֹן֒ וְלֵֽאלָקֵ֣י כַסְפָּֽא־וְ֠דַהֲבָ֠א נְחָשָׁ֨א פַרְזְלָ֜א אָעָ֣א וְאַבְנָ֗א דִּ֠י לָֽא־חָזַ֧יִן וְלָא־שָׁמְעִ֛ין וְלָ֥א יָדְעִ֖ין שַׁבַּ֑חְתָּ וְלֵֽאלָהָ֞א דִּֽי־נִשְׁמְתָ֥ךְ בִּידֵ֛הּ וְכׇל־אֹרְחָתָ֥ךְ לֵ֖הּ לָ֥א הַדַּֽרְתָּ׃ (כד) בֵּאדַ֙יִן֙ מִן־קֳדָמ֔וֹהִי שְׁלִ֖יחַ פַּסָּ֣א דִֽי־יְדָ֑א וּכְתָבָ֥א דְנָ֖ה רְשִֽׁים׃
(כה) וּדְנָ֥ה כְתָבָ֖א דִּ֣י רְשִׁ֑ים מְנֵ֥א מְנֵ֖א תְּקֵ֥ל וּפַרְסִֽין׃ (כו) דְּנָ֖ה פְּשַֽׁר־מִלְּתָ֑א מְנֵ֕א מְנָֽה־אֱלָהָ֥א מַלְכוּתָ֖ךְ וְהַשְׁלְמַֽהּ׃ (כז) תְּקֵ֑ל תְּקִ֥ילְתָּ בְמֹֽאזַנְיָ֖א וְהִשְׁתְּכַ֥חַתְּ חַסִּֽיר׃ (כח) פְּרֵ֑ס פְּרִיסַת֙ מַלְכוּתָ֔ךְ וִיהִיבַ֖ת לְמָדַ֥י וּפָרָֽס׃ (כט) בֵּאדַ֣יִן ׀ אֲמַ֣ר בֵּלְשַׁאצַּ֗ר וְהַלְבִּ֤שׁוּ לְדָֽנִיֵּאל֙ אַרְגְּוָנָ֔א (והמנוכא) [וְהַֽמְנִיכָ֥א] דִֽי־דַהֲבָ֖א עַֽל־צַוְּארֵ֑הּ וְהַכְרִ֣זֽוּ עֲל֔וֹהִי דִּֽי־לֶהֱוֵ֥א שַׁלִּ֛יט תַּלְתָּ֖א בְּמַלְכוּתָֽא׃ (ל) בֵּ֚הּ בְּלֵ֣ילְיָ֔א קְטִ֕יל בֵּלְאשַׁצַּ֖ר מַלְכָּ֥א (כשדיא) [כַשְׂדָּאָֽה]׃ {פ}
(22) But you, Belshazzar his son, did not humble yourself although you knew all this. (23) You exalted yourself against the Lord of Heaven, and had the vessels of His temple brought to you. You and your nobles, your consorts, and your concubines drank wine from them and praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear, or understand; but the God who controls your lifebreath and every move you make—Him you did not glorify! (24) He therefore made the hand appear, and caused the writing to be inscribed.
(25) This is the writing that is inscribed: MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN.
(26) And this is its meaning: MENE—God has numbered [Aramaic mena] [the days of] your kingdom and brought it to an end;
(27) TEKEL—[Aramaic tekilta] you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting;
(28) PERES—your kingdom [Aramaic perisat] has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”
(29) Then, at Belshazzar’s command, they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a golden chain on his neck, and proclaimed that he should rule as one of three in the kingdom. (30) That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed,
(א) וְדָרְיָ֙וֶשׁ֙ (מדיא) [מָֽדָאָ֔ה] קַבֵּ֖ל מַלְכוּתָ֑א כְּבַ֥ר שְׁנִ֖ין שִׁתִּ֥ין וְתַרְתֵּֽין׃
(30) That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed, (1) and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
5. Discussion & Commentaries
(1) King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his thousand nobles, and in the presence of the thousand he drank wine. (2) Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar ordered the gold and silver vessels that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem to be brought so that the king and his nobles, his consorts, and his concubines could drink from them.
(2) In those days, when King Ahasuerus occupied the royal throne in the fortress Shushan, (3) in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all the officials and courtiers—the administration of Persia and Media, the nobles and the governors of the provinces in his service.
(ז) וְהַשְׁקוֹת֙ בִּכְלֵ֣י זָהָ֔ב וְכֵלִ֖ים מִכֵּלִ֣ים שׁוֹנִ֑ים וְיֵ֥ין מַלְכ֛וּת רָ֖ב כְּיַ֥ד הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
(7) Royal wine was served in abundance, as befits a king, in golden beakers, beakers of varied design.
There is an Ashkenazi tradition to read the words "beakers, beakers of varied design" with the cantillation of Eichah/Lamentations.
In the ears of the composer
Handel, "Belshazzar" (Oratorio), 1745
Handel: Belshazzar, Act 1, Scene 4 - 1:09:08 -
Belshazzar "It is the custom...These captive Jews...Bring those vessels..."
Nitocris: "Oh, sacrilege!..."
Chorus of Jews: "Recall O King thy rash command"
Georg Friedrich Händel, BELSHAZZAR (1745) An Oratorio, Words by Charles Jennens
(http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/belshaz.htm)
Act One
Scene Four
26. Recitative
Belshazzar (King of Babylon)
It is the custom, I may say, the law,
By long prescription fix'd.
(looking round and spying the Jews)
These captive Jews!
What do they here? They low'r upon our joys,
And envy liberty they cannot taste.
Yet something your perverse and wayward nation
Shall to our mirth contribute. Bring those vessels,
Those costly vessels my victorious grandsire
Took from the Temple of Jerusalem,
And in the temple of Bel laid up,
But us'd them not: — 'tis fit they should be us'd.
And let their God, whose pow'r was found too weak
To save his people, serve the conquerors
Of him and them. We'll revel in his cups:
Their rich materials and choice workmanship
Shall well augment the splendor of our feast.
And as we drink, we'll praise our country gods,
To whom we owe the prize.
Nitocris (Mother of Belshazzar)
Oh, sacrilege,
Unheard of profanation!
27. Chorus of Jews
Recall, O king, thy rash command!
Nor prostitute with impious hand
To uses vile the holy things
Of great Jehovah, king of kings.
Thy grandsire [=Nebuchadnezzar] trembled at his name,
And doom'd to death who durst blaspheme;
For he, like us, his pow'r had tried,
Confess'd him just in all his ways,
Confess'd him able to abase
The sons of men that walk in pride.
(29) I [=Nebuchadnezzar] hereby give an order that [anyone of] any people or nation of whatever language who blasphemes the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb, and his house confiscated, for there is no other God who is able to save in this way.”
Lawrence M. Wills, Oxford Jewish Study Bible: Daniel, comment to 5:1-2, p. 1645
According to rabbinic tradition, Belshazzar was celebrating because he thought that the prediction of the demise of the Babylonian kingdom after seventy years had been proven wrong. He had miscalculated, however, by one year.
(11) This whole land shall be a desolate ruin.
And those nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
(5) Just then, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace opposite the lampstand, so that the king could see the hand as it wrote.
(18) Upon finishing speaking with him on Mount Sinai, [God] gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God.
(10) Because of the state of the king and his nobles, the queen came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke up and said, “O king, live forever! Let your thoughts not alarm you or your face darken.
[The queen - Some say that this was the wife [=widow] of Nebuchadnezzar.
Louis F. Hartman, Anchor Bible: Daniel, comment to "The Queen's Advice," p. 188
...the lady may be thought of as the mother (or grandmother?) of Nabonidus...or as the legendary Nitocris whom Herodotus presents as the wife of Nebuchadnezzar.
(ט) ג"פ דָּוִד מֶֽלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי וְקַיָּם:
The 'blessing of the moon,' traditionally recited after Shabbat as the moon is waxing
(9) Recite three times: David, King of Israel, lives and endures [forever.]
(5) Just then, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace opposite the lampstand, so that the king could see the hand as it wrote. (6) The king’s face darkened, and his thoughts alarmed him; the joints of his loins were loosened and his knees knocked together. (7) The king called loudly for the exorcists, Chaldeans, and diviners to be brought. The king addressed the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its meaning shall be clothed in purple and wear a golden chain on his neck, and shall rule as one of three in the kingdom.”
(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה׳ אֵלַ֔י קַח־לְךָ֖ גִּלָּי֣וֹן גָּד֑וֹל וּכְתֹ֤ב עָלָיו֙ בְּחֶ֣רֶט אֱנ֔וֹשׁ לְמַהֵ֥ר שָׁלָ֖ל חָ֥שׁ בַּֽז׃ (ב) וְאָעִ֣ידָה לִּ֔י עֵדִ֖ים נֶֽאֱמָנִ֑ים אֵ֚ת אוּרִיָּ֣ה הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְאֶת־זְכַרְיָ֖הוּ בֶּ֥ן יְבֶרֶכְיָֽהוּ׃ (ג) וָֽאֶקְרַב֙ אֶל־הַנְּבִיאָ֔ה וַתַּ֖הַר וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֑ן {ס} וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה׳ אֵלַ֔י קְרָ֣א שְׁמ֔וֹ מַהֵ֥ר שָׁלָ֖ל חָ֥שׁ בַּֽז׃ (ד) כִּ֗י בְּטֶ֙רֶם֙ יֵדַ֣ע הַנַּ֔עַר קְרֹ֖א אָבִ֣י וְאִמִּ֑י יִשָּׂ֣א ׀ אֶת־חֵ֣יל דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק וְאֵת֙ שְׁלַ֣ל שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן לִפְנֵ֖י מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר׃ {ס}
(1) GOD said to me, “Get yourself a large sheet and write on it in common script [or ordinary writing] ‘For Maher-shalal-hash-baz’ [I.e., “Pillage hastens, looting speeds,”] (2) and call reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah, to witness for Me.” (3) I was intimate with the prophetess, [I.e., Isaiah’s wife] and she conceived and bore a son; and GOD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. (4) For before the boy learns to call ‘Father’ and ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria, and the delights of Rezin and of the son of Remaliah, shall be carried off before the king of Assyria.”
(כה) וּדְנָ֥ה כְתָבָ֖א דִּ֣י רְשִׁ֑ים מְנֵ֥א מְנֵ֖א תְּקֵ֥ל וּפַרְסִֽין׃
(25) This is the writing that is inscribed: MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN.
In the eye of the artist
Rembrandt, "Belshazzar's Feast" (1635-8)
"Belshazzar's Feast" (1635-1638), by Rembrandt (1606-1669) - www.nationalgallery.org.uk : Home : Info, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67423
According to Daniel 5:1-31, King Belshazzar of Babylon takes sacred golden and silver vessels from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar. Using these holy items, the King and his court praise 'the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone'. Immediately, the disembodied fingers of a human hand appear and write on the wall of the royal palace the words "MENE", "MENE", "TEKEL", "UPHARSIN"
Rembrandt lived in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam and "derived the form of Hebrew inscription from a book by his friend, the learned Rabbi and printer, Menasseh ben Israel -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belshazzar's_Feast_(Rembrandt)
Written from right to left as usual
מנא מנא תקל ופרסין
m n ' m n ' t k l. u f r s y n
(mene' mene' tekel ufarsyn)
Written in columns
מ מ ת ו ס
נ נ ק פ י
א א ל ר ן
m m t u s. n n k p y. ' ' l r n.
Backward Words
א נ מ. א נ מ. ל ק ת. ן י ס ר פ ו .
' n m. ' n m. l k t. n y s r f u.
First two letters switched
נ מ א. נ מ א. ק ת ל. פ ו ר ס י ן.
n m ' n m ' k t l. f u r s y n.
Comments to Daniel 5:25 MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UFARSIN
Louis F. Hartman, Anchor Bible: Daniel, p. 185
... literally, "a mina, a shekel, a half mina." These were units of weight, used especially in weighing precious metals, the mina equaling fifty shekels.
(29) Then, at Belshazzar’s command, they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a golden chain on his neck, and proclaimed that he should rule as one of three in the kingdom.
(15) Mordecai left the king’s presence in royal robes of blue and white, with a magnificent crown of gold and a mantle of fine linen and purple wool. And the city of Shushan rang with joyous cries.
(א) וְדָרְיָ֙וֶשׁ֙ (מדיא) [מָֽדָאָ֔ה] קַבֵּ֖ל מַלְכוּתָ֑א כְּבַ֥ר שְׁנִ֖ין שִׁתִּ֥ין וְתַרְתֵּֽין׃
(30) That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed, (1) and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Herodotus, History, I:191
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2707/2707-h/2707-h.htm#link2H_4_0004
...Now if the Babylonians had had knowledge of it beforehand or had perceived that which was being done by Cyrus, they would have allowed the Persians to enter the city and then destroyed them miserably; for if they had closed all the gates that led to the river and mounted themselves upon the ramparts which were carried along the banks of the stream, they would have caught them as it were in a fish-wheal: but as it was, the Persians came upon them unexpectedly; and owing to the size of the city (so it is said by those who dwell there) after those about the extremities of the city had suffered capture, those Babylonians who dwelt in the middle did not know that they had been captured; but as they chanced to be holding a festival, they went on dancing and rejoicing during this time until they learnt the truth only too well.
Rabbi Zev Farber, "Persia’s Achaemenid Dynasty—If You Read the Bible Without History,"
https://www.thetorah.com/article/persias-achaemenid-dynasty-if-you-read-the-bible-without-history
Darius the Mede Is a Fictional King
The description of Darius the Mede conquering Babylonia from Belshazzar has no basis in history and is contradicted by several facts:
- The final Babylonian king was Nabonidus; Belshazzar was his son, and the crown prince.
- Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia, who had already conquered Media in 549 B.C.E., ten years before he conquered the Babylonian Empire (539 B.C.E.).
- The final king of Media was Astyages, the son of the previous king Cyaxares, and the maternal grandfather of Cyrus.
Where the book of Daniel got the idea for a Median king of this name as the final ruler of Babylonia is unclear, but he is a strong presence there. Thus, the rabbis not only include him in their historical reconstructions but develop a narrative in which he and Cyrus cooperate in the putsch against Belshazzar (Song of Songs Rabbah 3:4...)
Note: There were three Achaemenid (Persian) kings with the name Darius, including Darius I (the Great, reigned 29 September 522 BCE – October 486 BCE, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_the_Great)
6. Summary
Next class: Class 5, Chapter 6 "Daniel in the Lions' Den" - October 14
We will not be meeting next Monday, October 7
Shanah Tovah! - !לשנה טובה ומתוקה
