The Writing on the Wall #69

The writing on the wall is the account in Daniel 5 of the last night of the Babylonian kingdom, when a mysterious hand appeared during a royal banquet and inscribed a message that only Daniel could interpret. The phrase has since entered everyday speech as a name for a clear warning of coming disaster.

Biblical Account

King Belshazzar gave a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and, while under the influence of wine, ordered that the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in so that his guests, wives, and concubines could drink from them. They praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (Daniel 5:1-4). Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall opposite the lampstand. The king turned pale, his knees shook, and he called for the enchanters and astrologers, but none could read or interpret the writing (Daniel 5:5-9).

The queen, apparently the queen mother, remembered Daniel, who had served under Nebuchadnezzar and was known for his insight. Daniel was summoned and declined the promised rewards. Before he read the message, he reminded Belshazzar of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar, who was humbled until he acknowledged that God rules over kingdoms. Belshazzar knew this, Daniel said, and yet had exalted himself against the Lord of heaven by profaning the vessels of His house (Daniel 5:10-24).

The words written were Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin (Upharsin). Daniel explained that Mene meant God had numbered the days of the kingdom and brought it to an end, Tekel meant the king had been weighed and found wanting, and Peres meant the kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Daniel was clothed in purple and proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom, and that same night Belshazzar was killed and the kingdom passed to Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:25-31).

Theological Significance

The chapter presents pride and irreverence as an offense against God, and it contrasts the humbled Nebuchadnezzar with the arrogant Belshazzar, who had the earlier example available and ignored it. It affirms that God holds every empire accountable and that earthly power is temporary. It also matches the prophetic view that God can use a foreign ruler as His instrument, as when Isaiah names Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1).

Historical and Archaeological Notes

Babylonian records show that Belshazzar was the son of King Nabonidus and served as his co-regent while Nabonidus spent years away in Arabia, which helps explain why Daniel offers him the position of third ruler. Babylon fell to Cyrus’s forces in October 539 BC, and the Bible uses the word father loosely for Nebuchadnezzar, in the sense of a predecessor. Some scholars debate details, particularly the identity of Darius the Mede.