Daniel 5:1 Commentary and Bible Study

At this point in the Book of Daniel, Belshazzar is abruptly introduced to us as king of Babylon. We would say emperor, effectively, of the mighty Babylon. And you probably know that the existence of Belshazzar was denied by many, many critics of the Bible, right up until the late 1920s and 1930s, when it became known that there were inscriptions naming him in the ancient monuments and tablets, and so he could no longer be denied. But then the criticism tended to switch: ‘Well yes, he existed, but he was never king’, and increasingly the evidence came to light that he was indeed king. He was the son of Nabonidus, the king, who was frequently out of town it would seem pursuing his religious interests during the last ten years of his reign in the priestly city, and Belshazzar was the one in whom was vested all the power of control and rule in his father's absence. So Belshazzar did reign, and was effectively regent or king, and nobody can really deny that now. (See Introduction for further comments on archaeological evidence.)This is some sixty years after the first chapter of the Book of Daniel, and takes place right before the fall of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar has died. Several of his sons have succeeded him in turn with extremely short reigns: two years, one year, two months in one case, and then Nabonidus takes the throne and the power. He wasn't a son of Nebuchadnezzar, but he did become a son-in-law. Possibly after Nebuchadnezzar's death he was made king, emperor, and he seems perhaps to have married one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters, and Belshazzar was his son. So Belshazzar actually did have a blood link to Nebuchadnezzar, which his father Nabonidus – the largely absentee king – did not have. ‘And Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords.’ This was an extraordinary thing to do in the circumstances, because the forces of Cyrus the Mede were at the door and Babylon was about to fall. Of course they didn't think so; they were very confident. They felt very safe, but nevertheless it was a strange thing to throw a great celebration, a tremendous feast, and bring in provincial rulers to join the celebration: a brazen act of confidence right under the nose of the enemy. But this was the pride of these emperors, these kings of the Chaldeans. ‘Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords,’ – a vast number of his subordinates and his various courtiers and rulers – ‘and drank wine before the thousand.’ He showed off his ability to hold his drink. The purpose of the feast was probably to provide a moral boost. They cannot have been unaware of Cyrus approaching the city.