A plausible account of berosus, in his third book, found in a fragment preserved by josephus summarizes the history between nebuchadnezzars death in 562 b. The book of daniel was compiled shortly after 164 bce, following the maccabean revolt. Belshazzars feast to enjoy in your home or car, or gift it to another music lover. At certain points, he does behave like a classic, arrogant bad boy who believes that hes at the center of the universefor. Daniel 5 kjv belshazzar the king made a great feast bible gateway. It shows the images with a short description of what is happening in each scene. In the book of daniel, however, the reigns of nebuchadnezzar and belshazzar are related in consecutive chapters. Belshazzar had been known only from the biblical book of daniel chapters 5. The name belshazzar was previously held to have been invented by the author of the book of daniel, which has long been recognized as a maccabean production see daniel.
Belshazzar was killed that night by the invading enemy. The historical portion of the book of daniel, consisting of chapters 3 to 6, is of utmost value and should be studied prayerfully and carefully by every child of god. When belshazzar uses the cups from the temple at his drunken feast the writing is on the wall. You would expect him to be a classic, stereotypical bad guyan unrighteous king, like pharaoh in exodus, someone who runs afoul of god and then gets whats coming to him. Simply rightclick the image and save to your computer. This lesson plan is based on daniel chapter 5 and the famous handwriting on the wall story. A brief exposition of daniel 5 when god wrote to belshazzar. Although it does not actually claim to have been written in the sixth century bce, the book of daniel gives clear internal dates. God writes on the wall his judgement of king belshazzar.
Belshazzar was the last king of ancient babylon and is mentioned in daniel 5. His father had robbed the temple of jerusalem of all its sacred vessels. The book of daniel was likely written between 540 and 530 b. It was a human hand with an arm, possibly to the elbow cf. Daniel interprets the handwriting 29 then belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom. Rembrandt harmenszoon van rijn 16061669, belshazzars feast c 16351638, oil on canvas, 167. The terrified belshazzar calls for his wise men, but they are unable to read the writing. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in jerusalem. The golden and lion like empire of nebuchadnezzar finally finds its end in a remarkable manner and again daniel the prophet of god shines brilliantly for gods glory. Belshazzar, neobabylonian belsharusur, greek baltasar, or balthasar, died c. His name, meaning bel protect the king, is a prayer to a babylonian god. This objection is easily answered as the babylonians used the accession year system of dating also known as.
Daniel 5 belshazzars feast and the fall of babylon. Belshazzars feast by rembrandt harmenszoon van rijn. The story of belshazzars feast is historical fiction, and several details are. Daniel 5 new king james version nkjv belshazzars feast. The story has its origin in the old testament in the book of daniel. Petercontesse, ellington, a handbook on the book of daniel, p. English standard version king belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzars feastquestions for lesson 16 of moody bible. Belshazzars feast, or the story of the writing on the wall chapter 5 in the book of daniel tells how belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that. This, of course, need only mean grandfather or ancestor. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. Daniel reminded belshazzar that his grandfather nebuchadnezzar a had been a successful empire builder. Daniel 5 amp belshazzars feast belshazzar the bible.
Belshazzar prince of bel, the last king of babylon. The book of daniel identifies the prophet daniel as its author daniel 9. Buy paul daniel, lindley, daniels album titled walton. Belshazzar definition and meaning bible dictionary. Daniel does not record his immediate successors, and extrabiblical literature is somewhat confused. Belshazzar, king of babylon, gave a great feast at which wine was drunk in the golden and. Belshazzar s impious feast 1 many years later king belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. This belshazzar was not the king of babylon, but coregent with and under his father, nabonidusa fact which also is duly indicated in daniel. Since the discovery and decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions, however, belshazzar is now generally admitted to be the hebrewaramaic equivalent of the babylonian. The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible.
The book of daniel states clearly that at the time babylon fell, the kingdom was being ruled by one belshazzar, the son of nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles. The scene illustrates chapter 5 of the old testament book of daniel. Daniel 5 paragraph divisions of modern translations. Daniel reveals the writing on the wall for belshazzar due to his arrogance against god yeshuah. The narrative of belshazzars feast and the handwriting on the wall, is one of the most familiar, as it is also one of the most. This bible study was created for older students and can be adapted for other ministry needs. Because the revelation part of this commentary was prepared before the daniel part, we will often link to where we discussed daniel in connection with revelation.
It recounts how belshazzar did not learn from the consequences of his grandfather nebuchadnezzars pride. Jesus mentions daniel as the author as well matthew 24. According to daniel, cyrus the persian king routed babylon during the reign of king belshazzar. The man in the gold cloak, enormous turban and tiny crown is belshazzar, king of babylon. It is often claimed that the date given by daniel for the first year of nebuchadnezzars reign contradicts that given by jeremiah so pfeiffer, 1948.
He was the king who held a feast for a thousand of his generals and leaders, during which feast he toasted his gods utilizing vessels stolen from the temple in jerusalem. Almost seventy years have passed since the events of chapter 1 of daniel. God then revealed the secret to daniel in a night vision verse 19. Daniel 5 nkjv belshazzars feast belshazzar the bible gateway. The account of nebuchadnezzars seven years of madness in fulfillment of a second dream that daniel had interpreted ends the 4th chapter, where nebuchadnezzar praised daniels god after he had regained his sanity. Rembrandt belshazzars feast ng6350 national gallery. Belshazzar, the son of nebuchadnezzar debunking atheism.
We hope that these questions will help you to understand the text. In his great dramatic painting, rembrandt tells a story from the old testament daniel 5. According to the wellknown narrative belshazzar gave a splendid feast in his palace during the siege of babylon b. These are questions on the biblical text of daniel. Daniel, who wrote the book of daniel, and who wouldnt even eat the kings food not only because it contained unclean meats, but also contained the meats offered to the babylonian gods, would no doubt be very much troubled by these babylonian names and thus even when using them in his accounts changed them slightly. Belshazzars feast, or the story of the writing on the wall chapter 5 in the book of daniel tells how belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the first temple. The original illustrations are the of sweet publishing and these digitally adjusted compilations of them the. Three powerful prophets of god in judah in daniels younger years were. While he tasted the wine, belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and sliver vessels which his father nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in jerusalem that the king and his lords. The story of the three young men in the fiery furnace was the product of a. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. The story of belshazzar, his feast, and ultimate downfall is tucked away in the relative obscurity of the book of daniel, in the old testament, and to the best of my knowledge has only.
Belshazzars feast lesson 16 of moody bible stories, a series of free online bible lessons for youth and adults. The book of daniel is written in both and and in the hebrew bible it is included among the. Easyenglish questions 2800 word vocabulary on the book of daniel. One evening, king belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his highest officials, and he drank wine with them. Daniel himself should be regarded primarily as a who also had the gift. Nebuchadnezzar is arguably the most complicated character in the book of daniel. By the time belshazzar starts messing with the wrong sacred vesselswhich is right awaywe know that hes getting ready for a pretty big tumble. Study 65 terms bible life pac 7 pages 312 flashcards. Studies in the book of daniel installment vi belshazzars downfall.
Belshazzars feast, daniel interprets writing on the. Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The babylonian king nebuchadnezzar looted the temple in jerusalem and brought the. Some passages in the book of revelation draw imagery from scenes in the book of daniel. Belshazzars feast bible story belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar reigned for a short time during the life of daniel the prophet. The contents of the first verse in daniel have been challenged on two counts. Daniel was able to tell the king the meaning of the words on the wall. Daniel then made the decision known to hananiah, mishael, and azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the god of heaven concerning this secret, so that daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of babylon verses 1718. Daniel 5 new revised standard version nrsv belshazzars feast. Now i, nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of. Fun for kids to print and test their knowledge of daniel, king belshazzar, and babylon. As this story ends, the prideful king loses everything.
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