Who Was Belshazzar in the Bible — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and the last ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, though he reigned as co-regent with his father. The Bible records the dramatic final night of his life in Daniel 5. Belshazzar hosted a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and in the midst of the revelry, he commanded that the sacred vessels from the Jerusalem temple — which Nebuchadnezzar had taken — be brought to drink wine in praise of the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. This act was not merely drunken excess but deliberate sacrilege, profaning the vessels dedicated to the living God. In response, 'fingers of a man's hand' appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall opposite the lampstand. Belshazzar's face turned pale, his knees knocked together, and he called for all his wise men — but none could read the writing. Finally, the queen mother remembered Daniel, who had served Nebuchadnezzar with distinction. Daniel was brought before the king. He refused the king's offer of rewards and delivered an uncompromising message. First, he recounted Nebuchadnezzar's experience of pride and humiliation. Then he condemned Belshazzar: 'Thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.' Then Daniel read the inscription: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' MENE meant that God had numbered the kingdom and brought it to an end. TEKEL meant that Belshazzar had been weighed in the balances and found wanting. PERES (UPHARSIN) meant that the kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians. That very night, Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom. Belshazzar's story is a chilling warning about the dangers of profaning what is holy, of pride in the face of known truth, and of the certainty of divine judgment. 'Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'

Where It Sits in Scripture

Supporting Passages