Daniel 5:31
in Daniel 5and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
KJV
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
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This verse in Daniel 5
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAnd so Darius, who was called Ahasuerus, received the kingdom and "appointed one-hundred-twenty satraps and appointed three governors over them, whom Daniel was one of, for the satraps to give account that the king may not be overburdened.
This site's exposition
Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain
on Daniel 5:30-31
In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain closes the sentence within hours of its writing, and Darius the Median took the kingdom at about sixty two years old, the fall of Babylon accomplished in the same feast that began the chapter. The bench treats Darius the Median's identity as an open historical question, most commonly read as a throne name for a governor set over Babylon under Cyrus rather than a separate independent monarch, a puzzle the book itself does not resolve and later chapters continue to use without further comment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Verses 30, 31. "On that same night Belshazzar, King of the Chaldeans, was slain, and Darius the Mede succeeded to his kingdom at the age of sixty-two." Josephus writes in his tenth book of the Jewish Antiquities that when Babylon had been laid under siege by the Medes and Persians, that is, by Darius and Cyrus, Belshazzar, King of Babylon, fell into such forgetfulness of his own situation as to put on his celebrated banquet and drink from the vessels of the Temple, and even while he was besieged he found leisure for banqueting.
In the same night king Belshazzar the Chaldean was killed and Darius the Mede received the kingdom being sixty-two years old. [Daniel 5:29-31] After the interpretation had been solved by Daniel, just as Scripture encompasses all things, in the same night the phrase was fulfilled and the kingdom of the Babylonians passed to the Medes, just as was spoken by Daniel, "He appoints kings and removes them knowing what is in darkness and light is with him" [Daniel 2:21, 22]
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And Darius the Median took the kingdom,.... This was Cyaxares the son of Astyages, and uncle of Cyrus; he is called the Median, to distinguish him from another Darius the Persian, that came after, Ezr 4:5, the same took the kingdom of Babylon from Cyrus who conquered it; he took it with his consent, being the senior prince and his uncle. Darius reigned not long, but two years; and not alone, but Cyrus with him, though he is only mentioned.
Now in this sumptuous feast, 1. He put an affront upon the providence of God and bade defiance to his judgments. His city was now besieged; a powerful enemy was at his gates; his life and kingdom lay at stake.
They were partners in war and conquest, and so they were in dominion, ch. vi. Notice is taken of his age, that he was now sixty-two years old, for which reason Cyrus, who was his nephew, gave him the precedency.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And Darius the Median took the kingdom - The city and kingdom were actually taken by Cyrus, though acting in the name and by the authority of Darius, or Cyaxares, who was his uncle. For a full explanation of the conquests of Cyrus, and of the reason why the city is said to have been taken by Darius, see the notes at Isa 41:2. In regard to the question who Darius the Median was, see the Introduction to Daniel 6, section II.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Darius the Median--that is, Cyaxares II, the son and successor of Astyages, 569-536 B.C. Though Koresh, or Cyrus, was leader of the assault, yet all was done in the name of Darius; therefore, he alone is mentioned here; but Da 6:28 shows Daniel was not ignorant of Cyrus' share in the capture of Babylon.
Darius the Median took the kingdom - This is supposed to be the same as Cyaxares, son of Astyages and maternal uncle of Cyrus, to whom he gave the throne of Babylon, after himself had had the honor of taking the city. Daniel speaks nothing of the war that raged between the Babylonians and the Medes; but Isaiah speaks particularly of it, chap. 13, 14, 45, Isa 46:1-13, Isa 47:1-15.; and so does Jeremiah, chap. 50, 51. I need not add, that it is largely spoken of by profane authors. The Medes and Persians were confederates in the war; the former under Darius, the latter under Cyrus. Both princes are supposed to have been present at the taking of this city. Mandane, daughter of Astyages, was mother of Cyrus, and sister to Cyaxares.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְדָרְיָ֙וֶשׁ֙ | vedareyavesh | and Darius | H1868 → | 15 times |
| מָֽדָאָ֔ה | madaya' | Median the | H4077 → | |
| קַבֵּ֖ל | kabel | he received | H6902 → | 3 times |
| מַלְכוּתָ֑א | malkhuta' | kingdom the | H4437 → | 57 times |
| כְּבַ֥ר | kevar | about a son of | H1247 → | 19 times |
| שְׁנִ֖ין | shenin | years | H8140 → | |
| שִׁתִּ֥ין | shitin | sixty | H8361 → | |
| וְתַרְתֵּֽין׃ | vetartein | and two | H8648 → |
וְדָרְיָ֙וֶשׁ֙and Darius
vedareyaveshH1868 →15 times
מָֽדָאָ֔הMedian the
madaya'H4077 →
קַבֵּ֖לhe received
kabelH6902 →3 times
מַלְכוּתָ֑אkingdom the
malkhuta'H4437 →57 times
כְּבַ֥רabout a son of
kevarH1247 →19 times
שְׁנִ֖יןyears
sheninH8140 →
שִׁתִּ֥יןsixty
shitinH8361 →
וְתַרְתֵּֽין׃and two
vetarteinH8648 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Daniel 6:1Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
it leads to
- Exodus 18:21–22
Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- Esther 1:1
This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
- 1 Peter 2:14
or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.
- Exodus 18:21–22
Through
Daniel 9:1In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
it leads to
- Daniel 11:1
“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.
- Daniel 1:21
And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
- Daniel 6:28
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
- Daniel 11:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Daniel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.19.1-2; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.18.2-3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER FIVE; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.