Daniel 5:1 BSB — MannaFest

Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
בֵּלְשַׁאצַּ֣ר	be.le.sha.Tzar	Belshazzar	H1113 →
מַלְכָּ֗א	mal.Ka'	king the	H4430 →
עֲבַד֙	'a.Vad	he made	H5648 →
לְחֶ֣ם	le.Chem	a feast	H3900 →
רַ֔ב	Rav	great	H7229 →
לְרַבְרְבָנ֖וֹהִי	le.rav.re.va.No.hi	for nobles his	H7261 →
אֲלַ֑ף	'a.Laf	a thousand	H506 →
וְלָקֳבֵ֥ל	ve.lo.ko.Vel	and <to> before	H6903 →
אַלְפָּ֖א	'al.Pa'	thousand the	H506 →
חַמְרָ֥א	cham.Ra'	<the> wine	H2562 →
שָׁתֵֽה׃	sha.Teh	[he was] drinking	H8355 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Esther 1:3
In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the…
leads to
- Mark 6:21
  On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Esther 2:18
  Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.
Through
Jeremiah 51:57
I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD…
leads to
- Jeremiah 25:27
  “Then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, because of the…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Jeremiah 46:18
  As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.
Through
Genesis 40:20
On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
leads to
- Genesis 40:19
  Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh of your body.”
- Genesis 40:13
  Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did when you were his cupbearer.
- Matthew 14:6
  On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod
Through
Jeremiah 51:39
While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares…
leads to
- Jeremiah 51:57
  I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD…

The gold bar shows how strongly the cross-reference sources tie the two verses together: a long bar means many compiled references make the connection, a short one means few.

Esther 1:3In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.1 Kings 3:15Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.Daniel 7:1In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.Mark 6:21–22On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.Genesis 40:20On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.Jeremiah 51:39While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares the LORD.Jeremiah 51:57I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts.Isaiah 21:4–5My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight of my desire has turned to horror.Isaiah 22:14The LORD of Hosts has revealed in my hearing: “Until your dying day, this sin of yours will never be atoned for,” says the Lord GOD of Hosts.Isaiah 22:12On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.Nahum 1:10For they will be entangled as with thorns and consumed like the drink of a drunkard—like stubble that is fully dry.Isaiah 21:4My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight of my desire has turned to horror.

Evidence2

What the record shows

Belshazzar — attested in contemporary inscriptionundisputed
Nabonidus Cylinder (Sippar); 'Verse Account of Nabonidus'; administrative tablets
Biblical figure (Son and co-regent of Nabonidus, ca. 550-539 BC) identified in extra-biblical epigraphy.
Counterpoint: The cuneiform texts call Belshazzar the son and crown prince of Nabonidus, and no Babylonian document ever gives him the royal title "king," which Daniel 5 does. Historians such as Paul-Alain Beaulieu also point out that Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar his father, though the two were not related by blood â€” defenders answer that "father" can mean royal predecessor and that Belshazzar ruled in fact if not in title.
Nabonidus Cylinder (Sippar)undisputed
Sippar (and Ur duplicates) · British Museum
Counterpoint: The cylinder names Belshazzar as Nabonidus's son and prays for him, but no Babylonian text ever gives Belshazzar the title of king â€” Paul-Alain Beaulieu's study of the reign finds he acted with royal authority in his father's absence without ever holding the kingship. Alan Millard defends Daniel's usage as a functional co-regency and 'father' as dynastic ancestry; the question remains genuinely argued.

Featured studies on this passage

On Daniel 5:1

Archaeology and the Bible (the Evidence Ledger), MannaFest

Open the study →

On Daniel 5:1

Persia, MannaFest

Open the study →

Walks through Daniel 5

The Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5) MannaFest

Open the study →

Walks through Daniel 5

Daniel in the Lions' Den: Daniel 6

Open the study →

Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

Original language & word study

The walk

Where the connections lead

Featured studies on this passage

About Daniel

What the record shows

Where the connections lead

The record, by era

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

What the record shows

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Daniel

What the record shows

Where the connections lead

The record, by era

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Daniel