Daniel Chapter 5 Verses 7-9

7 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed; and his lords were perplexed.

Belshazzar promises to make the interpreter the third ruler in the kingdom. Why the third?

Belshazzar could make someone only the third ruler, because he himself was the second ruler, and his father Nabonidus was the first ruler.

It would be helpful if the liberals who see mistakes around every corner in the Bible would bother to read the Bible that they love to attack. If they did they would discover that Daniel knew Belshazzar was not the supreme ruler in Babylon.

The wise men “could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.”

WHY COULDN’T THE KING’S ADVSIORS READ AND INTERPRET THIS MESSAGE?

Many theories have been advanced to explain why the king’s wise men could not read this message or interpret it. (Why they could not interpret it is easier to explain than why they could not read it.)

QUESTION 1: What language were the words written in?

Many think that the words were written in Aramaic since that is the language used in Chapter 5. However, if this were the case then the wise men would have been able to read the words.

Others think that the words were written in Hebrew. This would better explain the facts that we have in this chapter. The wise men might not have been able to read Hebrew, whereas Daniel certainly could have read the message.

Other suggestions include the Phoenician language and an unknown language known only to Daniel. There is very little evidence for such suggestions.

QUESTION 2: If the language was Aramaic, then how can we explain why the wise men were unable to read it?

The words may have been written using just consonants and no vowels. Thus, in interpreting the message, Daniel completed the words by filling in the appropriate vowels.

Some suggest that the wise men were stricken with blindness, but the king was apparently unable to read the message as well.

The Jews believe that the words were written vertically forming an anagram. If this were true then the message would be unintelligible if read horizontally.

Others think only the first letters of the words may have been given, or the words may have been jumbled.

The simplest explanation seems to be that the words were written in Hebrew, and Daniel was the only person around who could read Hebrew.

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