Page 140 - Daniel

Opis on the Tigris, the inhabitants of Akkad revolted, but he
(Nabonidus) massacred the confused inhabitants. The 14th day, Sippar
was seized without battle. Nabonidus fled. The 16th day, Gobryas
(Ugbaru), the governor of Guttium and the army of Cyrus entered
Babylon without battle. Afterwards Nabonidus was arrested in

Babylon when he returned (there). 6

On that final fateful night, the whole territory surrounding the city of
Babylon and the related provinces had already been conquered. Only
Babylon with its massive walls and fortifications remained intact.
Nabonidus had been defeated in battle and fled, leaving Belshazzar in
charge of the remaining forces in the city of Babylon.

Possibly to reassert their faith in their Babylonian gods and to bolster
their own courage, this feast in the form of a festival had been ordered.
The storehouses of Babylon were still abundant with food and wine, and
there is evidence that there was plenty of both at this feast. The

expression “drank wine in front of the thousand” indicates that
Belshazzar was probably on a platform at a higher level than the guests
and led them in drinking toasts to their deities. Under the stimulus of
wine, the thought occurred to Belshazzar to bring in the gold and silver
vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar almost
seventy years before. The implication in the clause “when he tasted the

wine” is that Belshazzar in his right mind probably would not have
committed this sacrilegious act.
Drinking bouts like this that characterized Babylon were also common

among other peoples, such as the Persians. Athenaeus quotes Heracleides
of Cumae, the author of Persian History, in describing in detail the
7
custom of drinking to excess after dinner. The luxury of both the
drinking and the eating is also illustrated in Athenaeus in describing
dinners among the Persians of high station as follows: “For one thousand
animals are slaughtered daily for the king; these comprise horses,

camels, oxen, asses, deer, and most of the smaller animals; many birds
also are consumed, including Arabian ostriches—and the creature is
large—geese, and cocks.” 8
Much has been made of the reference to Belshazzar’s relationship to

Nebuchadnezzar, who is described as “his father” in verse 2; even Keil is