Page 141 - Daniel

influenced by this to consider Belshazzar a literal son of
9
Nebuchadnezzar. This is not entirely impossible, of course, for as
10
Leupold shows, Nabonidus could have married a widow of
Nebuchadnezzar who had a son by Nebuchadnezzar, which son could
then be adopted by Nabonidus as a way of strengthening his own hold

on the throne. Nabonidus assumed the throne in 556 B.C., only six years
after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar was probably at least a
teenager when Nebuchadnezzar died—if he was old enough to be
coregent with Nabonidus in 553 B.C.—and thus it is at least possible that

Belshazzar could have been a genuine son of Nebuchadnezzar and that
his mother, after Nebuchadnezzar’s death, was married to Nabonidus.
This, however, is conjecture, and it is more natural to consider
Belshazzar a son of Nabonidus himself—though, as noted earlier, his
mother could have been Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter.

Although the precise identity of Belshazzar may continue to be
debated, available facts support Daniel’s designation of Belshazzar as

king and a physical descendant of Nebuchadnezzar. The reference to
father may be construed as “grandfather.” As Pusey states, “Neither in
Hebrew, nor in Chaldee, is there any word for ‘grandfather,’ ‘grandson.’
Forefathers are called ‘fathers’ or ‘fathers’ fathers.’ But a single
grandfather, or forefather, is never called ‘father’s father’ but always
‘father’ only.” 11

The sacred vessels taken from Jerusalem had apparently been kept in
storage without sacrilegious use from Nebuchadnezzar’s day until this
feast. Now these holy vessels were distributed among the crowd for

drinking their wine—everyone from the king and lords to his wives and
concubines. This act of sacrilege was an intentioned religious gesture in
praise of the gods of Babylon mentioned in descending order of
importance as “the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and
stone.” That Belshazzar well knew the blasphemous character of his act
is evident from Daniel 5:13, 22. He knew the history of
Nebuchadnezzar’s experience with God’s chastening. The fact that the

gods of gold and silver are separated by the conjunction “and,” which is
not true of the other gods, may suggest two classes of deities. 12

The revelers’ pride in their deities may have been bolstered by the
magnificence of the city of Babylon itself, interpreted as an evidence of