Page 146 - Daniel

wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar,
your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians,
enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, because an excellent spirit,
knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles,
and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named

Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the
interpretation.”

The crisis produced by the wise men’s inability to interpret the
handwriting on the wall is met by the entrance of one described as “the
queen.” Since the wives of the lords and the king himself were said to be
already at the banquet (v. 3), the queen would most probably be
Belshazzar’s mother, who had not attended the banquet. This would be

understandable if she were older and not physically up to, or interested
in, a night of drunken revelry.
Hearing the unusual clamor at the banquet and learning of the distress

of her son, because of her position the queen was able to enter the
banquet hall freely and speak to the king. Her address was courteous,
but to the point. Like a mother, she told her son in effect to pull himself
together because there must be some solution to his problem. Since one
holding her position was highly regarded and treated with respect, she
could speak out in a way that no other could. Honoring of parents was

characteristic of the Israelites (Exod. 20:12; 1 Kings 2:13–20; 2 Kings
24:12–15). The same was true in the Gentile world, and the queen was
able to enter the banquet hall without an invitation.

The solution the queen suggested was to invite Daniel the prophet,
who had served as a man of wisdom under Nebuchadnezzar, to interpret
the writing. The queen used the very words that presumably she had
heard Nebuchadnezzar express (Dan. 4:8–9, 18): Daniel, she said, had
“the spirit of the holy gods.” So great was Daniel’s genius that
Nebuchadnezzar had made him “chief” of his wise men, which in itself

was a remarkable position for one who was not a Chaldean. This honor
placed upon him testified to Nebuchadnezzar’s confidence in Daniel’s
abilities. The reference to Nebuchadnezzar as the father of Belshazzar, as
previously noted, probably indicates grandfather, since the same term
was used for both designations. It does imply, however, that Belshazzar