Notes on the Old and New Testaments

liveth, forever. He is the -living God, as he is often styled, in contradistinction from all false gods — who have no life;

story, or even of a sentence, and branch i and he lives forever in contradistinction off into the subject of her hallucination. On the return of her reason, she would resume the subject of her conversation on which she was engaged at the time of the attack, beginning exactly where she to his creatures on earth, all of whom are destined to die. He will live when all on earth shall have died; he will live for ever in the future, as he has lived forever in the past, ^f Whose dominion had left off, though she had never alluded | everlasting dominion. His empire ex- to it during the delirium; and on the next attack of delirium she would resume the subject of hallucination with which she had been occupied at the conclusion of the former paroxysm. A similar thing may have occurred to Nebuchadnezzar. He was deprived of reason by a sudden voice from heaven. Nothing was more natural, or would be more in accordance with the laws respecting insanity, than that at the very instant when reason re- tends through all time, and will continue while eternal ages roll away. ^[ And his kingdom is from generation to generation. The generations of men pass away. Ono succeeds another, and there is no perma nency. Dynasties change, and monarchs die. No human sovereign can extend his own power over the next generation, nor can he secure his authority in the person of his successors. But the do minion of God is unchanged while the turned he should look up to the place generations of men pass away, and when whence the voice had seemed to come. | one disappears from the earth he meets ^ And mine understanding returned unto inc.. i the next with the same claim to the right This shows that he regarded himself as of sovereignty; with the same princihaving been a maniac, though doubtless pies of government; carrying forward he was ignorant of the manner in which through that and successive ages, the he had been treated. It would seem | fulfilment of his great and glorious purfrom the narrative, and from the proba bilities of the case, that he found himself driven out from his palace, herding with cattle, and in the deplorable condition in regard to personal appearance which he hero describes. Seeing this in fact, and

Notes on Isa. xl. 15, 17. Precisely the same sentiment occurs in Isaiah which is

inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay a his hand, or say unto him, What b doest tlum?

36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my honour and brightness returned unto me;

expressed here: "All nations before him and over all that pertains to any one and are as nothing; and they are counted j every one. (4) That he will overrule all unto him less than nothing and vanity."; things so as to make them subservient to ^ And he doeth according to his irill in \ his own plans. (5) That he will make the army of heaven. In the host of I use of men to accomplish his own purheaven — Sin3 — Gr. in the2>ower of heaven, poses. Comp. Notes on Isa. x. 7. (6) T hat iv r>7, fordptt. The Chaldee word means! ther? ^ a g.rcat and glorious scheme of properly strength, might, valour; and it! adruinistration which God is carrying is then applied to an army as possessing I out b^ the instrumentality of men. ^ And strength, or valour, or force. It is here none ca" staV Jns hond' Literally, ' none applied to the inhabitants of heaven, pro- | can smite uPon hls hand' ( ^eseniua Lex.) • bably, considered as an army or host, of _that ls» none can restrain his hand; The language is taken, says Bertholdt, from the custom of striking children upon the hand when about to do anything wrong, in order to restrain them. The phrase is common in the Targuns for to restrain, to hinder. The Arabs have a similar ex pression in common use. See numerous instances of the use of the word Nnp in the sense of restrain, or prohibit, in Buxtorf. Lex. dial. The truth taught here is, which God is the head, and which he leads forth or marshals to execute his purposes. In ch. iii. 20, the word is ren dered army. The sentiment here is, that in respect to the inhabitants of heaven, represented as organized or marshalled, God does his own pleasure. An intima tion of his will is all that is needful to control them. Thus sentiment is in ac cordance with all the statements in the Scripture, and is a point of theology which must enter into every just view of God. Thus in the Lord's prayer it' as it is in heaven." So Eph. i. 11 — " Who worketh all things after the coun sel of his own will." In heaven the will of God is accomplished in the most strict that no one has power to keep back tho hand of God when it is put forth to ac complish the purposes which he intends

Thy will be done in earth j to execute; that is, he will certainly ac complish his own pleasure, ^f Or say unto him, What doest thou? A similar expression occurs in 2 Sam. xvi. 10: So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?" Also in Job ix. 12: "Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest thou?" See Notes on that passage. The meaning here is plain. God is supreme, and will do his pleasure in heaven and in earth. The security that all will be done right is founded on the perfection of his nature; and that is ample. Mysterious though and absolute sense, for his will is law, and the only law, to all the dwellers there.

The obedience is as entire as if the will of each one of the dwellers there were but a form or manifestation of the will of

God itself, fl And among the inhabitants of the earth. This cannot mean, even as understood by Nebuchadnezzar, that the will of God is actually done among the inhabitants of the earth in the same sense, and to the same extent, as among those who dwell in heaven. His design was, j his ways may seem to us, yet in that undoubtedly, to assert the supremacy and j perfection of his nature we have the absolute control of God; a fact that had I fullest assurance that no wrong will be been so strikingly illustrated in his own done to any of his creatures. Our duty, case. The sentiment expressed by Ne- therefore, is calm submission to his holy buchadnezzar is true in the following | will, with the deep conviction that respects: (1) That man has no power to | whatever God does will yet be seen to be prevent the fulfilment of the divine pur- j right.

poses. (2) That God will accomplish his 36. At the same time my reason returned design in all things, whatever opposition I unto me. Showing that he regarded him- man may make. (3) That he has abso- self as having been insane. ^ And for lute control over every human being; j the glory of my kingdom. That is, his and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was estab lished in my kingdom, and excel lent majesty was added aunto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise restoration to the exercise of his reason contributed to the glory of his kingdom, either by the acts of justice and benefi cence which he intended should charac terize the remainder of his reign, or by his purpose to reform the abuses which had crept into the government while he was deprived of his reason, or by his de termination to complete public works which had been purposed or commenced before his affliction. *[ My honour and brightness returned unto me. Evidently referring to his intellect. He was again restored to that strength and clearness of understanding by which, before his affliction, he had been able to do so much for the glory of his kingdom. ^[ And my counsellors and mi/ lords sought unto me. As they had done formerly. During his state of mental alienation, of course, the great lords of the empire would not resort to him for counsel. ^ And excellent ma jesty icas added unto me. Majesty and honour appropriate to my state, instead of the treatment incident to the condition of a maniac. Theodotion renders this, 'and greater majesty was added to me.' It is by no means improbable that addi tional honour would be conferred on the recovered monarch.

37. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heat-en. Comp. ch. ii. 47, and vs. 1 — 3 of this chapter. He felt himself called on, in this public manner, to acknowledge the true God, with whose supremacy he had been made acquainted in so affecting a man ner; to praise him that he had pre served him, and restored him to his rea son and his throne; to extol or exalt him, by recognizing his sovereignty over the mighty kings of the earth, and the power to rule over all; and to honour him by making his name and attributes known abroad, and by using all his in fluence as a monarch to have him rever enced throughout his extended empire. ^[ All whose works are truth. See Deut. xxxii. 4; Ps. xxxiii. 4 j Rev. xv. 3. The meaning is, that all that he does is done and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works b are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride c he is able to abase.

in accordance with the true nature of | things, or with justice and propriety.! It is not based on a false estimate of j things, as what is done by man often is. I How often are the plans and acts of man, even where there are the best intentions, | based on some false estimate of things;

• on some views which are shown by the i result to have been erroneous! But God | sees things precisely as they are, and i accurately knows what should be done in I every case. ^[ And those that walk in pride he is able to abase. What had oc curred to Nebuchadnezzar might occur to others, and as God had shown that he could reduce the most exalted sovereign of j the earth to the lowest condition in which a human being can be, he inferred that; he could do the same thing to all, and | that there was no one so exalted in rank, so vigorous in health, and so mighty in intellect, that he could not effectually hum ble and subdue him. This is indeed an affecting truth which is constantly illus trated in the world. The reverses oc- | curring among men, the sick bed, the j loss of reason, the grave, show how easily God can bring down rank, and beauty, and talent, and all that the world calls great, to the dust.

In the Greek Codex Chis. there is at I the close of this chapter a beautiful | ascription of praise to God, which has no thing to correspond with it in the Chaldee, and the origin of which is unknown. I will translate it, because, although it is

• not of divine authority, and is no part of the sacred writings, it contains senti ments not inappropriate to the close of this remarkable chapter. It is as follows:

' To the Most High I make confession, and render praise to him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the seas, and the rivers, and all things in them; I ac knowledge him and praise him because

; he is the God of Gods, and Lord of Lords, and King of Kings, for he does signs and wonders, and changes times and seasons, taking away the kingdoms of kings, and

: placing others in their stead. From this time I will serve him, and from the fear of him trembling has seized me, and I praise all his saints; for the gods of the heathen have not in themselves power to transfer the kingdom of a king to an other king, and to kill, and to make alive, and to do signs, and great and fearful wonders, and to change mighty deeds, as the God of heaven has done to me, and has brought upon me great changes. I, during all the days of rny reign, on ac count of nay life, will bring to the Most High sacrifices for an odor of sweet savor to the Lord, and I and my people will do that which will be acceptable be fore him — my nation, and the countries which are under my power. And who soever shall speak against the God of heaven, and whosoever shall countenance those who speak anything, I will condemn to death. Praise the Lord God of hea ven, and bring sacrifice and offering to him gloriously. I, King of Kings, confess him gloriously, for so he has done with me; in the very day he set me upon my throne, and my power, and my kingdom; among my people I have power, and my majesty has been restored to me. And he sent letters concerning all things that were done unto him in his kingdom, to all the nations that were under him.'

Nebuchadnezzar is supposed to have lived but about one year after this ( Win kle), but nothing is known of his subse quent deeds. It may be hoped that he continued steadfast in his faith in that God whom he had thus been brought to acknowledge, and that he died in thai belief. But of this nothing is known. After so solemn an admonition, however,! of bis own pride, and after being brought I in this public manner to acknowledge the j true God, it is to be regarded as not im- | pfobable that he looked on the Babylon I that he bad reared, and over his extended | realms, with other feelings than those | which he had before this terrible calaiinity came upon him. "Nebuchadnezzar i was succeeded in his kingdom by his son Iloarudam, according to Ptolemy, who is i the Evil Merodach of Jeremiah, who innri ried a discreet and prudent woman called I Nitocris, from whom was born a son, whoso: history is the subject of the next chapter. After the death of Evil Merodnch, who reigned two years, Niricassolassar. or Neriglissar, who seems to have been the chief of the conspirators against the last king, succeeded him. He had married a daughj ter of Nebuchadnezzar, and in the course i of his reign made a great stand against the (growing power of the Medes and Per- I sians; but at length, after a reign of four I years, was killed in a battle with them un der the command of Cyrus. His son Laborosoarchod succeeded him, and having reigned only nine months, and not reach ing a Thoth, or beginning of an Egyptian 3'ear, he is not mentioned by Ptolemy, but he is said to have been quite the reverse of his father, and to have exercised many acts of wanton cruelty, and was murdered by his own subjects, and succeeded by hia son Nabonadius, or Belshazzar." Winkle.

(1.) The narrative in this chapter furnishes an illustration of the disposition among men to make arrangements for their own ease and comfort, especially in view of advancing years, ver. 4. Is'ebuchadnezzar liad drawn around him all that it is possible, perhaps, for man to accumulate with this view. He was at the head of the heathen world — the mighty monarch of the mightiest kingdom on the earth. He was at peace — having iinii-hed his wars, and having teen satiated with the glory of battle and conquest. He had enlarged and beautified his capita), so that it was one of the 'wonders of the world.' Ho had built for himself a palace, which surpassed in richness, and elegance, and luxury, all the habitations of man in that age. He had accumulated vast wealth, and there was not a production of any clime which he could not command, nor was there anything that is supposed to be necessary to make man happy in this life which he had not in his possession. All this was the result of arrangement and purpose. He had designed evi dently to reach the point where he might feel that he was ' at ease, and flourishing in his palace.'

What was true in his case on a large scale, is true of others in general, though on a much gmaller scale. Most men would be glad to do the same thing; and most men seek to make such an arrangement according to their ability. They look to the time when they may retire from the toils and cares of life, with a competence for their old age, and that they may enjoy life, per haps, many years, in the tranquillity of honourable and happy retirement. The merchant does not expect always to be a merchant; the man in office to be always burdened with the cares of state. The soldier does not expect always to be in the camp, or the marines on the sea. The warrior hopes to repose on his laurels; the sailor to find a quiet Ifaven; the merchant to have enough to be permitted to sit down in tho evening of life free from care; and the lawyer, th« physician, the clergyman, the farmer, each one hopes, after the toils and conflicts of life are orcr, to be permitted to spend the remainder of his days in comfort, if not in affluence.

This seems to be based on some law of our nature; and it is not to be spoken of harshly, or despised as if it had no foundation in that which is great arid noble in our being. 1 see in this a high and noble truth. It is th.it our nature looks forward to rent; that we are so made as to pant for repose: to calm repose when the work of life is over. As our Maker formed us, tho law was that we should seek this in the world to come — in that blessed abode where we may be free from all care, and where there shall be everlasting rest. But man, naturally unwilling to look to that world, has abused this law of his being, and seeks to find the rest for which the soul pants, in that interval, usually very short, and quite unfitted for tranquil enjoyment, be tween the period when he toils, and lies down in the grave. The true law of his being would lead him to look onward to everlasting happiness; he abuses and perverts the law, and seeks to satisfy it by making provision for a brief and temporary rest at the close of the present life.

(2) There is a process often going on in the case of these individuals to disturb or prevent that state of ease. Thus there was in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, as intimated by the dream. Even then, in his highest state of grandeur, there was a tendency to the sad result which fol lowed when he was driven from his throne, and treated as a poor and neglected maniac. This was intimated to him by the dream; and to one who could sec all the future, it would be apparent that things were tending to this result. The very excitements and agitations of his life; the intoxication of his pride; and the circumstances of ease and grandeur in which he was now placed, all tended by a natural course of things to produce what followed.

And so, in other cases, there is often a process going on. if it could be seen, destined to disap point all those hopes, and to prevent all that anticipated ease and tranquillity. It is not always visible to men, but could we see things as God sees them, we should perceive that there are causes at work which will blast all those hopes of ease, and disappoint all those expectations of tranquillity. There may be (a) the loss of all that we possess: for we hold it by an uncertain tenure, and " riches often take to themselves wings." There may be (b) the loss of a wife, or a child — and all our anticipated comforts shall be tasteless, for there shall be none with whom to share them. There may be (c~) the loss of reason, as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, for no human precaution can guard against that. There may be (d) the loss of health — a loss against which no one can defend himself — which shall render all his preparations for comfort of no value. Or (e) death itself may come — for no one has any basis of calculation in regard to his own life, and no one, therefore, who builds for himself a palace can have any security that he will ever enjoy it. Men who build splendid houses for themselves may yet experience sad scenes in their dwellings, and if they could foresee all that will occur in them, it would so throw a gloom over all the future as to lead them to abandon the undertaking. Who could engage cheerfully in such an enterprise if he saw that he was constructing a house in which a daugh ter was to lie down and die, or from which his wife and children were soon to be borne forth to the grave? In this chamber, your child may be long sick; in that one, you or your wife may liodown on a bed from which you will never ruse; from those doors yourself, your wife, your child, will be borne forth to the grave; and if you saw all this now, how could you engage with so much zeal in constructing your magnificent habitation?

(3) Our plans of life should be formed with the feeling that this is possible. I say not with the gloomy apprehension that these calamities will certainly come, or with no anticipation or hope that there will be different scenes — for then life would be nothing else but gloom, but that we should allow the possibility that these things may occur to enter, as an element, into our calculations respecting the future. Such a feeling will give us sober and just views of life; will break the force of trouble and disappointment when they come; and will give us just appre hensions of our dependence on Him in whose hand are all our comforts.

(4) The dealings of God in our world are such as are eminently fitted to keep up the recogni tion of these truths. What occurred to Nebuchadnezzar, in the humbling of his pride, and the blighting of his anticipated pleasures, is just an illustration of what is constantly occurring on the earth. What house is there into which trouble, disappointment, and sorrow never come? What scheme of pride is there in respect to which something does not occur to produce mortifica tion? What habitation is there into which sickness, bereavement, and death never find their way? And what abode of man on earth can be made secure from the intrusion of these things? The raovSt splendid mansion must soon be left by its owner, and never be visited by him again. The most magnificent banqueting hall will be forsaken by its possessor, and neverwill he return to it ag:iin; never go into the chamber where he sought repose; never sit down at the table where he joined with others in revelry.

(5) The counsel given by Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar (ver. 2"), to break off his sins by righteous ness, that there might be a lengthening out of his tranquillity, is counsel that may now be given to all sinners, with equal propriety. For (I.) as in his case, there are certain consequences of sin to which we must look forward, and on which the eye of a sinner should rest. Those con sequences are (1) such as spring up in the course of nature, or which are the regular results of sin in the course of events. They are such as can be foreseen, and can be made the basis of calculation, or which a man can know beforehand will come upon him if he perseveres in a certain course. Thus he who is intemperate, can look upon certain results which will in evitably follow if he perseveres iu that course of life. As he looks upon the poverty, and bab bling, and WOP, and sorrow, and misery, and death of an inebriate, he can see that that lot will be certainly his own if he perseveres in his present course, and this can be made with him a matter of definite calculation or anticipation. Or (2) there are all those consequences of sin which are made known in the sacred Scriptures as sure to come upon transgressors. This, too, is a large class; but these consequences are as certain as those which occur in the regular course of events. The principal difference between the two is, that revelation has designated more fins that will involve the sinner in calamity than can be ascertained in the ordinary course of events, and that it has carried the mind forward, and discloses what will take place in the future world as well as what will occur in this. But the cue is no more certain than the other; and alike in reference to what is sure to occur in the present life, and what we are tdd will occur in the future state, the sinner should allow himself to be influenced by the anticipation of what is to rome. (II.) Repentance, reformation, and a holy life would, in many case?, go far to arrest these calamities — or. in the language of Daniel, ' lengthen out tranquillity.' This is true in the following respects: (1) That impending temporal calamities may be often partially or wholly turned away by reformation. An illustration of this thought occurred in the case of Nineveh; and the same thing now occurs. A young man who is in danger of becoming intem perate, and who has already contracted some of the habits that lead to intemperance, could avert a large class of impending ills by so simple a thing as signing the temperance pledge, and adhering to it. All the evils of poverty, tears, crime, disease, and an early death, that intem perance produces, he would certainly avert; that is, he would make it certain that the largo class of ills that intemperance engenders would never come upon him. He might experience other ills, but he would never suffer those..So it is of the sufferings produced by licentiousness, by gluttony, by the spirit of revenge; and so it is of all the woes that follow the violation of human laws. A man may indeed be poor; he may be sick; he may be bereaved; he may lose his reason, hut these ills he will never experience. But what Daniel here affirms is true in another sense in regard to temporal calamities. A man may, by repentance, and by breaking off from his sins, do much to stay the progress of woe, and to avert the results which he had ilready begun to experience. Thus the drunkard may reform, and may have restored health, vigour, and prosperity; and thus the licentious may turn from the evil of his ways, and enjoy health and happiness still. On this subject, see Notes on Job xxxiii. 14 — 25, particularly tho Notes on ver. 25. But (2) by repentance and holy living a man may turn away all the results of sin in the future world, and may make it certain that he will never experience a pang be yond the grave. All the woe that sin would cause in the future state may be thus averted, and he who has been deeply guilty may enter the eternal world with the assurance that he will never suffer beyond the grave. "Whether, then, we look to the future in the pre sent life, or to the future beyond the grave, we have the highest conceivable motives to abandon the ways of sin, and to lead lives of holiness. If a man were to live only on the earth, it would be for his welfare to break off from the ways of transgression; how much higher is this motive when it is remembered that he must exist forever!

(f.) AVe have an illustration in the account in this chapter of the evil of pride, vs. 29, 30, 31. The pride which we may have on account of beauty, or strength, or learning, or accomplishments; which we feel when we look over our lands that we have cultivated, or the houses that we have built, or the reputation which we have acquired, is no less offensive in the sight of a holy God than was the pride of the magnificent monarch who looked out on the towers, and domes, and walls, and palaces, of a vast city, and said — 'Is not this great Babylon that I have builded.'

(7) And in view of the calamity that came upon Nebuchadnezzar, and the treatment which he received in his malady, we make the following remarks: (a) AYe should be thankful for the continuance of reason. AVhen we look on such a case as this, or when we go into a lunatic asylum, and see the wretchedness that the loss of reason causes, we should thank God daily that we are not deprived of this inestimable blessing, (b) We should be thankful for science, and for the Christian religion, and for all that they have done to give comfort to the maniac, or to restore him to a sound mind. AVhen we compare the treatment which the insane now re ceive in the lunatic asylums with that which they everywhere meet with in the heathen world, and with that which they have, up to a very recent period, received in Christian lands, there is almost nothing in which we see more marked proof of the interposition of God, than in the great change which has been produced. Ther<; are few persons who have not, or may not have, some friend or relative who is insane, and there is no one who is not, or may not be, personally interested in the improvement which religion and science have made in the treat ment of this class of unfortunate beings. In no one thing, so far as I know, has there been so decided progress in the views and conduct of men; and on no one subject has there been so evident an improvement in modern times, as in the treatment of the insane, (c) Tho possibility of the loss of reason should be an element in our calculations about the future. On this point we can have no security. There is no such vigour of intellect, or clearness of mind, or cultivation of the habits of virtue, and even no such influence of religion, as to make it certain that we may not yet be reckoned among the insane; and the possibility that this may be so, should be admitted as an element in our calculations in regard to the future. We should not jeopard any valuable interest by leaving that undone which aught to be done, on the supposition that we may at a future period of life enjoy the exercise of reason. Let uj remember that there may be in our case, even in youth or middle life, the loss of this faculty; that there will be, if we reach old age, in all probability, such a weakening of our menta? powers as to unfit us for making any preparation for the life to come, and that on the bed of death, whenever that occurs, there is often an entire loss of the mental powers, and commonly 60 much pain, distress, or prostration, as to unfit the dying man for calm and deliberate thought, and let us, therefore, while we have reason and health, do all that we know we ought to do to make preparation for our eternal state. For what is our reason more certainly given Xis, than to prepare for another world t

MUCH fewer objections have been made to the authenticity of this chapter, and much fewer difficulties started, than in regard to chapter iv. Those which have been urged may be classed under the following heads:

I. The first is substantially stated in this manner by Bertholdt, that ' Daniel is represented as speaking to the king in such a tone, that if it had actually occurred he would have been cut to pieces by an arbitrary Babylonian despot; but instead of that, he is not only unpunished, but is suffered to announce to the king the certain destruction of his kingdom by the Medes and Persians; and not only this, but he is immediately promoted to be a minister or officer of a state of exalted rank.' p. 345.

To this it may be replied, (1) That the way in which Daniel addressed him was entirely in accordance with the manner in which he addressed Nebuchadnezzar, in which Nathan addressed David, in which Isaiah addressed Ahaz, and Jeremiah the kings in his time. (2) Belshazzar was overpowered with the remarkable vision of the hand-writing on the wall; his conscience smote him, and he was in deep alarm. lie sought the meaning of this extraordinary revela tion, and could not but regard it as a communication from heaven. In this state of mind, pain ful as was the announcement, he would naturally receive it as a divine communication, and he might fear to treat with indignity one who showed that he had the power of disclosing the meaning of words so mysterious. (3) It was in accordance with the custom of those times to honour those who showed that they had the power of penetrating the divine mysteries, and of disclosing the meaning of dreams, prodigies, and omens. (4) It is not impossible, as Hengstenberg (Authentic des Dan. 120) suggests, that, smitten with the consciousness of guilt, and knowing that he deserved punishment, he may have hoped to turn away the wrath of God by some act of piety; and that he resolved, therefore, to honour Daniel, who showed that he was a favourite of heaven. The main security of Daniel, however, in these bold and fearful an nouncements, was undoubtedly to be found in the smitten conscience of the trembling monarch, and in the belief that he was a favourite of heaven.

II. The improbability that all this should occur in one night — that so many scenes should have been crowded into so short a time — embracing the feast, the writing, the calling in of he magicians, the investing of Daniel with his new office, the taking of the city, &c. ' Why,' says Bertholdt, ' was not the proclamation in regard to the new minister deferred to the following lay? Why did all this occur in the midst of the scenes of revelry which were then taking place?' pp. 345, 346.

To this it may be replied, (1) That there is, indeed, every appearance of haste and confusion in the transactions. This was natural. But there was assuredly no want of time to accomplish all that it is said was accomplished. If it was true that Cyrus broke into the city in the latter part of the night, or if, as historians say was the fact, he had entered the city, and made con siderable progress in it before the tidings were communicated to Belshazzar, there is no impro bability in supposing that all that is said of the feast, and of the hand-writing, and of the calling in of the magicians, and of their failure to decyplier the meaning of the writing, and of the summoning of Daniel, and of the interpretation which he gave, actually occurred, for there was time enough to accomplish all this. (2) As to the other part of the objection, that it is impro bable that Daniel would be so soon invested with office, and that a proclamation would be made in the night to this effect, it may be replied, that all that is fairly meant in the chapter (ver. 29) may be that an order was made to that effect, with a purpose to carry it into execution on the following day. Bertholdt himself translates the passage (ver. 29), 'Then Belshazzar gave command that th«y should clothe Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold around his neck,' &c. Hierauf gal) Belschazar den Befehl dem Daniel den purpurmantel und den goldenen Halsschmuck umzuhangen, &c. On the one hand, nothing forbids the supposition that the execution of this order might have been deferred; or on the other, that the order was executed at once. But little time wou'd have been necessary to do it. See, however, Notes on ver 29.

III. A third objection or difficulty arises from the writing itself. It is, that it is wholly im probable that Daniel could have had sufficient knowledge to enable him to interpret these words when no one of the Chaldean sages could do it. "Where, it is asked, could he have ob tained this knowledge? His instruction in reading languages he must have received in Babylon itself, and it is wholly improbable that among so many sages and wise men who were accus tomed to the languages spoken in Babylon and in other countries, no one should have been found who was as able to interpret the words as he. Bertholdt. p. 346.

To this it is obvious to reply, that the whole narrative supposes that Daniel owed his ability to interpret these words, not to any natural skill, or to any superior advantages of genius or educa tion, but to the fact that he was directly endowed from on high. In other cases, in the times of Nebuchadnezzar, he always disclaimed any power of his own of revealing the meaning of dreams and visions (ch. ii. 27 — 30), nor did he set up any claim to an ability to do it of himself on this occasion. If he received his knowledge directly from God, all the difficulty in this objection vanishes at once; but the whole book turns on the supposition that he was under divine teaching.

IV. It has been objected that there was no object to be accomplished worthy of such a mira cle as that of writing in this mysterious manner on the wall. It is asked by Bertholdt (p. 347),

'Is the miracle credible? What purpose was it designed to serve? What end would it accom plish? Was the design to show to Belshazzar that the city was scon to be destroyed? But cf what use could this be but a couple of hoxirs before it should occur? Or was it the design to make Belshazzar acquainted with the power of Jehovah, and to punish him for his desecrating the vessels of the temple service? But who could attribute to the all-perfect being such a weakness that he could be angry, and take this method to express his anger, for an act that could not be regarded as so heinous as to be worthy of such an interposition?'

To this it may be replied, (1) That the objection here made would lie in some degree against almost any single miracle that is recorded in the scriptures. Or (2) It may have been the inten tion to warn the king of the impending danger, not so much with a view that the danger should be averted, as to show that it came from God. Or (3) it may have been the intention to show him the enormity of his sins, and even then to bring him to repentance. Cr (4) it may have been the intention to connect quite distinctly, in the apprehension of all present, and in the view of all future ages, the destruction of Babylon with the crimes of the monarchs. and especially their crimes in connection with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, the burning of the temple, and the carrying away the people into a long captivity. There can be no doubt, from many parts of the prophetic writings, that the overthrow of Babylon, and the subversion of the Chaldean power, was in consequence of their treatment of the Hebrew people, rnd nothing was better fitted to show this than to make the destruction of the city coincident with the destruction of the sacred vessels of the temple. Or (5) it may have been the intention to recall Daniel into notice, and to give him authority and influence again preparatory to the restoration of his countrymen to their own land. It would seem from the whole narrative that, in accordance with a custom which still prevails in Persia (Chardin, as referred to by Hcngstenberg, Authentic des Dan. p. 123), all the magicians and astrologers had been dis missed from court on the death of Nebuchadnezzar, and that Daniel with the others had retired from his place. Yet it may haA'e been important, in order to the restoration cf the Hebrew people to their land at the appointed time, that there should be one of their own nation occupying an influential station at court, and Daniel was thus, in consequence of his ability to interpret this mysterious language, restored to his place, and was permitted to keep it until the time of the return of the Hebrews to their country arrived fcce oh. vi. 2, 3, 28. And (6) it may have been the intention to furnish an impressive demonstration that Jehovah is the true God. Other objections it will be more convenient to notice in the course of the ex position of the chapter.

OF Belshazzar, the closing scene of whose reign is described in this chapter, little more is known than is recorded here. lie is mentioned by Daniel as the last king of the Cbaldees, under whom Babylon was taken by the Modes and Persians. Herodotus (i. £>) calls this king and also his father. Labynetus, which is undoubtedly a corruption of Nabonncdus, the name by which he was known to Berosus. Jozeplnts against Apicn, i. 20. Josephus himself (Ant. x. ch. >i. \ ~2) fays that the name of this king, whom he calls Baltasar, rmcng the Babylonians, was Naboandelus. Nabonadius in the canon of Ptolemy, Kaboncdus in Kv.sebius, ((* hron. Aimen. i. p. 0,) and Nabonnidochus in fcuscbius, (Prep. Evang. ix. 41,) are remarked by Winer as only varieties of his name. Winer conjectures that in the name Belthazzar, the element zhazzar means ' tb* principle of fire.' See Kitto's Cyclop.

The accounts which we have of this king are very meagre, and yet mcr.grc as they are, they nro by no means uniform, and it is difficult to reconcile them. That which is given by Jcsc-vbus as his own account of tbesucccsfors cf >cbuchcdr.ezzar, is in thcfelkvirg]Frj.ur.£e: "After the c'eath

of Nebuchadrezzar, Kvil-Mercc'ach. his fen, succeeded in the king'1'?>. who immediately set Jeconiah at liberty, and esteemed him among his most intimate friends. "W 1 en Kvil-Mercctach was dead, after a reign of eighteen years, Niglissar, his son, tcok the government, and retained it forty years, and them ended his life; and after him the succession rrme to his sen, l.abcsordacus, who continuc-d it in all but nine months; and when he WES desd. it csme to Baltasnr, •who by the Babylonians was called Nabcandelus; against him Jid Cyrus the king of Persia, and Darius the king of Media, make war; and when he was besieged in Babylon there hap pened a wonderful and trcdipicus vision. He was sat clcwn at supper in a large rccm, and there were a great many vessels of silver, such as were made for royal entertainments, nnd he had with him his conculines and his friends; whcreuron he ermc to a resolution, and com manded that those vessels of God which Nebuchadnezzar had plundered out of Jerusalem, and had not made use of. but had put th<m into his own temple, should le brought out of that

temple-." Ant. B. x. ch. xi. # 2. Joscphus then proceeds to give an account of the appearance of the hand, and of the writing, ar.d of the result in the taking of Babylon, substantially the taino as that which is found in this chapter of Daniel.

The account which Berosus gives as preserved by Josephus (against Apion, B. i. $ 20), varies from this in some important particulars. For an account of Berosus, sec the Introduction ta

ch. iv. 1 1. 1. (2.) Ho says " Nabuchodonosar (Nebuchadnezzar), after he had begun to build the forementioned wall, fell sick, and departed this life, when he had reigned forty-three years; whereupon his son. Kvil-.Merodach, obtained the kingdom, lie governed public affairs after an illegal and impure manner, and had a plot laid against him by Neriglissor, his sister's husband, and was slain by him when he had reigned but two years. After he was slain, Neriglissor, the person who plotted against him, succeeded him in the kingdom, and reigned four years; but his son Laborosoarchad obtained the kingdom, though he were but a child, and kept it but nine months; but by reason of the very ill- temper, and the ill-pi'actices he exhibited to the world, a plot was laid against him also by his friends, and he was tormented to death. After his death the conspirators got together, and by common consent put the crown upon the head of Nabonnedus, a man of Babylon, and one who belonged to that insurrection. In his reign it was that the walls of the city of Babylon were curiously built with burnt brick and bitumen; and when he was come to the seventeenth year of his reign, Cyrus came out of Persia with a great army, and having already conquered the rest of Asia, he came hastily to Babylonia. When Nabonnedus perceived he was coming to attack him, he met him with his forces, and joining battle with him, was beaten, and fled away with a few of his troops with him, and was shut up in the city of BorsSppus. Hereupon Cyrus took Babylon, and gave orders that the outer walla of the city should be demolished, because the city had proved very troublesome to him, and cost him a great deal of pains to take it. He then marched away to Borsippus to besiege Nabonne dus; but as Nabonnedus did not sustain the siege, but delivered himself into his hands, he waa at first kindly used by Cyrus, who gave him Canmania as a place for him to inhabit in, but sent him out of Babylonia. Accordingly, Nabonnedus spent the rest of his time in that country, and there died."

Roos (Exposition of Daniel, p. 65,) supposes that Evil-Merodach, who succeeded Nebuchad nezzar, did not reign more than one year, and that this accounts for the reason why he was not mentioned by Daniel; and that Belshazzar was a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, though, accord ing to the idiom of Scripture, he is called his son, and Nebuchadnezzar his father, Dan. v. 11. 22. Belshazzar, he supposes, must have reigned more than twenty years.

The succession in the Babylonian Chaldean kingdom, according to Dr. Hales, was as follows:

Dr. Hales remarks in connection with this, " Nothing can exceed the various and perplexed accounts of the names and reigns of the princes of this dynasty (the Babylonian) in sacred and profane history."

In this confusion and discord respecting the chronology of these princes, the following re marks may be made in regard to the credibility of the statements in the book of Daniel; (1) It is clear that it was not uncommon for the same prince to have more names than one. This has not been unusual, especially among Oriental princes, who seem to have often prided themselves on the number of epithets which they could use as designating their royal state. Mncc this was the case, it would not be strange if the names of the same kings should be so used by writers, or in tradition, as to leave the impression that there were several; or if one writer should designate a king by one name, and another by another. (2) It would seem pro bable, from all the accounts, that Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, but little is known of the king or kings whose reign intervened between that of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. (3) The testimony of Daniel in the book before us should not be set aside by tho statement of Berosus, or by the other confused accounts which have come down to us. For anything that appears to the contrary, the authority of Daniel is as good as that of Berosus, and he is as worthy of belief. Living in Babylon, and through a great part of the reigns of this dynasty; present at the taking of Babylon, and intimate at court; honoured by some of these princes more than any other man in the realm, there is no reason why he should not have had access to the means of information on the subject, and no reason why it should not be supposed that ho has given a fair record of what actually occurred. Though the account in regard to the last days of Belshazzar, as given by Berosus, does not agree with that of Daniel, it should not be assumed that that of Berosus is correct, and that of Daniel false. The account in Daniel is, to say the least, as probable as that of Berosus, and there are no means of proving that it is false except by ths testimony of Berosus. (4) The statement in Daniel of the manner in which Baby lon vvas taken, and of the death of Belshazzar, is confirmed by Xenophon (Cyrop. vii.) — an au thority quite equal, at least, to that of Berosus. See Notes on ver. 30 of the chapter. In the record iu Daniel of the close of the life of Belshazzar, there is nothing that might not have been supposed to occur, for nothing is more probable than that a king might have been cele brating a feast in the manner described, or that the city might be suiprised in such a night of "ivelry, or that, being surprised, the monarch might be slain.

THE chapter comprises a record of the series of events that occurred in Babylon on the night In which it was taken by the Medes and Persians. The scene may be supposed to open in the early evening, at a time when a festival would probably be celebrated, and to continue through a considerable part of the night. It is not known precisely at what time the city was taken, yet it may be supposed that Cyrus was making his approaches \vhile the revel was going on in the palace, and that even while Daniel was interpreting the hand-writing on the wall, he was conducting his armies along the channel of the river, and through the open gate on the banks of the river, toward the palace. The order of the events referred to is as follows: (1) The feast given by Belshazzar in his palace, vs. 1—4; (2) the mysterious appearance of the part of the hand on the walls, ver. 5; (3) the summoning of the soothsayers to interpret the hand-writing, and their inability to do it, vs. 6 — 9; (4) the entrance of the queen into the banqueting-hall on account of the trouble of the king, and her reference to Daniel, as one qualified to interpret the vision, vs. 10 — 12; (5) the summoning of Daniol by the king, and his address to him, vs. 13 — 16; (6) the answer of Daniel, declining any rewajds for his service, and his solemn address to the king, reminding him of what had occurred to Nebuchadnezzar, and of the fact that he had forgotten the lessons which the divine dealings with Nebuchadnezzar were adapted to teach, and that his own heart had been lifted up with pride, and that his conduct had been eminently wicked, vs. 17 — 23; (7) the interpretation of the words by Daniel, vs. 24 — 28; (8) the order to clothe Daniel in a manner appropriate to one of high rank, and the appointment to the third office in the kingdom, ver. 29; and (9) the taking of the city, and the death of Belshazzar, vs. 30, 31.

1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast ato a thousand of his

1. Belshazzar the king. See Intro, to the chapter, g 2. In the Introduction to the chapter here referred to, I have stated what seemed to be necessary in order to illustrate the history of Belshazzar, so far as that can be now known. The state ments in regard to this monarch, it is well understood, are exceedingly confused, and the task of reconciling them is now hope less. Little depends, however, in the in terpretation of this book, on the attempt to reconcile them, for the narrative here given is equally credible, whichever of the accounts are taken, unless that of Berosus is followed. But it may not be im proper to exhibit here the two principal accounts of the successors of Nebuchadnezznr, that the discrepancy may be dis tinctly seen. I copy from the Pictorial

Bible. " The common account we shall collect from ' L' Art de Verifier les Dates,' and the other from Hales' 'Analysis,' dis posing them in opposite columns for the sake of comparison:

605 Nebuchadnezzar, who was succeeded by his son

162 Evil-Merodach, who having pro voked general in dignation by hia tyranny and atro-

604 Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his eon

561 Evil-Merodach, or Ilverodam, who was slain in a battle against the Medes and Per-

lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

cities, was, after a sians, and was sueshort reign of a- ceeded by his eon bout two years, as sassinated by his brother-in law

560 Nerigilassar, or No- 558 Neriglissar, Neriricassolassar, who cassolassar, or Belwas regarded as a deliverer, and succeeded by the choice of the na tion. He perished in a battle by Cy rus, and was suc ceeded by his son

shazzar, the com mon accounts of •whom seem to com bine what is said both of Neriglis sar, and his son, opposite, lie was killed by conspira tors on the night of the ' impious feast,' leaving a son (a boy),

555 L a b o r o soarchad, 553 Laborosoarchad, on notorious for h:g whose death, nine cruelty and oppres- months after, the sion, and who was dynasty became exassassinated by two tinct, and the kingnobles, Go bry as dom came peaceaandGadatas.whose blyto "Darius the sons he had slain. Mede,"orCyaxares The vacant throne who, on the wellwas then ascended known policy of the by Modes and Per

sians, appointed a Babylonian noble man, named Nabonadius, or Labynetns, to be king, or viceroy. This per son revolted against Cyrus, who had gucceeded to the united empire

2 Belshazzar, while he tasted the |b father Nebuchadnezzar had c taken wine, commanded to bring the I out of the temple which was in Jegolden and silver vessels a which his rusalem; that the king, and his

of the Medes and Persians. Cyrus could not immedi ately attend to hiu., but at last marched to Baby lon, took the city, B. C. 5*6, as fore told by the pro phets.

654 Nabonadius, the Labynetus of He rodotus, the Naboondel of Josephus, and the Belshazzar of Daniel, who was the son of Evil- Merodach, and who now succeeded to the throne of his father. After a vo luptuous reign, his city was taken by the Persians under Cyrus, on which occasion he lost his life.

" It will be observed that the principal point of difference in these accounts is, that Hales contends that the succession of Darius the Mede to the Babylonian throne was not attended with war; that Belshazzar was not the king in whose time the city was taken by Cyrus; and consequently, that the events which took place this night were quite distinct from, and anterior to that siege and capture of the city by the Persian king, which Isaiah and Jeremiah so remarkably foretold."

^[ Made a great feast. On what occasion this feast was made, is not stated, but it was not improbably an annual festival in honour of some of the Babylonian deities. This opinion seems to be countenanced by the words of the Codex Chis. 'Bel shazzar the king made a great festival, iv i)iispa. et'Katviffpou ruiv 0aai\ti<i)l> — on the day of the dedication of his kingdoms;' and in ver. 4, it is said that ' they praised the gods of gold, of silver, and of brass,' Ac. ^ To a thousand of his lords. The word thousand here is doubtless used as a general term to denote a very large num ber. It ii not improbable, however, that this full number was assembled on such an occasion. " Ctesias eays, that the king of Persia furnished provisions daily for twenty-five thousand men. Quintua! Curtius says that ten thousand men were: present at a festival of Alexander tho i Great; and Statius says of Domitian, that j he ordered, on a certain occasion, his I guests 4 to sit down at a thousand tables.'" Prof. Stuart, in loc. f And drank wine before the thousand. The Latin Vulgate here is, ' And each one drank according to his age.' The Greek of Theodotion, tho Arabic, and the Coptic is, ' and wine was before the thousand.' The Chaldee, how ever, is, as in our version, ' he drank wine before the thousand.' As he was the lord of the feast, and as all that oc curred pertained primarily to him, the design is undoubtedly to describe his con duct, and to show the effect which the drinking of wine had on him. He drank it in the most public manner, setting an example to his lords, and evidently drink ing it to great excess.

2, 3. lielshazzar, while he tasted the wine. As the effect of tasting the wine — stating a fact which is illustrated in every age and land, that men, under the influence of intoxicating drinks, will do what they would not do when sober. In his sober moments, it would seem probable that he would have respected the vessels con secrated to the service of religion, and would not have treated them with dis honour by introducing them for pur poses of revelry. ^[ Commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels. These ves sels had been carefully deposited in some place as the spoils of victor}', (see ch. i. 2,) and it would appear that they had not before been desecrated for purposes of feasting. Belshazzar did what other men would have done in the same condition. He wished to make a display; to do something unusually surprising; and, j though it had not been contemplated | when the festival was appointed to make I use of these vessels, yet under the excite ment of wine, nothing was too sacred to ' be introduced to the scenes of intoxica- I tion; nothing too foolish to be done. In j regard to the vessels taken from the tem ple at Jerusalem, see Notes on ch. i. 2. ^ Which his father Nebuchadnezzar had

3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the

taken. Marg., grandfather. According to the best account which wo have of Belshazzar, be was the son of Evil-Merodacb, who was the son of Nebuchad nezzar, (see the Intro, to the chnpter, $2,) and therefore the word is used here, as in the margin, to denote grandfather. Comp. Jer. xxvii. 7. See Notes on Isa. xiv. 22. The word father is often used in a large signification. See 2 Sam. ix. 7; also Notes on Matt. i. 1. There is no impro bability in supposing that would be used to denote a grandfather, when applied to one of the family or dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar. The fact | feast advanced. The 'wives and concu-

temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines drank in them.

seem that Nebuchadnezzar had some re spect for these vessels as having been employed in the purposes of religion — at least so much respect as to lay them up as trophies of victory, and that this respect had been shown for them un der the reign of his successor, until the exciting scenes of this ' impious feast' occurred, when all veneration for them vanished. It was not very common for females in the East to be present at such festivals as this, but it would seem that all the usual restraints of propriety and decency came to be disregarded as the that Belshazzar is here called the son of Nebuchadnezzar, has been made a ground bines' were probably not present when the feast began, for it was made for 'his of objection to the credibility of the book lords' (ver. 1), but when the scenes of of Daniel, by Lengerke, p. 204. The revelry had advanced so far that it was objection is, that the "last king of Baby- proposed to introduce the sacred vessels i —. — „.,„* „ o^v, ~F XT^U,,/.!,.,,!.^.,,,.,.. " of the temple, it would not be unnatural to propose also to introduce the females of the court. A similar instance is re lated in the book of Esther. In the feast which Ahasuerus gave, it is said that " on the seventh day when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he com manded Mehuman, Biztha, &c., the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti, the queen, before the king, with the crown

Ion was not a son of But, in reply to this, in addition to the remarks above made, it may be observed that it is not necessary in vindicating the assertion in the text to suppose that he was the immediate descendant of Nebu chadnezzar, in the first degree. "The Semitic use of the word in question goes far beyond the first degree of descent, ion of son to the and even of the In Ezra v

14, 1 royal, to show the people and the princes the prophet Zechariah is called the son j her beauty," &c. Esther i. 10, 11. Comp. of Iddo; in Zech. i. 1, 7, the same per- Joseph. Ant. B. xi. ch son is called the son of Barachiah, the

The females that were thus introduced to the of Iddo. So Isaiah threatens Hezekiah j banquet, were those of the harem, yet it (xxxix. 7,) that the sons whom he shall j would seem that she who was usually beget shall be conducted as exiles to Baby- called ' the queen' by way of eminence, Ion; in which case, however, four gene- or the queen-mother, (Comp. Notes on rations intervened before this happened, ver 10,) was not among them at this time. So in Matt. i. 1, 'Jesus Christ, the son The females in the court of an Oriental of David, the son of Abraham.' And so i monarch were divided into two classes; we speak every day: ' The sons of Adam,! those who were properly concubines, and the sons of Abraham, the sons of Israel, | who had none of the privileges of a wife; the sons of the Pilgrims,' and the like." j and those of a higher class, and who were Prof. Stuart, Com. on Daniel p. 144. spoken of as wives, and to whom apper- That the king, and his princes, his I tained the privileges of that relation.

wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Nothing is too sacred to be pro faned when men are under the influence

Among the latter, also, in the court of a king, it would seem that there was one to whom properly belonged the appella tion of queen — that is, probably, a favourite wife whose children were heirs to the of wine. They do not hesitate to dese crate the holiest things, and vessels taken | wife from the altar of God are regarded with I crown. See Bertholdt, in loc. Comp. as little raverenco as any other. It would j 2 Sam. v. 13; 1 Kings xi. 3; Cant vi. 8.

4 They drank wine, and praised i 5 fl In the same hour t> came forth the gods of gold, a and of silver, fingers of a man's hand, and wrota of brass, of iron, of wood, and of | over against the candlestick upon stone. i the plaster of the wall of the king's

4. They drank wine, and praised the i mind that this must be either to rebuke gods of gold, and of silver, &c. Coinp. | them for their sin, or to announce some Notes on ver. 1. Idols were made among i fearful calamity, all these things must the heathen of all the materials here men- have combined to produce an overwhelmtioned The word praised.here means. J fffc th u Perhaps, from what they had done. Nothing can well j ™ re«ard to ^e °"m.e of sacrilege, be conceived more senseless and stupid i havc con™cted this mystenous appearthan what it is said they did at this feast,! ance Wlth the P™fane act which they were and yet it is a fair illustration of what j then committing— that of desecrating the occurs in all the festivals of idolatry, j vessels of the temple of God. How natural And is that which occurs in more civi- | would it be to suppose — recognizing as lized, Christian lands, in the scenes of j they did the gods of other nations as carousal and festivity, more rational than real, as truly as those which they worthis? It was not much worse to lavish; shipped — that the God of the Hebrews, praises on idol gods in a scene of revelry ' seeing the vessels of his worship profaned, than it is to lavish praises on idol men j had come forth to express his displeasure, now; not much less rational to ' toast' and to intimate that there was impending gods than it is to ' toast' men. wrath for such an act. The crime of

5. In the same hour. On the word hour, sacrilege was regarded among the heathen see Notes on ch. iv. 19. ^ Came forth as one of the most awful which could be fingers of a man's hand. Not the whole j committed, and there was no state of hand, but only the parts usually employed j mind in which men would be more likely in writing. Not a man writing; not even j to bo alarmed than when they were, even an arm, but fingers that seemed to move i in the midst of scenes of drunken revelry, themselves. They appeared to come forth from the walls, and were seen before they engaged in such an act. "The heathen," says Grotius, "thought it a great impiety began to write. It was this that made it to convert sacred things to common so impressive and alarming. It could uses." Numerous instances are on record not be supposed that it was the work I of the sentiments entertained among the of man, or that it was devised by man heathen on the subject of sacrilege, and for the purpose of producing consterna- j of the calamities which were believed to tion. It was perfectly manifest to all come upon men as a punishment for it. who were there that this was the work of j Among them we may refer to the miserasome one superior to man; that it was j ble end of the Phocians, who robbed the designed as a divine intimation of some! temple of Dclphos, and whose act was the kind in regard to the scene that was then j occasion of that war which was called the occurring. But whether as a rebuke for I holy war; the destruction of the Gauls in the sin of revelry and dissipation, or j their attempt upon the same temple; and for sacrilege in drinking out of the con- of Crassus, who plundered the temple of secrated vessels, or whether it was an Jerusalem, and that of the Syrian godintimation of some approaching fear- j dess. See Lowth, in loc. That a convicful calamity, would not at once be ap- i tion of the sin of sacrilege, according to parent. It is easy to imagine that it! the prevalent belief on the subject, may would produce a sudden pause in their! have contributed to produce consternarevelry, and diffuse seriousness over their! tion when the fingers of the hand apminds. The suddenness of the appear- | peared at Belshazzar's feast, there is no ance; the fingers, unguided by the hand I good reason to doubt, and we may supof man, slowly writing in mysterious pose that the minds of the revellers were sharacters on the walls; the conviction at once turned to the insult which they.vhich must have flash ed across the j had thus offered to th* God of the He-

palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the djoints of his loins were loosed, and his knees

brews. ^[ And wrote over against the can dlestick. The candlestick, or lamp-bearer, perhaps, which had been taken from the temple at Jerusalem, and which was, as well as the sacred vessels, introduced into this scene of revelry. It is probable that as they brought out the vessels of the temple to drink in, they would alse bring out all that had been taken from the tem ple in Jerusalem. Two objects may have been contemplated in the fact that the writing was ' over against the can dlestick:' one was that it might be clearly visible, the other that it might be more directly intimated that the writing was a rebuke for the act of sacrilege. On the probable situation where this miracle oc curred, the reader may consult Taylor's Fragments to Calmet's Dictionary, No. 205. He supposes that it was one of the large inner courts of the palace — that part of the palace which was prohibited to persons not sent for. See Notes on ver. 10. ^ Upon the plaster of the wall. The Chal dee word means lime, not inappropriately rendered here plaster. The manner of the writing is not specified. All that is necessary to suppose is, that the letters were traced along on the wall so as to be distinctly visible. Whether they seemed to be cut into the plaster, or to be traced in black lines, or lines of light, is not mentioned, and is immaterial. They were such as could be seen distinctly by the king and the guests. Compare, however, the remarks of Taylor in the 'Fragment' just referred to. f And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. It is not necessary to suppose that the others did not see it also, but the king was the most important person age there, and the miracle was intended particularly for him. Perhaps his eyes were first attracted to it.

6. Then the Icing' a countenance teas changed. The word rendered counte nance, is in the margin, as in ver. 9, bright-

7 The king cried { aloud to bring in the & astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpre tation thereof, shall be clothed with

nesses. The Chaldee word means bright ness, splendor — VI, and the meaning here is bright looks, cheerfulness, hilarity. The word rendered icas changed, is in the margin changed it; and the meaning is, that it changed itself: — probably from a jocund, cheerful, and happy expression, it assumed suddenly a deadly paleness. I *\And his thoughts troubled him. Whether I from the recollection of guilt, or the dread of wrath, is not said. He would doubt less regard this as some supernatural in timation, and his soul would bo troubled. *\\So that the joints of his loins were loosed. Marg., bindings, or knots, or girdles. The Chaldee word rendered joints, Sgp, means properly knots; then joints of the bones, as resembling knots, or apparently an swering the purposes of knots in the hu man frame, as binding it together. The word loina in the Scriptures refers to the part of the body around which the girdle was passed, the lower part of the back; and Gesenius supposes that the meaning here is, that the joints of his back, that is, the vertebrae, are referred to. This part of the body is spoken of as the seat of strength. When this is weak, the body has no power to stand, to walk, to labour. The simple idea is, that he was greatly terrified, and that under the influence of fear his strength departed. ^[ And his knees smote one against another. A common effect of fear, Nah. ii. 10. So Horace, Et corde, et genibus tremit. And so Virgil, Tarda trementi gcnua labant. " Belshazzar had as much of power, and of drink withal to lead him to bid defiance to God as any ruffian under heaven; and yet when God, as it were, lift but up his finger against him, how poorly did he crouch and shiver. How did his joints loose, and his knees knock together!" South's Sermons, vol. iv. p. 60.

7. The king cried aloud. Marg., as in the Chaldee, with might. This indicates a sudden and an alarming cry. The king

* scarlet, and have a chain of goldj about his neck, and shall be the third b ruler in the kingdom.

8 Then came in all the king's a or, purple.

was deeply terrified; and, unable himself j to divine the meaning of the mysterious appearance of the hand, he naturally turned at once to those whose office it was to explain dreams and supernatural appearances. ^[ To bring in the astrolo gers, &c. See Notes on ch. ii. 2, iv. 7. ^[ And said to the wise men of Babylon. Those just referred to — the astrologers, Ac. Having the power, as was supposed, of interpreting the indications of coming events, they were esteemed as eminently wise. ^[ Whosoever shall read this writ ing. It would seem from this that even the characters were not familiar to the king and to those who were with him. Evidently the letters were not in the ordinary Chaldee form, but in some form which, to them was strange and unknown. Thus there was a double mystery hang ing over the writing — a mystery in re gard to the language in which the words were written, and to the meaning of the words. Many conjectures have been formed as to the language employed in this writing, (Comp. Notes on ver. 24,) but such conjectures are useless, since it is impossible now to ascertain what it was. As the writing, however, had a primary reference to the sacrilege committed in re gard to the sacred vessels of the temple, and as Daniel was able to read the letters at once, it would seem not improbable that the words were in the Hebrew character then used — a character such as that found now in the Samaritan Pentateuch — for the Chaldee character now found in the Bible has not improbably been substituted for the more ancient and less elegant character now found in the Samaritan Pentateuch alone. There is no improba bility in supposing that even the astrolo gers and the soothsayers were not familiar with that character, and could not readily read it. ^[ And show me the interpretation thereof. The meaning of the words. <[[ Shall be clothed with scarlet. The colour worn usually by princes and by persons of rank. The margin is purple. So the Greek of Theodotion — nop^vpav. Bo also the Latin Vulgate — purpura. On the nature and uses of this colour, see

wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9 Then was king Belshazzar

Notes on Isa. i. 18. ^ And have a chain of gold about his neck. Also indicative of rank and authority. Comp. Gen. xli. 42. When Joseph was placed over the land of Egypt, the king honoured him in a similar manner, by putting " a gold chain about his neck." This was com mon in Persia. See Xen. Cyrop. I. 3, 2, II. 4, 6, VII. 5, 18; Anab. I. 5, 8. Upon most of the figures in the ruins of Persepolis the same ornament is now found. Prof. Stuart renders this, "a collar of gold." ^f And shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Of course, the king was first. Who the second was, or why the one who could disclose the mean ing of the words should not be raised to the second rank, is not stated. It may be, that the office of prime minister was so fixed, or was held by one whose ser vices were so important to the king, that he could not be at once displaced. Or the meaning may be, that the favoured person who could interpret this, would be raised to the third rank of dignity, or placed in the third class of those who held offices in the realm. The Chal dee is, ' and shall rule third in the king dom/ and the idea would seem rather to be that he should be of the third rank or grade in office. So Bertholdt understands it. Grotius understands it as the third person in rank. He says the first was the king; the second the son of the king; the third the prince of the Satraps.

8. Then came in all the king's wise men. The classes above referred to, ver. 7. ^[ Sut they could not read the writing. The character was an unknown character to them. It may have been a character which was not found in any language, and which made the power of Daniel to read it the more remarkable, or it may have been, as suggested in the Notes on ver. 7, a foreign character with which they had no acquaintance, though fami liar to Daniel.

9. Then icas king Belshazzar greatly troubled. Not doubting that this was a divine intimation of some fearful event, and yet unable to understand its mean ing. We are quite as likely to be trou- greatly troubled, and his a counte nance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.

10 fl Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords camo into the banquet house: and

bled by what is merely mysterious in re gard to the future — by anything that gives us some undefined foreboding, as \ve are by that which is really formidable when we know what it is. In the latter case, we know the worst; we can make some preparation for it; we can feel assured that when that is past, all is past that we fear — but who can guard him self, or prepare himself, when that which is dreaded is undefined as well as awful; when we know not how to meet it, or how long it may endure, or how terrific and wide may be the sweep of its desolation? ^ And his countenance teas changed in him. Marg., brightnesses. See Notes on ver. 6. ^[^l?ic£ his lords tcere astonied. Amazed. The Chaldee word means to perplex, disturb, trouble. They were doubtless as much perplexed and troubled as the king himself.

10. Now the queen. u Probably the queen-mother, the Nitocris of Herodotus, as the king's wives were at the entertain ment." Winkle. Comp. vs. 2, 3. So Prof. Stuart. The editor of the Pictorial Bible also supposes that this was the queenmother, and thinks that this circumstance will explain her familiarity with the oc currences in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. He says, " We are informed above, that the 'wives and concubines' of the king were present at the banquet. It there fore seems probable that the 'queen' who now first appears, was the queen-mother; and this probability is strengthened by the intimate acquaintance which she ex hibits with the affairs of Nebuchadnezzar's reign; at the latter end of which, she, as the wife of Evil-Merodach, who was re gent during his father's alienation of mind, took an active part in the internal policy of the kingdom, and in the comple tion of the great works which Nebuchad nezzar had begun in Babylon. This she continued during the reigns of her hus band and son, the present king Belshazzar. This famous queen, Nitocris, there fore, could not but be well acquainted frith the character and services of Danthe queen spake and said, 0 king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

11 There bis a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy

iel." On the place and influence of the queen -mother in the Oriental courts, see Taylor's Fragments to Calmet's Diction ary, No. 16. From the extracts which Taylor has collected, it would seem that she held an exalted place at court, and that it is every way probable that she would be called in, or would come in, on such an occasion. See also Knolles' His tory of the Turks, as quoted by Taylor, Fragments, No. 50. ^ By reason of the words of the king and his lords. Their words of amazement and astonishment. This would doubtless be conveyed to her, as there was so much alarm in the palace, and as there was a summons to bring in the wise men of Babylon. If her residence was in some part of the palace itself, nothing would be more natural than that she should be made acquainted with the unusual occurrence, or if her residence was, as Taylor supposes, detached from the palace, it is every way probable that she would be made acquainted with the con sternation that prevailed, and that recol lecting the case of Nebuchadnezzar, and the forgotten services of Daniel, she would feel that the information which was sought respecting the mysterious writing could be obtained from him. ^[ And the queen spake and said, 0 king live for ever. A common salutation in addressing a king, expressive of a desire of his happiness, and prosperity, f Let, I not tliy thoughts trouble th.ec, &c. That j is, there is a way by which the mystery may be solve^, and you need not, there-! fore, be alarmed.

I he had rendered in interpreting the dream of the king, it was natural that her niind j still had an acquaintance with him, so far at least as to know that he was acces- gods; and in the days of thy a father light and understanding, and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Ne buchadnezzar thy a father, the king, / say, thy a father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chal deans, and soothsayers.

jasion. It may be asked, perhaps, how it was that Belshazzar was so ignorant of all this as to need this information? For it is clear from the question which the king asks in ver. 13, ' Art thou that Daniel?' that he was ignorant of him personally, and probably even of his services as an officer in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. An ingenious and not improbable solution of this difficulty has been proposed as founded on a remark of Sir John Chardin: " As mentioned by the queen, Daniel had been made by Nebuchadnezzar ' mas ter of the magicians, astrologers, Chal deans, and soothsayers.' Of this employ ment Chardin conjectures that he had been deprived on the death of the king, and obtains this conclusion from the fact that when a Persian king dies, both his astrologers and physicians are driven from court — the former for not having pre dicted, and the hitler for not having pre vented, his death. If such was the eti quette of the ancient Babylonian, as it is of the modern Persian court, we have certainly a most satisfactory solution of the present difficulty, as Daniel mustthen be supposed to have relinquished hi?present employments, and to have lived re tired in private life during the eight years occupied by the reigns of Evil-Merodach and Belshazzar." Harmar, as quoted by Rosenmuller, (Morgenland, on Dan. v. 13.) ^[ In ichom is the spirit of the holy gods. This is language such as a heathen would be likely to use when speaking of one who had showed extraordinary knowledge of divine things. See Notes on ch. iv. 9. ^ And in the days of tliy father. Marg., grandfather. See Notes on vs. 1, 2. '^ Light, and under standing, and wisdom. Light is the emblem of knowledge, as it makes all things clear. The meaning here is, that he had showed extraordinary Wisdom in interpreting the dream of Ne- Ducliadnezzar. ^ Like the wisdom of the 21* b spirit, and knowledge, and under standing, c interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and d dissolving of e doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Dan iel be called, and he will show the interpretation.

gods. Such as the gods only could pos sess. *[ When the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, &o. See ch. ii. 48. This is repeated here, and dwelt on, in order to call the attention of the [ king to the fact that Daniel was worthy to be consulted. Though now living in obscurity, there was a propriety that one j who had been placed at the very head of the wise men of Babylon by a prince so | distinguished as Nebuchadnezzar, should be consulted on the present occasion.

12. Forasmuch as an excellent spirit. I Not an excellent spirit in the sense in i which that phrase is sometimes used now, ' as denoting a good and pious spirit, but a spirit or mind that excels; that is, that is distinguished for wisdom and know ledge, ^f Interpreting of dreams. Marg., ' or OH interpreter.' This was regarded | as a great attainment, and was supposed j to prove that one Avho could do it was in-! spired by the gods. ^ And shoicing of hard sentences. The meaning of enigma tical or obscure sentences. To be able to do this was supposed to indicate great attainments, and was a knowledge that was much coveted. Comp. Prov. i. 6: "To understand a proverb, and the inter pretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings." ^T And dissolving of doubts. Marg., ' or o dissolver' of ' knot-?.' So the Chaldee. This language is still common in the East, to denote one who has skill in explaining difficult subjects. " In the copy of a patent given to Sir John Chardin in Persia, we lind it is addressed 'to the Lord of lords, who have the pres ence of a lion, the aspect of Deston; the princes who have the statue of Tahemteri-tcn, who seem to be in the time of Ardevon, the regents who carry the ma jesty of Fcrribours. The conquerors of kingdoms. Superintendents that unloose all manner of knots, and who are under

13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my a father brought out of Jewry?

14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.

15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read

this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpreta tion of the thing.

16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst bmake interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

17 fl Then Daniel answered and the ascendant of Mercury,' " &c. Taylor's Fragments to Calrnet's Diet. No. 174. The language used here would be appli cable to the explanation of any difficult and perplexing subject. ^f Whom the king named JJelteshazzar. That is, the name was given to him by his authority, (see Notes on ch. i. 7,) and it was by this name that he called him when he ad dressed him, ch. iv. 9.

13. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. From this it is clear that he lived in Babylon, though in comparative obscurity. It would seem to be not im probable that he was still known to the queen mother, who perhaps kept up an acquaintance with him on account of his former services. ^[ Art thou that Daniel. This is a clear proof that Belshazzar was not acquainted personally with him. See Notes on ver 11. ^[ Which art of the children of the captivity of Judah. Be longing to those of Judah, or those Jews who were made captives, and who reside in Babylon. See Notes on ch. i. 3. He could not be ignorant that there were Jews in his kingdom, though he was not personally acquainted with Daniel. ^f Whom the king my father. Marg., as in VS. 2, 11, grandfather. ^Brought out of Jewry? Out of Judea. See ch. i. 1 — 3.

16. And I have heard of thee, <fec., ver. 11. ^ Canst make interpretations. Marg., interpret. Chald., 'Interpret interpreta tions.' The meaning is, that he was skilled in interpreting or explaining dreams, omens, <fcc. ^ And dissolve doubts.

Notes on ver. 12. ^ Noio if thou canst read the writing, &c., thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, &c. This was the reward which at the first he had promised to any one that was able to do it, and as all others had failed, he was willing that it should be offered to a Jew.

17. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself. That is, ' I do not desire them; I do not act from a hope of reward.' Daniel means undoubtedly to intimate that what he would do would be done from a higher motive than a desire of office or honour. The answer is one that is eminently dig nified. Yet he says he would read the writing, implying that he was ready to do anything that would be gratifying to the monarch. It may seem somewhat strange that Daniel, who here disclaimed all desire of office or reward, should so soon (ver. 29) have submitted to be clothed in this manner, and to have re ceived the insignia of office. But, it may be remarked that when the offer was pro posed to him he stated his wishes, and declared that he did not desire to be hon oured in that way; when he had per formed the duty, however, of making known the writing, he could scarcely feel at liberty to resist a command of tho king to be clothed in that manner, and to be regarded as an officer in the king dom. His intention, in the verse before us, was modestly to decline the honours proposed, and to intimate that he was not influenced by a desire of such honours in what he would do; yet to the king's command afterwards that he should be clothed in robes of office, ho could not said before the king, Let » thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy b rewards to another; yet I will read the writ ing cunto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 0 thou king, the most

God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy fa ther a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour.

19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all d people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared be fore him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.

with propriety make resistance. There is no evidence that he took these honours voluntarily, or that he would not have continued to decline them if he could have done it with propriety. ^[ And give thy re wards to another. Marg., ' or fee, as in ch. ii. 6.' Gesenius supposes that the word used here — H3pj — is of Persian origin. It means a gift, and, if of Persian origin, is derived from a verb meaning to load with gifts and praises, as a prince does an ambassador. The sense here seems to be, that Daniel was not disposed to interfere with the will of the monarch if he chose to confer gifts and rewards on others, or to question the propriety of his doing so, but that, so far as he was concerned, he had no desire of them for himself, and could not be influenced by them in what he was about to do. ^f Yet I will read the writing, &c. Expressing no doubt that he could do it without dif ficulty. Probably the language of the writing was familiar to him, and he at once saw that there was no difficulty, in the circumstances, in determining its meaning.

18. 6 thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a king dom, &c. This reference to Nebuchad nezzar is evidently designed to show to Belshazzar the wickedness of his own course, and the reason which he had to apprehend the divine vengeance because he had not learned to avoid the sins which brought so great calamities upon his predecessor. As he was acquainted with what had occurred to Nebuchad nezzar; as he had doubtless seen the pro clamation which he had made on his recovery from the dreadful malady which God had brought upon him for his pride; and as he had not humbled hims-elf, but had pursued the same course which Ne buchadnezzar did, he had the greater reason to apprehend the judgment of heaven. See vs. 22, 23. Daniel here traces all the glory which Nebuchad nezzar had to ' the most high God/ re minding the king that whatever honour and majesty he had he was equally in debted for it to the same source, and that he must expect a similar treatment from

19. And for the majesty that he gave him. That is, on account of his great ness, referring to the talents which God had conferred on him, and the power which he had put in his hands. It was so great that all people and nations trembled before him. ^ All people, na tions, and languages, trembled and feared before him. Stood in awe of him. On the extent of his empire, see Notes on ch. iti. 4, iv. 1, 22. ^ Whom he would he slew, &c. That is, he was an arbitrary — an absolute sovereign. This is exactly descriptive of the power which Oriental despotic monarchs have. ^[ Whomhe would he kept alive. Whether they had, or had not, been guilty of crime. He had the ab solute power of life and death over them. There was no such instrument as we call a 'constitution' to control the sovereign as well as the people; there was no tribunal to which he was responsible, and no law by which ho was bound; there were no judges to determine on the question of life and death in regard to those who were ac cused of crime, whom he did not appoint, and whom he might not remove, and •whose judgments he might not set aside if he pleased; there were no 'juries' of ' peers' to determine on the question of fact whether an accused man was guilty or not. There were none of those safe guards which have been originated to pro tect the accused in modern times, and which enter so essentially into the no tions of liberty now. In an absolute des potism all power is in the hands of one man, and this was in fact the case in Babylon. ^[ Whom he would he set up. That is, in places of trust, of office, of

20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened a in pride, he was b deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from

22 And thou his son, 0 Belshaz zar, hast not humbled d thy heart, though thou knewest all this;

23 But "hast lifted

against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house

21 And he was driven from the

sons of men; and c his heart was made | before thee, and thou, and thy lords, like the beasts, and his dwelling was I thy wives and thy concubines, have with the wild asses: they fed him drunk wine in them; and thou hast with grass like oxen, and his body |f praised the gods of silver and gold, was wet with the dew of heaven; till I of brass, iron, wood, and stone, he knew that the most high God which B see not, nor hear, nor know:

ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomso ever he will.

and the God in whose hand thy h breath is, and whose are all thy i ways, hast thou not j glorified.

20. But when his heart was lifted vp. See ch. iv. 30. ^ And his mind hardened in pride. Marg., to deal proudly. The state of mind indicated here is that in which there is no sense of dependence, but where one feels that he has all re sources in himself, and need only look to himself, ^f He was deposed from his kingly throne. Marg., made to come down. That is, he was so deposed by the provi dence of God, not by the acts of his own subjects.

21. And Tie was driven, &c. See this fully explained in ch. iv. 25, 33.

22. And thou his son, 0 Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, &c. As thou shouldst have done in remembrance of these events. The idea is, that we ought to derive valuable lessons from what has taken place in past times; that, from the events which have occurred in history, we should learn what God approves and what he disapproves; that we should avoid the course which has subjected others to his displeasure, and which has brought his judgments upon them. The course, however, which Belshazzar pur sued has been that of kings and princes commonly in the world, and indeed of mankind at large. How little do men profit by the record of the calamities which have come upon others for their crimes! How little are the intemperate of one generation admonished by the ca lamities which have come upon those of another; how little are the devotees of pleasure; how little are those in places of power!

23. But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven. The God who had so signally rebuked and humbled Nebu chadnezzar. The monarch had done this, it would seem, during the whole of his reign, and now by a crowning act of im piety, he had evinced special disregard of him, and contempt for him, by pro faning the sacred vessels of his temple. ^[ And they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, &c. See Notes on vs. 2 — 4. ^[ And the God in whose hand thy breath is. Under whose power, and at whose disposal, is thy life. While you have been celebrating the praises of idol gods, who can do you neither good nor evil, you have been showing special con tempt for that great Being who keeps you in existence, and who has power to take away your life at any moment. What is here said of Belshazzar is true of all men — high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, princes and people. It is a deeply affecting consideration, that the breath, on which our life depends, and which is itself so frail a thing, is in the 'hand ' of a Being who is invisible to us; over whom we can have no control; who can arrest it when he pleases; who has given us no intimation when he will do it, and who often does it so suddenly as to defy all previous calculation and hope. Nothing is more absolute than the power which God holds over the breath of men, ye* there is nothing which is lees recognized

24 Then was the part of the hand! 25 fl And this is the writing that Bent from him; and this writing was written, MENE, MENE, TEwas written. KEL, UPHARSIN.

than that power, and nothing which men already remarked, because it was in the are less disposed to acknowledge than their! ancient Hebrew character — a character dependence on him for it. *[ And whose, quite familiar to him, though not known are all thy loays. That is, he has power ', to the Babylonians whom Belshazzar conto control thee in all thy ways. You can \ suited. It is every way probable that go nowhere without his permission; you that character would be used on an occacan never, when abroad, return to your; sion like this, for (a) it is manifest that it home without the direction of his Provi- ' was intended that the true God, the God dence. What is here said, also, is as true of the Hebrews, should be made known, of all others as it was of the Chaldean and this was the character in which his prince. " It is not in man that walketh communications had been made to men; to direct his steps." "A man's heart de- j (I) it was clearly the design to honour viseth his way, but the Lord directeth his his own religion, and it is morally certain steps." None of us can take a step with- 1 that there would be something which would out his permission; none can go forth on ' show the connection between this occura journey to a distant land without his, rencc and his own agency, and nothing constant superintending care; none can j would do this better than to make use of return without his favour. And yet how j such a character; and (c) it was the dilittle is this recognized! How few feel! vine intention to put honour on Daniel, it when they go out and come in; when: and this would be well done by making they go forth to their daily employments; use of a character which he understood, when they start on a voyage or journey; There have been, indeed, many conjecwhen they propose to return to their | tures respecting the characters which were employed on this occasion, and the reasons of the difficulty of interpreting the words used, but it is most probable that the above is the true statement, and this will relieve all the difficulties in re gard to the account. Prideaux supposes that the characters employed were the ancient Phoenician characters, that were used by the Hebrews, and that are found now in the Samaritan Pentateuch; and that, as above suggested, these might be unknown to the Babylonians, though fa miliar to Daniel. Others have supposed that the characters were those in common use in Babylon, and that the reason why the Babylonians could not read them was that they were smitten with a sudden blindness, like the inhabitants of Sodom, Gen. xix. 11. The Talmudists suppose that the words were written in a caba listic manner, in which certain letters were used to stand for other letters, on the principle referred to by Buxtorf (Lex.

homes! ^ Hast thon not glorified. That is, thou hast not honoured him by a suita ble acknowledgment of dependence on

24. Then was the part of the hand sent from him. To wit, the fingers. See ver. 5. The sense is, that when it was fully per ceived that Belshazzar was not disposed to learn that there was a God in heaven; when he refused to profit by the solemn dispensations which had occurred in re spect to his predecessor; when his own heart was lifted up with pride, and when he had gone even farther than his prede cessors had done by the sacrilegious use of the vessels of the temple, thus showing especial contempt for the God of heaven, then appeared the mysterious hand-writ ing on the wall. It was then an appro priate time for the Most High God, who had been thus contemned and insulted, to come forth and rebuke the proud and the impious monarch.

25. And this is the writing that was\ Chal. Rabb. et Talm. p. 248), and known written. The Babylonians, it would j as ao.iN — that is, where the alphabet is principle re il. Rabb. et seem, were unacquainted with the charac ters that were used, and of course unable to understand the meaning. See ver. 8. The first thing, therefore, for Daniel to do Was to read the writing, and this he was reversed, and x (-A-) is used for n 3 (B) for & (S), &c., and that on account of this cabalistic transmutation the Baby lonians could not read it, though Dan. iel might have been familiar with that tble to do without difficulty, probably, as j mode of writing. Rabbi Jochanan sup.

26 This u- the interpretation of jbered thy kingdom and finished tho thing: MENE; God hath num- it.

posed that there was a change of the order in which the letters of the words were written; other Rabbins that there was a change merely in the order of the first and second letters; other?, that the words were written backwards; others, that the

N;p. Buxtorf, Lex. It would be liter ally translated numbered, and would ap ply to that of which an estimate was taken by counting. We use now an ex pression which would convey a similar words were written, not in the usual j idea, when we say of one that ' his days horizontal manner, but perpendicularly;! are numbered;' that is, he has not long and others, that the words were not writ- to live, or is about to die. The idea ten in full, but that only the first letters seems to be taken from the fact that the of each were written. See Bertholdt, pp. I duration of a man's life cannot usually be 349,350. All these are mere conjectures, j known, and in the general uncertainty and most of them are childish and impro- I we can form no correct estimate of it, bable suppositions. There is no real j but when he is old, or when he is difficulty in the case if we suppose that dangerously sick, we feel that we can the words were written in a character fami- with some degree of probability number liar to Daniel, but not familiar to the Baby- his days, since he cannot now live long, lonians. Or, if this is not admitted, then we Such is the idea here, as explained by may suppose that some mere marks were | Daniel. All uncertainty about the dura- employed Avhose signification was made known to Daniel in a miraculous manner.

26. This is the interpretation of tlie thinrj. It may seem not to have been tion of the kingdom was now removed, for, since the evil had come, an exact estimate of its whole duration — of the num ber of the years of its continuance — difficult to interpret the meaning of the could be made. In the Greek of Theocommunication when one was able to ' dotion there is no attempt to translate read the words, or when the sense of the j this word, and it is retained in Greek words was understood. But, if the words! letters — Ma»>>). So also in the Codex are placed together, and considered in j Chis., and in the Latin Vulgate. ^[ God their abstract form, the whole communi- hath numbered tJiy kingdom. The word cation would be so enigmatical that the | which is used here, and rendered numinterpretation would not be likely to oc- \lered— rgn — is the verb of which the cur to any one without a divine guidance. previoua word is the participle. Daniel 1 his will appear more clearly by arrang- lies it to the kingdom or rei of the ing the words together, as has been done ni0narc" by Hales:

or, as it is explained more accurately by Bertholdt and Gesenius,

From this arrangement, it will be at once seen that the interpretation proposed by Daniel was not one that would have been likely to have occurred to any one. ^f Mene — xjp. This word is a participle passive from n;p to number, to review. Gesenius, Lex. The verb is also written monarch, as being a thing of more im portance than the life of the king him self. It is evident, if, according to the common interpretation of ver. 30, Belshazzar was slain that very night, it might have been applied to the king him self, meaning that his days were num bered, and that he was about to die. But this interpretation (see Notes) is not absolutely certain, and perhaps the fact that Daniel did not so apply the word may be properly regarded as one circumstance showing that such an interpretation is not necessary, though probably it is the correct one. ^[ And finished it. This is not the meaning of the word Mene, but is the explanation by Daniel of the thing intended. The word in its interpre tation fairly implied that; or that might be understood from it. The fact that tho ' kingdom' in its duration was Slumbered,' properly expressed the idea that it was