Exposition of the Whole Bible

panem, Montanus, Pifcator.

den. This king made a great feaft; or bread 5; which is put for all provifions; it was great, both on account of plenty of food, variety of difhes, and number of guefts, and thofe of the higheft rank and quality. On what account this feaft was made is not eafy to fay; whether out of contempt of Cyrus and his army, by whom he was now befieged, and to fhew that he thought himflf quite fafe and fecure in a city fo well walled and fortified, and having in it fuch vaft quantities of provifion; or whether it was on account of a victory he had obtained that morning over the Medes and Perfians, as Fofephus Ben Gorton relates; and therefore in the evening treated his thoufand lords, who had been engaged in battel with him, and behaved well: tho’ it feems to have been an anniverfary feaft; fince, according to Xenophon and Herodotus, Cyrus knew of it before-hand; either on account of the king’s birth-day, or in honour to his gods, particularly Shach, which was called the Sachean feaft; fee the notes on Fersxxv. 26. and li, ar: which feems moft likely, fince thefe were praifed at this time, and the veffels of the temple of God at Jerufalem profaned, ¥. 2, 3, 4. this feaft was prophefied of by I/aiah, ch. xxi. 5. and by Feremiah, ch. li. 39. it had its name from Shach, one of their deities, of which fee the note on ch. i. 4, 7. the fame perhaps with Belus or the fun: The feafts kept in honour of it, were much like the Sasurnalia of the Romans, or the Purim of the Fews; and were kept eleven days together, in which every one did as he pleafed, no order and decorum being, obferved; and for five of thofe days efpecially, there was no difference between after and fervant,’ yea the latter had the government of the former; and they fpent day and night in dancing and drinking, and in all excefs of riot and revelling +; and in fuch like manner the Badylonians were indulging themfelves, when their city was taken by Cyrus, as the above writers aflert >; and from the knowledge Cyrus had of it, it appears to be a ftated feaft, and very probably on the above account. According to Strabo‘, there was a feaft of this name among the Per/ians, which was celebrated in honour of the goddefs Anais, Diana, or the moon; and at whofe altar they placed together, manus and Anandratus, Perfian dzemons; and appointed a folemn convention once a year, called Saca. Some fay the occafion of it was this; that Cyrus making an expedition againft the Sace, a people in Scythia, pretended a flight, and left his tents full of all provifions, and efpecially wine, which they finding, filled themfelves with it; when he returning upon them, finding fome overcome with wine and ftupified, others overwhelmed with fleep, and others dancing and behaving in a bacchanalian way, they fell into his hands, and almoft all of them perifhed; and taking this victory to be from the gods, he confecrated that day to the god of his country, and called it Sacea; and wherever there was a temple of this deity, there was appointed a bacchanalian feaft, in which men and women appeared night and day ina Scythian habit, drinking together, and behaving to one anther in a jocofe and -lafcivious manner; but this could not be the feaft now obferved at Babylon, tho’ it is very probable it was fomething of the like

¥. 4. They drunk wine, 8&c.] That is, out of the veffels of the temple at Feru/alem, and perhaps till they were drunk: and praifed the gods of gold, and of filver, of brafs, of iron, of wood, and of nature, and obferved in much the fame manner. | fone; for they had gods of all thefe materials; fee

And was made fo a thoufand of bis lords; his nobles, the peers of his realm, governors of provinces, &c. fuch a number of guefts, P/olemy king of Egypt feafted at one time of Pompey’s army, ~as Pliny from Varro relates* 3 but Alexander far exceeded, who at a wedding had nine, fome fay ten, thoufand at his tables, and gave to every one a cup of gold, to offer wine in honour of the gods*; and Pliny reports ‘ of one Pythins Bythinus, who entertained the whole army of Xerxes with a feaft, even feven hundred and eighty-eight thoufand men. And drank wine before the thoufand; not that he ftrove with them who fhould drink moft, or drank to every one of them feparately, and fo a thoufand cups, as JFacchiades fugeefts; but he drank in the prefence of them, to fhew his condefcenfion and familiarity; this being, as ben Ezra obferves, contrary to the cuftom of kings, efpecially of the eaftern nations, who were feldom feen in public. This feaft was kept in a large houfe or hall, as Fofepbus * fays, afterwards called the banquetinghoufe, ¥- 10.

¥. 2. Belhazzar whilft he tafted the wine, &c.] As he was drinking his cups, and delighted with the tafte of the wine, and got merry with it: or, by the advice of the wine, as Aben Ezra and Farchi interpret it, by a profopopeia; as if that dictated to him, and put him upon doing what follows; and which often puts both foolifh and wicked things into the heads of men, and upon doing them: then he commanded to bring the golden and filver veffels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Ferufalem; what thefe veflels were, and the number of them, we learn from the delivery of ‘them afterwards to the prince of Fudah by Cyrus, Ezra i. 9, 10, 11. thefe were put into the temple of Bel by Nebuchadnezzar, ch. i. 2. and from thence they were now ordered to be brought to the king’s palace, and to the apartment where he and his nobles were drinking: that the king and bis princes, bis wives and his concubines might drink therein, Saadiah fays, this day the feventy years captivity ended, and fo in contempt of the promife and prophecy of it, he ordered the veffels to be brought out and drank ‘in, to fhew that in vain the Fews expected redemption from it.

¥. 3. Then they brought the golden veffels that were taken out of the temple of the boufe of God, which was at Ferufalem, &c.] That is, the fervants to whom the orders were given fetched them from the temple of Be/, and brought them to the king’s houfe; and tho’ only mention is made of golden veflels, yet no doubt the filver ones were alfo brought, according to the king’s command: and the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines drank in them, by which they were profaned, being dedicated to holy ufes, but now put to common ufe, and that by fuch impious perfons; and who did it, not on account of the value and antiquity of thefe veflels, and in admiration of them, and to the honour of their feftival; but in the note on ch. i. 2. and théfe they praifed by of.

fering facrifices unto them; or rather by aging fongs, and drinking healths, and by aferibing all, their victories over the nations of the world to; them; as that by their means they had got fuch large. dominions, and fuch great wealth and treafures, and particularly thefe veflels of gold and filver; and fo infulted and triumphed over the God of, T/rael, and defied the prophecies and promifes of the, deliverance of them, that went under his name..-

¥. 5. In the fame hour came forth fingers of a, man’s hand, &c.| From heaven, as Farchi;. or. they came forth as if they came out of the wall: this was done by the power of God, tho’ it might be by the intervention or means of an angel; fo Fefephus Ben Gorion ‘ fays, that an angel came and. wrote what follows; and Saadiah fays it was Gabriel, called a man, ch. ix. 21. but this is conjecture; however, at the very time the king and his nobles were feafting and revelling, praifing their idols, and reproaching the God of J/rae, this wonderful phenomenon appeared: and wrote overagainft the candleftick, upon the plafter of the wall of the king’s palace; this candleftick was either upon the table, as Saadiah; or affixed to the wall, or hung. as a chandelier in the midft -of the hall; or be it where it will, right over-againft it this hand appeared, and wrote, that by the light of it it might be clearly and diftinétly feen: though Guffetius * thinks, not a candleftick, but a duffet is meant 5 where ftood the drinking cups.and veflels, and which he takes to be more agreeable to the fignification of the word; and moreover obferves, that ‘it is not likely this feaft fhould be made in the night, or at leaft it is not certain it was, or that ig was yet night when this affair happened: however, ‘this writing was upon the plafter of the wall, made of lime, and was. white; and if the writing was with red colour, as Ben Gorion fays, it was the more vifible: and the king faw the part of the band that wrote; the back part of the hand; had he only feen a writing, but no hand writing it, he might have thought it was done by fome prefent; but feeing a hand, and only part of one, or however not any other members of the body of a man, nor aman himafelf; it {truck him with furprize, and he concluded at once there was fomething extraordinary in it; whether any other faw the hand befides himfelf is not certain, however he faw it for whom it was particularly defigned. i florid looks, his gay airs; all his jollity and mirth, © that appeared in his face, were changed into palenefs, fadnefs, and confufion: and bis thoughts troubled him; what fhould be the meaning of this; perhaps he might immediately fear it prefaged ruin and deftruction to him; the fins of his former life might at once come into his thoughts, and thofe particularly he had now been guilty of; his luxury — and intemperance, his idolatry and profanation of the veflels of the fanctuary, which his confcience contempt of them, and in a profane and fcurrilous! might accufe him of, and give him great diftrefg

‘and trouble: fo that the joints of bis loins were loofed; or, the girdles of bis loins“; which were loofed or broke, thro’ the agitation he was in; or he was all over in a fweat, fo that he was obliged to loofe his girdle; or‘as perfons in great fear and confternation, he was feized with a pain in his back; it opened as it were; nor could he hold his urine,,as Grotius and others; fee J/ xlv. 1. where this feems to be prophefied of: and bis knees fmote one againjt another; as is the cafe of perfons in a great tremor, or under a panhic.. Et fubito genua intremuere timore. Ovid.

¥. 7. The king cried aloud to bring in the aftrologers, the Chaldeans, and the foothfayers, &c.] Or, with firength"; with a {trong voice, as loud as he could; which is expreflive of the fright he was in, and of his eagernefs and impatience of information; laying afide all decency, and forgetting his royal majefty, like a man out of his fenfes, quite diftracted as it were: of the affrologers, &c. fee the note on ch. i. 20. and ii. 2, this was the ufual courfe the kings of Babylon took, when they had matters of difficulty upon them, as appears from ch. ii. 2. and iv. 6, 7. and though they found it oftentimes fruitlefs and vain, yet {till they purfued it; fo befotted and addicted were they to this kind of fuperftition: and the king /pake and faid to the wife men of Babylon, who were prefently brought in from the feveral parts of the city where they dwelt, and probably many of them might be at court at that time; and being introduced into the hall where the king and his nobles were, he addrefled them in the following manner: whofoever fhall read this writing, and fhew me the interpretation thereof; pointing to the writing upon the wall, which continued; and which neither the king nor any about him could read or interpret, and therefore both are required to be done: be foall be clothed with fearlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck; or with purple.e; the colour, wore by perfons of rank and figure; and the chain of gold was an emblem of honour and dignity, and more to be regarded for that, than for the value of the gold of which it was made: and fhall be the third ruler in the kingdom, not rule over the third part of the kingdom, as Aben Ezra, but be the third man in the kingdom; next to the king and the queen-mother, or to the king and the heir apparent; or one of the third principal rulers; or one of the three prefidents of the kingdom,.as Daniel afterwards was.

¥. 8. Then came in all the king’s wife men, &c.] The whole college of them, the perfons before defcribed; over whom, in Nebuchadnezzar’s time, Daniel was the chief of the governors, ch. ii: 48. thefe came in readily, in hope of getting both riches and honour: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof; for if they could not do the former, it muft be impoffible to do the latter; of the reafon of which, various are the conjectures’: as that tho’ thefe words were written in Chaldee, yet in characters, as the Samaritan or Phenician, they did not underftand; or were written without points, and fo they knew not which were the proper ones to put to them; or they were written according to the pofition of the letters of the alphabet, called Arhba, of which fee the note on Fer. xxv. 26. or the words were placed fo as to be read backward, or elfe downward, and not ftrait forward; or they were all in one word; or only the initial letters of words; but the true reafon was, that it was fo ordained by the Lord, that they fhould not be able to read and interpret them; this being referved for another man, Daniel, that he might have the honour, and God the glory.

¥. 9. Then was king Belfhazzar greatly troubled, &c.] A fecond time, and perhaps more than before; fince he had conceived fome hope that his wife men would have informed him what this writing was, and the meaning of it; but finding that they were non-plufled by it, it gave him {till greater uneafinefs: and his countenance was changed in him; again; very likely, upon the coming in of the wife men, he had a little recovered himfelf, and became more compofed and ferene, which appeared in his countenance; but upon this difappointment, his countenance changed again, and he turned pale, and looked ghaftly: and his lords were aftonifhed; were in the utmoft confternation and confufion, when they underftood that the writing could neither be read, nor interpreted; neither the dignity of their ftation, nor their numbers, nor their liquor, could keep up their fpirits,; fo that the king had not one with him, to fpeak a comfortable word to him, or give him any advice in this his time of diftrefs; they were all in the fame condition with himéelf.

¥. 10. Now the queen, by reafon of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet-houfe, &c.]. Not the wife of Bel/bazzar, as Porphyry would have it; but rather the queen-mother, as Facchiades, the widow of Evil-Merodach his father, whofe name was Nitocris; and is fpoken of by Herodotus%, as avery prudent woman; and as this feems to be by her words and conduct: tho’ ‘fo/epbus.« fays it was his grandmother, fhe who had been the wife of Nebuchadnezzar; and of this opinion were fome mentioned by ben Ezra, whofe name was, Amyitis; and it appears by what fhe fays afterwards, that fhe was well acquainted with affairs in his time; and being an ancient woman, might be the reafon why fhe was not among the ladies at the feaft in the banqueting-houfe; but came into it, without being fent for, on hearing the confternation and diftrefs the king and his lords were in, and the moanful defpairing words they exprefied on this occafion: and the queen fpake and faid, O king, live for ever; the ufual falutation given to the kings of Babylon, and other eaftern monarchs; fee ch. ti. 4. and vi. 21°: Jet not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed; at this affair, as if it could never be underftood, and the true meaning of it be given; but be of good chear, and put on a good countenance; there is hope yet that it may be cleared up to fatisfaction.

y. 11. There is a man in thy kingdom, &c.] She does not fay, in his court; very probably after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, perhaps in one of the former reigns, he was removed from his offices; for had he been in one, very likely- the queen would have defcribed him by it; and this feems to receive confirmation by the queftion Be//bazzar put to him upon his coming into his prefence, art thou that Daniel, &c. and only fays that he had heard of him, ¥. 13,14: i2 whom is the fpirit of the poly gods, {etnething divine, fomething more than human; fhe ufes the very words of Nebuchadnezzar; which feems to confirm that opinion, that fhe was his widow, ch. iv. 8: and in the days of thy father, light, and underftanding, and wifdom like the awifdom of the gods was found in him, light in the knowledge of things obfcure 5 underftanding in the interpretation of dreams; and wi/dom in things both human and divine, like that of an angel of God, as Yacchiades interprets Elobim: of this, in- {tances were given in the days of his grandfather, for fo Nebuchadnezzar was; nor is it unufual for a grandfather to be called a father, and even a more remote anceftor; which inftances were, telling him his dream when he had forgot it; as well as the interpretation of it; and explaining his dream or vifion of the tree cut down to its ftump; of which fee ch. ii. and iv: whom the king Nebuchadnexzar thy father, the king, fay, thy father made mafter of the magicians, aftrologers, Chaldeans, and foothfayers, ch. ii. 48. fhe feems tacitly to upbraid him with his neglect of fuch a man, or with turning him out of his office, when fo great a prince as his grandfather was, took fo much notice of him, and fo highly advanced him.

y. 12. Forafmuch as an excellent fpirit, &c.) A fuperior fpirit to all the wife men in Babylon for natural knowledge and political wifdom; and he had yet a more excellent fpirit which fhe knew nothing of, and was no judge of; a fpirit of real grace, and true piety and devotion: aud knowledge, and underftanding, interpreting of dreams, of which, interpreting two of Nebuchadnezzar’s, was a proof: and foewing hard fentences; or explaining enigmas and riddles, or proverbial, parabolical and figurative phrafes and expreffions: and diffolving of doubts; or untying knots, folving problems, and anfwering ‘knotty, intricate and difficult queftions: were found in the fame Daniel: whom the king named Beltefoazzar, the prince of his eunuchs gave him that name, perhaps by the king’s order; however it was confirmed by him; he called him by it, and fays it was according to the name of his god; fee ch. i. 7. and iv. 8: now let Daniel be called, and he will foew the interpretation, this fhe was confident of, from the knowledge fhe had of the above facts..

¥. 13. Then was Daniel brought in before the king, &c.] Proper officers being fent to feek and find him; and having fetched him from his houfe or apartment where he lived, which feems to have been in the city of Babylon, tho’ not very probably at court as formerly, he was introduced in form into the king’s prefence: and the king /pake and faid unto Daniel, art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of fudah, whom the king my father brought out of Fewry? by which it appears he did not know him, at leaft had forgot him; not having admitted him to any familiarity with him, as his grandfather had done; and tho’ the queen had given fuch great commendations of him, yet the king does not treat him with that refpect as might have been expected, and as Nebuchadnezzar did, ch. iv. g. but feems to reproach him with his fervile condition, being a captive whom his grandfather had brought out of Fudea, as it were triumphing over him and his people; which fhows the haughtinefs of his heart,. and that it was not brought down by this confternation and fright he was thrown into.

¥. 14. I have even heard of thee, &c.] Very

probably he had heard often of him, tho’ he did not think fit to honour him, and ufe him with that familiarity his grandfather had; or however he had now juft heard of him by the queen, whofe encomiums of him he recites in her own words: that the fpirit of the gods is in thee, and that light, and underftanding, and excellent wifdom is found im thee; which are the exprefs words of his mother, ¥. 21,82. '

¥. 15. Aud now the wife men, the aftrologers bave been brought in before me, &c.| For it feems they came not of themfelves, or upon hearing his loud cry; but were fent for by him, and came by his orders, and were introduced into his. prefence by the proper officers: that they fhould read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; pointing to the writing upon the wall:- but they could not foew the interpretation of the thing; nor even read it; tho’ it may be fome of them might attempt to read it, and did read it in their way, as well as they could, or at leaft pretended to read; yet could make no manner of fenfe of it, which was the thing the king was intent upon. —

¥. 16. And I have heard of thee, &c.| That - is, by the queen, which he. repeats for the fake of obferving what fhe had faid of him, and which gave him encouragement to fend for him: #haf thou canft make interpretations; of drearns, and of things hard to be underftood: and diffolve doubts 5 untie knots, folve difficulties, and anfwer hard and intricate queftions: now if thou canft read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof; that which is upon the wall before thee, and which the wife men of Babylon could not: thou foalt be clothed with fcarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and fhalt be the third ruler in the kingdom; the fame reward he had propofed tothe aftrologers and foothfayers, ¥. 7. but what was no temptation or motive to Daniel, as appears by what follows:

¥. 17. Then Daniel anfwered and faid before the king, &c.] With great freedom, boldnefs:and’intrepidity: Jet thy gifts be to thyfelf; remain with thee; I neither want them, nor defire them; nor will I. receive them on condition of reading and in~ terpreting the writing: aud give thy rewards to another; which he had promifed to thofe that could read and interpret the hand-writing on'the wall; even to be clothed with fearlet, have a golden chain, and be the third ruler in the kingdom. © It may be rendered, or give thy rewards to another * 5 either keep them thyfelf, or give them to-whomfoever thou pleafeft: fhould it be afked why Daniel _ refufed gifts now, when he received them from Nebuchadnezzar? it may be anfwered,: he was then young, and wanted them, and could make ufe of them for the benefit of his countrymen, but! now was old, and needed them not; befides, he knew then that the captivity would continue long, bur that it was now. juft at an end, and the monarchy coming into other hands, when thefe gifts and rewards would be of little ufe; as alfo this king was a very wicked one, worfe than his grandfather, and he did not choofe to receive from him; and efpecially, fince the interpretation of the writing would — be bad news to him; as well as to let him know, _ that he did not do thefe things for fee and reward, but for the glory of God; and that as he had freely received fuch knowledge, he freely communicated it: and therefore adds, yet [ will read the — writing to the king, and make known to him the in-

© 77 FUNNY © Farad tua tidi dona & munera habeto, aut in alios conferto, Caftalio. a terpretation, in reverence of him as a king, and in fubjection to him, and to {fatisfy him in this matter; for he refufed his gifts, not from pride and vanity, and a fupercilious contempt of the king and his affairs; nor as being doubtful of fuccefs in reading and interpreting the writing; which he mind puts men, efpecially great men, kings and monarchs, on doing things extremely vile and wicked: he was depofed from his kingly throne; not by his nobles and fubjeéts, but by the. hand of God, which ftruck him with madnefs, and made well knew he was able to do, and therefore promifes it.

¥.'18. O thou king, &c.]» Hear‘, O king; fo Aben Ezra fapplies it; what he was about to fay firit, in order to prepare him ‘for the meaning of the hand-writing, and the caufe of it; or, thou knoweft, as Saadiah fupplies it; namely, what follows: the moft high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy _ Sather a kingdom, a very large one, which reached to the ends of the earth: this was not to be afcribed to his predeceffor that left it to him; or to his victorious arms, which increafed it; or to his idolgods, to whom he attributed it; but to the moft high God, from whom promotion alone cometh; and who, being above all gods and kings, fets up, and pulls down, as he pleafes; he gave him his large dominions: and majefty, and glory, and honour, greatnefs among men; glory and honour from them, on account of the majefty of his perfon and kingdom; the victories he obtained, and the great things he did to make him famous while he lived, and to “perpetuate his memory after death. ¥.19. And for the majefty that he gave him, &c.] The greatnefs of his power, the largenefs of his dominions, and the vaft armies he had at his command: all people, nations and languages trembled, and feared before him; not only thofe that were fubjeét to him, but thofe that had only heard of him; who dreaded his approach unto them, and their falling into his victorious hands, and being made vaffals to him: whom he would, he flew, and awhom he would, be kept alive; he ruled in an arbitrary and defpotic manner, and kept the power of life and death in his own hands; whom he would he put to death, tho’ ever fo innocent; and whom he would he preferved from death, tho’ ever fo deferving of it; he had no regard to juftice, but acted according to his own will and pleafure. Facchiades renders the laft claufe, whom he would, he fmote; but both the punctuation of the word, and the antithefis in the text, require the fenfe our verfion gives, and which is confirmed by Aden Ezra and Saadiah: and whom be would, he fet up; and whom he would, he put down; according to his pleafure he raifed perfons from a low eftate to great dignity, and put them into high pofts of honour and profit, as he did Daniel, and others he as much debafed, turned them out of their places, and reduced them to the loweft degree of difgrace and poverty; and all according to his abfo- Jute and irrefiftible will, without giving any reafon for what he did.

y. 20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, &c.] When his heart was elated with his fucceffes and victories, with the enlargement of his dominions, and with his grandeur and glory he had arrived unto; and his pride increafed yet more, till he was ftrengthened and hardened in it: or, to deal proudly“; and behave haughtily to God and man: or, #0 do wickedly, as archi interprets it; for pride and haughtinefs of him unfit for government; obliged him to quit the throne, and to range among the beafts of the field, as is afterwards obferved: and they took bis glory from him; the watchers, the angels, or the divine perfons that ordered the tree to be cut down to the roots, ch. iv. 14, 17, 23. or it may be rendered imperfonally, and bis glory was taken from him“; his glory as a man, being deprived of his reafon, and acting like a brute beaft; and his glory as a king, which departed from him for a feafon, while he was driven from men, from his royal palace and court, and lived among beafts, and fed as they did, as follows:

¥. 21. And be was driven from the fons of men, &c.] From their company, and from converfation with them; his madnefs was of that kind, that he chofe rather to be with beafts than men; it drove him from men, and made him more defirous of being with beafts; or it was fo intolerable, that his family, friends and courtiers were obliged to remove him from them, from his palace and court, and from all converfation with men, which he was incapable of thro’ his frenzy and madnefs: and bis heart was made like the beajts; to have the fame affections and defires as they have; to crave the fame things they did, and like what they liked, and live as they lived: or, be put his heart with the beafts*, either Nebuchadnezzar himfelf chofe to be with them, and delighted in a beaftly life; or God did it; he put fuch an heart into him, or fo difpofed it, that it became brutifh; tho’ to read the words imperfonally, as before, feems beft: and his dwelling was with the wild affes; in a wildernefs or field; or rather in fome inclofed place, in one of his parks, where fuch creatures were kept for hunting; among thefe he dwelt, as being like them, having loft the ufe of his reafon, and fo was become ftupid and fottifh as they: and they fed him with grajs like oxen; as they are fed, and which he chofe above any other food: and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; being without cloaths, and lying naked in fome open place all night: si// be knew that the moft high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that be appointed over it whomfoever he will; till he came to his fenfes, and was brought to fee and own the fovereign dominion of the one, true and living God: over all the kingdoms of the earth, and that they are at his difpofe; fee ch. iv. 32.

¥. 22. And thou his fon, O Belazzar! &c.] His grandfon; fee the note on ¥. 1: haf not humbled thine heart; fo as to acknowledge the moft high God, and his dependence on him; to own him as his fovereign, by whom he held his crown and kingdom, and to whom he was accountable; but on the contrary, lifted up his heart in pride and haughtinefs againft him: sho’ thou kneweft all this; either by the relation of others, his father, and mother, and others; or being an eye-witnefs of it himfelf; wherefore his fin was the more aggravated, fince he had had an example before him of pride being humbled in a very awful manner,

-and yet took no warning by it.

5 ty ad fuperbe agendum, Junius & Tremellius; ad fuperbiendum, Pifcator, w F339 PIV MIP) & gloria ejus ablata eft, V. L. honor ejus AY SIN Dy =935 cor ejus cum beftiis pofuit, Vatablus, Calving animum

¥. 23. But hoft lifted up thyfelf againft the Lord of heaven, &c.] Who made it, and dwells in it;

from whence he beholds all the a¢tions of the chil-.

dren of men, and will bring them to an account for them; and yet, tho’ fo high and great, fuch was the infolence of this king, that he dared to lift up himfelf againft him, as if he was above him, and greater than he; and indeed fo it may be rendered, above the Lord of beaven*; which fhewed his great pride and vanity, his want of knowledge, both of himfelf, and of the true God. This name of God is the fame with Beel/amen ’, by which the Phenicians ufed to call him: and they have brought the veffels of his houfe before thee, that is, his fervants by his orders had brought the veffels of the temple at Yerufalem, which Nebuchadnexzar had took from thence, and fet them upon his table for him and his company to drink out of; which is an inftance of the pride of his heart, and of his daring boldnefs and impiety; fee ¥. 2, 3; and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines have drank wine in them; even that very day or night: this Daniel had knowledge of by fome means or another; and his intelligence was fo good that he could with great certainty affirm it: and thou _haft praifed the gods of filver and gold, of brafs, iron, wood, and fione; fee ¥. 4: which fee not, nor hear, nor know; no more than the feveral metals and materials of which they are made; and _therefore it muft be great madnefs and folly to praife fuch as gods that are below men, and even brutes; have neither the fenfe of animals, nor the knowledge of men; fee Pf. cxv! 4, 5, 6, 7: and the God in whofe hand thy breath is; who gave it to him at firft, and as yet continued it in him, and could take it away when he pleafed: and whofe are all thy ways; counfels and defigns, works and actions; under whofe direction and controul they all are; the events, iffue and fuccefs of which all depend upon him; fee ¥er.x.23: him haf thou not glorified, by owning him as the only true God; afcribing all he was and had unto him, and giving due worfhip, adoration, and honour to him; but, on the contrary, fetting up his idol-gods above him, and treating him and every thing belonging to him, with ignominy and contempt. ¥. 24. Then was the part of the hand fent from him, &c.] That is, from God; being thus reproached and blafphemed, at that very inftant, and for that reafon, becaufe the veffels of his fanctuary were profaned, and idol-gods were praifed, and he defpifed; he caufed part of an hand, the writingfingers of it, to appear on the wall of the king’s palace: and this writing was written, which was then upon the wall, and he points to it, ¥. 25. And this is the writing that was written, &c. They are fuch and fuch letters, and fo to be read, as follows: Ment, Ment, TEKEL, Upuarsin 3 which are Chaldee words, and may be literally rendered, be hath numbered, he bath numbered; that is, God hath certainly, perfectly and exactly numbered; be hath weighed, God hath weighed thee, Bel/hazzar; and they divide the kingdoin; that is, the Medes and Perfians, as appears from the following interpretation.

¥. 26. This is the interpretation of the thing, 8&c.

Or word*; for they might all feem as one word; or this is the fenfe of the whole: Mene; as for dom, and finifbed it; God had fixed the number of years, how long that monarchy fhould laft, which he was now at the head of, and which was foretold, Yer. xxv. 1, 11, 12, and xxvii. 7. and alfo the number of years that he fhould reign over it; and both thefe numbers were now completed; for that very night Be/bazzar was flain, and the kingdom tranflated to another people: and a dreadful thing it is to be numbered to the fword, famine and peftilence, or any fore judgment of God for fin, as fometimes men are; fo more efpecially to be appointed to everlafting wrath, and to be numbered among tranfgreffors, among: the devils and damned in hell.;

¥.27. Texen, &c.} As for the meaning of this word, and what it points at, it is this; thou art weighed in the balances; of juftice and truth, in the holy righteous law of God; as gold, and jewels, and precious ftones are weighed in the feales by the goldfmith and jeweller with great exaétnefs, to know the worth of them: and art found wanting; found to be adulterated gold, reprobate filver, bad coin, a falfe ftone; found to be a worthlefs man, a wicked prince, wanting the neceflary qualifications of wifdom, goodnefs, mercy, truth and juftice. The feriptures of truth, the word of God, contained in the books of the Old and New Teftament, are the balances of the fanctuary, in which perfons, principles and practices are to be weighed; and fad it is, where they are found light and wanting: men both of high and low degree, when put here, are lighter than vanity. The Pharifee or felf-righteous perfon, when weighed in the balance of God’s law, which is holy, juft and good, will be found wanting of that holinefs and righteoufnefs he pretends to, and appear to be an unholy and an unrighteous man; his righteoufnefs neither, for the matter of it, nor manner of performing it, being agreeable to that law, and fo no righteoufnefs in the fenfe of it, Deut. vi. 25. it being imperfect, and fo leaves him to the curfe of it, Gal. iii. 10. and not being performed in a pure and {piritual manner that it requires, is rejeéted by it; and miferable will be the cafe of fuch a man at the day of judgment, when his works will be found wanting, and not anfwerable to the demands of a righteous law, and he without the wedding garment of Chrift’s righteoufnefs, and fo nake and fpeechlefs. The hypocrite and formal profeffor, when weighed in the balance of the fcripture, will be found wanting the true grace of God; his faith will appear to be feigned, and his hope groundlefs, and his love to be in word and in tongue only, and not at all to anfwer to the defcription of true grace given in the word of God; and bad will it be with fuch perfons at laft, when at the bridegroom’s coming they will be deftitute of the oil of true and real grace; only have that which is counterfeit, and the mere lamp of an outward profeffion, which will then ftand them in no ftead, or be of any avail unto them: in‘the fame balances are the doétrines and principles of men to be weighed; and fuch as are according to them, are folid and weighty, and are comparable are not, are light, and like wood, hav ble, which the fire of the word will, try and burn up, not being able to ftand againft it;

this word, it fignifies, God hath numbered thy king- = wD 7 by fuper Dominum cceli, Montanus; and if thefe are weighed in the balances, they will fauper Dominum cecelorum, Michaelis,

'to gold, filver, and precious ftones; but fuch as be found wanting of real truth and goodnefs; andj be but*as chaff to wheat; and what is the one to the other? there is no comparifon between them; and dreadful will be the cafe of falfe teachers, that make and teach an abomination, and a lie; and of thofe that are given up to believe them, thefe will not be able to {tand the trying hour of temptation, and much lefs the laft and final judgment. Sad for preachers of the word to be found wanting in their miniftry, and hearers to be wanting in their duty; not taking care neither what they hear, nor how they hear, or whether they put in practice the good they do hear.

y. 28. Pers, &c.] The fingular of Pharfin, y¥. 25. The fenfe of this word is, thy kingdom is divided; which, tho’ it confifted of various provinces united under Belhazzar, now fhould be broken and feparated from him: and given to the Medes and Perfians; to Darius the Mede, and to Cyrus the Perfian, who was a partner for a while with his uncle Darius in the government of the empire: there is an elegant paronoma/fia in the words Peres and Perfians,; anda grievous thing it is to finners, not only to have body and foul divided at death, but to be divided and feparated from God to all eternity; and to hear that fentence, depart Srom me ye curfed, into everlafting fire prepared for the devil and bis angels.

¥. 29. Then commanded Belfhazzar, &c.] As foon as he had heard the writing read and interpreted; inftead of being full of wrath, as might have been expected, he orders the reward promifed to be given, to fhew he had a regard to his word and honour, as a king; and to fecure his credit with his nobles and people; and perhaps he might not underftand by Daniel’s interpretation, that the deftruction of him and his kingdom was fo near at hand, as it was; or he might put this evil day far from him, and hope it might be prevented: and they clothed Daniel with fcarlet,; the king’s fervants by his orders: or, chat they should clothe Daniel with fcarlet+, thefe were his orders; but whether executed, is not certain; probably not, fince the king was flain the fame night; and fo the reft of the claufes may be read, and fhould put a chain of gold about his neck, and fhould make proclamation concerning him, that he foould be the third ruler in the kingdom all which was the reward promifed to him, that fhould read and interpret the writing, ¥. 7,16. but that this was done, the king’s death being fo fudden, does not appear; and therefore it is needlefs to enquire the reafons of Daniel’s acceptance after his refufal.

y. 30. In the night’ was Belfhazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, flain.| Not by a fervant of his own, as Yacchiades,; or by an eunuch, one of his guards, as Saadiah and Fofeph ben Gorion®; but by Gadates and Gobryas, who led Cyrus’s army up the river Euphrates into the city of Babylon, its courfe being turned; the inhabitants of ‘which being revelling and rioting, and the gates open, thefe men went up to the king’s palace; the doors of which being opened by the king’s orders to know what was the matter, they rufhed in, and finding him ftanding up with his fword drawn in his own defence, they fell upon him, and flew him, and all about him, a8 Xenophon * relates; atid this was the fame night the feaft was, and the hand-writing was feen, read, and interpreted. This was after a reign of feventeen years; for fo Yo/ephus fays %; that Baltafar or Belfhazzar, in whote reign- Babylon was taken, reigned feventeen years; and fo many years are affigned to him in Pfelemy’s canon; tho’ the Fewifb chronicle * allows him but three years, very wrongly, no more of his reign being mentioned in feripture; fee ch. vii. 1. His death, according to bifhop Ujher ‘, Mr. Whiffen *, and Mr: Bedford, was in the year of the Yulia period 4176, and before Chrift 538. Dean Prideaux * places it in 539.

¥. 31. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, &c.] This was Cyaxares the fon of Ajtyages, and uncle of Cyrus; he is called the Median, to diftinguifh him from another Darius the Perfian, that came after, Ezra iv. 5. the fame took the kingdom of Babylon from Cyrus who conquered it; he took it with his confent, being the fenior prince, and his uncle. Darius reigned not long, but two years, and not alone, but Cyrus with him, tho’ he is only mentioned. Xenophon * fays, that Cyrus after he took Babylon, fet out for Perfia, and took Media in his way; and faluting Cyaxares or Darius, faid that there was a choice houfe and court for him in Babylon, where he might go and live as in his own: being about threefcore and two years old; and fo was born in the eighth year of Nebuchadnexzar, the year in which Fechoniah was carried Captive, 2 Kings xxiv. 12. thus God in his counfels and providence took care that a deliverer of his people fhould be raifed up and provided againft the appointed time. Darius was older than Cyrus, as appears by feveral paflages in Xenophon: in one place ' Cyawares or Darius fays, ‘* fince I am pre- ** fent, and am’ elder than Cyrus, it is fit that I ** fhould fpeak firft;” and in another place ™, Cyrus writing to him, fays, ‘* I give thee countel, ** tho’ Iam the younger;” and by comparing this account of the age of Darius with a paflage in Cicero, which gives the age of Cyrus, we learn how much older than he Darius was; for out of the books of Dionyfrus the Perfian, he relates", that Cyrus dreaming he faw the fun at his feet, which he three times endeavoured to catch and lay hold upon, but in vain, it fliding from him; this the Magi faid, portended that he fhould reign thirty years, and fo he did; for he lived to be feventy years of age, and began to reign when he was forty; which, if reckoned from his reigning with ris uncle, then he muft be twenty-two years younger; or if from the time of his being fole monarch, then the difference of age between them muft be twenty-four years; tho’ it fhould be obferved, that thofe that make him to reign thirty years, begin his reign from the time of his being appointed commander in chief of the Medes and Perfians by Cyaxares°, which was twenty-three, years before he reigned alone, which was but feven years ®; and this account makes but very little difference in their age; and indeed fome? have taken them to be one and the fame, their defcent, age and fucceffion in the Babylonian empire agreeing.