The Riddle on the Wall

Instead of providing an article for this section, Dr. Siegfried H. Horn, who is head of this department in the Seminary, has written an interesting article about the most recent of the Seminary Extension Schools.

ALGER F. JOHNS, Instructor in Old Testament

[Instead of providing an article for this section, Dr. Sieg­fried H. Horn, who is head of this department in the Semi­nary, has written an interesting article about the most recent of the Seminary Extension Schools. See page 24, and also photographs on pages 26 and 27.]

More than a hundred years before Bel­shazzar's riotous feast and the fall of Babylon, Inspiration had foretold that "the night of . . . pleasure"' would suddenly be turned into a time of fear. Even casual readers of the Scriptures are usually acquainted with the Bible record of Belshazzar's last great feast. However, Bible students and commenta­tors have long puzzled over the recorded fact that neither the king nor the wise men of Baby­lon could "read the writing" 2 on the wall.

The Bible states clearly that the drunken king and his lords could see the mysterious handwriting upon the wall, but there is no reason given in the Scriptures as to why they could not read what they saw. Any explanation, therefore, must be to a certain extent only con­jecture.

It does seem, however, highly improbable that God would choose to employ some type of script never before seen upon the earth and known only to Daniel, by which to write this important message. It is even more improbable that the script used could be that of some language known upon earth but unknown to all the wise men of Babylon, for it must be remem­bered that these men had received the best edu­cation available in their day, and, without question, one or more of them could have read any script then extant.

From the Biblical record of the words them­selves, as recorded in Daniel 5:25-28, it seems probable if not almost certain that these words were written in the lingua franca of that day, the Aramaic language (as indeed the whole of chapter 5 was written in Aramaic).

The solution to the problem of the nature of the handwriting on the wall seems to be found in verse 12 of this chapter. It is stated that "knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dis­solving of doubts, were found in the same Dan­iel." The expression rendered in the K.J.V. "shewing of hard sentences," reads in Aramaic, "interpreting of riddles," and the phrase trans­lated in the K.J.V. "dissolving of doubts," is in Aramaic, "loosening [or "dissolving"] of dif­ficult tasks [literally, "knots" or "joints"]." Evidently that mysterious hand wrote a divine riddle on the wall in the presence of the doomed king. The fear-stricken feasters could not read any meaning into the riddle set before their eyes.

Keeping in mind that the written Aramaic language of that time (as well as the Hebrew) used only the consonants and no vowels,' the writing on the wall as recorded in Daniel 5:25 would be MN', MN', TQL, WPHRSYN (with vowels, upharsin). Though the letters and the words were visible, the hurriedly summoned wise men of Babylon, with all their fund of human wisdom, were also unable to read into them any meaning. These four fiery words re­mained visible for some time, for we read in Prophets and Kings, page 530, "The hand that had traced the characters was no longer visible, but these four words were still gleaming forth with terrible distinctness; and now with bated breath the people listened"—waiting for Daniel to interpret them.

Undoubtedly the reason that these four words could be seen, and yet not be read, was the fact that each of the words could be combined with different vowels to have at least two or even more possible naeanings. As the vast throng milled about not knowing what the words meant, the most likely reading to occur to the mind of all would be to read them as three common weights employed in Babylon at that time. Thus, reading the words with these commonly used vowels, MN' would be read mene'—a mina; TQL would be teqel—a shekel," and PRS would be peres—a half shekel.' However, nat­ural and logical as such a reading might be, it would not make any sense to the bewildered throng. It would be as though, in modern times, the hand would write a message using modern weights, saying, "A pound, a pound, an ounce, and drams."

If the handwriting on the wall would make no sense when read as common weights, then what could it mean? The riddle written by the Divine Watcher could only be interpreted by insight given from Heaven, and indeed that was just what was given to the prophet Daniel. After first rebuking Belshazzar for opportunities wasted, the aged prophet easily and without any hesitation read the riddle to the throng and then interpreted it.

The word mene' besides meaning a weight-- a mina—also meant "numbered," from the Aramaic verb menah or mena', and Daniel read the word that way, and added in interpre­tation, "God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it." Teqel besides being read teqel­a shekel—could also be read as the passive participle tegi/—"weighed," and the prophet of God so read it and interpreted it to mean, "Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."'

The third word upharsin is in the plural, IN being the Aramaic plural ending. The U is simply the Aramaic word for and, and following a vowel sound, P in that language becomes PH. This accounts for the difference between the UPHARSIN of Daniel 5:25 and the PERES of verse 28." The word PRS besides meaning peres—a half shekel—could also be read peris—"divided"--and strangely enough has the additional meaning, when read paras, of "Per­sia," or "the Persians." Daniel used both of these latter meanings in interpreting the mes­sage to the king. He said, "Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Per­sians.""

Thus we see in this story of divine providence that the fiery riddle on the wall, though unin­telligible gibberish to the drunken throng, was, under divine interpretation, a clear message to the debauched king and his lords that Babylon had come to her end and was immediately to be succeeded by the next great world empire on the stage of history.

 

REFERENCES

1 Isa. 21:4.

Dan. 5:8.

3 See SDA Bible Commentary, on Daniel 5:12.

4 The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, pp. 25, 26.

The transliteration for Aramaic here employed is the same as that used for Hebrew in the SDA Bible Commentary.

6 The same proto-Semitic sound that became in Hebrew had the possibility of becoming sh in Aramaic.

7 For the value of these weights see SDA Bible Commen­tary, vol. 1, p. 164.

8 Dan. 5:26.

9 Dan. 5:27.

10 See also SDA Bible Commentary, on Daniel 5:28.

11 Dan. 5:28.


Ministry reserves the right to approve, disapprove, and delete comments at our discretion and will not be able to respond to inquiries about these comments. Please ensure that your words are respectful, courteous, and relevant.

comments powered by Disqus

ALGER F. JOHNS, Instructor in Old Testament

October 1956

Download PDF
Ministry Cover

More Articles In This Issue

The Birth of Revival

Perhaps the SDA Theological Seminary will be one of the instruments of effecting revival and reformation.

Introducing Ourselves

In this article we tell you something of the Seminary, its purposes, its program, and its personnel.

Bachelor of Divinity Graduates at Work

If the Seventh-day Adventist preacher is to carry the message of salvation to this generation, his training and consecration must rise to meet the demands of the time.

The Seminary Has Growing Pain

Growing pains seem a part of the normal life of an institution that has more than doubled its enrollment in the past ten years. This article explores the changes.

Treasures From the Seventh-day Adventist Past

The history of most peoples, nations, and organizations is preserved in li­braries. This is certainly true of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination and its history.

The Challenge of Intellectual and Spiritual Growth

Counsel from the Spirit of Prophecy.

The Importance of New Testament Greek

An intimate knowledge of the Greek is not a sine qua non for the minister of the gospel. However, to assert that a sound insight into the language of his profes­sion is an asset of prime value to the gospel worker is to make a statement that is accepted by unbiased people.

Apostles in the Early Church

It is a commonplace of New Testament study that the word "apostle" means "one who is sent." Beyond this, it is also interesting to know that this word, and probably also the office it designates, have a colorful background that throws light on the function of the Chris­tian apostles in the early church.

Ninth Extension School Held in the Far East

For eight weeks—from March 19 to May 12—Philippine Union College at Manila was host to a field school for workers from all over the far-flung lands of the Far Eastern Division.

What is Truth?

To those who ask today, "What is truth?" there come a multitude of voices in response. How are we to answer this question?

View All Issue Contents

Digital delivery

If you're a print subscriber, we'll complement your print copy of Ministry with an electronic version.

Sign up

Recent issues

See All