Historical

Footnotes

1. Daniel 5:1 sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 b.c.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.
2. Daniel 5:1 sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.
3. Daniel 5:1 sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.
4. Daniel 5:1 tn Aram “the thousand.”
5. Daniel 5:2 tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).
6. Daniel 5:2 tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships. Concerning the difficulty in tracing the lineage of Belshazzar, whose actual father was Nabonidus, back to Nebuchadnezzar, J. Goldingay, Daniel (WBC), 108, argues that, “The two chief points in neo-Babylonian history are the empire’s rise under Nebuchadnezzar and its fall under Nabonidus/Belshazzar, so that ‘Nebuchadnezzar the father of Belshazzar’ summarizes and reflects the general historical facts of the period.”
7. Daniel 5:2 tn Or “taken.”
8. Daniel 5:2 sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.
9. Daniel 5:3 tc The present translation reads וְכַסְפָּא (v^ekhaspaʾ, “and the silver”) with Theodotion and the Vulgate; cf. v. 2. The form was probably accidentally dropped from the Aramaic text by homoioteleuton.
10. Daniel 5:3 tn Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodotion and the Syriac lack “of the house.”
11. Daniel 5:5 tn Aram “came forth.”
12. Daniel 5:5 sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.
13. Daniel 5:5 tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.
14. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”
15. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”
16. Daniel 5:6 tn Aram “his loins went slack.”
17. Daniel 5:7 tn Aram “in strength.”
18. Daniel 5:7 tn Aram “cause to enter.”
19. Daniel 5:7 tn Aram “answered and said.”
20. Daniel 5:7 sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.
21. Daniel 5:7 tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).
22. Daniel 5:8 tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh, “and its interpretation”) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishraʾ, “and the interpretation”) of the Kethib.
23. Daniel 5:9 tn Aram “his visage altered upon him,” as also in v. 10.
24. Daniel 5:10 tn Aram “words of the king.”
25. Daniel 5:10 tn Aram “the queen” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). In the following discourse this woman is able to recall things about Daniel that go back to the days of Nebuchadnezzar, things that Belshazzar does not seem to recollect. It is likely that she was the wife not of Belshazzar but of Nabonidus or perhaps even Nebuchadnezzar. In that case, “queen” here means “queen mother” (cf. NCV “the king’s mother”).
26. Daniel 5:10 tn Aram “The queen.” The translation has used the pronoun “she” instead because repetition of the noun here would be redundant in terms of English style.
27. Daniel 5:11 tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”
28. Daniel 5:11 tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.
29. Daniel 5:11 tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”
30. Daniel 5:11 tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.
31. Daniel 5:12 tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (m^efashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (umishreʾ) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (um^eshareʾ). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.
32. Daniel 5:12 tn Aram “to loose knots.”
33. Daniel 5:12 tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”
34. Daniel 5:14 tn Aram “there has been found in you.”
35. Daniel 5:15 tn The Aramaic text does not have “and.” The term “astrologers” is either an appositive for “wise men” (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV), or the construction is to be understood as asyndetic (so the translation above).
36. Daniel 5:16 tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”
37. Daniel 5:16 tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir; so also in v. 29.
38. Daniel 5:17 tn Or “the.”
39. Daniel 5:18 tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.
40. Daniel 5:19 tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”
41. Daniel 5:19 tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה (khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (m^ekhaʾ, “to smite”).
42. Daniel 5:20 tn Aram “heart.”
43. Daniel 5:20 sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.
44. Daniel 5:21 tn Aram “heart.”
45. Daniel 5:21 tn Aram “his dwelling.”
46. Daniel 5:22 tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”
47. Daniel 5:22 tn Aram “your heart.”
48. Daniel 5:23 tn Aram “which.”
49. Daniel 5:23 tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”
50. Daniel 5:25 tc The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the repetition of מְנֵא (m^eneʾ, cf. NAB).
51. Daniel 5:25 tc The Aramaic word is plural. Theodotion has the singular (cf. NAB “PERES”).
52. Daniel 5:26 tn Or “word”; or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.
53. Daniel 5:26 tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (m^eneʾ) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, m^enah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (t^eqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”
54. Daniel 5:28 sn Peres (פְּרֵס) is the singular form of פַרְסִין (farsin) in v. 25.
55. Daniel 5:29 tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”
56. Daniel 5:30 tn Aram “king of the Chaldeans.”
57. Daniel 5:30 sn The year was 539 b.c. At this time Daniel would have been approximately eighty-one years old. The relevant extra-biblical records describing the fall of Babylon include portions of Herodotus, Xenophon, Berossus (cited in Josephus), the Cyrus Cylinder, and the Babylonian Chronicle.
58. Daniel 5:31 sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.
59. Daniel 6:1 tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”
60. Daniel 6:1 tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.
61. Daniel 6:2 tn Aram “giving an account.”
62. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “looking to find.”
63. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “from the side of the kingdom.”
64. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “pretext and corruption.”
65. Daniel 6:4 tn Aram “no negligence or corruption was found in him.” The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the phrase “and no negligence or corruption was found in him.”
66. Daniel 6:5 tn Aram “were saying.”
67. Daniel 6:5 tn Aram “unless we find [it] against him.”
68. Daniel 6:6 tn The Aramaic verb רְגַשׁ (r^egash) occurs three times in this chapter (vv. 7, 12, 16). Its meaning is widely disputed by commentators, and the versions vary considerably in how they render the word. The suggestion that it means “to come thronging” (BDB 1112 s.v.; cf. NAB) seems inappropriate, since it is unlikely that subordinates would enter a royal court in such a reckless fashion. The ancient versions struggled with the word and are not in agreement in their understanding of its meaning. In this chapter the word apparently means to act in agreement with other parties in the pursuit of a duplicitous goal, namely the entrapment of Daniel; cf. NIV, NCV “went as a group”; NRSV “conspired and came to the king.”
69. Daniel 6:6 tn Aram “thus they were saying.”
70. Daniel 6:7 tn Aram “prays a prayer.”
71. Daniel 6:8 tn Aram “establish a written interdict and inscribe a written decree.”
72. Daniel 6:8 tn Or “removed.”
73. Daniel 6:10 tn Aram “knew.”
74. Daniel 6:10 sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows (see b. Berakhot 34b).
75. Daniel 6:10 sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.
76. Daniel 6:10 tc Read with several medieval Hebrew mss and printed editions הֲוָה (havah, “he was”) rather than the MT הוּא (huʾ, “he”).
77. Daniel 6:10 tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).sn No specific posture for offering prayers is prescribed in the OT. Kneeling, as here, and standing were both practiced.
78. Daniel 6:11 tn Aram “those men”; the referent (the administrative officials who had earlier approached the king about the edict) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
79. Daniel 6:12 tc The MT also has “about the edict of the king,” but this phrase is absent in the LXX and the Syriac. The present translation deletes the expression.tn Aram “before the king.”
80. Daniel 6:12 tn Aram “the word is true.”
81. Daniel 6:13 tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”
82. Daniel 6:13 tn Aram “prays his prayer.”
83. Daniel 6:14 tn Aram “the word.”
84. Daniel 6:14 tn Aram “placed his mind on.”
85. Daniel 6:14 tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”
86. Daniel 6:15 tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”
87. Daniel 6:15 tn Aram “the king.”
88. Daniel 6:15 tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”
89. Daniel 6:16 tn Aram “said,” as also in vv. 24, 25.
90. Daniel 6:16 sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level that could be safely observed from above.
91. Daniel 6:16 tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”
92. Daniel 6:17 tn Aram “mouth.”
93. Daniel 6:17 sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.
94. Daniel 6:17 tn Aram “the signet rings.”
95. Daniel 6:18 tn The meaning of Aramaic דַּחֲוָה (dakhavah) is a crux interpretum. Suggestions include “music,” “dancing girls,” “concubines,” “table,” “food”—all of which are uncertain. The translation employed here, suggested by earlier scholars, is deliberately vague. A number of recent English versions follow a similar approach with “entertainment” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On this word see further, HALOT 1849-50 s.v.; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 37.
96. Daniel 6:18 tn Aram “his sleep fled from him.”
97. Daniel 6:20 tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.
98. Daniel 6:21 tn Aram “with.”
99. Daniel 6:24 tn Aram “said.”
100. Daniel 6:24 tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.
101. Daniel 6:24 tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.
102. Daniel 6:24 tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.
103. Daniel 6:25 tn Aram “May your peace be increased!”
104. Daniel 6:26 tn Aram “until the end.”
105. Daniel 6:27 tn Aram “hand.”
106. Daniel 6:28 tn Or perhaps “in the reign of Darius, even in the reign of Cyrus.” The identity of this Darius is disputed. Some take the name as referring to Cyrus, understanding the following ו (vav “and”) in an epexegetical sense (“even”). Others identify Darius with a governor of Babylon known from extra-biblical records as Gubaru, or with Cambyses, son of Cyrus. Many scholars maintain that the reference is historically inaccurate.