Belshazzar Made A Feast: Daniel 5 v 1

Daniel 5:1 "Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand."

We must quickly make note that this is not Daniel, whose name had been changed to Belteshazzar. Belshazzar, the king, was not the son of Nebuchadnezzar, but the grandson. History tells us his mother, Nitocris, was the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. 

It appears, they are having a great feast. Perhaps as many as a thousand people are in attendance, so this is a very big party. They were drinking wine at the feast, so we may assume it was a festive occasion.

These events occurred in 539 B.C. over two decades after Nebuchadnezzar’s death. This king, whose name means “Bel, protect the king,” is about to be conquered by the Medo-Persian army.

The years between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar are filled with murder, intrigue, conspiracy, and political decline. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son Evil-merodach who had reigned for only two years when he was murdered by his brother in law, Neriglissar. After a brief reign, Neriglissar died, leaving the kingdom in the hands of his son, Labashi-marduk. The latter lasted only two months before being killed by an assassin and succeeded by Nabonidus. 

Nabonidus, who was probably the son in law of Nebuchadnezzar, reigned for some 16 years. Although he left the kingdom in the hands of his son Belshazzar for much of the time, Nabonidus was able to restore a measure of glory to Babylon. 

Belshazzar ruled as king during the last years of Babylon. It is not evident until the end of the chapter, but while Belshazzar was feasting in revelry, the city was surrounded by the Persian army. Belshazzar considered the city unassailable because of its massive walls, and therefore felt confident to hold a banquet in the face of military threat.