Daniel 5:25

written inscribed (R.V.). The word is not the one that ordinarily means to write, but one that means rather to printor stamp.

Mene (pron. měnê, to rhyme with bewray), Mene, Tekel (pron. těkêl, to rhyme with bewail), Upharsin] in the explanation (Daniel 5:28), we have, for upharsîn, pĕrês(to rhyme with deface), which is just the singular of parsîn(or, where a vowel, as here u, precedes, pharsîn), ubeing -and." Měnêas the pass. part, of Měnâ, to number, might mean -numbered"; but if the present vocalization is correct, těḳêlcannot mean -weighed," nor pĕrês-divided." These two words, as they stand, must be substantives. The true explanation of the four words is probably that which was first suggested by Clermont-Ganneau [260], and which has since been adopted by Nöldeke and others. They are really the names of three weights, měnêbeing the correct Aramaic form of the Hebrew mâneh, the m'na(μνᾶ), těḳêlbeing the Aramaic form of the Hebrew sheḳel, and pĕrês(or more correctly pěrâs), properly division, being a late Jewish word for a half-m'na. Thus the four words are really a m'na, a m'na, a shekel, and half-m'nas. The puzzle consisted partly in the character or manner in which they were supposed to have been written an unfamiliar form of the Aramaic character, for instance, or, as the mediaeval Jews suggested, a vertical instead of a horizontal arrangement of the letters; partly in the difficulty of attaching any meaning to them, even when they were read: what could the names of three weights signify? [261] Here Daniel's skill in the -declaring of riddles" (Daniel 5:12) comes in. Měnêitself means -numbered," as well as -a m'na": it is accordingly interpreted at once as signifying that the days of Belshazzar's kingdom are -numbered," and approaching their end. Těḳêl, - shekel," suggests těḳîl, -weighed": -Thou art weighedin the balances, and art found wanting." Parsin, -half-m'nas," or pěrês(pěrâs), -a half-shekel," points allusively to a double interpretation: -Thy kingdom is divided(pěrîs) [262], and given to the Medes and Persians" (Aramaic pâras).

[260] Journal Asiatique, Juillet-Août, 1886, p. 36 ff. Reprinted in Recueil d" Archéol. Orientate, i. (1888), p. 136 ff.

[261] For the names of common objects interpreted significantly, see Jeremiah 1:11-12; Jeremiah 19:1; Jeremiah 19:7 (Heb.), Amos 8:1.

[262] The word occurs in Heb. in this sense, e.g.Leviticus 11:3-5; and of dividing bread, Isaiah 57:7 (-deal"), Jeremiah 16:7 (R.V. -break").