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Date Posted: 04:08:42 02/17/06 Fri
Author: Naphtali
Subject: Book of Daniel
In reply to: Longinus 's message, "The Messiah" on 03:14:05 02/17/06 Fri

In the fiery furnace, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego), defy King Nebuchadnezzar's order to bow down and worship a golden idol, a cult image of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, in a rage, orders the boys thrown into a furnace, but they are miraculously unharmed by the flames and survive the experience unscathed. Nebuchadnezzar sees them walking around in the furnace along with an unnamed fourth figure. After the three youths emerge, Nebuchadnezzar orders everyone to worship their God instead of the golden idol.

The writing on the wall (or sometimes 'handwriting on the wall') is an expression that suggests a portent of doom or misfortune. It originates in the Biblical book of Daniel - where supernatural writing fortells the demise of the Babylonian Empire, but it has come to have a wide usage in language and literature.

According to Daniel 5:1-31, during a drunken feast, King Belshazzar of Babylon takes sacred golden and silver vessels, which had been removed from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar. Using these holy items, the King and his court praise 'the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone'. Immediately, the disembodied fingers of a human hand appear and write on the wall of the royal palace, and writes MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN (or "upharsin" in the older English transliteration). Despite various inducements, none of the royal magicians or advisors could read the text. While these words are Aramaic the actual writing system it was written in remains unknown. (It is assumed the writing itself was in Aramaic, but it is possible the words were written in a different, otherwise unintelligible script which Daniel was able to interpret). Finally the King sends for Daniel, an exiled Jew, taken himself from Jerusalem, who had served in high office under Nebuchadnezzar.

Rejecting offers of reward, Daniel warns the King of the folly of his arrogant blasphemy before reading the text (vs 25-28).

And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PARSIN, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. (NRSV)
That very night, according to the story, King Belshazzar is slain, and Darius the Mede becomes King. (This seems to reflect the historically verifiable defeat of the Babylonian Empire by Persia with Darius actually referring to Cyrus the Persian).

While the Book of Daniel gives the meaning of the words, their origins and original meaning are unclear. Some have contended that the words have no meaning in themseves. However, since the late nineteenth century, a number of scholars have held the theory that the words are weights of coinage. MENE a mena, TEKEL a spelling of shekel, PERES half a mena. (A mena would be about 30 shekels.) Hence, in English it might read - 'a half dollar, a half dollar, a penny, and two bits'. The meaning that Daniel decrypts from these words is based upon etymology, each turning on a pun using the word as a passive verb.

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