Daniel Chapter 5 Vs. 7

The Handwriting on the Wall

The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Dan. 5:7

The king cried... Belshazzar followed the pattern of his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, in calling for the so-called wise men of Babylon (cp. Dan. 2:2-19; 4:6-9).

Whosoever shall read... Threefold promise of reward: He shall:

1. Be clothed in scarlet.

2. Have a chain of gold on his neck.

3. Be third ruler in the kingdom.

shall read this... This proves that the writing was not in the ordinary language of the lords from the empire. Had it been in Hebrew, Aramaic, or some common language of the empire many could have read and interpreted it. The original may have been a heavenly language of angels or one of any number of earthly languages not known to men in the Babylonian Empire. Whatever it was it took a man gifted by the Holy Spirit, one possessing the gift of interpretation, to read and interpret it (cp. 1Co. 12:10-11, 12:30; 13:1; 14:5, 14:12-14, 14:26-28). There is no indication here that Daniel could read this because he was acquainted with a particular language. This would be doing away with the supernatural element in the interpretation. It was done by the Holy Spirit as much as the previous interpretations were (Dan. 2:19, 2:22-23, 2:28-30, 2:47; 4:8-9, 4:19).

clothed with scarlet... This refers to being clothed in royal robes of purple (Aramaic: ’argvan, purple, Dan. 5:7, 5:29).

chain of gold...The working of metals into various ornaments, household articles, and even deities is as old as Tubal-Cain (Gen. 4:22). Chains of gold around the neck indicated political dignity (Dan. 5:7, 5:15, 5:29; Gen. 41:42).

third ruler in... Rule as one of three, that is, be the third. Nabonidus, the king, was the first ruler. Belshazzar, as coregent, was the second ruler. This would make Daniel the third ruler of Babylon; but he did not get to exercise this power due to the overthrow of Babylon that very night (Dan. 5:29-31).