SCRIPTORIA BIBLE

Daniel 5:11

There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your father he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. Your own father, the king,

Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain

WHERE
Babylon 1, Chaldea
WHEN
539 BC
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ON THE MAP

WHEN

539 BC

counted from the text

The feast and the fall of the city on the same night.

WHO RULED

  • Belshazzar king of Babylon 553-539 BC
  • Cyrus the Great king of Persia 559-530 BC

MEANWHILE

  • 539 BC Babylon

    Cyrus takes Babylon without a battle

    The city surrenders, and a year later comes the decree that allows the Jews to return.

SOURCES
  • date — Daniel 5 tells of the night, not the year. The Cyrus Cylinder and the Nabonidus Chronicle date the fall of Babylon to October 539 BC.
  • Belshazzar — The Nabonidus Chronicle and the tablets that name Belshazzar as son and co-regent. The co-regency explains why, in Daniel 5:7 and 5:29, the reward is *third* place in the kingdom and not second.
  • Cyrus the Great — Cyrus Cylinder (British Museum), which records the policy of sending peoples and their cults back to their own lands; Herodotus I
  • Cyrus takes Babylon without a battle — Cyrus Cylinder (British Museum); Nabonidus Chronicle

SEE ALSO

Cross-references: OpenBible.info, CC BY 4.0

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