1095. Belteshatstsar

Lexical Summary

Belteshatstsar: Belteshazzar

Original Word: בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Beltsha'tstsar
Pronunciation: bel-te-shats-tsar
Phonetic Spelling: (bale-tesh-ats-tsar')
KJV: Belteshazzar
NASB: Belteshazzar
Word Origin: [of foreign derivation]

1. Belteshatstsar, the Babylonian name of Daniel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Belteshazzar

Of foreign derivation; Belteshatstsar, the Babylonian name of Daniel -- Belteshazzar.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
Bab. name of Daniel
NASB Translation
Belteshazzar (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר proper name, masculine Daniel 1:7, בֵּלְטְאשַׁצַּ֑ר Daniel 10:1 (probably = Babylonian balâtƒu-uƒur, protect his life! COT Daniel 1:7 Dl in BD^{Dn. p. ix}; Hoffm^{ZA 1887, 56} conjecture אצר [ר]בלט שׁ Bala‰ ( = good Saturn?) protect the king! — Daniel 4:5 connected with Bel, but name then inexplicable), name given to Daniel by Nebuchadnezzar.

בְּלִי, בְּלִימָה, בְּלִיַּעַל see below בלה.

Topical Lexicon

Belteshazzar

Occurrences in Scripture

Belteshazzar appears twice in the Book of Daniel: Daniel 1:7 and Daniel 10:1. In Daniel 1:7 the Babylonian chief official “gave them new names,” and to Daniel “he gave the name Belteshazzar”. Decades later, Daniel 10:1 recalls “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar”, testifying that the name remained historically attached to him even after the exile.

Historical Background

Renaming was a standard Babylonian policy designed to sever captives from their ancestral identities and bind them to the gods and court of Babylon. The throne name Belteshazzar likely invoked the protection of Bel (Marduk), the chief deity of Babylon, signaling a deliberate attempt to subsume Daniel into pagan service. The practice paralleled Joseph’s renaming to Zaphenath-Paneah in Egypt and served as an imperial tool of cultural assimilation.

Role in the Narrative of Daniel

1. Integration without Compromise: Chapter 1 immediately juxtaposes the imposed name with Daniel’s resolve not to defile himself with royal food. By keeping dietary laws he remained faithful to the God of Israel while working within the Babylonian system.
2. Testimony before Kings: Chapters 2–5 repeatedly identify Daniel as “Belteshazzar” when he stands before Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:8–19) and Belshazzar (Daniel 5:12). The author’s switch between “Daniel” and “Belteshazzar” highlights that the faithful prophet, though outwardly labeled by a pagan title, remained inwardly loyal to the LORD.
3. Eschatological Revelation: In Daniel 10–12, as the final visions unfold, the text mentions the Babylonian name once (10:1) and then reverts to “Daniel,” emphasizing that ultimate revelation is given to the servant of the LORD, not to a court functionary of Bel.

Theological Themes

• Divine Sovereignty over Human Titles: God’s purposes advance regardless of the names earthly powers impose.
• Identity in Exile: Belteshazzar illustrates how believers can serve foreign authorities yet retain covenant identity.
• Faithful Witness: The contrast between the pagan name and the Hebrew faith magnifies Daniel’s uncompromising integrity and the superiority of the God of Israel over Babylonian deities.
• Prophetic Validation: The name’s Babylonian origin corroborates the historicity of the exile period, rooting Daniel’s prophecies in verifiable imperial custom.

Practical Lessons for Believers

• External labels do not define spiritual identity; obedience to God does.
• Cultural assimilation can be resisted through consistent holiness and prayer.
• God equips His people with wisdom and favor even within hostile systems, enabling them to bless the nations (compare Jeremiah 29:7).
• Long obedience positions believers to receive deeper revelation over time, as Daniel did from his youth (Daniel 1) to old age (Daniel 10).

Relation to Redemptive History

Belteshazzar foreshadows the church’s calling as “aliens and strangers” (1 Peter 2:11), living under earthly powers yet bearing witness to the kingdom of God. As Daniel bore a Gentile name while proclaiming God’s supremacy, so believers in every age are commissioned to proclaim Christ while residing in societies that may assign identities contrary to their calling.

See Also

Daniel; Babylon; Exile; Names, Biblical; Identity in Christ

Forms and Transliterations

בֵּ֣לְטְשַׁאצַּ֗ר בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֑ר בלטשאצר bê·lə·ṭə·šaṣ·ṣar bêləṭəšaṣṣar beleteshatzTzar

Englishman's Concordance

Daniel 1:7
HEB: וַיָּ֨שֶׂם לְדָֽנִיֵּ֜אל בֵּ֣לְטְשַׁאצַּ֗ר וְלַֽחֲנַנְיָה֙ שַׁדְרַ֔ךְ
NAS: he assigned [the name] Belteshazzar, to Hananiah
KJV: unto Daniel [the name] of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah,
INT: assigned Daniel Belteshazzar to Hananiah Shadrach

Daniel 10:1
HEB: נִקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּ֑ר וֶאֱמֶ֤ת הַדָּבָר֙
NAS: was named Belteshazzar; and the message
KJV: was called Belteshazzar; and the thing
INT: was called name Belteshazzar was true and the message

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1095
2 Occurrences

bê·lə·ṭə·šaṣ·ṣar — 2 Occ.