What historical evidence supports the events described in Daniel 5:30? Scripture Text “That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain.” — Daniel 5:30 Chronological Placement Ussher’s chronology places Creation at 4004 BC; the fall of Babylon occurs in 539 BC (3465 AM). Daniel 5:30 therefore records an event less than 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar’s first deportation of Judah (605 BC), precisely matching Jeremiah’s prophetic seventy-year exile (Jeremiah 25:11–12). Babylonian Cuneiform Sources 1. Nabonidus Chronicle (BM 35382, column iii, lines 12-16): “In the month Tashritu … Cyrus’s army entered Babylon without battle. … On the 16th day, Ugbaru slew the king’s son.” The “king’s son” fits Belshazzar, whom cuneiform tablets uniformly style mār šarri (“son of the king”). 2. Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur (Cyl. A, col. i, lines 25-28) explicitly name “Bel-šar-uṣur, my firstborn, the offspring of my heart,” confirming Belshazzar as heir-apparent and co-regent. 3. Over 30 contract tablets dated between Nabonidus’ regnal years 1–17 bear formulae such as “Year 12 of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, Bel-shar-uṣur, son of the king, issued …” (e.g., AO 8180; CT 56 70). These documents, excavated chiefly at Ur, Sippar, and Babylon, demonstrate that Belshazzar exercised royal authority and could host the lavish banquet described in Daniel 5. Persian Royal Inscriptions The Cyrus Cylinder (BM 90920) recounts Cyrus’s capture of Babylon and his decree of benevolent rule. Though it omits Belshazzar’s name, its description of a swift, minimally violent conquest aligns with the Chronicle’s “without battle,” corroborating Daniel’s silent, overnight transition of power (cf. Daniel 5:30–31). Classical Historians • Xenophon, Cyropaedia 7.5.30-33: Nabonidus is absent; the last night’s feast ends with the king’s death as Gobryas enters the palace unopposed. • Herodotus, Histories 1.191: Babylon falls when the Persians divert the Euphrates and take the city “during a festival,” corroborating Daniel’s banquet setting. • Berossus (preserved in Josephus, Against Apion 1.20): Belshazzar (Bel-sarus) is killed when “the city was taken.” Archaeological Corroboration of the Setting Excavations of the Neo-Babylonian palace complex (R. Koldewey, 1899-1917) reveal a vast throne-room (17 × 52 m) capable of hosting the thousand nobles of Daniel 5:1. The city’s double fortifications and river-gates substantiate Herodotus’s account of Persian engineers lowering the Euphrates to enter beneath those gates—architectural evidence matching the Chronicle’s notice that the army entered “through the inner city.” Answering Former Skepticism Nineteenth-century critics alleged that Daniel erred because Belshazzar was unknown to Greek sources. The 1854 publication of the Nabonidus Cylinder and, later, the Chronicle transformed the debate: Belshazzar’s historicity, co-regency, and death in the night of Babylon’s fall are now firmly grounded in primary sources. Daniel is the only extant text to preserve Belshazzar’s personal name and his promise of “third ruler” (Daniel 5:16)—precisely what a second-in-command could offer. Prophetic Precision Isaiah 21:9 and Jeremiah 51:31, 39 foretold Babylon’s collapse amid revelry and unexpected slaughter. Daniel 5:30 fulfills these prophecies with minute accuracy, underscoring divine sovereignty over empires and validating predictive inspiration. Theological and Apologetic Significance The verified fall of Belshazzar exemplifies Scripture’s reliability down to incidental details. This reliability undergirds trust in greater claims—above all, the resurrection of Jesus, the climactic historical miracle by which God “has given assurance to all men” (Acts 17:31). The God who numbered Belshazzar’s days (Daniel 5:26) and judged him is the same God who “gives life to the dead” (Romans 4:17) and promises salvation through Christ alone. Summary Multiple independent streams—Babylonian chronicles, royal inscriptions, economic tablets, classical historians, archaeology, and firmly transmitted manuscripts—converge to authenticate the terse record of Daniel 5:30. The harmony of these witnesses affirms that “the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). |
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