What is the meaning of Daniel 5:31? And • The simple conjunction ties Daniel 5:31 directly to the dramatic fall of Babylon recorded in the previous verses (Daniel 5:26–30). • It signals continuity: God’s foretelling in Isaiah 13:17 and Jeremiah 51:31 has just come to pass, and the narrative now turns to the ruler who steps onto the scene. • The word reminds us that Scripture is one unfolding story; events never stand alone but form part of God’s sovereign timeline (Daniel 4:17). Darius • Scripture states plainly, “Darius … received the kingdom.” Later verses (Daniel 6:1, 6:28) keep him front-and-center in the storyline. • Prophecy had predicted a successor to Babylon (Daniel 2:39); Darius becomes the face of that change. • While historians debate whether he is Gubaru, Cyaxares II, or a throne name, the text affirms a real ruler whom God raised up (Isaiah 45:1–4 shows the Lord naming and using specific leaders). the Mede • His ethnicity fulfills Isaiah 13:17: “I will stir up the Medes against them.” • Mentioning “the Mede” stresses that the empire now combining Media and Persia has taken command (Daniel 8:20). • God’s precision about national identity underscores His control over geopolitical shifts (Acts 17:26). received • “Received” (instead of seized) points to divine bestowal; kingdoms are gifts from God’s hand (Daniel 2:21; 4:25b). • Belshazzar’s power dissolved in a night, yet the next ruler “received” what God transferred, echoing Proverbs 21:1—“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD.” • The verb highlights grace and responsibility: leadership is stewardship under heaven’s authority (Romans 13:1). the kingdom • The Babylonian realm, once feared, is now handed over intact; Daniel 6:1 notes Darius reorganizing it into 120 satrapies. • This transition matches Nebuchadnezzar’s dream image: the silver chest and arms following the golden head (Daniel 2:32, 39). • God’s promise in Jeremiah 27:7 that “all nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson—until the time of his own land comes” is now fulfilled; the “time” arrived and the kingdom passed. at the age of sixty-two • The exact age offers a historical anchor, the kind of detail Luke provides in Luke 3:23 or Moses in Exodus 7:7. • It underlines authenticity: readers can test Scripture against records and archaeology. • For Daniel’s original audience in exile, this number testified that God’s timetable is precise; just as Jeremiah’s seventy-year prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11) proved exact, so does this age marker. • Sixty-two also hints at experience: an elder statesman now governs, preparing the way for Daniel to serve under yet another administration (Daniel 6:3). Summary Daniel 5:31 bridges the fall of Babylon to the rise of Medo-Persia with six succinct facts: the narrative continues (“And”), a real man named Darius, ethnically Mede, passively “received” by divine decree, the entire kingdom foretold in prophecy—at a specifically verifiable age of sixty-two. Each word underscores God’s flawless sovereignty, historical accuracy, and faithfulness to His prophetic word, reassuring believers that every detail of Scripture can be trusted. |
    |