The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-01-18
HAS DANIEL Mistaken!
His Reading of the Handwrit-
ing on the Wall
Is CALLED IN QUESTION
By Biblical Critics of the
Modern Sort.

miracle or an inscription produced Dy
human means an dthe work of conspira-
tors? If it was a miracle, why was it writ
ten in characters and words that could
not be understood by those to whom it
was intended as a warning? In either
case, why was it that in the whole king
dom there was but one man who could
read the hidden meaning-and was his
Interpretation of it correct? Was Dan
iel, after all, really the great prophet that
the world has believed him to be, or was
the author of this book of the Old Tesla
ment merely a clever story teller?
Professor John Dyneley Prince, who oc-
cupies the chair of Semitic languages
and comparative philology in the New
York University, has spent many years
in the study of the Book of Daniel. His
answers to the foregoing questions are
given in the following article:
Every reader of the Bible is familiar
with the story of the feast of Belshaz-
Ear and the mysterious writing which ap-
peared upon the wall as a warning TO the
last king of Babylon. The sentence has
always been considered one of the most
obscure of the many difficult scriptural
passages which have awakened interest
and baffled the ingenuity of scholars. In
deed, up to the present decade no really
satisfactory explanation of the inscript-
ion has ever been attained. Even if it
be admitted that the events described in
the fifth chapter of Daniel actually &C.
Cured there are still two striking diff
culties presented by the Biblical record;
first, the true meaning of the sentence,
and second, the reason why the writing
was unintelligible to those present.
THE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE.
The Bible thus describes how it came to
appear on the wall:
The Belshazzar, the King, made great
feast to the thousands of his lords and
drank wine before the thousand. Bel
shaZzar, while he tasted the wine, COM
manded his servants to bring in the gold
and silver vessels which his father, Neb-
uchadnezzar, had taken out of the temple
of Jerusalem, that ne, his princes, his
wives and his concubines might drink
therein. Thus they drank wine and
praised the gods of gold, of silver, brass,
iron, wood and stone.
in the same hour came forth fingers
of a mans hand and wrote over against
the wall, and the King saw that part of
the hand that wrote. Then his counte-
nance changed and his thoughts troubled
him so that the joints of his loins trem-
bled and his knees smote one against the
other. And he cried aloud to bring in the
astrologers and the soothsayers. And the
King spake and said to the wise men Of
Babylon:
whatsoever shall read this writing
and show me the Interpretation thereof,
shall be clothed in scarlet and have
gold chain about his neck, and shall be
the third ruler in the Kingdom
"Then came in all he wise men. but
they could not read the writing nor make
known to the King he Interpretation
tteIeof. Then WIS Relshazzar greatly
I! Dubbed and his lords were astD3'sbed "
Now it was not strange that they could
not read it, for If the mysterious inscIip-
ton had appeared in RaJylonian cI.&.sc-
tiers, it is easy 10 explain the inability of
the King and his lords. AMI even :he
most skilled scribes of the time. 20 de-
might have indicated either syIIables or
whole words. The first group of letters
might, for instance, have had fifteen diff
ferent meanings, and the other characters
might likewisehave been interpreted in
a variety of ways. Then, again. in such
an inscription it makes a wonderful off
ference how the characters are written,
for by writing them with no spaces be-
tween or spaces in the wrong places it
could easily have made the sentences an
almost undecipherable puzzle.
DANIEL SENT FOR
The Biblical account is very graphic.
Dumfounded and amazed, the great as
scmbIage sat as they gazed with fear at
the mysterious words. Then the Queen
bethough herself of Daniel and addressed
EeIshazzar, saying:
20, King, live forever. for there IS
man in the kingdom in when is the spirit
of the holy gods, and in the days Of thy
father, light and understanding and wis
dom of the gods was found IN him. whom
thy father made master of the magicians
astrologers. Chaldeans and soothsayers.
For as much as an excellent spirit and
knowledge and understanding, interpret
ing Of dreams and showing of hard sen
fences and dissolving of doubts were
found in the same Daniel. now let Daniel
he called and he will solve the interpreta-
ton"
Then was Daniel brought in before the
King, who said 10 him: Il have heard Of
thee. that thou canst make interpreta-
TORS and dissolve doubts. Now If thou
canst read this writing and make known
to me the Interpretation thereof. thou
shalt be clothed in scarlet and have a
gold chain about thy neck and shalt be
the third ruler in the kingdom"
Then Daniel answered: Let thy gifts
be 10 thyself and thy reward 20 another
yet viii read the writing unto you and
make known 20 you the Interpretation
O. thou King. them ost high God gave
Nebuchadnezzar. thy father. a kingdom /
ard majesty and glory and honor But /
when his heart was lifted Up and his mind /
hardened IN pride. he was dePosed from /
his kins!y throne and they took his glory /
from him And he was driven from the /
sons CT men. and his heart was made /
ike the beasts and his dwelling was with /
the Wild asses They fed him OF grass. |
Ike oxen, and his body was vet with /
the dew q heaven. I'll ne knew that the /
most high God ruled over the kingdom /
oS men and that He appointeth over 4 I
y homsoever He viii
And thou. his sea. o. Belshazzar. hszt /
not numbered thine heart. although tSou I
knewes, thIs. But hast lifted Up thyzelf 4