Writing on the wall
Woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld, 1860.
The Chaldean wise men are unable to read the writing on the wall, let alone interpret it, but Daniel does so by supplying vowels in two different ways, first so the words are read as nouns, then as verbs.[5] The nouns are monetary weights: a mənê, equivalent to a Jewish mina or sixty shekels (several ancient versions have only one mənê instead of two), a təqêl, equivalent to a shekel, and p̄arsîn, meaning "half-pieces".[6] The last involves a word-play on the name of the Persians (pārās in Hebrew), suggesting not only that they are to inherit Belshazzar's kingdom, but that they are two peoples, Medes and Persians.[6] Daniel then interprets the words as verbs, based on their roots: mənê is interpreted as meaning "numbered", təqêl, from a root meaning to weigh, as meaning "weighed" (and found wanting), and pərês (פְּרַס), the singular form of p̄arsîn, from a root meaning "to divide", denoting that the kingdom is to be "divided" and given to the Medes and Persians.[7] If the "half-pieces" means two half-shekels, then the various weights—a mənê or sixty shekels, another shekel, and two half-shekels—add up to 62, which the tale gives as the age of Darius the Mede, indicating that God's will is being worked out.[8]
