MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

me'-ne, me'-ne, te'-kel, u-far'-sin, men'-a, men'a, tek'-el, oo-far'-sin (mene' mene' teqel upharcin; Theodotion, Mane, thekel, phares): These are the words that, according to Daniel's reading, were inscribed on the walls of Belshazzar's palace and that caused the great commotion on the occasion of his last feast (Daniel 5:25). As the only authority that we have for the reading is that of Daniel, it seems but fair that the interpretation of the terms be left to the person who gave us the text. According to his interpretation, there is a double sense to be found in the three different words of the inscription (Daniel 5:26-28).

Mene', which, however it is pointed, must be taken from the verb menah (Hebrew manah; Babylonian manu), is said to have indicated that God had numbered (the days of) Belshazzar's kingdom and finished it (or delivered it up). Both of these meanings can be shown to be proper to the menah.

Teqel, on the contrary, is interpreted as coming from two roots: the first, teqal, "to weigh," and the second, qal, "to be light or wanting" (Hebrew qalal; Babylonian qalalu).

Perec (or parcin) also is interpreted as coming from two roots: first, perac, "to divide" (Hebrew paras or parash; Babylonian parasu), and the second as denoting the proper name Parac, "Persia." Thus interpreted, the whole story hangs together, makes good sense, and is fully justified by the context and by the language employed. If the original text was in Babylonian, the signs were ambiguous; if they were in Aramaic, the consonants alone were written, and hence, the reading would be doubtful. In either case, the inscription was apparent but not readable, except by Daniel with the aid of God, through whom also the seer was enabled to give the proper interpretation. That Daniel's interpretation was accepted by Belshazzar and the rest shows that the interpretation of the signs was reasonable and convincing when once it had been made. We see, therefore, no good reason for departing from the interpretation that the Book of Daniel gives as the true one.

As to the interpretation of the inscription, it makes no difference whether the signs represented a mina, a shekel, and two perases, as has been recently suggested by M. Clermont-Ganneau. In this case the meaning was not so apparent, but the puns, the play upon the sounds, were even better. We doubt, however, if it can be shown that teqel means sheqel. On the old Aramaic documents of Egypt and Assyria, it is with one exception spelled sheqel. In the Targum of Onkelos, sheqel is always rendered by cela`; in the Peshitta and Arabic VSS, by mathqal; in the Samaritan Targum, by mathqal (except only perhaps in Genesis 23:16, where we have ethqel). In the Targum of Onkelos, wherever tiqla' occurs, it translates the Hebrew beqa` (Genesis 24:22 and Exodus 38:26 only). Mene', to be sure, may have meant the mina, and perec, the half-mina. The parash is mentioned in the inscription of Panammu and in an Aramaic inscription on an Assyrian weight. Besides this, it is found in the New Hebrew of the Mishna It is not found, however, in the Targum of Onkelos, nor in Syriac, nor in the Old Testament Hebrew; nor in the sense of half-shekel in the Aramaic papyri. While, then, it may be admitted that Daniel may have read, "A mina, a mina, a shekel, and two half-minas," it is altogether unlikely, and there is certainly no proof that he did. Yet, if he did, his punning interpretations were justified by the usage of ancient oracles and interpreters of signs, and also by the event.

R. Dick Wilson

3306. meno -- to stay, abide, remain
... (memenekeisan) -- 1 Occurrence. (mene) -- 1 Occurrence. (menei) -- 29 Occurrences. ...
(meneto) -- 5 Occurrences. (mene) -- 4 Occurrences. (menete) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3306.htm - 8k4484. mene -- maneh, mina (a measure of weight)
... 4483, 4484. mene. 4485 . maneh, mina (a measure of weight). Transliteration:
mene Phonetic Spelling: (men-ay') Short Definition: MENE. ...
/hebrew/4484.htm - 6k

1144. Binyamin -- "son of (the) right hand," youngest son of Jacob ...
... of two other Isr . Transliteration: Binyamin Phonetic Spelling:
(bin-yaw-mene') Short Definition: Benjamin. Word Origin from ben ...
/hebrew/1144.htm - 6k

Mene, Tekel, Peres
... THE BOOK OF DANIEL MENE, TEKEL, PERES. 'Then Daniel ... And this is the writing
that was written, 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' 26. This is ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/mene tekel peres.htm

Weighed in the Balances
... So Daniel was sent for. He was very familiar with it. He knew his Father's handwriting.
"This is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/weighed and wanting/weighed in the balances.htm

The Unseen Watcher
... Turning to the Heaven-sent message on the wall, the prophet read, "Mene, Mene, Tekel,
Upharsin." The hand that had traced the characters was no longer visible ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 43 the unseen watcher.htm

The Handwriting on the Wall
... this writing: MENE, TEKEL, PERES. "This is what it means: Mene: God has
numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel: you ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/the handwriting on the wall.htm

"Christ is Our Way" --"Mankind Shall be Restored from Double Death ...
... [208] the Substance. [209] "sensualite.". [210] "wher I myte not for the mene profir
lokyn up on to hevyn." "mene" = medium, is perhaps a sub. in the gen. ...
/.../julian/revelations of divine love/chapter lv christ is our.htm

Fear and Faith
... was captured. When the Finger came out and wrote upon the wall, 'Mene, Mene,
Tekel, Upharsin,' it did not stop the feast. They went ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/fear and faith.htm

"I Desired to Learn Assuredly as to a Certain Creature that I ...
... Footnotes: [110] "A friendful mene" =intermediary (person or thing), medium: compare
chaps. xix., lv. [111] See xxxvi. 74. [112] ie alloweth. ...
/.../julian/revelations of divine love/chapter xxxv i desired to.htm

"Our Lord Looked unto his [Wounded] Side, and Beheld, Rejoicing. . ...
... Him, all heavens and all joy and bliss.". [88] See xiii., "the simplicity
of the soul.". [89] MS. "that is to mene the endles love.". ...
/.../julian/revelations of divine love/chapter xxiv our lord looked.htm

Letter xv. (AD 390. )
... honey it dies. Footnotes: [1469] Charta. [1470] "Mene salis placidi vultum
fluctusque quietos Ignorare jubes?"--Æn. v. 848, 849. ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter xv a d 390.htm

Belshazzar's Feast
... of across.]. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE. God hath NUMBERED
thy kingdom: And brought it to an end! TEKEL. Thou art ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/vii belshazzars feast.htm

Mene

who reckons or is counted

Mene

(numbered), the first word of the mysterious inscription written upon the wall of Belshazzar's palace, in which Daniel read the doom of the king and his dynasty. (Daniel 5:25,26)

Mene

He is numbered; TEKEL, he is weighed; UPHARSIN, and they are dividing; Chaldee words supernaturally traced on the wall at Balshazzar's impious feast, and significant of his impending doom, Daniel 5:1-31. The astrologers could not read them, perhaps because they were written in antique Hebrew characters; still less could they explain, even if they had dared to do it, what was so portentous. Daniel, however, received skill to understand and courage to declare their awful meaning; and the same night witnessed their fulfillment. Over how many proud heads often found in scenes of ungodliness and reveling, the hand that has recorded their past history is even now preparing to record their doom

(Dan. 5:25, 26), numbered, one of the words of the mysterious inscription written "upon the plaister of the wall" in Belshazzar's palace at Babylon. The writing was explained by Daniel. (see BELSHAZZAR.) Mene (2 Occurrences)
... The writing was explained by Daniel. (see BELSHAZZAR.). Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia. MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. me'-ne, me'-ne ...
/m/mene.htm - 11k

Upharsin (1 Occurrence)
... 5:25). It is a pure Chaldean word. "Peres" is only a simple form of the same word.
Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ...
/u/upharsin.htm - 11k

Tekel (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Weighed (Dan. 5:27). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. me'-ne, me'-ne, te'-kel ...
/t/tekel.htm - 11k

Upharsinupharsin (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Upharsinupharsin (1 Occurrence). Daniel 5:25 And this
is the writing that was inscribed: MENEMENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN. (See NAS). ...
/u/upharsinupharsin.htm - 6k

Inscribed (20 Occurrences)
... inscribed. (WEB JPS ASV RSV). Daniel 5:25 This is the writing that was
inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. (WEB JPS ASV RSV). ...
/i/inscribed.htm - 12k

Peres (2 Occurrences)
... 5:28). (see MENE.). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PERES. pe'-rez. See
MENE. Multi-Version Concordance Peres (2 Occurrences). ...
/p/peres.htm - 7k

Parsin (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Parsin (1 Occurrence). Daniel 5:25 This is the writing
that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. (See RSV NIV). ...
/p/parsin.htm - 6k

Inscription (18 Occurrences)
... inscribed. (See NAS NIV). Daniel 5:25 And this is the writing that was inscribed:
MENEMENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN. (See NAS NIV). Zechariah ...
/i/inscription.htm - 12k

Menelaus

/m/menelaus.htm - 9k

Tekeltekel (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Tekeltekel (1 Occurrence). Daniel 5:25 And this is
the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. (See NAS). ...
/t/tekeltekel.htm - 6k

Mene (2 Occurrences)

Daniel 5:25 This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Daniel 5:26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Mene

Mene: General Scriptures Concerning

Upharsin (1 Occurrence)

Tekel (2 Occurrences)

Upharsinupharsin (1 Occurrence)

Inscribed (20 Occurrences)

Peres (2 Occurrences)

Parsin (1 Occurrence)

Inscription (18 Occurrences)

Menelaus

Tekeltekel (1 Occurrence)

Menemene (1 Occurrence)

Mends (2 Occurrences)

Interpretation (45 Occurrences)

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