Definition and Context:

Tekel is one of the Aramaic words found in the biblical account of the mysterious writing on the wall during the feast of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, as recorded in the Book of Daniel, chapter 5. The term is part of the phrase "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," which appeared supernaturally on the wall and was interpreted by the prophet Daniel. The word "Tekel" is of significant theological and historical importance, as it conveys a divine message of judgment.

Biblical Reference:

The account of Tekel is found in Daniel 5:25-28. The Berean Standard Bible translates this passage as follows:

"This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the message: MENE means that God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. TEKEL means that you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians."

Interpretation:

In the context of Daniel 5, "Tekel" is interpreted by Daniel to mean "you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient." This indicates that Belshazzar's reign and character were evaluated by God and found lacking in righteousness and justice. The use of the term "Tekel" underscores the divine judgment against Belshazzar for his impiety and arrogance, particularly his act of using the sacred vessels from the Jerusalem Temple for his profane feast.

Theological Significance:

Tekel serves as a powerful reminder of God's sovereignty and justice. It illustrates the biblical principle that all human actions are subject to divine scrutiny and that God holds individuals and nations accountable for their deeds. The message of Tekel emphasizes the importance of living a life that aligns with God's standards, as failure to do so can lead to divine judgment.

Historical and Cultural Context:

The event of the writing on the wall occurred during a time of great political upheaval. The Babylonian Empire, once a dominant power, was on the brink of collapse. The Medes and Persians were rising as a formidable force, and the fall of Babylon was imminent. The message of Tekel, therefore, not only had personal implications for Belshazzar but also signaled a significant shift in world history, marking the end of Babylonian supremacy and the rise of the Medo-Persian Empire.

Linguistic Notes:

The word "Tekel" is derived from the Aramaic root "tql," which means "to weigh." In the ancient Near Eastern context, weighing was a common metaphor for judgment and evaluation. The imagery of scales was often used to convey the idea of fairness and balance in assessing one's actions or character.

Application for Believers:

For believers, the message of Tekel serves as a call to self-examination and repentance. It encourages individuals to consider their own lives in light of God's standards and to seek His grace and guidance in areas where they may be found wanting. The account of Tekel also reassures believers of God's ultimate justice and the certainty that He will right all wrongs in His perfect timing.Tekel

weight

Weighed (Dan. 5:27). 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

TEKEL

te'-kel (teqel).

See MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

8625. tqal -- to weigh
... 8624, 8625. tqal. 8625a . to weigh. Transliteration: tqal Phonetic Spelling:
(tek-al') Short Definition: Tekel. Tekel, be weighed ...
/hebrew/8625.htm - 5k

8625b. teqel -- a shekel
... a shekel. Transliteration: teqel Short Definition: TEKEL. Word Origin (Aramaic)
from teqal Definition a shekel NASB Word Usage TEKEL (2). 8625a, 8625b. ...
/hebrew/8625b.htm - 5k

Mene, Tekel, Peres
... THE BOOK OF DANIEL MENE, TEKEL, PERES. 'Then Daniel ... 25. And this is the writing
that was written, 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' 26. This ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/mene tekel peres.htm

Weighed in the Balances
... "This is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. ...
Tekel"Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/weighed and wanting/weighed in the balances.htm

The Handwriting on the Wall
... "Then the hand was sent out before him and traced this writing: MENE, TEKEL,
PERES. ... Tekel: you are weighed in the scales and found wanting. ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/the handwriting on the wall.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

Weighed and Wanting
... BY. DL MOODY. "Tekel: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.".
Fleming H. Revell Company. Chicago : New York : Toronto. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/moody/weighed and wanting/title page.htm

Of Positiveness.
... the standards of wisdom, to which all are bound to conform, and whoever weighs not
in their balance, be his reasons never so weighty, they write Tekel upon them ...
/.../allestree/the government of the tongue/section xi of positiveness.htm

The Scales of Judgment
... REV. CH SPURGEON. at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. "Tekel; Thou art
weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.""Daniel 5:27. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/the scales of judgment.htm

Evans -- the Fall and Recovery of Man
... the service of sin and Satan. "Menel Tekel!" is written on every human
heart. "Wanting! wanting!" is inscribed on heathen fanes ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/evans the fall and.htm

Belshazzar's Feast
... MENE. God hath NUMBERED thy kingdom: And brought it to an end! TEKEL. Thou
art WEIGHED in the balances: And art found wanting! PERES. ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/vii belshazzars feast.htm

Self-Examination
... at last, we might all tremble at the thought of ever being there, lest we should
have to come out of the scale with this verdict, "Tekel,""("Mene, mene, tekel ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/self-examination.htm

Tekel (2 Occurrences)
... Weighed (Dan. 5:27). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ...
R. Dick Wilson. TEKEL. te'-kel (teqel). See MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ...
/t/tekel.htm - 11k

Upharsin (1 Occurrence)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ... UPHARSIN. u-far'-sin
(upharsin). See MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/u/upharsin.htm - 11k

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)
... Standard Bible Encyclopedia. MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ... Mene (2 Occurrences). Daniel
5:25 This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. ...
/m/mene.htm - 11k

Upharsinupharsin (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Upharsinupharsin (1 Occurrence). Daniel 5:25 And this
is the writing that was inscribed: MENE MENE, 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

Teil

/t/teil.htm - 7k

Deficient (6 Occurrences)
... upbraiding; and it will be given him. (WEY). Daniel 5:27 TEKEL; you are
weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. (See NAS). ...
/d/deficient.htm - 8k

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

Peres (2 Occurrences)
... PERES. pe'-rez. See MENE. Multi-Version Concordance Peres (2 Occurrences). Daniel
5:25 And this is the writing which was recorded, Mene, tekel, peres. (BBE). ...
/p/peres.htm - 7k

What is the meaning of “mene mene tekel upharsin”? What is the meaning of the handwriting on the wall? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Belshazzar? | GotQuestions.org

Questions about Daniel | GotQuestions.org

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus