The Meaning of Daniel 5:31 Explained

Daniel 5:31

KJV: And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

YLT: and Darius the Mede hath received the kingdom, when a son of sixty and two years.

Darby: And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

ASV: And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Darius  the Median  took  the kingdom,  [being] about threescore  and two  years  old. 

What does Daniel 5:31 Mean?

Study Notes

Darius the Median
The biblical order of the monarchs of Daniel's time, and of the period of the captivity and restoration of Judah, is as follows:
(1) Nebuchadnezzar (B.C. 604-561) with whom the captivity of Judah and the "times of the Gentiles" , See Scofield " Revelation 16:19 ", began, and who established the first of the four world monarchies.; Daniel 2:37 ; Daniel 2:38 ; Daniel 7:4 .
(2) Belshazzar (prob B.C. 556), the Bel-shar-uzzar of the inscriptions, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and son of the victorious general Nabonidus. Belshazzar seems to have reigned as viceroy.
(3) Darius the Mede Daniel 5:31 ; Daniel 6:1-27 ; Daniel 9:1 . Concerning this Darius secular history awaits further discoveries, as formerly in the case of Belshazzar. He has been conjectured to be identical with Gobryas, a Persian general. This Darius was "the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans" Daniel 9:1 "Ahasuerus," more a title than a name, the equivalent of the modern "Majesty," is used in Scripture of at least four personages, and is Persian rather than Median. That Darius the Mede was the "son" (or grandson) of an Ahasuerus proves no more than that he was, probably, through the seed of his mother, of the seed royal not only of Media, but also of Persia. There is but one Darius in Daniel. (See Daniel 9:1 .)
(4) Cyrus, with whose rise to power came fully into existence the Medo-Persian, second of the world-empires Daniel 2:39 ; Daniel 7:5
In Daniel's vision of this empire in "the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar" Daniel 8:1-4 the Median power of Darius is seen as the lesser of the two horns of the ram; the Persian power of Cyrus, under whom the Medo-Persian power was consolidated, as the "higher" horn which "came up last." Under Cyrus, who was prophetically named more than a century before his birth. Isaiah 44:28 to Isaiah 45:4 , the return to Palestine of the Jewish remnant began. Ezra 1:1-4 . See Daniel 11:2 , marg. ref.
trodden down of the Gentiles
The "times of the Gentiles" began with the captivity of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar 2 Chronicles 36:1-21 , since which time Jerusalem has been under Gentile overlordship.
three kings Ahasuerus, Ezra 4:6 , Artaxerxes, Ezra 4:7 , and Darius called "Hystaspes" Ezra 4:24 .
fourth Xerxes, who invaded Greece BC 483-480.

Verse Meaning

Belshazzar suffered execution that very night, and Darius the Mede became the ruler of Babylonia (cf. Daniel 2:21). The writer introduced Darius in Daniel 5:31, which is the first verse of chapter6 in the Hebrew Bible, and he is the prominent king in chapter6.
"The references to Darius the Mede in the book of Daniel have long been recognized as providing the most serious historical problem in the book." [1]
Critics, including Rowley, claim that history allows no room for a person by this name. However, Archer suggested that "Darius" may have been a title of honor in the Persian Empire, as "Caesar" was in the Roman Empire-or, I might add, as "Pharaoh" was in Egypt. [2] If this was Song of Solomon , "Darius" could refer to another man known in history by another name or names. The most likely possibility seems to me to have been Cyrus. [3] This would account most naturally for the fact that Daniel referred to Darius as "king" in chapter6. Furthermore, it would have been very unusual for a subordinate of Cyrus to divide the whole empire into120 satrapies ( Daniel 5:1). Darius was probably called "the Mede" because he was of Median descent ( Daniel 9:1).
Another possibility is that Darius is another name for Gubaru (Gobryas), a ruler of Babylon under Cyrus. [4]
"In his dealings with his Babylonian subjects, Cyrus was "king of Babylon, king of lands."... But it was Gobryas the satrap who represented the royal authority after the king"s [5] departure [6]." [7]
This view distinguishes Gubaru from Ugbaru, the governor of Gutium and Persian commander who led the assault against Babylon. A third view is that Ugbaru and Gubaru are different spellings of the same man"s name. [8]
"But the syllable GU is written quite differently from UG in Akkadian cuneiform." [9]
A fourth view equates Darius the Mede with Cambyses, Cyrus" Song of Solomon , who ruled Persia from about530 to522 B.C. [3]6 Darius the Mede was definitely not the same person as Darius the Great (Darius I) who was much younger and ruled Persia later, from521-486 B.C, nor was he Darius II who ruled even later. [11]
"It must be emphasized that there is no established fact which contradicts a person by the name of Darius the Mede reigning over Babylon if Darius is an alternate name for a known ruler." [12]
Persian Kings during the Exilic and Postexilic PeriodsKingReignScriptureCyrus559-530 Ezra 1:1; Ezra 4:5; Daniel 5:31 to Daniel 6:28; Daniel 9:1; Daniel 11:1Cambyses530-522Smerdis522Darius I521-486 Ezra 5-6; Haggai; ZechariahXerxes (Ahasuerus)486-464 Ezra 4:6; EstherArtaxerxes I (Artashasta)464-424 Ezra 4:7-23; chs7-10; Nehemiah; MalachiDarius II423-404 Nehemiah 12:22
"This chapter illustrates the involvement of king and kingdom in one destiny. Belshazzar"s blatant disrespect for the Most High God was all of a piece with the national character, indeed with our human condition, as it is depicted in Psalm 90. Though human days are numbered ( Daniel 5:10), few number them for themselves and "get a heart of wisdom" ( Daniel 5:12). Belshazzar in this chapter presents a vivid picture of the fool, the practising [13] atheist, who at the end can only brazen it out with the help of alcohol which blots out the stark reality." [3]0
"The whole chapter is an instructive symbolic assessment of the perils and limits, the sources and responsibilities, of power in human affairs." [15]

Context Summary

Daniel 5:17-31 - Weighed And Found Wanting
Daniel was unperturbed and undismayed. Calm and collected, he recognized his Father's handwriting, and read it, as the instructed may decipher a scroll which is illegible to the ordinary gaze. What to him were the gewgaws of the palace? With the wings of the angel of death overshadowing that awe-struck throng, it was of small importance that Belshazzar promised him the purple robe and chain of gold. It seems sometimes as though those fingers were busy still writing their awful sentence on the walls of national revelry. While a nation is drinking deep at its cups and countenancing uncleanness, the divine assay may be in progress and the verdict going forth: weighed and found wanting. There may be gold and glitter, revelry and mirth, the splendor of state, and the profusion of rich viands; but what of these if the people are ignorant, irreligious, and impure? Then, indeed, dry-rot has set in! The root sin of all is pride. May the Spirit of God, who ever brings with Him light and understanding and excellent wisdom be found in us, as in Daniel. [source]

Chapter Summary: Daniel 5

1  Belshazzar's impious feast
5  A hand-writing unknown to the magicians, troubles the king
10  At the commendation of the queen Daniel is brought
17  He, reproving the king of pride and idolatry,
25  reads and interprets the writing
30  The monarchy is translated to the Medes

What do the individual words in Daniel 5:31 mean?

and Darius Mede received kingdom the [being] about old Years sixty and two
וְדָרְיָ֙וֶשׁ֙ מָֽדָיָ֔א‪‬‪‬ קַבֵּ֖ל מַלְכוּתָ֑א כְּבַ֥ר שְׁנִ֖ין שִׁתִּ֥ין וְתַרְתֵּֽין

וְדָרְיָ֙וֶשׁ֙  and  Darius 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּרְיָוֶשׁ  
Sense: Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, king of the Chaldeans, who succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom on the death of Belshazzar; probably the same as “Astyages” the last king of the Medes (538 BC) (same as 867 ()).
מָֽדָיָ֔א‪‬‪‬  Mede 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
קַבֵּ֖ל  received 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קְבַל  
Sense: (Pael) to receive.
מַלְכוּתָ֑א  kingdom  the 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular determinate
Root: מַלְכוּ  
Sense: royalty, reign, kingdom.
כְּבַ֥ר  [being]  about  old 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּר  
Sense: son.
שְׁנִ֖ין  Years 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: שְׁנָה  
Sense: year.
שִׁתִּ֥ין  sixty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: שִׁתִּין  
Sense: sixty, threescore.
וְתַרְתֵּֽין  and  two 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular
Root: תְּרֵין 
Sense: two.

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