Was the Bible Right?
c. 553–539 BCE·Exile & Return·Person

Belshazzar

Scripture: Daniel 5; Daniel 7:1

Clay cylinder of King Nabonidus, Belshazzar's father, inscribed in cuneiform
Clay cylinder of King Nabonidus, Belshazzar's father, inscribed in cuneiform · Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Source

The claim

Belshazzar holds a feast in Babylon and sees the writing on the wall the night the city falls.

What archaeology found

For a long time Belshazzar was known only from Daniel, and critics treated him as fictional. Cylinders of King Nabonidus found at Ur in 1854 name Belshazzar as his eldest son, and other texts say Nabonidus entrusted the kingship to him while he spent years in Arabia.

Sources

  1. Raymond P. Dougherty, Nabonidus and Belshazzar, Yale University Press (1929)

Verdict history

  • ConfirmedInitial verdict.