PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
PERES {H6537}; Thy kingdom {H4437} is divided {H6537}, and given {H3052} to the Medes {H4076} and Persians {H6540}.
'P'res'- your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
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Isaiah 13:17
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and [as for] gold, they shall not delight in it. -
Daniel 6:28
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. -
Isaiah 21:2
A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. -
Daniel 5:31
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, [being] about threescore and two years old. -
Daniel 9:1
¶ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; -
Isaiah 45:1
¶ Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; -
Isaiah 45:2
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Daniel 5:28 delivers the final and most direct part of Daniel's interpretation of the mysterious handwriting on the wall for King Belshazzar: "PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." This declaration sealed the fate of the Babylonian Empire, announcing its imminent collapse and the transfer of power to a new world empire.
Context
This verse is the climax of Daniel's interpretation of the divine message written on the wall during King Belshazzar's impious feast. The king, in a display of arrogance and disrespect, had ordered the sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem by his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, to be used for drinking wine and praising pagan gods. This act of blasphemy provoked divine judgment, manifested by the appearance of a hand writing an cryptic message: "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" (Daniel 5:25). Daniel, known for his wisdom and connection to God, was the only one able to decipher the words, revealing a prophecy of the kingdom's downfall. Verse 28 specifically interprets the final word, PERES (or Upharsin), leaving no doubt about Babylon's destiny.
Key Themes
Linguistic Insights
The word PERES (from Upharsin in the full phrase) is a crucial linguistic play. It is derived from the Aramaic root meaning "to divide" or "to split." However, it also sounds very similar to Paras, the Aramaic word for "Persia." Thus, the single word carries a powerful double meaning: the kingdom would be both divided and given to the Persians (and Medes).
Practical Application
Daniel 5:28 serves as a timeless reminder of several enduring truths: