Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin

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Mene Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

Mene Mene, Tekel, Upharsin , in the Bible, the mysterious riddle written by a hand on the wall at Belshazzar's feast. These Aramaic words may be translated literally as, "It has been counted and counted, weighed and divided." Daniel interpreted this to mean that the king's deeds had been weighed and found deficient and that his kingdom would therefore be divided.

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Mene mene tekel upharsin

A Dictionary of the Bible | 1997 | | Â© A Dictionary of the Bible 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Mene mene tekel upharsin Daniel interpreted these words (which were perhaps nouns for several weights or coins), which were written on the wall of Belshazzar's palace. They had baffled the wise men of Babylon (Dan. 5: 25–8). He claimed they meant ‘to number’, ‘to weigh’, ‘to divide’, adding up to a message of doom: the kingdom would shortly be divided between the Medes and the Persians.

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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Mene mene tekel upharsin." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

W. R. F. BROWNING. "Mene mene tekel upharsin." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (December 26, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Menemenetekelupharsin.html

W. R. F. BROWNING. "Mene mene tekel upharsin." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved December 26, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Menemenetekelupharsin.html

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