דניאל, פרק ה׳, פסוק כ״ה

Daniel stands before the king to reveal the exact reading of the mysterious inscription that appeared on the wall. The inscribed message serves as a final, calculated decree, indicating that the days of the kingdom have been strictly numbered and measured. The conclusion of the warning carries a powerful double meaning. On one level, it declares that the empire is about to be shattered and divided. At the same time, it serves as a direct reference to the Medes and the Persians, the specific nations destined to conquer and inherit the fallen kingdom [אבן עזרא].

A compelling question arises as to why the royal Babylonian advisors were entirely unable to read the writing themselves. One possibility is that the message was written in the Hebrew alphabet, which the Babylonians did not know, or perhaps in another foreign script. It may also have been composed of unique symbols that only Daniel had the wisdom to decipher [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Another perspective suggests that the true difficulty lay in a complex cipher. The text was arranged in a grid of three horizontal rows. The king's wise men naturally attempted to read the letters horizontally, row by row, which produced only meaningless combinations. Daniel solved the puzzle by realizing the code required a vertical reading. By reading the letters from top to bottom, column by column, the hidden words clearly emerged, revealing the precise judgment against the empire [מצודת דוד].