A dramatic and chaotic scene unfolds, capturing a festive banquet abruptly interrupted by the terror of war. The rapid shift in events reflects a state of deep confusion, where the joy of a royal feast collides with the sudden anxiety of battle.
The events begin with the preparations for a grand meal, as food is carefully arranged for the celebration [מצודת ציון]. Alongside the feast, an additional measure is taken. The primary approach among commentators is that a guard is stationed on a watchtower to look out for approaching enemy troops [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. However, based on the traditions of the Sages, others suggest this action actually refers to lighting the lamps in the royal palace to illuminate the banquet [רש״י, רד״ק, אברבנאל].
The exact nature of this gathering is understood in several different ways. One perspective suggests that the people of Babylon lived in constant fear of the Median and Persian armies. Even in the middle of their feast, while eating and drinking, they were forced to post guards and remain on high alert for a sudden call to battle [מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. From this view, the prophetic vision is experienced with a sense of madness, swinging wildly between calls for celebration and screams of war [מלבי״ם]. In contrast, another approach argues that the Babylonians were completely absorbed in their celebration and felt no fear at all. According to this understanding, the scene is not a factual description of what happened, but rather a mocking warning: while they are busy setting tables and eating, they really should be posting guards and preparing their officers for an attack [שד״ל]. Offering a completely different setting, a third explanation shifts the focus away from Babylon entirely. Instead, it describes the residents of Jerusalem moments before the city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The Jewish people sat eating and drinking out of sheer despair, while a watchman on the city wall waited for the Babylonian army to arrive, right up until the sudden command to fight [אברבנאל].
The festive atmosphere is ultimately shattered by an urgent cry for the military officers to rise up and oil their shields. The most common explanation for this sudden command is the physical preparation of weapons. Battle shields of that era were made of thick, processed leather. Soldiers would rub them with oil to make the surface slippery, ensuring that enemy swords and spears would glance off rather than pierce the material [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. Alternatively, some commentators offer a symbolic explanation, viewing the shield as a metaphor for the king, whose duty is to protect the nation. Because the Babylonian king Belshazzar was killed on that exact night, the sudden cry to prepare the shield is actually a hysterical demand to crown a new king, Darius, in his place [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, אברבנאל].