Daniel 5:5

Upon the plaister. If the large throne hall excavated by Koldewey in the Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon (see p. 798) was the scene of this feast, it is not difficult to visualize what took place at the fate fill moment described here. The hall was 56 by 171 ft. (17 by 52 m.). In the center of one of the long sides, opposite the entrance, was a niche, in which the throne may have stood. The walls were covered with white plaster made of fine plaster of Paris. We may imagine that the candlestick, or lampstand, was near the king’s seat. Lampstands with numerous oil lamps were in use at that time. Across the room from this lampstand the mysterious hand appeared and wrote on the plaster so that Belshazzar saw it. It is not explained whether the writing took the form of painted letters or was incised in the plaster.

Part of the hand. It is not stated how much of the hand was visible. The Aramaic pas, translated “part,” has sometimes been interpreted to mean “palm,” at other times to designate the hand proper below the wrist, as opposed to the lower part of the arm.