āMene, Tekel, Faresā are mysterious words that have been exciting people for thousands of years. What is in them? We will find the answer in the Bible. This fascinating story is set out in the fifth chapter of the book of Daniel, which is contained in the Old Testament records.
Prophecy story
The Babylonian king named Belshazzar made a grand feast for his nobles. After drinking wine, he ordered the servants to deliver the gold and silver bowls, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had once stolen from the Jerusalem temple and defiled by pagan use. From holy things, close lords drank wine. During the bacchanalia, the entire community tirelessly glorified pagan idols. At that very moment an incredible event took place that scared Balthasar seriously, - a hand appeared in the air, writing on the lime wall words incomprehensible to the king.
Belshazzar was embarrassed, a trembling seized him, he immediately summoned fortunetellers and fortunetellers to read and interpret the written words. To the one who will cope with this, Vladyka promised great power. But none of those who came could neither read, nor even explain the meaning of what was written. Then the queen reminded her husband of the divine man Daniel, who was brought by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon along with other captive Jews from Jerusalem. Daniel was known for his high spirit, divine wisdom and ability to explain dreams.
The prisoner refused the awards of Belshazzar, and he read and interpreted the words. But before, he reminded the king of the story of his father, to whom God once granted honor and greatness, but he incorrectly used these gifts. Nebuchadnezzar became proud and became a despot and tyrant, for this the Lord robbed him of his human mind and gave him a beast in return, until the ruler realized that God alone ruled over all kingdoms and kings.
Daniel rebuked Belshazzar that his fatherās story, although it was known to him, had not taught him anything. Belshazzar forgot God and, with all his company, glorified idols. For this, the Lord sent the fingers, who wrote the sentence to the king: "Mena, mene, flowed, uparsin."
The symbolic meaning of the phrase
In the Elizabethan Bible, the word "uparsin" is written as "fares." So in the Church Slavonic interpretation, this phrase sounds slightly different: "Mene, Tekel, Fares (uparsin)." The literal translation from the Aramaic language says: āmine, mine, shekel and half a minuteā - these are measures of weight used in ancient Eastern countries. Mina is approximately 500 grams, half a minute, respectively, 250 g, and a shekel is approximately 11.5 g. But the important thing was not the exact measurement, but the symbolic meaning of this mysterious phrase: "Mene, Tekel, Fares." A translation of a verbal formula can also sound like this: "Calculated, calculated, weighted, divided." Daniel interpreted them as follows: God calculated (comprehended) the significance of the kingdom and put an end to it, and Balthasar himself was weighed and found very light (insignificant). His possessions are divided and given to other rulers - Persians and Medes. That night, Belshazzar was destroyed by Darius of Medes, Babylon passed to the Persians, the prophecy was fulfilled.
In world culture
The phrase "Mene, Tekel, Fares" has become a landmark in world culture. As in the Bible, it is allegorically used today to "weigh" the affairs, deeds and intentions of man. Letās not forget that these words were a prediction of the near end of a person dressed in power and privileges who exorbitantly exalted himself and went beyond the limits of the rational. Therefore, the formula āMene, Tekel Faresā is also used when they want to predict the collapse of the ruler and satrap. It is no accident, after all, that the revolutionary funeral anthem (āYou fell as a victim in a fatal battleā), which accompanied the funeral of the dead Bolsheviks, ominously hints that while the despot, they say, is feasting in a magnificent palace, the fateful hand of history displays a terrible omen on the wall.
In approximately the same vein, there is a mention of the inscription āMene, Tekel, Faresā in the musical composition āAnother Brick in the Wallā by Pink Floyd, which was adopted by black African students as a hymn to protest against racism.
You can hear the immortal words in the films of domestic and foreign cinematographers ("Stalker", "The History of the Knight", etc.).
In painting and drawing
The painting by the great Rembrandt, "Feast of Belshazzar", created in 1635, is also devoted to the words "Mene, Tekel, Fares." Their meaning is revealed with the help of expressive pictorial techniques. The master gives special attention to the emotional impact of the formidable and wonderful inscription on the heroes of the canvas.
The painting āFeast of Belshazzarā by Vasily Surikov, created in 1874, is not inferior in strength to the artistic impact on the viewer. This epic canvas extremely sharply conveys the taste of the era, the tension and the symbolic meaning of the events.
French engraver and cartoonist James Gillray used the story of Belshazzar for a satirical drawing dedicated to the self-seduction of Emperor Napoleon.
In literature
This phrase, which has become winged, is found in many literary works. This is the name of the novel of the Russian emigrant writer Ivan Nazhivin, who comprehends the impending danger of the 1905 revolution. A peculiar warning are these words in the subtitles of the sarcastic collection āB. Babylonian "by Michael Weller. The phrase is mentioned in the novel āThe Name of the Roseā, written by Umberto Eco, in the fantasy āTirmenā of Ukrainian writers who create under the pseudonym Henry Oldi, in the work of āMoscow-Petushkiā by V. Erofeev, in ironic poems by Dmitry Prigov and other works.
Book of Olesya Nikolaeva
At the beginning of the new millennium, she created a work with the eloquent title āMene, Tekel, Faresā Olesya Nikolaeva, Russian prose writer and poet. In 2010, she was awarded the Order of the Russian Orthodox Church by St. Princess Olga for her educational activities, and in 2012 she received the Patriarchal Literary Prize. With great love, humor and sadness, the writer recreates the world of Russian monasticism and the characteristics of relationships among Christians. We can say that through the lips of authors such as Olesya Nikolaeva, the Lord calls upon believers to stop, look at themselves from the outside and objectively evaluate whether they are fulfilling the main commandment of Christ: "Love one another." To be loved is the natural need of every person. From the fact that love has cooled on the earth, evil fearlessly rules the world. Intrigue, hatred, mutual persecution among Christians - this is what poisons a pure ardent love for God and people and incredibly weakens the spiritual and moral mission of God's children. The words "Mene, Tekel, Fares", which is entitled the novel, sound in it in the context of the experiences of a young monk, "wounded" by the lack of love, understanding and forgiveness among the people dearest to him in the Christian world. And here it is a call to stop and think.