(2) Under the influence of the wine, [King] Belshazzar ordered the gold and silver vessels that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem to be brought so that the king and his nobles, his consorts, and his concubines could drink from them.
Does this mean to communicate that the writing in Hebrew to illustrate the power of the God of the Jews and the ignorance of the Babylonians? Or that it was in some truly unknowable script to illustrate the Divinity of the hand that wrote it?
How does this King not already know about Daniel?
(21) Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, was driven away from men, and his mind made like that of a beast, and his habitation was with wild asses. He was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he came to know that the Most High God is sovereign over the realm of man, and sets over it whom He wishes. (22) But you, Belshazzar his son, did not humble yourself although you knew all this.
What do we learn about Daniel as a character from this chapter? What can we determine about his thoughts, motives, and goals so far?
Again we see the Haman-like hook of using the Jews' devotion to God as a sign of malignancy, but this time seems less racist than we saw in Chapter 3. Here they seem to be more personally attacking Daniel and using his Jewishness as an excuse, rather than attacking Jews and using Daniel as an excuse.
How did they know when to burst in and catch him?!
This parallels Ahasuerus's position in Megillat Esther as well.
The Narrative is out of order - what purpose might this serve?
(כו) וּמַרְאֵ֨ה הָעֶ֧רֶב וְהַבֹּ֛קֶר אֲשֶׁ֥ר נֶאֱמַ֖ר אֱמֶ֣ת ה֑וּא וְאַתָּה֙ סְתֹ֣ם הֶֽחָז֔וֹן כִּ֖י לְיָמִ֥ים רַבִּֽים׃
The question of secrecy raises again for me questions about the other Jewish youth that were brought to Babylonia with Daniel. We haven't heard anything from/about them in a while - are they still companions of Daniel? Were they ever truly friends of Daniel? Would he wish to confide in them about this terrible dream and prophetic vision?