The Chaldean wise men are unable to even read, let alone interpret, the writing on the wall, but Daniel does so by supplying vowels in two different ways, first so the words are read as nouns, then as verbs. The nouns are monetary weights: a "mənê", equivalent to a Jewish mina or sixty shekels (several ancient versions have only one "mənê" instead of two), a "təqêl", equivalent to a shekel, and "p̄arsîn", meaning "half-pieces". The last involves a word-play on the name of the Persians ("pārās" in Hebrew), suggesting not only that they are to inherit Belshazzar's kingdom, but that they are two peoples, Medes and Persians. Daniel then interprets the words as verbs, based on their roots: "mənê" is interpreted as meaning "numbered", "təqêl", from a root meaning to weigh, as meaning "weighed" (and found wanting), and "pərês" (), the singular form of "p̄arsîn", from a root meaning "to divide", denoting that the kingdom is to be "divided" and given to the Medes and Persians. If the "half-pieces" means two half-shekels, then the various weights—a "mənê" or sixty shekels, another shekel, and two half-shekels—add up to 62, which the tale gives as the age of Darius the Mede, indicating that God's will is being worked out.