was the son of the mighty king, Nebuchadnezzar, and the last king of Babylon before it was overtaken by the Persians. During a banquet he was giving to a thousand members of his royal court, a mysterious hand appeared and began writing a message upon the wall. No one at the banquet could decipher the message. The prophet Daniel was summoned, who explained that because of the king’s misdeeds his reign was coming to an end and his kingdom would be divided. Belshazzar was slain by his enemies that very night.
In 1928, a thirty-nine-year-old crippled musician was told that his physical handicap was in response to his soul deciding to meet the misdeeds he had committed in his experience as Belshazzar.
In the one before this we find the entity that ruler, that king in power, when the handwriting was given that those would be measured in the balance and those found wanting would be called to reckoning. The entity then lost through that experience, and in those forces that deal with the physical application or physical result of application of abilities we find the entity meriting many of those hardships through which the present experience brings to the entity; yet with all that, the love of harmony, that of the ability to listen ever for that warning, brings much to the entity, and—applied in the present sphere—may bring the development of the entity far along the way of gaining the more perfect understanding of the unison of forces as applied in the spiritual and mental realm, and of its application to physical forces in a material plane.
4609-1
Cayce told [4609] that in spite of his handicap, he was still held in awe both physically and mentally by many others. He had much to offer. However, too often [4609] judged others and found them lacking in some degree. Rather than keeping himself aloof, he was encouraged to make many lasting friendships, one of his talents. He was also encouraged to use his creative abilities to be of service to others. In addition to his lifetime as Belshazzar, in ancient Egypt he had been the chief musician responsible for working with the vibratory forces of healing. He had also been incarnate during the earliest periods of Atlantis.
With the exception of some correspondence between [4609] and Edgar Cayce the year of his reading, no additional follow-up reports are on file.
Benaiah
II Samuel 8:18, 20:23, 23:20, 22; I Kings 1-2, 4:4; I Chronicles 11:22-24, 18:17, 27:5-6Case 2316
Benaiah was a loyal follower of David who proved himself extremely capable in military affairs, eventually becoming supreme commander of the army. His bravery was legendary. Once he even descended into a pit to do battle with a lion. He served as David’s chief bodyguard and later assumed the same responsibilities under Solomon, never hesitating to put men of questionable loyalty to death.
In 1940, the parents of a sixteen-year-old boy requested a life reading for their son. Cayce told them that their child was an “unusual personality” and had various innate urges that would influence his life’s direction. In addition to being deeply interested in mystical or psychical information, the boy had a well-developed imagination and was a gifted storyteller and writer. On the negative side, the boy was convinced that his judgment was superior to others and he also had the tendency to want to spend more money than he possessed.
Inclined to be moody and cynical, he discovered through his reading that his past lives had been quite varied. During the colonial period, [2316] had been a record keeper and an administrator of the law in Williamsburg, Virginia. During a lifetime with the Crusades in France, he had argued against attempting to impose French beliefs onto people from other lands. In ancient Egypt, he had assisted individuals with vocational guidance. He was told that one of the greatest mental influences in his present experience came from his military career in the Holy Land:
The entity then was Benoni [Gladys Davis later noted that she believed she had erroneously written down the name and that because of the reference she felt the reading was actually referring to Benaiah], the leader or director of the army or the military forces of that great king; thus one whose judgments and activities were looked upon as being close to the king himself.
The entity gained, the entity lost; yet we may see much in the characteristics and personality of the present entity from the activities of the entity as Benoni, the keeper of the military forces of Solomon, the king—if there will be made a close study of those activities.
2316-1
Cayce encouraged the boy’s parents to give their son an education in the law and prepare him for a career in writing or in law and order. When they asked about their son’s future, Cayce stated, “Depends upon the use to which he puts his abilities.”
In 1943, according to the last notation on file, the boy’s father stated that [2316] had foregone his studies at Princeton University for a time because he was extremely interested in becoming a part of active service in the navy.
Benaiah, the Levite
II Chronicles 31:13Case 3528
This Benaiah lived during the time of King Hezekiah (known for his many reforms) and for a time was given the position of overseeing the offerings presented in the temple.
A thirty-six-year-old bakery salesman, who read about Edgar Cayce in There Is a River, in 1943 obtained a life reading and was told that his tendency to become headstrong was due to his lifetime as Benaiah. At that time, he had apparently been taken into captivity by order of the king for gratifying his own selfish interests and forgetting the ways of the Lord. Although Benaiah later regretted his misdeeds, his banishment enabled him to become educated. His reading stated, “From that experience the entity learned to write. For as Benaiah, the entity was educated in the schools of those lands where the entity was taken as hostage.” (3528-1) That ability to write remained with him in the present, and he was told that he could become “a writer of note” provided he overcome his propensity for sarcasm.
Additional past lives had occurred in colonial times when he had worked with the Native Americans to learn their customs as well as a lifetime during the time of the Mound Builders, when [3528] had acquired a respect for the soil and the preparation of foods. He was encouraged to focus his talents into composition and writing, even writing articles about food if he so desired.
His reading stated that it was due to his own sensitivity that he often appeared sarcastic and pessimistic. He was encouraged to be sincere, learning to control his temper and not say things that he really didn’t mean. He was also told to focus his energies into learning how to apply spiritual principles in everyday life, learning his true relationship to the Creative Forces. By so doing, he would have the opportunity to work with writing.
Later reports suggest that [3528] found the information on spirituality in the Cayce information very helpful to him. In 1952, he filled out a follow-up questionnaire and stated that the reading’s analysis of his abilities and tendencies had been “absolutely correct” and that he was “fundamentally in agreement with the reading—especially as to basic character traits.” At the same time, he admitted that his own “laziness” and “lack of will” had caused him to do nothing about pursuing writing. He still confessed to being sarcastic, hardheaded, and capable of “flying off the handle” easily.
No additional follow-up reports are on file.
Benaiah, the Pirathonite
II Samuel 23:30; I Chronicles 11:31, 27:14Case 3001
This Benaiah was considered one of the thirty valiant men of David. He served as a division commander for the army, going on active duty during the eleventh month of each year.
A fifty-two-year-old business owner, involved in the textile industry, was told that his love of “clothing, woolens, textiles of all natures, especially skins [and] furs” had originated in his most recent life as a British citizen who had settled in New York during the American Revolution. He had also been among the tribe of Levi in a lifetime in the Holy Land, where he had gained spiritually because of his attempt to apply spiritual principles in the face of external obstacles. His abilities as a leader and the lifetime of