PERES. In the Aram. inscr. written by a hand on the wall at Belshazzar’s feast: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin (Dan 5:25 KJV), the word Upharsin is made up of the conjunction u and pharsin, which is the pl. of peres. Peres is derived from Aram. peras, meaning “to divide.” Belshazzar was told that his kingdom would be divided between the Medes and the Persians (paras, with a further play on the root prs).