Q. In the handwriting on the wall in the book of Daniel, why do you think God wrote “mene, mene” twice instead of just “mene, tekel, upharsin”? Does the repetition mean something?
For one thing, “mene” might be repeated to fill out the poetic line, so that it will have two parts with four syllables and two stresses each: mené, mené; tekél, parsín. (The “u” is barely pronounced and simply means “and”; it’s a variation on the usual “w,” when it comes before “p.”) As I note in this post, solemn pronouncements, including judgments like this one, are often spoken in poetry in the Old Testament. Repeating “mene” allows the line to have a memorable poetic cadence.
But the repetition of the first word might also be a clue that each word actually has a double meaning. As I explain in my study guide to Daniel and Revelation:
The inscription is a play on words. In one sense, it lists the names of three coins of decreasing value: the minah (worth many shekels), the tekel (the Aramaic form of the word shekel itself), and the peres (half-shekel; parsin is the plural). This duplicates the image in the statue dream of materials of decreasing value, underscoring God’s purposes to replace the Babylonian empire with later ones. (The narrator echoes this image by describing how the goblets from Jerusalem were gold and silver, while the gods of Babylon were gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.)
But the meaning of the inscription also rests on the derivation of the names of these coins. Minah comes from a verb meaning “to count” or “to number”; tekel comes from the verb “to weigh”; and peres from a verb meaning “to divide.” Daniel explains how all of these meanings apply to Belshazzar and his doomed empire. (Peres is also a play on the word “Persian.”)
So this was a very dense puzzle; the last term actually has a triple meaning, disclosing the identity of the empire that would soon conquer Babylon. Even though the repetition of “mene” might have offered a slight clue to its interpretation, “all the king’s wise men . . . could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant.” But Daniel showed both his divine gifting and the certain fate of Babylon when he interpreted the puzzle.
Good Question 
Could it be at all possible that mene is repeated to denote that God has “counted” (numbered) the days of his reign twice? This would be for the purposes of proving that there is no mistake in God’s calculation. Similar to how money is sometimes counted multiple times to verify the total value. I am by no means a biblical scholar, but find the underlying and multiple meanings and interpretations of the Bible to be very interesting. Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.
I agree with this 100%. I also had that same theory when reading this chapter, the “Mene, Mene” repetition was poetic AND was intent on sending a message by doubling the word. Both Jerome and Josephus wrote that Belshazzar was not Nebuchadnezzar’s son, but predecessor. They both recorded that Nebuchadnezzar’s son named Evil-merodach succeeded the throne first, and it is thought that Jeremiah was writing about in Jeremiah 52:31. If that is the case, “Mene, Mene” could have been God giving the Chaldean kingdom two chances by two different leaders to honor God.
It is also interesting to point out that Darius the Mede and Cyrus King of Persia were related to each other, Darius was the maternal uncle to Cyrus, who eventually destroyed all of the Chaldeans.
“Could it be at all possible that mene is repeated to denote that God has “counted” (numbered) the days of his reign twice?”
Also the fall of Babylon is repeated in revelation 18:2:
“…Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen…” (Rev 18:2)
When God speak TWICE the same things, it’s that the thing is established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass. Remember the TWO dreams of Pharaoh in Genesis 41, about the 7 years of famine?
“And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do” (Gen 41:23)
“And for that the dream was DOUBLED unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” (Gen 41:32)
Even the explanation of why the dream is doubled is written twice…
Also there are 2 mene + 1 teckel + 1 division into two halves (upharsin), like elsewhere there are 1 time + 2 times + one half of time. Both = 3 1/2
Yes! Revelation 12:14! Wow I love this connection!
When we look at the hebrew word Mene closer you se the hook under the word Mene is not same the tree Times this word is written in vers 24and25 Is it diffrent meaning in it and not the same as we think?
The differences you are seeing are just accent marks that were added to the text later to help people read or sing the words out loud in worship. They do not affect the meaning. So it is the same word twice in the writing on the wall, and the same word when Daniel interprets it.