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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (1863) by Simeon Solomon.
Three Holy Children
Venerated in	Judaism Christianity
Major shrine	Tomb of Daniel, Susa
Feast	16 December – Roman Catholicism 17 December – Eastern Orthodoxy
Attributes	Three men in the fiery furnace
Patronage	burn-victims

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are figures from chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel, three Hebrew men thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, when they refuse to bow down to the king's image; the three are preserved from harm and the king sees four men walking in the flames, "the fourth ... like a son of God".

The first six chapters of Daniel are stories dating from the late Persian/early Hellenistic period, and Daniel's absence from the story of the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace suggests that it may originally have been independent. It forms a pair with the story of Daniel in the lions' den, both making the point that the God of the Jews will deliver those who are faithful to him.

Summary

King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image in the plain of Dura (a word meaning simply "plain") and commanded that all his officials bow down before it. All who failed to do so would be thrown into a blazing furnace. Certain officials informed the king that the three Jewish youths Hanania, Mishael, and Azaria, who bore the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and whom the king had appointed to high office in Babylon, were refusing to worship the golden statue. The three were brought before Nebuchadnezzar, where they informed the king that their god would be with them. Nebuchadnezzar commanded that they be thrown into the fiery furnace, heated seven times hotter than normal, but when the king looked he saw four figures walking unharmed in the flames, the fourth "like a son of God." Seeing this, Nebuchadnezzar brought the youths out of the flames and promoted them to high office, decreeing that anyone who spoke against their god should be torn limb from limb.

Composition and structure

Chapters of the Book of Daniel
Chapter 1: Induction into Babylon Chapter 2: Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Chapter 3: The Fiery Furnace Chapter 4: Nebuchadnezzar's Madness Chapter 5: Belshazzar's Feast Chapter 6: Daniel in the Lions's Den Chapter 7: The Four Beasts Chapter 8: The Ram, He-Goat and Horn Chapter 9: The Seventy Weeks Chapters 10–12: Daniel's final vision Additions to Daniel: - Song of the Three Holy Children - Susanna and the Elders (Daniel 13) - Bel and the Dragon (Daniel 14)
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Book of Daniel

It is generally accepted that the Book of Daniel originated as a collection of folktales among the Jewish community in Babylon and Mesopotamia in the Persian and early Hellenistic periods (5th to 3rd centuries BCE), expanded by the visions of chapters 7–12 in the Maccabean era (mid-2nd century). Modern scholarship agrees that Daniel is a legendary figure. It is possible that the name was chosen for the hero of the book because of his reputation as a wise seer in Hebrew tradition. The tales are in the voice of an anonymous narrator, except for chapter 4, which is in the form of a letter from king Nebuchadnezzar. Chapter 3 is unique in that Daniel does not appear in it.

Daniel 3

Daniel 3 forms part of a chiasmus (a poetic structure in which the main point or message of a passage is placed in the centre and framed by further repetitions on either side) within Daniel 2–7, paired with Daniel 6, the story of Daniel in the lions' den:

• A. (2:4b-49) – A dream of four kingdoms replaced by a fifth
  • B. (3:1–30) – Daniel's three friends in the fiery furnace
    • C. (4:1–37) – Daniel interprets a dream for Nebuchadnezzar
    • C'. (5:1–31) – Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall for Belshazzar
  • B'. (6:1–28) – Daniel in the lions' den
• A'. (7:1–28) – A vision of four world kingdoms replaced by a fifth

Chapters 3 and 6 contain significant differences. The story of the fiery furnace does not include Daniel, while the story of the lions' den does not include Daniel's friends; the first story takes place under Nebuchadnezzar and the second under Darius; and in the first story the disobedience to the earthly ruler takes place in public, while in the second Daniel petitions God in private. The stories thus supplement each other to make the point that the God of the Jews will deliver those who are faithful to him.

Genre and themes

The legendary nature of the story is revealed by the liberal use of hyperbole - the size of the statue, the use of every kind of music, the destruction of the executioners, and the king's rage followed by his confession of the superiority of the God of Israel. The plot is a type known in folklore as "the disgrace and rehabilitation of a minister," the plot of which involves a man in a state of prosperity who is sentenced to death or prison by the plots of his enemies but vindicated and restored to honour.

When Nebuchadnezzar confronts the defiant Jewish youths who refuse to submit to his will he asks them what god will deliver them from his hands. Their reply is the theological high point of the story: without addressing the king by his title, they tell him that the question is not whether they are willing to bow before the king's image, but whether God is present and willing to save. When the three are thrown into the furnace the king sees four men walking in the flames, the fourth like "a son of god," a divine being.

Interpretation

Daniel's absence from the tale of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego suggests that it may originally have been an independent story. The Hebrew names of Daniel's friends were Hananiah (Template:Hebrew Ḥănanyāh), "Yah is gracious", Mishael (Template:Hebrew Mîšā’êl), "Who is what El is?" and Azariah (Template:Hebrew Ǎzaryāh), "Yah has helped", but by the king’s decree they were assigned Chaldean names, so that Daniel became Beltheshazzar (Template:Hebrew Belteshazzar), Hananiah became Shadrach (שַׁדְרַך Šaḏraḵ), Mishael became Meshach (מֵישַׁ֖ךְ Mêšaḵ) and Azariah became Abednego (עֲבֵ֣דנְג֑וֹ ‘Ǎḇêḏ-Nəḡō). Shadrach's name is possibly derived from Shudur Aku "Command of Aku (the moon god)", Meshach is probably a variation of Mi-sha-aku, meaning "Who is as Aku is?", and Abednego is either "Slave of the god Nebo/Nabu" or a variation of Abednergal, "Slave of the god Nergal." The Chaldean names are related to the Hebrew names, but the name of a heathen god has replaced that of Yahweh.

The word "Dura" (where the statue is erected) means simply "plain" or "fortress" and is not any specific place; the Greek historian Herodotus mentions a golden image of the god Bel in Babylon, but the gigantic size of this statue might suggest that its origins lie in folklore. The statue's dimensions (6x60 cubits) are linked intertextually with those of Ezra-Nehemiah's Second Temple (60x60 cubits), suggesting that the king's image is contrasted with the post-exilic place of worship for faithful Jews like Daniel.

Eastern Orthodox observance

The Greek version of Daniel 3 inserts "the song of the three youths," two psalms, connected by a narrative emphasising their miraculous salvation. The song is alluded to in odes seven and eight of the canon, a hymn sung in the matins service and on other occasions in the Eastern Orthodox Church, where their feast day is December 17 (along with Daniel). The Orthodox also commemorate them on the two Sundays before the Nativity of Christ. The reading of the story of the fiery furnace, including the song, is prescribed for the vesperal Divine Liturgy celebrated by the Orthodox on Holy Saturday. Likewise, the three are commemorated as prophets in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod on December 17 with Daniel.

In popular culture

Literature

• 1963: Martin Luther King Jr. references them in his Letter from Birmingham Jail

Music

• 1930s-1962: Shadrack by Robert MacGimsey
• 1955–1956: Gesang der Jünglinge by Karlheinz Stockhausen
• 1974 Loose Booty by Sly and the Family Stone
• 1976: Abendigo by The Abyssinians
• 1977: La La Bam-Bam by The Congos
• 1979: Survival by Bob Marley and the Wailers
• 1989: Shadrach by Beastie Boys
• 2004: Blazing Fire by Steel Pulse
• 2012: Meditation is the Practice of Death by Om

See also

• The Burning Fiery Furnace (performance)
• The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children

References

Citations

1. Seow 2003, p. 55-58.
2. Levine 2010, p. 1233, 1239 footnote 3.1-7.
3. ^ Seow 2003, p. 87.
4. Levine 2010, p. 1239-1241.
5. Collins 1984, p. 29, 34–35.
6. Collins 1984, p. 28.
7. Redditt 2008, p. 176–177, 180. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRedditt2008 (help)
8. Wesselius 2002, p. 295.
9. Redditt 2009, p. 177.
10. Collins 1984, p. 55.
11. Seow 2003, p. 55-57.
12. Daniel 1:7
13. "1611 King James Bible. Book of Daniel, chapter 1". Archived from the original on Feb 9, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. Levine 2010, p. 1239, footnote 3.1-7.
15. Wesselius 2002, p. 303.
16. Collins 1984, p. 56.

Bibliography

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• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
• Angelic visionaries
• Biblical dreams and visions
• Book of Daniel
• Christian saints from the Old Testament
• Hebrew Bible people
• Nebuchadnezzar II
• People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar