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/early 4th Century Christians depicted the fiery furnace in the Catacomb s of Priscilla, Rome]]

The fiery furnace is a story from the Book Of Daniel in the Tanakh / Old Testament . The story is well-known among Jew s and Christians .

In the story, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego), defy King Nebuchadnezzar 's order to bow down and worship a golden Idol , a Cult Image of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, in a rage, orders the boys thrown into a furnace, but they are miraculously unharmed by the flames and survive the experience unscathed. Nebuchadnezzar sees them walking around in the furnace along with an unnamed fourth figure. After the three youths emerge, Nebuchadnezzar orders everyone to worship their God instead of the golden idol.

The Septuagint version of this story adds two additional portions to the story that take place while the three youths are inside the furnace. In the Prayer Of Azariah , Azariah confesses their Sin s and the sins of Israel , and asks God to save them to demonstrate his power to the Babylonia ns. It is followed by an account of an angel coming and making the inside of the furnace feel like a cool breeze over dew, and an extended song of praise to God for delivering them.

The song of the three youths 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 . 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 .


CHARACTERS



Shadrach


Hananiah is a Hebrew boy in the Book Of Daniel in the Bible , whom Nebuchadnezzar names '''Shadrach'''.

  • Introduced in as one of the nobles

  • Taken captive by the Babylonia n army after they conquered Judah

  • Brought to Babylon to be re-educated as a Babylonian and serve in the court

  • Renamed Shadrach (an honorific for a Babylonian god)

  • Along with his companions by eating only vegetables, a way of resisting compromise and maintaining his Jew ish identity

  • Along with Mishael and Azariah, refused to bow down to the golden idol of King Nebuchadnezzar , leading to the episode of the fiery furnace



Meshach


Meshach (me-shack) is the name given in Babylon to Mishael, one of the three young hebrew companions of Daniel (Daniel 1:7; 2:49; 3:12-30). It is likely based on a name of a Chaldean (Babylonian) god. It also means "to feed" or "to provide" (as in how a husband would provide for his family) in Hebrew.

Meshach (possibly, Mi·sha·aku), apparently a clever twist of "Who Is Like God?" to "Who Is What Aku Is?"


Abednego


Abednego ( Hebrew '''עֲבֵד־נְגוֹ''', Standard Hebrew '''ʿAved-nəgo''', Tiberian Hebrew '''ʿĂḇēḏ-nəḡô''') is the name given in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar to Azariah, one of the companions of Daniel (). It is perhaps a corruption, perhaps deliberate, of either Abednebo, "servant of Nebo," or Abednergo, for Abednergal, "servant of the god Nergal ."


King Nebuchadnezzar

See Also: Nebuchadrezzar II




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