The
fiery furnace is a story from the
Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC...
(chapter 3) in the
TanakhThe Tanakh is a name for the Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism, also known as the Masoretic Text. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
(
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
). The story is well-known among
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s and
ChristiansChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
.
In the story,
Hananiah (Shadrach),
Mishael (Meshach), and
Azariah (Abednego)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three young men from Judah brought into the court of King Nebuchadnezzar II during the first deportation of the Israelites. Their Hebraic names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah...
, defy
King NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar II was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He is featured in the Book of...
's order that they bow down and worship a golden
idolIdolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered a sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent...
, a
cult imageIn the practice of religion, a cult image is a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. Cultus, the outward religious formulas of "cult", often centers upon the treatment of cult images, which may be dressed, fed or paraded, etc...
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 angel.
The
fiery furnace is a story from the
Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC...
(chapter 3) in the
TanakhThe Tanakh is a name for the Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism, also known as the Masoretic Text. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
(
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
). The story is well-known among
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s and
ChristiansChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
.
In the story,
Hananiah (Shadrach),
Mishael (Meshach), and
Azariah (Abednego)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three young men from Judah brought into the court of King Nebuchadnezzar II during the first deportation of the Israelites. Their Hebraic names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah...
, defy
King NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar II was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He is featured in the Book of...
's order that they bow down and worship a golden
idolIdolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered a sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent...
, a
cult imageIn the practice of religion, a cult image is a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. Cultus, the outward religious formulas of "cult", often centers upon the treatment of cult images, which may be dressed, fed or paraded, etc...
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 angel. After the three youths emerge, Nebuchadnezzar gives a command that anyone who speaks against the God of Shadrach, Mesahach, and Abednego will be torn apart and have his house turned into a pile of stones.
The
SeptuagintThe Septuagint , or simply "LXX", referred to in critical works by the abbreviation ...
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
sinSin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. Commonly, the moral code of conduct is decreed by a divine entity, i.e...
s and the sins of
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, and asks their God to save them to demonstrate his power to the
BabyloniaBabylonia was a civilization in Lower Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad...
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 hymn of praise to their God for delivering them, the "Song of the Three Young Men".
Liturgical use
The song of the three youths is alluded to in odes seven and eight of the
canonA canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodox services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles. Most of these are found in the Old Testament, but the final ode is taken from the Magnificat and...
, a hymn sung in the
matinsMatins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
service and on other occasions in the
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
, where their feast day is December 17 (along with
DanielDaniel is the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel...
). The Orthodox also commemorate them on the two Sundays before the
Nativity of ChristChristmas Eve, December 24, is the night before Christmas Day, which celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.-Western Churches:Many Roman Catholics and Anglicans traditionally celebrate a midnight Mass which begins sometime before midnight on Christmas Day; this ceremony, which is held in churches...
. The reading of the story of the fiery furnace, including the song, is prescribed for the
vesperalVespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours. The word comes from the Greek εσπερινός and the Latin vesper, meaning "evening." The term is also in limited use in some Protestant...
Divine LiturgyThe Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the...
celebrated by the Orthodox on
Holy SaturdayHoly Saturday is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week, in which Christians prepare for Easter...
. Likewise, the three are commemorated as prophets in the
Calendar of SaintsThe Lutheran Calendar of Saints is a listing which details the primary annual festivals and events that are celebrated liturgically by the Lutheran Church. The calendars of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod are from the 1978 Lutheran Book of...
of the
Lutheran ChurchLutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the 16th century German reformer Martin Luther. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
on December 17 with Daniel.
Political use
In 17th century England, Quakers used this Bible story to justify their campaign against the deference required by the judiciary, which they called "Hat honour".
Shadrach
HananiahHananiah may refer to:*Hananiah, son of Zerubbabel, exilarch* Hananiah of the Book of Daniel, or Shadrach, a Biblical figure*Hananiah , fourth century BC, governor of Samaria under the Achaemenid Empire...
(Hebrew for "Yahweh is gracious") is a Hebrew boy in the
Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC...
in the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
, whom Nebuchadnezzar names
Shadrach.
- Introduced in as one of the nobles
- Taken captive by the Babylonia
Babylonia was a civilization in Lower Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad...
n army after they conquered JudahThe Kingdom of Judah existed at two periods in Jewish history. According to the Hebrew Bible, a kingdom emerged in Judah after the death of Saul, when the tribe of Judah elevated David, who came from the Tribe of Judah, to rule over it. After seven years David became king of a reunited Kingdom of...
- Brought to Babylon
Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
to be re-educated as a Babylonian and serve in the court
- Renamed Shadrach (an honorific for a Babylonian god)
- Along with his companions Daniel
Daniel is the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel...
(Babylonian name: Belteshazzar), Mishael (Babylonian name: Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego), refused the king's meats and kept Kosher by eating only vegetables, a way of resisting compromise and maintaining his JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish identity
- Along with Mishael and Azariah, refused to bow down to the golden idol of King Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar II was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He is featured in the Book of...
, 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 (
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
עֲבֵד־נְגוֹ, Standard Hebrew
'ʿAved-nəgo, Tiberian Hebrew 'ʿĂḇēḏ-nəḡô) is the name given in
BabylonBabylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
by Nebuchadnezzar to Azariah, one of the companions of
DanielDaniel is the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel...
. It is perhaps a corruption, perhaps deliberate, of either Abednebo, "servant of Nebo," or Abednergo, for Abednergal, "servant of the god
NergalThe name Nergal refers to a deity in Babylonia with the main seat of his cult at Cuthah represented by the mound of Tell-Ibrahim. Nergal is mentioned in the Hebrew bible as the deity of the city of Cuth : "And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal"...
." Azariah is Hebrew for "
YahwehYahweh is the English rendering of יַהְוֶה , a Hebrew vocalization of the Tetragrammaton that was proposed by the Hebrew scholar Wilhelm Gesenius in the 19th century. Although this vocalized Hebrew spelling יַהְוֶה is found in no extant Hebrew Manuscript, several English Bibles use the spelling...
has helped".
Influence
- The Burning Fiery Furnace
The Burning Fiery Furnace is one of the three Parables for Church Performances composed by Benjamin Britten, dating from 1966, and is his Opus 77. The other two 'church parables' are Curlew River and The Prodigal Son . William Plomer was the librettist.The work was premiered at Orford Church,...
is one of the three Parables for Church Performances composed by Benjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, violist and pianist.-Life:...
, dating from 1966, and is his Opus 77.
- The 1955 electronic work Gesang der Jünglinge
Gesang der Jünglinge is a noted electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was realized in 1955–56 at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk studio in Cologne and is Work Number 8 in the composer's catalog of works....
by Karlheinz StockhausenKarlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries...
takes its title and some words from the story.
- The story of the fiery furnace is alluded to in the song "Shadrach
"Shadrach" is a song by rap trio Beastie Boys from their album Paul's Boutique. It was released as an EP, entitled An Exciting Evening at Home with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...
" on the Beastie BoysBeastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City. The group comprises Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz...
' 1989 album Paul's BoutiquePaul's Boutique is the second studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989 on Capitol Records. Featuring production by the Dust Brothers, the recording sessions for the album took place at Mario G's Studio in Los Angeles and The Opium Den in Brooklyn, New York from...
.http://www.sklar.com/page/article/shadrach
- The story is also a somewhat common theme within Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based...
music, for example the The Abyssinians' song "Abendigo" which contains the lyrics "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego / Were condemned to be thrown in the furnace"
- The story of the fiery furnace is chronicled in the Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash , born J. R. Cash, was an American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
song named The Fourth Man in the Fire, appearing on the albums The Holy LandThe Holy Land is a concept album by country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1969). Cash recorded the album inspired by a visit to Israel with his wife, June Carter Cash. The majority of the songs on the record accept religion as their main theme, with several gospel tracks...
and UnearthedUnearthed is an acclaimed box set by Johnny Cash, released two months after his death in 2003. It was produced by Rick Rubin and released by American Recordings. The first three discs feature outtakes and alternate versions of songs recorded for American Recordings, Unchained, American III:...
.
- The story was featured for the Veggie Tales video Rack, Shack and Benny.
- Author William T. Vollmann
William Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist and winner of the National Book Award...
presents an idiosyncratic take on this tale to express the color orange in the short story "Scintillant Orange" in his collection The Rainbow Stories.
- In the October 1998 issue of Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine published since August 28, 1845, which according to the magazine makes it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States...
magazine, Carolyn P. Meiner wrote a story, "How Hackers Break In... and How They Are Caught", about a hackerIn common usage, a hacker is a person who breaks into computers, usually by gaining access to administrative controls. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground...
who used the alias "Abednego".
- In the song 'Loose Booty' by Sly and the Family Stone, the names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are repeatedly sung.
- In Toni Morrison's Sula
Sula may refer to:* Booby, a seabird in the Sula genus* Sula , a novel by Toni Morrison* Sula II, a boat that runs trips to the island bird sanctuaries off North Berwick, Scotland...
there is a character named Shadrack who is interpreted as a prophet.
- The author Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards.-Life and work:...
wrote a Science Fiction novel named Shadrach in the Furnace.
- An indie rock band called The Fiery Furnaces
The Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2000. They played twice in Brooklyn as The Suckers before performing as The Fiery Furnaces . The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger...
has released several albums.
- Quote: "She's hotter than Meshach, Shadrach and Abendego..." - "The Infamous Date Rape" from A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985. The group is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but appears to have rejoined the group since 2006...
's The Low End TheoryThe Low End Theory is the second album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released on September 24, 1991 through Jive Records, the album produced three singles; "Check the Rhime", "Jazz ", and "Scenario".- Conception :...
album.
See also
- The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children is a lengthy passage that appears after Daniel 3:23 in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, as well as in the ancient Greek Septuagint translation. It is listed as non-canonical in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the...
- The Burning Fiery Furnace
The Burning Fiery Furnace is one of the three Parables for Church Performances composed by Benjamin Britten, dating from 1966, and is his Opus 77. The other two 'church parables' are Curlew River and The Prodigal Son . William Plomer was the librettist.The work was premiered at Orford Church,...
- Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC...
- Nebuchadrezzar II
Nebuchadnezzar II was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He is featured in the Book of...
External links