Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

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Further information: Fiery furnace

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (sometimes referred to collectively as The Three Young Men) were three friends of Daniel in the Bible whose Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, respectively.

Like Daniel, they were youths from the Jewish nobility. At the first deportation of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar (the kingdom of Israel had come to an end nearly a century before at the hands of the Assyrians), or immediately after his victory over the Egyptians at the second battle of Carchemish, in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim (606 BC), these three and Daniel were among the Jewish young nobility carried off to Babylon (probably as hostages to ensure the loyalty of Judah's king and advisors), along with some of the vessels of the temple. They were subsequently evaluated and chosen for their intellect and beauty, to be trained as Chaldeans (members of the class of the magi: astrologers, sorcerers, enchanters and magicians), who constituted the ranks of the advisors to the Babylonian court.

At one point early on in their training, they were assigned a daily amount of food and wine from the king's own table. Following Daniel's lead, they asked for permission not to eat the food, which had been offered to idols and was therefore unclean according to their laws. But the official in charge of them feared that if the king saw them looking ill, he might face execution. So they asked for a ten-day test: they would be given nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. At the end of the ten days, they would be compared with the young men who ate the royal food and treated accordingly. The test was conducted, and at the end of ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.

Some time later, King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and set it up in Babylon. He ordered that whenever the people heard the sound of the "horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music," they would bow down and worship the image or else be thrown into a blazing furnace.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down or worship the image. Some of the king's astrologers informed the king, and he ordered that they be brought before him. He questioned them and repeated his threat, but the three men insisted that they would not worship the idol, faithful that their God would save them. Angrily, the king ordered that the furnace be made seven times hotter than usual and that the three men be tied up and thrown in.

The flames were so hot that the soldiers who threw them in were killed on the spot. But when King Nebuchadnezzar looked in, he saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking around unbound and unharmed, along with a fourth man whom the king said looked "like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25). Christians and Messianic Jews believe "the Son of God" to refer to Jesus Christ, i.e. bar Elohim - Hebrew son of God(s).

The king called to them to come out, and they did so completely unharmed, not even smelling of smoke or fire. So the king lauded their faith and decreed that anyone who spoke against the God of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego would be "cut to pieces and their houses turned to piles of rubble."

[edit] Name Confusion

It has been pointed out that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's names all pertained to pagan Babylonian gods, and therefore the question has been posed why the Bible seldom uses their original Hebrew names. It seems reasonable that they are identified mostly by their Babylonian names to maintain the accuracy of the dialogue given in the text. Since it would have been confusing to have the writer call them one thing and the king call them another, the story uses their new names instead.

[edit] Popular Culture References

The Washington D.C.-based indie rock/pop band, Exit Clov, has a song titled "For Abednego" on their Starfish EP.

Martin Luther King Jr. references them in Letter from Birmingham Jail " It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake."

There are numerous references in reggae music, e.g. the Viceroys song "Shadrach, Meshach and Abendigo".

Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were referenced in "Guys and Dolls" during Sky Masterson's interview with Sister Sara.

The Golden Gate Quartet sang a spiritual which retells this tale.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are subjects of the the Johnny Cash song "The Fourth Man In The Fire" on his "Unearthed" album.

The 1974 song Loose Booty by Sly and the Family Stone contains a chant of "Shadrach Meshack Abednego."

Louis Prima recorded a song about the three called "Shadrack."

In the sequel to Mister Roberts, Ensign Pulver, one of the characters tries some islander moonshine and after cringing responds, "Shadrach, Meshak, and ABED WE GO."

In 1989 the Beastie Boys created a sample heavy album entitled Paul's Boutique. The song, Shadrach sampled the song Loose Booty by Sly and the Family Stone and interpolated the chant from the song also. While left to some interpretation, the refrain from the song Shadrach appears to compare the three members of the band to that of the invincible Shadrach (Adrock), Meshach (Mike D), and Abednego (MCA):

"We're just 3 M.C.'s and we're on the go
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego"

Shadrach is also referenced in To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In chapter 12, Scout and Jem get in trouble at church because they told Eunice Ann Simpson that they wanted to play the game "Shadrach". Jem told her that if she had enough faith, she wouldn't get burnt, and the kids proceeded to tie her to a chair and place her in the furnace room. They forgot she was there and went upstairs for mass, until banging came from the radiator pipes during the mass. After investigating, they found Eunice in the furnace room.

The alternate spelling Shadrack is present in the Toni Morrison novel "Sula", the character endures hardships at war and returns to his town mentally ravaged.

The Australian town of Bendigo is said to be a corruption of Abednego.

Shadrach Dingle is an important religeous character in UK soap Emmerdale Farm.

[edit] Liturgical use

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, 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 on December 17 with Daniel.