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1–7. Nebuchadnezzar erecting a statue on the field of Deir and decreeing its worship. 8–23. Failure to fulfill the royal order by Daniel's friends and their casting into the fiery furnace. 24–48. Repentant and together petitionary prayer of the three youths. 49–90. Their salvation and song of thanksgiving. 91–100. Nebuchadnezzar's glorification of the omnipotence of the God of Israel and his exaltation of the youths. Daniel 3:1. King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden image, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and placed it in the field of Deir, in the region of Babylon. According to the text of LXX, the translation of Theodotion in the Slavic Bible, the construction of the statue by Nebuchadnezzar falls on the 18th year of his reign, the year of the final destruction of Jerusalem. The 19th (2 Kings 25:8; Jer.52:12) from the actual accession of Nebuchadnezzar to the throne, according to the official Babylonian reckoning, which is followed by the prophet Daniel (see interpretation of Dan.2:1), he is the 18th. The conquest of Judea, which had caused quite a bit of trouble, provided a sufficient reason to thank the gods, helpers in the war, with a special celebration in their honor. Its form - erecting a statue and worshiping it - is quite consistent with the spirit of that time. According to the wedge-shaped inscriptions, Nebuchadnezzar had the custom of honoring his gods on certain days of the year. Thus, he organized solemn processions in honor of Merodach, and the priests or state dignitaries carried statues of the gods among the people, and he reverently bowed before them. We see the same thing in the present case. According to the Hebrew name "tzelem" (cf. Dan.2:31, etc.), the statue erected by Nebuchadnezzar represented a human figure, in which form the painting of the catacombs depicts it. Here it looks like a human bust standing on a high column. But it is difficult to say who the statue depicted - whether Nebuchadnezzar himself, as St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Jerome, Simeon Metaphrast and some of the newest exegetes think, or some god. In support of the first opinion, they usually refer to the words of the three youths to the king: “We will not serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan. 3:18). They say that they clearly distinguish the service of the gods from the worship of a golden statue: the latter was not the image of any deity. In reality, Daniel's friends only refuse to worship the old idols and the new one that has just been built. In their eyes, the latter is just as much a prohibited idol as the former. Neither the colossal dimensions of the statue (60 cubits = 13 fathoms 6 vershok [approx. 30 m] height and 6 cubits = 1 fathom 15 vershok [approx. 3 m] wide), nor its enormous value, assuming that it was all gold, are not fabulous. The history of eastern peoples knows cases of the construction of even larger statues. Thus, according to Herodotus, in Memphis there was a statue 75 feet (225 m) high, and the Iliopolis idol of the sun was 150 cubits (75 m) high and 75 liters. (37 m) width. The value of the statue should not be surprising either. The complete authenticity of the biblical narrative is confirmed by the testimony of ancient historians about the existence of huge gold cast statues among the Assyro-Babylonians. Of these, Herodotus saw in the Babylonian church a large golden image of a seated Bel, in front of which there was a table, a chair and a bench, all made of pure gold weighing 800 talents (worth up to 26,000,000 rubles). According to Diodorus Siculus, at the top of the church of Bel there were three statues cast in gold - Bel himself, Mylitta and Juno. The first of them weighed 1,000 Babylonian talents (approx. 30.3 t); the second, seated on a golden chariot, had the same weight: the third, holding a snake in her right hand and a scepter decorated with precious stones in her left, weighed 800 talents. For these three deities, at the top of the church there was a common golden table weighing 500 talents, on it were two golden glasses weighing 30 talents. (approx. 900 kg), two censers of 300 tala. and three bowls, of which the one belonging to Bel weighed 1,200 tala, and each of the other two weighed 600 tala. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar himself tells about himself in one inscription that he covered the altar for one Babylonian statue with pure, heavy gold and covered the inside of the upper sanctuary of the pyramid at Borzippa with gold. The value of the statue will be significantly reduced if it is assumed that it was only gilded. The possibility of this is confirmed by the story of the prophet Daniel about the statue of Bel, made of clay and covered with copper on the outside (Dan.14:7). The place where the statue was erected was the Deir or Dura valley, which is the name of the plain located to the southeast of Babylon to this day. Daniel 3:2. And King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, governors, governors, chief judges, treasurers, lawyers, guardians of the court and all the regional rulers, so that they would come to the solemn opening of the image, which King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. The celebration of the opening of the statue erected by Nebuchadnezzar was furnished with appropriate pomp. It was attended by the most important dignitaries convened from all over the Babylonian empire: satraps (Hebrew ahashdarpenim) - rulers of individual regions (2 Kings 25:22; Dan.6:2; 1 Ezra 8:36), who combined in their hands the highest military and civil power, governors (Hebrew signaya, Assyrian saknu) - military commanders regions (Jer.51:23, 57), governors (Heb. pahavat; Assyrian pihu) – civil rulers of the regions, subordinate to the satraps (cf. peha 1 Ezra 8:36; Neh. 2:7 in relation to peha avar nahara - 1 Ezra 5:3; 1 Ezra 6:6 to 1 Ezra 5), supreme judges (Hebrew adargazraya), treasurers (Hebrew hedabraya) - persons in charge of the economic and financial affairs of the country, lawyers (Hebrew detabraya) - the supreme guardians of the laws, in charge of the legal affairs of the state, judges (Hebrew tiptaya) in the proper, in the narrow sense of the word, and, finally, regional officials of all different kinds and positions. Dan.3:4. Then the herald cried out loudly: It is declared to you, peoples, tribes and tongues: Dan.3:5. When you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the zither, the harp, the harp and the symphony and all kinds of musical instruments, fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up. The opening of the statue and its veneration were accompanied, by order of Nebuchadnezzar, with the playing of various wind and string instruments, which is quite in accordance with the spirit of the times. According to the Assyrian monuments, music took place at every outstanding celebration. Thus, Asargadon, after the battle with Sanduarri, king of the cities of Kundi and Sizu, returned to Nineveh with singers and musicians. One bas-relief from the time of Assurbanipal depicts the triumphal procession of this king, accompanied by 11 musicians and 15 singers. Likewise, the musical instruments mentioned by the prophet Daniel were in use among the Assyro-Babylonians. Thus, a trumpet (Heb. keren) - a simple horn, distinguished by a clear and strong sound, is found on the bas-relief of Sennacherib, a pipe (Heb. mashrokita) - a simple shepherd’s pipe on bas-reliefs of various times is represented as consisting of two pipes, but not connected by a mouthpiece, but completely separated; zither - something like our guitar is depicted on Assyrian monuments in its original form, in the form of two bars, horizontal and perpendicular, on which from 8 to 10 strings were stretched; psaltery (Hebrew pesanterin) an instrument like your guitar, but without a neck: an empty box inside, on which up to 10 strings were stretched, is reproduced in the bas-relief of Assurbanipal, representing a solemn procession in Susa. As for the tsevnitsa (Hebrew head-head) and the symphony, their exact structure is unknown (for drawings, see, for example, Delitzsch: “The Bible and Babylon,” pp. 87–89). The moment of worship of the image was announced to peoples, tribes (Aramaic jummaia), - components of a known people (cf. Heb. jummah, jummoth, used to designate individual tribes of the people of Ishmael and Midian - (Gen. 25:16) and languages, - societies speaking the same dialect, through a herald (karoz). This is a saying previously derived from the Greek " κηρυξ "is currently recognized as an ancient Chaldean word: found, according to Prof. Gommel, in an Aramaic inscription of the 7th or 6th century BC. Dan.3:6. And whoever does not fall down and worship will be immediately thrown into a fiery furnace. Worship of the statue was a solemn recognition of the power of the gods who gave Nebuchadnezzar dominion over his enemies. From this point of view, opposition to the king’s orders was a rebellion against the king’s gods, against himself as their admirer, and therefore was punished by burning in the oven, the usual execution of rebels and rebels among the Assyro-Babylonians. It was practiced, for example, by Shalmaneser II and Assurbanipal, who burned captives, not excluding children. The latter even burned his brother Sammugas for his indignation. From the Assyrians, this type of execution passed to the Chaldeans: according to the testimony of the prophet Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar burned two Jewish false prophets - Zedekiah and Ahab, who preached among the captive Jews about the imminent fall of Babylon, their return to their homeland, and thus incited the captives against his power (Jer. 29: 21-22). Dan.3:8. At this very time some of the Chaldeans came up and denounced the Jews. Dan.3:9. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar: King, live forever! Daniel 3:10. You, O king, have given a command that every person who hears the sound of a trumpet, a flute, a harp, a harp, a harp, a symphony, and every kind of musical instrument, should fall down and worship the golden image; Dan.3:11. and whoever does not fall and worship must be thrown into a fiery furnace. Daniel 3:12. There are men of Judah whom you have placed over the affairs of the land of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; These men do not obey your command, O king, they do not serve your gods, and they do not worship the golden image that you set up. Daniel 3:13. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and rage, ordered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to be brought; and these men were brought to the king. For some reason, Daniel was not at the celebration, but his friends, remaining faithful to the law of Moses (Ex. 20:2-4), did not fulfill the king’s orders, which was reported to him by the Chaldeans who were jealous of their rise. The friends are accused of not serving the king’s gods and not worshiping the idol he set up. The first half of the denunciation does not necessarily require the recognition that at the unveiling ceremony of the statue there were images of other gods. From the fact of non-worship of the golden image, the Chaldeans could draw a general conclusion about the denial of all Babylonian deities by their friends. The accusation constructed in this way became especially difficult. The act of the youths was an insult not only to the Babylonian gods, but also to Nebuchadnezzar himself, on whose behalf the order they violated was issued. Hence his anger is quite understandable. Dan.3:14. Nebuchadnezzar said to them: Do you deliberately, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, do not serve my gods, and do not worship the golden image that I have set up? Daniel 3:15. From now on, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, the flute, the zither, the harp, the harp, the symphony and all kinds of musical instruments, fall down and worship the image that I have made; If you do not worship, then at that very hour you will be thrown into a fiery furnace, and then what God will deliver you from my hand? But no matter how strong the irritation that took possession of the king, he seemed unable to admit the thought that his command was violated by persons invested with his special trust. Therefore, before carrying out the threat, he wants to know: for what reasons his friends did not carry out his orders - by accident or intentionally. If consciously, then let them come to their senses and worship the idol. Otherwise, they will face death from which there is no escape. Dan.3:16. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, There is no need for us to answer you to this. Dan.3:17. Our God, whom we serve, is able to save us from the fiery furnace, and will deliver us from your hand, O king. Daniel 3:18. If this does not happen, then let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and will not worship the golden image that you have erected. The king's threat is not scary to his friends. God, whom they serve, will deliver them from death, deliver them in the same way as He delivered them earlier (chap. 2). If for some reason this does not happen, then the fear of death is overcome by the consciousness that, without worshiping the idol, they will remain faithful to their religion. Daniel 3:21. Then these men were bound in their undergarments and outer garments, in their headbands and in their other garments, and were thrown into a fiery furnace. The speed with which the order of the angry king was carried out did not allow time to remove the clothes from the youths. They were thrown into the oven “in their underwear, their outer garments and headbands,” in Aramaic: “besarbaleygon patisheygon vekorbelategon.” Sarbalin is a lower garment that fits tightly to the body, like our long shirt; patish - a chiton, a tunic worn over a shirt, and a corblanc - a garment worn over the two lower ones, like a cloak. The use of similar clothing by the Assyro-Babylonians is confirmed by the testimony of Herodotus. According to him, they wore a long, flowing tunic, with another woolen one on top, and on it a small white cloak. Daniel 3:22. And since the king’s command was strict, and the furnace was extremely hot, the flames of the fire killed those people who abandoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. From a human point of view, the death of the youths was inevitable. If those who threw were killed by the flame of fire, then even more should those thrown into the oven die. But the more inevitable death seemed, the more amazing the miracle of salvation became. Daniel 3:24–90. In the modern Jewish text of the book of the prophet Daniel, this section is not present, just as it was not there in ancient times, in the era of Origen and Blessed Jerome. It is preserved in the LXX translation, from which the Old Latin was compiled, quoted by Tertullian, Theodotion, the Vulgate, in all the Eastern, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Arabic, and, finally, the Slavic and Russian, compiled from the text of Theodotion. The absence of a section in the original Hebrew-Aramaic text of the book apparently gives reason to think that it was not originally there either. But such a conclusion is weakened primarily by the presence of Art. 24–90 translated by Theodotion. He translated directly from the Hebrew independently of the LXX; therefore, this passage could only be borrowed from there. Its existence in the original text is further indicated by the unnaturalness of the modern Jewish reading of Art. 23 and 24: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell bound into a fiery furnace (23). King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed, and hastily stood up and said to his nobles: “Have we not abandoned three men... behold, I see four” (Dan. 3:91–92). There is, apparently, no connection between the verses; a too abrupt transition was made, suggesting an undoubted omission. And this last one is perfectly replenished by 24–90 tbsp. Greek text, which talks about the salvation of the youths thrown into the oven, about the Angel who descended to them in the flame, about their singing and walking in the middle of the fire. Seeing them alive, noticing a fourth one, Nebuchadnezzar was “amazed,” etc. The Greek reading is much more consistent and logical than the Hebrew. The omission in the latter suggests the existence in the original original text of a more extensive edition of this passage, an edition similar to that found in the Greek translations. But admitting its existence in the Hebrew language, it is necessary to admit that the author of the section in question is different from the writer of the third chapter of the book of the prophet Daniel. This is vouched for by the use of the Hebrew names of the youths: Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, while in the canonical part of the chapter exclusively Chaldean names are used: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The exact time when this section was written is unknown. The fact that its Greek language is identical with the language of the entire translation of the LXX book of the prophet Daniel gives, however, reason to think that it also belongs to the author of this latter. In this case, both the Hebrew or Aramaic original of Art. 24–90 should have existed by the beginning of the 3rd century. BC As for the historical authenticity of the section under review, especially the story of the miraculous salvation of the three youths, it is confirmed by the canonical part of the chapter: 19–92 art. they talk about the appearance in the furnace of an Angel, this “fourth man, like the Son of God” (Dan. 3:49). Daniel 3:24–45. Azariah’s prayer set out in these verses is divided into three parts: vv. 26–33; 34–38 centuries; 39–45 art. It begins with the glorification of God and the confession that all the works of the Lord, His ways and judgments, manifested in relation to God's chosen people in their captivity, and in relation to the city of Jerusalem - in destruction, are true, that the people constantly sinned, and therefore are worthily delivered into the hands of lawless enemies, the most hated apostates and an unjust king. The continuation of the prayer is the prayer that the Lord, for the sake of His name and for the sake of the covenant with the patriarchs, to whom He said that He would multiply their seed like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea, would not abandon His people, now humbled more than all nations, humiliated so much that they have neither a prince, nor a prophet, nor a burnt offering, nor a sacrifice, nor a place where he could offer it and find His mercy (cf. Pl. 2:9). The prayer ends with Azariah’s request on his own behalf and on behalf of his comrades, that the Lord would accept their spiritual sacrifice, offered from the fullness of a contrite heart, as a sacrifice of a thousand fat lambs, bulls and rams, so that He would not disgrace them, who trust in Him with all their hearts, but save them according to the abundance of His mercy, thereby glorifying His name, and confounding their enemies. Dan.3:46. Meanwhile, the king’s servants, who had thrown them in, did not stop lighting the furnace with oil, tar, tow and brushwood, Dan.3:47. and the flame rose above the furnace forty-nine cubits Daniel 3:48. and he broke out and burned those of the Chaldeans whom he reached near the furnace. Daniel 3:49. But the Angel of the Lord descended into the furnace along with Azariah and those who were with him Daniel 3:50. and he threw the flame of fire out of the furnace, and made it appear that in the middle of the furnace there was, as it were, a noisy, moist wind, and the fire did not touch them at all, and did not harm them, and did not disturb them. The spatial action of fire was limited by the power of divine omnipotence. It did not touch the inside, the center of the furnace, but extended only to its periphery. And therefore, while the flame escaping from the furnace burned those who made the fire and threw oil into it, common in Babylon, the middle of it was filled with a moist, noisy wind. Daniel 3:51–90. The miraculous salvation of the three youths filled their souls with a feeling of deepest gratitude, which resulted in an enthusiastic hymn. Full of spiritual delight, they blessed and glorified the greatness of the Lord, calling on everyone to sing and extol the Creator - the heavenly powers, the heavens, clouds and luminaries, and the majestic phenomena of nature (night and day, light and darkness, lightning), and all physical elements and changes (rain, wind, fire, etc.), and the earth, and all earthly elements and organisms (mountains, hills, springs), all water and earthly creatures (whales and fish, birds and animals), finally, all people in general, then the Israelites, priests, etc. (cf. Ps. 148). Daniel 3:91. King Nebuchadnezzar [hearing them singing] was amazed, and hastily stood up and said to his nobles: Have we not thrown three men into the fire bound? They answered the king: “Truly so, king!” Daniel 3:92. To this he said: behold, I see four unbound men walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no harm to them; and the appearance of the fourth is like the son of God. The sight of the youths singing and walking unharmed among the fire brought Nebuchadnezzar into amazement. This feeling was intensified by the presence in the oven of a fourth person, who did not look like a person, but had the appearance of a higher being. In accordance with the belief of the Babylonians that the gods have wives and children (thus, Sin was considered the father of the gods, Nirgal - their mother; Samas - the son of Sin; Nebo - the son of Merodach), Nebuchadnezzar calls him (Angel), different in appearance from people, “Son of God”. Daniel 3:93. Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the mouth of the fiery furnace and said: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God! come out and come! Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out from the midst of the fire. Wanting to make sure that he had not fallen into deception, Nebuchadnezzar approaches the oven and asks the youths to come out of it. His wish is fulfilled: there is no doubt about their salvation. Daniel 3:94. And, having gathered, the satraps, governors, military leaders and advisers of the king saw that the fire had no power over the bodies of these men, and the hair on their heads was not singed, and their clothes did not change, and even the smell of fire was not on them. Having witnessed the death of those who came close to the furnace (Dan.3:48), the Babylonian dignitaries were so amazed by the miracle of the salvation of the youths who were in the fire that they still did not believe it. And only a personal examination of the saved forces them to recognize the act of deliverance from death. Daniel 3:95. Then Nebuchadnezzar said: Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants, who trusted in Him and did not obey the king’s command, and gave up their bodies [to fire], so as not to serve or worship any other god besides their God! Daniel 3:96. And a command is given from me that from every people, tribe and language whoever blasphemes against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, be cut into pieces, and his house turned into ruins, for there is no other god who could save like that. For the second time, Nebuchadnezzar is convinced of the greatness of the Jewish God and for the second time he confesses His power. But this confession does not go further than the recognition of His superiority over other gods, and does not contain faith in the Lord as the only true God. Therefore, in his decree, Nebuchadnezzar does not demand from his subjects faith only in the Almighty, but threatens them with death in cases of blasphemy against Him, that is, he imposes the very punishment that is prescribed according to Babylonian laws for blasphemy. Daniel 3:97. Then the king exalted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the land of Babylon [and exalted them and honored them with leadership over the rest of Judah in his kingdom]. Having recognized the greatness of the Jewish God, Nebuchadnezzar could not help but honor the youths whom He had so miraculously saved. He not only returned his favor to them, but also endowed them with greater powers than before - he made them the main commanders over all the Jews living within the Babylonian Empire. Daniel 3:98. Nebuchadnezzar is king to all peoples, tribes and languages ​​living throughout the whole earth: peace be multiplied to you! Daniel 3:99. I am pleased to announce to you the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed on me. Daniel 3:100. How great are His signs and how powerful are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures throughout generations and generations. An event from his personal life that took place in the last years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign—the second dream, illness and recovery (chap. 4)—was so significant that he announced them to his subjects in a special manifesto. In this case, he acted like other Assyrian kings, who spoke in solemn proclamations about the outstanding events of his reign and even about dreams. Beginning with a wish for peace to the peoples and tribes that were part of the Babylonian Empire (cf. 1 Ezra 4:17), Nebuchadnezzar’s decree proceeds to glorifying the greatness of the Most High God and the miracles He performed over the king. Judging by this beginning and a similar conclusion (Dan. 4:31–34), one can think that the immediate reason for publishing the manifesto was Nebuchadnezzar’s feeling of deepest reverence for the right hand of the Almighty that struck and healed him. Convinced by personal experience of the truth that the Most High rules the kingdoms (Dan. 4:29), he wants to convince others of it with his story. There were, it is believed, other motives for publishing the manifesto. Nebuchadnezzar's illness was not a secret. For example, the court officials who excommunicated him from the people knew about her (Dan.4:29–30), and the advisers and nobles who found the king after his recovery knew about her (Dan.4:33). From them and through them, rumors and rumors about the king’s illness naturally penetrated the people. Therefore, in order to avoid false and harmful interpretations and to spread the correct view of the disease and the causes that caused it, Nebuchadnezzar considered it necessary to talk about it in a special decree. You might be interested in: