Discovery BoxDaniel 1:6-7 
Context1:6 As it turned out, 1 among these young men 2 were some from Judah: 3 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 4 1:7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave 5 Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. 6
1 tn Heb “and it happened that.”
2 tn Heb “among them”; the referent (the young men taken captive from Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”
4 sn The names reflect a Jewish heritage. In Hebrew Daniel means “God is my judge”; Hananiah means “the Lord is gracious”; Mishael means “who is what God is?”; Azariah means “the Lord has helped.”
5 tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.
6 sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.
