“The king said to Daniel,
Whose name was Belteshazzar.
‘Are you able
To tell me
The dream
That I have seen
With its interpretation?’”
The king then turned to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. He wanted to know if Daniel was able to tell him his dream and its interpretation. The palace master had given Daniel this new Babylonian name of Belteshazzar in the preceding chapter, when he began his Babylonian court studies.
“Among those chosen were
Daniel,
Hananiah,
Mishael,
Azariah,
From the tribe of Judah.
The palace master
Gave them other names.
Daniel,
He called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah,
He called Shadrach.
Mishael,
He called Meshach.
Azariah
He called Abednego.”
The names of the 4 Israelite students from the tribe of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Obviously, the emphasis will be on Daniel, the name of this book. However, Ashpenaz, the chief of the palace, gave them other names that were more Babylonian, Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. There was an American song written about the 3 young men with Daniel, called “Shadrach,” and later recorded by Louis Armstrong and Brook Benton. This was another common practice to help integrate them into the Chaldean Babylonian culture.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 