Part 2: Recognizing the Lion is not King

Hopefully you read and studied Daniel chapters 1 and 2 with a new found set of eyes. If so, you noticed Daniel, his friends as well as the other captives had to meet certain criteria to serve in the palace of king Nebuchadnezzar. They had to be good looking no scars or physical abnormalities, fit and young. This meant that most including Daniel were roughly between the ages of 14-17 by most estimates. They then received 3 years of Babylonian training to serve the king. Now, Daniel and his friends were considered the best and brightest and were between the ages of 17-20 when they began their official service to the king’s palace. We also learn of the king’s cultural brainwashing by changing the names of those he takes captive. Let’s take a look at what’s in a name, both their original God given names and what it was changed to in Babylonian. For the sake of our study we will only put a bit more additional breakdown around Daniel but will provide the meaning of others for reference and context. Also, take note on how their God given names will play a major role in how they navigate their circumstances.

God given name -vs- Changed name under Babylonian captivity:

Daniel (who was from King David’s royal family) means “God is my judge”. In native Hebrew the name would be spelled Daniyel: Dan = judge, i = my, el = God. You may notice or heard of el before which comes from Elohim which is God in Hebrew. In Latin el is a masculine singular pronoun for He, The/Thee. Daniel’s name is changed to Belteshazzar which means “Bel Protect the king” (Bel = pagan god).

Hananiah means “The Lord is Gracious” changed to: Shadrach which means “Command of Aku” the name Aku is Babylonian for “moon god”.

Mishael means “Who is like the Lord” changed to: Meshach which means “Who is what Aku Is” again Aku is “moon god”.

Azariah means “The Lord is my Helper” changed to: Abed-nego which means “Servant of Nego” the name Nego or Nebo/Nabu is Babylonian for “vegetation god” and patron of the art of writing.

Lastly, for your reference Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar name means, “Nebo protect your servant”.

Now let’s learn the significance of chapters 1 and 2. At this point Daniel and his friends are well on their way to standing up for God whom they serve. For very young men, they have shown great strength, faith and God has also given them favor in the king’s kingdom. We also learn Nebuchadnezzar has his first of 2 dreams. God has gifted Daniel with supernatural ability to interpret dreams. Why? Well this is where the fun starts, so to speak. In chapter 2:20-23 we get a peek into what the book of Daniel is all about. The night prior to going before the king he has a vision (dream) and the secrets of the king’s 1st dream is revealed. The bible then says, Daniel praises God and it’s in this praise we see that God is in control of all things and every king (leader) or kingdom (nation) is subject His authority. This is obviously in contrast to what most in power or authority think even in the world today.

Furthermore, in chapter 2:39-45 as Daniel is explaining the king’s 1st dream. He speaks of 5 kingdoms which will come and go but the last kingdom to come will be eternal. In verse 45 we see the word “stone” this is reference to the Messiah. In the same verse “cut out of the mountain without hands” is reference to the Messiah’s origin being from God and not man. Now let’s relate this to the new testament so that is makes sense. Luke 20:17-18 “the stone that the builders rejected…”. Remember, Jerusalem as well as some today rejected and still reject Jesus as the Messiah (Savior). The Bible however clearly tells us that the origin of Jesus was with God the Father from the very beginning, John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word…”. In as much as it is clear that Jesus was sent by God and not man (John 3:16, John 17:3, Colossians 1:15-17). So not only is Daniel revealing to Nebuchadnezzar the demise of his empire and those to come. He is testifying to the ultimate everlasting sovereign throne of the King of all Kings Jesus!

Read Chapters 3-4 As we begin this week’s read, it gets much hotter and Daniel deals with Nebuchadnezzar's 2nd dream.