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The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27)

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Biblical references

Text: World English Bible (public domain). The ESV and NKJV are the preferred study translations and are referenced, not reproduced.

Daniel 3:8–27Narration
8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and brought accusation against the Jews. 9 They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for ever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image; 11 and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.” 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and you don’t worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god who will deliver you out of my hands?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” 19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the middle of the fire. 27 The local governors, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies. The hair of their head wasn’t singed. Their pants weren’t changed. The smell of fire wasn’t even on them.

Biblical account

Layer: Biblical text

Chaldeans denounced Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for not serving the king's gods. Given a second chance, they declared that their God could deliver them, and that even if he did not they would not worship the image. The furnace was heated seven times hotter, the bound men were thrown in, the men who threw them died, and the king saw four men walking unharmed in the fire, the fourth "like a son of the gods". The three came out untouched by the fire.

Historical overview

Layer: Historical reconstruction · Period: Reign of Nebuchadnezzar II

Burning appears as a penalty in Old Babylonian law, and Jeremiah 29:22 says a king of Babylon "roasted in the fire" two Judean prophets in exile.[1]

Kingdoms: Neo-Babylonian Empire

Date and chronology derivation

Ranges are computed by the project's deterministic chronology engine from the biblical statements and each model's reign anchors. They are reconstructions, not independent dates.

604 BC – ?

Model-independent (applies under every chronology model) · precision: period · range across 2 consistent reckoning combinations

How this range was derived

Earliest bound (first consistent combination)

  1. “In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar” — Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 2:1–45) in regnal year reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (year 2) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Daniel 2:1)Assumption: Babylonian years begin in Nisan.
  2. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face … Then the king made Daniel great” — Daniel appointed over the province of Babylon (Dan 2:46–49) immediately follows Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 2:1–45) (Daniel 2:46)
  3. “certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon” — Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7) after Daniel appointed over the province of Babylon (Dan 2:46–49) (Daniel 3:12)Assumption: The appointment of Dan 2:49 precedes the dedication.
  4. “at that time certain Chaldeans came near” — The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27) during Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7) (Daniel 3:8)

Latest bound (first consistent combination)

    All 2 reckoning combinations
    CombinationWindow for this event
    daniel babylonian years: Nebuchadnezzar's years with an accession year (Babylonian practice)603 BC – ?
    daniel babylonian years: Nebuchadnezzar's accession year counted as year 1604 BC – ?

    587 BC – ?

    Septuagint (Greek) dates in Daniel · precision: period

    How this range was derived

    Earliest bound

    1. “In his eighteenth year (Greek Daniel 3:1, Brenton)” — Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7) in regnal year reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (year 18) [reckoned accession, nisan new year] (Daniel 3:1)[2]Assumption: Reading attested in Brenton's Septuagint; absent from the Aramaic text and from the WEB Greek Daniel. Babylonian accession-year reckoning.
    2. “at that time certain Chaldeans came near” — The refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace (Dan 3:8–27) during Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7) (Daniel 3:8)

    Latest bound

      View on the timeline →

      What else was happening? (model-independent)

      • Jehoiakim (reign): 609 BC – 597 BC
      • Training of Judean youths at the Babylonian court (Dan 1:3–7, 17–20): 606 BC – 602 BC
      • Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
      • Nebuchadnezzar II (reign): 605 BC – 562 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 2:1–45): 603 BC – 602 BC
      • Daniel appointed over the province of Babylon (Dan 2:46–49): 603 BC – 602 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 603 BC – ?
      • Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 603 BC – ?
      • Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 4:4–27): 605 BC – 563 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar's boast, madness and restoration (Dan 4:28–37): 604 BC – 562 BC
      • Belshazzar slain; Darius the Mede receives the kingdom (Dan 5:30–31): 539 BC
      • Belshazzar's feast and the writing on the wall (Dan 5:1–29): 539 BC
      • Fall of Babylon to Cyrus (October 539 BC): 539 BC
      • Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus (Dan 1:21): 538 BC – 537 BC
      • Cyrus II (the Great) (reign): 539 BC – 530 BC
      • Nabonidus (reign): 556 BC – 539 BC
      • The thirty-day decree and Daniel in the lions' den (Dan 6:4–23): 539 BC – ?
      • Darius appoints 120 satraps and three chief officials (Dan 6:1–3, 28): 539 BC – ?
      • The accusers punished; Darius's decree honouring the God of Daniel (Dan 6:24–27): 539 BC – ?
      • Daniel's night vision of the four beasts and its interpretation (Dan 7): ? – 539 BC
      • Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8): ? – 539 BC
      • Artaxerxes sends Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem, Nisan of his twentieth year (Neh 2:1–8): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) (reign): 465 BC – 423 BC
      • Hanani's report at Susa and Nehemiah's prayer (Chislev, Artaxerxes's 20th year): 447 BC – 445 BC
      • Cyrus's proclamation permitting the return and the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1; 6:3–5): 538 BC – 537 BC
      • The rebuilt Temple completed on 3 Adar of Darius's sixth year (Ezra 6:15): 516 BC – 515 BC
      • Darius I (the Great) (reign): 522 BC – 486 BC
      • Darius I confirms Cyrus's decree and orders the Temple completed (Ezra 6:1–12): 520 BC – 515 BC
      • Gabriel comes at the evening offering with the word of the seventy weeks (Dan 9:20–27): 539 BC – 536 BC
      • Daniel reads Jeremiah's seventy years and prays (Dan 9:1–19): 539 BC – 536 BC
      • Artaxerxes' decree to Ezra in his seventh year (Ezra 7): 459 BC – 457 BC
      • Daniel's vision by the Tigris in the third year of Cyrus (Dan 10:1–11:1): 536 BC – 535 BC
      • Desecration of the Temple: the "abomination of desolation" (15 Chislev 145 SE, 168/167 BC): 168 BC – 166 BC
      • Popillius Laenas orders Antiochus IV out of Egypt at Eleusis (168 BC): 168 BC
      • Rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabaeus (25 Chislev 148 SE, 165/164 BC): 165 BC – 163 BC
      • The closing dialogue by the river: the oath, the numbers and Daniel's dismissal (Dan 12:5–13): 536 BC – 535 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar installs Mattaniah as King Zedekiah (2 Kgs 24:17–20): 597 BC
      • Capture of Jerusalem and deportation of Jehoiachin (March 597 BC): 597 BC
      • Evil-merodach (Amēl-Marduk) releases Jehoiachin (561 BC): 562 BC – 561 BC
      • Amēl-Marduk (Evil-merodach) (reign): 562 BC – 560 BC
      • Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
      • Nebuzaradan burns the Temple and Jerusalem (5th month of Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year): 589 BC – 584 BC
      • Jehoiakim submits to Nebuchadnezzar for three years, then rebels (2 Kgs 24:1–4): 605 BC – 597 BC
      • The breach of Jerusalem and Zedekiah's capture at Riblah (9/IV of Zedekiah's 11th year): 589 BC – 585 BC
      • The final siege of Jerusalem begins (10/X of Zedekiah's ninth year): 590 BC – 587 BC
      • Zedekiah (reign): 597 BC – 586 BC
      • Death of Jehoiakim and the three-month reign of Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:5–9): 598 BC
      • The deportation of Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year (Jer 52:30): 582 BC – 581 BC
      • Cyrus returns the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar; the first return (Ezra 1:5–11): 538 BC – 530 BC
      • The altar rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths kept (Ezra 3:1–7): 538 BC – 530 BC
      • The return of the exiles with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; the list of returnees (Ezra 2): 538 BC – 531 BC
      • The foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13): 537 BC – 530 BC
      • Tattenai governor of Beyond the River inquires and writes to Darius (Ezra 5:3–17): 520 BC – 515 BC
      • Haggai and Zechariah stir the people; the Temple work resumes (Darius's second year, 520 BC): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Opposition from the people of the land; the Temple work ceases until Darius's second year (Ezra 4:1–5, 24): 537 BC – 519 BC
      • Accusations to Ahasuerus and the Rehum–Shimshai letter to Artaxerxes; the city's rebuilding stopped (Ezra 4:6–23): 537 BC – ?
      • The returned exiles keep the Passover after the Temple's dedication (Ezra 6:19–22): 516 BC – 515 BC
      • Haggai's oracles of 24/IX, Darius year 2: "from this day I will bless you"; Zerubbabel the signet: 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Haggai's oracle on the latter glory of the house (21/VII, Darius year 2): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Zechariah's first oracle: the call to return (8th month, Darius year 2): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Zechariah's night visions (24 Shebat, Darius year 2; Zech 1:7–6:8): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Crowns made from the exiles' gifts and set on Joshua; the oracle of the Branch (Zech 6:9–15): 520 BC – 515 BC
      • The Bethel delegation and the question of fasting; Zechariah's answer (4/IX, Darius year 4): 518 BC – 517 BC
      • Ezra's caravan from the Ahava to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:7–10; 8): 459 BC – 457 BC
      • The mixed-marriages crisis: Ezra's confession, the assembly in the rain (20/IX) and the commission (Ezra 9–10): 459 BC – 457 BC
      • Nehemiah arrives, inspects the walls by night and calls for rebuilding (Neh 2:9–20): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall and gates, section by section (Neh 3): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Mockery, threats and the armed builders (Neh 4): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The debt crisis and the remission of pledges (Neh 5:1–13): 446 BC – 423 BC
      • Plots against Nehemiah: Ono, the open letter, Shemaiah (Neh 6:1–14): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The wall completed on 25 Elul after fifty-two days (Neh 6:15–19): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Nehemiah's first governorship: twelve years, 20th–32nd year of Artaxerxes (445–433 BC): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Jerusalem guarded under Hanani and Hananiah; the registry of the first returnees found (Neh 7:1–5): 446 BC – ?
      • Ezra reads the Law on the first day of the seventh month (Neh 7:73b–8:12): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The Feast of Booths kept "as it is written" (Neh 8:13–18): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The sealed covenant to keep the law and support the temple (Neh 9:38–10:39): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The fast of the twenty-fourth day and the Levites' confession (Neh 9): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Nehemiah's return and second-term reforms (Neh 13:4–31): 434 BC – 423 BC
      • Jerusalem repopulated: one in ten by lot (Neh 11): 446 BC – ?
      • The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh 12:27–13:3): 446 BC – 423 BC
      • The priestly and Levitical registers to the days of Jaddua (Neh 12:1–26): 446 BC – ?
      • The first "burden" of Zechariah 9–11 (undated oracle collection): 518 BC – ?
      • The second "burden" of Zechariah 12–14 (undated oracle collection): 518 BC – ?
      • Malachi's disputations with priests and people (Mal 1–4; undated, mid-fifth century BC): 465 BC – 423 BC
      • Mordecai uncovers the plot of Bigthan and Teresh (Esth 2:19–23): 479 BC – 464 BC
      • Esther made queen in Tebeth of Xerxes's seventh year (Esth 2:1–18; winter 479/478 BC): 479 BC – 478 BC
      • Xerxes I (reign): 486 BC – 464 BC
      • Ahasuerus's third-year feast at Susa and the deposing of Vashti (Esth 1; 483/482 BC): 483 BC – 482 BC
      • Mordecai mourns; Esther resolves to go to the king (Esth 4): 474 BC
      • Haman casts pur and the decree against the Jews (Esth 3; Nisan 474 BC): 474 BC
      • Esther before the king; the first banquet; Haman's gallows (Esth 5): 474 BC
      • The sleepless king; Mordecai honoured by Haman (Esth 6): 474 BC
      • The institution of Purim; Mordecai second to the king (Esth 9:20–10:3): 474 BC – ?
      • The Jews defend themselves on 13–14 Adar (Esth 9:1–19; 473 BC): 474 BC – 473 BC
      • Mordecai's counter-decree of 23 Sivan (Esth 8; June 474 BC): 474 BC
      • The second banquet; Haman hanged (Esth 7): 474 BC
      • Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reign): 175 BC – 164 BC
      • Jehoiachin (reign): 598 BC – 597 BC
      • Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV defeats Antiochus III (217 BC): 217 BC
      • Battle of Panium: Antiochus III defeats Scopas (c. 200–198 BC): 200 BC – 198 BC
      • Battle of Magnesia: Rome defeats Antiochus III (190 BC): 190 BC
      • Assassination of Seleucus IV and accession of Antiochus IV (175 BC): 175 BC
      • Death of Antiochus IV at Tabae in Persia (164 BC): 164 BC

      What else was happening? (Septuagint (Greek) dates in Daniel)

      • Daniel's refusal of the king's food and the ten-day test (Dan 1:8–16): 606 BC – ?
      • Nebuchadnezzar II (reign): 605 BC – 562 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura (Dan 3:1–7): 587 BC – 586 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar's decree honouring the God of the three Judeans (Dan 3:28–30): 587 BC – ?
      • Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree and Daniel's interpretation (Dan 4:4–27): 605 BC – 563 BC
      • Nebuchadnezzar's boast, madness and restoration (Dan 4:28–37): 604 BC – 562 BC
      • Belshazzar slain; Darius the Mede receives the kingdom (Dan 5:30–31): 539 BC
      • Belshazzar's feast and the writing on the wall (Dan 5:1–29): 539 BC
      • Fall of Babylon to Cyrus (October 539 BC): 539 BC
      • Daniel continues until the first year of King Cyrus (Dan 1:21): 538 BC – 537 BC
      • Cyrus II (the Great) (reign): 539 BC – 530 BC
      • Nabonidus (reign): 556 BC – 539 BC
      • The thirty-day decree and Daniel in the lions' den (Dan 6:4–23): 539 BC – ?
      • Darius appoints 120 satraps and three chief officials (Dan 6:1–3, 28): 539 BC – ?
      • The accusers punished; Darius's decree honouring the God of Daniel (Dan 6:24–27): 539 BC – ?
      • Daniel's night vision of the four beasts and its interpretation (Dan 7): ? – 539 BC
      • Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat at Susa (Dan 8): ? – 539 BC
      • Artaxerxes sends Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem, Nisan of his twentieth year (Neh 2:1–8): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) (reign): 465 BC – 423 BC
      • Hanani's report at Susa and Nehemiah's prayer (Chislev, Artaxerxes's 20th year): 447 BC – 445 BC
      • Cyrus's proclamation permitting the return and the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 1; 6:3–5): 538 BC – 537 BC
      • The rebuilt Temple completed on 3 Adar of Darius's sixth year (Ezra 6:15): 516 BC – 515 BC
      • Darius I (the Great) (reign): 522 BC – 486 BC
      • Darius I confirms Cyrus's decree and orders the Temple completed (Ezra 6:1–12): 520 BC – 515 BC
      • Gabriel comes at the evening offering with the word of the seventy weeks (Dan 9:20–27): 539 BC – 536 BC
      • Daniel reads Jeremiah's seventy years and prays (Dan 9:1–19): 539 BC – 536 BC
      • Artaxerxes' decree to Ezra in his seventh year (Ezra 7): 459 BC – 457 BC
      • Daniel's vision by the Tigris in the third year of Cyrus (Dan 10:1–11:1): 536 BC – 535 BC
      • Desecration of the Temple: the "abomination of desolation" (15 Chislev 145 SE, 168/167 BC): 168 BC – 166 BC
      • Popillius Laenas orders Antiochus IV out of Egypt at Eleusis (168 BC): 168 BC
      • Rededication of the Temple by Judas Maccabaeus (25 Chislev 148 SE, 165/164 BC): 165 BC – 163 BC
      • The closing dialogue by the river: the oath, the numbers and Daniel's dismissal (Dan 12:5–13): 536 BC – 535 BC
      • Evil-merodach (Amēl-Marduk) releases Jehoiachin (561 BC): 562 BC – 561 BC
      • Amēl-Marduk (Evil-merodach) (reign): 562 BC – 560 BC
      • Gedaliah governs from Mizpah and is assassinated (2 Kgs 25:22–26): 589 BC – ?
      • Nebuzaradan burns the Temple and Jerusalem (5th month of Nebuchadnezzar's 19th year): 589 BC – 584 BC
      • The breach of Jerusalem and Zedekiah's capture at Riblah (9/IV of Zedekiah's 11th year): 589 BC – 585 BC
      • The final siege of Jerusalem begins (10/X of Zedekiah's ninth year): 590 BC – 587 BC
      • Zedekiah (reign): 597 BC – 586 BC
      • The deportation of Nebuchadnezzar's twenty-third year (Jer 52:30): 582 BC – 581 BC
      • Cyrus returns the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar; the first return (Ezra 1:5–11): 538 BC – 530 BC
      • The altar rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths kept (Ezra 3:1–7): 538 BC – 530 BC
      • The return of the exiles with Zerubbabel and Jeshua; the list of returnees (Ezra 2): 538 BC – 531 BC
      • The foundation of the Second Temple laid (Ezra 3:8–13): 537 BC – 530 BC
      • Tattenai governor of Beyond the River inquires and writes to Darius (Ezra 5:3–17): 520 BC – 515 BC
      • Haggai and Zechariah stir the people; the Temple work resumes (Darius's second year, 520 BC): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Opposition from the people of the land; the Temple work ceases until Darius's second year (Ezra 4:1–5, 24): 537 BC – 519 BC
      • Accusations to Ahasuerus and the Rehum–Shimshai letter to Artaxerxes; the city's rebuilding stopped (Ezra 4:6–23): 537 BC – ?
      • The returned exiles keep the Passover after the Temple's dedication (Ezra 6:19–22): 516 BC – 515 BC
      • Haggai's oracles of 24/IX, Darius year 2: "from this day I will bless you"; Zerubbabel the signet: 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Haggai's oracle on the latter glory of the house (21/VII, Darius year 2): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Zechariah's first oracle: the call to return (8th month, Darius year 2): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Zechariah's night visions (24 Shebat, Darius year 2; Zech 1:7–6:8): 520 BC – 519 BC
      • Crowns made from the exiles' gifts and set on Joshua; the oracle of the Branch (Zech 6:9–15): 520 BC – 515 BC
      • The Bethel delegation and the question of fasting; Zechariah's answer (4/IX, Darius year 4): 518 BC – 517 BC
      • Ezra's caravan from the Ahava to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:7–10; 8): 459 BC – 457 BC
      • The mixed-marriages crisis: Ezra's confession, the assembly in the rain (20/IX) and the commission (Ezra 9–10): 459 BC – 457 BC
      • Nehemiah arrives, inspects the walls by night and calls for rebuilding (Neh 2:9–20): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall and gates, section by section (Neh 3): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Mockery, threats and the armed builders (Neh 4): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The debt crisis and the remission of pledges (Neh 5:1–13): 446 BC – 423 BC
      • Plots against Nehemiah: Ono, the open letter, Shemaiah (Neh 6:1–14): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The wall completed on 25 Elul after fifty-two days (Neh 6:15–19): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Nehemiah's first governorship: twelve years, 20th–32nd year of Artaxerxes (445–433 BC): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Jerusalem guarded under Hanani and Hananiah; the registry of the first returnees found (Neh 7:1–5): 446 BC – ?
      • Ezra reads the Law on the first day of the seventh month (Neh 7:73b–8:12): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The Feast of Booths kept "as it is written" (Neh 8:13–18): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The sealed covenant to keep the law and support the temple (Neh 9:38–10:39): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • The fast of the twenty-fourth day and the Levites' confession (Neh 9): 446 BC – 444 BC
      • Nehemiah's return and second-term reforms (Neh 13:4–31): 434 BC – 423 BC
      • Jerusalem repopulated: one in ten by lot (Neh 11): 446 BC – ?
      • The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh 12:27–13:3): 446 BC – 423 BC
      • The priestly and Levitical registers to the days of Jaddua (Neh 12:1–26): 446 BC – ?
      • The first "burden" of Zechariah 9–11 (undated oracle collection): 518 BC – ?
      • The second "burden" of Zechariah 12–14 (undated oracle collection): 518 BC – ?
      • Malachi's disputations with priests and people (Mal 1–4; undated, mid-fifth century BC): 465 BC – 423 BC
      • Mordecai uncovers the plot of Bigthan and Teresh (Esth 2:19–23): 479 BC – 464 BC
      • Esther made queen in Tebeth of Xerxes's seventh year (Esth 2:1–18; winter 479/478 BC): 479 BC – 478 BC
      • Xerxes I (reign): 486 BC – 464 BC
      • Ahasuerus's third-year feast at Susa and the deposing of Vashti (Esth 1; 483/482 BC): 483 BC – 482 BC
      • Mordecai mourns; Esther resolves to go to the king (Esth 4): 474 BC
      • Haman casts pur and the decree against the Jews (Esth 3; Nisan 474 BC): 474 BC
      • Esther before the king; the first banquet; Haman's gallows (Esth 5): 474 BC
      • The sleepless king; Mordecai honoured by Haman (Esth 6): 474 BC
      • The institution of Purim; Mordecai second to the king (Esth 9:20–10:3): 474 BC – ?
      • The Jews defend themselves on 13–14 Adar (Esth 9:1–19; 473 BC): 474 BC – 473 BC
      • Mordecai's counter-decree of 23 Sivan (Esth 8; June 474 BC): 474 BC
      • The second banquet; Haman hanged (Esth 7): 474 BC
      • Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reign): 175 BC – 164 BC
      • Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV defeats Antiochus III (217 BC): 217 BC
      • Battle of Panium: Antiochus III defeats Scopas (c. 200–198 BC): 200 BC – 198 BC
      • Battle of Magnesia: Rome defeats Antiochus III (190 BC): 190 BC
      • Assassination of Seleucus IV and accession of Antiochus IV (175 BC): 175 BC
      • Death of Antiochus IV at Tabae in Persia (164 BC): 164 BC

      Ancient and modern geography

      Location confidence assumes the event as described. Whether it occurred is assessed in the claims below.

      PlaceConnection to this eventLocation identification
      Plain of DuraImplied setting (the dedication)Location confidence: proposed — disputedNear the mound of Dowair/Duair, south-east of Babylon (Oppert, 19th c.): possibleA tract a little south of Tekrit on the Tigris ("Dur"): possible

      View on the map →

      Claims, evidence and classifications

      Each claim is classified on its own. A classification describes the evidence for that specific claim, not for the event as a whole.

      Burning was used as a punishment in Mesopotamian law and is attributed to a king of Babylon in Jeremiah 29:22.

      Historically plausibleMachine-proposedHistorical reconstruction

      The Code of Hammurabi prescribes burning for several offences; Jeremiah 29:22 (a biblical, not independent, source) says a king of Babylon roasted two prophets in the fire. No Neo-Babylonian legal text was consulted.

      Supporting

      • The Code of Hammurabi prescribes burning for looting at a house fire (§25), for a consecrated woman entering a tavern (§110), and for incest with one's mother (§157).[1]Strength: indirect·§§25, 110, 157·Claim checkedLimitations: Old Babylonian, not Neo-Babylonian.

      Limitations of this classification: Hammurabi's code is about 1,100 years earlier.

      Research date 2026-10-12

      Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship the image and were thrown into a furnace.

      No independent corroboration foundMachine-proposedBiblical text

      No independent record of these men or this execution was found. This is not a disproof.

      Context

      • The Code of Hammurabi prescribes burning for looting at a house fire (§25), for a consecrated woman entering a tavern (§110), and for incest with one's mother (§157).[1]Strength: indirect·§§25, 110, 157·Claim checkedLimitations: Old Babylonian, not Neo-Babylonian.

      Research date 2026-10-12

      The three survived the furnace unharmed, accompanied by a fourth figure.

      Not empirically testableMachine-proposedBiblical text

      A miraculous deliverance cannot be assessed by historical or scientific methods; evidence about Babylonian punishments bears only on the setting. This is not a theological verdict.

      Research date 2026-10-12

      Evidence by type

      The same evidence regrouped by kind of source. Each item names the claims it bears on.

      Archaeological evidence

      None recorded for this event.

      Scientific findings

      None recorded for this event.

      Ancient documents

      Modern news and announcements

      None recorded for this event.

      Reference works and summaries

      None recorded for this event.

      Historical disputes and competing reconstructions

      • The fourth figure as an angel

        The text (3:28: "sent his angel")

        The king himself later says God sent his angel.

      • The fourth figure as a Christophany

        D. Guzik and many Christian interpreters

        Reading "like the Son of God", the figure is the pre-incarnate Christ present with the faithful in their trial.[3]

      • Translation note

        English versions

        Some English versions render 3:25 "a son of the gods" (the king's polytheistic idiom, as in the WEB), others "the Son of God"; the difference affects interpretation, not the narrated event.

      Related passages and events

      FromRelationshipToBasis
      this eventThematic parallelmedium · Biblical textJeremiah 29:22A king of Babylon "roasted in the fire" Zedekiah and Ahab, false prophets in exile — a distinct event involving the same punishment.
      this eventThematic parallellow · InterpretationIsaiah 43:2"When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned" — a promise often read alongside the deliverance. Thematic only.
      this eventThematic parallelmedium · InterpretationHebrews 11:34Hebrews lists those who "quenched the power of fire" among the faithful, commonly referred to this episode.

      Prophetic relationships

      No prophecy or proposed-fulfillment relationships have been recorded for this event.

      Commentary references

      Layer: Interpretation. This is commentary, not historical evidence.

      Guzik reads the refusal as treated by the king as treason, and identifies the fourth man as the Son of God present with his people, noting that God may deliver from trials or sustain within them.[3]

      Unanswered questions and research gaps

      • Neo-Babylonian evidence for execution by burning not located.

      Research process

      8 logged searches
      DateQueryWhereUseful
      2026-10-12Wikipedia Daniel 3 (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego)web fetch1
      2026-10-12Enduring Word Daniel 3web fetch1
      2026-10-12Shea Daniel 3 Extra-Biblical Texts Convocation on the Plain of Dura AUSS 1982 pdfPDF blocked (403); metadata only.web + digitalcommons1
      2026-10-12Livius ABC 5 years 8–11 (revolt in Akkad)web fetch1
      2026-10-12plain of Dura location Oppert Tulul Dura pedestalOnly 19th-century dictionary entries; no modern excavation report found.web2
      2026-10-12Bible Hub H5481 sumponyah (BDB)web fetch1
      2026-10-12Code of Hammurabi burning penalties (Avalon, King translation)web1
      2026-10-12Brenton LXX Daniel 3; WEB Greek Daniel 3 (eBible)Brenton has "eighteenth year"; WEB Greek lacks it.web2

      Sources

      1. 1.
        Hammurabi of Babylon, King, L. W. (translator). The Code of Hammurabi, trans. L. W. King — Avalon Project. Avalon Project, Yale Law School. avalon.law.yale.eduClaim checkedAncient primary textOld Babylonian law (18th c. BC), not Neo-Babylonian practice.Verification log
      2. 2.
        Brenton, Lancelot C. L. (translator). Daniel 3 — Brenton's English Septuagint (1851), eBible.org. eBible.org. ebible.orgClaim checkedAncient primary textWhich Greek textual tradition (Old Greek or Theodotion) carries the date was not verified.Verification log
      3. 3.
        Guzik, David. Daniel 3 — Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Enduring Word. enduringword.comClaim checkedTheological commentaryInterpretive resource — not historical corroboration.Verification log