Daniel 3:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 3:19
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar · proper noun, a man's name
full
הִתְמְלִ֣יhit.me.Li
H4391
to fill · verb, perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
fury
חֱמָ֗אche.Ma'
H2528
anger · noun, common feminine singular absolute
form
וּצְלֵ֤םu.tze.Lem
H6755
an idolatrous figure · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct
visage
אַנְפּ֙וֹהִי֙'an.Po.hi
H600
the face · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
changed
אֶשְׁתַּנִּ֔י'esh.ta.nu
H8133
to alter · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
against
עַל'al-
H5922
above · preposition
Shadrach
שַׁדְרַ֥ךְshad.Rakh
H7715
Shadrak · proper noun, a man's name
Meshach
מֵישַׁ֖ךְmei.Shakh
H4336
Meshak · proper noun, a man's name
Abed-nego
וַעֲבֵ֣דva.'a.Ved
H5665
Abed-Nego · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
spake
עָנֵ֤ה'a.Neh
H6032
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
commanded
וְאָמַר֙ve.'a.Mar
H560
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
heat
לְמֵזֵ֣אle.me.Ze'
H228
to kindle · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
furnace
לְאַתּוּנָ֔אle.'a.tu.Na'
H861
probably a fire-place · preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
one
חַ֨דChad-
H2298
as card. one · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
times
שִׁבְעָ֔הshiv.'Ah
H7655
seven (as the sacred full one) · cardinal number, feminine singular absolute
more
עַ֛ל'al
H5922
above · preposition
than
דִּ֥יdi
H1768
that · conjunction
wont
חֲזֵ֖הcha.Zeh
H2370
to gaze upon · verb, active participle, masculine singular absolute
heated
לְמֵזְיֵֽהּle.me.ze.Yeh
H228
to kindle · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
Leviticus 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Leviticus 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Proverbs 21:24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
Genesis 4:5-6 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Leviticus 26:18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
Leviticus 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
1 Kings 18:33-35 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it o…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 3:19-27
In these verses we have,
I. The casting of these three faithful servants of God into the fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had himself known and owned so much of the true God that, one would have thought, though his pride and vanity induced him to make this golden image, and set it up to be worshipped, yet what these young men now said (whom he had formerly found to be wiser than all his wise men) would revive his convictions, and at least engage him to excuse them; but it proved quite otherwise. 1. Instead of being convinced by what they said, he was exasperated, and made more outrageous, Dan 3:19. It made him full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against these men. Note, Brutish…
visage . . . changed--He had shown forbearance (Dan 3:14-15) as a favor to them, but now that they despise even his forbearance, anger "fills" him, and is betrayed in his whole countenance.
seven times more than it was wont--literally, "than it was (ever) seen to be heated." Seven is the perfect number; that is, it was made as hot as possible. Passion overdoes and defeats its own end, for the hotter the fire, the sooner were they likely to be put out of pain.
Adam Clarke on Daniel 3:19
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury - How strange is this, after having had so many proofs of the supremacy of Jehovah! He had seen how God poured contempt upon his authority in the case of the three Hebrews, and yet he will try his strength once more! How infatuated is man!
Seven times more - As hot as it could be made. Seven expresses the great intensity of the heat.
John Gill on Daniel 3:19
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury,.... Nettled at the answer given him; perceiving his threats made no impression on these three men, and that they were resolutely determined at all events not to obey his will:
and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; not only to what it was in times past, when they were his favourites, and he smiled upon them; but with respect to what it was while they were under examination, and he was trying to bring them to his will; when finding it impracticable, fury rose up, and showed itself in the furrows and frowns of his forehead; in the sharpness of his nose; in his sparkling eyes, foaming mouth, and gnashing teeth, and…
The Church Fathers
And so indeed they prevailed, if it is necessary to speak the truth, the boys… For as strong as the word of the boys was, so was the king wrathful and he said, "Heat the furnace seven times hotter," who was, as always, already defeated by them. For the king prevailed in terrestrial matters, but the three boys prevailed in faith towards God.
Verse 19. "Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the aspect of his countenance was wholly altered." In certain Psalms the titles contain the notation; "On behalf of those who are to be wholly altered." And so the expression "wholly altered" is ambiguous, comprising both the idea of change for the worse or change for the better. Now of course the alteration of Nebuchadnezzar's visage cannot be reconciled with a favorable sense. And after all there are some authorities who refer even the Psalm-titles to a change for the worse, on the ground that those who by nature have known God have been changed by the vexation and fury of their mind to a position of hostility towards Christ and His saints.
But someone will say, "And so was not Daniel, being a friend of the king, able to intercede on their behalf and pardon the three boys?" He was able, but it happened in this way so that the great works of God may be shown and the Babylonians may learn to fear God, and on account of this find rest, so that also their faith may be shown and God may be glorified in them. For if this had not happened the Babylonians would be able to say, "If Daniel did not intercede with the king on their behalf, these boys would today be destroyed in fire," and reckon grace to be human rather than the power of God. But why was the king not sorely pricked, having actually seen Daniel, who was a Jew, and why did he not say to him, "Why do you not worship the image?" He no doubt would have said to the king, "Because I do not worship works made with hands, but the living God who made heaven and earth and has lordship over all flesh." Just as he answered Cyrus in the presence of Bel. The king, having been stunned, said to him… … Bel, except according to the thoughts of the satraps. "For thirty days if one should ask any God or man but from you, he shall be cast into the den of lions." [Daniel 6:7] So it was necessary for the three boys alone to be glorified in the furnace, but before Bel and the reigning Cyrus, it was necessary for Daniel alone to be cast into the den of lions, each of them arranging their own part and observing their own season, so that even Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Babylonians, who saw that the three boys were not destroyed by fire, may glorify God, and Cyrus the Persian, who saw that Daniel was not swallowed by the lions, may be taught that God alone is the God of heaven. And so in this way in due time God administers the affairs of men through his slaves the prophets and persuades all men to come to knowledge of himself. [1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Timothy 3:7]
Dictionary and topics
Abednego — Servant of Nego=Nebo, the Chaldee name given to Azariah, one of Daniel’s three companions (Dan. 2:49). With Shadrach and Meshach, he was delivered from the burning fiery furnace (3:12-30).
Meshach — The title given to Mishael, one of the three Hebrew youths who were under training at the Babylonian court for the rank of Magi (Dan. 1:7; 2:49; 3:12-30). This was probably the name of some Chaldean…
Nebuchadnezzar — In the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means “Nebo, protect the crown!” or the “frontiers.” In an inscription he styles himself “Nebo’s favourite.” He was the son and successor of…
Abed-Nego · .A Jewish — .A Jewish
Coercion · RELIGIOUS — RELIGIOUS
Fire · Can be increased in intensity — Can be increased in intensity
Furnace · into, by Nebuchadnezzar — into, by Nebuchadnezzar
Indictments · .Three Hebrew — .Three Hebrew
Meshach · A name given by the chief eu — A name given by the chief eu
Mishael · .Thrown into the fiery furnace — .Thrown into the fiery furnace
Persecution · Spirit of — Exemplified: Chaldeans — Spirit of — Exemplified: Chaldeans
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Daniel 3:19-20
19. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
19. Tunc Nebuchadnezer repletus fuit iracundia, et forma faciei ejus mutata fuit [187] erga Sadrach, Mesach, et Abednego: loquutus est, jussit, vel, edixit, accendi fornacem uno septies, hoc est, septuplo, magis; quam solebat accendi.
20. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
20. Et viris praestantibus robore, vel, robustis vi…
The judgment pronounced on the accused, their punishment, and their miraculous deliverance.
After the decided refusal of the accused to worship his gods, Nebuchadnezzar changed his countenance toward them. Full of anger at such obstinacy, he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times greater than was usual (Dan 3:19), and that the rebels should be bound in their clothes by powerful men of his army, and then cast into the furnace (Dan 3:20, Dan 3:21). The form of his countenance changed, and his wrath showed itself in the lineaments of his face. The Kethiv אשׁתּנּו (plur.) refers to the genitive [אנפּוהי, plur., "of his countenances"] as the chief idea, and is not, after the Keri…
The three men declared their faithfulness to God above all. They were entrusting themselves to the God who had rescued the entire nation of Israel from the power of Pharaoh (Exod 18:10). God later revealed that those who remain faithful unto death will be delivered even after they have died (Dan 12:1-3).
Rashi on Daniel 3:19
was filled with wrath [as translated,] was filled with wrath.
and the features of his face changed [as translated,] and the features of his face changed.
to heat the furnace to light the fiery furnace and to heat it.
seven times as much as it should be heated instead of once, seven times as much as they calculated to heat it up; and it was as though they would kindle it seven times as much as it required.
to be heated lit. to heat it.
