Texts in Conversation
Exclusively in the Greek version of Daniel, God protects three young men thrown into a blazing furnace, cooling it like a damp wind. The prayer in 3 Maccabees 6 echoes that rescue, naming the cooling of the furnace as proof of God’s power to save.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Daniel 3:50
Septuagint
49 But an angel of the Lord came down together with Azarias and those with him into the furnace, and shook the flame of the fire out of the furnace, 50 and made the midst of the furnace like a whistling breeze of dew; and the fire did not touch them at all, and did not hurt them, and did not trouble them. 51 And the three took it up as from one mouth, and sang hymns and glorified and blessed and exalted God in the furnace, saying,
Date: 1st century BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
3 Maccabees 6:6
Deuterocanon
5 When Sennacherib, the grievous king of the Assyrians, exulting in his countless army, had subdued the whole land with his spear and was lifting himself against your holy city with boastings grievous to be endured, you, O Lord, demolished him and displayed your might to many nations. 6 When the three friends in the land of Babylon of their own will exposed their lives to the fire rather than serve vain things, you sent a moist coolness through the fiery furnace, and brought the fire on all their adversaries. 7 It was you who, when Daniel was hurled, through slander and envy, as a prey to lions down below, brought him back again unharmed to light.
Date: 100 BCE–70 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
... The three companions in Babylon (verse 6) are, of course, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego of Daniel 3. A few features of 3 Maccabees' terse account are noteworthy. First, the trio are consigned to the furnace because of their refusal to serve 'vain things.' Clearly this refers to idols, specifically, the golden statue erected by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:4-6). In the context of 3 Maccabees, this would call to mind the idols of Philopator and his imposition of the Dionysian cult (2:28-30; 4:16). It would also bolster the readers' resolve to reject any forms of idolatry into which they might be pressured. Second, 3 Maccabees mentions 'sprinkling the fiery furnace with dew,' an element lacking in the Masoretic Text but found in the Septuagint (Daniel 3:50 = Prayer of Azariah 27). If this reflects the author's literary acquaintance with the Additions to Daniel, there are implications for dating 3 Maccabees. Third, the specific mention of the companions' hair being unharmed reflects both the Masoretic Text (Daniel 3:27) and the Septuagint (Daniel 3:94). ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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