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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 a divine being of the Lord descended at the same time to the ones around Azariah, into the furnace, and dispersed the flame of fire from the furnace. 50 Then he made the middle of the furnace like a moist wind gently whistling, so that it did not touch them at all; and the fire did not cause pain and did not trouble them. 51 And lifting up their voices, the three, as if out of one mouth, sang praises and extolled and praised and exalted God within the furnace, saying,
3 Maccabees 6:6
Pseudepigrapha
5 Sennacherib exulting in his countless forces, oppressive king of the Assyrians, who had already gained control of the whole world by the spear and was lifted up against your holy city, speaking grievous words with boasting and insolence, you, O Lord, broke in pieces, showing your power to many nations. 6 The three companions in Babylon who had voluntarily surrendered their lives to the flames so as not to serve vain things, you rescued unharmed, even to a hair, moistening the fiery furnace with dew and turning the flame against all their enemies. 7 Daniel, who through envious slanders was thrown down into the ground to lions as food for wild animals, you brought up to the light unharmed.
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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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