![]() ![]() Belteshazzar, the name given to Daniel, means “Bel protects his life.” The meaning of the name Daniel is “God is my judge.” The suffix of Daniel’s name (and Mishael’s) is -el, which refers to Elohim, one of the names of the God of Israel. Abednego means “servant of Nebo,” for example. ![]() It was a forced assimilation Nebuchadnezzar wanted Daniel and his friends to “conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2), and a name change was one step toward that goal.Įach name Daniel and his friends were given carried a meaning associated with a different Babylonian deity. The boys’ names were changed as a way of encouraging them to forget the God and traditions of their homeland and become conformed to the ways and gods of Babylon. But upon arrival in Babylon, their names were changed: “The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar to Hananiah, Shadrach to Mishael, Meshach and to Azariah, Abednego” (Daniel 1:7). Among those taken were four boys, around the age of 14 at the time, named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.Īll four of these Hebrew names had meanings connected to faith in God. Some of the inhabitants of Judah were taken back to Babylon as captives, including a number of the children of royal and noble families, to be integrated into Babylonian society (Daniel 1:3–4). ![]() King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Judah, destroying Jerusalem in 586 BC, an event that had been prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:9). Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia from 605 BC to around 563 BC, and he was responsible for changing Daniel’s name to Belteshazzar. ![]()
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