The Babylonian Background of the Motif of the Fiery Furnace in Daniel 3

Abstract

The third chapter of the book of Daniel forms a richly textured narrative, often ascribed to the genre of the court legend.1 The royal order to worship the golden image, the refusal of the three Jewish youths to comply with Nebuchadnezzar's demands, their ordeal in the fiery furnace and miraculous salvation, followed by their reinstatement in royal favor, all raise fascinating literary and theological ques- tions. The themes and motifs that make up this narrative underwent a long process of oral and written transmission that is extremely difficult to reconstruct.2 Indeed, any proposal in that direction is bound to remain speculative. Changes inevitably occurred in the tale during the long process of its elaboration, a time span cover- ing more than three centuries. This means that the original historical background remains partly concealed behind the final redaction. How much does Daniel 3 reflect the situation of Jewish exiles at the Babylonian court in the sixth century, and the political and theological debates which took place at that time?3 1 propose in the next few pages to address one aspect of this question, the motif of the punishment in the fiery furnace. I. THE ACCOUNT IN DANIEL 3 The episode related in Daniel 3 allegedly took place at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, the conqueror of Jerusalem who reigned from 605 to 562 b.c.e. Following the deportations he ordered, Jewish exiles settled in Babylonia in substantial numbers in the early decades of the sixth century. The fate of some exiles is now documented by a group of cuneiform contract tablets stemming mainly from two localities in the region of Nippur, one of them called city of Judah/of the (Al Yahudu/Yahudayu), the Babylonian name of Jerusalem.4 As the majority of the people appearing in the documents bear West Semitic and Judean names, it seems certain that this new Jerusalem in Babylonia had been founded by recent exiles. Those Judeans integrated to various degrees into the life of their new home. Some even gravitated around the royal court. Indeed, such a group of Judeans appearing in cuneiform tablets has been known since 1939, when Ernst Weidner published administrative documents discovered in Babylon at the beginning of the twentieth century in the storeroom area of the royal palace and datable to the thirteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.5 A few tablets record deliveries of rations to groups of foreigners, some of them obviously state prisoners. Among the recipients one finds Jehoiachin, the king of Judah exiled in 597, and a number of unnamed Judean men and princes who presumably belonged to Jehoiachin's retinue. 2 Kings 25:27-30 tells us that in the twenty-seventh year of the exile, the Babylonian king Evil-Merodach (= Amel-Marduk, son of Nebuchadnezzar II, reigned 562560 B.c.E.) released him from prison, provided him with a regular allowance and received him every day at his table. Therefore the story of Daniel and his three companions being taken to the court of Babylon, given rations from the king's table, and educated in the lore and manners of the Chaldeans, fits remarkably well with the evidence available from contemporary documents.6 While the general historical context of Daniel 3 seems relatively easy to assess, some aspects of its setting remain foggy. It has long been accepted that behind the Danielle Nebuchadnezzar lurks a memory of the historical Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who reigned from 556 to 539 b.c.e. The figure of Nabonidus emerges most clearly in Daniel 4 and 5. It is now generally accepted that the story of Nebuchadnezzar's madness and his expulsion among beasts originates in a recollection of Nabonidus's eccentric behavior, especially regarding religious issues, and of his withdrawal to the north Arabian oasis of Teima. The Babylonian king Belshazzar in Daniel 5 reflects the historical Bel-aar-usur, eldest son of Nabonidus and regent of the kingdom during his father's ten-year absence in Arabia. …