Illustration created for this project.
Abednego
One of Daniel's three companions who walked in the fire with a fourth 'like a son of the gods'.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 2
Ancient writers — non-biblical testimony · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Origin & birthplace
Tribe & people
BibleOf the tribe of Judah.
Daniel 3:25
Life, role & deeds
Scan by NYPL — Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Ancient writersThe first-century historian Josephus mentions Daniel and his three young kinsmen among the Judahite exiles at Nebuchadnezzar's court in his Antiquities of the Jews (Book 10).
Josephus, Antiquities 10.186ff — a retelling dependent on the book of Daniel, not independent attestation. Wording corrected: Josephus actually passes over the golden-image and fiery-furnace episode of Daniel 3, so the original 'fiery-furnace' claim was removed.
Name & titles
ScholarlyAbednego was the Babylonian name imposed on the Judahite exile Azariah. Scholars widely read it as a lightly altered form of Akkadian Abed-Nabû, 'servant of Nabu' (the Babylonian god of wisdom), with the theophoric element disguised as '-nego', paralleling the deliberate renamings of his companions in Daniel 1.
Onomastic reconstruction Abed-Nabû > Abed-nego; standard in commentary on Daniel.
Where in scripture
DanielIn their own words — 1 recorded saying
“Then Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the men of pride, said to Jeremiah, You have said what is false: the Lord our God has not sent you to say, You are not to go into the land of Egypt and make your living-place there: But Baruch, the son of Neriah, is moving you against us, to give us up into the hands of the Chaldaeans so that they may put us to death, and take us away prisoners into Babylon.” — Jeremiah 43:2-3
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).
Places in their life
Photo: David Stanley — CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
In art
