Hananiah

Who Hananiah is

Hananiah is named second, after Daniel, among the children of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar has brought to Babylon for three years of training in the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans. The prince of the eunuchs renames him Shadrach. With Daniel, Mishael and Azariah he is placed under Melzar, eats pulse and drinks water for ten days, and looks fairer than the children who eat the king's meat; God gives the four knowledge and skill, and when the king examines them he finds none like them. In chapter 2 Daniel goes home and tells Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah the king's matter so that they will ask mercies of the God of heaven, and after the dream is revealed and Daniel promoted, the king at Daniel's request sets Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. In chapter 3 certain Chaldeans accuse Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego of not serving the king's gods or worshipping the golden image. Brought before Nebuchadnezzar, the three answer together that their God is able to deliver them and that, even if not, they will not worship the image. Bound in their clothes, they are cast into the furnace heated seven times; the king sees four men walking loose, calls them out, and the officials see no hair singed and no smell of fire. Nebuchadnezzar blesses the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and promotes the three.

Cited passages: Daniel 1:6, Daniel 1:4, Daniel 1:7, Daniel 1:11, Daniel 1:15, Daniel 1:17, Daniel 1:19, Daniel 2:17, Daniel 2:18, Daniel 2:49, Daniel 3:12, Daniel 3:17, Daniel 3:18, Daniel 3:21, Daniel 3:25, Daniel 3:27, Daniel 3:28, Daniel 3:30

Historical setting

The text calls Hananiah one of the children of Judah and gives no father, age or later history. His Hebrew name is used only in Daniel 1 and Daniel 2:17; from 2:49 onward he is Shadrach, and the identification rests on the renaming in Daniel 1:7. Another Hananiah, the son of Azur, the prophet of Gibeon, confronts Jeremiah in Jeremiah 28 and announces that Nebuchadnezzar's yoke will be broken within two years; that man is a different person, and the index keeps this Hananiah as the captive known only from Daniel 1 to 3. Nothing in the text says that Hananiah speaks alone; in chapter 3 the three answer the king in one voice, and the accusers, the king and the narrator name them as a set. Daniel is not present in chapter 3, and the text does not say where he is. The chapter gives no date for the image. After the promotion at the end of chapter 3, Hananiah is not mentioned again in Daniel under either name.

Cited passages: Daniel 1:6, Daniel 2:17, Daniel 2:49, Daniel 1:7, Jeremiah 28:1, Jeremiah 28:11, Daniel 3:16, Daniel 3:8, Daniel 3:1, Daniel 3:30

How the story is told

Hananiah heads the trio in every list, and Shadrach heads it in the same way once the Babylonian names take over, so his name is the one that opens the formula the narrator repeats through chapter 3. Chapter 1 gives him a share in Daniel's test, the ten days of pulse that end in a visible verdict. Chapter 2 keeps him offstage: Daniel tells him the matter, the prayer is described as a purpose rather than quoted, and the reward comes by Daniel's request. Chapter 3 is where the three carry the story without Daniel. Their single speech refuses to argue, offers the king two outcomes and one decision, and the narrative answers it with the king's own counting, three thrown in and four walking. The narrator never lets the reader inside Hananiah's head; what is known of him is what he eats, what he refuses, and what the fire does not do to him. That restraint, applied to all three men equally, is the way the book presents faithfulness that is shared rather than singular.

Cited passages: Daniel 1:19, Daniel 3:14, Daniel 1:12, Daniel 2:18, Daniel 3:16, Daniel 3:24, Daniel 3:25, Daniel 3:27

Story moments

1. Named among the children of Judah (Daniel 1:6). Hananiah is listed after Daniel among the captives chosen for training.
2. Renamed Shadrach (Daniel 1:7). The prince of the eunuchs gives Hananiah the name Shadrach.
3. Ten days of pulse (Daniel 1:15). After the test the four look fairer than those who ate the king's meat.
4. Told the king's matter (Daniel 2:17). Daniel shares the secret with Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah so they can pray.
5. Accused before the king (Daniel 3:12). Chaldeans name Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego as refusing to worship the image.
6. But if not (Daniel 3:18). The three tell the king they will not serve his gods even if not delivered.
7. Out of the furnace (Daniel 3:26). Nebuchadnezzar calls the three out of the fire as servants of the most high God.

Key passages

Daniel 1:6

Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Daniel 1:7

Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.

Daniel 1:11

Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Daniel 1:19

And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.

Daniel 2:17

Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

Daniel 2:49

Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

King James Version. 18 indexed passages in total.

For reflection

Hananiah is renamed, tested, accused and delivered, and the text never records a word that is his alone. What does the account show about a person known only through what he shares with others?

Books Hananiah appears in

• Daniel

Related people

• Nebuchadnezzar
• Mishael
• Azariah
• Daniel
• Judah
• Jacob
• Cyrus
• Jehoiakim