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363 the high priest Azariah of whom it is stated, as a special distinction, " He it is that executed the priest's office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem "

Chron.

(I

Azareel Azariah

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

363

v.

36 [A. V.

vi.

10]), to indicate

that he

guarded the sanctity of the Temple from the sinful king Uzziah at the risk of his life (Sifre Zutta, cited in Talk.,

Num.

I.e.). Devoted to their mundane ruler, they were equally faithful to their heavenly Father, obeying His commands strictly and keeping the Sabbath holy (Eliyahu R. xxvi.; Sanh. I.e.). His Their faithfulness to the Jewish reStrength ligion was demonstrated by their refu-

(Sanh.

and

754).

sal to

show homage

to the idol erected

Faith.

L. G. 4. According to II Chron. xxxi. 10, 13, a certain Azariah of the house of Zadok was chief priest and "ruler of the house of God" during the reign of

by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iii.), although it was in reality no idolatry that was required of them, but rather an act of homage to the king's statue. They gave their lives for the glori-

Hezekiah. During his high-priesthood, chambers were built in the Temple to receive the oblations of the people. 5. The Levite Azariah (probably distinct from the preceding), whose son Joel is described by the chronicler (II Chron. xxix. 12) as active in carrying out the command of Hezekiah to cleanse the Temple. 6. Associated with the same traditional cleansing of the Temple in the days of Hezekiah was a third Azariah described as a Levite of the sons of Merari (II Chron. xxix. 13). 7. Son of the high priest Hilkiah, who was connected with the reformation of Josiah (I Chron. v. 39, 40 [R. V. vi. 13, 14] in part, Ezra vii. 1). It was his son Seraiah who was put to death by Nebuchadnezzar. Perhaps it was this Azariah who gave

fication of the Eternal, saying, "If soulless animals

sr.

J.



name

his

to the priestly clan that figured in the refx. 3 [R.V. 2]).

ormation of Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh. ,i.

C. P. K.

jr.

Son of Nathan, chief of the officers of Solomon (I Kings iv. 5). 9. Son of Hoshaiah, one of the men who disregarded the words of Jeremiah, and persisted in going to Egypt, taking the prophet along with them (Jer. 8.

xliii. 2).

10. The Hebrew name for Abed-nego, the companion of Daniel (Dan. i. 6 et seq.). j.

G. B. L.

jr.

In Rabbinical Literature friends



Azariah and his

Hananiah and Mishael were of royal

lineage,

like their colleague in the royal service, Daniel, being descendants of Hezekiah, to whom the prophet Isaiah had announced concerning them (Isa. xxxix. 7), "and of thy sons there shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon" (Sanh. 93J; Pirke R. Eliezer Jerome, in his Commentary on Isaiah Origines lii. on Matt. xv. 5; a dissenting view in the Talmud, Sanh. I.e., contends that only Daniel was a Judean; The cause of his friends belonging to other tribes). their having been eunuchs was the fact that the enemies of the Jews had accused them before King

Nebuchadnezzar of leading impure



lives, especially

with the wives of the noble Babylonians, and in order show the falsity of this accusation they mutilated themselves, and when arraigned before Nebuchadnezzar, they were not only able to refer to the Decato

alogue(Ex. xx. 14), which enforces chastity upon the Jew, but were also able to prove how unfounded the accusation (Midr. Megillah, published by Gaster, in "Semitic Studies," p. 176). Azariah and his friends were able to control themselves even to the suppression of every human inclination, and they were eminently fit for the service of

was

the court (Dan. i. 4) because they did not permit themselves to be overcome by sleep or other needs

burning ovens of the Egyptians (Ex. vii. 28), how much more reason is there for us to do similarly " (Pes. 53J compare Tosaf ot, under the word riD). Azariah and his friends Hananiah and Mishael were the men chosen as Jewish delegates to show homage to the statue, Nebuchadnezzar having commanded each nation to send three envoys on this occasion. They came to Daniel for advice; lie sent them to the prophet Ezekiel, who advised them not to risk their lives, but rather to try to evade the command by flight. Although the prophet based his advice on the authority of Isaiah (compare Isa. xxvi. 20), they determined openly to insult the like frogs hastened into the



king's statue so that all the nations should say, " All peoples did homage to the image, Israel alone refused " As Ezekiel could not make them desist from their plan, he bade them wait at least until he had questioned God but the Almighty said to him !



"

Let them not depend upon

Me

herein, for

it is

pre-

through the sinfulness of such aristocrats as they among My people, that My house is destroyed, My palace in ashes, and My children exiled among the heathens." This response, however, only confirmed their determination, and they each proceeded to a different point and there proclaimed loudly, " We will not serve thy gods, O king, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up, even though God sustain us not " (Dan. iii. 18 verse 17, however, explicitly expresses faith in God's assistance). When they had thus proven their pious determination, it was revealed to the prophet Ezekiel cisely



that

God would

half, the

nevertheless intervene in their be-

former reply having been simply to

their fortitude (Cant. R. to

test

vii. 8).

When brought before him, Nebuchadnezzar reminded the young men that the Jews had freely worshiped idols before the destruction

Opposes Idol-

of Jerusalem, thus affording them a precedent; he also referred them to the

words of Jeremiah (xxvii. 8), threatening destruction to all who should not obey Nebuchadnezzar; and appealing finally to the prophecy of Moses himself (Deut. iv. 28), predicting that the Jews would serve idols when scattered among the nations. But the three men remained steadfast, and intimated to the monarch that he might command their full obedience in such matters as taxes and imposts, but that in religious matters they could not obey. This defiance so enraged the king that he ordered them thrown into the fiery furnace (Lev. R. xxxiii. 6; compare also Tan., Noah, 10; ed. Buber, xv., and the parallel passages cited by Buber in note 130). Cast into the furnace, the men raised their eyes to heaven and prayed, " Lord of

Worship,