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364 Azariah Azazel

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

the universe,

Thou knowest we

did this thing not in

upon our own good

reliance

deeds, but in reliance wilt not permit the heathen to say,

upon Thee, who Where is their God?" (Tanhuma,

I.e. the words here ascribed to the pious victims are a paraphrase of Ps. csv. 1, 2, which psalm, according to Pes. 117a, was composed by these three men; compare also Ex. R.

The furnace into which they were thrown was so well heated with naphtha, tow, tar, and dry branches that the flames rose forty-nine cubits above the furnace, destroying all Chaldeans who were standing by (Septuagint and Theodotion on Dan. iii.47; compare also Sanh. 92ft; Cant. R. vii. 9.) The angel of the hailstorm, Yurkami, craved ix. 1, xviii. 4).

divine permission to cool the furnace, but the task was entrusted to the archangel Gabriel, who so arranged matters that the interior of the furnace was cooled, but its exterior was so furiously glowing that all heathens who gathered to the spectacle perished (Pes. 118a, ft; different in Tan. I.e., which states that God Himself delivered the victims; compare also Ex. R. xviii. 4). In the midst of the flames, Azariah meanwhile intoned a penitential prayer and confession of sins, in which his friends

In the Fiery Furnace,

joined, acknowledging God's supreme justice; and when presently a strong

laden with moisture, blew through the furnace, they broke into a song of thanksgiving (Septuagint and Theodotion, ib. iii. 26-90). The extinction of the flames was but one of six miracles happening upon that day, which happened to be both the Sabbath and the Day The fiery furnace, which had been of Atonement. sunk deep in the ground, rose upon its foundations and

wind,

walls fell apart; four adjoining nations, hostile to the Jews, were burned by it Nebuchadnezzar him-

its



from

fury, his statue being overthrown and it was this identical wind-storm which reanimated the dead of Ezekiel's vision (Ez. xxxvii. 9)at God's command (Sanh. I.e. Cant. R.Z.c). When self suffered

its





the furnace fell, the men refused obedience to the angel's suggestion that they should leave the ruins, saying that they would not leave until Nebuchadnezzar would order them to do so, as otherwise it would look as if they had run away (Tan. I.e.). When Nebuchadnezzar at length approached to bid them come forth, he recognized in the fourth personage present the angel Gabriel, whom he had seen previously, destroying the army of Sennacherib before Jerusalem (Yalk., Dan. 1062). The deliverance of these three men from the furnace made a deep impression upon the surround-

who came to them and remonstrated with them: "You knew that your God could perform such great miracles; how, then, could you through your sinfulness bring about the destruction " of His house and the banishment of His children? They then so forcibly expressed their contempt for

sojourn in the furnace having remedied all their physical deformities (Sanh. I.e. Yer. Shab. vi., end, Here they became the friends of the high priest 8d). Joshua, and in view of their past they were considered " men that are a sign " (Zech. iii. 8). Another result of the deliverance of these men was that the heathens broke up their idols and fashioned bells and spangles out of them, which they hung around the necks of their dogs and asses. The piety of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah has remained imperishable in the memory of the people, so that, for instance, when the supports of the order of the universe are spoken of, these men are referred to as its pillars (Cant. R. vii. 9).

Bibliography: J.

Broil, Jahrbilcher,

vlli.

32-27.

L. G.

SR.

11. Son of Maaseiah, who rebuilt part of the wall of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah (Neh. iii. 23). leader who came with Zerubbabel (Neh. 12. vii. 7). In the parallel account of Ezra ii. 2 he is

A

called " Seraiah.

13. One of those

who

Law

explained the

(Neh.

viii. 7).

14. One of " those that sealed " the covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. x. 3 [R. V. 2|). 15. A member of the tribe of Judah who took part in the dedication of the wall (Neh. xii. 33). 16. Son of Ethan, mentioned in the genealogy of

Judah

(I Chron. ii. 8). 17. A Jerahmeelite (I Chron. ii. 38, 39). 18. The same as Uzziah, which see. 19. Kohathite Levite (I Chron. vi. 21 [R. V.

A

vi. 36]).

A

20.

priest

residing

Jerusalem

in

(I

Chron.

ix. 11).

21. Son of Oded, who, meeting the victorious of Asa at Mareshah, on its return from the campaign against Zerah the Ethiopian, urged the

army

necessity of a religious reform (II Chron. xv. 1-8). 22 and 23. Two sons of Jehoshaphat (II Chron. xxi.

2).

24. Son of Jeroham, captain of a hundred Chron.

(II

xxiii. 1).

25. Son of Obed, also captain of a hundred Chron.

(II

xxiii. 1).

26. Son of Johanan, an Ephraimite who refused by Israel from Judah (II

to accept the booty taken Chron. xxviii. 12). "

In II Chron. xxii. 6 "Azariah" Ahaziah.

AZARIAH

is

an error for G. B. L.

j. ,rn.

ing nations,

so rebellious a people, that the princes exclaimed, " O Lord, righteousness bclongeth to Thee, but unto us confusion of face as at this day " (Dan. ix. 7) (Pesikta, ed. Buber, xi. 99a; Sanh. 98a). According to one account, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah died on the spot; but, according to other accounts, they left Babylonia and settled in Palestine, where they married and had descendants, their

364



A Palestinian scholar of the fourth

amoraic generation (fourth century), often quoted in conjunction with R. Aha (Lev. R. vi. 5; Cant. Cant. R. 16), R. Judan (Gen. R. xlvii. and R. Judah b. Simon (Gen. R. xv. Cant. R. to i. 2). Although his name appears in connection with some Halakot (Yer. Shab. vii. 9b; Yer. Pes. i. 28a), it is doubtful whether he ever became interested in legal topics and the halakic questions with which his name is associated probably belong to R. Ezra (compare Prankel, "Mebo," p. 120ft). Nor can the names of his teachers be definitely ascertained. Azariah transmits Haggadot in the name of leading amoraim of earlier generations,

R. to v. to

i.



4),