Daniel 1:3-7, Training to Be a Chaldean

When I was 14 I began attending a new school. In each class they called roll and they had my first and last name on the roll. I went by my middle name but I answered, “here,” and so was being called by my first name, William, in all my classes. I hated it. The next day I went to all my teachers and asked them to change the name on their roll to Randall, my middle name. Being called by a name I was not used to was extremely uncomfortable for me. Imagine being taken as a slave and having your name changed to what your owners wanted to call you.

³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, ⁴ youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. ⁶ Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷ And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Nebuchadnezzar took some of the best and brightest of Judah back to Babylon to train them in the knowledge of the Chaldeans, to make them astrologers/diviners/magi who could advise him. Daniel (God/El is my Judge), Hananiah (Yah[weh] has been gracious), Mishael (Who Is What God/El Is), and Azariah (Yah[weh] has helped) were taken in this group. We don’t know if they were part of the royal family or other nobility, but they possessed the traits looked for by king, being physically attractive and intellectually adept at learning. They were going to have to become skillful in the language and lore of the Chaldeans:

While the language itself would not have been unusually difficult to learn, the system used to write it was. It required learning hundreds of symbols and the rules for using them correctly. This was done by first copying simple exercises set by the teacher. As the student progressed, he would move on to copying important literary texts. Many of these were religious in nature. The learning process was therefore also an induction into the worldview and culture of Babylonia. (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary)

The young men (probably around the age of 14-17) were put on a three-year course of study, and, as part of the king’s household, were supplied from his table, making them dependent upon and beholding to him. And their names were changed. This was a common way of subjecting someone, and the names given them were reflective of their gods and culture. They became Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

They were being trained to “stand before the king,” that is, to serve him personally, a privileged yet terrifying role. These Hebrew young men were facing the challenge of their lives.

Taking up my cross daily: Today, Lord, I stand before You, the One who knows me and calls me by my name, to serve You in all I do.