Aramaic word · H5665

עֲבֵד נְגוֹ

va'aved

Abednego

“Servant of Nego.” Most scholars take Nego as a distortion, perhaps deliberate, of Nabu (Nebo), the Babylonian god of writing and wisdom. Shadrach and Meshach have less certain origins.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 28 times in 13 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Dan.1.6; also called Abednego at Dan.2.49; 3.12,13,14,16,19,20,22,23,26,28,29,30;

Aramaic of a.zar.yah (עֲזַרְיָה "Azariah" H5838Z)

§ Abed-nego = "servant of Nebo"

1) the godly friend of Daniel who Nebuchadnezzar renamed Abednego; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king's table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord

1a) also, 'Azariah' (H5838 or H5839)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 3:16

Range of meaning

“Servant of Nego.” Most scholars take Nego as a distortion, perhaps deliberate, of Nabu (Nebo), the Babylonian god of writing and wisdom. Shadrach and Meshach have less certain origins. They have been linked to Babylonian phrases involving the moon god Aku/Sin, but none of these explanations is settled.

Against the English

English readers take the names as simple labels. To the first hearers they marked the men as renamed, absorbed servants of the Babylonian court and its gods (1:7).

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 1:7 records the renaming. Nebuchadnezzar's own name contains Nabu, and Isaiah 46:1 mocks “Nebo” as a god who has to be carried.

From the study of Daniel 3:13

Range of meaning

"Servant of Nego." A court name imposed on the Judean Azariah (1:7). Most scholars take Nego as a changed form of Nebo/Nabu, the Babylonian god of writing and wisdom and the patron of Nebuchadnezzar's own name. Some suggest a scribal alteration so as not to write a pagan god's name in full. Others think it reflects an Aramaic ʿbd-nbw that became garbled.

Against the English

English transliterates it as "Abednego" and so hides the meaning "servant of."

Used elsewhere in the period

Names of the form ʿbd-nbw, "servant of Nabu," are attested in Aramaic inscriptions and documents of the Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods. Renaming foreign trainees for royal service was a known practice in the empire.

Where it appears

Daniel · 28

  1. Daniel 2:49 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

  2. Daniel 3:12 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

    Here: 'And' plus the first half of Azariah's court name: ʿăbēd, 'servant (of)'.

  3. Daniel 3:13 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,

    Here: First half of Azariah's court name (1:7): "servant of…".

  4. Daniel 3:14 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up?

    Here: "And servant of…": the first half of Azariah's court name (1:7).

  5. Daniel 3:16 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֔וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

    Here: “And” plus the first half of Abed-nego, “servant of …”. Calling him “servant” of a Babylonian god is ironic, because he is about to refuse that kind of service.

  6. Daniel 3:19 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,

    Here: First half of Azariah's court name, ʿăbēd, 'servant (of)'. That is pointed, because the three men have just refused to 'serve' (pālaḥ) the king's gods.

  7. Daniel 3:20 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace.

  8. Daniel 3:22 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֔וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

  9. Daniel 3:23 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֑וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.

  10. Daniel 3:26 וַעֲבֵד־ נְג֛וֹ וַעֲבֵ֥ד נְג֖וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,

    Here: The first half of Azariah's court name (1:7). ʿAbed means “servant (of)”, the same root as “servants” a few words later.

  11. Daniel 3:28 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֔וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

    Here: The first half of Abed-nego, the court name of Azariah. ʿAbed means "servant (of)." A few words later the same root comes back in "his servants."

  12. Daniel 3:29 וַעֲבֵ֣ד נְג֔וֹא and Abed-, -nego

    Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”

    Here: First half of Abednego, 'servant of Nego'. Nego is probably a deliberately altered form of Nabu, a Babylonian god. The name means the God being honoured here is worshipped by a man who carries a pagan god's name.

  13. Daniel 3:30 וַעֲבֵ֥ד נְג֖וֹ and Abed-, -nego

    Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.