Identity

Dan.1:⁶ “Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah… all from the tribe of Judah. ⁷ The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.

The number one objective of the Babylonian chief of staff in renaming Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah with Babylonian names was to give them a new identity. The challenge with that is, people usually rise up to the name they are called. Below is a table that shows the original name of the Hebrew boys and its meaning versus the Babylonian name and its meaning.

Interestingly, people just see names in the Bible and give those names to their children without checking the meaning or history of the names. The fact that is from the Bible does not mean that it is from God. The fact that a Word is from the Bible does not mean it is from God. The name of the king was actually significant; Nebuchadnezzar means “nebo, protect my boundary [territory]!” Babylon means “the gate of gods” because there are different gods in the city.

Why is it important for us to get to the root of these names? It is because information makes a whole lot of difference with understanding the context in scripture. Knowing the meaning of the names helps us better understand why the Babylonians insisted on renaming these young men. They did not just give them any names, they renamed them using the names of their gods because they wanted them to be loyal to their gods. They wanted their gods to rule their lives. Interestingly, the world’s systems try to rename us and our children, but we have to turn it down. Some of us need to change our names; God has already begun to speak to you about a new name.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, let my name be a praise song to God and reflect the might of the Most High God, in Jesus Name. Amen!