Shadrach, biblical

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are figures from chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel , three Hebrew men thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar , king of Babylon , when they refuse to bow down to the king's image; the three are preserved from harm and the king sees four men walking in the flames, "the fourth ... like a son of God".

The first six chapters of Daniel are stories dating from the late Persian/early Hellenistic period, and Daniel's absence from the story of the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace suggests that it may originally have been independent. It forms a pair with the story of Daniel in the lions' den, both making the point that the God of the Jews will deliver those who are faithful to him.