In this part of the chapter, we reach the heart of the narrative: Nebuchadnezzar summons Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego), holds a sort of "hearing" with them, issues a personal and explicit decree against them, and ultimately casts them into the fiery furnace. Drawing upon the Malbim, we will examine the legal logic behind this summons, the subtle distinction between "the image you have made" and "the image you have set up," the decisive answer of the three men, and the series of miracles that unfolded within the furnace.
בֵּאדַיִן נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר בִּרְגַז וַחֲמָא אֲמַר לְהַיְתָיָה לְשַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ בֵּאדַיִן גֻּבְרַיָּא אִלֵּךְ הֵיתָיוּ קֳדָם מַלְכָּא׃ - Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to be brought; then these men were brought before the king.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego - Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah - be brought before him, and these men were brought before the king.
עָנֵה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר וְאָמַר לְהוֹן הַצְדָּא שַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ לֵאלָהַי לָא אִיתֵיכוֹן פָּלְחִין וּלְצֶלֶם דַּהֲבָא דִּי הֲקֵימֶת לָא סָגְדִין׃ - Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods, nor bow down to the golden image that I have set up?"
What is the meaning of hatzda? According to Ibn Ezra, it means: Is it indeed so? Is it true what I have heard, that you do not serve my gods and do not worship the golden image I have set up? Rashi interprets hatzda from the root of desolation and waste (tzedu ushemamah) - a deserted place: as if the king is saying to them, are my decrees desolation in your eyes? Are my edicts vanity, as if I said nothing at all? Is my command so insignificant to you that you neither bow nor prostrate yourselves before the image?
The Malbim raises a fundamental question: What is the meaning of this? The king had already proclaimed that anyone who does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the fiery furnace "in that very hour" - immediately. Why, then, does he summon them, conduct a hearing, and investigate the matter with them?
The Malbim explains: The king realized that an immediate execution order could not be issued against Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah because of a restriction in Babylonian law. There was a prior law in Babylonia stipulating that the king does not restrict the religious worship of his subjects; every person was permitted to bow down and prostrate before whichever deity he desired. There was religious pluralism: each person was free to live according to his own faith and belief.
And what did this mean in practice? All the other nations were not constrained by their beliefs: they would bow to this deity and also to that one, and their gods themselves operated under that same pluralistic approach. Therefore, there was no contradiction between the old law and the new decree: none of the nations could claim that the new decree infringed upon their right to freedom of worship, for they could bow to their own god and also to the image. There was only one nation for whom the previous law contradicted the current decree, and that was the Jewish nation.
For if the fundamental law of the kingdom of Babylonia established freedom of worship, then we as Jews are permitted to serve our God; and once we serve the God of Israel, we are bound by an absolute prohibition against bowing down to any other image. Consequently, the second decree is automatically void regarding us, as it contradicts the primary law.
When, then, would the second decree actually take effect? Only if the king summons them and commands them personally and specifically: "I am now issuing a new law, and by direct decree I command you to bow down to the image." Such a specific command constitutes a new law that contradicts and nullifies the old law, leaving no further excuses. As long as the new law remains general, one can claim that it addresses the other nations and not me, since for me it contradicts the previous law.
In light of this, the verse is clarified: "Hatzda" - "I know." I know, Nebuchadnezzar tells them, that since you do not serve my gods - because this is forbidden to you according to your religion and faith - it naturally follows that you also did not bow down to the golden image I set up. In other words: I know the answer and the excuse on your lips - that under the earlier law there is religious freedom, and therefore you could not bow to my image.
כְּעַן הֵן אִיתֵיכוֹן עֲתִידִין דִּי בְעִדָּנָא דִּי תִשְׁמְעוּן קָל קַרְנָא מַשְׁרוֹקִיתָא קַתְרוֹס שַׂבְּכָא פְּסַנְתֵּרִין וְסוּמְפֹּנְיָה וְכֹל זְנֵי זְמָרָא תִּפְּלוּן וְתִסְגְּדוּן לְצַלְמָא דִי עַבְדֵת וְהֵן לָא תִסְגְּדוּן בַּהּ שַׁעֲתָא תִתְרְמוֹן לְגוֹא אַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִדְתָּא וּמַן הוּא אֱלָהּ דִּי יְשֵׁיזְבִנְכוֹן מִן יְדָי׃ - "Now if you are ready, at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and prostrate yourselves before the image that I made; but if you do not bow down, at that very hour you will be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who can rescue you from my hands?"
Now, the king tells them, I am issuing an explicit decree. Regarding the earlier decree you could still offer an excuse, but now I am issuing a specific command directed at you: when you hear the musical instruments, I command you to bow down to the image I have set up.
The Malbim notes an important nuance: this verse differs from all the preceding verses. Here it says, "to fall down and prostrate yourselves before the image that I made [tzelema di avdet]," whereas everywhere else the king used the phrasing, "the image that I set up [tzelema di hakeimet]." What is the difference?
The Malbim explains: From the perspective of its crafting, this image involved no aspect of idol worship whatsoever. It was merely a royal monument, a replica of the statue Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream, intended to represent his monarchy. In terms of its physical crafting, it was not made as an idol. The problem stemmed solely from its erection: Nebuchadnezzar made himself into a deity - or so he imagined, seeing himself as godlike - and the statue was meant to symbolize him, or to symbolize his heavenly patron minister, which is already an angelic, spiritual power. In that it was erected for such a purpose, it constituted idolatry; but the physical crafting of the statue was merely an expression of what he had seen in the dream, an ordinary monument, rather than a representation of a supreme spiritual power.
Therefore, he comes and says to them: I am not asking you to bow down to the image that "I set up," which implies idolatry; I am only asking that you bow down to the image that "I made," merely as a monument. Consequently, according to him, you are not obligated to give up your lives, since your Torah does not prohibit bowing to a monument.
And this was precisely the argument against Mordechai HaYehudi. According to one opinion in the Gemara, Mordechai did not act properly in refusing to bow to Haman. And why did he not bow? Because of an image that Haman wore. To this the Gemara notes: it was not an idol, but a monument - that is, an image not made for idol worship. In that same vein, Nebuchadnezzar was aware of this distinction, and told them: treat it as a monument, merely as an image that I made, not in terms of spiritual forces, not corresponding to an angel in heaven, and not corresponding to my being a deity. And if you do not bow, after this explicit decree - you are guaranteed to be thrown into the fiery furnace.
עֲנוֹ שַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ וְאָמְרִין לְמַלְכָּא נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר לָא חַשְׁחִין אֲנַחְנָא עַל דְּנָה פִּתְגָם לַהֲתָבוּתָךְ׃ - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter."
They reply to him: We do not even need to deliberate or consult about what you propose. Our answer is already prepared - we do not even ask for time to think. We do not even need to contemplate what to answer you. The answer is clear and absolute.
Chazal make a precise observation: Why does the verse say, "and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar"? It would have been sufficient to say, "and said, we have no need..." Rather, they came and said to him: Your Majesty, when it comes to taxes and levies - we accept your sovereignty; please, rule over us. But when you come to command us to bow down to an image, to rebel against Hashem, may He be blessed, and to deny Him - you are the lowest of men in our eyes, contemptible in our eyes. This is why it says "to the king" on one hand, and "Nebuchadnezzar" on the other: your kingship is acceptable to us up to a certain point - run the state, collect taxes; but when you interfere in spiritual direction, dictating whom to worship and whom not to worship - that is where the line is drawn. That we are not willing to accept.
הֵן אִיתַי אֱלָהַנָא דִּי אֲנַחְנָא פָלְחִין יָכִל לְשֵׁיזָבוּתַנָא מִן אַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִדְתָּא וּמִן יְדָךְ מַלְכָּא יְשֵׁיזִב׃ - If so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king.
Nebuchadnezzar had boasted and said, "And who is that god who will rescue you from my hands?" - words of pride, arrogance, and scorn. To this they reply: Know that we serve a God Who is able to save us from the fiery furnace, and is able to save us from your hand as well. In other words: if you throw us into the fire, Hashem can bring us out of there; and if He so wills, He can arrange that you will not even be able to cast us into the fire. Do not boast and say, "Who is the god who will save" - the Holy One, blessed be He, can save from any situation.
There is another explanation for "and from your hand." The approach of the holy Or HaChaim and many of the Rishonim is that being saved from the hand of an agent of free will is far more difficult than being saved when one falls into the power of something that lacks free will. A person who falls into the clutches of wild beasts has a greater likelihood of being saved, since beasts have no free choice, and everything is purely in Hashem's hand; therefore, if he is found worthy in Hashem's eyes, he will come to no harm. But a person with free will - Hashem granted man free choice, and part of that choice is the capacity to inflict harm even if it was not decreed that the victim should suffer.
In truth, the generally accepted view is not like this, but rather follows the approach of the Vilna Gaon, that even a person with free choice can never cause harm unless it was decreed upon the victim that he be harmed; however, the Or HaChaim and other commentators held otherwise. Whoever wishes may consult the sefer Siftei Chaim by Rav Chaim Friedlander, in the volume entitled "Yediah U'Vechirah" (Divine Foreknowledge and Free Will), where he develops this topic thoroughly, compares both approaches, and demonstrates how they do not contradict each other. In any event, according to this approach, they came and said to him: Hashem is able to save us from the fiery furnace, for fire burns without free choice, and He is also able to save us from an agent of free will - "and He will rescue us from your hand, O king," even from you, Your Majesty.
The Malbim adds regarding the intention of "and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar": It is as though they were saying to him - in this matter, you are not king over us. You govern our physical bodies and our land, but over our spirit and our soul you have no dominion. Our spirit and soul are in God's hands; whenever He wills, He will take them from us, and the matter does not depend on you.
וְהֵן לָא יְדִיעַ לֶהֱוֵא לָךְ מַלְכָּא דִּי לֵאלָהָךְ לָא אִיתַנָא פָלְחִין וּלְצֶלֶם דַּהֲבָא דִּי הֲקֵימְתָּ לָא נִסְגֻּד׃ - But even if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your god, nor will we worship the golden image that you have set up.
And if Hashem does not wish to save us - even though He is able - and decides not to deliver us, nevertheless, let it be known to you, Your Majesty, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we bow down to the golden image that you have set up. Note the precise nuance: here they do not say "which you made," but rather "which you set up." That is: even if you made it merely as a monument, for what purpose did you erect it? For the purpose of deity. Therefore, even if Hashem does not save us, we do not think twice: we will not bow down to your image, and we do not accept your gods.
בֵּאדַיִן נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר הִתְמְלִי חֱמָא וּצְלֵם אַנְפּוֹהִי אֶשְׁתַּנִּי עַל שַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ עָנֵה וְאָמַר לְמֵזֵא לְאַתּוּנָא חַד שִׁבְעָה עַל דִּי חֲזֵה לְמֵזְיֵהּ׃ - Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He spoke and commanded to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.
These words were not pleasing to Nebuchadnezzar's ears, and his reaction was not long in coming. He was filled with fury, and the expression of his face changed - not mere irritation, but features contorted with uncontrollable rage. And he gave the order to heat the atuna, the fiery furnace, seven times more than it was customarily heated: if it was normally fired to three hundred degrees, it was now to be heated seven times beyond that.
וּלְגֻבְרִין גִּבָּרֵי חַיִל דִּי בְחַיְלֵהּ אֲמַר לְכַפָּתָה לְשַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ לְמִרְמֵא לְאַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִדְתָּא׃ - And he commanded mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
Now he gives orders to mighty warriors in his army to bind Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah and cast them into the fiery furnace. This requires explanation: What need is there for a company of mighty warriors to seize three scholars condemned to death? Three young scholars - anyone could just come, pick one up, and throw him in. What was the purpose of all this?
The Malbim explains: The pagan nations at that time believed that while God indeed possesses power, He too has limits, and if they strengthened themselves enough, they would have the power to overcome Him. This was their mindset, and it is stated explicitly in the Prophets. When the people of Israel brought the Ark to battle against the Philistines after their initial defeat, fear and trembling fell upon the Philistines. What did they proclaim? "Strengthen yourselves and be men!" - for their God fights for them. In other words: since their God has joined the battle, special valor is required; with ordinary valor they will defeat us, but with supreme valor we can succeed in overcoming even God.
Based on this, Nevuchadnezzar's actions become clear: He said to himself, their God can apparently overcome a standard furnace - so I will make a furnace with an intensely high temperature, seven times hotter than normal, and that He will not be able to overcome. Their God can apparently overcome ordinary men - if weak men come to take them, He might stir up a little wind and drive them away; but if mighty warriors come, bind them, and seize them with overwhelming force, He will not be able to overcome that either. Such was the narrow, limited worldview of the nations in that era.
בֵּאדַיִן גֻּבְרַיָּא אִלֵּךְ כְּפִתוּ בְּסַרְבָּלֵיהוֹן פַּטְּשֵׁיהוֹן וְכַרְבְּלָתְהוֹן וּלְבֻשֵׁיהוֹן וּרְמִיו לְגוֹא אַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִדְתָּא׃ - Then these men were bound in their mantles, their tunics, their turbans, and their garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
They bound them while fully dressed in their clothes - "their tunics and their turbans" refer to types of royal garments they wore. And even though they were being led out to be executed, Rashi notes: they did not change their clothing to demean their stature. From this, Chazal derived that even in a time of mortal danger, a person should not relinquish the position of dignity to which he is accustomed. Even in moments of peril, walk with dignity; do not demean yourself. If you are going to give your life for Kiddush Hashem, do not walk like a wretched pauper. Therefore, they wore their festive garments and their robes of authority, and dressed in them, they went out to be martyred and cast into the fiery furnace.
The Malbim adds another reason: due to haste. They feared that in the meantime their God might intervene and manage to rescue them. Therefore, they bound them just as they were, in order to throw them into the fire as quickly as possible. They did not even strip off their clothes - they immediately bound them and rushed them into the fiery furnace.
כׇּל קֳבֵל דְּנָה מִן דִּי מִלַּת מַלְכָּא מַחְצְפָה וְאַתּוּנָא אֵזֵה יַתִּירָה גֻּבְרַיָּא אִלֵּךְ דִּי הַסִּקוּ לְשַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ קַטִּל הִמּוֹן שְׁבִיבָא דִּי נוּרָא׃ - Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
"The king's command was urgent" - the king's word was to be carried out with force and swiftness, without delay. And because the heat of the furnace was so extreme, the men carrying Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah toward the furnace were struck by the flames of the fire and died, whereas nothing happened to Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah.
וְגֻבְרַיָּא אִלֵּךְ תְּלָתֵּהוֹן שַׁדְרַךְ מֵישַׁךְ וַעֲבֵד נְגוֹ נְפַלוּ לְגוֹא אַתּוּן נוּרָא יָקִדְתָּא מְכַפְּתִין׃ - And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
The three fell into the fiery furnace while bound. Why does the verse say "they fell"? After all, the king commanded to cast them in, and "to cast" implies an external force, whereas "they fell" implies falling on their own. Rather, as explained previously: due to the intense heat, the men carrying them could not reach the mouth of the furnace and perished along the way; they only managed to place them at the furnace's edge, and from there the three fell inside on their own. The ones sent to cast them had already been struck down by the fire even before that.
אֱדַיִן נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מַלְכָּא תְּוַהּ וְקָם בְּהִתְבְּהָלָה עָנֵה וְאָמַר לְהַדָּבְרוֹהִי הֲלָא גֻבְרִין תְּלָתָה רְמֵינָא לְגוֹא נוּרָא מְכַפְּתִין עָנַיִן וְאָמְרִין לְמַלְכָּא יַצִּיבָא מַלְכָּא׃ - Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and rose up in haste; he spoke and said to his counselors, "Did we not cast three bound men into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king."
Nebuchadnezzar was alarmed, rose in haste, and said to his advisers: Did I not instruct that three men be thrown bound into the fiery furnace? They answered him: Absolutely true, my lord the king, that is what we did.
עָנֵה וְאָמַר הָא אֲנָה חָזֵה גֻּבְרִין אַרְבְּעָה שְׁרַיִן מַהְלְכִין בְּגוֹא נוּרָא וַחֲבָל לָא אִיתַי בְּהוֹן וְרֵוֵהּ דִּי רְבִיעָאָה דָּמֵה לְבַר אֱלָהִין׃ - He answered and said, "Lo, I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and no harm has befallen them; and the appearance of the fourth resembles an angel."
Nebuchadnezzar is astonished and enumerates the wonders: We spoke of three - and I see four. We said to throw them in bound - and I see them unbound, free. I commanded them to be cast into the furnace, and the fall itself should have battered them even before the burning, for a furnace is not an elevated structure but dug deep into the ground to retain its heat; a person falling a depth of several meters is injured by the impact itself, even before considering the fire. Yet here I see them walking inside the furnace, and not only are they unbound, but "no harm has befallen them" - there is no injury whatsoever. The fall did not harm them, and the fire burned nothing, not even a single garment was singed, as we will see further on. And above all - the fourth resembles an angel, a spiritual power that descended to rescue them, "resembling an angel."
One must ask: What is this angel, and in general, from where does Nebuchadnezzar know angels? He says "resembles" - when was the last time he saw an angel? In truth, Nebuchadnezzar had seen an angel: when they came to conquer Jerusalem, an angel of Hashem went out and smote one hundred and eighty thousand army commanders in the Assyrian camp. Chazal say that he remarked: This is exactly like the angel I saw back then - the angel Gavriel.
Chazal continue: The ministering angel of hail asked to descend and cool the fire. Gavriel said to him: That does not bring honor to the Holy One, blessed be He. Rather, I will descend and make it boil from the outside while cooling it from the inside, so that there will be a miracle within a miracle.
What is the depth of this concept? The Malbim explains that there were two possibilities for rescue. One was to cool the furnace, so that instead of heat there would be cold, and there would be no danger. The second was that the angel appointed over fire, who is the root of the fire's power here below, would nullify the earthly fire through the power of the spiritual, supernal fire.
For every physical entity is influenced and activated by a heavenly mazal from Above, and mazal signifies a spiritual force that flows down, cascades, and exerts influence in the lower worlds. Therefore Gabriel says: I shall nullify the fire through its supernal power, and this is the aspect of fire nullifying fire. Water nullifying fire is a natural phenomenon; but fire nullifying fire is a miracle. Through this, I will also burn all those outside who came to cast them in: heating from the outside and cooling from within. Such a miracle, where it is scorching outside yet cool inside - while in the natural order of things the fire inside is hot and the temperature outside is lower - is not natural at all. Therefore Gabriel chose this path: to perform a miracle that would make it clear to all that this was an exalted, spiritual miracle.
In this passage, the Malbim teaches us how Nevuchadnezzar sought to circumvent the Babylonian law of freedom of worship through a personal, specific decree, and how he even attempted to soften his demand by claiming that this was merely a monument - "the image that I made" and not "that I erected" [as a deity]. Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah did not need even a moment of hesitation: they accepted his sovereignty regarding taxes and levies, yet rejected it entirely in matters of faith. They proclaimed that our God is able to save from the fire and even from the hand of a being endowed with free will, and even if He does not save us - we will still not worship. They went forth to be put to death dressed in their robes of office, for a person does not diminish his stature even in a time of peril. Ultimately, a miracle within a miracle was performed for them: the fire consumed those casting them in from outside yet had no power over them inside, and even Nevuchadnezzar himself conceded that the fourth figure walking with them in the fire was like an angel.