Daniel 1:7

1:7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave ¹  Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. ² 

Daniel 4:8

4:8 Later Daniel entered (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, ³  and in whom there is a spirit of the holy gods). I recounted the dream for him as well,

Daniel 4:19

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; ⁴  his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, ⁵  if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!

¹ tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.

² sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.

³ sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.

⁴ tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.

⁵ tn Aram “my lord.”