3:28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, 3 “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel 4 and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring 5 the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than 6 serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!
1 tn Or “word” or “event.” See HALOT 1915 s.v. מִלָּה.
2 tn The Aramaic term מְנֵא (mÿne’) is a noun referring to a measure of weight. The linkage here to the verb “to number” (Aram. מְנָה, mÿnah) is a case of paronomasia rather than strict etymology. So also with תְּקֵל (tÿqel) and פַרְסִין (farsin). In the latter case there is an obvious wordplay with the name “Persian.”
3 tn Aram “answered and said.”
4 sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).
5 tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”
6 tn Aram “so that they might not.”