Daniel 3:27

Dan 3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

Ver. 27. And the princes, governors, and captains.] Who were more obstinate than the king, and willing to have shut the windows lest the light should shine in upon them; but that there was no withstanding it.

Upon whose bodies the fire had no power.] See on Dan 3:23. The creatures are at a league with the saints. {Job 5:22}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

[Daniel 3:27] And gathered (וּמִֽתְכַּנְּשִׁין - umitkanneshin)... and the royal companions (וְהַדָּבְרֵי מַלְכָּא - v'haddavrei malka): [These are] his counselors (yoʿatzav) who are accustomed to being with him (she-hen nehogin ʿimo).

On whose bodies (בְּגֶשְׁמְהוֹן - b'geshmehon): [Means] their bodies (gufotam). Like [the Hebrew word geshem (meaning rain, homonymous with the Aramaic for body) used in]: “and the rain (geshem) makes them grow” [Isaiah 44:14].

And the odor of fire... had not clung [lit. passed on] (וְרֵיחַ נוּר... לָא עֲדָת בְּהוֹן - v'reiach nur... la ʿadat b'hon): The odor of fire (reiach esh) did not pass (ʿavar) onto them. Like [the Hebrew verb ʿadah in]: “like one who takes off (maʿadeh) a garment on a cold day” [Proverbs 25:20].

Had not been singed (לָא הִתְחָרַךְ - la hitḥarakh): [This Aramaic verb is] like [its Hebrew cognate ch-r-k in]: “The lazy man will not roast (lo yacharokh) his prey” [Proverbs 12:27]. And [the verse] mentioned the outer garment (סַרְבָּלֵיהוֹן - sarbaleyhon), and there is no need to mention the others [as it implies they were also unharmed].

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

nor . . . an hair-- (Luk 12:7; Luk 21:18).

fire had no power--fulfilling Isa 43:2; compare Heb 11:34. God alone is a "consuming fire" (Heb 12:29).

nor . . . smell of fire--compare spiritually, Th1 5:22.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 27. Upon whose bodies the fire had no pouter] The heathens boasted that their priests could walk on burning coals unhurt; and Virgil mentions this of the priests of Apollo of Soracte: -

Summe Deum, sancti custos Soractis Apollo!

Quem primi colimus, cui pineus ardor acervo

Pascitur; et medium, freti pietate, per ignem

Cultores multa premimus vestigia pruna.

VIRG. AEn. xi. 785.

O Phoebus, guardian of Soracte's woods

And shady hills; a god above the gods;

To whom our natives pay the rites divine,

And burn whole crackling groves of hallowed pine;

Walk through the fire in honour of thy name,

Unhurt, unsinged, and sacred from the flame.

PITTS.

But Varro tells us that they anointed the soles of their feet with a species of unguent that preserved them from being burnt. Very lately a female showed many feats of this kind, putting red hot iron upon her arms, breasts, c., and passing it over her hair without the slightest inconvenience but in the case of the three Hebrews all was supernatural, and the king and his officers well knew it.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Daniel relates how the satraps were gathered together with the leaders, prefects, and councilors of the king. The gathering was simply a collection of numbers, and if they deliberated about anything of importance, they all agreed. And this confirms the miracle, since if they had been stupefied, how could the great power of God be proposed to the eyes of the blind? Although they were so astonished, they were not altogether foolish, And Daniel implies this by saying, they were assembled together After they had discussed the matter, he says, they came to behold that specimen of the incredible power of God. Then he enumerates many reasons, which clearly shew these three men not to have been preserved by any other means than God’s singular good will. He says, The fire had no power over their bodies then, a hair of their head was not burnt thirdly, their garments were unchanged lastly, the smell of fire had not penetrated to themselves or their garments He expresses more by the word smell than if he had simply said, — the fire had not penetrated. For fire must naturally consume and burn up whatever is submitted to it; but when not even the smell of fire has passed over any substance, the miracle is more conspicuous. Now, we understand the Prophet’s intention. On the whole, he shews how the benefit of freedom was no, small one, since Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came out of the furnace. Besides, these satraps, prefects, and. governors, were witnesses of the power of God. Their testimony would be the more valuable, as all the Jews were, spectators of this grace of God, which even they scarcely believed. But since these men were clearly and professedly enemies to true piety, they would willingly have concealed the miracle, had it been in their power. But God draws them against their wills, and compels them to be eye-witnesses, and they are thus obliged to confess what cannot be in the slightest degree doubtful. It follows-

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

27. princes, governors, and captains] satraps, praefects, and governors. See on Dan_3:2.

counsellers] ministers (Dan_3:24).

upon whose bodies, &c.] that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair, &c.

coats] either mantles, or trousers (Dan_3:21).

changed] viz. for the worse, a sense which the word often has in Aramaic. Cf. Dan_5:6.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said,.... In the presence of his princes and prime ministers of state, and made the following confession, to the praise and glory of the true God; which was extorted from him at this time through the force of conviction; for it does not appear to be a thorough conversion; nor did he relinquish his gods, and the worship of them:

blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; he does not call him his God, but theirs, as he had called him the God of Daniel before, Dan 2:47,

who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him; the fourth man he saw in the furnace he now calls an angel of God; for the Heathens had notions of some being the messengers of the gods: this seems to favour the sense of those who think an angel is designed by the fourth person; though it does not follow that a created one must be meant; for it may be understood of the Angel of God's presence, the uncreated Angel, Jesus Christ; who, being sent by his divine Father; came and delivered these three persons from being consumed in the fire, who had in so strong a manner expressed their confidence in God, which the king now remembers and observes; see Dan 3:17,

and have changed the king's word; made it null and void, refused to obey it, knowing it was their duty to obey God rather than man; so that the king was forced to change his word, and, instead of obliging them to worship his image, blesses their God:

and yielded their bodies; freely gave them up, without any resistance, into the hands of those who were ordered by the king to take and bind them, and cast them into the furnace, to which also they readily yielded themselves: so the Septuagint and Arabic versions add, "to the fire",

that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God; they chose rather to deliver up themselves to death, to be burnt in a furnace, than to serve any other god than the God of Israel; such was their constancy and firmness of mind; such their attachment to the true God, and their faithfulness to him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And the princes, governors, and captains - Notes, Dan 3:3.

And the king’s counselors - Notes, Dan 3:24.

Being gathered together, saw these men - There could be no mistake about the reality of the miracle. They came out as they were cast in. There could have been no trick, no art, no legerdemain, by which they could have been preserved and restored. If the facts occurred as they are stated here, then there can be no doubt that this was a real miracle.

Upon whose bodies the fire had no power - That is, the usual power of fire on the human body was prevented.

Nor was a hair of their head singed - That which would be most likely to have burned. The design is to show that the fire had produced absolutely no effect on them.

Neither were their coats changed - On the word “coats,” see the notes at Dan 3:21. The word “changed” means that there was no change caused by the fire either in their color or their texture.

Nor the smell of fire had passed on them - Not the slightest effect had been produced by the fire; not even so much as to occasion the smell caused by fire when cloth is singed or burned. Perhaps, however, sulphur or pitch had been used in heating the furnace; and the idea may be, that their preservation had been so entire, that not even the smell of the smoke caused by those combustibles could be perceived.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

True; not fickle, and liable to change. (Calmet) --- Opera mutas non mutas consilium. (St. Augustine, Confessions i. 4.) --- Cappel. argues from this confession, that the piece is not divine, as they would rather have burst out into expressions of admiration, as they do in the canticle below. But they had done so already, (ver. 26) and make this confession, (Haydock) as Daniel does, Chap. ix.; reflecting, that if the nation had not transgressed, they would not thus have been exposed to the fury of the king. (Houbigant. v. 40.) (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Saw these men, with great admiration, for the satisfaction of all by their sight of them, and by their smell. All the works of God are perfect, and there was nothing here wanting to make this wonderful deliverance complete. Here was a pure act of God’s omnipotence, to divide between the fire and its most intense heat, and to master any creature in the world in its height, by working against and above nature, whose utmost sphere of activity is limited by God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. See note Dan_3:21. How triumphantly was Jehovah victor when even the hair of their heads was not singed nor even their loose white trousers scorched. (Compare Isa_43:2; Heb_11:34, and note Dan_3:25.) Some Jewish commentators sought to improve even this remarkable climax by saying that while their bodies were protected all their clothes had been burned away excepting this one garment.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king"s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. The versions present no variation of importance. We can, however, at this point compare the list of officials with that which we find in the beginning of this chapter, in vers. 2 and 3. We find that the word haddabereen occupies the same place in the list as gedabreen, translated "treasurer," from which one might be inclined to think that h had taken the place of g, not an impossible change. The probability rather is that the word is to be regarded as collective, equivalent to "officials of the court," to save the repetition of the remaining classes Whether or not these officials had seen the companion the three witnesses for the truth had with them in the furnace, they, at all events, were now able to bear testimony to the fact that the three friends had escaped, and "had quenched the violence of the fire". (Heb_11:34) This event was all the more important to the Babylonians as to them fire was a god high in the pantheon. The God of Israel was thus manifested as so much greater than Iz-bar, that he could deliver his servants even when in the very element in which Iz-bar had his power. The fact that even their "coats whatever these garments were were not burned, and not even a hair singed, while the cords that hadbeen used to bind them were consumed, emphasizes their deliverance, and shows it to be the work of a higher power, who could discriminate and limit the deliverance. The cords were consumed, but the garments of his servants were preserved even from the smell of fire. The Babylonians had conquered the city of Jehovah, had burned his temple, and had done this through the power of Marduk, so they thought; but here Bel-Marduk had been openly defied by three worshippers of Jehovah. They had been hurled into the very element of Iz-bar, the servant and ally of Marduk, yet fire had been unable to harm them or vindicate the honour of Bel-Marduk. What emphasized this was that the fire that spared the servants of Jehovah slew the votaries of Bel-Marduk, who were eager to show their reverence for Marduk by carrying these Jehovah-worshippers to the furnace. Such a miracle, so wrought before all the high dignitaries of the Babylonian Empire, would go far to take the edge off any taunting reference to the weakness of Jehovah"s Godhead as demonstrated by the ruins of Jerusalem. Jehovah had shown himself as the supreme Revealer of secrets when he enabled Daniel to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream. He now manifested himself as Master of the most powerful of elements fire. The Jews could thus maintain their faith unchallenged.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the satraps...gathered Four nations were counted above in the first gathering who were not counted here: Adargazeria, Dethaveria, Gedaveria, Tiftaei. They are the mighty men whom the spark of fire had killed when they cast Hananiah and his colleagues into the fire.

saw these men saw these men: Hananiah and his colleagues.

that the fire had taken no effect on their bodies [as translated,] that the fire had taken no effect on their bodies.

on their bodies בְּגֶשְּׁמְהוֹן, their bodies, in Aramaic, and there are many [instances of it] in this Book.

the hair of their heads was not singed [as translated,] the hair of their heads was not singed.

their robes were not changed They did not change from their appearance.

and the smell of fire had not been absorbed by them Aram. לָא עֲדַת בְּהוֹן, did not pass into their midst.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.