Mishael

Three men in the UPDV bear the name Mishael. The first is a Levite of the clan of Kohath, son of Uzziel and cousin of Aaron, who carries his slain kinsmen out of the sanctuary after the strange-fire incident. The second is a Jew of the restoration who stands beside Ezra at the public reading of the law. The third is one of the four youths of Judah deported to Babylon with Daniel, renamed Meshach by the prince of the eunuchs, and preserved through the burning fiery furnace. All three are grouped under the single headword MISHAEL; Scripture covers the third Mishael in detail under his Babylonian name and his two companions.

Mishael Son Of Uzziel, Cousin Of Aaron

Mishael appears first in the genealogy of Levi. Ex 6:22 records, "And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri." His cousins Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, are introduced in the next verse: "And Aaron took to himself Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar" (Ex 6:23).

Nadab and Abihu serve as priests and ascend Sinai with Moses and Aaron and the seventy elders (Ex 24:1, 9; Ex 28:1). Their priestly office ends abruptly: "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each of them took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before Yahweh, which he had not commanded them" (Le 10:1). The summary in Numbers makes the outcome plain — "And Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh, when they offered strange fire before Yahweh, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no sons" (Nu 3:4; cf. Nu 26:61).

It is at this moment that Mishael steps forward. Le 10:4 reports, "And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Draw near, carry your⁺ brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp." Aaron and his surviving sons are forbidden to mourn; the duty of removing the bodies falls to the next house of Kohath, and Mishael with his brother Elzaphan performs it.

Mishael At The Reading Of The Law

The second Mishael belongs to the post-exilic community. Ne 8:4 places him on the platform with Ezra: "And Ezra the scribe stood on a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, [and] Meshullam." Mishael stands on Ezra's left as the law is read to the assembled people.

Mishael Among The Four Youths Of Judah

The third and most narratively developed Mishael is one of four youths of the royal seed of Judah taken to Babylon. Da 1:6 names them: "Now among these were, of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah." The prince of the eunuchs assigns Babylonian names: "And the prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave [the name of] Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, [of] Shadrach; and to Mishael, [of] Meshach; and to Azariah, [of] Abed-nego" (Da 1:7). From this point in the narrative Mishael is called Meshach.

The four youths refuse the king's dainties. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties, nor with the wine which he drank" (Da 1:8); the steward set over "Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah" (Da 1:11) is asked for a ten-day trial of pulse and water. After the ten days "their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths who ate of the king's dainties" (Da 1:15). At the end of their training "the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the sacred scholars and psychics who were in all his realm" (Da 1:19-20).

The Dream Of Nebuchadnezzar

When Nebuchadnezzar's dream threatens the lives of all the wise men of Babylon, Daniel "returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon" (Da 2:14), and then "Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his colleagues: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his colleagues should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon" (Da 2:17-18). Their prayer is answered: "Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven" (Da 2:19), giving thanks "to you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you" (Da 2:23). After Daniel interprets the dream, "Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king" (Da 2:49).

The Fiery Furnace

The decisive episode for Mishael under his Babylonian name is the burning fiery furnace. The accusation comes first: "There are Jewish [prominent] men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these [prominent] men, O king, have not regarded you: they don't serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up" (Da 3:12). The king summons them in fury (Da 3:13), and their reply is firm: "If it is [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up" (Da 3:17-18).

The furnace is heated "seven times more than it was usually heated" (Da 3:19); the soldiers who carry the three are themselves slain by the flame (Da 3:22). "And these three [prominent] men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace" (Da 3:23). The king then sees a sight he did not expect: "Look, I see four [prominent] men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods" (Da 3:25). When they emerge, the assembled officials find "that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them" (Da 3:27). Nebuchadnezzar's response is to bless the God who delivered them and to forbid speech against him on pain of dismemberment (Da 3:28-29). The chapter closes with promotion: "Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon" (Da 3:30).

Remembered In 1 Maccabees

The Babylonian Mishael is recalled by his Hebrew name in the dying speech of Mattathias as a pattern of faith under threat of death: "Hananiah and Azariah and Mishael by believing, Were delivered out of the flame" (1Ma 2:59). The summary preserves the original Judahite names of the three companions and treats their deliverance as a concrete historical instance of faith vindicated.