The+Fiery+Furnace

Burn, Baby, Burn King Nebuchadnezzar makes an image of gold and brings all of his satraps and governors to see it. They all stand before the image of gold that he has created, and a herald tells them that they are to fall down and worship the golden image whenever they hear any kind of music, or they are to to be burned in a fiery furnace. This convinces every person and nation to fall down and worship the image whenever they hear music. Several Chaldeans come forth to the King and accuse three Jews of not worshiping his golden image: Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego.
 * Background Story: **

The King is furious and commands for them to be brought to him. They are brought before him, and they tell him that their God will be able to bring them out of the fiery furnace if they are to be sent into it. King Nebuchadnezzar is incredibly furious, so he orders his servants to heat up the furnace seven times before he will cast them in there. The three Jews are bound and thrown into the furnace with their clothes on. He asks his counselors what has happened, and they tell him that the Jews are standing in the fire unscathed. They bring them out of the fire, and Nebuchadnezzar declares that anyone who does not worship that god will be punished.


 * The theme of this story is to not believe what others force you to- because then you are as good as dead anyways. The three Hebrews managed to survive due to their unwavering faith and refusal to worship a false idol.

Allusions made to "The Fiery Furnace" usually relate to the the three Jews that were cast into the flames: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men all resisted the law of Nebuchadnezzar, and had faith that their god would save them from the punishment. The allusions, however, usually have to do with someone standing near a source of heat. The characters in novels could be described as Shadrachs, Meshach, or Abednagos. For example, this is how Eunice Ann Simpson is described in // To Kill a Mockingbird. //
 * Allusions: **


 * ** Novel ** || * "To Kill a Mockingbird"- Harper Lee
 * "Shadrach in the Furnace"- Bobs Merrill ||
 * ** Song ** || * "Shadrach"- Beastie Boys
 * "Shadrack"- Robert MacGimsey ||
 * ** Open Letter ** || * "Letter from Birmingham Jail"- Martin Luther King Jr. ||


 * To Kill a Mockingbird- **

In this book, a rather simple allusion is made to the story of the fiery furnace concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago. One of Scout's companions, Eunice Ann Simpson, is tied to a chair in the boiler room by her and her companions. Once rescued, she declares she no longer wants to be Shadrach. This is simply an allusion to the fiery furnace in that Eunice is thrown into a hot place until she is rescued, as the three Hebrews are.

//Daniel //. //The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version //. New York: World, 1962. Print.

Delahunty, Andrew, and Sheila Dignen. //Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion //. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

 King, Martin L., Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Letter. 16 Apr. 1963. MS. N.p.

Lee, Harper. //To Kill a Mockingbird //. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960. Print.

MacGimsey, Robert, Louis Armstrong, and Lyn Murray. //Shadrack //. Decca, 1938. CD.

MacGimsey, Robert, and Phil Harris. //Shadrach //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">. RCA Victor, 1949. CD.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Silverberg, Robert. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">Shadrach in the Furnace //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1976. Print.