Meshach

Meshach [Heb. meshak]. A personal name.

Meshack is the Babylonian name (generally understood to mean "who is like Aku") given to Mishael (meaning "who is like God"), a young Judahite taken captive to Babylon after the defeat of Judah in 605 BC.

Counted among the choice young prisoners, Meshach was recruited to serve at the palace along with three companions (Dan 1:3-4). He demonstrated allegiance to God by refusing to defile himself with the court's diet (Dan 1) and to bow down to the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 3). When thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing image worship, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego were marvelously kept alive by God. In awe at this deliverance, Nebuchadnezzar blessed God, stated his admiration for the three Hebrews, and promoted them in Babylon. See also Mishael.