been played out in terms of this commandment. It is at the very heart of Hebrew faith. The response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (the Babylonian conferred names are used throughout this chapter) is a further act of defiance, but for them it has its counterpart in Nebuchadnezzar’s own defiance of the one true God. His proclamation strikes at the roots of monotheism. In the story he is the representative of ungodly power, of a human pride that cannot tolerate the exclusive claim of a monotheistic