³ Judging by the meaning of their names, it is quite apparent that in spite of the wicked conditions prevailing in Judah at the time, these four Hebrew youths had God-fearing parents.

Mishael’s name possibly means “Who Is Like God?” or “Who belongs to God?” And Azariah’s name means “Jehovah Has Helped.” No doubt their very names were an incentive for them to be faithful to the one true God. In the place of these names, the Chaldeans named the four Hebrew youths Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Of course, being slaves to a foreign power, they had no choice as to what names their captors used in referring to them.​—Daniel 1:7.

Faith and Courage Put to the Test

4. What indicates that Jehovah wanted his people to take seriously his laws regarding clean and unclean animals?

⁴ Not only did their God-fearing parents give the four Hebrews a good start in life by the names they gave them but they also must have brought them up strictly according to the Law of Moses, including its dietary features. Jehovah God himself considered these so important that it was after listing many similar prohibitions that he stated: “You must prove yourselves holy, because I am holy.”​—Leviticus 11:44, 45.

5. How was the fine rearing of the four Hebrew youths put to the test?

⁵ This fine rearing of these four Hebrew youths was soon put to the test. How so? Because they were “appointed a daily allowance from the delicacies of the king and from his drinking wine.” (Daniel 1:5) They knew that among things forbidden by the Law of Moses were such foods as pigs, rabbits, oysters, and eels. Even meats that the Law allowed were questionable in the Babylonian court, since there was no way of knowing whether they had been properly bled. Besides, such meats may well have been defiled by pagan rituals.​—Leviticus 3:16, 17.

6. How did the four Hebrews respond to the test?

⁶ What could the four Hebrews do? We read that Daniel, and no doubt also the other three, determined in his heart not to pollute himself with such foods. Hence, he “kept requesting” plain vegetables instead of the delicacies of the king and water instead of his wine. The matter of which tasted better did not enter their minds. It certainly took faith and courage to press this issue. Well, since Jehovah was interested in these four youths, he saw to it that the principal court official was favorably disposed toward Daniel. However, this official was afraid to grant Daniel’s request for fear of the effect such a diet would have on Daniel’s health. So Daniel asked that they be permitted to try out this diet for ten days. He had strong faith that obeying God’s Law not only would give him a good conscience but would also prove beneficial healthwise. As a result of their stand, the four Hebrews no doubt had to endure much ridicule.​—Daniel 1:8-14; Isaiah 48:17, 18.

7. How were those Hebrew youths rewarded for their brave stand?

⁷ It had taken faith and courage for the four Hebrews to make an issue of their food. But how they were rewarded for doing so, for at the end of the ten days, they looked comelier and healthier than any of the others! Jehovah was giving them knowledge, insight, and wisdom, so that when they appeared before the king at the end of their three-year training period, he found them “ten times better than all the magic-practicing priests and the conjurers that were in all his royal realm.”​—Daniel 1:20.

8. What lesson is there in this for Jehovah’s servants today?

⁸ There is a lesson in this for all servants of Jehovah God today. Those Hebrew youths might have reasoned that the dietary restrictions of the Mosaic Law were not so important, at least not when compared with the Ten Commandments or the laws concerning sacrifices or the annual festivals. But no, the loyal Hebrews were concerned with living up to all features of God’s Law.