Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary
ABED'-NEGO (servant of Nego, perhaps the same as Nebo, the Chaldean name of the planet Mercury, who was worshipped as the scribe and interpreter of the gods), the Chaldee name given by an officer of the king of Babylon to Azariah, one of the four youths mentioned in the book of Daniel who were taken captive at Jerusalem, b. c. 604, and carried to Babylon, where they were trained for the royal service. Dan 1:7. The names of the others were likewise changed. Daniel was called Belteshazzar; Hananiah, Shadrach; and Mishael, Meshach.
Daniel, promoted in consequence of his interpretation of the king's dream, secured positions for his three companions. These three are immortal because on the occasion of the dedication of a golden image by Nebuchadnezzar they refused to bow down and worship it. Accordingly, they were cast into a burning fiery furnace, from which they were miraculously delivered unscathed. Dan 3. See Daniel.