Endnote 28 – What’s in a Name?

Esther was also called Hadassah (“Myrtle”), and since that name is mentioned first (Esther 2:7), perhaps that was her original name and Esther was given to her later (perhaps as a royal name, when she married Ahasuerus). Likewise Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were given the Babylonian names Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in addition to their Hebrew names (Daniel 1:6–7).