Azariah meaning

Azaria is a variant of Azariah, which is actually a Biblical male given name. Modern American parents, however, have appropriated this ancient Hebrew name and made it feminine through their use. In Hebrew (עֲזַרְיָה) the name means “Yahweh has helped”, which is by the way that you are familiar with the biblical story of Azariah. Azariah lived around 600 BC during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar II. He is mentioned as one of the three noble born Jews who remained faithful to their Hebrew God (the other two being Shadrach and Meshach). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are the Babylonian equivalents to Ananias, Misael, and Azariah, respectively (their original Hebrew names). The Babylonian names given to the three men refer instead to the pagan gods of Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, along with Daniel, were personally selected by King Nebuchadnezzar to serve in his court. These high born Jews were specifically selected for their good looks and wisdom. What Nebuchadnezzar fails to understand is that these three Israelite men dedicated themselves completely to their own God in the first place. When the king realized that Shadrach (Ananias), Meshach (Mishael) and Abed (Azarias) did not respect him and his Babylonian gods, in an attack that ordered his execution by the fiery furnace (a punishment from Babylon common). An angel of God intervened and kept the men out of the path of evil, so that “the fire had no power over [their] bodies” and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego emerged from the fiery furnace unscathed. Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed by the miraculous scene that he allowed the three men to worship their God freely while also promoting them in the province of Babylon. So the story of Abed/Azarias is illustrative of God's protection over those who demonstrate unwavering devotion to Him. In return, God (or Jehovah) "helped" Azariah and his fellow Jews avoid certain death by fire.