It is remarkable that he is twice, vv. 2 (25) and 8 (49), placed as if
he were the leading member of the trio, in the former verse as uttering
the prayer, in the latter as heading the party in the furnace; and so
also, as pointed out above, in v. 23 of ?????. This last fact, however, is
counterbalanced in the same version by all three being named in v. 24 as
praying, Azarias not there figuring as the sole speaker. These small
indications certainly point to some ancient distinction between the
uncanonical insertion, as we have it, and the body of the book.
E. Philippe (in Vigouroux' _D.B._ II. p. 1266) argues for Hebrew and
not Greek originals, because of the existence of two Greek versions,
neither of which, he says, appears to be a revision of the other,
containing hebraisms suggestive of a Hebrew original. But as regards the
Song of the Three, this statement, that neither version is a revision of
the other, must be regarded as more than doubtful. He also says that
the Chisian and Syro-Hexaplar MSS. contain critical signs of Origen,
revealing a Hebrew text, and in 87 (Chisianus) at xiii.
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