What’s in a Name? (Part One)

By Edmund Ng

As we encounter one name after name in the bible, have we ever stopped to ask ourselves the meaning of these names, countless as they are? Is there even anything we can learn, simply by studying their names? There certainly is, if we would dig deeper into their origins. For a start, let’s look how names came about in the bible.

In the Beginning…
Recall Eve, our very first proud mother of two. She named her first son, Cain, which in Hebrew actually sounds like “acquired” or “brought forth”, as she must have been conscious of how she had been given her first son by God. Her own name means “living” because she would become the mother of all living people. And Adam and Eve could not have know the ominous meaning of Abel’s name for it actually meant “breath” and in Hebrew, even sounds like “temporary” or “meaningless”, as evinced by his short-lived life.

Of Moms and Babes
So this tradition of naming one’s child according to the circumstances of his birth continues throughout the Old Testament. If you want to find out how the twelve tribes of Israel got their names, read Genesis 29 to 30 about how Leah battled with her womb to gain Jacob’s affection over Rachel. In those days, a woman’s crowning glory was how many children she could bear. Read 1 Samuel 1 and see how God remembered Hannah, his mother, and answered her heartfelt plea for a child of her own.

Named by God?
God himself knew how important names were. He personally gave Abraham his name—it means “father of many”—as a reminder of his covenant promise of how He would multiply his descendants. Sarah means “noblewoman” and implies how she would become Abraham’s accompanying mother of the multitudes. God even named Abraham’s son, Isaac which means “he laughs”, not only as a reminder of how Abraham had laughed within himself when God promised that his 99-year old wife would conceive, but also of the limits of his human reasoning.

Take Time…
As you read through the bible, take time to appreciate these biblical names. Referring to a study bible is actually immensely fascinating (where do you think all the information above came from). Otherwise it also helps to refer to the Strong’s dictionary (available at websites such as www.blueletterbible.org).

In part two, we’ll look further into the study of biblical names. Meanwhile, keep on reading!