"That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." So goes the quote from the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. Parents choose the name of their newborns carefully, whether it is a new-fangled name or the name of a favorite relative, and they also have to see how the chosen name fits with the surname.
In the
Bible, people's names and place names reflected their character traits. Most of
the time, the actual text does not provide the meaning of the name; you can
usually find the meaning of a name in a footnote. Sometimes, however, the
meaning of the name is found in the text. Isaac's wife Rebekah bore him twin sons.
The firstborn son was named Esau, which means "hairy," because he was
covered with hair when he was born. The other twin was named Jacob, which means
"one who takes the heel," because he grabbed Esau's heel when he
exited the womb. Jacob's name also means "deceiver," and he deceived
Esau out of his birthright. Jacob's wife Leah bore him many sons. Each son's
name described the circumstances of his conception or birth.
Names were
also changed by God if the person's circumstances changed. Abraham's original
name was Abram (exalted father). God changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of
a multitude) in Genesis 17 when God told him that he would be the father of
many nations. Sarah's name was originally Sarai, and her name was also changed
in Genesis 17. Sarah's name means "princess." Sarah laughed when she
heard the Lord say that she would bear a child in her old age, so her son's
name was Isaac, which means "laughter."
Jacob's name
was changed to Israel (Prince with God) after he wrestled with a Man, who was
probably the Angel of the Lord, in Genesis 32. Jacob called that place Peniel,
which means "Face of God." The name change is reconfirmed in Genesis when
Jacob returned to Bethel (which means "house of God").
Jesus
changed names as well. He gave Simon the
name Peter. He also gave brothers James and John the nickname Boanerges, which
means "sons of thunder."
As believers,
we will also receive new names. In Revelation 2:17(b), John writes: "And I
will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one
know except him who receives it." Even Jesus Himself will get a new name. In
Revelation 3:12, Jesus states: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in
the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and
the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of
heaven from My God. And I will write on
him My new name.” There is no indication in Revelation what Jesus’ new name is –
we will just have to wait until we get to Heaven to find out what it is.
Interested
in finding out what your name means? You can go to this website https://www.behindthename.com/to find out.
Thanks for
reading! See you next time!
Diane
