What is Your Name?

[Dennis1209]

11 hours ago, Retrobyter said:

Shalom, @Dennis1209.

My given name is "Roy," a Teutonic name meaning "red." I have considered using "Adam," it's Hebrew equivalent, which also means "red," for my "nom de plume" or "pen name" in the books I'm writing.

Most Hebrew boys are named at their circumcision, on the 8tn day after their birth. In the Bible, the son or daughter is named based upon the circumstances or the feelings at his or her birth. On rare occasions, such as our Lord's birth or His cousin's, Yochanan's birth, they were named first by an angel of God.

I think it's fun to read through Genesis, look up the name given to the person being born, and see what it meant and read the account of that person's birth to see why he or she was so named. There's usually some reason in the name. I also find it interesting to note how the original name sounded and was written and compare it to how it was transliterated into English characters and the names we find common today.

For instance, the name of our Lord was and still is "יֵשׁוּעַ," (Strong's H3442) which I transliterate as "Yeeshuwa`," which suggests how the name originally sounded: "Yay-shoo'-(g)ah," in which the "`ayin" or "`" (sometimes called a "back-tick") represented with the "(g)," is like a swallowed "g" sound, like when a child tries to immitate a frog's croak in the "Gunk! Gunk! Went the Little Greek Frog" preschool song. It means "He shall save" or "He shall deliver" or "He shall rescue." And, one can learn this from Matthew 1:

Matthew 1:19-21 (KJV)

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man], and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,

"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS (Greek: Ἰησοῦς = Ieesous = Hebrew: יֵשׁוּעַ = Yeeshuwa`): for 'HE SHALL SAVE' his people from their sins."

Contrary to popular belief, "יֵשׁוּעַ" is NOT the same name as "יְהוֹשׁוּעַ" which is transliterated as "Yhowshuwa`" and given the English spelling "Joshua" or "Jehoshua" (in Numbers 13:16 and 1 Chronicles 7:27). It means "YHWH saved," "YHWH delivered," or "YHWH rescued." Note: These two names are not even spelled the same in Hebrew! Now, the GREEK language may have confused them in trying to transliterate them into Greek letters, but they are NOT the same name in Hebrew! The "yod-" prefix (y-) is the THIRD-PERSON, SINGULAR PRONOUN form of the verb. The "yod-hei-vav-" prefix are the first three letters of God's covenant Name, "YHWH," also called the "Tetragrammaton," Greek for "having four letters."

Hi Retro,

I have become interested in Biblical names, mainly the names and titles of our Lord (I can find 135 of them). A lot can also be gleaned from the names of the Lord's adversaries. I do not know Hebrew or Greek, so I must depend on English lexicons and word study software.

I became interested when Dr. Chuck Missler pointed out the first ten generations from Adam through Noah, strung their name meanings into an English sentence, and was astounded at the message. Since then, I have dabbled in name meanings to see if they add to the message, story, impact, or history.

As with Biblical number associations, if a person is named in the Bible, it carries some significance to the message. Names, numbers, patterns, and representations go into great detail, with the Tabernacle, Temple, and New Jerusalem as examples.

Of the hundreds of names in the Bible, only a handful are recorded to be dictated by the Lord or His angels. It is evident that probably 95% of all the names given in the Bible give a tidbit about the person's traits, character, associations, or something about them.

You are observant about the Law of Circumcision on the eighth day. The Lord was angry with Moses over circumcision and would slay him—the number 8 represents new birth, creation, or beginning.

The preceding leads me back to my original question on the hundreds of accurate names with a tidbit of information about them given. Apart from Divine intervention or inspiration, how did the hundreds of parent(s) know anything about their child and life, probably named no later than the eighth day after birth?

I also wonder if there is any meaning or association with Gentile names given, be it ancient or modern names of today: the importance of naming a child today or Christian tradition.

[In the Clouds]

My English name does not appear in the Bible. But, Biblical association says this about it:  In the Bible, the name, symbolizes victory and honor. It reflects a sense of triumph and God’s favor upon those bearing the name.