What's in a Name?

As I think I've mentioned before, I have a college degree in English.  One of the areas of study was linguistics, and if you know me personally, you know that I tend to reference linguistics topics all the time in common conversation (I'm always afraid it's getting annoying, so I try to keep to a minimum!).  Linguistics is by far my favorite study,  particularly language history.  If I had the time, I would read the entire Oxford English Dictionary, but of course I don't.

Anyway, I thought I'd put this fascination with word origins and root meanings to good use today by turning my attention to the Bible.  If you've ever looked closely at it, you will notice a pattern of names that have significance--both people and places.  What I find particularly fascinating is the number of names that are spectacularly fulfilled by the individual's life choices, or are fulfilled in miraculous ways many years later in Israel's history.  I couldn't possibly cover all of them in one post (or even a million!) but there are some that stick out more than others, and I couldn't resist talking about a few of them today.

People

•  Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah-- God renamed both of them, so we should give special focus on this when we study Genesis 17.  Abram meant "exalted father," and was changed to Abraham, "father of many," because God planned to make his descendants into many nations of peoples.  The meaning of Sarai is unclear, but the meaning of Sarah is generally thought to be "Princess," or "Lady." This suggestion of high honor in her name was probably an acknowledgment of her status as the mother of the child of promise, Isaac.
• Isaac--His name means, "He laughs."  How he earned that name has long been my favorite of those sort of stories.  When Abraham heard from God that Sarah was going to have a son, the Bible says that "he laughed to himself," (Genesis 17: 15-17 NIV).  Then, when Sarah hear the news from the three heavenly visitors in the tent, she laughed to herself also, although she denied it later when confronted about it (Genesis 18: 10-5 NIV).  So when Sarah had a son as predicted, she and Abraham named him Isaac.  I've always seen it as an acknowledgment that God had the last laugh on the whole situation.
• Jacob/Israel and Esau/Edom-- Jacob was born clinging to his brother's heel, which was a figurative image at that time, meaning "deceiver."  So, his name was Jacob, which means "he grasps the heel/ deceiver," and he fulfilled that part of his name by tricking his brother out of his birthright in exchange for a pot of soup.  Later, God renamed Jacob Israel, which means, "He struggles with God."  This is both a reference to the night he spent wrestling with God, and the behavior of his descendants, the nation of Israel, who have been locked in a struggle to obey or disobey God throughout their history.  Esau meant "hairy," which must have been a pretty good description of the man, since Jacob could wear goat skins and deceive his blind father into believing he was Esau.  His later name, Edom, meant "red," and was possibly a reference to the red soup he got in exchange for his birthright.
• Moses--An Egyptian, not Hebrew name, meaning "drawn out; born."  It was a pun, of course, since he was drawn out of the waters of the Nile in the basket his mother had hidden him in.  It is interesting, looking at his history, that God used him to "draw out" the newborn nation of Israel from among the people of Egypt.
• Joshua-- Originally named Hoshea, or "Salvation," Moses changed his name to Yehoshua, or Joshua, which meant "Jehovah is Salvation." Significantly, his name in a Greek derivation is Jesus.  Joshua's name change reflects a personal change.  Perhaps he was once devoted to saving himself or trying to save the people around him, but he came to know that God was his deliverer, and he relied on God to save his people.  Joshua led his people into the Promised Land, just as Jesus later made the way for all believers to enter into God's rest, which is God's presence in the New Jerusalem.

Place Names

• Bethel--Means, "House of God," lit. Beth--house (dwelling or family) + El--God.  This is where Jacob first confirmed the Abrahamic covenant with God, that he and his descendants would serve God.  Later, it was associated with the tribe of Benjamin, and was a temporary resting place for the Ark of the Covenant.  Jeroboam installed a golden calf there for worship after Israel was divided, and the mixing of calf-worship with the worship of God that continued there until king Josiah's time caused Hosea to prophecy against the city, calling it "Beth Aven," lit. "House of wickedness." 
• Bethlehem--Means, "House of Bread." It was possessed by the tribe of Judah, and was the home of Ruth and Boaz, and later David (so it was known as "The City of David").  Jesus was born here, fulfilling the name because He called Himself "the Bread of Life." Bethlehem was considered the last stop on the way to Egypt, and was a tiny spot on a main highway, even in Roman times. From Bethlehem Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to hide from Herod.
• Nazareth--Probably derived from the word netser, or shoot, as from the roots of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1): Jesus, a descendant of Jesse, fulfilled God's prophecy there.  This was Mary and Joseph's hometown, in a valley near Galilee.  Apparently it had a bad reputation morally in Jesus' times (John 1:46), but Jesus changed that, because Nazarath or Nazarine became a title of honor among His followers.
• Jerusalem--A name that shows up in quite a few languages, both before and after Israel named it as their capital.  Jerusalem means "The City of Salem," that is, "The City of Peace."  Salem means "Peace," as evoked in the greeting, "Shalom," or "Salaam," in Hebrew and Arabic, respectively.  Jerusalem has been the sight of many wars because of its historical significance, but God chose it to be the place where He would establish His peace with humankind, through Jesus, and intends later to set up His kingdom there at Christ's Second Coming.

I could keep going, but I have other duties requiring my attention today.  However, the name research doesn't have to end here.  This time I thought I'd leave you with two "take away" questions.  I look forward to your comments!

1. Do a little research on a place name or a person's name from a passage you have recently read in your Bible, and share what you learned in the comments section.  I would suggest using a Bible dictionary if your Bible doesn't contain annotations.
2. Do you know what your name means, and does it seem to have any significance in your own life?

Weekly Trivia Files #10: Misleading Statistics

It is always my habit to begin these short posts with a brief explanation of why I'm writing them.  After all, what do argument fallacies have to do with the Bible, or any Christian topic, anyway?  Well, personally, I believe it has everything to do with those things.

For too long, now, Christianity and even the Bible has been accused of being illogical.  Obviously, as with any belief system (even beliefs about politics or sports teams), there is an element of emotion and faith involved in belief.  However, nothing can be believed for long if it can't be logically analyzed and defended.  It's just part of human nature to reason and to analyze things.  Eventually questions will arise that need answering, and the answer ought to be satisfying.


Unfortunately, many Christians fail to give a complete or satisfying answer when asked to defend their faith.  Weak and illogical arguments just seem to prove to skeptics that what we believe is not true, and this denies them a real chance to truly know God and see His power in their lives.  Their decision to walk away is their own, but our failure and lack of study is something we Christians can change.

Alternatively, I've seen far too many Christians giving up on critical elements of their faith after they failed to recognize fallacies in the arguments they were hearing.  This happens partly because of a lack of Bible study (or forgetfulness about something they studied), and partly because they fail to recognize the weaknesses within those false arguments.  Seeing the weakness is one part of the solution; knowing how to counter it successfully is the other part.  And that takes lots of reading, study, and contemplation.

Misleading Statistics: When the Numbers Lie

It's wonderful when statistical data supports what you have to say, but it's dangerous territory when the numbers get too-far separated from their source, and end up as vague final percentages that seem to support the debater's conclusion.

Just Say "Side Efectz"

How many people or items were analyzed to get this percentage?  What has been left out because it creates a problem for the debater?  How was the data gathered and processed?  Someone using misleading statistics will often "fail" to answer these questions.

Example: Seven out of ten test subjects experienced a complete reversal of their condition when they used this drug.  (Were only ten people tested?  How were they chosen?  How long were they treated?  Did the effect last?  What happened to the other three (30%)? )

Example:  There is not enough of us to defeat the giants living in the land!  (Numbers 13: 26-33).  The statistical odds of winning are changed and exaggerated in this passage, getting worse as the story moved along.  There are many weaknesses left out of the spies' stories, like the element of surprise; the reputation that preceded Israel and might work in their favor; the real number of Anak's descendants (at first, there were only a few, then everyone was suddenly giant-sized); and most importantly, the size and power of the God who promised to fight for Israel.  Joshua and Caleb recognized the odds as they really were, but all the others fell for the misleading data.

Rivers in the Desert

Big Open Spaces

This past week I took a road trip with family, and we spent a lot of the time driving through the desert.  A lot of time. For those of you who grew up in the desert areas of the U.S., or maybe other deserts in the world, it may not be a big deal for you to drive many miles (as much as a hundred) down a major road before you come to a town, or even a gas station.  For all the rest of us, we can hear talk of all the "big open spaces" in the West, but until we drive through them, the sizes and distances really don't register.  Where I come from, you can drive a few miles before entering the next town, but there are plenty of businesses, farms, etc. along the way.  No traveler needs to worry about, say, running out of water or gasoline while passing through.  Help and human company are always near.

Cedars in the Desert

I took plenty of pictures out the car windows (which explains their generally sub-par quality).  Then we passed a sign that announced that the parched landscape around us was the headwaters (origin point) of two major rivers in my home state.  That was a very evocative image to me--to think that my green state was watered from the desert sand so many, many miles away.  It is so Biblical.

The more I see of what God has done, the more I appreciate Him.  I can't understand how people can see the wild places in the world and still deny that God exists, or that He cares.


Since I'm late in posting this, I thought I'd just share a few of my better pictures and pair them with a Bible passage that speaks to this sense the desert left me with--a fresh awareness of God's power and miraculous provision for mankind.

Barren Heights from which Rivers Flow

The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst.  But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.  I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys.  I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.  I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.  I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know,  may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41: 17-20 NIV)