Azad Gadshiev. The Meaning of Names
16 But those who fear God speak to one another: “The Lord pays attention and hears this, and before
His face a book of remembrance is written for those who fear the Lord and honor His name.” (Mal. 3:16.)
Dear reader, the purpose of this letter is to define the significance of the names mentioned in Holy Scripture; I hope in the Lord that those who desire and seek knowledge of God will be able to gauge the usefulness of this theme.
The mention of names begins with creation, where already in the first chapter of the book of Genesis we encounter the names of four rivers designated, (by their names) (Gen. 2:10-14). Thus Adam also received his name at creation, which means—man, and afterwards he called his wife Eve, which means life (Gen. 3:20), and likewise every living soul received its name from Adam. Example below.
19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see,( what he would call them,) and so that, as (the man called) every living creature,( that was its name.) (Gen. 2:19.)
In the subsequent period in Israel, great importance was attached to giving a name to a newborn. The right to name the child with a personal name belonged to the parents, with the final word resting with the father; often close relatives also took part in this process. Names, like other words, have their own meaning, as we have already discussed in previous letters. According to Scripture, a name could be given to a newborn through a revelation received by the parents. Some Biblical names inherently carry a deep prophetic meaning, which is partly what this letter will address.
Information related to the topic.
Personal name
A name — a name given at birth, usually one, but in antiquity several names could be given. People have had personal names at all times in all civilizations. For every nation they are connected with its culture and way of life. For a particular name to appear among a given people, certain cultural and historical conditions are necessary.
Any word by which a person was designated began to be perceived by those around him as his personal name, and consequently any word could become a name.
Thus, a personal name is a word serving to designate an individual person and given to him in a personal capacity so that one may address him and speak of him with others.
The role of a personal name in a person’s life is very great. Every person can be called only by name; therefore all his good or bad deeds become public knowledge through his name.
Personal names are used not only in everyday life and private conversations, but also in documents, in various official situations, and in legal practice, where the slightest inaccuracy in a record brings about certain consequences.
Names — a necessary means of cognition and communication
Name (meanings). Name — a part of speech that gives a designation for a person (in this case it will be a personal name).
Names were also given to — cities, rivers, etc.
Name — a verbal designation, the naming of someone or something.
Meaning of the word “named”
- Called by some name. 2) Declared by someone.
Examples from the Scriptures.
20 And (Adam called his wife’s name: Eve,) because she became the mother of all living. (Gen. 3:20.)
4 He counts the number of the stars; (He calls them all by their names.) (Ps. 146:4.)
12 Their inner thought is that their houses are eternal, and their dwelling places to all generations; (they call their lands by their own names.) (Ps. 48:12.)
I consider it important to draw your attention to the passage of Scripture where the Lord told Moses His name. Read below.
13 And Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel and will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me,( ‘What is His name?’) What shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses,( “I AM WHO I AM”). And He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel:( ‘I AM has sent me to you.’) (Ex. 3:13-14.)
Yahweh (Heb. יהוה — Yakhve, Yagve, the variant Jehovah is also encountered) — the pronunciation of the personal name of God
Also known are other names of the Living God; for example— EL SHADDAI— Almighty, SABAOTH— God of hosts, then in the English language; Almighty, Good, Eternal, the One Who Causes to Be, Holy, Father of spirits, All-wise, Without Beginning, etc.
General educational information about the meaning of Biblical names.
Aaron— the Ark of the Covenant Iakim — Yahweh raises up Reuben — see — a son
Abraham — father of nations, exalted father John — God has had mercy Savel — asked of God
Azariah — God’s help Elijah — Yahweh is my God Samson — solar
Baruch — blessed Judah — he praises God Samuel — God has heard
Benjamin — beloved son Laban — white, milky Simon (Simeon) — heard
Gabriel — God is my strength, God’s fortress Lazarus — God has helped Thomas — twin
Gamaliel — God’s intercessor Lot — covering Uriah — God’s light
Gideon — warrior Maccabee — hammer Zebulun — dominion or temple
David — beloved Malchus — king, angel, messenger Thaddaeus — gift of God (Heb.)
Eliezer — God’s help Manuel (Emmanuel) — God with us Bartholomew — son of the plowed earth, son of the fields (Aram.)
Elisha — saved by God Matthew — man of God Philip — horse-lover (Gk.)
Jeremiah — exalted by God Michael — like God Andrew — manly
Ephraim — fruitful Nazar — dedicated to God
Enoch — teacher Raphael — healed by God
Names of those whose books made up the Old Testament.
Moses — child, taken from the water
Ezra — Help Meaning of the name Jerusalem — city of peace or the perfect / whole / unharmed city.
Nehemiah — comforter
Esther — star
Job — persecuted
Solomon — peaceful
Isaiah — salvation sent by God
Jeremiah — magnified by God
Ezekiel — God’s strength or God strengthens
Daniel — God is my judge
Hosea — salvation, help
Joel — Jehovah is God
Amos — bearing a burden
Obadiah — servant of God
Jonah — dove
Micah — who is like God
Nahum — comforter
Habakkuk — embracing
Zephaniah — hidden by God
Haggai — festive
Zechariah — God’s memory
Malachi — messenger of God
The meaning of the name Jesus — God will save, or God’s help.
9 Hide not Thy face from me; put not Thy servant away in anger; (Thou hast been my help); cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation! (Ps. 26:9.)
2 God is our refuge and strength, a very present (help) in trouble, (Ps. 45:2.)
6 Behold, (God is my helper); the Lord upholdeth my soul. (Ps. 53:6.)
13 Give (us help from trouble), for vain is the help of man. (Ps. 59:13.)
17 Shew me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed, (because Thou, Lord, hast helped me) and comforted me. (Ps. 85:17.)
6 The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and (He helped me.) (Ps. 114:6.)
7 (The Lord is my helper): I shall look upon mine enemies. (Ps. 117:7.)
8 (Our help is in the name of the Lord), who made heaven and earth. (Ps. 123:8.)
22 But, (having obtained help from God, I continue unto this day,) witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: (Acts 26:22.)
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, (‘Fear not; I will help thee.’) (Isa. 41:13.)
8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard Thee, and (in a day of salvation have I helped Thee) … (Isa. 49:8.)
7 For (the Lord God will help me); therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isa. 50:7.)
In Holy Scripture, the change of a name and the bestowal of a new one indicated the chosenness of the person receiving it and had a prophetic meaning, concealing an allegory and a picture of the future blessings prepared by God. Thus, for example, the establishment of the covenant between God and Abraham was accompanied by the changing of his name. Read below.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, (but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee); (Gen. 17:5.)
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, (but her name shall be Sarah;) (Gen. 17:15.)
The meaning of the name Abraham — father of nations, exalted father; Sarah — princess, mother of many people.
After that the Lord promised Abraham that with his son, who was not yet born, He would establish His covenant and gave him the name Isaac, which means — he will laugh or the joy of the Lord; the meaning of the name Ishmael — Heb. — may God hear.
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before Thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Gen. 17:18-19.)
Concerning the prophetic meaning of the above, the Apostle Paul mentioned it in his letter to the Galatians. Read below.
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman.
23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
24 (Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.)
25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.
26 (But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.)
27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 (Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.) (Gal. 4:22-28.)
Continuing to reflect on the topic, I ask you to pay special attention to what is in parentheses. With careful reading, try to draw an analogy between the cited passages and the names — that is, with their meaning. May God help you. So, without disturbing the sequence of birth, let us talk about Jacob and Esau, who were born from Isaac. Read Genesis chapter 25. In the third book of Ezra, in the sixth chapter, Ezra asks the Lord about the division of time, when will be the end of the present age and the beginning of the age to come; note how the angel answers him. Read below.
7 Then I answered, “What will be the dividing of the times? And when will be the end of the first and the beginning of the last?”
8 From Abraham even to Isaac, when Jacob and Esau were born of him, Jacob’s hand held Esau’s heel from the beginning.
9 The end of this age is Esau, and the beginning of the next is Jacob.
10 The hand of a man is his beginning, and his end is his heel. Ask me no more, Ezra. (2 Esdras 6:7-10.)
As you can see, what has been said has a figurative meaning, expressed in names, where Esau personifies careless mankind, atheism, and paganism, while Jacob is the image of God’s people, who is to inherit the future, as indicated by the name that God gave him — that is, Israel.
Jacob — following on the heels
Israel — God prevails, God rules (Gen. 32:27-28.)
10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob;( no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called him Israel. (Gen. 35:10.)
Esau — i.e., hairy, son of Isaac, older than his twin Jacob; he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a red stew, therefore he was also called Edom, i.e., red (Gen. 25:30; Heb. 12:16).
Meaning of ‘hairy’
with long, thick hair, shaggy, with long and thick disheveled hair; colloq. unkempt, disheveled (of hair)
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles, (until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.) (Lk. 21:24.)
It is well known that other names have become common nouns; for example (Babylon) the Babylonian kingdom personifies paganism and world dominion. A similar image is borne by Egypt, with all its uncleanness and false gods; likewise Sodom and Gomorrah, as an image of unimaginable debauchery and other abominations, as well as proper names such as Balaam, Jezebel, Nicolaitans, Antipas, and others. Examples to read below.
15 (They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,) (2 Pet. 2:15.)
11 Woe to them! For they have gone (the way of Cain, and have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah). (Jude 1:11.)
14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold (the teaching of Balaam), who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.
15 So also you have some who hold (the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.) (Rev. 2:13-15.)
20 But I have this against you: you tolerate (the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and seduces My servants to practice sexual immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.) (Rev. 2:20.)
31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (he took as his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal) and worshiped him. (1 Kings 16:31.)
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that (spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,) where their Lord was crucified. (Rev. 11:8.)
13 I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which (My faithful witness Antipas was killed) among you, where Satan dwells. (Rev. 2:13.)
Meaning of the name Antipas — Stubborn
Stubborn — Tenacious, steadfast, and unyielding in the pursuit of something, in the accomplishment of something. b) colloq. Not giving up one’s position.
NICOLAS
MEANING: “Conqueror of peoples”
Cain — to acquire, a smith.
Examples for reflection related to the topic.
11 And He said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, (the Lord passed by), and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire (a still small voice.) (1 Kings 19:11-12.)
The name Abel — translates as (a breath, a gentle breeze.)
Jonah — a dove
22 and (the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove,) and a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” (Lk. 3:22.)
18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people despises Your name.
19 Do not deliver (the soul of Your turtle-dove) to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of Your poor forever. (Ps. 73:18-19.)
8 But (Elymas the sorcerer, for so his name is translated) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. (Acts 13:8.)
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which means “Son of Encouragement”), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, (Acts 4:36.)
9 But (Saul, who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him, (Acts 13:9.)
16 (He appointed Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter,)
17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, (to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”,) (Mk. 3:16-17.)
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