“I have called you by name…” – Isaiah 45:4
In the Biblical tradition, names are packed with symbolic meaning. We modern readers typically examine Scripture in our native tongue. As a result, we often miss the figurative gems that the inspired authors hid within the original Hebrew and Greek.
Take for instance the second creation story in Genesis chapter 2. The Hebrew word for “man” is adam, which is a play on the word adama, meaning “ground.” This makes sense, because God forms Adam from the ground (Genesis 2:7). Ancient readers would have immediately picked up on this beautiful literary technique.
There are many other hidden linguistic gems in the Old Testament. The Hebrew version of “Eve” is hawwa, which relates to the word hay, meaning “living” (Genesis 3:20). This is appropriate, because Eve becomes the mother of all the living.
Abraham, whom God first called to the Promised Land, and to whom was vowed many descendants, translates as “the father is exalted” (Genesis 17:5). His wife Sarah’s name means “princess” in the original Hebrew (Genesis 17:15). Their son Isaac, whose name (yishaq in Hebrew) means “laughter,” was so called because his elderly parents both laughed in disbelief when told that they would give birth to a son in their old age (Genesis 17:17).
Often times, God would give someone a new name if they passed a test or received a special mission. For example, after Jacob the son of Isaac wrestled throughout the night with an angel, God’s messenger renamed him Israel, which meant “to contend with the divine” (Genesis 32:28).
We see something similar take place in the New Testament when Jesus changes Simon’s name to the Aramaic word Kepa, which was in turn translated into the Greek Petros, or Peter meaning “rock” (Matthew 16:18). As such, our Lord made Peter the foundation upon which He would build His Church.
No other name is as important as that of Jesus. In the Greek, Iesous is a translation of the Aramaic Yeshua, meaning “God saves” (Matthew 1:21). Interestingly, it is the same as the Hebrew name Yehoshua, or “Joshua”,as we might say. This connection shows how the Joshua of the Old Testament who led the Hebrew people into the Promised Land foreshadows the Joshua (Jesus) of the New Testament who leads us to Heaven.
Jesus came to be called the Christ or Messiah (christos in Greek, masiah in Hebrew), meaning the “anointed one” (Luke 2:11). Out of love for you and me, He was chosen, anointed, to be the savior of the world and king of all creation. Likewise, if we are to claim the name of “Christian,” we must never forget that we have been chosen and anointed to love one another, just as Christ has loved us. Whether they are our neighbors, our co-workers, or impoverished children from a distant land, we can’t truly be Christian unless we seek to love them.
Heavenly Father, in the name of your beloved Son Jesus, we ask you to increase our love, that we may be worthy to bear the name Christian. Through the intercession of your saints, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Peter, and Paul, may we come to share in the eternal banquet of your love in heaven. Amen.