Names have meaning. From the beginning of time, we have identified people by their names. It is how we associate with others, how we differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world. We are born with names of aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, or famous people. Most of the time, this decision of what our name will be is carefully thought or prayed over and given much importance. It is a gift we receive before we have even arrived in the world. Names are so important that it was one of the first jobs God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
“And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” — Genesis 2:19
Names have weight. In current times, we recognize the famous, powerful, and influential by the letters of their last name; in the ancient world only first names were used, but their weight had no less of an impact on the world. Many times well-known people will change their name or take a nom de plume (a fake name) in order to protect their identity. We build people up or tear them down based on their name. This is how much importance and weight is built into those few letters on a page that were given to us at birth.
One of my favorite high school projects was the time our history teacher gave each of us a family tree and asked us to fill out as much of it as we could. For some, this might have caused anxiety or concern because they knew little about their past, but for a history geek like me, it was an amazing opportunity. I presented my teacher with a tree bursting with names, on both my mother’s and father’s side of the family, but only a few generations back. Each name on the page meant something to me, some I knew and some I didn’t. Some may have been wonderful people and some might not have.
They all had one thing in common, however; they were my family.
Even if you know little of the Christian Bible or the history of Jesus’s family, you most likely have heard of the story of Adam and Eve. The first man and woman on the earth and from whom everyone who has ever lived are descendants. Just like us, everyone in Adam’s family was given a name at birth that had a meaning (Adam and Eve were named directly by God). And just like us, some of them were famous, infamous, popular, hated, powerful, weak, or just unknown. Some were rulers and some were teachers. Some were good, but the Bible tells us that many during that day were not good.
Regardless of their actions, the names they were given still had meaning. Each of these names listed below were researched and the meanings taken from the website behindthename.com.
- Adam means “man”
- Seth means “appointed”
- Enosh means “mortal”
- Kenan means “possession”
- Mahalalel means “praise of God”
- Jared means “descent”
- Enoch means “dedicated” or “teacher”
- Methuselah means “when he is dead it shall be sent, man of a javelin”
- Lamech means “to make low”
- Noah means “rest”
This is Noah’s family tree. These are his ancestors and the ancestors of the Jesus. If Noah was required to turn in a report to his teacher regarding his family it might have looked something like this.
Man is appointed mortal possessions and sorrow, but the praise of God will descend and teach us that his death will bring comfort and rest to the lowly.
Noah’s family tree, in their very names, is proclaiming the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ thousands of years before Jesus was even born. The genealogy that is captured in this first book of Chronicles is an amazing revelation. I believe that every single word in the Bible is there for a purpose and is to be used for our guidance and instruction. Not one word is in error or is a mistake. It is a beautiful reminder of where we came from and how far we have fallen, yet how much love God has for us that he sent his only Son to take our place and become our redemption.
And that name we are given at birth remains with us on this earth, but in eternity we will be given a new name, one that only God knows. A new name. A new identity.
A new life in Christ.
That’s what is in my name. What is in yours?
Beyond Room 908 