Names have always revealed secrets and information.
You can see this in stories. The story Cinderella centers around a girl who is forced by her wicked stepmother to constantly clean. She is forced to clean the cinders from the fireplace. In Spanish “ella” means “she.” So Cinderella’s name means “She of the Cinders.” In the Star Wars saga, there is the smuggler named Han Solo. Solo means alone. Because Han was someone who operated outside of the law, he had to keep to himself … or stay “solo.”
And this is especially true of the names given to people found in the Bible. For example, the name Moses comes from the Hebrew verb, meaning "to pull out/draw out." And, of course, you know that the infant Moses was given this name by Pharaoh's daughter after she pulled him out from the Nile.And Jesus’ true name, before translation, is Yeshua (a version of the name Joshua), which means “salvation.”
Understanding how names provide information can reveal gems of wisdom from the Bible. It can even help show you how – even in the Old Testament – the Bible is trying to reveal the truth of Messiah and prophesies the coming of Jesus. Take a look at the book of Genesis … specifically Genesis 5:1-29. It shows a genealogy of the first human (Adam) to the ark builder, Noah. Here are the names, in order of appearance, of the descendants of Adam with the meanings of each name:
NAME | MEANING
Adam | man
Seth | appointed
Enosh | mortal
Kenan | sorrow, to chant a dirge
Mahalalel | the shining one of El (El being a name for God)
Jared | to descend
Enoch | vowed
Methuselah | his death shall send (from Meth: death and Shalach: to send)
Lamech | the lowly and despairing
Noah | rest or tranquility
Adam | man
Seth | appointed
Enosh | mortal
Kenan | sorrow, to chant a dirge
Mahalalel | the shining one of El (El being a name for God)
Jared | to descend
Enoch | vowed
Methuselah | his death shall send (from Meth: death and Shalach: to send)
Lamech | the lowly and despairing
Noah | rest or tranquility
Though this appears to simply be a family tree (a lineage from Adam to Noah), when you read the names with an understanding of their meanings, a new level of information is revealed.
-Man (is)
-appointed
-mortal
-(and) sorrowful (but)
-the shining one of God (the Messiah)
-will descend
-vowed (that)
-His death shall send
-the lowly and despairing
-rest and tranquility
-appointed
-mortal
-(and) sorrowful (but)
-the shining one of God (the Messiah)
-will descend
-vowed (that)
-His death shall send
-the lowly and despairing
-rest and tranquility
Sometimes You Have To Dig To Get To The Gold
Some of the Bible’s beautiful truths are revealed with a one quick reading. And some liberating wisdom has to be worked for. To see that right at the beginning of the Old Testament – in the book of Genesis – is a prophesy pointing to the coming of Messiah is enlightening.
The entire Bible, Old and New Testament, points to Jesus. The hope and joy that this knowledge brings makes the time and effort that we spend studying the word of God completely worthy!
Some of the Bible’s beautiful truths are revealed with a one quick reading. And some liberating wisdom has to be worked for. To see that right at the beginning of the Old Testament – in the book of Genesis – is a prophesy pointing to the coming of Messiah is enlightening.
The entire Bible, Old and New Testament, points to Jesus. The hope and joy that this knowledge brings makes the time and effort that we spend studying the word of God completely worthy!
