Followers

Monday, July 18, 2016

What's in a name?

I began reading Exodus again yesterday. Yes, again! I lost my place so I started over. Is that silly or what? Nah!!

Anyway, I didn't make it past verse 5 in the first chapter! D'oh!! I couldn't get past the names for some reason. So it made me think "Why are names so important in the Bible anyway?" I began to do a little research on each of the names of Jacob's sons. There was: "Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin; Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher." (Exodus 1:2-4, NKJV). I looked up the meanings of each name.

Reuben = behold, a son
Simeon = obedient; listening
Levi = attached or pledged
Judah = praised
Issachar = reward; recompense
Zebulun = to honour; to dwell (zaval) or gift; dowry (zeved)
Benjamin (hebrew: Binyamin)= "son of the right hand" or "son of the south"
          (this one is interesting because he was originally named Ben-oni, which means "son or my  
          pain")
Dan = judgment; he judged
Naphtali = wrestling; my struggle
Gad = fortune; luck
Asher = happy; blessed
Joseph = may he add

It's been said that people tend to live up to the meaning of their name. I can see where this is true in Levi as he became the father of the priestly tribe. Benjamin, or Ben-Oni, too as his mother died shortly after his birth.

Think about the name you were given. Have you lived up to its meaning? My name is Julie Ann and according to www.biblical-baby-names.com, Julie means "soft-haired", "youthful" and is Latin for Julia (which I have been called as well.). Julia can be found in the Bible in Romans 16:15. Ann means "grace" and is a derivative of Anna (Greek) or Hannah (Hebrew); found in Luke 2:36, 37. I can say that my hair is not that soft, I do appear youthful, and grace, well it's a work in progress, lol.


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