Scripture contains many examples of the naming of people and places. Personal names, usually given at birth by parents, were sometimes changed at a later date.
Names may reflect personal experiences
Genesis 41:51–52 See also Genesis 29:31–35, Genesis 30:6–8, Genesis 30:18–20, Genesis 30:23–24, Genesis 35:18; Exodus 2:10, Exodus 2:21–22, Exodus 18:3–4; 1 Samuel 1:20; 1 Chronicles 4:9
Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.” And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Names may reflect national experiences
1 Samuel 4:21 See also Genesis 10:25 parallel 1 Chronicles 1:19; Isaiah 8:3–4; Hosea 1:2–11
And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
Names may indicate future destiny
Matthew 1:21 See also Luke 1:31–33
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
The giving of a name reflects the authority of the giver
Genesis 1:5–10, Genesis 2:19–20 See also Genesis 2:23, Genesis 35:18; 2 Kings 23:34 parallel 2 Chronicles 36:4; 2 Kings 24:17; Luke 1:62–63
God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day. And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
The changing of names
On divine instruction
Genesis 17:3–8 See also Genesis 17:15–16, Genesis 35:9–10; John 1:42
Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing— all the land of Canaan— as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
In relation to salvation
Isaiah 62:2 See also Isaiah 65:15; Revelation 2:17
Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
In the light of past experience
Judges 6:32 See also Ruth 1:20
So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.
In the future
Zechariah 8:3 See also Isaiah 1:26, Isaiah 44:5, Isaiah 58:12, Isaiah 62:4, Isaiah 62:12; Jeremiah 7:32, Jeremiah 20:3–6; Malachi 1:4
This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”
In a new culture
Genesis 41:45 See also Daniel 1:7
Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah, and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph took charge of all the land of Egypt.
The instance of Paul
Acts 13:9 The occasion of and reason for the change from “Saul” to “Paul” are not clear.
Place-names may reflect events or experiences
Genesis 11:8–9, Genesis 16:13–14, Genesis 19:21–22, Genesis 21:31, Genesis 26:32–33, Genesis 28:18–19, Genesis 31:45–50, Genesis 32:1–2, Genesis 32:30, Genesis 33:17, Genesis 35:7–8
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.