What’s In A Name?
Published by Rob Skiba July 15, 2014 at 10:40 PM
A while back, I saw something Chuck Missler taught on the significance of the meanings of the names in Scripture. We know that in the Bible they named their kids things for a reason. For example: Esau came out red and hairy, so they named him Esau, which means “shaggy”. Jacob came out grabbing his brother’s heal, so they named him “heal grabber.” Well, with these things in mind, Missler noted the names of the pre-Flood patriarchs spelled out an interesting message:
Meaning of the names of the first ten Patriarchs:
1. Adam: Man
2. Seth: Appointed
3. Enosh: Mortal
4. Kenan: Sorrow
5. Mahalalel: Blessed God
6. Jared: Shall come down
7. Enoch: Teaching
8. Methuselah: His death shall bring
9. Lamech: Despairing
10. Noah: Rest
Man {is} appointed mortal sorrow. {But the} blessed God shall come down teaching {that} His death shall bring the despairing rest.
After seeing that, I began to wonder if all of the genealogies in the Bible had “hidden messages” in them. I found that while not all of them do, there are still many that are quite interesting. For instance…
Meaning of the names of the 12 Tribes in their listed birth order:
1. REUBEN: See a son
2. SIMEON: Harken and listen
3. LEVI: Joined to Him
4. JUDAH: He shall be praised
5. DAN: Judging: a judge
6. NAPHTALI: My wrestling
7. GAD: [fortune] My invader
8. ASHER: Happy
9. ISSACHAR: He will bring a reward
10. ZEBULUN: Dwelling
11. JOSEPH: Let Him added
12. BENJAMIN: Son of my right hand
See a son. Harken and listen! Joined to Him, He shall be praised – judging my wrestling invader. Happy, He will bring a reward. Dwelling {with me}, let Him add {the} Son of my right hand.
The Lineup of the 12 spies in Numbers 13:
1. Reuben – Shammua – Zaccur: See a son – A careful listener/listening carefully – Remember
2. Simeon – Shaphat – Hori: Hearkening/listening – Judge – my noble
3. Judah – Caleb – Jephunneh: He shall be praised – Whole-hearted – He will be turned/prepared
4. Issachar – Igal – Joseph: He will bring a reward – He will redeem – Let Him increase
5. Ephraim – Oshea – Nun: shall be doubly fruitful – To save – Perpetuity/Eternal Life
6. Benjamin – Palti – Raphu: Son of my right hand – Escape – Healed
7. Zebulun – Gaddiel – Sodi: Dwelling – My fortune is God – My confidant
8. Joseph – Manasseh – Gaddi – Susi: Let Him add – Causing to forget – My invader/troop/fortune – My horse
9. Dan – Ammiel – Gemalli: Judge – My people of God – My camel
10. Asher – Sethur – Michael: Happy – Hidden – Who is God?
11. Naphtali – Nahbi – Vophsi: My wrestling – My hiding – Wherefore vanish thou?
12. Gad – Geuel – Machi: Invader/troop/fortune – Exalt ye God – My poverty
Moses: Drawing out
Oshea: To save
Joshua: Yah is Salvation
See a Son! Listen {and} remember! Listen {to my} noble judge. He shall be praised whole-heartedly. He will be prepared. He will bring a reward, and He will redeem. Let Him increase, {for He} shall be doubly fruitful to save {for} eternity. Son of my right hand, {He will} escape {and be} healed. Dwelling {with me}, my fortune is God – my confident. Let Him add forgetfulness {of} my invader (while) on my horse. Judge my people of God. My camel {is} happy {and} hidden. Who is God? My wrestling. My hiding. Where have you vanished? {My} fortune {is to} exalt God {in} my poverty. Drawing out to save, Yah is salvation!
The 144,000 lineup in Revelation 7:4-8
1. Judah: He shall be praised
2. Reuben: See a son
3. Gad: [fortune] My invader
4. Asher: Happy
5. Naphtali: My wrestling
6. Manasseh: Causing him to forget
7. Simeon: Harken and listen
8. Levi: Joined to Him
9. Issachar: He will bring a reward
10. Zebulun: Dwelling
11. Joseph: Let Him add
12. Benjamin: Son of my right hand
He shall be praised! See a son. My fortune/invader, happily wrestling, causing {us} to forget. Harken and listen. Joined to Him, He will bring a reward. Dwelling {with us}, let Him added the Son of {His} right hand.
My hope in writing this is that it encourages you to dig DEEPER into the Scriptures and search for these things, because I am finding the Bible is literally LOADED with meaning if you are just willing to look for it. Here is a great on-line tool that can help you find these treasures:
http://www.biblecentre.org/ebooks/jbj_dictionary_of_bible_names.htm
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Have fun searching!
– Rob Skiba
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