What's In a Name?

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet muses upon her budding (forbidden) love with Romeo. The basic conflict that drives the entire story is that Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet, and the two families are sworn enemies.

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet… (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2)

So what is in a name? People give their children names for varying reasons. Sometimes it sounds good with a last name. Sometimes it is to honor a relative. Sometimes it is to evoke or allude to a particular quality evinced in the name, e.g., Peter = “rock,” Nathaniel = “gift of God,” and names whose meanings are self-evident: Grace, Harmony, Chastity, Prudence, and so on.

Names in the Bible are equally pregnant with meaning and significance. For example, Elijah means “Yahweh (the LORD) is God;” Jeremiah means “Yahweh (the LORD) exalts;” Solomon means “recompense;” Miriam (=Mary, Maria) may mean “waters of strength or waters of rebellion.” The sister of Moses is named Miriam, and think of how her mother saved Moses by placing him on a pitch-covered reed basket in the river waters in order to save him. Her act was an act both of strength and rebellion against the Egyptian order to kill all Hebrew male babies (Exodus 1:15-2:4). It is Miriam who waits alongside the river waters, watching her brother float along until he is rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. And think also of how Miriam leads the Israelites in singing and dancing after they safely pass through the waters of the Red Sea:

“Sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea” (Exodus 15:21).

Various names are ascribed to the one who is to be born of Joseph and Mary in the Gospel stories. In Matthew we read the following:

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 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.”

 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)

In this passage several names and titles are utilized. Jesus is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Yehoshua, which means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” Yehoshua is usually translated into the English form, “Joshua.” Thus, Jesus is named after Joshua, the strong lieutenant of Moses, who leads the entry into the Promised Land in the Book of Joshua.

The Messiah is a title given to Jesus, meaning “the Anointed One.” Christ is the Greek translation of messiah. Matthew also quotes from Isaiah and says “they will call him Immanuel,” and then supplies a translation: “God with us.” Interestingly, this is the only time this name is attributed to Jesus in the Bible. In the original context of Isaiah, the prophecy concerned a sign that was given to his generation, and it was a prophecy concerning discernment that the leaders of Israel needed to make concerning the choices they were making politically. The notion of “God with us” in the Isaiah context carries the implication that God is in the midst of Israel as a force of judgment and discernment. Matthew takes the quote out of its original context strictly to make reference to a virgin conceiving and giving her child a name with theological implications.

So, what’s in a name? With a little digging and sleuthing, many meanings can be uncovered. This next Sunday, we will be treated to an interview with “Joseph and Mary” (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) as they talk about how they named their infant boy. It will be fun, but with a serious intent: The names we give our children follow them around the rest of their lives. Is it something they will live into and embrace, or will they deny or even disgrace the name. And by any other name, would they still smell as sweet?

(Image sources:  Romeo and Juliet from http://schoolworkhelper.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Romeo-and-Juliet-Print-C10282861.jpg;   Miriam: http://blog.eteacherbiblical.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/miriam.jpg;   Yehoshua from http://x7a.xanga.com/cd7c426a22430191464231/z147466090.jpg;  rose from http://www.bermuda-online.org/roses2.gif)