Biblical Names

So continuing to read through Nehemiah, I came to the chapter where the names of those that committed to help with the rebuilding of the wall are mentioned which is important!Us
 ing the Expositor's Bible Commentary, I have been able to uncover the meanings behind the names of the characters involed. I found an excellent article that explained why names were different in Bible times as far as the meaning being significant. Please see the following which is a direct quote from a Christian leader named  Wes Woodell entitled " The Significane of  Names in the Bible:

. . . a biblical name could record some aspects of a person’s birth. Moses was given his name because his mother drew him out of a river (Exodus 2:10). His name literally means “to draw out. . . ." 

Biblical names sometimes expressed the parents’ reaction to the birth of their child. Examples include Isaac (Genesis 21:6) which means “laughter”, and Abimelech (Judges 8:31) which means “my father is king.”

Biblical names were sometimes used to secure the solidarity of family ties. An example of this is found in Luke 1:59 when John the Baptist was nearly given the name of his father.

Biblical names could be used to communicate God’s message. The prophet Isaiah named his first son Shear-jashub which means “a remnant shall return” (Isaiah 7:3). This was in line with God’s message to the Israelite people that they would be reduced to a mere remnant of what they once were, and would eventually return from exile to the promised land.

Biblical names were also used to establish affiliation with God. All the names ending with -jah or -el(and there are many of those) are saying “with the Lord” or “with God.”

Then you have the giving of a new name. This was used to establish authority over another, or to indicate a new beginning or new direction in a person’s life. For instance, Pharaoh changed Joseph’s name to Zephenath-paneah when Joseph entered his service (Genesis 41:45), another Pharaoh changed the name of the Jewish king Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:24). . . . Name changes indicating a new life direction include Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Cephas to Peter (Mark 3:16), and some would say Saul to Paul (Acts 13:9).

Here’s the really interesting part: names were often used to express the nature and function of a person. They were used to indicate a person’s purpose in the world, and the greatest example of this type of naming is Jesus.

So as we can see, put here very nicely,people of the Bible's names were of utmost significance and many times revealed God's message to His people. Which brings me to my main point. There is a theme of  "YAHWEH is this or that" in some of those building the wall as well as Nehemiah and His family members. What does YAHWEH really mean? This was a name of God that Hebrews would not even speak because the name had such reverence to it! Anytime you see LORD in all capitals, the reference is to the name YAHWEH. The best example is seen in Exodus 3:15:

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

YAHWEH means "I AM" and  so God tells Moses, I exist, I have always and will always exist and I AM the one and only supremely powerful God.  I found another article by John Piper entitled " 10 Things Yahweh Means" and while I would disagree with some of Mr. Piper's interpretations in other areas of Scripture, I thought that these 10 items were excellent in thinking through the true meaning of the name:

1. He never had a beginning.
2. God will never end. If he did not come into being he cannot go out of being, because he is being.
3. God is absolute reality. There is no reality before him. There is no reality outside of him unless he wills it and makes it. He is all that was eternally. No space, no universe, no emptiness. Only God.
4. God is utterly independent. He depends on nothing to bring him into being or support him or counsel him or make him what he is.
5. Everything that is not God depends totally on God. The entire universe is utterly secondary. It came into being by God and stays in being moment by moment on God's decision to keep it in being.
6. All the universe is by comparison to God as nothing.
7. God is constant. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot be improved. He is not becoming anything. He is who he is.
8. God is the absolute standard of truth and goodness and beauty. He himself is the standard of what is right, what is true, what is beautiful.
9. God does whatever he pleases and it is always right and always beautiful and always in accord with truth. All reality that is outside of him he created and designed and governs as the absolute reality. So he is utterly free from any constraints that don't originate from the counsel of his own will.
10. God is the most important and most valuable reality and person in the universe. He is more worthy of interest and attention and admiration and enjoyment than all other realities, including the entire universe.

So let's begin with Nehemiah. All of these name meanings are taken from The Expositor's Bible Commentary:

Nehemiah: "the comfort of Yahweh" or "Yahweh has comforted"
Interesting because God sent Nehemiah to unite and lead the people of Israel to rebuild their land. They were therefore comforted by the Lord through the leadership of Nehemiah. Nehemiah himself was first comforted by the Lord as he approached the king only after God's direction and strength was given to him. The Holy Spirit comforted him when he was so distraught after finding out that his people's land was so destroyed. He could've stayed in self pity but allowed the Holy Spirit to comfort Him and move him to action

Hachaliah Chap.1): "wait for Yahweh" This was Nehemiah's father which coorelates to the fact that he would have been part of the Jewish remnant that had been degraded and destroyed. He had known before that the wall had already attempted to be rebuilt and had been stopped so Hachaliah literally knew that he was waiting for the I AM to bless the remnant again.

Hanani (Chap, 1): "Yahweh is gracious" This was Nehemiah's brother and is also intriguing since he was the one who gave Nehemiah the news that God's people were so vulnerable and degraded. Even when giving this news, the people of God knew that God was full of grace and would bless them beyond any level of deserving blessing on their part.

Uzai (chap. 3:25) (thought to be short for Azaniah): " Yahweh has heard" This was simply a name of one of the builders' father. It is interesting to note that none of the builders noted were said to be carpenters, metalsmiths, etc. but were all common people united together to serve the Lord. Also, an interesting note is that the son's name was Palal which possible means "God has judged" so while Yahweh is not used in his name, it is interesting to note that the father's name meant that the I AM has heard their petitions and has judged the people as he said he would for their sin. It shows a level of faith considering Uzai lived through the judgment.

Pedaiah: "Yahweh has ransomed" This was simply one of the builder's names. When looking at the timeline of how these names are put in sequence is interesting. Palal (God has judged) the son of Uzai (Yahweh has heard) now immediately leads to Pedaiah. The great I AM has judged the people and a remanant now remains. Hachaliah knew that he would wait for the great I AM and Hanani knew that Yahweh is gracious even in the judgment. Uzai knew that Yahweh had heard his people even though they were a struggling remnant. God impressed upon Nehemiah to become the leader of His people to accomplish His will by comforting Him in his sorrow and by bringing the comfort of the Holy Spirit to God's people. Lastly, Yahweh has ransomed his people. He promised his intervention and it was given. . They had hope in the Lord that would rebuild Hs people's wall along with His people for His glory to be a testimony to the Lord. They knew Jesus would finally ransom His people in the future and they had hope and faith in that- God would provide the Lamb that would save His people eternally!

While this sequence and the translation of some of these names is difficult, the fact of the matter is that God did do these things, and that Bible Study is important as a whole new layer of understanding via the Holy Spirit is given as a blessing to the student. Praise our Yahweh! Remember who He is! The great I AM!!