The Name Game (Part 1)

At the creation, God called out the Day, Night, Heaven, Earth, Seas (Gen. 1), and finally Man (Gen. 5:2). His naming was a natural and reasonable function of his role as the Creator. So when he created man, in his own image, man was also one who would naturally and creatively name all the creatures as a function of his God-given dominion (Gen 2:19-20). Down through history parents’ naming of their children would be an almost sacred function of creativity and dominion.

Often the naming seemed to rise to the level of the prophecy as parents would call out all the possibility and purpose that their faith in God might work in their children. We see this frequently in the Bible. Sadly, sin marred this sacred naming process and in many cases it became less about a God-given dominion and blessing and more about domination and a mocking control of others…whom we have no right to name.

I grew up knowing what it was to be called names—some good, some bad. On the playground kids always seem to show their oppressive creativity in devising the most unpleasant nicknames. Trust me I know…probably you do as well. At home, even my Dad’s affectionate nicknames for me were words that might be hard for some to swallow such as “Knucklehead”, “Twerp”, and “Dummy.” It could have been much worse. While my dad meant better than the kids on the playground, his naming left much to be desired.

Much has been written in recent years about the oppressor’s practice of naming the oppressed. However this practice is an ancient one. You can read Daniel 1:1-7 as four young Jewish youths who were taken from Jerusalem as part-hostage and part-culture changers are renamed in especially insensitive ways by their Babylonian captors. How many of them can you name by their real names? (Three of their oppressor-given names are more familiar to us than their original names. Try to answer before looking below.)

  

Original Name	Meaning	Captive Names	Meanings
Daniel	God is my Judge	Belteshazzer	O Lady [wife of the god Bel], protect the king
Hananiah	Yahweh is gracious	Shadrach	“I am very fearful”; or “Command of Aku” [moon god]
Mishael	Who is what God is?	Meshach	“Who is like Aku?”; or “I am of little account”
Azariah	Yahweh is a helper	Abednego	Servant of Nebo (the shining one) sun

Contemporary understanding of justice emphasizes the right of a person to “name his own universe.” But why is this important? So how should we respond when we are named by others? In what ways will their naming of us affect our lives?

As a case study, let’s consider these four Hebrews. How did Daniel and his friends react to their re-naming? (In addition to Daniel 1:1-7, you may want to consider 4:7-9; 5:11-13; and 10:1-2.)

How does this biblical example inform our own situations?

I probably have at least two more posts I could write on this subject, but would like to get a dialog started here instead of preemptively putting my opinion out there. Will you join me?