Name
From BibleEncyclopedia.Net
nām (שׁם, shēm; ὄνομα, ónoma; Latin nomen (2 Esdras 4:1); verbs ὀνομάζω, onomázo; Latin nomino (2 Esdras 5:26)):
A “name” is that by which a person, place or thing is marked and known. In Scripture, names were generally descriptive of the person, of his position, of some circumstance affecting him, hope entertained concerning him, etc., so that “the name” often came to stand for the person. In Acts 1:15; Revelation 3:4, ónoma stands for “persons”; compare Numbers 26:53, Numbers 26:55.
I. Old Testament Word and Use
1. General
The word for “name” in the Old Testament is shēm (also the name of one of the sons of Noah). The etymology is uncertain, although it may be from shāmāh (obs.), “To set a mark”; shum is the Aramaic form. For the name as descriptive of the person see Names. Besides designating persons, the name also stands for fame, renown, reputation, character gained or expressed, etc. (Genesis 6:4; 2 Samuel 7:9, 2 Samuel 7:23, etc.); it might be an “evil name” Deuteronomy 22:14, Deuteronomy 22:19; the “name” is also equivalent to a “people” or “nation” (which might be “blotted out,” i.e. destroyed (Deuteronomy 7:24, etc.)); to speak or write “in the name” signified authority (Exodus 5:23; 1 Kings 21:8, etc.); to “call one's name” over a place or people indicated possession or ownership (2 Samuel 12:28; Amos 9:12, etc.); to act “in the name” was to represent Deuteronomy 25:6; to be called or known “by name” indicated special individual notice Exodus 31:2; Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 45:3-4. Genesis 2:19-20 even displays a conception of identity between the name and the thing.
“To name” is sometimes 'āmar, “to say” 1 Samuel 16:3; dābhar, “to speak” Genesis 23:16; nāḳabh, “to mark out” Numbers 1:17; ḳārā', “to call” Genesis 48:16; Isaiah 61:6.
2. The Divine Name
Of special interest is the usage with respect to the name of God. (For the various Divine names and their significance see Names Of God.) He revealed Himself to Israel through Moses by a new name (which was at the same time that of the God of their fathers) - Jehovah (which see) (Yahweh) - the nature of which should be shown by His manifestations on their behalf Exodus 3:13-16; Exodus 15:2-3. The “name of God was therefore not a mere word, but the whole of” the Divine manifestation, the character of God as revealed in His relations to His people and in His dealings with them (Exodus 9:16; Joshua 7:9; Joshua 9:9, etc.). The “name of Yahweh” was proclaimed to Moses on Mt. Sinai, “Yah, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth,” etc. Exodus 34:6; the name Yahweh (so revealed) was Exodus 3:15 His “memorial Name” (so, often, in the American Standard Revised Version; see Memorial).
His sole Deity was such an important element in His name that Deuteronomy 6:4 was termed the “Shema” (from shema‛, “hear,” the first word in Deuteronomy 6:4), the first article of Israelitish faith, taught to all the children, written on the phylacteries, and still recited as the first act in public and private worship “twice a day by every adult male Jew.” Where YHWH is said to record His name, or to put His name in a place (or person), some special Divine manifestation is implied, making the place or person sacred to Him Exodus 20:24; 1 Kings 8:16. His “name” was in the angel of His Presence Exodus 23:21; what He does is “for his great name's sake,” in fidelity to and vindication of His revealed character and covenant relationship 2 Chronicles 6:32; Psalms 25:11; the great things He should do would be “for a name” Isaiah 55:13; He would give His people a new name, “an everlasting name” Isaiah 56:5; to be “called by” the name of Yahweh is “to be his people” 2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 43:7; it implies “protection,” etc. Isaiah 63:19; Jeremiah 14:8-9; to “call upon” the name of Yahweh was “to worship him” as God (Genesis 21:33; Genesis 26:25, e
