Tag: names

You’re on the Boat

Posted on by jovial_cynic
If you read the Bible and you don’t know God loves you with the greatest love, the words will sound like hell.

You’re going to see yourself cast out of the garden.
Marked for death.
A random name in a list of names.
Left off the boat as the flood rises.

But that’s not the story.

He left the garden with you.
He shielded you from vengeance.
He knows your name.
He carries you in the boat.

It is your story. It is the story of His great love for you.

So many Sevens

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Genesis 4:23-24 (NIV)

Seventh from Cain, we have Lamech boasting a 7-fold to 77-fold vengeance. I mentioned previously that Jesus flips this with this a 7-fold to 77-fold forgiveness.

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
Genesis 5:28-31

Eighth down the line from Seth in Genesis 5, we have a different Lamech, tied to the number 777.

Lamech’s son is Noah: Comfort.

In Hebrew numerology, 7 means completion. Perfection. But 8 symbolizes new creation. A new order.

It’s so fascinating. It’s like the numbers tell us about God creating a new order, undoing vengeance and overcoming it with forgiveness to bring us comfort.

Kings of Wickedness

Posted on by jovial_cynic

These kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
Genesis14:2 (NIV)

Genesis 14 gives us a picture of war, and the rabbis tell us that the first 4 kings represent Empires, and the five kings represent wickedness.

ברע BERA —Evil (רע) towards God and evil towards mankind (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8).

ברשע BIRSHA — Because he rose by means of wickedness (רָשַׁע) (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8)).

שנאב SHINAB — He hated (שנא) his Father (אב) in heaven (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8)).

שמאבר SHEMEBER — He set his wings (שם אבר) to fly, flapping them to rebel against the Holy One, blessed be He (Midrash Tanchuma, Lech Lecha 8)).
Rashi on Genesis 14:2

Later we are told that God raises up Empires to punish wickedness, and that’s how this story plays out.

There is wisdom hidden here.

What’s in a Genealogy?

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Genesis 4 introduces us to Genealogies: a list of names of generations. In English, they are merely names, but the Torah hides meaning inside words. Perhaps God is not giving us names to forget, but parables to understand.

What I’m going to share next is only conjecture.

This is the list: Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methushael, Lamech, Adah, Zillah, Jabel, Jubal, Tubal-Cain, Na’amah.

Each name is a Hebrew word that carries multiple meanings. If you translate each, you can end up with nonsense, but you can also end up with a message of hope.

If I follow the meaning as below, I get this message:

Our ACQUISITIONS and works TEACH us that we’ll WANDER and be STRUCK DOWN. But there’s hope: LIFE. If we SEEK GOD, there is STRENGTH, BEAUTY & PROTECTION, and a FLOW of MUSIC AND JOY.

CAIN’S OFFSPRING can find GRACE.

Again, this is conjecture. I have no idea if this is the intended message, or if I’m merely seeing hope everywhere in the text.

But shouldn’t we? Isn’t that the point? Shouldn’t we hear the echo of the God of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 ringing loudly and clearly throughout the text?

The Name of the Creeping Things

Posted on by jovial_cynic
In Genesis 3, we’re going to be introduced to the Serpent. He’s a “creeping thing,” unlike “wild animals” or “livestock.” All three are listed specifically in the creation account of Genesis 1.But when Adam names in the animals in Genesis 2, notice what’s missing. It’s the “creeping things” of Gen 1:24-25.

Why?

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.
Genesis 2:19-20 (NASB)

I’m not sure, but perhaps it’s tied to this:

Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be careful; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
Exodus 23:13 (NASB)

The creeping things point to the serpent of Genesis 3. The serpent points to all the false gods.

For Reasons only God Knows

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Guest Author @Randallthetrue from Twitter/X:

Genesis 2:15-20

Here God put man in the garden and said it is not good for him to be alone. Then God proceeded to create animals and send them to man to name one at a time. My question is how long did that take? What was man learning from it? Why did God do that before He made women?

Remember once God was done with all the animals none were a suitable helpmate. Obviously, God knew that would be the case but He still put man through all that prior to fulfilling the purpose, which He already had the answer. I can only assume it took many many years to name all the animals prior to woman being made.

To begin with God told man to serve and keep the garden the God said man needs a suitable helpmate. I see this in my life. God says He wants something for me then proceeds to take me down a road that seemingly has no relevance only to connect it all later.

I think if He made women first man would not have said “bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” Anyways this leads to many thoughts maybe more later on.

Three Creatures

Posted on by jovial_cynic
Genesis 1 describes 3 types of land creatures: Wild animals (“living ones”) on land, livestock (“mute ones”), and creeping things (“creeping ones.”)

These three distinct titles are given and repeated multiple times in the chapter.

This is probably important.

I think most commentaries point out the history of the Hebrew people. “Livestock” are their own domesticated and known animals, where as the “wild” ones with “life in them” (because they were free) were seen as something different.

Creeping things are always just “icky.”

In Gen 2, Adam will be tasked with naming the “living ones of the field,” and the picture isn’t him naming ALL the animals, but the wild ones and birds that lived nearby.

Perhaps the livestock are already known and named?

And nobody names the creeping icky things. Strange.