In todays’ study we will find throughout the bible we will see that names have meanings, sometimes more than one. In this study I will focus only on a few, but these few are the most important of the bible and what is revealed is extraordinary. First, we must start with Adam. H119, a race that shows blood in the face, i.e. to blush, Caucasian. Called “Eth ha Adam” in Hebrew. Meaning “The man Adam” that Christ would come through, it has the article, “The man”. It’s from here that the genealogy of Jesus Christ is traced in Luke 3:23-38. Let us begin with Abraham. H85 ʼAbrâhâm in Hebrew, meaning father of a multitude, a friend of God and founder of the Hebrew nation via God’s elective covenant. Let’s go to Gen.17 and it reads.
Gen.17:1] And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
Abram; H87, High father. Was Abraham’s first name, notice this word perfect is mature, i.e. what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact.
Gen.17:2] And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
[3] And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
[4] As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
[5] Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
This is a promise to Abraham from God. Just how many nations, 12 from Jacob (Israel), 12 from Esau, and 12 from Ishmael.
Gen.17:6] And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
The bible covers all the kings of Israel and Judah. But the bible does not cover any of the kings of Ireland, Scotland, or England.
Gen.17:7] And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
This covenant lasts still today. This covenant is Jesus Christ, this is how it is everlasting.
Gen.17:8] And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
This land Canaan will become Israel.
Gen.17:9] And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
[10] This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
This circumcision is a blood ordinance. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, he became the covenant, and circumcision is now of the heart, and is for both male and female.
Gen.17:11] And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
[12] And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
[13] He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
With Jesus Christ this covenant is everlasting, from generation to generation. Now, let’s go to Isaac. Isaac H3327, meaning Laughter. This is one of the funniest stories of the bible to me, but also the word Saxon means Sons of Laughter. Let’s pick it up where we left off in Gen.17 and verse 15 reads.
Gen.17:15] And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
When God added the H to Abraham and to Sarah, he added the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet five means Grace.
Gen.17:16] And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
[17] Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
This cracks me up, imagine you are Abraham and your wife is 90 years old how would you react before God? This shows that Abraham and God had a very close relationship.
Gen.17:18] And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Abraham already had a son through Hagar, an Egyptian, a servant of Sarah. Abraham thinks this is enough, and wants Ishmael to be his inheritance. But the Lord already has a plan.
Gen.17:19] And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
The seed shall come through Isaac, and the covenant shall be through him. This is the seed that Jesus would come through, because it must be kept pure and without blemish. Notice that the Lord names Isaac after Abraham laughs.
Gen.17:20] And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Ishmael H3458, Yishmâʻêʼl in Hebrew. And means “God will hear”. 1. son of Abraham and Sarah’s handmaid Hagar and the progenitor of the Arabian peoples.
Gen.17:21] But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
[22] And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
We continue in Gen.18 and it reads.
Gen.18:1] And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
[2] And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
[3] And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
Could you imagine seeing the Lord, notice this time he has two others with him.
Gen.18:4] Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
[5] And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
They agree to eat with Abraham, this should tell us that a spirit body can eat when they are in this dimension. As well as other things that we learned in Gen.6.
Gen.18:6] And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
[7] And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
[8] And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
[9] And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
[10] And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
[11] Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
[12] Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
Sarah laughed within herself, don’t overlook this.
Gen.18:13] And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
[14] Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
[15] Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.
God hears the heart, our minds. He is the only one who can, this is why silent prayer is the safest. If you have intentions for the Lord’s business, keep it silent for the devil can hear. Still, I find this the funniest story of the bible. Now let’s go to Jacob, H3290, meaning “heal catcher.” Son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel. We first hear of Jacob in Gen.25 and verse 21 reads.
Gen.25:21] And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
[22] And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.
She is with twins. And these twins are fighting within her.
Gen.25:23] And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
[24] And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
[25] And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
Esau means “Red”. This would be the red nations (Communist) of Russia today, but know that Russia, ( Esau) has twelve tribes also. This could help with today’s troubles if only the people of Israel knew.
Gen.25:26] And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
Jacob, H3290 heel catcher.
Gen.25:27] And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
[28] And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Now we come to the name Israel, H3478 Yisrâʼêl in the Hebrew, and means; Israel = “God prevails”. Most people will tell you that it was Jacob that prevailed against God. This couldn’t be further from the truth, nobody can prevail against God, but rather with God we can prevail. Let’s go to Gen.32 and verse 24 reads.
Gen.32:24] And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Jacob was afraid of Esau, so he stayed behind to pray.
Gen.32:25] And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
[26] And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
This is Jacob wrestling and speaking to the Angel of God himself. I think of myself wrestling with my children as they grew up, a very special moment.
Gen.32:27] And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
[28] And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
[29] And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
[30] And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Peniel, H6439 Pᵉnûwʼêl in the Hebrew, and means; face of God; Penuel or Peniel.
Gen.32:31] And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
[32] Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
To be bold enough to wrestle with God, that’s truly a relationship between Father and son. And I know mothers who watch the boys wrestle know this as well. This lesson should show that names have meaning, the bible is full of such instances where a name given may have another meaning to what is being said. Study to show thyself approved. Let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.
KJV along with The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible