NAME. The first and most important experience which a newborn Heb. underwent was the receiving of a name. Just as God completed His creation by naming “heaven,” “earth,” “day,” “night,” “sea,” the creatures (Gen 1:3-10) and each star (Isa 40:26), so He likewise gave to man, the creature made in His image, this high privilege of naming each of the animals (Gen 2:20) and each of His children (Gen 4:1, 2, 26).

A. Terminology

The word “name” occurs in the OT as a tr. for שֵׁמ֒, H9005, from 770 times in the sing. and 84 times in the pl. The LXX has ὄνομα, G3950, appear in over 1000 vv., of which approximately 100 are in the Apoc., while the NT has almost 200 examples of this Gr. word for name. There are a few related words which will be discussed below, but the statistical data for this concept is indeed impressive and thereby indicates the importance of the “name” in the Bible.

1. In Biblical Heb. Actually there are two synonyms for “name” in Heb. and Akkad. (1) שֵׁמ֒, H9005, which appears eleven times in the Aram. of Daniel 2:20, 26; 4:8, 19; Ezra 5:1-14 and 6:12; as šum, is cognate to the Akkad. šumu, “name.” (2) זֵ֫כֶר, H2352, “remembrance,” “name” or “memorial” appears twenty-three times and is cognate to the Akkad. zikāru, “to name,” or “mention” and zikru, “name.”

The second term is by far the more infrequently used of the two terms. The etymology of the Heb. root zkr still remains unsolved even though a great deal of effort has been expended on solving the problem. Gesenius’ first edition of his Thesaurus, represented the major consensus up to that time when he connected zkr, “to remember” with the noun zāḵār, “male,” since the male was thought to be the sex by which the memory of parents and ancestors was preserved. Gesenius changed that opinion in later editions of his lexicon and argued that the root idea was one of pricking or piercing and from that came the noun as the membrum virile. Memory was, on this theory, a penetrating or fixing in the mind. This theory and others have all failed due to a lack of positive evidence, e.g., there is no evidence to suggest that the Sem. noun ever carried the idea of piercing.

The verb zāḵar, “to remember,” appears in the hiphil stem as a set formula with the noun šēm as a direct object six times (Exod 20:24; 24:21; 2 Sam 18:18; Ps 45:17; Isa 26:13; 49:1). In four other cases it appears with the preposition be and the noun šēm all of which has led scholars like B. Jacob, J. Begrich and B. S. Childs to interpret the hiphil of this verb as a denominative of zēḵer, “to name the name,” an act of utterance rather than an act of remembering as in the qal stem.

For examples of the noun zēḵer, see Exodus 17:14, “I will utterly blot out the (name) remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” (also Deut 25:19); “this is my name (šēm) for ever, and this is my title (zēḵer, my memorial) unto all generations” (Job 18:17); “His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name (šēm) in the street” (Job 18:17); cf. also Deuteronomy 32:26; Psalms 6:5; 9:6; 30:4; 34:16; 97:12; 102:12; 109:15; 112:6; 135:13; 145:1; Prov 10:7; Eccl 9:5; Isa 26:14; Hosea 12:5; etc. These include the ideas of the worshipful mention of God’s titles and fame as extensions of His name.

The other root, šēm is the common word in Heb. for “name.” In 1872 Redslob (ZDMG, 751-756) argued that it was derived from the root šmw, “to be high,” and therefore its basic meaning was one of height and then (1) a monument (Gen 11:4; 2 Sam 8:13; Isa 55:13) or mausoleum (Isa 56:5), and (2) excellence or majesty (Ps 54:1). However, P. Lagarde (Buildung der Nomina, 160) and W. R. Smith (Kingship, 213) argued for the Arab. root wšm, “to mark or brand,” and therefore the word šēm originally meant a “sign” or “token.” Which root was the original meaning of our root is uncertain, but the development of the word includes both sets of ideas in its range of meanings.

The prepositional combinations with šēm are instructive. The idiom “to call the name (of some one) over” (preposition ’al) is found eighteen times. Isaiah 4:1 describes a future day in a depopulated Jerusalem when seven women shall ask one man, “only let us be called by your name,” i.e., the husband’s protection and ownership as signalized by his name. In 2 Samuel 12:28 it referred to David’s calling his name over a conquered city. In Amos 9:12 God’s name is called over the heathen just as it extends over Israel (Isa 63:19). Fifty-six times lĕšē occurs (usually with reference to the name of Yahweh) and some 130 times bĕšēm appears. Rounding out these figures Bietenhard (TDNT, V, 252-253) noticed the following prepositions: min partitive and comparative (three times), lěma’an, “for the sake of” (sixteen times), kě, “as” (seven times) and ba’ăbūr “for sake of” (once).

2. In LXX Gr. The LXX consistently trs. Heb. šēm and Aram. šum by the Gr. ὄνομα, G3950, “name.” This Gr. term also was used to render other Heb. words like neker (Gen 21:23), šēma’ (Gen 19:13; Num 14:15; Deut 2:25; Isa 66:19; šōma’ (Josh 6:27; 9:9) and sometimes zēḵer (Deut 25:19). Then the LXX sometimes adds ὄνομα, G3950, before mentioning a name of a person or place for stylistic reasons, e.g. Genesis 21:31; 1 Chronicles 2:1. For the Heb. term zeḵer, it usually prefers the Gr. terms μνήμη, μνημόσυνον and μνεία, G3644, “memory,” or “remembrance.”

3. In NT Gr. The NT used ὄνομα, G3950, much as the Hebrews used their words for “name.” Thus a name is a “reputation” (Mark 6:14: his “name [ὄνομα, G3950] had become known”; Phil 2:9; Rev 3:1); the “authority” and “power” by which one acts (Matt 7:22; Mark 9:39; Acts 4:7: “by what power or by what name did you do this?”); the “character” of its possessor (Matt 6:9: “Father, glorify thy name”; John 12:38); the “whole system of divine doctrine,” the “content of revelation,” or “divine truth” (John 17:16: “I have made known to them thy name,” John 17:26; Heb 2:12 quoting Ps 22:22); the “rank” or “category” (of a prophet: Matt 10:41); and in the pl. “persons,” “people” (Acts 1:15; Rev 3:14: “But thou hast few persons [ὀνόματα] who have not defiled their garments”; Rev 11:13; Acts 18:15).

The prepositional combinations will be treated in more detail below, but these also show the same Sem. influence rather than the typical classical meanings. The dative form of ὄνομα, G3950, is found with ἐν, G1877, (forty times) and ἐπὶ̀ (at least fourteen times). These forms are used almost as a formula for “by the authority of” or “in the power of” God or Jesus Christ. The genitive (three times) and the accusative (four times) is found with the preposition δία; the former designating the means and agency for the results described while the latter has the name as the grounds and basis upon which the action rests. It would appear that εἰς, G1650, with the accusative often functions like לְשֵׁם, “with regard to, in thinking of,” “for the sake of,” or “to the benefit or account of.” Some of the other prepositions are ἕνεκα, G1914, (Matt 19:29; Luke 21:12); περί, G4309, and the genitive (Acts 8:12); προς and the accusative (Acts 26:9); and ὑπερ and the genitive (Acts 5:41; Rom 1:5).

B. Name in the OT

Essential to the being, existence, and character of God and man are their names. A person is concentrated in a name (1 Sam 25:25: Nabal was like his name, he was a “fool”).

1. The giving of a name

a. To a person. Usually the first experience a newborn child underwent was the naming custom. It was only in later times that this event was withheld until the eighth day after birth when the child was circumcised. That takes place in NT times (Luke 1:59; 2:21), but the OT gives no evidence of this custom.

Hebrew has a set expression or formula for “to give a name” or “to call one’s name.” It is the verb qara’: “to call, name” with the accusative šēm (“name”) sometimes preceded by the direct object sign and the inseparable preposition lě before the person, place or thing. This expression for giving a name is to be distinguished sharply from the formula “to appoint a name” (sĩm šēm lě, in Judg 8:31; 2 Kings 17:34; Neh 9:7) which is used in the sense of conferring a new name.

From some 2,400 individuals in the OT, there are recorded some 1,400 different names. In some forty-six cases, the OT mentions the part that the parents played in naming the child: in twenty-eight instances, the child received its name from the mother (e.g. Gen 4:25; 16:11; 19:37f.; 20:35; 30:6, 8, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24, 29; 1 Sam 1:20; etc.), but the father participated and named the child in eighteen passages (Gen 5:3; 16:15; 17:19; 21:2; 1 Chron 7:23; Job 42:14; Isa 6:3; Hos 1:4, 6, 9 etc.). A few cases are noted where someone else beside the mother or father gives the child a name: Pharaoh’s daughter (Exod 2:10); Naomi’s neighbors (Ruth 4:17) and Nathan the prophet of Solomon (2 Sam 12:25).

Ideally, the name was either descriptive of the parents’ wishes or prophetic of the personality to be manifested by one so named. These types of names are particularly in evidence when individuals are renamed, e.g. Jacob being renamed Israel (Gen 35:10). They are integral parts of one’s character and fortune. Other names are given for incidental reasons or a particular circumstance which attended the birth of the son: Rachel, as she died in childbirth, called her son Ben-oni, “son of my sorrow” (Gen 35:18); while Moses as a “resident alien,” a ger, in a foreign land named his son Gershom (Exod 2:22).

Frequently, the OT supplies names and then comments on the name in such a way as to pun on the name. This usually takes the form of assonance or similar sounding words or ideas that make a particular point. Many classify these names as folk or popular etymologies, but there is no need to resort to this explanation. The custom of punning and using word play on names is seen also in ancient Egypt; e.g., the Westcar Papyrus gives the names of each of the triplets born to the wife of a priest. These three children are marked for the kingship of Egypt and each does take the throne, according to the story, as the Fifth Dynasty begins, but the interesting feature which is repeated elsewhere, is that each receives his name as he is born and a punning statement which plays upon the sound or idea of that name. The Heb. prophets are examples of this love for punning and word play: Micah 1:10-15; Jer 1:11, 12; Hos 1:4, 5; etc. Taking all proper names at once, there are seventy-nine passages where a name is given and some specific explanation, comment, or wordplay is given along with the name (A. F. Key, JBL [1964], 57, 58).

It would appear that there may be evidence for patronymy existing in Israel earlier than previously had been suspected. Certainly by the time of Christ, children were being named after ancestors, usually a grandfather, and so it continued every other generation. In Luke 1:59-61, the relatives of Elizabeth and Zechariah express surprise that they named their son John since “none of thy kindred is called by this name.” In the 3rd and 4th cent. b.c. the Phoen. and Punic inscrs. are filled with examples of this type. Now can be added the examples of: (1) Abiathar, Ahimelech, Abiathar (II), Ahimelech (II) (1 Sam 21:1; 22:9, 22; 2 Sam 8:17); (2) Maacah, the mother of Absalom and later the name of the wife of Rehoboam (2 Sam 3:3; 1 Kings 15:2); (3) Tamar, the sister of Absalom and later the name of the daughter of Absalom (2 Sam 13:1; 14:27); (4) Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson by Jonathan and later the name of Saul’s son by his concubine Rizpah (2 Sam 21:7, 8); and (5) Ahaziah (1 Kings 22:40; 2 Kings 8:16-18, 26).

b. To a place. Many of the place names in Canaan are older than the Israelite contacts or occupation of that land. The chief evidence for this statement comes from the Execration Texts, the Tell-el-Amarna letters written by the city-state kings of Canaan to Egypt, the Karnak inscr. of Thutmose III, Amenhotep II’s two military expeditions and the lists of Seti I, Ramses II, and Merneptah. In the Thutmose III list alone, which is the most detailed information extant on the land of Canaan, there is evidence for some fifty place names found in the OT in a list extending to 119 names in two copies and 350 in a third.

The OT traces the names of some of these places back to the eponymous hero who settled in that region or who captured the site (Gen 4:17; ch. 10; Num 32:42; Deut 3:14; Josh 19:47). When Joab was about ready to capture the town Rabbah, he warned David to capture the city lest he should do so and the city then be called after his name (2 Sam 12:28). Thus the proclaiming of one’s name over a place signified one’s ownership of that town.

2. The change of a name. There are about a dozen examples of a change of a name in the OT. These each signalized the introduction of a new relationship, a new quality of character, a new phase of life, and perhaps a new vocation. Just as ancient Near Eastern monarchs assumed a new name expressive of a new era or policy at its inauguration so God renames His men and women when they inaugurate new aspects of the promise of God. This was so for Abram whose name became Abraham (Gen 17:5) and Sarai, who was renamed Sarah (Gen 17:15). Other examples are: Jacob renamed Israel (Gen 32:28; 35:10); Pharaoh renamed Joseph as Zaphenathpaneah (Gen 41:45); Moses changed Hoshea into Joshua (Num 13:16); Pharaoh Necho turns the name Eliakim into Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34); Nebuchadnezzar changed Mattaniah into Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17); and the Babylonian prince of the eunuchs renamed Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah as Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego respectively (Dan 1:7). In every case, there is a change of position expressed; either an exaltation to a new dignity or a reduction to dependency.

This reminds one also of “the new name” to be given to Jerusalem at its future restoration (Isa 62:2) and, according to Isaiah 65:15, of the fact that God will call his servants “by a different name” (LXX “new name”). This announces a corresponding change of dignity.

3. The signifiance of the name. As it already has been indicated in some of the above discussion, the name is more than the distinguishing title of God or man. The people of Israel were aware of the significance that could be attached to a name and therefore their usage of the concept demonstrates this broad range of meanings.

a. The name and personality. It would appear that the Heb. term which comes closest to our modern occidental concept of “personality,” i.e. the total picture of man’s organized behavior, is šēm, “name.” Thus the sum total of a person’s internal and external pattern of behavior was gathered up into his name. In this way, one could give honor to the person of God (Ps 5:11; 7:17). Knowing the name of a person was equivalent to knowing his essence, for the believing “know the name” of their God (Ps 9:10; 91:14).

To change the name was to imply a change in the character and mission, thus the dozen or more examples referred to above. Not only does the changing of the name indicate the close ties that the name has with the person and his personality but the person was so intimately connected with his name that “to cut off the name” was tantamount to cutting off the man or the place (1 Sam 24:21; 2 Kings 14:27; Ps 83:4; Isa 14:22; Zeph 1:4). One’s existence in his earthly form was bound in with his name. When the name had been destroyed, the man had for all intents and purposes also been dealt a death blow. What else does a man actually own, in the last analysis, beside his personality? To have these things is to have the man.

This connection is best seen in the pl. forms of the Heb. and Gr. words for “name” which actually are rendered as “persons” in Numbers 1:2, 18, 20; 3:40, 43; 26:53 and Acts 1:15; 18:15; Rev 3:4; 11:13. Perhaps this was part of David’s problem in taking the census of 2 Samuel 24. To list the names of the persons was in effect to muster the men into the servitude of military missions not explicitly commanded by God.

The name, since it was the person, also could act and speak. Often Israel, as representatives of the name of God, fought and acted magnificently with His strength. God’s name was more than mere approbation of the mission; it was the power, strength, courage and presence of God Himself. Thus Israel was successful because the name acted and won (Ps 44:5; Mic 4:5; 5:3). The name of God can support, defend, hide and give comfort to the righteous, and all who will run to it (Ps 20:1; Prov 18:10). So also was the matter of speaking in His name. Frequently this meant that one was God’s representative, but it also meant in reality that if one would dare speak in the name of the Lord, this would be the same as if the person whose name was being used had actually spoken himself (Deut 18:19; Jer 26:20; 44:16).

Even the names of cities had a personality inherent in their names, e.g. Jerusalem is called “the city of righteousness” (Isa 1:26), “City of the Lord” (Isa 60:14), “my delight is in her” (Isa 62:4) and the “sought out” one (Isa 62:12): new names for an old city which gives a new character and pattern of behavior.

b. Name and authority. When one gives a name to another, he thereby establishes a relation of dominion or possession to him. Already in Eden, Adam demonstrated that part of the imago Dei which promised to him the subjugation and rulership over all things upon the earth by naming the animals (Gen 2:19f.). This right is held on loan from God who already has not only made the world, but named it as well (Gen 1:5, 8, 10). Man in turn names his wife “Woman” (Gen 2:23). The psalmist (Ps 8) cannot contain himself as he reflects on the magnificence of man in this capacity as sovereign over the works of God’s hands. The excellence of God’s name (Ps 8:1) is witnessed in all the earth, yet he has set all these things under man’s feet!

Whatever a man owns, he names, whether it be a conquered city (2 Sam 12:28), his land (Ps 49:11), or his wives (Isa 4:1). Even children are important to one’s name, for they preserve the memory of that name (Ps 72:17). The whole institution of levirate marriage was just for this reason: to keep the family name and the family alive in Israel (Deut 25:5-10; Ruth 4:5).

Likewise Yahweh not only gives to the stars their names (Ps 147:4; Isa 43:1), but He has His name called over the Ark (2 Sam 6:2), the Temple (Jer 7:10), Jerusalem (Jer 25:29; Dan 9:18), and Israel (2 Chron 7:14; Isa 63:19). God also promises to “set his name” in a place where He will “cause his name to dwell” (Deut 12:5, 11). This promise was made to Israel before they entered Canaan and is just a continuation of the older promise that “in every place where I cause my name to be remembered,” there I will come and bless them (Exod 20:24). Contrary to G. von Rad’s suggestion (and all of modern criticism) that the Deuteronomy 12 passage represents the key issue of the centralization of the Jerusalem Temple, this passage in an indefinite and anticipatory way (with regard to the actual place, whether in Jerusalem or elsewhere) betokens only the equation of the name of Yahweh and “the place.” The authority to worship at this place which will be declared is to be found in the presence of the name.

Linked with the concept of authority is the idea of protection. What God or man owns, they must thereby protect, e.g. 1 Kings 8:43; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 7:10, 11, 14, 30; 14:9; 34:15; Daniel 9:18, 19; Amos 9:12.

c. Name and reputation. Names can grow, be great, be bad, and collect honor and praise. This is simply an extension of the equation of the person and his name. The name comes to have a reputation, fame, renown and glory all its own. In Genesis 6:4 the aristocracy (“sons of God”) took wives, and these “mighty tyrants” (Gibbōrīm) had children who also became “men of renown,” i.e. “men of a name.” Again in Genesis 11:4 the builders of the tower had as their motivation the acquisition of a name. Moses was later to be confronted by 250 princes of Israel who were famous, “men of fame”=“men of a name” (Num 16:2). The guests and witnesses at the marriage of Ruth and Boaz wished this couple God’s blessing when they prayed that their family would do courageous things and be “famous,” i.e. be a “name” in Bethlehem (Ruth 4:11). Other valorous men who were “famous men,” “men of a name” are listed in 1 Chronicles 5:24. By the same token, “nameless” men (bĕlĩ šēm) were “base” or “disreputable” men who were infamous by virtue of their lack of a (good) name (Job 30:8). Indeed, “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches” (Prov 22:1) and “a good name is better than precious ointment” (Eccl 7:1) for “your name is oil poured out; therefore the maidens love you” (Song of Solomon 1:3). Even the way one speaks and acts toward a name affects the reputation and character of that name and thereby some have brought “an evil name” on others (Deut 22:14, 19).

d. The name of Yahweh. A great theological theme is to be found in the name of Yahweh. It appears most frequently with the Heb. inseparable prepositions “to” and “in.” One may “call upon,” “speak in,” “prophesy in,” “bless,” “serve,” and “crush their enemies” and “walk in” the name of the Lord.

1. The revelation of the name. Few passages in the Bible have been made so pivotal for our modern understanding of the OT as Exodus 6:2, 3. Even so, the passage was indeed a crucial one for Moses and Israel as they received a further development to the promise theology of the patriarchs: God now would redeem His people from the bondage of Egypt. The modern question is, simply put: had God previously withheld His name Yahweh from the patriarchs in favor of using as His self-designation the name El Shaddai? Does He here declare that He now will make Himself known as Yahweh? The proper answer to this question lies in denying to the patriarchs the knowledge of the significance of the name Yahweh; not in denying to them the knowledge of the name. The two verbs “to appear” and “to make known” are both niphal reflexive verbs, i.e. “I showed myself” and “I did not make myself known.” The Heb. preposition before El Shaddai and the absence of any Heb. preposition before Yahweh is most crucial. The tr. will demand some preposition in the second case and we believe those trs. to be best which view the first preposition as extending the same force and meaning of the second term that it does over the first. This preposition is the Heb. Beth Essentiae which is to be tr. “as” and means that “God showed himself to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob in the character of (with the attributes of) El Shaddai, but in the character of my name Yahweh, I did not make myself known to them.” The name plays an important function here: it reveals the character, qualities, attributes, and essence of the name. See Names of God.

The correctness of this interpretation can be checked by noting the question asked earlier by Moses when God promised that He would be with him. He queried: Suppose the people ask of this God who has sent me to lead them out, “What is his name? What shall I say to them?” (Exod 3:13). As Martin Buber and others have noted, the interrogative māh, “what,” is to be distinguished from mĩ, “who.” The latter only asks for the title or designation of an individual, while the former, esp. since it is associated with the word “name,” asks the question of the character qualities, power, and abilities resident in the name. What does the “God of our fathers” have to offer in a situation as complex and difficult as ours, was the thrust of their anticipated question. This is precisely the question God answers by declaring His name to be Yahweh, i.e. the God who will be present there in that situation for them.

2. The being of God. Often the “name” of Yahweh and Yahweh are used interchangeably (Deut 28:58; Job 1:21; Ps 18:49; 68:4; 74:18; 86:12; 92:1; Isa 25:1; 26:8; 48:9; 56:6; Ezek 20:44; Amos 2:7; Mal 3:16). At times the šēm Yahweh functions almost like an appearance of Yahweh. The surest passage leading to this conclusion is Exodus 23:20, 21 where the angel whom God sends before Israel has “[Yahweh’s] name...in him.” Israel is to beware of him and to obey his voice, “for he will not pardon your transgression.” In Isaiah 30:27, what is normally credited to Yahweh is attributed to His name. The name of Yahweh comes from afar and burns with His anger, while His lips are full of indignation and His tongue is as a devouring fire! The name then, like the Angel of the Lord or the glory (kabod) of the Lord, is the one who will be present for them and who is to be feared and obeyed just like Yahweh Himself if indeed He is not Yahweh Himself.

Parallel to this is the fact that Yahweh places his name at designated spots and tabernacles, or tents there (šākan; rather than the permanent type of dwelling [yāšab] in heaven, as Frank Cross has pointed out already). See Exodus 20:24; Deuteronomy 12:5; 14:24; 2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Kings 3:2; 8:17; 2 Kings 21:7; etc.

3. The doctrine of God. At times the name of God is used to indicate the whole system of divine truth and doctrine revealed in the Scriptures. The psalmist seems to have intended this when he wrote, “I will tell of thy name to my brethren” (Ps 22:22) which the NT quotes in Hebrews 2:12. The Messianic Psalm refers to the life and doctrine of the promised One who was to come. When He came, He said, “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me” and “I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known” (John 17:6, 26). Obviously the proclamation of the name was the declaration of the doctrine of God. Thus it was possible for the people to live according to the teaching appointed and approved by God: “For all the peoples walk each in the name of its God, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever” (Mic 4:5).

4. The theological development. Von Rad (Studies in Deuteronomy, 37-44) views the appearance of a “name-theology” as the distinctive contribution of the deuteronomic movement which replaces the older “Glory-of-the-Lord Theology” associated with the Ark and the phenomena of the cloud and fire. Yet he too is aware of passages like Exodus 20:24 which appear earlier (p. 38). Rather than saying with von Rad that the ideas move from a crude concept of Yahweh’s material presence to a more sophisticated tendency toward hypostasis, we believe the concepts of the Ark, the angel, the face, the glory of God and the name of God are intended as a representation and pledge (earnest) of Yahweh’s presence. This removes the developmental idea away from an identity concept to a representation concept. Thus the name comes to represent the presence of God Himself, e.g. in the Temple, but while He is there present, He is not contained within that Temple (Vriezen, Outline, 248).

C. Name in the Apoc., the Pseudep.

The Apoc. has some 100 verses illustrating the uses of ὄνομα, G3950, which are almost identical to those seen in Heb šēm. Neither does the Pseudep. illustrate any new features when compared to the OT. Its most frequent reference is to the name of God, otherwise it does not exhibit any noteworthy features for the purposes of this article (see TDNT, V, 261-264, 266, 267).

D. Name in the NT

Often when the NT gives instances of the “name,” it actually is quoting the OT and therefore the above discussion would hold true for this section of the Scriptures as well (Matt 6:9; 12:31; 23:39; John 17:6; Acts 2:21; Rom 15:9; Heb 2:12). A few distinctive examples can be given now.

1. Name and personality. “Name” again appears in the pl. meaning “persons” (Acts 1:15; Rev 3:4; 11:13). It also denotes the character or work that someone does or will do, e.g. the name of John the Baptist (Luke 1:13, 59-63) and Jesus meaning “Savior,” because “he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Jesus has “a name which is above every name” and “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil 2:9, 10). A change of name meant a corresponding change of character, vocation, or status; e.g. Simon is changed to Peter (Matt 16:17, 18); Saul is given the Rom. name Paul (Acts 13:9); and James and John are renamed Boanerges, i.e. “sons of thunder,” men characterized by a bombastic temperament (Mark 3:17).

2. Name and authority. The name of Jesus is His authority given to men so that they might work miracles, preach or pray to the Father. When the question arises “by what name have you done this?” the answer is always in terms of the authority and power of Jesus (Matt 7:22; Mark 9:39; Luke 24:47; Acts 4:7; 16:18; 19:17). That name was authoritative and powerful enough to justify sinners (Acts 10:43; 1 Cor 6:11) and to forgive them their sins (1 John 2:12).

3. Name and reputation. This usage is rare in the NT. The only references are these: Mark 6:14; Luke 6:22; Revelation 3:1; and perhaps Philippians 2:9.

4. The name of Christ

a. Belief in the name. In the Johannine writings, the expression “believe on his name” appears five times (John 1:12; 2:23; 3:18; 1 John 3:23; 5:13). In two of the cases, it is used in close parallelism with believing in the son of God, Jesus (John 3:16 with v. 18; 1 John 5:10 with v. 13). The name here is His person and the belief in that name is not magical, but it is an acceptance or “receiving” of His messianic person and mission and thereby acquiring the right to enter into a new relationship with the heavenly Father (John 1:12).

b. Baptism in the name. Four times Christian baptism is performed in the name of Christ (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5) and in two cases it is just “baptized into Christ” (Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27). In one instance it is performed in “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19). Baptism into the name therefore means that the subject, upon confession of his “belief in the name,” now experiences actual union with His person, i.e. His name, of which baptism is just the outward symbol. The common name of the three persons of the Trinity points at once to the unity and fullness of the Godhead as well as the ministries and fellowship signified by those “persons” of “the name” as enjoyed by the subject. Three prepositions are used: ἐη “in” in Acts 10:48; ἐπί, G2093, in Acts 2:38 and εἰς, G1650, in Acts 8:16; 19:5 and Matthew 28:19. Acts 2:38 links repentance and baptism in one thought and therefore stresses that the grounds or basis for both is “the name of Jesus Christ.” The other two prepositions are simply the Sem. idiom bě (=ἐη) and lě (=εἰς, G1650): the former meaning “to do something in someone’s name or on his authority,” while the latter preposition is a literal rendering into Gr. of the lěšēm, meaning “with respect or regard to the name” in a final or causal sense. Baptism then was the beginning of discipleship with Christ.

c. Prayer in the name. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Hallowed be thy name” (Matt 6:9; cf. Isa 29:23; Ezek 36:23). Further, believers were to pray “in his name” (John 14:13f.; 15:16; 16:23, 26) which simply meant that they were to invoke His name and thereby recognize that Jesus was God’s son on God’s mission. Prayer in the name of Jesus is prayer that is in accordance with the character and mind of Christ. As James 5:16 says, the fervent prayer worked-in by the Holy Spirit is effectual! This was to be no magical formula tacked on the end of prayers, but a recognition of the person, character and here esp. the authority, purpose, and will found in that name. The unity of the Father and Son in that name is found in John 14:13f.

d. Miracles in the name. As the disciples acted in the name of Jesus, i.e. in His power and on His authority, they found that the devils and evil spirits were subject to that name (Matt 7:22; Luke 9:49; 10:17). This power extended to those outside the circle of the disciples (Mark 9:38; 16:17). By this name, men are healed and made strong (Acts 3:6; 14:10). In Acts 4:7 power (δύναμις, G1539) and name (ὄνομα, G3950) are parallel concepts as in Psalm 54:1. Sick men are anointed with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:14). This name is not to be used as a formula (Conybeare’s “theurgic formula”), for it is only when the user of this name is joined by faith and belief in that name that Jesus shows its power. The Jewish exorcists use the right formula, but get the opposite results in Acts 19:13-16.

e. Persecution in the name. The believers may be hated and persecuted “for (ὐπερ) his name’s sake,” i.e. because of their confession of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (Matt 10:22; 19:29; 24:9; Mark 10:29; 13:13; Luke 6:22; 21:12, 17; Acts 5:41; 9:16; 15:26). Mark 10:29 also links the sake of the Gospel with the name, while Acts 5:41 and 3 John 7 make the name a parallel to suffering as a Christian (cf. 1 Pet 4:14, 16).

f. Proclamation in the name. The content and theme of the message preached by Philip (Acts 8:12), by Paul (Acts 9:27; Rom 1:15); and all missionaries (3 John 7) was “the name of Jesus Christ.” Preaching on the basis of the name (Luke 24:47), “bearing the name” (Acts 9:15) and admonishing by the name (2 Thess 3:6; 1 Cor 1:10; 5:4) all focus on the person, authority and message of Christ.

Bibliography J. Pedersen, “Name,” Israel I-II (1926), 245-259; G. von Rad, Studies in Deuteronomy (1953), 37-44; J. A. Motyer, The Revelation of the Divine Name (1956), 3-31; G. T. Manley, Book of the Law (1957), 33, 34, 131ff.; Th. C. Vriezen, An Outline of OT Theology (1958), 246-249; B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel (1962), 9-30; A. F. Key, “The Giving of Proper Names in OT,” JBL (1964), 55-59; H. Bietenhard, “ὄνομα, G3950,” TDNT (1967), 242, 283.