Biblical Names Have Meanings

"After learning some Hebrew, I found that the names in the Bible were more meaningful. Suddenly, I was seeing words, not just names. Melchizedek is an interesting example (Genesis 14:18). It is actually two Hebrew words, melchi and tzedek. Melchi means “my king,” and tzedek means “righteous.” So, whenever someone called him by name, they were saying “my righteous king.”

The name Yeshua is the Hebrew word “salvation.” Isaiah’s two sons’ names formed a sermon when said together. His first son’s name was Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means “swift is the booty, speedy is the prey” (Isaiah 8:3–4). The second son’s name is Shear-Jashub, which means “a remnant shall return.” Every time Isaiah’s wife called the boys to dinner, she was proclaiming to the entire neighbourhood that there was going to be war and captivity, but a remnant would return."