Biblical Names And Meanings

"There are many biblical words and concepts that cannot be brought into English well, which is one reason learning the Bible sometimes requires the study of materials outside the Bible itself.

Among the things that cannot be easily brought into English are: puns, idioms, and times when the original word had more than one meaning and both are applicable. This happens regularly with names, because many biblical names had meanings that are important to the story.

People reading the original language see both the name and the meaning at the same time.

“Job” means “attacked,” and so people reading the Hebrew text knew that the book of Job was
the book of the attacked one.

“Abraham” is “father of a multitude,” and he is exactly that.

“Deborah” means “bee,” and she certainly stung the Canaanites (Judges 4 and 5).

“Delilah” means “pining away” or “wasting away,” which is exactly what happened to Samson under her influence.

Gideon revealed his aspiration to rule Israel when he named his son “Abimelech,” meaning, “My father is king.”

More Than a Lady

The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth;... II John 1:1

"This verse is usually translated something such as: “The elder, to the chosen lady and her children… (NIV). The Greek word translated “lady,” (kuria) is the feminine form of the word “lord” (kurios), as in “Lord” Jesus. Using the word “lady” worked very well at the time the King James Version was written, because at that time, “lords,” and “ladies” were those of high society who ruled households and had great influence. Over time, however, the word “lady” came to be used more of a well-mannered woman, not necessarily a powerful and influential one.

Some versions use “mistress” to translate kuria, and 100 years ago that worked very
well, because the “mistress” was the ruler of the house. However, we today usually think
of a mistress as a “kept woman,” and the translation does not work well.

As our society loses its social stratification, the words and titles that clarified those positions disappear too, leaving us without a good English translation of kuria."

The Child-Conductor

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galations 3:24

"Galatians 3:24 says the Law was our “schoolmaster” (KJV) to bring us to Christ. However the Greek word is paidagogos, and it referred to a very trusted household slave who oversaw the rearing of young boys, and accompanied them to and from school to oversee their safety.

It is easy to see that this Greek word is hard to bring into English just by the large number of ways it has been translated: “child-conductor” (YLT); “schoolmaster” (KJV); “guardian” (ESV); “tutor” (NASB); “put in charge” (NIV); “a slave to look after us” (NJB); and “disciplinarian” (NRSV).

None of those translations really perfectly describe the paidagogos, so at some point the student of Scripture simply has to learn what the paidagogos was and what he did, and then the truth of Galatians can be clearly seen: the Law was God’s trusted slave that took charge of educating and raising the people of God, and assuring them of ultimately getting safely back to Him."

An Eye For An Eye

You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say unto you: Do not resist him who is evil, but whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:38-39

"ALL TOO OFTEN, Christians try to make a contrast between Christianity and Judaism. When making these comparisons, the goal is usually to show the superiority of "New Testament" Christianity over "Old Testament" Judaism. At times, it gets a bit unfair.

The scripture verse above conjures up brutal images of someone, perhaps even accidentally, knocking out the eye of someone else. The guilty party is hauled into a Jewish court, which orders the guilty party to have his eye knocked out. In point of fact, this commandment, quoted from Deuteronomy 19:21, was a limiting feature on vengeance, basically saying, let the punishment fit the crime.

In many ancient, and even current cultures, it was (and sometimes is) common to have a punishment way out of proportion to the crime. Even in England a few hundred years ago, the penalty for pickpockets was hanging! In many Islamic cultures, the penalty for stealing is to have one's right hand chopped off. The commandment from Torah is actually remarkably liberal. The rabbis took this commandment and made it even more liberal.

The maximum penalty stays as written for its deterrent effect. However, there was always "grace," even in Torah. For instance, the penalty for desecrating the Sabbath was death. However, the number of times that the death penalty was actually applied could be counted with the fingers on one hand.

Likewise, the "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" was applied very liberally. According to the Mishna, the guilty party was to pay the injured party for 5 different aspects of the injury: damage, pain, healing, loss of time from work, and insult. [The VALUE of an eye for an eye and the VALUE of a tooth for a tooth.]

Even keeping the Biblical command literally, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," looks outrageously liberal by comparison to penalties imposed by the nations surrounding Israel. The Biblical command was actually putting a limit on the punishment to be meted out."

"An Eye For An Eye" (Continuing Studies in Matthew)
Rick A. Chiamberlin

Sarcasm

Bible Study Guide has the following interesting insight:

"The Bible contains some sarcasm or irony, which should not be considered unusual,
because sarcasm can be used to make a very graphic point. However, sarcasm can be
misinterpreted if the context is not read carefully, because sarcasm is usually carried in
the tone of voice, not in the words themselves.

“Attack and be victorious.” In 1 Kings 22:15 the king of Israel asked the prophet
Micaiah about going to war. “‘Attack and be victorious,’ he [Micaiah] answered, ‘for the
LORD will give it into the king’s hand.’” A careful reading of the context show that
Micaiah’s answer was sarcasm, and he did not mean it at all.

“The foolishness of preaching.” 1 Corinthians 1:21b says “…it pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Preaching the Word of God is
never foolishness, but the context makes it clear that preaching seemed like foolishness to
those people who reject it (1 Cor. 1:18).

“You have become rich.” 1 Corinthians 4:8 says, “Already you have all you want!
Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us!” This
sarcasm powerfully points out that the exact opposite was true of the Corinthians. They
were worldly (1 Cor. 3:3) and had many problems.

Jeremiah’s sarcasm. Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD
fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD’s house and
all the exiles back to this place from Babylon” (Jer. 28:6). Jeremiah spoke these words to
Hananiah the false prophet, but he was being sarcastic, something that is quite evident
from the context. God had told Jeremiah the captivity would last 70 years (Jer. 25:11),
while Hananiah was saying two years (Jer. 28:3)."

Rachel's Recipe For Conception

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes. Genesis 30:14-15

Rachel, wife of Jacob, may be the first woman in history about whom we have a clinical account of effects from the use of a tranquilizing drug. In her case the potent stuff was self-prescribed.
Frantic because she was unable to present her husband with a son, Rachel took drastic steps (Gen. 30:14-15). She bargained with Leah for a supply of roots from a plant supposed to increase one’s sexual potency. Leah’s son Reuben had found a colony of mandrakes—plants that grow wild throughout the eastern Mediterranean region—in a wheat field. Once Rachel got her hands on them, she used them in a fashion prescribed by folk doctors of many cultures.

Since prehistoric times the mandrake has been valued for its alleged power to foster human fertility. In the Bible it is mentioned five times in connection with Rachel, once in the Song of Solomon. Recipes and charms linked with it remained current until comparatively recent times. Some medieval vendors even carved human features on mandrake roots. Then they claimed to have dug them from the ground, shaped by nature to resemble the babies they were supposed to bring. Such a mandrake image was known as a mannikin or erdman (“earthman”).

Regardless of whether Rachel’s mandrakes were carved or plain, she got results in the form of a son whom she named Joseph. Whatever its other effects may or may not be, the mandrake (distantly related to belladonna or “deadly nightshade”) has a soothing effect upon the nerves of some who use it. Since some physicians now administer modern tranquilizers to foster conception, it may be that Rachel’s self-prescribed dose actually did enable her to become a mother.

(Garrison, Webb., Strange Facts About the Bible, Testament Books, New York, 1968, pgs 22-23)

Eating "Karats"

And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. Luke 15:16

"Locust/carob could be the same word – Carob could be a “locust bean” – also called St. John’s bread – The carob seed became a standard of weight because of the regularity of each seed’s weight. The weight of one carob seed later became one “karat” and eventually became the measure of weight for diamonds. The prodigal son was probably feeding carob bean husks to the swine in Luke 15:16."

(Lash, Neil & Jamie., “Jewels From the Journey,” Jewish Jewels, Ft. Lauderdale, FL., pg 4)