What’s In A Name? (part 1)

One of the greatest powers a leader has is that of naming things and defining things.

This becomes especially true when you name and define people.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Juliet makes this statement in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. She does so to convey her love to Romeo no matter his last name. She is seeking to claim that love goes beyond a mere name. But in real life names matter. Names have power.

Names hold special prominence in the Bible too.

A name in the Ancient Near East was typically a description of that person’s being or character. There is a particular episode in the Bible where God actually declares both a blessing and a rebuke over the nation of Israel through two different names. This occurs in 1 Samuel 4-7.

The priests of Israel were no longer leading according to God’s ways. The people were not being properly instructed or led. The offerings of God were being defiled. As the chief priest of Israel dies upon the knowledge that both of his priestly sons were also dead, his daughter in law gives birth to a son and names him Ichabod. The literal meaning of Ichabod is “the glory has departed.” The reality was that Israel had been routed by the Philistines. The ark of God, a symbol of God’s presence and power, had been taken captive. Through the name of a baby, God had pronounced judgement over His people for rejecting Him. In this name God had defined a people.

But the ark of God did not truly belong to the Philistines either. And things did not go well for the Philistines while the ark was in their hands. They did not know or worship the God of Israel and plagues came upon them as a result. Finally, out of desperation, they asked the Israelites to come and reclaim the ark. The Israelites did so and some 20 years passed before a new challenge and a new name was pronounced upon the them. Samuel, as God’s prophet, called on all of Israel to repent and return whole heartedly to the Lord. The people responded and forsook their idols and worshipped God.

Once again, the constant enemy of Israel, the Philistines, arose to make war. The people of Israel were afraid and called upon Samuel to seek God on their behalf. God respondes to the pleas of Samuel, and to the contrite and repentant people of Israel, and the Philistines are defeated in a grand way. Samuel sets up a monument in honor of the victory and names the stone Ebenezer, which means “God our help.” A new mantle had been placed over Israel to replace the former one. They went from being “the glory has departed” to becoming “God our help.” This new name that defined a people remained all the days of Samuel. God used a baby and a prophet to both rebuke and bless those whom He had chosen and loved. The names represented the corporate heart of the people. They had forsaken God and His ways, and they had returned broken and contrite. There was power in the names.

We have that power too. While God’s character is perfect, our’s is not. We must be careful with our words. We must be wise in how we name and define others. There is power in the names that we bestow, and the ways in which we define people. We can easily cast a shadow over someone or provide a blessing. Tomorrow I will post part 2.

What are your thoughts? How do you think leaders go about “naming” and “defining” people?

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