Patterns in the Semantics of Biblical Names

Although the primary function of a name is to refer, names do not merely refer. They also have semantic content—content that exerts a significant influence on the choices involved in name-bestowal. Consequently, the semantic content of biblical names is not randomly distributed. On the contrary, many biblical names fit particular features of their bearers’ lives or environments and/or reflect particular fashions in name semantics. For instance, we find names that describe the bearer’s appearance or abilities; we find clusters of body-part-related names and wildlife-related names; we find occupational names borne mostly by servants and beauty-related names borne mostly by females. We should analyse the Bible’s names with such facts in mind. This book will critically evaluate the above claim(s). After a discussion of the methodological issues entailed in name-translation, it will seek to establish three main conclusions. First, while many people today may pay little attention to name semantics (particularly in the Western world where names are often chosen simply ‘because they sound nice’), this has not generally been the case everywhere or throughout history, and does not appear to have been the case in the biblical world. Second, the Bible’s name-pool contains numerous semantically defined name-clusters whose existence cannot plausibly be explained as coincidental. And, third, similar name-clusters can be identified outside the Bible on the basis of epigraphic Hebrew and Ancient Arabian inscriptions from the surrounding region.