➤ First, let's look at some people whose names were changed by God Himself to reflect a new identity:
Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5)
Abram means "exalted father". God changed it to Abraham which means "the father of a multitude". This was done to reflect Abraham's role as the father of many nations, the father of the faithful, which was God's covenant promise with him.
Sarai to Sarah (Genesis 17:15)
Sarai means "my princess" while Sarah means "princess" in a broader sense. God changed her name to reflect her role as the mother of nations.
Jacob to Israel (Genesis 32:28)
Jacob means "heel-grabber or deceiver" which reflects how he took his brother Esau's birthright. God changed his name to Israel which means he "struggles with God" which reflects the time he wrestled with God (or an angel) found in Genesis 32:22-31. Jacob's twelve sons formed the twelve tribes which became the nation of Israel which took on his name. Interestingly, the nation of Israel throughout history struggled with obedience and loyalty to God, reflecting the God-given definition of the name Israel: "struggles with God".
➤ Next is an example of a name changed by Jesus:
Simon to Cephas (Peter)
Jesus spoke in Aramaic, and gave Simon the Aramaic name "Cephas" which means "rock or stone" to signify what his role would be in the church (Matthew 16:18). Later, the Apostle John, in his gospel, written in Greek, would use the Greek translation of Cephas, which is 'Petros" or Peter in English translations. Therefore Cephas and Peter mean the same thing, it's just that one is Aramaic and one is Greek, both meaning "rock or stone".
Note: Most of the New Testament is written in Greek, the formal language of the day. But for a few verses, the common language of the day, Aramaic, was retained, probably for intimate effects. For example, in Mark 14:36, Jesus addresses His Father in Heaven as "abba", the Aramaic word for "Daddy". In Romans 8:15 the Apostle Paul uses the Aramaic "abba' to describe our intimate relationship we have with God as His adopted children.
➤ Some names are different simply because of language or culture:
Saul to Paul
Actually, there is no name change here. Saul is his Jewish Hebrew name while Paul is the Greek Roman version. In some of his New Testament books, the Apostle starts out with "I, Paul" perhaps to better relate to the Gentile world he was evangelizing to.
➤ There is one name that Moses changed that is not only significant, but prophetic:
Hoshea to Joshua (Numbers 13:16)
Moses changed the name of his assistant Hoshea ("salvation" in Hebrew) to Yehoshua (meaning "Yahweh is salvation" or "the Lord saves") to indicate that although Joshua would deliver the nation of Israel into the Promised Land, it would be the result of the Lord's power, not Joshua's personal ability. Yehoshua became shortened to Yeshua in Hebrew which eventually became translated into the English word Joshua.
Hoshea → Yehoshua → Yeshua → Joshua
Here's what's amazing -- there's something very significant about the name Joshua. It's this...... the name Joshua and the name Jesus are exactly the same name!
What then is the source of the name Jesus? It came about as the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), then Latin (4th Century Vulgate), then eventually to English.
Yeshua (Hebrew) → Iēsous (Greek) → Iesus (Latin) → Jesus (English)
Joshua = Jesus!!
They both mean exactly the same!: "Yahweh is salvation" or "the Lord saves". And what's more, Jesus would have been called Yeshua while He was on earth.
➤ This leads us to one of my favorite examples of typology in the Bible, Joshua foreshadowing the role of Jesus. What I mean is this:
Joshua, as Moses' successor, would be Israel's deliverer. He would lead them into the Promised Land. Jesus, in a much larger and significant way, fulfills the example of Joshua. Jesus, on a much greater scale than Joshua, is our Deliverer, and will lead us into the Promised Land of Heaven. Jesus is the true and only source of salvation. Jesus saves!! Hallelujah!
Jesus = Yahweh is salvation, the Lord saves!
➤ One more thing. Although only a sampling of names was covered in the above text, there are so many more examples in the Bible, including names of places, as well as people. It just shows you the amazing depths and layers that are contained in the Bible. It's such an amazing book. And no wonder -- it's God's word!!
