GENESIS
August 26, 2017
By Kim Hickcox
(All Scripture taken from One New Man Bible unless otherwise noted)
Shakespeare once asked “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”* And although one of the most well-known lines from Romeo & Juliet, does indeed make sense – on the surface, it is not true at all when we explore God’s Word.
To Him, nothing is haphazard, nothing is coincidental, nothing is meaningless. We know that Adam named every animal, “And out of the ground the LORD formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name.” (Genesis 2:19) Now what we need to remember about Adam is that, at that time, he was as much like His Creator, Y’shua, as he could be. He was sinless, and although totally man, was actually and literally brought to life by the Holy Spirit (see Genesis 2:7), so he was walking in the Spirit having eternal life. Which by-the-way is how we return to that original state when we are born-again. We revert back to mankind’s first state, or how we were originally created, thus the term born-again as it was how we were truly intended, by God, to be born in the first place.
So Adam named every living creature by the Godly wisdom he was filled with. Therefore there had to be a purpose for each name. And although we do not read of his naming everything else, I’m sure he didn’t refer to everything else as manna (the English translation being: what is it?), so we can somewhat safely assume that he named a few other things he ran into along the way also; unless of course the LORD told him what He called them.
I said all this to make the point that names are meaningful and worthy of research and contemplation before they are attached to something or especially someone.
*From Romeo & Juliet. Part of the famous initial Balcony scene, as Juliet refutes the family feud attached to Romeo’s last name for the sake of her true love.
So to review, here are the names of the 12 Patriarchs of Israel:
REUBEN means: “See! A son.”
SIMEON means: “Because the Lord heard that I am hated”
LEVI means: “my husband will be joined with me”
JUDAH means: “Now I will praise the Lord”
DAN means: “God has heard my voice”
NAPHTAL means: “I have wrestled and prevailed”
GAD means: “A troop comes”
ASHER means: “the daughters will call me happy”
ISSACHAR means: “God has given me my reward”
ZEBULUN means: “endowed with a good dowry”
JOSEPH means: “to increase”
BENJAMIN means: “Son of my Right Hand/Strength”
NOTE: Benjamin was originally named Ben-oni, which means “Son of my mourning” as Rachael knew she would die any minute after her delivery (and did). However, Jacob, I’m sure not wanting to be constantly reminded, nor have his son constantly reminded of his mother’s death, renamed him with a synonym of oni, which is yamin, meaning right hand or strength.
How apropos is Judah’s name considering Y’shua came from his tribe, meaning ‘Now I will praise the Lord’? And with that example in mind, let’s skip ahead a bit to where Israel or Jacob is pronouncing his blessing on his sons just before his death to see which names were, albeit unknown to their mothers who named them, prophetic and which were just emotional:
GENESIS 49
REUBEN “See! A son.” (vss 3-4)
“Reuben, you are my first born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellence of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4unstable as water you will not excel because you went up to our father’s bed, then you defiled the one who ascended my couch.”
Genesis 35:21-22, “And Israel journeyed and set up his tent beyond Migdal Eder, Tower of Eder. 22And it happened, while Israel lived in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’ concubine, and Israel heard about it.” Note that Bilhah was not his mother’s maid, but Rachel’s maid. That could have been part of his justification, who knows? All we know is that Israel recognized it as a lack of character, therefore declaring his firstborn son as unstable as water, as opposed to as what he could and should have been: his father’s might, the beginning of his strength, the excellence of dignity, and the excellency of power.
SIMEON “Because the Lord heard that I am hated” and
LEVI “my husband will be joined with me” (vss 5-7) “Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their downfall. 6O my soul, do not come into their secret, to their assembly, my honor. Do not be united, for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they lamed an ox. 7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I shall divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”
Genesis 34 recalls the rape of Dinah, Israel’s only daughter. Although the perpetrator (Shechem, the son of the Hivite prince) swore he did it because she was so beautiful he couldn’t stop himself and wanted to marry her, and therefore took it upon himself to marry her, as that was about the extent of a wedding back then, their intentions were obviously not on the up-and-up as their methods were not either.
I mean, who, in their right mind, custom or not, would essentially kidnap and rape a women, then go to her father saying, By the way, your daughter is my wife now. Ok with you? I know she just came into town for a visit, but I wanted her, so I had her, now she can stay as my wife.
Personally, I think the dumbest thing was that he knew she had 12 brothers. 12!! And it never occurred to him that this wasn’t ok! Well, it occurred to Simeon and Levi! And although they were somewhat justified in human terms, they really went overboard and let their temper and ‘sense of justice’ get the best of them. If you read chapter 34, you will see that first they set up terms, as if everything would be alright. All the men had to be circumcised, then they would inter-marry and all would be well. So on the third day after every man in town had been circumcised, they: Simeon and Levi, went in and killed every man in the city and brought their sister home. (Perhaps the origin of the term overkill.)
THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, “The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and sacked the city, because they had defiled their sister. 28They took their sheep, their oxen, their donkeys, that which was in the city and that which was in the field. 29And all their wealth and their little ones, and they took their wives captive and took even all that was in the house.” (vss 27-29) So Israel let Simeon and Levi have it, and their response: “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?” (vs 31)
Ironic to think that Levi became the priestly tribe to the nation, but then that did dictate that they would be scattered throughout the nation, making Jacob’s deathbed pronouncement prophetic.
JUDAH “Now I will praise the Lord” (vss 8-12)
“Judah, you are he whom your brothers will praise: your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father’s children will bow before you. 9Judah is a lion’s whelp, from the prey, my son, you are gone up: he stooped down, he couched like a lion and as an old lion. Who will rouse him? 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a Torah scholar from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and the gathering of the peoples will be to Him. 11Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of the grapes. 12His eyes will be red with wine, and His teeth white with milk.”
Notice how TOTALLY Messianic Judah’s blessing or legacy was?
1. you are he whom your brothers will praise: John 12:12-13 “The next day there was an enormous crowd, which came to the feast. Because they heard that Y’shua was coming to Jerusalem 13they took fronds of palm trees and came out to meet Him and they were crying out, ‘Hoshea-na: Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, The King of Israel!’” The quotes they spoke were from Psalm 118:25-26. Hoshea-na meaning Deliver or Save us now!
2. your hand will be on the neck of your enemies: John 16:33 “I have told these things to you so that you would have peace because of Me: in the world you have distress: but be of good courage, I have overcome the world.” And the word overcome is the Greek word nikao, meaning not only to conquer but to have complete victory over which, in ancient times was demonstrated by the conquering king literally placing his foot on the neck of his conquered foe in public, as a symbol of his defeat and consequent submission.
3. your father’s children will bow before you: Philippians 2:9-11 “…then God raised Him to the highest rank and He freely gave Him the name above every name 10so that at the name ‘Y’shua!’ every knee of the heavenlies and the earthly and those below the earth would bow 11and every tongue would confess that Y’shua Messiah is Lord in the glory of God our Father.”
Isaiah 45:22-23 “Look to Me to be delivered, all the ends of the earth, for I AM God and there is no other. 23I have sworn by Myself, the word has come out from My mouth in acts of loving kindness and will not return, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear.”
4. a lion’s whelp: Revelation 5:5 “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping! Look! He was victorious, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, so He can open the scroll and its seven seals.’”
5. The scepter will not depart from Judah: Isaiah 9:5-6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government is upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonder, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 6Of the increase of His government and Shalom there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment and with acts of loving kindness from now even forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this.”
Please note that in the One New Man translation, His first mentioned name is Wonder. In every other translation it is Wonderful Counselor. But Isaiah meant that He is a Wonder, as in a sign or miracle from God!
6. nor a Torah scholar from between his feet: What a better example of noting that the word Torah really means teaching not law! The Torah, as we refer to it had not been written yet. How would anyone know, how would Judah know what Jacob meant if he were speaking of God’s written laws in Scripture?
7. until Shiloh comes: The word Shiloh is a composite of the words Sh’ and loh, meaning a gift to him. A reference to the Messiah, to Whom all nations will bring gifts, and to Whom at least three (as tradition tells us) Gentile nations brought gifts as His incarnation (or birth, if you prefer) as told to us in Matthew 2:11 “Then when they came to the house they saw the child with Miriam His mother, and having fallen to their knees they paid homage to Him, then, having opened their treasure boxes, they brought gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
8. the gathering of the peoples will be to Him: Ephesians 2:14-16 “For He is our peace, the One Who has made both things into one and Who has loosed the dividing wall of the fence, cause of the enmity to His flesh, 15by His nullifying the tradition of the commandments by decrees, so that He could create the two, Jewish and non-Jewish, into One New Man, establishing peace 16so the He could reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, as God killed their enmity by means of Y’shua.”
Revelation 14:6-7 “And I saw another angel flying in mid-sky, having everlasting Good News to proclaim to those who are dwelling temporarily, sojourning, upon the earth, and for every nation and tribe and language and people, 7saying in a loud voice, ‘You must now fear God and you must now give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come, and you must immediately pay homage to the One Who made heaven and earth and sea and fountains of waters.’”
9. Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey’s colt to the choice vine: John 12:14-15 “And then Y’shua found a colt and sat upon it, just as it has been written, ‘You must not fear, daughter of Zion: Behold your king is coming, being seated upon a foal of a donkey.’” The OT quote being from Zechariah 9:9. And of course there is also Y’shua’s reference to His being the Vine and the Father the Vinedresser that we need to stay attached to in John 15:1-17.
10. He washed His garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of the grapes: Revelation 19:12-13 “And His eyes are like a flame of fire, and upon His head many crowns, he has a name written which no one knows except Himself, 13and is clothed in a garment dyed in blood, and His name has been called the Word of God.”
11. His eyes will be red with wine: Revelation 1:14 “And His head and hair were white as wool, white as snow, and His eyes as flames of fire.”
DAN “God has heard my voice” (vss 16-18)
“Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan will be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider will fall backward. I have waited for Your salvation, LORD.” Dan will have the northernmost territory in Israel, and was therefore responsible for repelling northern invaders. They developed a fighting style of coming out of hiding and fighting, like the pictorial bite of a serpent and then disappearing again.
NAPHTALI “I have wrestled and prevailed” (vs 21)
“Naphtali is a deer let loose. He gives beautiful sayings.” This makes sense in accordance to the meaning of his name, but in and of itself as far as Jacob’s blessing goes – no. However, upon research, he gives beautiful sayings refers to giving praises to God for His provision of abundant crops.
GAD “A troop comes” (vs 19)
“Gad, a troop will press upon him, but he will press upon their heel.” Leah called that one right one the nose, didn’t she? This again refers to the tribe’s future fighting style and victories.
ASHER “the daughters will call me happy” (vs 20)
“Out of Asher his beard will be fat, and he will yield royal dainties.” This refers to the rich olive groves in the land of Asher, also mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:24 “And of Asher he said, ‘Let Asher be blessed with children. Let him be acceptable to his brothers and let him dip his foot in oil.’” The he being Moses who was, of course speaking for the Lord. Asher has rich agricultural lands.
ISSACHAR “God has given me my reward” (vss 14-15)
“Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the sheepfolds: 15and he saw that rest was good, and the land that was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant to tribute.” This is prophetic too. Issachar was to bow down in laziness spiritually and perhaps more severely than the others. It was in Issachar where the city of Endor was, where King Saul sought out the witch who called Samuel back from the dead (see 1st Samuel 28).
ZEBULUN “endowed with a good dowry” (vs13)
“Zebulun will live at the haven of the sea, and he will be for a haven of ships and his border will be to Zidon.” This was prophetic concerning the parcel of their inheritance of the land of Canaan. Although Zebulun was not directly on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, he was on the shoreline of the Kishon River, enough inland for ships to be sheltered by Asher and West Manasseh when docked in Zebulun.
JOSEPH “to increase” (vss 22-26)
“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.” This meant the he was so handsome that girls would climb walls just to get a look at him. “The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him.” This refers to the gossip and lies told about him, especially Potiphar’s wife, who caused him to go to prison based on her lies, which, by the way, were generated because he was so handsome. “But his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob; from there he became the shepherd, the stone of Israel: 25even by the God of your father, Who will help you, the Almighty Who will bless you with blessings of the bosom, and of the womb. 26The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors to the endless boundaries of the everlasting hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and in the crown of his head that was from the exile of his brothers.” This will be explained when we study the life of Joseph, but suffice it to say for now that he was abundantly blessed not only due to the injustices he endured at the hands of his brothers, but his captures also.
BENJAMIN “Son of my Right Hand/Strength” (vs 27)
“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf: in the morning he will devour the prey and at night he will divide the spoil.” Unfortunately, the tribe of Benjamin went a bit awry there for a while. The most disturbing story in the land of Benjamin can be seen in Judges 19.
Interestingly enough, the city of Jericho, the first conquered city of the Promised Land is in the territory of Benjamin, as well as Jerusalem, while Bethlehem is not (it’s in Judah, of course).
So names are important. If the Lord puts thought and meaning into names, we should put thought into them also. And it can actually be a fascinating study to take the names of people and places in a Biblical book and just see how it correlates with their story.
Have a blessed week my friends! “The LORD will bless you and He will keep you.25The LORD will make His face to shine upon you and He will be gracious to you.26The LORD will lift His countenance to you and He will establish Shalom for you.” (Numbers 6:24-26) Amen.
SHALOM!!
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