What’s in a Name? Bible Name Changes Signify Conversion and Newness of Life
Introduction
Biblical names in the Bible are extremely important as they almost always signify an important spiritual truth that can be perceived, regarding either a person (including his or her lives) or a place, which in one way or another relates to God’s Magnificent Salvation Program and Glorifies God and The Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There are simply too many examples to expound upon this point (Barak and Abinoam is one such illustration), this post will focus only on a few key people(s) of the Bible whose names were “changed”, along with the evident spiritual reasoning behind those name changes.
For more on the meaning of names in the Bible, this teacher highly recommends the book a dictionary of proper names in the Bible.
Changing a Name in the Bible
When God changed a person’s name, as has been recorded in the Bible, and then gave that person a new name, it established an entirely new identity that spiritually pointed to a conversion of that carnal person (or group of persons) becoming newly identified as a spiritual child of God.
#1. Abram to Abraham
God changed Abram’s name אַבְרָם (‘aḇrām)H87, meaning “exalted father,” to “Abraham” אַבְרָהָם (‘aḇrāhām)H85, meaning “father of a multitude” or “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). This name change took place when God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision and the promise of the “seed” which pointed to the Savior, Jesus Christ, as we read in Genesis 22:18, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”, which was later exposited in Galatians 3:16, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
#2. Sarai to Sarah
God also changed Abraham’s wife’s name from “Sarai,”שָׂרַי (śāray)H8297 meaning “princess,” to “Sarah” שָׂרָה (śārâ)H8283, meaning “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:15).
Abraham had a first-born son, Ishmael, through Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar, and Ishmael did indeed become a progenitor of many nations, primarily in the Arab world of today. God also reaffirmed His promise to give Abraham a son through Sarah, and told him to name his son Isaac, meaning “laughter.” God’s promise to bless the nations through Abraham was to be fulfilled only through Isaac’s line, from whom Jesus descended via Mary (Luke 3:23-38).
#3. Jacob to Israel
Isaac was the father of the fraternal twins Jacob and Esau via Rebekah. The Bible tells us that the twins fought in the womb of Rebecca as we read in Genesis 25:22&23, “And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one] people shall be stronger than t[he other] people; and the elder shall serve the younger.” Although Esau was the first-born, and hence the elder, Jacob, the younger grabbed Esau by the heel during that birth. “his hand took hold on Esau’s heel;” being suggestive of what was to come. (Genesis 25:26)
Jacob’s birth name, Jacob יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ)H3290, means “supplanter”, “usurper”, “deceiver”; it was given to Jacob because, he grew up as a conniver and deceiver, and he eventually supplanted his brother’s position as heir to both the birthright and the first-born son’s blessing from their father, Isaac.
After Jacob’s struggle with the Lord at Peniel, the Lord gave Jacob a new name: “Israel” יִשְׂרָאֵל (yiśrā’ēl) H3478 , meaning “Prince with God” and God gave this reason: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28).
Note: Israel can mean different things at different times. It can refer to the man who was Jacob, it can refer to the nation, it can refer to the church of God, or Israel can refer to Jesus Christ. Sometimes it can even different interpretations at the same time. Hosea 11:1 reads, “¶When Israel [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” This verse can be referring to the nation of Israel in 1447 BC, or it can be referring to Jesus as a child when Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt until after the death of King Herod in 4 BC as we are told in Matthew 2:15.
Later, God appeared to Jacob/Israel again in Bethel, and reaffirmed the name change, and gave him the same covenant that Abraham had received (Genesis 35:9-12). Thus the “heel-catcher”, who struggled with his brother Esau in the womb of Rebekah, was converted to one who struggled with God, and while seeming initially to be otherwise, God ultimately prevails. And we should also realized that from an eternal perspective, the newly named “Israel” carried within him the very DNA that would ultimately be passed on to become Jesus (through Mary), and it is Jesus, Who is God, Who will ultimately “Prevail”.
Moreover, before Jacob met with God in Bethel, Jacob commanded that all idols be cast away and he purified himself and his household as we read in Genesis 35:2, “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that [were] with him, Put away the strange gods that [are] among you, and be clean, and change your garments:” There was a newness of covering as well.
After the name change, some passages in Genesis refer to Jacob as “Jacob” Genesis 33:1; 34:7; 35:15; 37:1) and others as “Israel” (Genesis 35:21; 37:3; 43:6; 46:1). Some have suggested that the name Jacob represents his old nature and Israel his new. That is, he is called “Jacob” when functioning in his carnal old nature, but he is called “Israel” when he is acting out of his new nature. There could be limited merit in this suggestion in some passages, and it would parallel the Christian’s experience as presented in Ephesians 4:22-24, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
1 Corinthians 15:50-54, “¶Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
There are several psalms that use both names side by side: “Jacob shall rejoice, [and] Israel shall be glad” (Psalm 53:6) and “For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel,” (Psalm 78:5). The names Jacob and Israel seem to be used synonymously, and both names can represent the nation as well as the individual, but is clear that Jacob underwent a major conversion consistent with the name change.
#4. Oshea to Joshua
In Numbers 13:1-3, we read, “¶And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. ¶And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men [were] heads of the children of Israel.” Then in Numbers 13:8, “Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.”
Oshea is translated from the original Hebrew word הוֹשֵׁעַ (hôšēaʿ)H1954, which means “Salvation” (note that it is also the same name as both Hoshea from Deuteronomy 32:44, and Hosea, the Old Testament prophet).
However, just a few verses later in Numbers 13:16, we read, “¶These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.” So then Moses changed the name of Oshea to Jehoshua (or “Joshua” and “Yeshua”). Jehoshua is translated from the original Hebrew word יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (yᵊhôšûaʿ)H3091, which means “Jehovah Is Salvation“.
The question arises, why did Moses change the name of Oshea (Salvation) to Jehoshua, the same as Joshua (Jehovah Is Salvation)? Well, it is no accident that the Name of “Jesus” is translated from the into English from the Greek Ἰησοῦς (iēsous)G2424 which is the Greek version of Joshua (yᵊhôšûaʿ). Joshua was established by God to be a great “Type” of the Lord Jesus Christ, as Joshua would be the man chosen to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land (picturing Heaven) through the flood of the river Jordan (picturing Hell). The point was that Oshea was given a new name that honored and glorified God, and would set the precedent for real Jesus (Jehovah Is Salvation) roughly 1400 years later.
#5. Jezeer to Abiezer
In Judges 6:11 we see this, “¶And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.“
The locality of Gideon’s family was Ophrah, עָפְרָה (ʿāp̄râ)H6084 meaning “fawn“.
Gideon was clearly of the family of the “Abiezrites“, but we can deduce that that family was also previously known as the “Jeezerites“. We know this from Numbers 26:29-32, “Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead comethe family of the Gileadites. These [are] the sons of Gilead: [of] Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites:” And [of] Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and [of] Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: And [of] Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and [of] Hepher, the family of the Hepherites.”
Significantly, Jeezer, אִיעֶזֶר (‘îʿezer)H372 , means “No help.“
However, Joshua 17:2, tells us that the Jeezerites must be one in the same family as the Abiezerites because we read, “There was also [a lot] for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
Abiezer, אֲבִיעֶזֶר (‘ăḇîʿezer)H44, means “My father is help“
Clearly something significant had happened to go from being called a family that had “No help” to “My father is help”. The only explanation that one can draw is that an unrecorded blessing/conversion occurred at some point between the family’s wilderness sojourn and its entrance into the land of Canaan. And this is also consistent with the idea that, for the elect of God, when they leave this earthly sojourn and enter into Heaven (“typified” by crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land), they will all be given new names. They will forever be identified as the children of “the God Who helped them”.
This is why we read where Jesus states in Revelation 2:17 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].”
#6. Simon to Peter
In the New Testament, in Matthew 16:15-18, we read the following discourse between Jesus and Simon/Peter, “¶He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? ¶And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. ¶And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The word “Peter” is Πέτρος (petros)G4074, in the original Greek meaning “stone” or “smaller rock”, while the word “rock” is πέτρα (petra)G4073 means more like a rock mass or foundation.
In John 1:42, “And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas (Πέτρος (petros))G4074, which is by interpretation, A stone.”
Jesus had evidently changed Simon’s name, meaning “God has heard,” to “Cephas/Peter,” meaning “smaller rock” or “stone”, when Jesus first called him as a disciple and then reiterated it upon Peter’s confession of faith. It is also worth noting that “barjona” actually means son of Jonah. Peter and the prophet Jonah were both Galileans.
It was Peter who declared that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16-18). Jesus replied to him as “Simon son of Jonah,” saying that he was blessed because God had revealed Jesus’ identity as Messiah to him. Although Jesus then referred to him as “Peter” (a stone), we unequivocally know that it is Jesus Who is the Foundation Rock (the Chief Corner Stone) upon Whom the church would be built. Christ builds his church upon himself, His person and work…Jesus is the Petra.
We should also remember that all believers, of whom Peter was the forerunner, are considered to be “lively stones”, and that description of the believers was scribed by none other than “Peter” (the stone) himself in 1 Peter 2:5-8, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ¶Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.“
And let us not forget what we find in Ephesians 2:19-22, “¶Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief [cornerstone]; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
(For more on that new “spiritual house” and the “new Jerusalem”, please see: The Holy Temple of God.)
#7. Saul to Paul
Saul, who is referred to as “Saul, of Tarsus” in Acts 9:11, was likely named after King Saul, the first king of Israel following the period of the Judges. That conclusion is derived from the fact that Saul, like King Saul, are both from the tribe of Benjamin. We know that Paul is from the tribe of Benjamin because of what we read in Romans 11:1, where Paul writes, “¶I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” Paul provided some additional details about himself in Acts 22:3, “I am verily a man [which am] a Jew, born in Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia.”
“Saul” in the original Hebrew is שָׁאוּל (šā’ûl)H7586 means “desired”. There is reason to believe Saul had been quite proud of his Jewish heritage, given the way he described his former self in Philippians 3:5, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;” Such pride would help to underscore the basis of his zeal for persecuting Christians. And it should be remembered that Jesus specifically addressed him directly by the name “Saul” as Jesus’ persecutor, as God recorded three times in Acts 9:4, Acts 22:7, and Acts 26:14.
Unlike the changing of Simon’s name to Peter (Matthew 16:16-18), which Jesus did for Jesus’ glory and for our edification, there is no Biblical reference providing the precise basis for the changing of Saul’s name to Paul.
However, Acts 13:9 describes the Apostle thusly, “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,).” From that verse on, Saul is always referred to in Scripture as “Paul.”
After that time, Paul identified himself as “the apostle of the Gentiles,” (Romans 11:13,) and chose to adopt the Roman (Gentile) name. “Paul”, is from the Greek Παῦλος (paulos)G3972, which means “small or little”, possibly indicative of being diminutive in stature, but more likely a reference to Paul’s new found humility after his conversion, which was not reflected earlier by his more pride filled Jewish name and previous life. There is also some logic to consider that a Gentile name would make it easier for Paul to become “all things to all men” in his mission field in the Gentile world as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all [men], that I might by all means save some.” In any case, it is clear that (following the dramatic conversion that took place in the the life of Saul in Damascus, and with his mission field being to the Gentiles), such a change to the new name, Paul, was certainly appropriate.
Conclusion: All things are Made New in Heaven, Including Being Given a New Name
The purpose for God’s changing a person’s, or people’s, name is to highlight a significant change, the conversion of the soul, that has, or will have, taken place from God’s perspective. That name change signifies a putting off of the “old (carnal) man” to a “new incarnate” (“born again”) spiritual man”. Moreover it has spiritual implications for all believers who are also the elect of God and form the Body of Christ that is His Church for whom Jesus died. They are raised from a spiritual death to newness of life everlasting.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature:old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new“.
Remember what God tells us in Isaiah about the new name of God’s elect, the eternal Israel. In Isaiah 62:2-4, “And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah (“my delight is in her”), and thy land Beulah (“married”): for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.” Then the last verse in Isaiah, Chapter 62, verse 12, says, “And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.“
Remember also that as the Good Shepherd, Jesus has the prerogative of naming His sheep, as we read in John 10:5, “But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth themout. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him:for they know not the voice of strangers.”
Revelation 2:17, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth [it].”
Revelation 3:5, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3:12, “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.
Revelation 3:21, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.“
Revelation 21:7, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.“
More “Newness” can be found in these verses:
- Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
- Romans 7:6, “But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.”
- Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
- Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;“
- Revelation 21:5, “And he (Jesus Christ) that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
The New Heavens and the New Earth
Just as all believers will be converted and spiritually changed, and made new and given a new name, so will their habitation be made entirely new, as we read in the following three sets of verses:
- Isaiah 65:17, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.“
- Isa 66:22, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”
- 2 Peter 3:10-13, “¶But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye to be in [all] holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
The new name reveals God’s Divine Plan while assuring the believers that they are truly converted/changed and “born again” by God the Holy Spirit, such that God’s plan would be fulfilled in them for His Glory and to signify that His elect are indeed made new again and fit for living with Him in the new heavens and the new earth.
And please also remember that, even in this temporal life, if a person is born again (“quickened” or made alive in the spirit by God the Holy Spirit), then they will also “speak with new tongues” (preaching the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ) as we read in Mark 16:17, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”.
Explore posts in the same categories: Bible Studies
Bereansearching Bible Studies 
Leave a comment