Channels, Fall 2018

Page 22 Yost • Speech Act of Naming While the accuracy of the two positions is debatable, it is clear that “the ancient Hebrew considered his name exceedingly important” (Bardis, 1972, p. 101). Davids (n.d., para. 10; citing Speiser 1964) writes, “Names were regarded not only as labels but also as symbols, magical keys, as it were, to the nature and essence of the given being or thing,” and Bardis writes, “Even mere knowledge of a man’s name includes a strange power over its bearer” (1972, p. 102). The Hebrew Perspective It is widely accepted that naming occurs most often as an act of a mother in the biblical Hebrew context (Davids, n.d.; Teubal, 1995; Bridge, 2014; Bardis, 1972). Teubal suggests that this is because “in biblical times… children were named the moment they were born – by mothers and midwives who chose names appropriate to the conditions, or their perceptions, of appearance as they are born” (1995, para. 17). Bridge (2014) notes that this connection may be due to the narrative style, but support seems to be evident, nonetheless. Bardis (1972) affirms that the act was one held most often by parents as those superior to the one being named. An exception might be names given later in life at significant moments of change. This practice is suggested primarily by Wilson (2017) and Bardis. Teubal (1995) suggests, “Naming implies creation, the act of bringing into existence” (para. 18). Bardis (1972) similarly points out that “a name did not only distinguish its bearer, but it also indicated his essence, thus creating a name-existence identity. In other words, namelessness implied nonexistence” (Bardis, 1972, p. 102). The act of naming, then, is very significant, and both Davids (n.d.) and Teubal connect it to God’s own divine creative nature using naming as a way of bringing order (Davids, n.d.). Davids further states, “God gave human beings the ability and power to name” (n.d., para. 18). It is, in fact, a power as “the act of naming… places the name- giver in authority over the name- bearer ” (Teubal, 1995, para. 3). As an interesting side note, Teubal and Bardis use this all as evidence pointing to the authority and power held by women in this patriarchal society. Scripture also points to the significance of names in Hebrew culture. Often, a name was given in connection with prophecy either by a mother (Davids, n.d.), a prophet with his own children (Bardis, 1972), or a “divine announcements to a barren woman conceiving” (Bridge, 2014, p. 396-397). Symbolism was also sometimes involved in these names (Bardis, 1972). At times, God himself named a person. Bardis (1972) points out that he carefully named those he chose, and when he changed a person’s name, “the metamorphosis was cataclysmic” (p. 108), whether positively or negatively. Schneider (2009), however, in quoting the author of the article Science and Faith , argues that God reveals in his own name for himself “the irrelevance of all divine names” (para. 12). As this is not the majority opinion, I will work from the assumption that names were meaningful and important in Hebrew culture. Based on this literature, I still assert that naming presented in the Old Testament is a speech act that is subject to specific rules and carries great importance. Now, I will add my own contribution to this discussion.