Channels, Fall 2018

Page 24 Yost • Speech Act of Naming publish read say shout spout summon With the multitude of occurrences and meanings, it is impossible to fully cover them all within this one study. From here, I present only the usage meaning “to name,” which is the technical term used for naming throughout the Old Testament (Schauerte, Hossfeld, Lamberty-Zielinski, Dahmen, & Kindl, 2004; Labuschagne, 1997). Most often, this particular meaning is constructed in one of the following ways: qrʾ šēm + acc. of the name; qrʾ šēm l e /ʾel ; qrʾ l e /ʾel ; or qrʾ b e šēm (Labuschagne, 1997; Jonker, 1997; Schauerte, et al., 2004). Additionally, these are all used in the Qal stem when presenting a specific act of naming. This occurs most frequently in the earlier books of the Old Testament. However, the Niphal stem is also sometimes used to demonstrate a name as a durative characteristic (Schauerte, et al., 2004). Looking to the more cultural, contextual usage, qārāʾ when meaning “to name” frequently involves a “demonstration of authority” (Jonker, 1997, p. 972) or “assertion of sovereignty” (Coppes, 1980, p. 810) over the name-receiver. A mother is the one frequently showing this authority, often naming immediately after birth. Examples contrary to this would be due to literary narrative purposes or the foreign status of a mother (Schauerte, Hossfeld, Lamberty-Zielinski, Dahmen, & Kindl, 2004). Jonker (1997), in quoting Ramsey’s 1988 study of name-giving constructions with qrʾ , states, “The OT narratives report that circumstances frequently influence the way people name individuals and places, but it is very difficult to identify a passage where the narrator suggests that the name given is intended to shape the character of the recipient (34)” (p. 973). In other words, Hebrews did not see naming as forming the identity of the receiver, but rather was shaped by the surrounding circumstances and events. Coppes (1980) points out that a name may in fact “[indicate] a primary characteristic of the thing named” (p. 810), but this is a description rather than a determiner. While Schauerte, Hossfeld, Lamberty-Zielinski, Dahmen, & Kindl (2004) presents Fichtner’s theory that “a name serves to define the nature of the entity named” (p. 127), Schauerte, et al. seem to take a more moderate stance saying, “a name does far more than simply label and distinguish different entities” (2004, p. 127), highlighting the significance if not the power. Other formations of names include a play on words, a confession, a personal evaluation, or even a recognition of an eternal truth (Coppes, 1980). Schauerte, Hossfeld, Lamberty-Zielinski, Dahmen, & Kindl (2004) also discuss the occurrence of renaming. Using the same word qārāʾ , we see theologically significant, central figures renamed. Most often, it is God who initiates this change. Other renamings, however, occur for symbolic purposes or cultural reasons (Schauerte, et al., 2004). To further understand qārāʾ , I also looked at šēm , the Hebrew word for “name”. They occur together 86 times in the Old Testament and together convey the act of naming. As written by Kaiser (1980), W. R. Smith thinks šēm is perhaps derived from an Arabic root meaning “to mark or brand,” ultimately a way of distinguishing one person from another. Bietenhard echoes this as restated by Ross (1997). While this is the base understanding, Ross also points out that culturally, a name was not only simply a means of identification, but “was