Channels, Fall 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 3 • Number 1 Page 27 Case Studies After I designed the schema through extended word study, definition, and analysis, I began testing. I chose nine instances of naming in the Old Testament that included the presence of both qārāʾ and šēm to serve as case studies in which I could test my schema. I looked for instances of each of the following categories: naming instituted by a human (Genesis 29:32- 30:24; Exodus 2:22; 1 Samuel 1:20), naming instituted by God (Genesis 17:19; 2 Samuel 12:25, Hosea 1:4, 6, and 9), renaming instituted by a human (Genesis 41:45; Numbers 13:16 2 ), and renaming instituted by God (Genesis 32:28, 35:10). While many acts of naming occur in the book of Genesis, I intentionally chose an example for each category from other books of the Old Testament when possible to offer a fuller representation. Commentaries looking at the act of naming involved in each passage helped me test my schema in each context for its variables and conditions. Results I tested the schema in nine different passages which served as case studies. Genesis 29:32- 30:24 records a series of acts of naming the children of Jacob. While I looked at each instance individually, this passage served as one case study. In Exodus 2:22, Moses names his first son, and 1 Samuel 1:20 records Hannah naming Samuel, for whom she prayed. These three passages serve as examples of naming instituted by a human. Genesis 17:19 records God’s promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah, who was to be named Isaac. 2 Samuel 12:25 provides an interesting account of God giving a second name to David’s son, Solomon, through his prophet, Nathan. In Hosea 1:4, 6, and 9, God commands Hosea to give names to each of his three children. These three passages serve as examples of naming instituted by God. Genesis 41:45 records Pharaoh giving Joseph a new name and in Numbers 13:16, Moses renames Joshua. These both serve as examples of renaming instituted by a human. Finally, Genesis 32:28 and 35:10 record the renaming of Jacob as instituted by God. While this is not the only occurrence of God renaming, I chose to focus on just one as the others occur in Genesis as well. In testing the variables in these passages, I found the recorded presence of a name-giver (U) and a community (C) in all nine. A name-receiver (X) and the actual effect of naming (E) were present in all but Genesis 17:19, where X was promised to come and therefore the act could not be fully completed. Interestingly, a naming sentence (S) is only recorded when God is the U. However, as all examples demonstrate the eventual and successful act of naming, S is implied. If S were not present, E would not have occurred. Related, the intention of naming (O) is only explicit in Hosea 1 and Genesis 32 and 35. This is deeply connected to the presence of S, so it is similarly implied in the other passages. In the remaining case of Genesis 17:19, the intent is present but is for the future, which makes it not as explicit as the other two. This information can be found in Table 1 in the appendices. 2 Numbers 13:16 does not in fact use the word šēm like the other eight passages, but the act was clear enough and interesting enough that I still included it.