God's Messages to Us

[architectlink]

We are blessed to have an incredible bible scholar pastor in our church who could be making MILLIONS of dollars if he devoted his time to making movies or writing books...but he teaches the word of God to us!

That said, he pointed out what the HEBREW meanings of the first ten names of the bible meant. Pretty interesting when you put the names into a sentence and listen to what God is saying through these first generations:

Genesis 5
From Adam to Noah

Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mahalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah


Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The Blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His death shall bring
Lamech The despairing
Noah Rest, or comfort

[architectlink]

Adam

The first name, Adam, comes from adomah, and means "man." As the first man, that seems straightforward enough.

Seth

Adam's son was named Seth, which means "appointed." When he was born Eve said, "For God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."

Enosh

Seth's son was called Enosh, which means "mortal," "frail," or "miserable." It is from the root anash: to be incurable; used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness. (It was in the days of Enosh that men began to defile the name of the Living God.1 )

Kenan

Enosh's son was named Kenan, from which can mean "sorrow," dirge," or "elegy." (The precise denotation is somewhat elusive; some study aids unfortunately presume an Aramaic root synonymous with "Cainan.") Balaam, looking down from the heights of Moab, employed a pun upon the name of the Kenites when he prophesied their destruction.2

Mahalalel

Kenan's son was Mahalalel, from mahalal, which means "blessed" or "praise"; and El, the name for God. Thus, Mahalalel means "the Blessed God." Often Hebrew names included El, the name of God, as Dani-el, "God is my Judge," Nathani-el, "Gift of God," etc.

Jared

Mahalalel's son was named Jared, from the verb yaradh, meaning "shall come down." Some authorities suggest that this might have been an allusion to the "Sons of God" who "came down" to corrupt the daughters of men, resulting in the Nephilim ("Fallen Ones") of Genesis 6.3

Enoch

Jared's son was named Enoch, which means "teaching," or "commencement." He was the first of four generations of preachers. In fact, the earliest recorded prophecy was by Enoch, which amazingly enough deals with the Second Coming of Christ.4

Methuselah

The Flood of Noah did not come as a surprise. It had been preached on for four generations. But something strange happened when Enoch was 65, from which time "he walked with God." Enoch was given a prophecy that as long as his son was alive, the judgment of the flood would be withheld; but as soon as he died, the flood would be sent forth.

Enoch named his son to reflect this prophecy. The name Methuselah comes from two roots: muth, a root that means "death"5 ; and from shalach, which means "to bring," or "to send forth." Thus, the name Methuselah signifies, "his death shall bring."6

And, indeed, in the year that Methuselah died, the flood came. Methuselah was 187 when he had Lamech, and lived 782 years more. Lamech had Noah when he was 182.7 The Flood came in Noah's 600th year.8 187 + 182 + 600 = 969, Methuselah's age when he died.9

It is interesting that Methuselah's life was, in effect, a symbol of God's mercy in forestalling the coming judgment of the flood. It is therefore fitting that his lifetime is the oldest in the Bible, symbolizing the extreme extensiveness of God's mercy.

Lamech

Methuselah's son was named Lamech, a root still evident today in our own English word, "lament" or "lamentation." Lamech suggests "despairing." (This name is also linked to the Lamech in Cain's line who inadvertently killed his son Tubal-Cain in a hunting incident. 10 )

Noah

Lamech, of course, is the father of Noah, which is derived from nacham , "to bring relief" or "comfort," as Lamech himself explains. 11

The Composite List

Now let's put it all together:

Hebrew English

Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The Blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His death shall bring
Lamech The despairing
Noah Rest, or comfort

[architectlink]

Man appointed mortal sorrow, the Blessed God shall come down, teaching His death shall bring the despairing Rest, or comfort.

Kind of interesting.

Kind of prophetic, huh?

[deafchristian]

Does Jonah mean dove?

[abner]

Thank you Jesus.

[Franklin]

The Composite List
Now let's put it all together:
Hebrew =--- English
Adam=------- Man
Seth =-------- Appointed
Enosh =------ Mortal
Kenan =---- Sorrow,
Mahalalel =- The Blessed God
Jared =------ Shall come down
Enoch =------ Teaching,
Methuselah=-His death shall bring
Lamech =---- The despairing
Noah = --------Comfort.
http://www.redshift.com/~becbobtr/adam.html

Did he tell you where he got his info?

[lighthouse]

yes it is not new
i heard this in the church i attended as well
but it is interesting

[Bystillwaters]

This is the first time I have heard it put this way. It's wonderful.

[Azariah]

This is fascinating. There is not a day that goes by that I do not learn something new from this message board. I am truly blessed.

I've always wondered what my Christian given name means.
Joseph = he shall add.

[ellie]

I read this teaching years ago, it has always blessed me and really makes you think what a name means.:D: