THE BIBLE’S CODED MESSAGES
- samshmn
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
In this post I will share a way in which God provides clues that the Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit by taking the case of John the Baptist and his parents and the implication of their names.
Here’s what Luke writes in regards to the lineage and situation of the Baptist’s parents and the annunciation of his upcoming birth:
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah, and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.” Luke 1:5-7
And:
“And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” Luke 1:11-17
The name Zechariah in Hebrew means “remembered by Yah,” or Yahweh remembered:
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
Zachariah, Zechariah
Or Zkaryahuw {zek-ar-yaw’-hoo}; from zakar and Yahh; Jah has remembered; Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine Israelites — Zachariah, Zechariah.
see HEBREW zakar
Strong’s Concordance
zakar: remember
Original Word: זָכַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: zakar
Phonetic Spelling: (zaw-kar’)
Definition: remember
see HEBREW Yahh
Strong’s Concordance
Yah: the name of the God of Israel
Original Word: יָהּ
Part of Speech: Proper Name
Transliteration: Yah
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw)
Definition: the name of the God of Israel
Elizabeth’s Hebrew name means “(my) God of an/the oath”:
Strong’s Concordance
Elisheba: “God is an oath,” the wife of Aaron
Original Word: אֱלִישֶׁבַע
Part of Speech: Proper Name Feminine
Transliteration: Elisheba
Phonetic Spelling: (el-ee-sheh’-bah)
Definition: “God is an oath”, the wife of Aaron
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
Definition
“God is an oath,” the wife of Aaron
NASB Translation
Elisheba (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
אֱלִישֶׁבַע
proper name, feminine (God is an oath, by which one swears, compare Isaiah 19:18; Amos 8:14; Zephaniah 1:5) wife of Aaron Exodus 6:23; = Ἐλεισαβεθ ᵐ5, compare Luke 1:7.
And here’s the meaning of John’s Hebrew name:
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
Johanan
A form of Yhowchanan; Jochanan, the name of nine Israelites — Johanan.
see HEBREW Yhowchanan
Strong’s Concordance
Yehochanan: “the LORD has been gracious,” the name of a number of Isr., also a son of Tobiah
Original Word: יְהוֹחָנָן
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Yehochanan
Phonetic Spelling: (yeh-ho-khaw-nawn’)
Definition: “the LORD has been gracious”, the name of a number of Isr., a lso a son of Tobiah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
Definition
“the LORD has been gracious,” the name of a number of Isr., also a son of Tobiah
This is how one lexicon defines Hebrew term chanan:
chanan
Strong’s Concordance
chanan: beseech
Original Word: חָנַן
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: chanan
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-nan’)
Definition: to show favor, be gracious
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. חָנַן verb shew favour, be gracious (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic חֲנַן; Arabicyearn towards, long for, be merciful, compassionate, favourable, inclined towards; Sabean חן in proper name חן מסבררהם DHMEpigr. Denkm. 40; Phoenician חנן in חן favour, and proper name as אלחנן, חננבעל; Assyrian in derivatives annu, grace, favour, unninu, têninu nannu, id., LotzTP ZimBP 23, 66) —
Note again the meaning of these names: Zechariah (“Yah remembers”), Elizabeth (“God of an oath”), John (“Yahweh has been merciful/compassionate/gracious”).
With the foregoing in perspective notice what the Holy Spirit inspired Zechariah to say after his son John was born:
“And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He visited and accomplished redemption for His people, And raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant—As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—Salvation from our enemies, And from the hand of all who hate us, To show mercy (heleos) toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, For you will go on before the Lord to make ready His ways, To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To direct our feet into the way of peace.’” Luke 1:67-79
The Greek term for mercy also means compassion: Strong’s Greek 1656.
Here’s where we see the Spirit at work:
“To show mercy (Jochanan) toward our fathers, And to remember (Zekaryah) His holy covenant, The oath (Elisheba) which He swore to Abraham our father,” Luke 1:72-73
It is apparent that the Spirit moved Zechariah to employ the phrases “mercy,” “remember,” and “oath,” in order to make the connection with the names of John and his parents. The Baptist and his parents were all signs of God’s having remembered the oath he had made to the fathers which he was now graciously fulfilling though the miraculous birth of John, whom God appointed to be the forerunner to the Messiah Jesus!
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