Jesus hidden in the meaning of names

Have you ever scanned over the genealogies of the Bible thinking that they consist merely of a list of names which does not mean much to you? Think again.

Even in the list of names, the genealogies, God took special care to hide the story about His Beloved Son, Jesus. Today, we will have a look at Genesis 5 and see what those names reveal to us.

“When Adam had lived…he had a son in his own likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth…When Seth was 105 years old, Enosh was born….When Enosh was 90 years old, Kenan was born to him…When Kenan was 70 years old, Mahalalel was born….When Mahalalel was 65 years old, Jared was born….When Jared was 162 years old, Enoch was born….When Enoch was 65 years old, Methuselah was born….When Methuselah was 187 years old, Lamech was born to him….When Lamech was 182 years old, a son was born. He named him Noah….” (Genesis 5:3-29 AMPC)

The meaning of each name is as follows:

Adam means man.

Seth means appointed.

Enos means mortal.

Kenan means sorrow.

Mahalalel means the blessed or praising God.

Jared means descent or shall come down.

Enoch means teaching.

Methuselah means his death shall bring.

Lamech means the despairing

Noah means rest, comfort.

If we put all the pieces together, we see, “Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God (who is Jesus) shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest”.

How amazing? Even in a list of names we see the God’s Grace in the person of Jesus descending to earth to give us eternal life.

The next time you read a list of names in the Bible, stop for a moment and lookup their meanings and ask God to reveal Jesus and the deeper meaning hidden in His Word. You will be amazed.

Maretha Retief

Illustration by Jeanne de Villiers