Dear friend,
I was named Angela because my Mom liked the name; prompted by the actress who played the sweet, bookworm daughter of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Angela Cartwright. Over the years, I’ve come to identify with the etymological meaning of my name, messenger of God.
(You can learn more about that on my other Substack, by the way;
.)Thunderstruck
Today as I write this, James the Elder (el Mayor) is memorialized worldwide. His personality and life’s journey strike me as extremely relevant in today’s social and cultural climate. I’ve also had his picture on my office door for years.
Originally his name in Aramaic is ܝܥܩܘܒ or Yaʿqōv, so it kinda makes more sense to call him Jacob. I also like the Spanish translation — Santiago, as his story stretches from Palestine and Jerusalem to Hispania (the Iberian peninsula).
He and his little brother John were the sons of Zebedee and Salome, a family of some means who profited from the local fishing industry. They were business partners with Simon Peter and cousins of Jesus. (Tradition says that Salome was either a sister or half-sister of Jesus’ mother.)
One of the meanings of the name Jacob is “follower”. (This comes from the etymology, but we’ll get to that.) After Simon and his brother Andrew left their boats at Jesus’ beckoning, Jacob/James and John followed suit. They up-and-left their father in the boat with the hired men. (Truly a wowzer moment at such a time and place.) I imagine Zebedee’s puzzled expression as he watched his sons wade away through the lake as the sunlight sparkled on the water.
The brothers became part of Jesus’ inner circle of followers — not just as apostles but as the ‘Big Three’ (along with Simon Peter) whom Jesus allowed to experience extraordinary events, such as his curing of Simon’s ill mother-in-law, his raising a little girl from death’s grip, his symbolically significant transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and his intensely stressful time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before being arrested and killed by the State.
As part of the Inner Circle, you could say that James was one of the ultimate followers of Jesus.
Well… That’s where it gets real human, real quick.
Despite Jesus’ many teachings about the primacy of humility and spiritual meekness, James and John just didn’t seem to ‘get it’... Jesus nicknamed them Boanerges — Sons of Thunder, which I imagine was his teasing way of underlining their bold personalities.
My favorite anecdote (which always has me awkwardly laughing during Mass in disbelief) is from their travels accompanying Jesus through a Samaritan village. Imagine walking through a town where everyone seems different from you in every possible way, and everyone shuts the door in your face as you seek rest, shelter, or food. That’s what happened to them.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.1
Their assumptive nature amuses me, is relatable, and is also absolutely ridiculous.
I can’t help but try to picture Jesus’ face as he ‘turned and rebuked them’. Only a few verses earlier in the Gospel, Jesus had dedicated a stretch of time teaching them exactly how to deal with this very situation!
“And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them.”2
In other words, don’t let that hurtful experience weigh you down; don’t even take the dust of those streets with you on the rest of your journey. Move forward. Keep your eyes on your mission. Guard your heart from malintent.
Eventually, James got it. He “followed” Jesus to the very end, and was beheaded by King Agrippa as a threat to the Romans’ peacekeeping (because he preached the Gospel of Jesus).
What A Heel
By folk tradition, the name Jacob in Hebrew comes from the story of how the original Jacob was born.
Next his brother came out, gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.3
Yaʿqōv has been interpreted as meaning ‘one who grabs a heel.’ (Thus, the meaning of “Follower” described above with James.)
Yaʿqōv can also be said to derive from the Semitic word meaning ‘guard’ or ‘protect’.
However, it is because of who the Genesis Jacob became that the name took on even more meaning.
If you search the name now, Jacob also means Supplanter, because he schemed to gain his brother’s inheritance.
Jacob’s relationship with God changes because of his struggle with God; he literally wrestles with an angel. Afterwards, God changes Jacob’s name to Israel (one who contended with God).
From that time on, God’s name changes, too, in a way. God is known as “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” from then on.
Et tu?
My point is this:
There is something in your name — some meaning(s), but there is also something in your life’s story which will change the meaning of your name forever.
I think that’s really beautiful, powerful, and a gift for a human being to possess.
Tell me about your name. What does it mean to you, right now?
Peace,
Angela
Luke 9:54-56
Luke 9:5
Genesis 25:26
I wrote about my name, and how it caused me trouble while crossing the Jordan River, on my Substack! https://jordandenariduffner.substack.com/p/whats-in-a-name-stories-of-interrogation
I love Onomastics! Whenever I hear someone has a baby i immediately look up its meaning. Or if I am trying to encourage someone i’ll look it up too and share it with them.
My name is Benjamin Blaise Ziemann.
Benjamin= son of my right hand.
Blaise=to stutter.
Ziemann=one who is famous for his victory.
So I take it to mean. God is pleased for making me, I struggle and have some limitations(bipolar) that are out of my control, but i’ll have victory in this life and that will give more credit to God.
My son’s full name means “the greatest, warlike/warrior, one who is famous for his victory.” See if you can figure that one out 😀. It wasn’t planned like that but is just the way it naturally came out. It is pretty epic.