TIP OF THE DAY 42: Filling in some gaps: onomastics and numbers in group names

MJ. Smith · October 28

link to next post TIP OF THE DAY 43: Name: Grammatical roles clause search - Logos Forums

Since the forum change has been delayed, I've started adding these posts to the previous tip list. See L/V 10 Tip of the Day

Sorry, but I need a bit more time for the grammatical roles post so you'll get some filling in on the holes of topics previously covered.

QUESTION: What is onomastics and its subfields?

ANSWER: from Wikipedia:

Onomastics (or onomatology in older texts) is the study of proper names, including their etymology, history, and use.

An alethonym ('true name') or an orthonym ('real name') is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Scholars studying onomastics are called onomasticians.

Onomastics has applications in data mining, with applications such as named-entity recognition, or recognition of the origin of names. It is a popular approach in historical research, where it can be used to identify ethnic minorities within populations and for the purpose of prosopography.

Etymology

Onomastics originates from the Greek onomastikós (ὀνομαστικός, 'of or belonging to naming'), itself derived from ónoma (ὄνομα, 'name').

Branches

Toponymy (or more precisely toponomastics), one of the principal branches of onomastics, is the study of place names.^]
Anthroponomastics is the study of personal names.
Literary onomastics is the branch that researches the names in works of literature and other fiction.
Socio-onomastics or re-onomastics is the study of names within a society or culture.

QUESTION: What onomastics resources and scholars should I know?

SOFTWARE: See Tyndale House Old Testament Onomastics Project. I can find no similar project for the deuterocanonical or the New Testament. Scholars with a particular interest in names include:

Richard Bauckham
Kenneth Kitchen
Alan Millard
Donald Wiseman
Matthew L. Bowen e.g. "Ominous Onomastics: Symbolic Naming and Paronomasia in Old Testament Prophecy" (download) in Prophets and Prophecies of the Old Testament. Aaron P. Schade, Brian M. Hauglid, and Kerry Muhlestein, Editors. Provo, UT:RSC/BYU Deseret Book Company, 2017 and Name as Key-Word, Collected Essays on Onomastic Wordplay and the Temple in Mormon Scripture. Orem,UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2018.
Oliviu Felecan e.g. Onomastics between Sacred and Profane. Wilmington, DE:Vernon Press, 2018.

QUESTION: How do I make a collection of works in Logos/Verbum that utilize onomastics?

Skill: Collections

Software: In Logos/Verbum make a collection of books based on the authors you know and the subject of onomastics.

Open the tools menu from the application toolbar.
Using the Search bar at the top of the tools menu, type collections or navigate Tools > Library > Collections.
Open Collections. Note that it defaults to a new collection.
Replace the title “Unnamed Collection” with “Method - Onomastic scholars works” or other title of your choice.
I built a rule of subject:onomastics OR author:("Bauckham, Richard", "Kitchen, Kenneth", "Millard, Alan", "Wiseman, Donald", "Bowen, Matthew L.", "Felecan, Oliviu") Note that this is a library screening statement not a Search panel search argument in its format. The “subject:onomatics” is included solely as a sign of hope that at some point Logos/Verbum may offer such a resource. In the authors, I only have two of the authors in my library but by including them, the collection will automatically update to include their works if I were to purchase them.
Because I have seen good results from the Faithlife Study Bible more frequently than other books in my library, I add it by:
1. Open library panel.
2. In the Find books box enter “Faithlife Study Bible.”
3. Drag and drop the book from the library into the “Plus these books” section of the collection
4. Close the collection. It is now available as a collection to which you can limit your search.
5. Note that I can add individual books or authors as I run across them by updating my collection rule or books added/subtracted from it.

QUESTION: What are the uses of personal names in the Bible i.e. what uses am I looking for?

ANSWER: from Perplexity

Names in the Bible serve several important purposes beyond just designating individuals:

Symbolic Meanings

Many Biblical names have symbolic or prophetic meanings that reveal something about the person's character or destiny. For example:

- Adam means "man" or "mankind", reflecting his role as the first human.

- Abraham means "father of many", foreshadowing his role as patriarch of the Israelites.

- Jesus means "Savior", indicating his mission to save people from sin.

Wordplay and Puns

Biblical authors sometimes use names as opportunities for wordplay or puns. For instance:

- The name Isaac means "laughter", playing on Abraham and Sarah's laughter of disbelief when told they would have a son in old age.

- Jacob means "he grasps the heel", referring to how he was born grasping his twin brother's heel.

Revealing Character

Names are often used to reveal something about a person's nature or role:

- Nabal means "fool", reflecting his foolish actions.

- Peter (meaning "rock") was given this name by Jesus to indicate Peter's role as a foundational leader in the early church.

Divine Renaming

God sometimes renames individuals to signify a change in their identity or calling:

- Abram ("exalted father") was renamed Abraham ("father of many").

- Jacob ("supplanter") was renamed Israel ("he struggles with God").

Theological Significance

Names, especially God's names, can carry deep theological meaning:

- Names containing "El" or "Yah" (like Michael, Daniel, Jeremiah) incorporate God's name to honor Him.

- The name "I AM" revealed to Moses expresses God's eternal self-existence.

Authority and Representation

Acting in someone's name meant acting with their authority:

- Prophets spoke "in the name of God" to indicate divine authority.

- Believers are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In summary, Biblical names go far beyond mere labels, often conveying rich layers of meaning related to identity, character, calling, and theological truth.[1]

[1] https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/why-are-names-so-important-in-the-bible.html and https://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/topical.show/RTD/cgg/ID/557/Name.htm and https://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0522/p18s1.html and https://christoetdoctrinae.com/articles/av2c9sy5houybcx04mdz1vzs8nbqyc and https://faithgateway.com/blogs/christian-books/names-reveal-value-and-meaning and https://blog.compassion.com/the-importance-of-names/ and https://ourdailybread.org/resources/whats-in-a-name/

QUESTION₄₂: Are the number of members of a group significant?

ANSWER: from Meynell, Mark. What Angels Long to Read: Reading and Preaching the New Testament. Carlisle, Cumbria: Langham Preaching Resources, 2017.

A single people group has become a global, united nations, just as God promised Abraham (Gen 17:3–6).

But why 144,000?

As is clear from the Old Testament, God created Israel with twelve tribes, each descended from a son of Jacob. So twelve has a similar significance to seven—both are numbers of completion. In order to give a sense of the size of the crowds, the numbers are multiplied by 1,000. Thus we find 12 × 12,000 comes to 144,000.

Can you work out the significance of these numbers?

24 elders on 24 thrones (4:4). Clue: 12 is significant in the New Testament as well as the OT!
42 months (11:2). Clue: = 3½ years, (half of 7), suggesting it is not an infinite length
10 days (2:10). Clue: a round, limited number.^{^[1]}

From Boxall, Ian. Matthew through the Centuries. Edited by John Sawyer, Christopher Rowland, Judith Kovacs, and David M. Gunn. Wiley Blackwell Bible Commentaries. Hoboken, NJ; West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2019.

Attention to numerical symbolism is common to both ancient and modern interpreters, and often feeds into salvation‐historical interpretations. For Hilary of Poitiers, the five loaves represent the five books of Torah, the two fish the preaching of the prophets and John the Baptist, and the 12 baskets the 12 apostles. The 5000 matches the number of Israelites who believed the gospel at Acts 4:4. Jerome concurs that the number five stands for the Law, though is less sure whether the two fish symbolize the two Testaments, or are another symbol for the Law (on the grounds, which he does not explain, that two is an even number). The number of baskets was to ensure that each apostle received one. Theophylact will later draw out the logical conclusion: this included Judas Iscariot, though he later failed to remember the miracle when he betrayed Jesus. Theophylact continues the earlier instinct to allegorize, albeit arriving at some different conclusions. Thus the 5000 represent those who are sick in their five senses. The two fish symbolize the words of the fishermen, i.e. the Gospel and the Epistles (presumably he means John and Peter). Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between the literal meaning of the numbers, and their mystical sense. On the literal level, the small number of loaves and fish reveal the detachment of the apostles from earthly concerns, and their wholehearted attachment to the word of God. Figuratively, he follows many of his predecessors in identifying the five loaves with the Mosaic Law; the two fish stand for the Psalms and the prophets.

The numbers associated with the feeding of the 4000 receive a similar treatment. Hilary is an early example of those who find here an anticipation of Gentile conversion. There are seven loaves and seven baskets, he argued, because the pagans do not receive salvation by the Law and the prophets, but by the sevenfold grace of the Spirit (see Isa 11:2–3). That Matthew is not specific over the number of fish in this second feeding (‘a few’) points to the manifold charisms that the Spirit distributes. The 4000 people represent the multitude gathered from the four parts of the earth, anticipating the future spread of the church. Jerome is less precise, although his comments also imply universality: he notes that seven is a perfect number, while four symbolizes stability, like the fourfold Gospel. For Theophylact, followed by Aquinas, the 4000 signify those who have become perfect in the four universal or cardinal virtues (courage, prudence, justice, and self‐control). Like Hilary, Theophylact sees in the seven loaves and baskets the seven gifts of the Spirit. Aquinas elaborates further: the seven loaves signify the new law of Christ, formed by the sevenfold gift.^{^[2]}

QUESTION₄₂: Give examples of interpretation of a group name that is likely symbolic rather than referring to a fixed set of individuals.

SOFTWARE: A book search on “seven shepherds” offered many options including these. The examples are chosen to illustrate the possible context in which these texts were first heard.

ANSWER: from Glazerson, Matityahu. Above the Zodiac: Astrology in Jewish Thought. Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1996.

The letter Vav of Iyar symbolizes Joseph, the sixth of the seven “shepherds” of the Jewish people (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David), who correspond to the seven attributes of grace, power, beauty, victory, glory, foundation, and kingdom.^{^[3]}

From Ferreiro, Alberto. “Introduction to the Twelve Prophets.” In The Twelve Prophets, edited by Alberto Ferreiro. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003.

Seven Shepherds and Eight Princes. Ishoʿdad of Merv: “We will raise against them seven shepherds and eight princes.” By means of the events that happened in the days of Hezekiah, at the time of the ruin of the Assyrians, Micah provides information about those things that will happen through the agency of Zerubbabel toward the people of the house of Gog. By the numbers seven and eight he has indicated the complete and total destruction that befell the Assyrians through the intervention of the angel. The allusion is to the words of Ecclesiastes: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what evil may happen on earth.”

However, others suppose that he means by “seven shepherds” the prophets who lived before the invasion of the Assyrians, who prophesied their ruin, and that he means by the “eight princes of men” Hezekiah and the princes who assisted him.…

The phrase “seven shepherds” may indicate the fullness of the punishment that the Assyrians will undergo through the agency of the angel, while “eight bites of men” indicates what was in store for the survivors after their flight. What happened was that the Assyrian king was murdered by his sons and the others were exterminated by their fellow citizens.… From the spiritual point of view the verse applies to Satan, the abolisher of the law and the gospel, who was defeated by the prophets, the apostles and the angels. Commentary on Micah.^{^[4]}

From Sailer, William, J. Creighton Christman, David C. Greulich, Harold P. Scanlin, Stephen J. Lennox, and Phillip Guistwite. Religious and Theological Abstracts. Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts, 2012.

Cathcart, Kevin J. “MICAH 5, 4–5 AND SEMITIC INCANTATIONS.” Biblica 1978, Vol. 59 (1), pp: 38–48. ISSN: 0006–0887

The expression “seven shepherds and eight chiefs of men” in Micah 5:4 is to be interpreted in light of formulas involving the numbers 7 and 8 in Phoenician and Aramaic incantations. The thought is that the evil Assyria planned for Judah will come upon him. The words are possibly those of Judean false prophets, who trust in divination and magic.^{^[5]}

From Lanier, Gregory R. Corpus Christologicum: Texts and Translations for the Study of Jewish Messianism and Early Christology. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Academic: An Imprint of Hendrickson Publishing Group, 2021.

“And this will be their peace: Assyria, when it comes upon our land, and when it treads upon our palaces, then we will raise against it seven shepherds and eight princes of men.”⁴ Who are these seven shepherds?

David in the middle; Adam, Seth, and Methuselah at his right

Abraham, Jacob, and Moses at his left. And who are these eight princes of men? Jesse, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, the Messiah, and Elijah.

From Neusner, Jacob. The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011.

14. II:16: “And the Lord showed me four craftsmen” (Zech. 2:3): Who were the four craftsmen? The Messiah, son of David, and the Messiah, son of Joseph, and Elijah, and the righteous priest.

15. II:17: “And this shall be peace: when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise up against him seven shepherds and eight princes among men” (Mic. 5:4). Who are the seven shepherds? And who are the eight princes among men? Jesse, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, the Messiah, and Elijah.^{^[7]}

From Simkovich, Malka Z. “The Minor Prophets in Early Judaism.” In The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets, edited by Julia M. O’Brien, 229–242. Oxford Handbooks. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.

One legend interprets Micah’s promise to raise against the incoming Assyrians “seven shepherds and eight installed as rulers” as alluding to Amos, who is one of the eight rulers mentioned in the verse (Mic 5:5; b. Sukkah 52b, Pirḳe R. ha-Ḳadosh). Although there is no indication that Amos and Micah interacted, the association of some of the minor prophets with one another is a trope that often surfaces in rabbinic literature. Amos, and by association Micah, would become known as prophets who envisioned a final restoration in the coming messianic age.

Skill: Recognize graded numerical sayings

From Stewart, Alexander E. Reading the Book of Revelation: Five Principles for Interpretation. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2021.

The idea that the seven, even eight, heads represent oppressive rulers throughout history is strengthened by recognizing a Hebrew poetic device that has been labeled “graded numerical sayings.”¹ Proverbs 6:16 provides a classic example: “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him.” Ecclesiastes 11:2 says, “Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” Micah 5:5 states, “We will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.” These examples are close parallels to the addition of an eighth king to the seven even though it does not naturally arise from the original symbol of a beast with seven heads. The point is not the literal number eight but that seven, even eight, brings a sense of fullness, completion, and finality to the symbol.^{^[9]}

^{^[1]} Mark Meynell, What Angels Long to Read: Reading and Preaching the New Testament (Carlisle, Cumbria: Langham Preaching Resources, 2017), 192.

^{^[2]} Ian Boxall, Matthew through the Centuries, ed. John Sawyer et al., Wiley Blackwell Bible Commentaries (Hoboken, NJ; West Sussex, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2019), 235.

^{^[3]} Matityahu Glazerson, Above the Zodiac: Astrology in Jewish Thought (Lanham, MD: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1996).

^{^[4]} Alberto Ferreiro, “Introduction to the Twelve Prophets,” in The Twelve Prophets, ed. Alberto Ferreiro, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 167–168.

^{^[5]} William Sailer et al., Religious and Theological Abstracts (Myerstown, PA: Religious and Theological Abstracts, 2012).

⁴ ושמנה נסיכי אדם … והיה זה שלום | Quoting Mic 5:4

Gregory R. Lanier, Corpus Christologicum: Texts and Translations for the Study of Jewish Messianism and Early Christology (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Academic: An Imprint of Hendrickson Publishing Group, 2021), 571–572.

^{^[7]} Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 5b (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), 280.

Malka Z. Simkovich, “The Minor Prophets in Early Judaism,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets, ed. Julia M. O’Brien, Oxford Handbooks (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021), 232.

¹ On this see Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy: Studies in the Book of Revelation (Edinburgh: Clark, 1993), 405.

^{^[9]} Alexander E. Stewart, Reading the Book of Revelation: Five Principles for Interpretation (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2021), 159–160.