Read: Genesis 41: 46-56

Reflect:
In the Bible, names seem to be important. The book of Genesis, especially, seems to be full of names enriched with meaning. Names were bearers of the person’s identity, often saying something about that person’s character or their situation. For example, Isaac’s son Esau was so named simply because his name means ‘hairy’, which is what he was. His brother Jacob was so named because Jacob means ‘he grasps the heel’, which is a Hebrew idiom for ‘he deceives’. This seems appropriate as Jacob did a lot of “jacobing” in his life! Sometimes God gave new names to people to instill a new vision for that person’s life, or a new role He wanted them to play in His Kingdom. God made a radical promise to childless, 99-year-old Abram that he would be a “father of many nations” and so changed his name to Abraham to instill in him God’s mighty promise. The fisherman Simon is renamed ‘Peter’ by Jesus. ‘Peter’ means ‘rock’, and he was to be the rock of Jesus’ Church (Matthew 16:18). Even though Peter showed himself to be quite lacking in the stability and integrity one might expect from a rock, Jesus continued to trust him to fulfil his calling. In our reading today, Joseph had two sons and gave them Hebrew names that specifically acknowledged God’s goodness to him. The first he named Manasseh, “… because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” He named his second son Ephraim, “fruitful,” because of the blessing God poured out on him and enabled him to give to others in “the land of my suffering.”

Pray:
Meditate on these two names for Jesus and praise Him for who He is and what He has done:

1. Jesus is a common Jewish name ‘Yeshua’, which is derived from the word meaning ‘to rescue/deliver’. “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

2. Matthew also describes Jesus as ‘Immanuel’, which means ‘God with us’. Jesus was indeed God himself dwelling with mankind.