Name Making in the USA and the Old Testament

Naming and Name Making as a Deeply Human Desire

Your name matters. Parents take time to decide which name to give their child, an individual corrects a friend when their name is mispronounced, and elderly people may experience it as a loss when no one knows them by their first name anymore. A name makes us addressable and functions as a means of identification and representation. Cherishing the name of a loved one continues in and after death: we inscribe it on a gravestone, mention it, and remember it. Naming and remembering are thus connected. For we say: as long as your name is spoken, you are not forgotten.

Closely connected to the practice of naming and remembering is our desire for name making. You put a sticker with your name on an object, have your initials embroidered on a shirt, or place your name on a self-created drawing or work of art. With a name you represent yourself, identify objects as your property, and ensure that your name also exists outside yourself. The aspiration or practice of name making can be connected to a search for honor or, conversely, to fear or a lack of recognition. Scholars of religion often link name making to a desire for (partial) immortality. Put simply, writing our name on an object, striving to accomplish great deeds, desiring children or hoping for remembrance after death, is often seen as an attempt to preserve identity in and beyond death. Even when I die, my name is remembered and thus retains some form of existence.

Name Making as an Ancient Near Eastern Strategy

In ancient Near Eastern texts, striving for a name or fame is a familiar motif. Name, person, and identity are closely connected. Cursing or erasing a name was therefore seen as removing part of someone’s identity or personality (e.g., Jer 11:19; Ps 109:13). The motif of name making is frequently found in Mesopotamian sources, where it is particularly associated with three themes:

1. narrating heroic deeds in annals and epics
2. inscribing a name and individual achievements on buildings, stones, or tablets
3. begetting children

I have already briefly mentioned the third point; here I focus primarily on the first two.

Various annals describe the desire of kings or heroes (almost always men) to make a name for themselves through their (war) deeds or by having their name inscribed on buildings. The Sumerian and Akkadian word for “inscription” can also be translated as “written name.” Epic texts, moreover, often describe a desire to pursue glory or fame. Thus, the hero Gilgamesh says at the beginning of his journey in the Old Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh: “I will establish an everlasting name for myself” (OB GE Yale 160, 188). Through his deeds and the inscription of his name on a building, a person can be remembered; his deeds are connected to his identity and part of that identity may endure even beyond death.

The Old Testament and a Critique of Name Making

The Old Testament is perhaps best known for its criticism of the human desire to acquire glory and honor for oneself through one’s own deeds. The prophet Isaiah, for example, contrasts the coming of a small shoot or branch in the house of Jesse (Isa 11:1–5) with the Assyrian king and his rulers, who behave like great trees and majestic trunks (Isa 10:33). According to the prophet, they claim: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding; I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and have plundered their treasures; like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones” (10:13, NRSV). Similarly, Ezekiel prophesies about the fall and death of the prince of Tyre who has said of himself: “I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas” (Ezek 28:2, 6–10). The prophetic criticism is directed in particular at the rulers of the nations surrounding Israel who, according to the scribes, compete with YHWH in their words and place their own name and fame above that of YHWH (see also Isa 14:20 and 36:13).

In Genesis 11, we find perhaps the best-known example of name making. In this text, the builders construct the city and tower of Babel out of a desire for name making (“let us make a name for ourselves”) and to avoid being scattered over the earth (Gen 11:3–4). YHWH’s response is to take over their plural speech (“let us go down,” Gen 11:7) and to act. The desire of these builders is thus answered with the very scattering over the earth that they feared.

Some interpreters rightly note that name making need not be negative in Genesis 11. At the same time, the contrast with the promise to Abram in Genesis 12:1–4 indicates that making a name in Genesis 11 must indeed be viewed critically. This impression is reinforced when Genesis 11 is read alongside Mesopotamian texts. In those texts, the building of the city is seen as a high point of civilization and culture, whereas in Genesis 11 it is viewed with a critical eye. It is important, however, to note that in the history of interpretation people have often gone a step further. Thus, the tower of Babel became the sign par excellence of pride.

This does not mean, however, that the Old Testament always views the pursuit of name or fame negatively, or that only God can bestow fame. On the contrary: there are numerous examples where human name and fame are mentioned neutrally or even positively.

Neutral and Positive Examples of Name Making in the Old Testament

The three strategies for name making earlier mentioned also appear in the Old Testament: children, deeds, and names in inscriptions.

In the Torah (Genesis-Deuteronomy), the primary strategy is the begetting of children. For example, consider the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11, Genesis 12:3, Numbers 27:4, and Deuteronomy 25:5–9. 

Yet the Torah also contains passages in which people receive glory or fame. I will mention four examples in which no explicit negative judgment is pronounced about this fame. In Genesis 4, Cain builds a city and names it Enoch after his son (4:16–17; the negative interpretation stems from the preceding story about Cain). In Genesis 6, we hear about the “heroes of old,” the “men of name” (6:4). Genesis 5–10 tells us about Noah’s son who is called Shem, which means “name.” Nimrod, moreover, is presented in Genesis 10 as a hero, “a mighty hunter before the LORD” (10:8–12). In all these cases, the name or honor is granted by others.

This pattern, however, does not hold for all passages in the Old Testament. Thus, in 2 Samuel we read that David, and later Abishai and Benaiah, make a name for themselves through deeds in battle (2 Sam 8:13; 23:18, 22; see also 1 Chron 11:20, 24 and 14:17).

In addition, several passages describe kings or princes naming an object after themselves. Three examples illustrate this. First, Saul creates a monument for himself (1 Sam 15:12). Second, Absalom does the same and even names this memorial after himself, “Absalom’s Monument” (2 Sam 18:18). In this way, he is remembered through a place, for his children would not preserve his name. Third, David captures the citadel of Jerusalem and renames it the “City of David” (2 Sam 5:7, 9).

In none of these cases does the text or narrator explicitly condemn these deeds. In the case of David, we even read in the following verse (2 Sam 5:10) that YHWH was with him. Those who wish to interpret the actions of David, Absalom, and Saul as negative must base this primarily on their behavior in other passages.

God Grants a Name

Finally, several passages describe God himself as granting a name. The best-known examples are probably Genesis 12:1–4, Exodus 28:9–12, and Isaiah 56:3–5. In Genesis 12, God promises to make Abram’s name great, referring both to his fame and to the blessing of offspring. In Exodus 28, God commands priestly garments with stones engraved with the names of the tribes (see also Rev 21:12–14). In Isaiah 56:3–5, eunuchs receive from YHWH a monument (“a hand, a sign, an inscription”), and a name when they keep God’s covenant. Since eunuchs have no children, God promises to remember their names beyond death.

We can also point to the many passages in which YHWH raises up the lowly, the poor, and the weak, and criticizes the rich and powerful. In this way, YHWH (implicitly) gives a name to those who have no name. Consider Zephaniah 3:19–20, Psalms 72, 113, 140, and Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2 (see also the Magnificat in Luke 1, the nativity story in Luke 2, and Luke 3:1–6 where Luke introduces great names only to focus on ordinary people).

Conclusions: Trump, Name Making, and the Bible

Trump’s actions evoke criticism from many commentators. The criticism is not that objects or institutions are named after a president, but rather that this (1) happens during the term of office, (2) is facilitated or requested by the president himself, and (3) happens to such a great extent.

A comparison of Trump’s actions with biblical texts may be summed up in three conclusions.

First, Trump’s desire connects with the human longing to make a name and to leave one’s name behind in the history books. Trump seems to use all possible strategies to do so.

Second, Trump’s desire is in line with the actions of Saul, Absalom, and David, who also name objects or cities after themselves. We do note, however, that having so many objects named after oneself is extreme and finds no parallel in the Bible.

Third, by reading these passages in light of the Bible as a whole, it should be pressed that leaders have the responsibility to govern well, justly, and with an eye for the vulnerable. Acquiring one’s own glory or fame is viewed critically when this comes at the expense of the vulnerable or when one’s own name is placed alongside or above that of God (a “King Solomon Temple” or a “Hezekiah Courtyard” would be unthinkable). In that sense, it is far better to receive a name or honor from God or others than to make a name for yourself through great deeds or inscriptions. Alongside “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), we may say: “It is better to receive honor than to claim it.”