The story behind the name "Barack"

I for one have been really interested in names. There is this preconceived idea when I meet someone and know his name. For example when it's like Joshua or James, I will clearly say his family is of Christian faith. When it's like Amy, I would say "she must be really cute when she was born". When I meet someone named "Sky or even Cloud" your father must be a nature guy or an artist by profession.

There a lot that you could get from names. But what interested me most was an analysis by a preacher who had a say bout the name "Barack" Obama.

The idea of giving names came from God just as what is written in the book of Genesis 2:19 -

“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”

It is clear that it was God’s will that Adam named or gave names to the different kinds of animal life which were with him in the garden. And we can presume how intelligent Adam was when he was able to name all those animals that were created by God. However, we are not informed about the standard or the rule that Adam used in naming such creatures but there are other scriptures that tell us what’s in a name.

I felt upset when while I was watching the convention of the democrats on television, and one said, “the funny name of Obama”, referring to Barack Obama. According to that speaker, the name Barack is a funny name. I’m reminded of people’s ignorance of the scriptures. If only people have known the Bible, they will not say such a thing as “funny name of Obama.” In fact, Biblically speaking, the name Barack is not a funny name. It is a serious name and I will tell you about that later. I just want to lay the basis of why I’m discussing this topic. This is not to disgrace anybody but to share knowledge from the scriptures about the naming of names, of things, creatures, individuals, and the like.

The Hebrew tradition or custom of naming people is what I regard as the wisest standard of giving names. They name people by their characteristics, by their qualities and sometimes, according to the circumstances of their birth or conception. The name Isaac, for example, does not spell the qualities or the characteristics of Isaac, the son of Abraham, but it tells us of the circumstance surrounding the conception of Isaac. Isaac means “laughter” in Hebrew language. It implies that the name Isaac spells “happiness.” When the person of Isaac was mentioned by the angel to his father Abraham, his mother Sarah laughed, Genesis 18:12; 21:6-7 -

“Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.”

Let us go back to the name Barack. As I have said earlier, Barack is not a funny name. It is a serious name. I’m sorry for that person who said that Barack is funny, that the name of Barack Obama is a funny name. What she or he meant is not the name Obama but Barack. Barak in the Bible is a serious man, a great fighter for the cause of justice in Israel. Let us read in Hebrews 11:32-34 (Revised Standard Version) -

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

You will notice that the Apostle Paul did not even mention the name of Deborah. It was Barak that was mentioned. So Barak was a great, serious man. He’s a man able to respect somebody like Deborah even though he was fighting and that Deborah had taken the honor of being judge to Israel.

Barak is a man of humility. He did not in any manner grab the honor of being the judge to the people of Israel. Barak is a man of honor, a man of dignity. I do not know the Democrat Presidential candidate of the U.S.A. He’s very popular. In fact, I was convinced by the speech, not of Barak, but by his wife. I was convinced by the speech of the former President Clinton, not by Barak. Only the Americans know Barak. But whoever Barak maybe, I would say that the name Barak is not a funny name. It’s a serious name and maybe, to those Americans saying that the name Barak is funny, a little review of the scriptures will reveal to them and tell them that the name Barak is not a funny name. I hope I have shared a little knowledge with this article.

Sincerely in Christ,

Brother Eli Soriano

Source: esoriano.wordpress.com

This analysis really is nice, the "Barack" name is really great, a leaders name! The only thing I asked my self, how about "Mccain"?

Well, I ended up laughing. I just realized then that his name was of the brother of Abel, "Cain."