I suggested recently that everyone should make an effort to find out the true meaning of their name. People today seem to be overly interested in their ethnic origin but how many people actually know their name’s meaning? Should we not be at least a little curious to see if we are in anyway like our name implies? In my case, for example, by birth name is José Samuel. The name Joseph (José) means basically “increase” or “addition” but particularly, “God will add.” His mother, Rachel, named him such because she was sure that God would give her (add) another son after him. She was right, although she died right after giving birth to that second son. Before she died, she gave him the name “Benoni” which means “son of my sorrow” but after she died Jacob changed his name to “Benjamin” which means “son of my right hand.” “Ben” by itself means “son.”
This was a corny line from a comedian of long ago: “My cousin is a prophet (profit) and his wife is a total loss.” I’ve never forgotten that pun because I sometimes wonder to how many people I am an “addition” and to how many I am the opposite. Perhaps my parents named me José Samuel because they knew the meaning of the names. If, however, they named me such because of the Joseph and Samuel in the bible, then I’ve got quite a legacy to live up to. The truth is that if I have been even a little bit like them, my life on earth has been meaningful.
