The Hebrew "qara shem" (Strong's #'s 7121 and 8034), which translates as "to call a name", is surprisingly among the most misunderstood phrases in Biblical chronology. Some even refer to this phrase as being some kind of secret mystical Biblical code word. It is hoped that this short paper can clear up what has been quite a difficult challenge for many to grasp. But first, let's consider a verse in which this phrase it used:
Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
In the two verses above, "qara shem" is translated "called his name". In both cases it is used of the parent naming their son, that is, of Adam naming his son Seth, and of Seth naming his son Enos. Now it was shown in the study on the Hebrew word "ben" (son), that the word "ben" (son) does not always indicate a direct father-son relationship. In fact several examples were shown in where "ben" referred to future descendants (grandsons, great grandsons, etc). So the issue at hand is how can one know if, for example, Seth was an immediate son of Adam, rather than a grandson, or future descendant. The answer is there are two ways this can be determined, the first is by contextual Biblical evidence, and the second is by use of the phrase "qara shem".
Contextual Biblical Evidence
The idea here is very straight forward, if there is Biblical evidence showing that two people are father and son, then one can assume they are father and son. But remember, a verse that says "Adam had a son Seth", because the word "son" does not guarantee a father-son relationship, is not itself sufficient evidence to conclude Seth was Adam's son. There must be other compelling evidence before such a conclusion can be reached. Now in the case of Adam and Seth, there is not really any other Biblical information to help in coming to a conclusion as to their exact relationship. So for purposes of illustration we'll consider the case of Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Genesis 6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
As pointed out earlier, the only certain conclusion we can draw from the above verse is that Shem, Ham and Japheth were descendants of Noah. That is, Noah's family line was "built" from these offspring. However in the case of Noah there is a great amount of other Biblical evidence that these three offspring were in fact his immediate sons:
Genesis 7:13 In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
Here we find that Shem, Ham and Japheth, along with their wives, entered into the ark with Noah and his wife. We also know from 1 Peter 3:20 that there were only eight people in the ark, so that the eight people mentioned in Genesis 7:13 fully account for all of those in the ark. It was also through Noah and his three sons that the population of the earth was replenished following the flood:
Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
These, as well as the other incidents between Noah and his sons (mentioned in Genesis 9) that show these were direct sons of Noah, and not future descendants.
Phrase "qara shem"
As noted above, this phrase simply means "to call a name", as seen in the following verse:
Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
The first obvious point to note is that this phrase is actually indicating that Adam was the one that named his son Seth. Because Adam was the father of Seth, it was his right and prerogative as the parent to be the one to name his son. The right to name a child belongs solely to the child's parents, and that is exactly what this phrase indicates. It is this fact that allows one to assert that in every case in which this phrase is used in regard to a father-son (or mother-son) it is indicating that a direct relationship exists. Another example in which this phrase is used, where it is certain a direct son is in view, is:
Genesis 41:50 And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
Genesis 41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.
Obviously Joseph's firstborn son would be an immediate son of his, and for this reason we find the phrase "called the name" associated with the his son Manasseh. We find a similar use of "called his name" in the naming of Job's first three sons (Job 42:14).
Interestingly, this same phrase is used many times in the Bible in situations other than the birth of a son to parents. For example, consider the following:
Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
Genesis 26:20 And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.
In the above examples, these are all situations in which someone is directly naming something else. In the case of Genesis 3:20, Adam named his wife Eve. Adam also called the names of the birds and animals (Genesis 2:19-20). In Genesis 4:17 we find that Cain's son Enoch built a city, and as the builder of that city he was also the one with the right to name it. In Genesis 26:20, Isaac named the well that belonged to him since he was the owner of it. It is this idea that carries over into the case of parents naming their offspring, that they, as the direct parents, would be the ones with the right to name their son, and thus, such a phrase clearly indicates a direct family relationship.
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