I think I have mentioned on here before about how much names hold meaning for me. Since finding out that the child we will be adopting is named Solomon, I decided to find out more about his biblical name and to get some insight into why his birthparents chose this name for him. Tomorrow I will be posting about JJ & Jayla's names, which hold much meaning for us.
In general, Solomon's name is of Hebrew origin and means 'peace'. I gave myself a crash course in 1 Kings this past week to find out more about this biblical based name. At the beginning of 1 Kings (Old Testament) Solomon is appointed as the next King by his dying father, King David. King Solomon was mostly known for this one thing: wisdom. At the beginning of his reign as King, God appeared to Solomon in a dream:
1 Kings 3:5 The Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
And, out of all the things in the world, guess what Solomon asked for? Wisdom. This was his response to God's question:
1 Kings 3:7 & 9 Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. So, give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"
God was pleased with that answer because Solomon did not ask for selfish things (like wealth, and death for his enemies) and God told Solomon he would give him the wise and discerning heart he had asked for, as well as two things he did not ask for - riches & honor. (1 Kings 3:10-15)
To end, you HAVE to read this story about Solomon's wisdom....it is at the end of chapter 3 in 1 Kings, and shows you how great the wisdom was that God gave to Solomon:
1 Kings 3:16-28 (New International Version): A Wise Ruling
16 Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. 18 The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.
19 "During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. 20 So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. 21 The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."
22 The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.
23 The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' "
24 Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. 25 He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."
26 The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"
27 Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."
28 When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
So, in the past week I have learned a lot about this biblical name. Do you know what your name means? Was there any special reason or meaning behind why you gave your children the names you did? I've often talked with friends about the names that their parents were considering naming them, but didn't choose. It's funny to think of them with a different name because it seems like their entire identity would change! Mom, what were some other names you were considering naming me? More tomorrow....
We only had 1 girl name picked out ~ Janel ~ because we thought for sure you were a boy. We picked Christine for your middle name so that "Christ" would be a part of your name.
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom
Oooh, I love this!! Thanks so much for posting. I also think names are such a big deal, I really stressed about Elly's!!
ReplyDeleteCameron technically means "crooked nose" (eew), but Caleb had always dreamed of naming his little boy Cameron. It's traditionally the name of a tribal leader, so I liked how his name had something to do with leadership. Christian is his middle name, same as his daddy, and of course, meaning "follower of Christ." We pray that he will lead people to know and follow the Lord!
Elly means "light," which I just LOVE. Now that she's passed out of her finicky stage, she flashes that smile and just catches people's attention. Mariah means "God is my teacher." God taught us a lot about faith during my pregnancy with Elly, and I my prayer for her is that she will be a light for God, and always have a teachable, open heart for Him. (Caleb and I disagreed on how to spell BOTH names - he wanted Ellie Mariah and I wanted Elly Moriah. I ended up choosing the spelling of her first name, and he chose the middle!!)
Cameron Christian & Elly Mariah - you're right, I can't imagine them with any other names. Their little identities are already so connected to their names for me!
Great post, thanks for sharing. Excited to hear JJ and Jayla's name stories, too. And I LOVE the name Solomon!!! :)