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Why is the meaning of the name Rebecca so debated? Is there any definite meaning? Also, does anyone know a bit more about the various spellings and where they originated? I've read the meaning on BtN, by the way.
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at the very least I'd be interested if no one else is
:)
:)
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Hi, Rebecca!
I hope this is not gonna be too confusing as I have to go a little bit into the structure of the Hebrew language and into the practice of naming in ancient Israel.
The Hebrew version of your name is RIVKAH (btn gives ribqah, but at least in modern Hebrew it is pronounced with a V, V and B basically being the same letter), in Greek (Septuaginta, a Greek translation of the Hebrew bible) it is REBEKKA (no C in the Greek alphabet!), in Latin (Vulgata) you will find REBECCA (no K in the Latin alphabet!). Sometimes you come across REBECKA, but this doesn’t make sense.
Now to RIVKAH and to Hebrew names in general:
- Many Hebrew names represent a whole sentence and even a whole story: DANIEL means “God has restored my right” (“dan” is “right” and “el” is “God”) meaning: God has rehabilitated me (I had always wanted a child but didn’t get one, and all the other women started laughing at me saying I was punished by God; but by giving me this child, God has shown everybody that he loves me and that I have done no wrong).
- Other names are taken from a plant (TAMAR translates “date-palm”) or an animal (DEBORA is the “bee” and RACHEL may have been a “ewe”).
- There are names taken from objects of everyday life (PENINNA means “coral” and DELILAH probably is a “falling curl”).
- The meaning of some names is obvious: JEDIDA and DAVID both mean “beloved one” (so does probably MIRIAM and hence MARIA) and NOOMI translates “delight”.
- The meaning of other names is obscure
What scholars do in this case: a) they start guessing by looking for similar words in Hebrew b) they look around in related languages.
I hope this is not gonna be too confusing as I have to go a little bit into the structure of the Hebrew language and into the practice of naming in ancient Israel.
The Hebrew version of your name is RIVKAH (btn gives ribqah, but at least in modern Hebrew it is pronounced with a V, V and B basically being the same letter), in Greek (Septuaginta, a Greek translation of the Hebrew bible) it is REBEKKA (no C in the Greek alphabet!), in Latin (Vulgata) you will find REBECCA (no K in the Latin alphabet!). Sometimes you come across REBECKA, but this doesn’t make sense.
Now to RIVKAH and to Hebrew names in general:
- Many Hebrew names represent a whole sentence and even a whole story: DANIEL means “God has restored my right” (“dan” is “right” and “el” is “God”) meaning: God has rehabilitated me (I had always wanted a child but didn’t get one, and all the other women started laughing at me saying I was punished by God; but by giving me this child, God has shown everybody that he loves me and that I have done no wrong).
- Other names are taken from a plant (TAMAR translates “date-palm”) or an animal (DEBORA is the “bee” and RACHEL may have been a “ewe”).
- There are names taken from objects of everyday life (PENINNA means “coral” and DELILAH probably is a “falling curl”).
- The meaning of some names is obvious: JEDIDA and DAVID both mean “beloved one” (so does probably MIRIAM and hence MARIA) and NOOMI translates “delight”.
- The meaning of other names is obscure
What scholars do in this case: a) they start guessing by looking for similar words in Hebrew b) they look around in related languages.
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Thanks so much for this. I had known bits and pieces about biblical names (I've taken a few scripture courses that focused on the Old Testament) but never to this extent. My dad used to call me Rivkah, so it's nice to know the origins of different variations of the name. Thanks again.
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It can be difficult in the case of very ancient names to know for sure where they were first used, and therefore what language they actually come from. That's one problem. Scholars have to work it out with the information they've got, which usually isn't enough for a final pronouncement. The other problem is that, if you think about it, 'snare' is a weird name for a baby but a pretty good one for an adult character in a story. So, what happened? Did a fictional lady need a name that summed up her character, like Shakespeare's Malvolio, and get given one by the storyteller? Did a real child have a name that meant something else but looked like the word for 'snare' in a related language? (I don't know the answer either - but those are some of the questions!)
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Thanks for this!
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