What's in a name?

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don't know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it "really" means.. Let's see where this takes us! 

Deuteronomy 25

I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Deuteronomy 25 has a mix of just commands, seemingly cruel commands, and curious ones.

The center of it, however, has to do with the survival of a man's "name:"

5 “When brothers reside together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her, 6 and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 

If the brother refuses this duty, his own name will be disgraced.

Likewise,

11 “If men get into a fight with one another and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, 12 you shall cut off her hand; show no pity.

The genitals, the source of biological fatherhood, shall be protected because that will protect the man's name through future generations.

Although our bodies are temporary, our names are immortal and must be respected. That seems to be the message in both commandments.

It's an interesting thought. We see the hunt for names among genealogists. Names are found in census records and on gravestones. As a people, we want to make sure everyone is recognized by name.

In civil society, the only real wealth or "currency" any of us have is our names. We know the famous and infamous by their names more so than even their faces. To be remembered, and to be remembered well, is an inheritance of great value to one's descendants. 

This is probably why these laws are in the Bible. Names are important to us and God recognizes that.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)