Isaiah 65:15 – “Yahweh shall call his servants by another name.”
The question often arises at summer camps, retreats, and other Christian gatherings, “Is it okay to rename someone or something – to call them by a nickname?” The answer is “Yah sure, ya betcha!”
Scripture is filled with people, places, events, and other happenings that merited a change of names. Yahweh gives new names, Yeshua gives new names, People give new names. And it all started at the creation when Elohim called the light day and the darkness night. Then this continued in the Garden of Eden when Adam gave new names to all the animals! From there, giving new names became frequent occurrence. And it all culminates when the prophecies that Yeshua and his Bride will get their new names are fulfilled! Below are some of those new name changes:
New Names Given People by Elohim/Yahweh
Genesis 17:5 – “Elohim said to Abraham, ‘No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham’.”
Genesis 17:15-16 – “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
Genesis 32:28 – “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel.”
Genesis 35:10 – “No longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.”
2 Chronicles 20:7; – Elohim/Yahweh calls Abraham “my friend.”
Nehemiah 9:7 – “You are Yahweh, who gave Abram the name Abraham.”
Isaiah 41:8 – Elohim/Yahweh calls Abraham “my friend.”
Matthew 1:23 – “The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Immanuel.”
Luke 1:35 – “The child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of Yahweh.”
Galatians 3:26 – “You are all children of Yahweh through faith in Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.”
1 John 3:1-2, 9 – “The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of Yahweh.”
James 2:23 – “And Abraham was called Yahweh’s friend.”
New Names Given People by Yeshua
Mark 3:17 – “Yeshua gave James and John, sons of Zebedee, the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder.”
Luke 6:14 – “Simon whom Yeshua named Peter.”
John 1:42 – “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas, (which translated is Peter).”
Revelation 2:17 – “I, Yeshua will give everyone who conquers a new name that no one else knows.”
Revelation 3:12 – “I, Yeshua will write on you the name of my God, the name of the city of my God, and my own new name.”
New Names Given People by People
Genesis 2:19 – “Whatever the man called each living thing, that became its name.”
Genesis 35:18 – “Rachel named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.”
Genesis 41:45 – “Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah. . .”
Numbers 13:16 – “Moses gave Hoshea, son of Nun, the new name Joshua.”
2 Kings 23:34 – “And Pharaoh Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.”
2 Kings 24:17 – “Nebuchadnezzar, The King of Babylon, changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.”
1 Chronicles 5:26 – “Pul, King of Assyria, was also called Tiglath-Pileser.”
2 Chronicles 36:4 – “And Pharaoh Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.”
Daniel 1:7 – “Ashpenaz called Daniel – Belteshazzar, Hananiah – Shadrach, Mishael – Meshach, and Azariah – Abednego.”
Matthew 1:25 – “Joseph named Mary’s son Yeshua.”
Acts 4:36 – “The apostles called Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus, Barnabas which means “one who encourages.”
Just Plain Nicknames
Ester 2:7 – “Mordecai’s niece Hadassah was also called Esther.”
Luke 6:15 – “Simon who was called the Zealot.”
Luke 22:3 – “Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, one of the twelve . . .”
Luke 8:2 – “Mary, from whom seven demons had gone out, is called Magdalene.”
John 20:24 – “Thomas is called the Twin, Didymus.”
John 21:2 – “Thomas is called the Twin, Didymus.”
Acts 1:23 – “Joseph called Barsabbas, was also called Justus or Judas.”
Acts 13:1 – “Simeon is also called Niger.”
Acts 13:9 – “Saul is also known as Paul.”
Acts 15:22 – “Joseph called Barsabbas, was also called Justus or Judas.”
Romans 9:26 – “Where it was said, ‘You Are Not My People’ there they will be called ‘Sons Of The Living God’.”
New Names Given Due to Things That Happened
Genesis 4:25 – “Eve called him Seth: ‘for Elohim has appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him’.”
Genesis 11:9 – “The place is called Babel because that is where Yahweh confused the language.”
Genesis 16:11 – “You shall call him Ishmael, for Yahweh has given heed to your affliction.”
Genesis 25:30 – “Esau said, ‘Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!’ Therefore he was called Edom.”
Genesis 30:6 – “Rachel said: ‘Elohim has judged me, and has given me a son.’ Therefore she called him Dan.”
Genesis 30:18 – “Leah said: ‘Elohim has given me my hire, and she called him Issachar’.”
Genesis 30:20 – “Leah said: ‘Elohim has endowed me with a good dowry and she called him Zebulun.
Genesis 32:30 – “Jacob called the place Peniel: ‘for I have seen Elohim face to face, and my life is preserved’.”
Genesis 35:7 – “Jacob called the place El-Bethel because it was there that Elohim had revealed Himself to him.”
Genesis 41:51 – “Joseph called the first-born Manasseh: ‘for Elohim has made me forget all my toil’.”
Genesis 41:52 – “Joseph called the second-born Ephraim: ‘for Elohim has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction’.”
Exodus 16:31 – “The people of Israel called the food manna.”
Leviticus 25:10 – “Make the fiftieth year a special year. This time will be called Jubilee.”
Ruth 1:20 – “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.”
Hosea 1:4 – “Yahweh said, ‘Name him Jezreel, because I will punish Jehu’s family for the people he killed at Jezreel’.”
Hosea 1:6 – “Yahweh said, ‘Name her Lo-Ruhamah, because I will not pity nor forgive Israel anymore’.”
Hosea 1:9 – “Yahweh said, ‘Name him Lo-Ammi, because you are not my people, and I am not your God’.”
Matthew 27:7-8 – “The Potter’s Field is called the Field of Blood, because it was bought with blood money.”
Names Given Cities, Places, and Things
Genesis 14:2 – “Bela is also called Zoar.”
Genesis 14:17 – “The Valley of Shaveh is now called King’s Valley.”
Genesis 26:32-33 – “ Isaac named it Shibah and that city is called Beersheba even now.”
Exodus 33:7 – “Moses called The Tabernacle the “Meeting Tent.”
Deuteronomy 3:14 – “Bashan was named for Jair, and even today Bashan is called the Towns of Jair.”
1 Chronicles 11:4 – “Jerusalem was formerly called Jebus, and the people living there were named Jebusites.”
Joshua 14:15 – “Hebron was called Kiriath Arba for Arba, the greatest man among the Anakites.”
1 Kings 16:24 – “Omri built a city and called it Samaria after the name of its earlier owner, Shemer.”
2 Chronicles 20:2 – “Hazazon Tamar is also called En Gedi.”
Isaiah 1:26 – “Jerusalem will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
Zechariah 8:3 – “Jerusalem will be called Truth City, The Mountain of Yahweh T’zva’ot, The Holy Mountain.”
Matthew 27:33 – “Golgotha is called the Place of the Skull.”
Mark 15:22 – “Golgotha is called the Place of the Skull.”
John 19:17 – “The Place of the Skull which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.”
New Names for the Bride of Yeshua
Revelation 2:17 – “Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. To him winning the victory I will give some of the hidden man. I will also give him a white stone, on which is written a new name that nobody knows except the one receiving it.”
Revelation 3:12 – “I will make him who wins the victory a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will never leave it. Also I will write on him the name of my God and the name of my God’s city, the new Yerushalayim coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.”
Yeshua’s New Name
Revelation 19:12 – “His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself.”
Conclusions
Giving someone, or something a new name or a nickname is scripturally okay. It happened numerous times in Biblical history. It happened to people, cities, places, and things. It happened because of things that took place in people’s lives. It happened when Yahweh, Yeshua, or another person gave someone or something a new name or simply renamed someone or something.
Final Thoughts
Prophecy as foretold by the Hebrew prophets continues to unfold in an escalating pattern. The stage is nearly completely set. The great and terrible Day of Yahweh, Joseph’s Trouble, hastens forth and will not delay. Time is short – Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is coming soon – get busy reaching the lost.
Rapture Party 