A Mother’s Influence: Mothers Naming Children in the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

W hen parents are narrated in the Hebrew Bible as actively nam ing their children, m others nam ing children occurs more frequently than fathers nam ing children. W hen this phenom enon is com bined w ith those biblical texts that indicate w om en as having influence over the religious leanings or language spoken by their children, it suggests th at the authors of the Hebrew Bible texts recognized that w om en had significant standing and influence in the ancient Israelite household.

Children in the Hebrew Bible and Childist Interpretation

“…Scholars also explore the few places the text refers to mothers and daughters (Bronner 2004: 59-77; McClenney-Sadler 2009). Research on mothers naming their children affirms the value of women and also the importance of children (Bridge 2014). While Bohmbach (2000) analyzes the meaning of women’s names and recognizes the power of mothers naming their children, feminist scholarship often sees female characters just as women and not first as girls.…”

The Speech Act of Naming in Context: A Linguistic Study of Naming in the Old Testament

“…It is widely accepted that naming occurs most often as an act of a mother in the biblical Hebrew context (Davids, n.d.;Teubal, 1995;Bridge, 2014;Bardis, 1972). Teubal suggests that this is because "in biblical times… children were named the moment they were bornby mothers and midwives who chose names appropriate to the conditions, or their perceptions, of appearance as they are born" (1995, para.…”

“…17). Bridge (2014) notes that this connection may be due to the narrative style, but support seems to be evident, nonetheless. Bardis (1972) affirms that the act was one held most often by parents as those superior to the one being named.…”

Marginal characters: A strategy of persuasion in 1–2 Samuel

“… 8. For scholarly treatment of the power of naming in the Hebrew Bible, see Sternberg, 1987: 330; Freund, 1992; Teubal, 1995; Hubard, 2004; Bridge, 2014. …”