Bible Names and Places Are Codes

This is what makes the Bible different. In most books a name is just a label. In the Bible a name tells you what the state is like before the story starts, and a place name tells you what the ground is like. So read the meaning, not just the title.

No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations. — Genesis 17:5 (BBE)

With the meanings put in:

No longer will your name be Exalted Father, but Father of a Multitude, for I have made you the father of a number of nations.

The verse explains the name itself. Abram is “exalted father” (Strong’s H87) and Abraham is “father of a multitude” (H85). Growth is already in the name, and the story then plays it out.

The method, in four steps:

1. Find the name or place in Strong’s.
2. Read its meaning and put it in place of the title.
3. Ask what state that meaning describes.
4. Watch the story run in line with it, because Elohim works after its kind.

More names from the framework: Israel (“he shall prevail”), Joseph (“he shall add”), Judah (“praise”) and David (“beloved”). Place names count just as much as people’s names. See names as identity codes.

Remember: the name is the code, and the story is the court making it real.