The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1874-02-13
Scripture Names.

The power of association i
very clearly shown in any attemp
20 give their true names to. famil
4 lar Scripture characters. al
though in such cases we may con
tend for the truth, having no pre-
Ijudicies to serve, but simply de
string to give each name as it.
owner knew it. yet we find every
sensibility rising up to resist the
effort. We have known the name
in a certain form or writing and
sound. and we must keep it in this
form, for around this form have
clustered q thousand interlaced
thoughts, which are part of the
compacted structure of settled
opinion. Here is a case where to
go hack to the truth would des-
troy the truth. For example,
what associations, involving cor
rect judgements, views and senti-
ments, would be shattered, if the
familiar name of Solomon were
changed to Shelomob. The new
name would not take up the 1.-THE
of the meaning to the ear and
mind. And yet the nesc name
would be the old name. The
Queen of Sheba never knew Solo
mon, but she knew Shclomoh.
What devout Bible reader would
recognize in Hebel the pious son
of Adam who first felt the muir
derer's stroke? What religious
Rebecca of to-day would be de-
lighted with the name of Yitzchak
or imagine that her ancient name
sake was Yitzchak's wife, Rivkah?
Would not Samson be shorn of
half of his strength if we called
him, as Delilah did, Shimshon?
And what CONSERVATION we should
produce in the modern Israel if we
should speak of the invasions of
Tiglat-pal ziva, Sin-akhi-irib and
Asshur-akhi-idin! And could we
detect an old friend in Nabu- kudu-
ri-utzur?
But still worse should we fare
if we attempted to be purists in
the New Testament. Think of
calling the dignified apostle who
was so prominent i'll the Jerusa-
lem council by the name of Yauy-
akev, which is about as near as
our letters can express his Semitic
title! Could we ever persuade
ourselves to call the beloved dis
ciple Yehochanan? And yet in
all these cases our names for these
worthless land unworthies) are as
far from the mark as would be
Goath for Goethe, in which sub
stitution some rural districts in
dulge.
So we see how in some cases it
is right to be wrong. It would be
a monstrous pedantry that would
call things always by their right
names. If you do not believe it,
read out to a congregation the
first verse of the first chapter of
Isaiah correctly thus: "The Wis
ion of Yeshangyahu, the son of
Amotz, which he saw concerning
Yehudhah and Yerushalaim in the
days of Nguzziyahu, Sothom,
Achaz and Sechizkiyyahu, kings
of Yehudhahw In what frame of
mind would the congregation be
for the rest of the chapter?
What would be so manifestly
wrong for Hebrew would be equal
~ wrong for Greek names. The
principal is the same. Hence we
object to Mary Magdaleny for
for Magdalen, and Eu-nee-sy for
Eunice, and Philemon for Phile-
mon, all of which names are in
daily use by US as Magdalen, Eu-
nice (Yunis) and Philemon with
stress on the first syllable.
Would We call our distinguished
ex Moderator DIR. Philemon,
Fowler? Young ministers are
sometimes puzzled as to the pro-
nunciation of Scripture names.
1t is a good safe rule to follow
usage, and thus not mar our as
sociations. Let us know what
they are and call them what they
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