In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So, God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So, God created mankind in his our (plural?) image, in the image of God. He made man and then woman.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
So, the Almighty, got bored folding laundry or tinkering on his 57 Chevy and decided to make a new hobby of inventing the Universe. After six days (for you take the seventh day of rest as the Sabbath - creating a universe wears you out), for he also controls the calendar, he was satisfied with suns and planets and stars and spinning moons and air and trees and reptiles and mammals and stood back and said, “It was good”.
Why the Lord God, in his infinite wisdom, decided to pay such close attention to this third planet from the sun in one little solar system is as much of a mystery as why whoever drew the picture of the creation of man gave him a belly button?
Not only did God have to create all these things, he had to name them. That is a mountain, that is a tree, that is an ocean, that is a bird, that is an apple (don’t touch that). A simple descriptive name had to adjust to variations. That is a tree, but that is an Oak tree and that one is a Maple tree. That is a blue bird and that is a robin and that one is a crow. Every fish and bug and blade of grass had to have a name or we wouldn’t have dictionary.
Since he’d created space and time (even though clocks were invented yet), there was still only twenty-four hours of light and dark for a day. Those are a bunch of names to make up in a day.
When he created MAN what would he name him? He appeared in God’s likeness (though younger and probably more like Brad Pitt) with fingers and toes and limbs and bones and outside plumbing. How do you choose a name for the first human?
He may have had one of those alphabetical baby name books, but he didn’t choose the first name. He scrolled down and settled on ADAM. Nice name. Has a ring to it. Simple and somewhat manly.
AAYAN
AAYDEN
ABDEL
ABDIEL
ABDUL
ABDULLAH
ABDULRAHMAN
ABEL
ABELARDO
ABHIRAM
ABNER
ABRAHAM
ABRAM
ACE
ACHILLES
ADAM
ADAN
ADDISON
ADEN
So now he has the keeper of this Garden of Eden, but something is missing. He could clone Adam so he could have a friend. He could make many Adams in different colors and sizes. To differentiate each, he could call them Adam 1, Adam 2, Adam 3 or get into the naming clarification. He could clone enough for a poker game with cigars and cognac or make enough for a basketball team? There could be an Oscar and Dirk and Wilber and Leroy and Jack…
While God was creating teams to box and wrestle and pass out together, he noticed they were making erotic drawings on the cave walls that looked like a naked Mrs. God (you didn’t think there wasn’t a woman behind all this?).
Having created time, God was aware that all his creations will eventually rot and die (including his boys), so God created WOMAN. He called her EVE.
Now Adam had someone he could fool around with and procreate the next generation instead of jerking off and wasting his seed.
With each delivery of a newborn, the parents were given the privilege to name what they had produced. The name will follow throughout time until the carving on a tombstone. The name can be passed down through generations as a Junior or a Third, but it will be your unique identity as you respond to the call.
Growing up, others may give you a ‘nickname’ to describe your personality. The nickname can become an identity marker more than your given name.
Some names were immediately recognizable like George Washington or Elizabeth Taylor or Puff Daddy while many of the names in the obits or on the tombstones only have a reference to family. Names were duplicated to the point of celebrity had to recreate a name that was memorable for the newspapers. Artwork, books, movies, political positions may forget their titles but be remembered by the name of the person that created them.
Names can be changed. With a few strokes of a pen and a certified by a notary public, a licensed public officer who serves as an impartial witness to the signing of documents and establishes the authenticity of the signatures you can change from Jim to Bob or Jane to Mary or something else. Your identity is how you autograph your checks. The notification to others sources like banks and schools and social security needs to be made to confirm the change.
As mankind spread over the planet, they settled in different locations they named and climates and costumes and customs and formed new accents to speak to one another. Some created new languages and redefined the spiritual origin with new titles for the divine. Interpreters were needed to translate the words and names.
Names not only identified the person, but the region they were raised and possibly their political and religious conscience. Pronouns were added to names like Lord or Sir or Lady to give their name prestige. There was also a Mr. and Mrs. to use when the last name was shared.
Some names were stretched out with middle names and multiple last names to indicate multiple marriages or just to sound cool. Some names are reduced to one word, like Madonna or Prince or Fido or God, that will identify without association to another. Some names will run out of alphabetical options and become a new word like Tech N9ne or B Jack$ (these are real).
I could never have been a politician or a salesman or a preacher (though they might all be the same) because I can’t place a name with a face. Looking at old photos of work mates or school mates or family gatherings, there are many faces remembered by can’t place a name with them. Even a cordial handshake and an introduction with a name might attempt to revive a connection with a stranger.
What’s in a name? You name it.
Sincerely, Clyph
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