The book of Genesis is the beginning of man and his epic journey of falling away from God and trusting in false knowledge instead of trusting in the Almighty God who created the ability to have knowledge in the first place.
The book of Genesis also contains the plan that God put in place in order to bring man back to himself one day. His plan was announced but not explained when he chose Abraham Isaac and Jacob to become the forefathers of his chosen people, and through his children he would again reveal himself to man and all the people of the world.
I always thought there just had to be some significance to the names of the 12 children of Jacob because Rachel and Leah would give a reason for the name that each child was given just as Adam gave to Eve “For she is the Mother of all Living” and just as Eve gave to Cain ” I have acquired a man” and Seth “God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel”
The late Chuck Missler went even as far as to translate the hebrew names of Adam’s children to Noah and came up with this translation
Adam -Man
Seth –Appointed
Enosh – Mortal
Kenan – Sorrow
Mahalalel – The blessed God
Jared – Shall come down
Enoch – Teaching
Methuselah – His death shall bring
Lamech – Despairing
Noah – Comfort and rest
When it is read as a sentence, it reads. Man has appointed himself Mortal Sorrow. The blessed God shall come down and teach, but his death shall bring the despairing comfort and rest
And this makes perfect sense that God would reveal his plan for the salvation of man through even the litteral meaning of the names given to Adam’s children
So what do the names of the 12 children of Jacob mean since they also have explanations given to them at their birth? Well I tried to figure that out myself but when you list the translations of the names in the order of their birth they simply dont make a coherent sentence like they do in Adam to Noah.
In my research, however, I did stumble upon someone who had arranged them in the order they are given in the book of Revelation 7 and guess what, of course, it now makes perfect sense because these are the final chosen 12 tribes of Gods children listed in a different order then birth and excludes Dan and Ephraim.
So I re arranged all of my translations of their names that I had and here is what it becomes.
1. Judah =”I will praise the Lord”
2. Reuben = “Seen my affliction”
3. Gad = “good fortune ”
4. Asher = “I am happy”
5. Naphtali = “with great wrestling”
6. Manasseh = “has made me forget”
7. Simeon = “he who hears me”
8. Levi = “Joined to me”
9. Issachar =”given me my wages”
10.Zebulun = “a good inheritance ”
11.Joseph = “ shall add to me”
12 Rachel named him Benoni “The son of my sorrow”
13.Jacob called him Benjamin = “The Son of His right hand”
I added the two names given for Benjamin at the end because i feel that it is relevant, and that there is a reason why it is written in the bible that he was renamed Benjamin
But if we read it all as a sentence then it says.
I will praise the LORD
For he has seen my affliction
My reward is coming
I am happy and blessed
With great wrestlings I have wrestled and prevailed
For God has made me forget all my toil
He who hears me
Has become joined to me
God has given me my wages
And a good inheritance
He shall add to me
(Because) The son of my sorrow
Is now The Son of his right hand.
It’s all in the names.
The Tree To The Cross 