What's In A Name?...

"Lots of labels, titles, identities, nicknames, prefixes and suffixes attached to our names these days... what are your labels saying about you?" *And a bonus section today on "Trail Names!" (S2/L16)

*Note: Feel free to just scan the scripture today, because I assume that’s what is gonna happen anyway…

1 Chronicles 1:1-16. Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared; Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech; Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The descendants of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Diphath, and Togarmah. The descendants of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. The descendants of Ham: Cush and Egypt, Put, and Canaan. The descendants of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raama: Sheba and Dedan. Cush became the father of Nimrod; he was the first to be a mighty one on the earth. Egypt became the father of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, from whom the Philistines come. Canaan became the father of Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

1 Chronicles 1:49-54, 2:1-8. When Shaul[f] died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor succeeded him. When Baal-hanan died, Hadad succeeded him; the name of his city was Pai, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred daughter of Me-zahab. And Hadad died.The clans[g] of Edom were: clans[h] Timna, Aliah,[i] Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram; these are the clans of Edom.These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah; these three the Canaanite woman Bath-shua bore to him. Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death. His daughter-in-law Tamar also bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda,[a] five in all. The son of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the matter of the devoted thing; and Ethan’s son was Azariah.

Dear Fellow Hikers,

You’ve probably figured out the connection between today’s scripture and the subject of today’s letter. Yes I opened my letter on Names, with a list of Names. But it’s more than just a random list, it’s a genealogy of Israel going back to the beginning, the very beginning…with Adam. Yes, that Adam… of the famous duo Adam and Eve. A lot of labels and identities go along with the names on these lists. If you were to read all of the first nine chapters of continued genealogy in 1 Chronicles, you’d find much more context, content and identity contained in this simple lists of names.

So, “Whats my point?” Names are important, biblically, culturally and socially. But what’s even more important?… What kind of words are attached to our names that label us in so many ways… good and bad… true and false?

Here’s a small example I just read this morning. I receive a lot of faith based email messages, devotions, letters like the one you’re reading right now. I don’t read them all, but I usually try and scan them looking for material for our letters. In one I read today, the writer was trying to make a point about a phrase in the Bible. The phrase contained a challenging and outdated word. To emphasize his point he wrote: “it sounds like… something that some backwoods* preacher would hurl out…” I don’t know about you, but I like the woods. In fact I love the woods, and woods far back from roads, cities, congestion… backwoods… are even better.

If someone were to call me a backwoods preacher, I think I would be quite pleased. Unfortunately, in the context of the devotion, I believe the intent was to belittle a Bible phrase, and in the process, most probably unintentionally, the writer used a term that could easily be considered disrespectful. I believe the words we get to use in life are wonderful and a blessing… and also a responsibility. Especially when we’re using them to label people and their names, we need to be conscious of how they reasonably could be received. It’s just something I want us all (especially a reminder to me) to think about in our everyday conversations. Especially in the things we write.

And now on a related subject… Trail Names… In the distance hiking community, it is my understanding that there is a ritual of giving fellow hikers on the trail a descriptive name that fits each hiker… a “Trail Name”. Since I’ve never been a distance thru-hiker (the obvious exception is the Life Hike we are all on together), my knowledge on the subject is all book learned. So, I am qualifying my efforts to attempt a naming, and will gladly defer to any experienced hikers if I mis-speak or disrespect the process. My attempt here, is to give myself a trail name. It’s a name I intend to use to identify myself, but I do understand, the name really can’t be sanctioned unless others on the trail are actually willing to use it.

I got out a couple of my thru-hiking books to share a few Trail Name examples: Jumpstart, Stats Godric, Grandma, Journeyman, Runner, Wanderer, Wrong Foot, Second Wind, Ziggy, Medicine Man, Breeze, Happy Trails Guy, Walking, Chicken John… I’ve thought of using some of the obvious options that I’ve been called over the years: Chief, Book ‘em Dan’O, Rev, Preacher Man, Lieutenant Dan (always said with an Alabama twang)… But they just don’t feel right…

After a lot more thinking than is healthy, I’ve finally come to a decision. It was affirmed when I dug into todays scripture. A simple, clean, short version of the other biblical version my parents gave me, a name without a lot of societal, institutional or cultural baggage, simply… just… Dan.

1 Chronicles 2:1-2 “These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.”

With Care and Gratitude, Dan… “Just Dan”

Postscript…

Re: *Backwoods… Two things… First, whenever you see a word highlighted (bolded?) it’s my intention to emphasize the word, and the bold emphasis is not a part of the original quote. Second, I want to share that the words I heard when reading the word backwoods, were uneducated and ignorant. That may be a bit severe, but in that context, and from my personal experiences and perspectives, those are the words I immediately heard.

Re: “Just Dan”… So what’s your trail name? And why? And will others be willing to use it?

Next Up: (Still deciding on a topic…) (Friday 03/28/25, S2/L17)