Why does Tara-Leigh use nicknames for different people in the Bible?
We love the accounts of people in Scripture, and we’re so grateful for the ways their role in the bigger story of God have helped shape our understanding of who He is.
Common Church Usage of Nicknames
Nicknames aren’t uncommon in the way the church talks about people in Scripture. It’s a practice most of us participate in, even when we’re unaware of it. We’ve found that some of those nicknames can be helpful and clarifying, while others aren’t. Some of them we use in TBR, and others we don’t. Sometimes we also clarify further.
For instance, most of us refer to Mary of Magdala as “Mary Magdalene”—merging her name with a word that sounds like her hometown. And consider the “Prodigal Son”, which is a phrase/name that doesn’t show up in the text. Then there’s the book of James, which was written by Jesus’s brother Jacob, yet most modern Christians still primarily refer to it as “James” because that’s how it was originally mistranslated into English. And while many in recent decades have taken to referring to Thomas by the nickname “Doubting Thomas”, we don’t do that in TBR. Instead, we point out how Jesus met this man in the space of his questions and curiosity, and showed him the truth. We take our nicknames seriously, and we want our nicknames for godly people in Scripture to be redemptive in nature.
TBR Usage of Nicknames
In TBR, sometimes we give nicknames to other people in Scripture. Here are the reasons we think this practice is helpful in practice and in purpose.
1. The Bible Recap reaches a wide range of ages and abilities—from those who are not even reading yet, and those who could once read but whose eyesight is failing them. Nicknames are catchy and memorable for those whose reading is impaired or limited for any reason.
2. The Bible Recap exists in a time and language that is different from the original context. Most of the names we pronounce "correctly" (those we don't use a nickname for) are still mispronounced. For instance, Joshua is actually Yeshua. And Jesus is actually Joshua, which means His name is also pronounced Yeshua. Solomon is Schlomo. In other words, even a proper English pronunciation of the name is still a "nickname" of sorts. Most modern Jewish people would not recognize the way we pronounce names like Rahab or Jael. So we don't see any harm in creating a secondary nickname since it’s already different from the original text.
3. We find that nicknames help humanize the people in Scripture (yet without diminishing them; you'll notice that none of the nicknames we choose for the godly people in Scripture are derogatory). We never want to contribute to the belief that these people were anything more than sinners like us whom God chose to use in His story ("Elijah was a man just like us..." - James 5:17). Some faith traditions have a tendency to elevate these people higher than human status, which can lead to all manner of problematic doctrines and theologies. So we find it can be helpful to have the occasional subtle reminder that these are real people.
There are a few reasons behind when and why we employ this practice. Not all reasons apply for each situation, but here are a few of those reasons:
A. Some people in the Bible have names that are either hard to pronounce or hard to remember (for instance, Kings Ahasuerus and Nebuchadnezzer, whom we call King A and King Hebby). We've found that nicknames make the text easier to connect with and remember. It also makes it a bit more accessible and less intimidating for some readers. We believe this serves the reader well.
B. Some people have names that are similar to those in the same time period, and it causes confusion for the reader. For instance, King JEroboam and King REhoboam. We call them King Jerry and King Rey, shortening the parts of their names that rhyme, so that the reader can better keep them straight. We believe this helps keep the focus on the story of God, not on these individual kings. We believe this serves the reader well.
C. Some people have names that could bring confusion because there are other people who have those same names in the same time period. For example, we refer to John the Baptist as "JTB" because he shares a timeline with John the Gospel writer. This helps us provide clarity to some readers (especially those who are newer to Scripture) who find this confusing and don’t know which John is being referred to. We believe this serves the reader well.
Overall, we think and hope these men and women of God would embrace our efforts to help people read, understand, and love God's Word, and that they would happily consent to their new, affectionately-given nickname for the sake of our benefit!
Keywords: nicknames, names, Nebby, Jerry, Rey