Isaac

Isaac is one of the oldest Biblical names, borne from the Old Testament as the son of Abraham; the son who was nearly sacrificed by his father as a burnt offering at God’s command (Genesis 22:1-13). At the very last second of this nail-biting scene, an angel descended and yelled for Abraham to stop. Apparently, God was sufficiently satisfied that Abraham would have killed his son, his only son, for Him. It was one of those perverse laboratory experiments God enjoyed playing on man before He went from being a jealous God to a kind God (ah, but we digress). The name Isaac is derived from the Hebrew “Yitzhaq” (יִצְחָק) meaning, quite literally, “he laughs”. We love this joyful etymology! Apropos, in Genesis 18:12-15, we learn why there’s an element of “laughter” in Isaac’s name. You see, God promised Abraham that Sarai (Sarah) would conceive and bear a son. When Abraham told his wife, she basically did an ancient version of LOL’ing. Why? Well, because she simply didn’t believe it. You see, Sarah was not only barren all her life, but she was now quite old (like 100 years old). In Genesis 21:6, right after Isaac was born, “Sara said, ‘God has given me cause for laughter, and whoever hears of it will laugh with me.’” Hence Isaac’s name. How can you not love the name Isaac with a story like that? It makes us want to giggle every time we see it. Of course Isaac was the son of Abraham with whom God carries on His covenant; Isaac lived on to father Esau and Jacob (by Rebecca), and the covenant goes on from there (through Jacob). Isaac has always been a distinctly Jewish name until the Puritans adopted him for usage after the Protestant Reformation. Today he “laughing” all the way to the hospital nursery and is enjoyed by Jews and Gentiles alike. In fact, Isaac is seeing international interest at the moment. He’s ranked highest in Australia (a top 20 fave), but also does quite well in the United States, England, Northern Ireland and Canada. Not to mention Spain, Catalonia and Chile.