# G3686 - onoma **Strong's:** [G3686](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3686/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** on'-om-ah **Part of speech:** neuter noun **Hebrew equivalents (LXX):** שֵׁם (*shem*, H8034), overwhelmingly the standard rendering **NT occurrences:** ~228 ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **A name (literal)**, the proper designation by which a person, place, or thing is called. 2. **The cause / reason / occasion**, "for the sake of the name" ([Matthew 19:29](/codex/matthew-19-29/)). 3. **Authority, character, reputation**, by Hebraistic extension, the name *stands in for* the bearer's authority, deeds, character, or office. "By Hebraistic usage… the name is used for everything which the name covers, anything by which one is known: rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds, etc." (Thayer). 4. **The person himself / herself**, by metonymy; "the name" *equals* the named one. ## Theological force In the biblical Hebrew (and inherited Septuagintal Greek) idiom, **a name is not just an identifying label, it is the bearer's revealed self.** This is why: - "Hallowed be Your name" ([Matthew 6:9](/codex/matthew-6-9/)) means "may *You* be honored as holy." - "I have made known Your name to them" ([John 17:6](/codex/john-17-6/), [26](/codex/john-17-26/)) means "I have revealed *who You are*." - Calling on "the name of the LORD" ([Joel 2:32](/codex/joel-2-32/); [Romans 10.13](/codex/romans-10-13/)) means calling on YHWH Himself. - "There is no other name… by which we must be saved" ([Acts 4:12](/codex/acts-4-12/)) means there is no other person, *Jesus*, by whom salvation comes. - Baptism "in the name (*eis to onoma*) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" ([Matthew 28.19](/codex/matthew-28-19/)) is incorporation into the Triune *being*, not mere ritual word-speaking. The grammatical singular *onoma* ("name") joining the three persons of the Trinity in [Matthew 28:19](/codex/matthew-28-19/), not the plural *onomata*, is a load-bearing detail. One *name* (singular) shared by Father, Son, and Spirit. It would have been straightforward Greek to say *eis ta onomata* ("into the names"); the singular grounds the unity of the three persons in one divine being. ## Notable verses ### Jesus's name as locus of salvation / authority - **[Acts 4:12](/codex/acts-4-12/)**, "there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" - **[Romans 10.13](/codex/romans-10-13/)**, "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED" (citing [Joel 2:32](/codex/joel-2-32/)) - **[Philippians 2:9-11](/codex/philippians-2-9-11/)**, "God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name (*onoma*) which is above every name… that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow" - **[John 14:13-14](/codex/john-14-13-14/)**, "whatever you ask in My name (*en tō onomati mou*), that I will do" - **[John 16:23-24](/codex/john-16-23-24/)**, same construction - **[Acts 3:6](/codex/acts-3-6/)**, "in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!" - **[Acts 3:16](/codex/acts-3-16/)**, "on the basis of faith in His name, His name has strengthened this man" ### Baptism / Trinitarian formula - **[Matthew 28.19](/codex/matthew-28-19/)**, *eis to onoma tou patros kai tou huiou kai tou hagiou pneumatos*, singular *onoma* over the Trinity - **[Acts 2:38](/codex/acts-2-38/)**, "be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ" - **[Acts 8:16](/codex/acts-8-16/)**, "they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" - **[Acts 19:5](/codex/acts-19-5/)**, "they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Note: the Acts formulations using "name of Jesus" are not in tension with [Matthew 28:19](/codex/matthew-28-19/)'s Trinitarian formula, see the discussion on [Matthew 28.19](/codex/matthew-28-19/) for the patristic and Reformation resolution.) ### Name = revealed character / person - **[John 17:6](/codex/john-17-6/)**, "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me" - **[John 17:26](/codex/john-17-26/)**, "I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known" - **[Hebrews 1:4](/codex/hebrews-1-4/)**, "having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name" - **[Revelation 19:13](/codex/revelation-19-13/)**, "His name is called The Word of God" - **[Revelation 19:16](/codex/revelation-19-16/)**, "on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.'" - **[Revelation 22:4](/codex/revelation-22-4/)**, "His name will be on their foreheads" ### Cause / sake - **[Matthew 5:11](/codex/matthew-5-11/)**, "blessed are you when people insult you… because of Me" ([Matt 19:29](/codex/matthew-19-29/) uses *heneka tou onomatos mou*, "for the sake of My name") - **[Matthew 10:22](/codex/matthew-10-22/)**, "you will be hated by all because of My name" - **[Matthew 19:29](/codex/matthew-19-29/)**, "everyone who has left… for My name's sake" ### Generic naming - **[Luke 1:5](/codex/luke-1-5/)**, "his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth" - **[Luke 8:30](/codex/luke-8-30/)**, "what is your name?" "Legion, for many demons had entered him" ## OT background, the name of YHWH The Hebrew theology of "the name" is foundational. *Shem YHWH* ("the name of the LORD") functions throughout the Hebrew Bible as a near-circumlocution for YHWH Himself: - **[Exodus 23:21](/codex/exodus-23-21/)**, "My name is in him" (the angel of YHWH) - **[Deuteronomy 12:5](/codex/deuteronomy-12-5/), [11](/codex/deuteronomy-12-11/)**, God chooses a place to "put His name there" - **[1 Kings 8:29](/codex/1-kings-8-29/)**, "of which You have said, 'My name shall be there'" - **[Psalm 20:1](/codex/psalms-20-1/)**, "the name of the God of Jacob defend you" - **[Psalm 124:8](/codex/psalms-124-8/)**, "our help is in the name of the LORD" - **[Proverbs 18:10](/codex/proverbs-18-10/)**, "the name of the LORD is a strong tower" - **[Joel 2:32](/codex/joel-2-32/)**, "everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved" - **[Malachi 1:11](/codex/malachi-1-11/)**, "from the rising of the sun to its setting My name will be great among the nations" ## Patristic / scholarly note The early baptismal liturgies (Didache 7, c. AD 100; Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus, c. AD 215) invoke the Trinitarian formula explicitly, though some early evidence (Acts; [Justin Martyr](/codex/justin-martyr/)'s *First Apology* 61) shows alongside formulas centered on the name of Jesus. The patristic resolution: baptism *in the name of Jesus* is not a different formula but a shorthand emphasizing Christological focus; the full Triune formula is normative. Tertullian (*Against Praxeas* 26) and Cyprian (*Epistles* 73) treat the *[Matthew 28:19](/codex/matthew-28-19/)* singular *onoma* as Trinitarian-monotheistic warrant: one name, three persons, one divine being. Modern scholarship (Larry Hurtado, *Lord Jesus Christ*; Richard Bauckham, *Jesus and the God of Israel*) emphasizes the OT background: when NT writers apply OT *shem YHWH* / *kalōn epi to onoma kyriou* texts to Jesus (e.g., [Romans 10:13](/codex/romans-10-13/) quoting [Joel 2:32](/codex/joel-2-32/)), they are identifying Jesus with YHWH, not adding a new name to the divine roster. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ ## See also - [H8034 - shem](/codex/h8034-shem/), Hebrew "name" - [H3068 - YHWH](/codex/h3068-yhwh/), "the name of the LORD" - [G2962 - kyrios](/codex/g2962-kyrios/), "Lord," LXX rendering of YHWH - [G0907 - baptizo](/codex/g0907-baptizo/), "to baptize" (paired in [Matt 28:19](/codex/matthew-28-19/)) - [Matthew 28.19](/codex/matthew-28-19/), singular *onoma* over the three persons - [Romans 10.13](/codex/romans-10-13/), "calling on the name of the Lord"