Lexicon

G3686 - onoma

Strong's: 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)

A name (literal), the proper designation by which a person, place, or thing is called.
The cause / reason / occasion, "for the sake of the name" (Matthew 19:29).
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).
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) means "may You be honored as holy."
"I have made known Your name to them" (John 17:6, 26) means "I have revealed who You are."
Calling on "the name of the LORD" (Joel 2:32; Romans 10.13) means calling on YHWH Himself.
"There is no other name… by which we must be saved" (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) 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, 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, "there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved"
Romans 10.13, "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED" (citing Joel 2:32)
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, "whatever you ask in My name (en tō onomati mou), that I will do"
John 16:23-24, same construction
Acts 3:6, "in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!"
Acts 3:16, "on the basis of faith in His name, His name has strengthened this man"

Baptism / Trinitarian formula

Matthew 28.19, eis to onoma tou patros kai tou huiou kai tou hagiou pneumatos, singular onoma over the Trinity
Acts 2:38, "be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ"
Acts 8:16, "they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus"
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's Trinitarian formula, see the discussion on Matthew 28.19 for the patristic and Reformation resolution.)

Name = revealed character / person

John 17:6, "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me"
John 17:26, "I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known"
Hebrews 1:4, "having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name"
Revelation 19:13, "His name is called The Word of God"
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, "His name will be on their foreheads"

Cause / sake

Matthew 5:11, "blessed are you when people insult you… because of Me" (Matt 19:29 uses heneka tou onomatos mou, "for the sake of My name")
Matthew 10:22, "you will be hated by all because of My name"
Matthew 19:29, "everyone who has left… for My name's sake"

Generic naming

Luke 1:5, "his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth"
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, "My name is in him" (the angel of YHWH)
Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, God chooses a place to "put His name there"
1 Kings 8:29, "of which You have said, 'My name shall be there'"
Psalm 20:1, "the name of the God of Jacob defend you"
Psalm 124:8, "our help is in the name of the LORD"
Proverbs 18:10, "the name of the LORD is a strong tower"
Joel 2:32, "everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved"
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'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 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 quoting Joel 2:32), they are identifying Jesus with YHWH, not adding a new name to the divine roster.

Verses in this codex

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