New Post
Search
Help[Facts] Caleb
I really like the name Caleb but does it really have the meaning of Dog? I was on numerous other sites that all suggested Caleb meant Faithful and Bold. And someone had posted under the comments of the name Caleb that it actually means light hearted and courageous. Only when I looked the name up in BTN did it say it had the meaning of Dog. Could this be inaccurate? Because so many other sites are claiming that it means Faithful and Bold. Does anyone know? Thanks for your time :)
___________________________________________________________
~Proud wife of Jacob~
*Proud mother of my pets*:
Cricket, Dusty Rose, Angel, Snowball and Butterbee
~*To be great is to be misunderstood*~
___________________________________________________________
~Proud wife of Jacob~
*Proud mother of my pets*:
Cricket, Dusty Rose, Angel, Snowball and Butterbee
~*To be great is to be misunderstood*~
1
Replies
Never thought/heard of that.
And I don't think it makes much sense because then the name would probably have a double L (ëììá?)
And I don't think it makes much sense because then the name would probably have a double L (ëììá?)
1
No idea, it was in a Hebrew names book. Maybe it's wrong.
1
Well, the interpretation of the sound of the heart is definitely wrong - sound/voice is spelled with a kuf ÷ and the name with a caf ë.
And I checked, and Caleb doesn't even have a dagesh in the L - so there's no sign that the name Caleb was ever two words. Thus, this theory about it meaning "all the heart"/"sound of the heart" seems wrong.
And I checked, and Caleb doesn't even have a dagesh in the L - so there's no sign that the name Caleb was ever two words. Thus, this theory about it meaning "all the heart"/"sound of the heart" seems wrong.
1
Again, it's fine to interpret the name for yourself this way if you want to. But in terms of historical etymology, you can't just look in a dictionary (of any language) and say that a name means the same thing as words it resembles, without having evidence that the name was created from those words at the time it was first used.
Someone could look in an English dictionary and say that Ashton would mean "2,000 pounds of burnt wood", but that's NOT its historical etymology.
Someone could look in an English dictionary and say that Ashton would mean "2,000 pounds of burnt wood", but that's NOT its historical etymology.
1
Unfortunately, most Hebrew names have tons of interpretations that are all considered valid, and I am not a rabbi to decided which interpretation is valid according to tradition and which is not. Just do a search on a Jewish site.
1
Well, frankly, I would not necessarily accept what a rabbi says about the original meaning of an ancient Hebrew name unless he or she was also an expert in ancient Semitic languages. And there are plenty of sites put up by Christians that spread nonsense about the origin of traditional Christian names, so just because a site is "Jewish" doesn't mean it's correct.
1
I believe what the Talmud says on names. They probably had a better knowledge than us. I would also think a rabbi studied the Talmud, so I would believe him unless it sounded totally off (then I would ask for more details about how he got his information).
1
LMAO
Thanks for the laugh!
Thanks for the laugh!
1
I was told that Caleb means "dog", because the original beholder of the name was "faithful as a dog" towards God. It is not to simply mean dog. Also, it is "dog" because dogs are obedient and faithful to their master, much like the biblical Caleb was to God. I think people often see the meaning "dog" and are turned off without reading the story of the very first Caleb.
1
This is certainly possible, but this interpretation is not given directly in the Bible, so we can't know for sure that it's true. There are some experts who think it is unlikely, because the ancient Hebrews had a much more negative view of dogs in general than modern Americans do.
1
"Faithful" and "Bold" are implications that some people have come up with for the supposed reasons why someone would have named a child "dog". It's certainly legitimate for people to express such ideas IF they don't present them as being actual etymologies. If you want to interpret Caleb as "man's best friend" for yourself, that's fine, but it's not the origin of the name in Hebrew. To say that Caleb meant something like faithful, bold, or courageous in ancient Hebrew is frankly a lie (by the original person who came up with it; most baby name sites are just ignorantly repeating the false information without deliberately lying) made up in order to get parents to think more positively about the name.
And I have no idea where the "light-hearted" comes from, as I don't think that's part of the stereotype of dogs in American culture.
And I have no idea where the "light-hearted" comes from, as I don't think that's part of the stereotype of dogs in American culture.
This message was edited 1/25/2007, 10:34 AM
1