The Name Game

How have you handled the tough pronunciation of names in Genesis?

Lee Fox reminded us last week that these are people that God thought were worth mentioning in His Word. The living God of the universe knows them intimately and elevated their dignity by naming them in Scripture. Mary Craig said in staff meeting, "I can't wait to meet some of these people and hear their story!"

Knowing their story is one thing. Pronouncing their names is another. Sometimes, I go with the phonetic pronunciation. Other times, I shorten the name to "E" or "H." Once in a while, I give that person a nickname. Some names do not transliterate well from Hebrew to English.

Of course, you could do what people do with Coach Mike Krzyzewski (Duke basketball coach). His name is pronounced, "shih-SHEV-skee." Most people simply call him, "Coach K."

How have you handled the names?