Why Labels Are Significant in Scripture

The technique of recognizing labels in Scripture is an easy way to freshen up our Bible reading. While reading, identify and track the labels that an author uses for characters in the story. Once a character is introduced, many Bible readers create a picture in their mind of who that character is and default to that initial picture without looking at the nuanced ways that the author is presenting that character.

Identifying and tracking these character labels gives readers an inside look on how the author is wanting to portray a certain facet of that character. It may be familial (David, son of Jesse) or occupational (Simon the tanner). It may show how characters are viewing other characters within the narrative, whether positively (e.g., when Boaz calls Ruth a “worthy woman”) or negatively (e.g., in 1 Samuel 25:25, when Abigail references her husband by his proper name, attaching a negative label: “Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal,” which means “fool”).

An Overview of Labels in Scripture

“Read the Labels” involves identifying and tracking the various ways that a biblical author references the characters within the book. This allows readers to view the individuals within the account in the way the author intended, or to gain insight into how characters view each other within the account.

Prevalence

This is mainly found in narrative texts but also can be used in other genres such as poetry and epistles.

Instruction

Look for how the biblical author references individuals within the text or how characters label each other within the text and track their usage. Look for patterns, such as whether familial labels are used (husband, sister, son, uncle, etc.), ethnic labels are mentioned (Egyptian, Hittite, Ammonite, etc.), proper names are foregrounded or suppressed, pronouns are used instead of other labels, self-effacing labels such as “your servant” are used, or place of origin is mentioned (Saul of Tarsus or Joseph of Arimathea). Once the findings are gathered, consider what might have motivated the author to use those particular labels.

Value

Identifying and tracking the labels can help readers detect what the biblical author is foregrounding by way of characterization, rhetorical devices that aid in thematic understanding of the text, or a key viewpoint shift that the narrator wants readers to experience.

Challenges

The only real challenge is that readers must be able to take the information learned in this technique and reflect on why the author chose the particular labels that are used (compared to other labels that could have been used). Authors do not spell out explicitly why these particular labels are used, so there will be some degree of subjectivity in determining the “so what?”

Be On the Look Out

Here are a few general observations about this technique to be on the lookout for:

1. Negative assessments are generally the rule when characters are:

• referred to by ethnic titles (Aramean, Edomite, Philistine, etc.).
• referred to as the “son of ” due to stressing the diminutive relationship or because it is used pejoratively “son of Mary” (Mark 6:3) [major exception with the phrase “Son of God”].
• combined with “that/this” demonstrative pronoun— e.g., “this Philistine” (1 Sam. 17:26).
• labeled with some occupation, such as “the carpenter” (Mark 6:3), or “Simon the tanner” (Acts 10:6). However, one would expect the label “Rahab the harlot” to be entirely negative, but that label is used by New Testament writers to highlight God’s transforming grace in her life (Heb. 11:31; James 2:25).
• showing deference in the accounts when they avoid first-person pronouns—e.g., “your servant” (1 Sam. 20:7–8).

2. Notice characters who do not possess a personal name.

They are typically defined by nouns indicating their occupation or title (e.g., the “shield-bearer” in 1 Samuel 17:7). Usually, anonymous figures carry a negative stigma (e.g., witch of Endor) or identify someone without any significant social standing (e.g., Abraham’s two young servants in Genesis 22:3–5), but sometimes the lack of a proper name forces the reader to slow down and ponder why these anonymous figures are present in the narrative and reflect on the reason why the biblical author intentionally left them nameless. It might be to focus on how their occupation plays a significant role as compared to the named characters (e.g., messengers or shield-bearers) or to signal a sense of foreboding (e.g., Jephthah’s daughter).

3. Sometimes proper names are suppressed until a pivotal moment, as in the case of David, who is not mentioned by name in 1 Samuel until after he is anointed and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him (1 Sam. 17:13).

Tracking all the labels that are applied to the characters you come across in your Bible reading is a simple but surefire way to energize and enliven the time you spend in God’s Word. Plus, it will provide you with something to direct the focus of your reading that can lead to delightful personal observations. 

Go and Implement

Genesis 4: Try this on your own with Abel in Genesis 4. Take note of how often his proper name is mentioned and then reflect on its absence in verses 10–11.

Genesis 28-31: Track the character Laban by the labels he possesses in Genesis 28–30 and then notice the shift in how he is referred as in Genesis 31:20–24.

The Gospels: As you read through one of the Gospels, see all the “labels” that characters within the book use when addressing Jesus (e.g., master, rabbi, teacher, Lord, etc.) and look for how those titles give insight into how those characters view Jesus.