Barack Obama's Name and the Bible

The American President, Barack Obama, has gone through several different names in his lifetime. He was born Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. in 1961. For a while, he went by the name Barry Soetoro. In college, he chose to start using the name Barack Obama again. While the name Barack Obama has an African origin, it is also a name that has meaning in Hebrew. This name, and its Hebrew meaning, has potentially interesting implications.

The Name "Barack"

The name "Barack", or בָּרָק means lightning in Hebrew. Other meanings for the word are bright or glittering. The horse the Mohammad supposedly rode before he went up to heaven had the name Barack as well. Barack would be a good name for a horse; it implies that the horse was lightning fast. Interesting enough, Barack Obama's rise to power seems to have been lightning fast. Even five years ago, most people did not know who Barack Obama was.

Obama, or Bamah, in Hebrew

Although Obama doesn't have a direct translation to Hebrew, Bamah, or בָּמָה, does have an equivalent translation. Bamah could mean a few different things in Hebrew. It generally means "high place", like on the top of a mountain, battlefield, or a place of worship. In the ancient Israeli times, people often did their worship at a literal high place.

Put together, Barack Obama, in Hebrew, could mean lighting from a high place, or a glittering, shining high place. His name is somewhat prophetic, considering that his career on the world stage has come at a lightning fast pace, and he is seen almost as an object of worship from some people, who believe that he may be the messiah, or could at least save them from their mortgage or other financial troubles.

Barack Bamah in the Bible

Barack Bamah is located in the Hebrew Bible. Luke 10:18 states: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven". Luke 10:18 in Hebrew has the phrase בָּמָה בָּרָק, or Barack Bamah, in it (keep in mind that Hebrew reads from right to left). In other words, Jesus is saying "I beheld Satan as Barack Bamah". He was probably actually speaking Aramaic at the time, which is based on Hebrew, so his actual words might have been slightly different.

This doesn't necessarily mean that Jesus is saying that Barack Obama is the Antichrist. I have written about the Antichrist before; at this point, Barack Obama has not fulfilled the requirements to be the Antichrist. He seems to have lost some of the luster that he had a couple of years ago; however, he does share some characteristics of the Antichrist, such as being manipulative, seeming almost God-like to people, and wielding a great amount of power.

Sources:

Abagond. "Obama At Occidental College". 11 April 2008.

Bible.

Hebrew New Testament.

Strong's Concordance.

Warner, Bill. "Barack Obama and Slavery." 26 September 2008.