The Real Prayer of Jabez
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I gave birth to him in pain.” Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would greatly bless me and extend my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm so that it would not hurt me!” And God brought about what he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NASB
In pain/ hurt me – We looked at this before (https://skipmoen.com/2017/02/birth-wright/). We found out that this prayer wasn’t a success formula at all. It was about avoiding the condition implied in the name. In Hebrew, “Jabez” is a play on words. His mother names him for her pain, like this: be-ʿōṣeb becomes yah-bates´, both connected to the root ʿāṣab (to grieve, vex, experience pain). Mom had a very difficult delivery, so she names the child “Painful.” That might sound unusual to us, but it happens frequently in Hebrew stories. Think about Rachel and Benjamin. Then remember that there is no “J” in Hebrew. In fact, there is no “J” in any language until the 14th century. The letter is “Y,” not “J.” It’s Yeshua, not “J”esus. In the same manner, there is no prayer of “J”abez. There’s the prayer of Yaʿbêts, unfortunately translated as “Jabez.” And because we don’t read the text in Hebrew, we don’t see the connection between “in pain” and “Yaʿbêts.” But it’s there.
This means that popular book, The Prayer of Jabez, is, literally, fiction. “Jabez” is asking God not to harm him in the way his name implies. In other words, this prayer is an appeal to God to not fulfill his supposed destiny! His mother apparently thought that her experience would set the tone for the life of her son. He prays that it won’t. It’s as simple as that.
Well, maybe.
You and I were also given a name not of our own choosing. The name you were given was an encapsulation of what your parents thought about you. Perhaps it was a family tradition. Perhaps the name of a special relative or someone of importance to them. Perhaps it was a random choice from a list. But whatever the reason for naming you, it wasn’t your choice. The identity tied to the name wasn’t you. It was someone else. For me, it was my maternal grandfather. And as a result, the expectations surrounding my life were conditioned by the family’s experience of him. I was named as an extension of his person, not mine. Perhaps I needed to read the prayer of Yaʿbêts. “God, keep me from being nothing more than what my namesake means. Let me have my own identity. Let me be who I am, not who I am expected to be.” Maybe that’s the real prayer of “Jabez,” one that each of us can pray.
Topical Index: Jabez, pain, be-ʿōṣeb, Yaʿbêts, 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
In the biblical stories names are often given to render some particular connection to the essential nature or meaning of the name. In some respects the act of naming is also an act designating ownership, possession, or accountability for that connection. Such are examples of the depth of the human psyche conditioned by— or attempting to condition— the circumstances of our existence. How profound it is then, that the Sovereign God of all creation assumes for himself a name that is before and above and beyond all names: YHVH, “I am that I am.”
And now consider that he names his unique son—that one who his own agent of his creative and his redemptive work: “Yeshua” (Yehoshua), “Yehovah is salvation.”