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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

What’s in a Name?


By Robin G. Jordan

The first letter of each word of the name, “Heritage Anglican Network in North America” spells out the acronym HANNA. The acronym HANNA is close to Hannah, the Anglicized version of Hebrew name חָנַן, which transliterates Channah and which means “grace or favour”. It is pronounced khan-nah. It is derived from the Hebrew noun נַן, which transliterates chen, which pronounced khayn. It means “favour, grace, charm, acceptance.” The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb חָנָה, which transliterates chanan. It means “to be gracious, show favour, pity.”It is pronounced khahnan. This was pure coincidence. However, it is reassuring to have chosen a name that is a reminder of God’s gracious disposition toward us. It is also a reminder of what should be our own disposition toward others. It should reflect God’s disposition towards us.

1 comment:

  1. Your Hebrew transliteration is a little off, Robin.

    The noun is derived from the Hebrew verb חָנָה, which transliterates chanan.

    חָנָה is chet-nun-he which transliterates (with those specific vowel points) to "chanah". There is no "n" at the end of the word.

    Similarly, חָנַן transliterates to "chanan" (it does have the ending "n" or nun.

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