Page 26 - August 2026 - Truth & Tidings

We know one thing: whether willingly or mind, it’s probable that from that point
reluctantly, thankfully or fearfully, every on, Pharaoh wanted everyone to know
knee would bow at the name of the one that Joseph was “the revealer of secrets.”
who was once despised. Seventeen hundred years later, as the
And so it will be with the name of Jesus. bewildered Samaritan woman marvelled
Some have already bowed, thankful for at the Lord’s intimate knowledge of the
the Man who released them from sin’s personal and private details of her life,
dungeon. But we also know that those she couldn’t help but proclaim to the men
who refuse will eventually be forced, of the city, “Come, see a man, which told
because “at the name of Jesus every knee me all things that ever I did” (Joh 4:29).
shall bow.” She had found the revealer of secrets, her
But let’s focus on Joseph’s new name and Zaphnath-paaneah.
what it means to our John 4 meditation. Sustainer of life? Revealer of secrets?
Pharaoh was speaking Egyptian when But what if there is an even grander defini-
he bestowed the name of honour on the tion for the name? Pharaoh believed the
one he deemed the most discerning and interpretation of the dreams and was now
wise man in the world. Because the word convinced of a coming famine. The danger
is somewhat ambiguous and different of drought with its dearth and death was
ancient languages lend slightly varied
meanings, we should consider a few pos- inevitable, and there was nothing they
sible definitions of Zaphnath-paaneah that could do to stop it. They needed a man,
enhance our Samaritan study. someone who would ensure the survival
First, some say the name means “giver of the helpless masses – a deliverer, a
of life,” or “nourisher,” pointing to Joseph rescuer, a saviour. Joseph was that man,
as the sustainer of life through the coming and in giving him his official title, Pharaoh
famine. In this way, we could see the Lord declared to all that this unique man was
Jesus at the well in His role as the provider “the saviour of the world.”
of living water. Through this metaphor, In Sychar that day, the Giver and
He revealed Himself as the giver and Nourisher of life was offering living
sustainer of spiritual life. But two other water to thirsty souls (Joh 4:14), and the
meanings are more pronounced in our omniscient Messiah was revealing the
chapter, references that cannot be missed. secrets of sinful hearts (v29). But when
For many, Pharaoh’s renaming had the men of the city heard Him speak with
more to do with Joseph’s ability to in- their own ears, they knew they had found
terpret dreams and give insight into their Zaphnath-paaneah, “the Saviour of
otherwise unknown things. With this in the world” (v42).

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250 TRUTH kTidings August 2026