1:21 A: You shall call his name Jesus.
Mekhilta Exodus 13:2 (23A) and Gen. Rab. 45 (28D): There are three who
have received their name from the mouth of God: Isaac (Gen 17:19), Solomon (1
Chr 22:9), and Josiah (1 Kgs 13:2). Some add Ishmael from the gentiles (see Gen
16:11). ‖ Jerusalem Talmud Berakot 1.4A.8: Four have been named before they
were born: Isaac, Ishmael, Josiah, and Solomon. ‖ Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer 32: Six
were called by name before they were born: Isaac (Gen 17:19), Ishmael (Gen
16:11), Moses (evidence from בשגם
in Gen 6:3, which corresponds to its numerical value = משה = 345), Solomon (1 Chr 22:9), Josiah (1 Kgs 13:2), and the name
of the Messiah; see Ps 72:17: “Before the sun, Yinnon was his name” (according
to the Midrash). And why was his name called “Yinnon”? Because he causes those
who sleep in dust to blossom (= resurrect, עתיד לינון).—That naming was given a special meaning is shown by Gen. Rab.
37 (22D): Two sons were born to Eber. The name of the one was Peleg; for in his
days the earth’s population was divided (Gen 10:25). R. Yose (ca. 150) and R.
Simeon b. Gamliel (ca. 140). R. Yose said, “The ancients, because they knew
their genealogy (and did not need to determine it by giving names), gave names
according to an event; but we give them, since we do not know our ancestry,
according to our fathers.” Rabban Simeon b. Gamliel said, “The ancients,
because the holy spirit (the spirit of prophecy or inspiration) was available
to them, gave names according to an event; but we give them, because the holy
spirit is not available to us, according to our fathers.” ‖ Seder ʿOlam Rabbah
1: R. Yose (ca. 150) has said, “Because Eber was a great prophet, he called his
son ‘Peleg’ in the holy spirit; for it says (Gen 10:25), ‘In his days the
earth’s population was divided’ (niphlega,
a pun).”—See similarly Gen. Rab. 37 (22D). (Hermann L. Strack and
Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and
Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph
Longarino; Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2022], 1:70)
Here is the relevant quote from Mekhilta Exodus:
As for Isaac, his name was not changed because it was given to him by
the Holy One, blessed be He. And there were three whose names were given to
them by the Holy One, blessed be He: Isaac, Solomon and Josiah. In the case of
Isaac, what does it say? “Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son; and
thou shalt call his name Isaac” (Gen. 17:19). In the case of Solomon, what does
it say? “For his name shall be Solomon” (I Chron. 22:9). In the case of Josiah,
what does it say? “Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah
by name” (I Kings 13:2).—Some say, Among the Gentiles there was also one,
Ishmael.—We find that the names of the righteous and their deeds are revealed
before God even before they are born, as it is said: “Before I formed thee in
the belly I knew thee,” etc. (Jer. 1:5). We thus learn that the names of the
righteous and their deeds are revealed before God. How about those of the
wicked? Scripture says: “The wicked are estranged from the womb,” etc. (Ps.
58:4). (Jacob Zallel Lauterbach, Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael [Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society,
2004], 91-92)
