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Plenty of Old and New Testament passages have dialogue where a character’s name is mentioned. But there are occasions—and you can hold them in two hands—when the Lord calls someone’s name twice in a row.
Counting the names that are repeated twice in the Old and New Testaments, we find seven.
The first time was in Genesis 22:11. In Genesis 22, Abraham was preparing to offer his son Isaac on the altar, in accordance with the Lord’s instructions. When he reached out his hand with the knife to kill Isaac, the angel of Yahweh called from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” (Gen. 22:11). And Abraham replied, “Here I am.”
The second time was in Genesis 46:2. In Genesis 46, Jacob had recently learned that his son Joseph was alive after many years of believing Joseph was dead. Jacob began his journey toward Egypt, where he would reunite with Joseph. When Jacob came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the Lord, the Lord spoke to him and said, “Jacob, Jacob” (Gen. 46:2). And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”
The third time was in Exodus 3:4. Moses had been keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, and an angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses in the flame of fire from a bush (Exod. 3:1–2). Moses turned aside to see what was happening, and God called to him, “Moses, Moses!” (3:4). And Moses replied, “Here I am.”
The fourth time was in 1 Samuel 3:10. While Samuel was ministering at the temple of the Lord, he heard the voice of the Lord and mistook it for the voice of Eli. Samuel responded, “Here I am!” (1 Sam. 4:4). He went to Eli, and Eli eventually realized the Lord was calling Samuel. The Lord said, “Samuel! Samuel!” (3:10).
These first four occasions of twice-repeated names are in the Old Testament, and the character responds to the Lord’s voice with, “Here I am.” The final three occurrences of twice-repeated names are in the New Testament.
The fifth time was in Luke 10:41. In Luke 10:38–42, Jesus was at Martha’s home, and he was teaching the group there. But Martha was distracted with serving and even told Jesus that Mary should be helping her serve (Luke 10:40). The Lord said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (10:41).
The sixth time was in Luke 22:31. In Luke 22, the setting was the night when Jesus had the last supper with his disciples and would be betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31).
The seventh time was in Acts 9:4. In Acts 9, Saul of Tarsus journeyed on the road to Damascus in order to confront and arrest Christians. While he was on the road, a heavenly light shone around him, and he fell to the ground (Acts 9:3–4). A voice said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (9:4). When he inquired about the speaker, he learned that Jesus had spoken his name.
In the three New Testament occasions of twice-repeated names, there was no “Here I am” response from a biblical character, which was a phrase we saw in the four contexts of the Old Testament occurrences.
Viewed at once, the seven twice-repeated names are Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Martha, Simon, and Saul.
In the Old Testament, the one repeating the names in each case was the Lord. And in the New Testament, the one repeating the names in each case was Jesus—the Lord.