Jewells of Thought

Today is a special day for two ladies I know. One a cousin and the other a dear member of my church family. These ladies will receive greetings and cake and all the fun a birthday should emanate. There is a little boy, though and his family are not celebrating today.

There are still well over a hundred and 30 hostages still in Gaza hidden in the infested tunnels under Hamas authority. Kfir turns 1 year old today according to a headline I received this morning from RedState. “The Littlest Hostage: Happy Birthday, Kfir” posted by Susie Moore. I have not seen many articles by this name. She has counted the days of Kfir’s imprisonment 103. God willing this child will not have the memories that nearly all the others will remember everyday for the rest of their lives. Still this child will have emotional scars as they all will.

This child is one of the reasons to not forget these hostages. Will he make it to his 2nd birthday or his family? Type in his name Kfir Bibas he was 10 months old when he was kidnapped on October 7th.

I decided to look up the name Kfir this research was very interesting. Kfir is specifally a Jewish name I looked under the heading of Arab and Kafir is totally different. The root is KFR, but the word Kufr means disbelief in the Arab language. Kafir means a non believer to a person that doesn’t speak in that language. I found this apparent opposite of the Jewish meaning very intriguing and wonder what this truly means for little one year old Kfir?

However, the Jewish meaning is really quite amazing. This little Jewish boy’s name comes from the story of Samson. Intrigued? His name means both lion cub, young lion or village. It goes further to say what kind of man Kfir is usually characterized as: a passionate man showing strength and authority. He is a man that was born to be a leader, sounds like Samson and Moses just to shine a light on two men. Also says he wears power well like a perfectly tailored suit. Not only intervening with a dynamic sense, but also resourceful by his own merits enjoying the freedom of autonomy and not a master to restrict him.

Wow that’s a lot of infusing character into one name and seeing if it fits the person. God was always good at naming people rightly in Bible stories and still is when it comes to naming babies. I am surprised many times over at how people say I fit my name. For a long time I didn’t know how to reply to that statement. I’m a bit eclectic, but I’m passionate about God, music and history. A rare gem yet it’s the musical celebrity of the name I was named after Frederick Alton Jewell. Grandpa first and then me… it’s a quaint story I love telling.

What will Kfir’s story be? Will good keep him sustained through this imprisonment? Will his captors hate what his name means when in Arab it’s the exact opposite?

Please continue praying for those hostages. Especially Kfir and his family.