8520. 'And the house of Israel called its name Man' means its essential nature among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and 'calling the name' as the essential nature of a thing, dealt with in 144, 145, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421, 6674. The fact that it was called Man because they did not know what it was, and that it means the good of truth, which is the good of those belonging to the spiritual Church, see 8462, 8464.

144. As to 'calling by name' meaning recognizing their nature, it must be realized that the ancients understood nothing else by 'a name than the essential nature of a real thing, and by 'seeing and calling them by name' recognizing the nature of such. This was why they gave their sons and daughters names in keeping with the things that were meant by them; for there was something unique to every name, as a means of knowing the origin and nature of those children, as will also be seen later on where, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the twelve sons of Jacob are dealt with. Since therefore a name embodied a person's origin and nature nothing else was meant by 'calling by name'. This manner of speaking was customary among them; but anyone who does not understand is sure to wonder whether they do have these meanings.