3421. 'And he called them names' means the essential nature of them. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling the names' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3237. And since calling the names or the name means the essential nature, the expression calling without the addition of 'the name' therefore means in the internal sense of the Word to be of some such particular nature, as in Isaiah,

Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came out of the waters of Judah. For they are called after the city of holiness, and upon the God of Israel they place their reliance. Isaiah 48:1-2.

Here 'being called after the city of holiness' stands for being of some particular nature. And in Luke,

Behold, you will conceive in the womb and will bear a son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. Luke 1:31-32.

'Being called Son of the Most High' stands for His Essential Being (Esse).

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.