Symbolic Meaning of the Name Noah

Noah’s name comes from a Hebrew word that means “rest.” According to Genesis 5:29, Methuselah, his father, gave Noah the name, saying, “This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed.” Methuselah connects Noah’s name to a different (but similar-sounding) Hebrew word meaning “comfort” or “compassion.” Intriguingly, Enoch’s vision in Moses 7 connects the Flood, the coming of Jesus, and the salvation of the world with the question “When will the earth rest?” This suggests that Moses 7 understands Noah as a type of the final rest provided by Jesus Christ.