Zebra?

Bronx Zoo.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the

beasts of the field, and all the birds of the air.  He brought them

to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever

the man called each living creature, that was its name.  So the

man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air, and

all the beasts of the field.

Genesis 2:19-20

I've always loved this story in Genesis 2 of Adam naming the animals.  Of course, if you believe in evolution, then this would simply be a fairy tale; but if you believe in God as the Creator of all things, then it is uniquely plausible that God might have delighted in giving Adam this task in His new creation.  If the animals were first separated into groupings, I can see three similar beasts being brought forward for their name.  The first and best of the lot was named "horse."  The second animal was named "ass" or "donkey" [what the Internet calls a etymologically obscure word.]  The third?  Well - what in the world are you going to call this horse-like animal with the amazing black stripes?

I would love to have been a fly on the landscape to hear what Adam called this fellow.  The word "zebra" has no known meaning.  The English name of "zebra" dates back to 1600, coming from the Italian "zebra."  Before that, it was a Portuguese word with roots in Congolese.  Prior to that there is a possible Latin connection, but no one knows for sure.  Did Adam himself come up with the term Zebra?  Let's just say it is not categorically impossible.

My mother borrowed my pediatrician's family name for my given name.  I specifically chose a very short, four letter name for my firstborn, in order to cut down on the horrible nicknames that her future school classmates would come up with.  Adam had no such familial ancestry or social construct; he was the first of his kind, naming the original members of every species on earth.  In my imagination, I see the two of them - God and Adam - sitting and laughing together as this naming adventure moved forward.  I'm sure that it was a memory that Adam cherished for the rest of his life.