Judah Young Barker

Born April 1st, 2023 at 1:11PM

7 lbs 12oz, 19 inches

On April 1st, 2023, Caroline, Violet and I welcomed our newest addition to the family: Judah Young Barker. 

He was (surprisingly!) born at home at 1:11pm after a series of divine encounters. Delivered by our doula, Erika, with one of our midwives on FaceTime, we now have a new, modern frame of reference for the meaning of “Call the Midwife.” We are grateful for them (and Georgi, Alex’s mom!) who were there for Judah’s birth.

We believe in the great and mysterious way names shape a person’s life. As is said in the book of Isaiah, God calls each of us by name. As a parent, it is a wonderful responsibility to name our children and we want to share Judah’s name meaning with you. 

Judah

Of Hebrew origin, translated as “Praised”. In the Old Testament, the tribe of Judah was the first of twelve to take its place in the Land of Israel and was the tribe from which King David descended. . We desired to both honor the Jewish heritage that our Christian faith comes from, as well as honor Jesus of Nazareth’s lineage.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is directly connected with King David and Jacob’s 4th son, Judah. 

“Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.”

- Matthew 1:17

We praise God for his mercy in Judah’s unique delivery and earnestly pray Judah will learn to love to praise the loving Creator of all things, the Living God of not merely now, but of many generations before us, and many generations yet to come.

Plus, for all you movie buffs out there, one of the better Biblical epics ‘Ben-Hur’ tells of a fictional story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish Prince whose tragic life is redeemed through the love of Jesus in a profoundly unexpected way. There are three versions, the 1959 edition is the classic film we are referring to and recommend.

“Almost at the moment He died, I heard Him say, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do…And I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand.”

- Judah Ben-Hur

Young

The Youngs are part of my father’s lineage originating from Londonderry, Ireland (better known as “Derry”). My dad’s middle name is Young and my middle name is Young. It had been a lifelong dream of mine if I were to have a son for the Young middle name to continue. A name reminds us where we come from. For the Barkers, it was Alexander Young who in 1821 at the age of 22 immigrated across the Atlantic and settled within Philadelphia that we pay homage to. Without his courage, none of us would be here today.

Barker

A name that grows in meaning and in number, we hope and pray that Judah will carry the name Barker well, passing it down to future generations long after we are gone. 

Our family of four sends you our love and hope that one day we will be able to introduce you to our little Judah. Knowing Violet, she will no doubt want to be the person to make the introduction! :) 

With Love, 

Alex, Caroline, Violet and Judah Barker

Raleigh, NC

May 14th, 2023