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Samenvatting
- Bianca is not in the Bible. It is Italian for “white”, from a Germanic root that also gave French blanche and English blank, originally meaning bright or shining.
- Blanche, Blanca and Bianca are the same name in three languages.
- From the earliest centuries the newly baptised were clothed in a white robe. The Latin alba gives us the alb a priest still wears.
- Paul gives the image its meaning: all who were baptised into Christ have “clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27) — put something on, not improved themselves.
- White in Scripture is always conferred: Isaiah’s scarlet made white by God, the prodigal given the best robe before finishing his apology, the crowd in Revelation whose robes were washed in blood.
Bibliografie (Klik om te tonen)
Sources: Behind the Name entries for Bianca and Blanche (Italian “white”, from a Germanic root); Scripture quotations from the NIV via BibleGateway (Galatians 3:27; Isaiah 1:18; Luke 15:22; Revelation 7:9-14). The baptismal alb takes its name from Latin alba, “white”.
