Jared
Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American investor, real estate developer, and former government official who served as Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021.[1][2] The son of real estate developer Charles Kushner, he assumed leadership of the family firm, Kushner Companies, following his father's 2005 conviction on charges including witness tampering and tax evasion, expanding its portfolio amid financial challenges such as the 666 Fifth Avenue property debt.[1][2] Married to Ivanka Trump since 2009, with whom he has three children, Kushner transitioned from private sector roles—including publisher of the New York Observer—to key White House positions focused on domestic policy innovation and international diplomacy.[1][3] During his tenure, Kushner spearheaded initiatives like the Opportunity Zones program for economic development in underserved areas and contributed to criminal justice reform via the First Step Act, which reduced sentences for nonviolent offenders and expanded rehabilitation efforts.[1] His most prominent foreign policy achievement was brokering the Abraham Accords in 2020, facilitating diplomatic normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco—marking the first major Arab-Israeli peace agreements in over 25 years without Palestinian preconditions.[2] Post-administration, he founded Affinity Partners, a private equity firm managing investments in sectors like technology and defense, which secured a $2 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund despite scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest tied to prior U.S.-Saudi relations.[4][2] Kushner's career has drawn controversies, including allegations of improper foreign contacts during the 2016 transition—such as meetings with Russian and Qatari officials—and obtaining top-secret security clearance amid family business loans from foreign entities like Qatar-linked banks, raising questions about influence peddling under mainstream reporting that often amplified unproven narratives from security briefings later contradicted by investigations.[1][2] Critics, including congressional Democrats, have highlighted the firm's post-White House Saudi investment as emblematic of ethical lapses, though defenders point to Kushner's lack of prior government experience and the absence of formal charges as evidence of politicized scrutiny from institutions predisposed against the Trump administration.[2] These episodes underscore tensions between his dual roles in business and policy, where empirical outcomes like the Accords contrast with persistent media-driven narratives emphasizing scandal over substantive results.[1]Etymology
Linguistic Origins
The name Jared derives from the Hebrew יֶרֶד (Yered or Yāreḏ), a proper noun appearing in the Hebrew Bible.[5] This form is linked to the verbal root ירד (yarad, Strong's #3381), which denotes "to descend," "to go down," or "a going down."[6] [7] Linguistically, Yered thus conveys the concept of "descent," reflecting a semantic pattern common in ancient Semitic nomenclature where names encode actions or states.[8] In Hebrew morphology, the name aligns with qal imperfect forms of the root, implying "he descends" or "ruler of descent," though primary etymological consensus favors the straightforward nominal sense of "descent."[9] The root yarad appears over 370 times in the Hebrew Bible, often in contexts of literal or metaphorical lowering, such as descending mountains or falling in status, underscoring its foundational role in the language's lexicon.[6] No pre-biblical Semitic cognates directly attest to Yered as a name, but the root's prevalence in Northwest Semitic languages supports its ancient Hebrew provenance without evidence of borrowing.[7]Biblical Interpretations
The name Jared (Hebrew: Yered, יֶרֶד) derives from the verbal root y-r-d (ירד), yarad, signifying "to descend" or "to go down," yielding an interpretation of "descent" or "he who descends." This etymology is affirmed in Hebrew lexicons and appears in the antediluvian genealogy of Genesis 5:15–20, where Jared is listed as the son of Mahalalel and father of Enoch, without explicit commentary on the name's import in the canonical text.[7][10][8] In Second Temple Jewish pseudepigrapha, the name receives a narrative etiology linking its meaning to supernatural events. The Book of Jubilees (composed ca. 160–150 BCE) states that Mahalalel named his son Jared "for in his days the angels of the Lord descended upon the earth," those termed the Watchers, who sinned by intermarrying with humans and producing giants. Similarly, 1 Enoch (ca. 300–100 BCE) places the Watchers' descent explicitly in "the days of Jared," interpreting the name as foreshadowing this angelic fall, which corrupts humanity and prompts divine judgment. These traditions, preserved in Ethiopic manuscripts and Dead Sea Scrolls fragments, represent early interpretive expansions on Genesis 6:1–4, using the name's semantics to explain the origins of evil before the Flood.[11][12][13] Christian patristic writers, such as those referencing Enochic literature, adopted similar views, viewing Jared's era as a pivotal decline marked by heavenly descent and moral decay, though canonical exegesis remained focused on genealogy rather than onomastics. Alternative interpretations, such as derivations implying "ruling" or "commanding" from unrelated roots, appear sporadically but lack philological support in scholarly analyses, which prioritize the yarad connection.[14][15]Biblical Figure
Genealogy and Lifespan
Jared appears in the genealogy of antediluvian patriarchs outlined in Genesis 5 of the Hebrew Bible, positioned as the sixth generation from Adam through the line of Seth. He is described as the son of Mahalalel, who fathered him at age 65, continuing the lineage from Enosh (or Kenan in some renderings). This patrilineal descent traces humanity's early forebears prior to the Flood, emphasizing longevity and procreation among the Sethites as distinct from Cain's line.[16] At 162 years old, Jared became the father of Enoch, his primary named descendant, after which he lived an additional 800 years and fathered other sons and daughters.[17] Enoch's birth marks Jared's role as grandfather to Methuselah, extending the genealogy toward Noah, though Jared himself is not noted for direct involvement in later events like the Flood. The account attributes no specific exploits or divine interactions to Jared beyond his reproductive contributions to the line.[16] Jared's total lifespan is recorded as 962 years, making him the second-longest-lived figure in this genealogy after his grandson Methuselah (969 years).[18] This duration aligns with the extended ages of pre-Flood patriarchs, ranging from 777 years (Lamech, father of Noah) to Methuselah's record, as per the Masoretic Text.[19] The biblical narrative presents these figures literally, without interpretive qualification in the text itself.[20]Role in Religious Texts
Jared is depicted in the Book of Genesis as an antediluvian patriarch in the lineage descending from Seth, the third son of Adam. Genesis 5:15 states that Mahalalel fathered Jared at age 65, after which Mahalalel lived an additional 830 years and had other children before dying at 895.[21] Jared himself begat Enoch at 162 years old, then lived 800 more years, producing other sons and daughters, for a total lifespan of 962 years, after which he died.[22] This account positions Jared as the sixth generation from Adam, bridging Mahalalel and the prophet Enoch, who is noted for walking with God.[23] The figure of Jared recurs in abbreviated genealogical lists elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, underscoring his place in the Sethite line leading to Noah. In 1 Chronicles 1:2, he is enumerated simply as succeeding Mahalalel and preceding Enoch in the recap of early humanity from Adam.[24] Similarly, Luke 3:37 includes Jared in the genealogy of Jesus, identifying him as the son of Mahalalel within the ancestral chain from Adam to Christ.[25] These references serve no narrative function but affirm continuity in the biblical record of pre-flood humanity. Beyond the canonical scriptures, Jared receives minimal elaboration in ancient Jewish or Christian apocryphal works, appearing chiefly in parallel genealogies without attributed actions or teachings. For instance, the Book of Jubilees (c. 2nd century BCE) mirrors Genesis by listing Jared as Mahalalel's son and Enoch's father, aged 162 at the latter's birth, but adds no unique events or theological significance. His role remains genealogical, symbolizing longevity and lineage preservation in the antediluvian era, with no evidence of prophetic, moral, or miraculous associations in primary religious texts.Usage and Popularity
Historical and Cultural Adoption
The name Jared, derived from the Hebrew Yered meaning "descent," entered use as a given name primarily through Judeo-Christian traditions, where the biblical patriarch Jared (Genesis 5:15–20) represented a pre-flood lineage from Adam to Noah.[9] In Judaism, the original Hebrew form Yered appears in genealogical texts but saw limited adoption as a modern first name, reflecting a preference for other biblical names tied to post-Exilic figures.[26] Christian communities, particularly after the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, revived Old Testament names like Jared amid emphasis on direct scriptural engagement, though it remained uncommon in Europe compared to names such as Adam or Noah.[9] Early documented uses occurred in colonial America, where Puritan and Protestant settlers drew from biblical sources for naming. Jared Ingersoll (1722–1781), a Connecticut-born lawyer and Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress, exemplifies this adoption among Anglo-American elites, linking the name to Enlightenment-era political and intellectual circles.[27] Similarly, Jared Sparks (1789–1859), an American historian and educator who edited George Washington's papers, further embedded the name in 19th-century New England intellectual culture.[28] These instances highlight sporadic rather than widespread use, confined largely to English-speaking Protestant regions, with scant evidence of adoption in Catholic or Orthodox traditions despite shared biblical texts. Culturally, Jared symbolized descent and ancestral continuity, resonating in contexts valuing patrilineal heritage, such as early American frontier families or Latter Day Saint communities—e.g., Jared Carter (1766–1856), an early Mormon missionary active in the 1830s.[29] Variants like Jarrod or Jered emerged in English adaptations, but the name's pre-20th-century footprint was minimal outside Anglo-Saxon Protestant spheres, contrasting with more ubiquitous biblical names. U.S. Social Security Administration records, beginning in 1880, note initial appearances around 1881, underscoring its rarity prior to broader modernization.[29] This historical pattern reflects selective biblical revival rather than universal appeal, influenced by Reformation-era literacy and naming reforms prioritizing Old Testament patriarchs.[9]Modern Trends and Statistics
In the United States, the name Jared has experienced a steady decline in popularity for newborn boys since its peak in the late 1990s, when it ranked as high as 66th overall.[30] By the 2020s, it has fallen outside the top 300, reflecting broader shifts toward shorter or more unique names amid changing parental preferences.[31] In 2024, Jared ranked 393rd among boys' names according to Social Security Administration data, used for approximately 0.045% of male births, down 50 positions from 343rd in 2023.[32] [33]| Year | Rank | Incidence (% of male births) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 368 | 0.046 |
| 2021 | 394 | 0.043 |
| 2022 | 378 | 0.046 |
| 2023 | 343 | 0.053 |
| 2024 | 393 | 0.045 |