God's Personal Name

TORAH
Exo. 6:2-9:35

HAFTORAH

Eze. 28:25-29:21

B’RIT HADASHAH

Rom. 9:14-17; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1

Exo. 6:2-9

When God revealed Himself to the patriarchs, it was by a title, not a name—"El Shaddai", God Almighty. As close as was the relationship between Him and the patriarchs, it was still not on the level of the personal. God is a being who is utterly holy and all-powerful and it was as such that He revealed Himself in Genesis. He was “high and lifted up.” He resided in the “heavenlies” and was altogether different from that which He had created.

And this is perfectly understandable because God is indeed all-powerful and sovereign over all. God of the Bible had to reveal Himself through His impersonal attributes and qualities so that those He would call into fellowship would have a deep appreciation of the nature of the God who was calling them. After all, it was for His own glory that He was calling them (and us) in the first place. He is the God who created everything that was, is and will be and he is the God who maintains and sustains this creation without even for an instant failing in this regard. If He—for some unknown reason—were to do so, even for a fraction of time so small it is not measureable, creation would unravel and cease to be. However, God, being God cannot let this happen, even if he wanted it so, as He is absolutely perfect and powerful to accomplish His own ends and purposes. (That being said, this is not an argument for the eternity of creation. God has made it clear in His Word that there will be a day when He will bring this creation to a cataclysmic demise—on the Day of Judgment.)

Even though, as is made plain by God Himself in the chosen passage from Exodus, He had given a title more than a name to the patriarchs, nevertheless, the prophets and rabbis of Israel went one step further. They decided long ago that the God of creation, the one who is so puissant, so majestic, so holy and righteous, must not be referred to or addressed directly by name; to do so would be an act of hubris, contravening the third commandment.  “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exo. 20:7). As well, the refusal was at least partly the result of the persecution of Jews by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who, in about the year 135 CE, forbid the use of the holy name as part of his plan to eradicate Judaism. Consequently, the rabbis devised other ways in which to refer to and address God, without resorting to His name. In Jewish circles of the past as well as of today, it has been common for Him to be referred to or addressed as “Ha’ Shem” which means “the Name.”  The rabbis, when encountering the holy name YHVH, (the Tetragrammaton) often substituted the name “Adonai” or one of its variants. Adonai is the plural form of Adon and means Lord, master or owner. Even so, this is still really a title and not a name. The Bible itself gives many other names or titles for the creator/sustainer God. However, one name takes precedence over all others and is the name being referred to in the third commandment as well as in our current passage. This is the name “YHVH.” (Worthy of note is the fact that the Old Greek translation—the Septuagint, LXX—substitutes the word kurios for the Tetragrammaton; this is the title used by Jesus to refer to Himself and was used by the apostles to address Jesus as well.)

The meaning of the word YHVH is given for us by God Himself in answer to Moses at the burning bush, “I am who I am” (Exo. 3:13). Moreover, God says to Moses, that this is His “name.” This is God’s own name, the name by which He knows Himself. It is not merely a title. This name, like most if not all names in the OT, is descriptive of an essential quality. In this case, it is descriptive of God’s transcendence and self-existence, His absoluteness.

But in their well-intentioned purpose to keep the third commandment, the rabbis of old misunderstood the larger, modifying context in which the third commandment was embedded. As we have seen from Exo. 3 especially verse 15, this holy name given to Moses by God is the name by which He wants to be remembered forever! Clearly, if God did not want His people to remember Him by this name, why would he have spoken it at all? Further, why would He say to Moses that this was the name by which He wanted to be remembered. The prophet Hosea reinforces the truth that God wants His people to us His personal name, “the Lord, [YHVH] the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name."

The word memorial is in Hebrew זִכָּרוֹן֙ or zikkaron. This word does not refer simply to the recall of something to one’s mind, but also has a subsidiary meaning of to speak aloud. In addition, in the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6:22-27 we read, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them’,

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them’” (Num. 6:22-27).

We can see plainly from verse 27 that YHVH wants His people to use His proper name, and not only that, but by addressing Him as YHVH, His people will receive a blessing. Of course, if that is true, then by implication the opposite must also be true, that by not using God’s proper name, the blessing will not be forthcoming. The truth of this is described by Paul at Rom. 11:28-33: a partial hardening has come upon Israel. This hardening is bound up with the refusal to pronounce the very name by which the God of Israel desires to be known. Consequently, neither Jewish nor Gentile believers should refuse to use the name. But of course, in order not to break the third commandment, the name should be spoken and written with suitable reverence.

It is through God’s personal name that He will bless His people; nothing could be plainer. And this indicates that God does not want a formal, cold relationship with us. He is sharing His personal name with us. Next to His Son, this might be God’s most precious possession.

By giving His personal name, God is proclaiming that He is not distant and uninvolved with His creation. When creation was complete, did God not say that it “was good, it was very good?” God loves His creation, especially His people—both Jew and Gentile—who constitute the “apple of His eye.” He does not want to curse us but rather to bless us as a loving father (Deut. 28:1-6).

However, over time God’s people—partly through misunderstanding and partly through persecution—lost the true pronunciation of this name. Nevertheless, by substituting the other aliases, they were in fact unfortunately not honouring God but dishonoring Him. Therefore, God allowed it to come about—presumably as part of their partial hardening—that the name would become unpronounceable by people—including Gentiles. The subject of how this name should be pronounced is one fraught with many problems. Many versions of the name have been proposed, such as Yahweh, Jehovah, and Ya’ hovah. I do not propose to enter into that debate at this time. (For an in depth explanation of how the name should be pronounced, see this important interview with the Biblical scholar Nehemia Gordon.) My purpose is to convince you that God wants with His people a personal, affectionate, and righteous relationship as “Abba”, Father.

As we said in our last commentary, we are in a relationship with God already. That is not the issue. Rather, the issue is what kind of relationship do we have and want. Through the gift of His personal name, God is making it plain what kind of relationship He wants with us.

Let us not be timid. Let us with boldness approach the throne of God and let us not fear to use His holy name.

“The name of Ya’ hovah is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe” (Prov. 18:10).

AMEN