A lot of questions have been raised about God's name in the Internet. The Tetragrammaton יְהוָה has also been used in the same way as Transcendental Meditation, where one recites a mantra.
Allow me to ask another question. Does it even matter to God what His name is?
When we look at the burning bush incident, Moses asked God His name.
Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ (Exodus 3:13)
God told Moses (Exodus 3:14):
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה
אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי
אֲלֵיכֶם׃
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
In Hebrew grammar, the word אֶהְיֶה (pronounced as 'eiyeh) is a yiqtol verb. It is not even a Proper Noun or a Name. It is what we call qal imperfect, a simple verb that is equivalent to the Continuous Tense in English. What this really means is: God is telling Moses that His existence is from eternity past to eternity future. He is always the I AM.
Notice that God did not even introduce His Name, but merely used these words to describe Himself to Moses. He then tells Moses (Exodus 3:15):
15 וַיֹּאמֶר עוֹד אֱלֹהִים
אֶל־מֹשֶׁה כֹּה־תֹאמַר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם אֱלֹהֵי
אַבְרָהָם אֱלֹהֵי יִצְחָק וֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם זֶה־שְּׁמִי
לְעֹלָם וְזֶה זִכְרִי לְדֹר דֹּר׃
Translated in NASB:
"... the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” He later repeated it in Exodus 4:5.
What does this tell us about God and the Name יְהוָה, which is translated into English as "LORD" in capital? Did God even place any emphasis on the One Name or was He more interested in telling the people of Israel of His attributes and that He was the God worshipped by their patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
In many other passages of the Bible, God reveals His name using words that describe His attributes. For example,
יְהוָה אֵל עוֹלָם
El Olam (God Everlasting, Genesis 21:23)
Archaeological findings reveal that El was, in fact, a generic word used for any god. It was also the name of the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion. Yet, our God was willing to use the word; He, however, differentiated Himself using His attributes:
אֵל שַׁדַּי
(El Shaddai meaning God Almighty Gen 17:1)
אֵל עֶלְיוֹן
(El Elyon, meaning God Most High, Gen 14:18)
צוּר
(Rock, Hab 1:12)
We also know that the Messiah was going to be named, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)
וַיִּקְרָא
שְׁמוֹ פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ אֵל גִּבּוֹר אֲבִיעַד שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם׃
I can go on quoting so many other names of God in the Bible, but the point is clear. God reveals Himself using different names on different occasions. But name that stands out is יְהוָה which simply means LORD or Adonai.
He is not concerned how we address Him. Archaeologists have even unearthed the existence of a cult that worshipped Yahweh and his consort, Asherah. However, the fact that Yahweh's name has been profaned by a cult did not mean that we cannot use the name Yahweh or Jehovah.
In fact, the name 'Jehovah' is as close as it could get when the German reformers such as Luther translated יְהוָה into German. The 'J' in German is equivalent and pronounced with a 'Y' sound in English.
Why then are we so gung ho about getting the name יְהוָה correctly? Or whether it should be spelt as Jehovah, Yahweh or Yahvah? We all agree the tetragrammaton YHWH is often read out as just Adonai or Hashem, but we know this name refers to our God.
My question then is: Do we need to start changing the name 'God' into the Tetragrammaton YHWH (and some even say it is YHVH)? Absolutely not! I don't think we should go as far as trying to call Jesus, Yeshua or Yehoshua, as it does not matter whether to address Him by His Jewish name. The Name Jesus has been used for many centuries, and through this One Name, millions -- if not billions -- have been saved by grace through faith and miracles have been performed in this Name. If you are used to address His name as Adonai, by all means, use it but let's not go crazy overemphasing the use of Jewish names as though that these are the only correct names we should use to address our God or our Lord Jesus Jesus.
While we need to learn Hebrew and Greek so that we can read the Bible in the original languages, we should not read meanings into the Word; instead we should try to understand God's Word to see what it says.
I have written another article out of concern what is being taught in some circles about circumcision, something that I was told even the Messianic Congregations clearly reject.
(If you have any concerns over flawed teachings that go beyond the Word of God, please email me Stephen.Ng.EJ@gmail.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment