In the Name of the Lord


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	IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
	The phrase “in the name of the LORD” is used at least 40 times in our English Bible. However, what is the name of the LORD? According to Dictionary.com, the word “LORD” means the following: LORD noun 1. a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler. 2. a person who exercises authority from property rights; an owner of land, houses, etc. 3. a person who is a leader or has great influence in a chosen profession: the great LORDs of banking. 4. a feudal superior; the proprietor of a manor. 5. a titled nobleman or peer; a person whose ordinary appellation contains by courtesy the title LORD or some higher title. According to Wikipedia, the free online Encyclopedia, “LORD is a deferential appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler. In only a few cases is "LORD" a substantive title in itself, most commonly that of the LORD of the Manor and certain vestigial titles from the age of feudalism such as LORD of Mann, in other cases it is a generic term applied, for example, to persons who hold a title of the peerage or persons entitled to courtesy titles, or to refer to a group or body of peers.” Wikipedia defines “peerage” as follows: “The peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system. The term is used both collectively to refer to the entire body of noble titles (or a subdivision thereof), and individually to refer to a specific title (and generally has an initial capital in the former case and not the latter). The holder of a peerage is termed a peer.” In the New Testament, most assume the LORD’s name is Jesus. In fact, in four occurrences Jesus’ name is used in connection with “in the name of the Lord.” Following are the four verses. Acts 8:16 ^“For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 19:5 ^“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:11 ^“And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Colossians 3:17 ^“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. However, it is also recorded that Jesus came “in the name of the LORD.” Did you notice that in this instance the word “LORD” is completely capitalized? Matthew 21:6-10 ^“So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Himon them. ⁸And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁸See! Your house is left to you desolate; ³⁹for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ” John 12:12-14 ^"The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, ¹³took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” ¹⁴Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: Name (3686) ὄνομα,— on’-om-ah; from a presumed derivative of the base of (1097) (γινώσκω) (compare (3685) (ὀνίνημι); a “name” (literal or figurative) [authority, character]: — [Translated in King James version as] called, (+ sur-) name (-d). In the New King James Bible there are 29 references to “in the name of the LORD” in the Old Testament. For example: Psalm 124:7-8 ^“Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. ⁸Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. Isaiah 50:10 “Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD And rely upon his God. Micah 4:4-5 ^“But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. ⁵For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. What is the name of the “LORD?” Is it Jesus? What did Jesus mean when He said the following? Matthew 22:41-45 ^“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴²saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” ⁴³He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘LORD,’ saying: ⁴⁴‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’? ⁴⁵If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1 Psalm 110:1 “The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Jesus Christ is indeed the Lord; but what is the name of the LORD He is referring too? What is the name of the LORD proclaimed in the Old Testament? If His name is not Jesus, what is it? The Withholding of the Name of the LORD As stated in Wikipedia, “Rabbinical Judaism teaches the four-letter name of God, YHWH, is forbidden to be uttered except by the High Priest in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur.” But Why? What valid reasons could they have for withholding the true name of our LORD and God? Following are the three main reasons Rabbinical Judaism uses: The third commandment prohibits taking God’s Name in vain (Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11) The man who used God’s Name in a curse was put to death according to God’s explicit instruction. (Leviticus 24:10-23) According to Jewish authorities, the Name of the LORD is sacred and cannot be used casually. Let us look to the Word of God to see if their rationale is justified. Taking God’s Name In Vain Exodus 20:7 “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. Deuteronomy 5:11 ^“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. What does it mean to take “the name of the LORD your God in vain?” According to Strong’s Concordance, “Vain” means: {7723} שָׁוְא; — shav', shawv; or shav, shav; from the same as 7722 in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjective), uselessness (as deceptive, objective; also adverbially, in vain): — [Translated in King James version as] false(-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity. {7722} שׁוֹא — show', sho; or (feminine) showah, sho-aw'; or shoah, sho-aw'; from an unused root meaning to rush over; a tempest; by implication, devastation: — [Translated in King James version as] desolate(-ion), destroy, destruction, storm, wasteness. Following is an excerpt from Wikipedia, the online Encyclopedia. Wikipedia “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain (KJV, also "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God" (NRSV) and variants) is one of the Ten Commandments. It is a prohibition of blasphemy, specifically, the misuse or "taking in vain" of the name of the God of Israel. Exodus 20:7 reads: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (KJV). Based on this commandment, Second Temple Judaism by the Hellenistic period developed a taboo of pronouncing the name of God at all, resulting in the replacement of the Tetragrammaton by "Adonai" (literally "my LORDs" – see Adonai) in pronunciation. In the Hebrew Bible itself, the commandment is directed against abuse of the name of God, not against any use; there are numerous examples in the Hebrew Bible and a few in the New Testament where God’s name is called upon in oaths to tell the truth or to support the truth of the statement being sworn to, and the books of Daniel and Revelation include instances where an angel sent by God invokes the name of God to support the truth of apocalyptic revelations. God himself is presented as swearing by his own name (“As surely as I live …”) to guarantee the certainty of various events foretold through the prophets.” Hebrew Bible “The Hebrew לא תשא לשוא is translated as "thou shalt not take in vain". The word here translated as "in vain" is שוא shav' "emptiness, vanity; emptiness of speech, lying", while "take" is נשא nasa' "to lift, carry, bear, take, take away" (appearing in the second person as תשא ). The expression "to take in vain" is also translated less literally as "to misuse" or variants. Some have interpreted the commandment to be against perjury, since invoking God’s name in an oath was considered a guarantee of the truth of a statement or promise. Other scholars believe the original intent was to prohibit using the name in the magical practice of conjuration. Old Testament passages also refer to God’s name being profaned by hypocritical behavior of people and false representation of God’s words or character. Many scholars also believe the commandment applies to the casual use of God’s name in interjections and curses (blasphemy). The object of the command "thou shalt not take in vain" is את־שם־יהוה אלהיך at-shem-YHWH elohik "this-same name of YHWH, thy elohim", making explicit that the commandment is against the misuse of the proper name Yahweh specifically.”¹ If some individuals knowingly or unknowingly lift up, misuse, falsely represent, or take in vain the proper name, attributes and character of the true and Living LORD, should his name be withheld from all but a select few? Cursing and Blaspheming the Name of God So, what about Leviticus 24:15-16? Leviticus 24:13-16 ¹³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁴“Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵“Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. ¹⁶And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the LORD, he shall be put to death. ¹⁷‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. ¹⁹‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— ²⁰fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. ²¹And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. ²²You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the LORD your God.’” ²³Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses. As stated in Wikipedia, under Names of God, “The English word “god” is used by multiple religions as a noun or name to refer to different deities.” Since the word “god” is given to countless false gods, idols and even some men, it is not a good identifier of the True and Living God. As an example, when I say I believe in God and someone else says they believe in god, it does not necessarily mean we believe in and worship the same deity. For this study, the two key words in Leviticus 24:15-16 are “curse” and “blaspheme.” Curses {7043} קָלַל; — qalal, kaw-lal'; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) light, literally (swift, small, sharp, etc.) or figuratively (easy, trifling, vile, etc.): — [Translated in King James version as] abate, make bright, bring into contempt, (ac-) curse, despise, (be) ease(-y, -ier), (be a, make, make somewhat, move, seem a, set) light(-en, -er, -ly, -ly afflict, -ly esteem, thing), X slight(-ly), be swift(-er), (be, be more, make, re-) vile, whet. Blasphemes {5344} נָקַב; — naqab, naw-kab'; a primitive root; to puncture, literally (to perforate, with more or less violence) or figuratively (to specify, designate, libel): — [Translated in King James version as] appoint, blaspheme, bore, curse, express, with holes, name, pierce, strike through. According to Unger’s Bible Dictionary: “Curse, the rendering of several Hebrew and Greek words. Many instances are recorded of cursing in the Scripture. Thus God cursed the serpent which had seduced Eve (Gen. 3:14); Cain, who slew his brother (4:11). He promised Abraham to curse those who should curse him. These divine maledictions are not merely imprecations, nor the expressions of impotent wishes; but they carry their effects with them, and are attended with all the miseries they denounce or foretell. Curses delivered against individuals by holy men (Gen. 9:25; 49:7; Deut. 27:15; Josh. 6:26) are not the expressions of revenge, passion, or impatience; they are predictions, and, therefore, not such as God condemns. The Mosaic Law forbade the cursing of father or mother (Exod. 21:17) on pain of death, of the prince of his people (22:28), of one that is deaf (Lev. 19:14) or perhaps absent so that he could not hear. Blasphemy, or cursing God, was a capital crime (Lev. 24:10, 11).” “Blasphemy (Gr. blasphēmia, signifies the speaking of evil of God; Heb. näqăb shēm ‘ Adōnai, to curse the name of the LORD, Psa. 74:18; Isa. 52;5; Rom. 2:24). Sometimes perhaps, “blasphemy” has been retained by our translators when the general meaning, “evil-speaking,” or ‘calumny,” might have been better (Col. 3:8). There are two general forms of blasphemy: (1) Attributing some evil to God, or denying Him some good which we should attribute to Him (Lev. 24:11; Rom. 2:24). (2) Giving the attributes of God to a creature – which form of blasphemy the Jews charged upon Jesus (Luke 5:21; Matt. 26:65; John 10:36). The Jews, from ancient times, have interpreted the command, Lev. 24:16, as prohibiting the utterance of the name Jehovah, reading for it Adonai or Elohim. Punishment. Blasphemy, when committed in ignorance, i.e., through thoughtlessness and weakness of the flesh, might be atoned for; but if committed “with a high hand,” i.e., in impious rebellion against Jehovah, was punished by stoning (Lev. 24:11-16). New Testament. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31; Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10), also called the unpardonable sin, has caused extended discussion. The sin mentioned in the gospels would appear to have consisted in attributing to the power of Satan those unquestionable miracles which Jesus performed by “the finger o God,” and by the power of the Holy Ghost. It is questionable whether it may be extended beyond this one limited and special sin. (see Sin, The Unpardonable). Among the early Christians three kinds of blasphemy were recognized: (1) Of apostates and lapsi (lapsed), whom the heathen persecutors had compelled not only to deny, but to curse Christ. (2) Of heretics and other profane Christians. (3) Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.”² Based on the above information in Unger’s Bible Dictionary, is an individual act of cursing or blaspheming the name of the LORD a legitimate reason to withhold His name from the world? If you think yes, do you also believe we would be justified in doing away with fathers, mothers, and deaf people to avoid cursing them? How ridiculous this sounds. Yet, it is along a similar claim that the name of the LORD is supposedly withheld. To avoid the penalty of death, as a result of cursing or blaspheming God, we will just not say His name. The Name of the LORD is Sacred and Cannot Be Used Casually Did the LORD God want His name withheld from the people? If so, why are there passages like the following in the Word of God? This is only a small sampling of occurrences. Numbers 6:22-27 ^“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ²³“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: ²⁴“The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; ²⁶The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’ ²⁷“So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” Isaiah 42:8 ^“I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. “LORD” is *not* His name! It is a translated replacement of His name. The translators purposely used “LORD” to conceal His name. Isaiah 65:1 “I was sought by those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that was not called by My name. This reminds me of Moses’ burning bush experience, when he asked for God to reveal His name. Exodus 3:1-15 “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. ³Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” ⁴So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” ⁵Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” ⁶Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. ⁷And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ⁸So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁹Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” ¹¹But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” ¹²So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” ¹³Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ What does “I AM WHO I AM” mean in Hebrew or Aramaic? I must admit, when I came upon the next two verses I was astounded! Jeremiah 23:26-27 ^“How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, ²⁷who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. The irony of the above verse is the meaning of the name “Baal.” The name “Baal,” one of the chief false gods worshipped by other nations and Israel, means “Lord.” So verse 27 could be translated to read, “who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Lord. What did the translators of our English Bibles do? They chose to use the word “LORD” throughout the entire Bible instead of the LORD’s actual name. As a result, like Rabbinical Judaism, they have caused most of the world to forget the name of the True and Living God! This next verse is also amazing in its prophetic truth! Jeremiah 44:26 ^“Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord God lives.” Who is the LORD God? We are first introduced to “The LORD God” in Genesis 2:4-8. Genesis 2:4-8 ^“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; ⁶but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. ⁷And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. ⁸The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. § According to this passage, “the LORD God” is creator of all, not just Israel. The Word gives us the meaning of the LORD’s name; however, if I am to proclaim His name I also want to be certain regarding the pronunciation. Since my initial reading of the outstanding book *His Hallowed Name Revealed Again* by Keith E. Johnson, I find myself drawn to His name even more. Mr. Johnson believes the correct spelling and pronunciation is “Yehovah.” However, on page 157 of His Hallowed Name Revealed Again Mr. Johnson gives another option. In ancient Hebrew, the correct pronunciation would be “Yehowah.” Because the Hebrew Scriptures used ancient Hebrew, I lean more toward the use of “Yehowah” as being correct. But I wanted to be sure. At least as certain as possible. So, prayerfully, I have been on a quest for the truth. There are a number of excellent sources online. One of the best, in my opinion, is Wikipedia. It is an excellent source on the Names of God. But I really found what I needed under the title Names of God in Judaism. The following insert is only a small portion of Names of God in Judaism. Wikipedia, the online Encyclopedia, has this to say: Wikipedia “The numerous names for God have been a source of debate among biblical scholars. Elohim (god, or authority), El (mighty one), El Shaddai (almighty), Adonai (master), Elyon (most high), Avinu (our father), are not names but titles, highlighting different aspects of YHWH and the various roles of God. In Jewish tradition, the sacredness of the divine name or titles must be recognized by the professional sofer (scribe) who writes Torah scrolls, or tefillin and mezuzah. Before transcribing any of the divine titles or name he prepares mentally to sanctify them. Once he begins he does not stop until it is finished, and he must not be interrupted while writing it. If an error is made in writing it may not be erased, but a line must be drawn round it to show that it is canceled, and the whole page must be put in a genizah (burial place for scripture) and a new page begun. The Tetragrammaton The name of God in Judaism used most often in the Hebrew Bible is the four-letter name יהוה (YHWH), also known as the Tetragrammaton. The Tetragrammaton appears 6,828 times in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia edition of the Hebrew Masoretic Text. It is first mentioned in the Genesis 2:4 and is traditionally translated as The LORD in English language bibles. The Hebrew letters are (right to left) Yodh, He, Waw, and He (יהוה). It is written as YHWH, YHVH, or JHVH in English, depending on the transliteration convention that is used. YHWH is an archaic third person singular imperfect of the verb "to be" (meaning, therefore, "He is"). This explanation agrees with the meaning of the name given in Exodus 3:14, where God is represented as speaking, and hence as using the first person ("I am"). It stems from the Jewish conception of monotheism that God exists by himself for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity ("I am that I am"). The Tetragrammaton was written in contrasting Paleo-Hebrew characters in some of the oldest surviving square Aramaic Hebrew texts, and were not read as Adonai ("My Lord") until after the Rabbinic teachings after Israel went into Babylonian captivity. Because Judaism forbids pronouncing the name outside the Temple in Jerusalem, the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton may have been lost, as the original Hebrew texts only included consonants. The prohibition of blasphemy, for which capital punishment is prescribed in Jewish law, refers only to the Tetragrammaton (Soferim iv., end; comp. Sanh. 66a). YHWH Rabbinical Judaism teaches the four-letter name of God, YHWH, is forbidden to be uttered except by the High Priest in the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur. Throughout the service, the High Priest pronounced the name YHWH "just as it is written" in each blessing he made. When the people standing in the Temple courtyard heard the name they prostrated flat on the Temple floor. The name ceased to be pronounced in Second Temple Judaism, by the 3rd century BCE. Passages such as: "And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, YHWH [be] with you. And they answered him, YHWH bless thee." (Ruth 2:4), indicates the name was still being pronounced at the time of the redaction of the Hebrew Bible in the 6th or 5th century BCE. The prohibition against verbalizing the name never applied to the forms of the name within theophoric names (the prefixes yeho-, yo-, and the suffixes -yahu, -yah) and their pronunciation remains in use. The historical pronunciation of YHWH is suggested by Christian scholars to be Yahweh. This pronunciation is allegedly based on historical and linguistic evidence. Orthodox and some Conservative Jews never pronounce YHWH, and especially not "Yahweh", as it is connotated with Christendom. Some religious non-Orthodox Jews are willing to pronounce it, for educational purposes only, never in casual conversation or in prayer. Instead, Jews say Adonai. Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh Ehyeh asher ehyeh (Hebrew: אהיה אשר אהיה) is the first of three responses given to Moses when he asks for God's name (Exodus 3:14). It is one of the most famous verses in the Hebrew Bible. The Tetragrammaton itself derives from the same verbal root. The King James version of the Bible translates the Hebrew as "I Am that I Am" and uses it as a proper name for God. The Aramaic Targum Onkelos leaves the phrase untranslated and is so quoted in the Talmud (B. B. 73 Ehyeh is the first-person singular imperfect form of hayah, "to be". Ehyeh is usually translated "I will be", since the imperfect tense in Hebrew denotes actions that are not yet completed (e.g. Exodus 3:12, "Certainly I will be [ehyeh] with thee."). Asher is an ambiguous pronoun which can mean, depending on context, "that", "who", "which", or "where". Although Ehyeh asher ehyeh is generally rendered in English "I am that I am", better renderings might be "I will be what I will be" or "I will be who I will be", or "I shall prove to be whatsoever I shall prove to be" or even "I will be because I will be". In these renderings, the phrase becomes an open-ended gloss on God's promise in Exodus 3:12. Other renderings include: Leeser, “I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE”; Rotherham, “I Will Become whatsoever I please.” Greek, Ego eimi ho on (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν), "I am The Being" in the Septuagint, and Philo, and Revelation or, “I am The Existing One”; Lat., ego sum qui sum, “I am Who I am.” Jehovah When the Masoretes added vowel pointings (niqqud) to the text of the Hebrew Bible around the 8th century CE, they gave the word YHVH vowels very similar to that of Adonai. Tradition claims this is to remind the reader to say Adonai instead. Later medieval Christian Biblical scholars took this vowel substitution for the actual spelling of YHVH and transliterated the name of God literally as Jehovah. Its use became widespread in Christendom. It was also eventually used in the name of a millenarian restorationist denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses. The Jewish Publication Society translation of 1917, in online versions does use Jehovah once at Exodus 6:3 in order to explain its use among Christians. Adonai *In the Masoretic Text the name YHWH* is vowel pointed as יְהֹוָה, as if pronounced YE-HO-VAH in modern Hebrew, and Yəhōwāh in Tiberian vocalization.** Traditionally in Judaism, the name is not pronounced but read as Adonai (/ˈædəˈnaɪ /) ("my Lord"), during prayer, and referred to as HaShem ("the Name") at all other times. This is done out of reluctance to pronounce the name anywhere but in the Temple in Jerusalem, due to its holiness. This tradition has been cited by most scholars as evidence that the Masoretes vowel pointed YHWH as they did only to indicate to the reader they are to pronounce "Adonai" in its place. While the vowel points of אֲדֹנָי (Aḏōnáy) and יְהֹוָה (Yəhōwāh) are very similar, they are not identical, which may indicate that the Masoretic vowel pointing represented the actual pronunciation of the name YHWH and was not or not only an indication to use a substitute name (Qere-Ketiv).” ³ Since the name “Yehovah” is included in the name Yehowshuwa, (Yehovah is salvation), in my opinion, “Yehovah” is more likely the correct name of our LORD God instead of the more accepted rendition of “Yahweh.” According to Tiberian vocalization, “Yehovah” vocalized is “Yehōwāh.” Jesus (2424) Ἰησοῦς, — ee-ay-sooce’; of Hebrew origin [Hebrew {3091} יְהוֹשׁוּעַ (Yehowshuwa`)]; Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our LORD and two (three) other Israelites: — [Translated in King James version as] Jesus. {3091} יְהוֹשׁוּעַ — Yhowshuwa`, yeh-ho-shoo'-ah; or Yhowshua, yeh-ho-shoo'-ah; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader: — [Translated in King James version as] Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, {3068} יְהֹוָה— Yhovah, yeh-ho-vaw'; from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: — [Translated in King James version as] Jehovah, the LORD. {1961} הָיָה — hayah, haw-yaw; a primitive root (compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary): — [Translated in King James version as] beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, In my quest, I came upon another excellent study called THE NAME OF GOD YeHoWaH. ITS STORY, by Gérard Gertoux.⁴ This is an extensive study. The link is provided below. The link is also included in this site on the Bible Studies by Other Authors page. CONCLUSION It is my opinion that the withholding of Yehowah’s name by Jewish Priests, scribes, elders, translators and anyone else who may have knowledge of Yehowah’s name is another deception led by Satan to keep us from truly knowing and glorifying our living God. As Mr. Gertoux so aptly states in The Name Of God YeHoWaH, “In his book Proverbs of the Jewish Wisdom, Victor Malka explains that, according to the Jewish popular wisdom only the names of those who are not loved are forgotten, therefore the name of God cannot be forgotten. “ “In the Bible, refusing to mention the name of a god means refusing to worship this god (Ex 23:13) and that is why Satan incited the Israelites, by means of the prophets of Baal, not to use the Name (Jer 23:27). “ It is my intention to include the name of Yehowah in future Disciples Project Bible Studies. However, at this point in time, unless there is either direct revelation from God or Rabbinical Judaism finally decides to release His name to the general public, the correct pronunciation is still a little less than a 100% certainty. However, after reading His Hallowed Name Revealed Again, Names of God in Judaism, The Name of God YeHoWaH and others, I am encouraged. If I later find I am in error, I will not hesitate to correct and inform. For now, I will leave you with the following revised passage. Numbers 6:22-27 ^“And Yehowah spoke to Moses, saying: ²³“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “Yehowah bless you and keep you; Yehowah make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; Yehowah lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”’ “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” ____________________________________________________________________________________ ¹ To read the complete article, with hyperlinks and footnotes, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_take_the_name_of_the_LORD_thy_God_in_vain ² Unger’s Bible Dictionary by Merrill F. Unger; Copyright © 1957, 1961, 1966 by the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, Third Edition, page 1013 ³ To read the complete article, with hyperlinks and footnotes, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism ⁴ THE NAME OF GOD YeHoWaH. ITS STORY, by Gérard Gertoux - http://www.lifespurpose.net/divinename/NameofGod1.htm#start
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