Giving God a Name
By Dr. Nicholas J. Schaser
As Moses learned at the burning bush, the God of Israel has a personal name. After telling Moses to return to Egypt and lead his people out of slavery, the Lord says, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘יהוה (y-h-w-h) the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This shall be my name forever, and this is my memorial generation after generation.” (Exodus 3:15). As with all other deities of the ancient Near East—like “Baal” of Canaan (e.g., Numbers 25:3-5) or “Chemosh” of Moab (e.g., Judges 11:24)—the God of Israel reveals a personal moniker; and this God’s name is made up of only four Hebrew letters: יהוה (y-h-w-h). Yet, throughout the Bible, human beings add to the list of divine names. Often, the names that people give to God offer deeper insight into the title that God reveals to Moses, and they highlight the Lord’s intervention and salvation in relationship with the chosen people.
The meaning of God’s name, as revealed to Moses, is open to debate. The four letters—sometimes called simply the “Tetragrammaton” (Greek for “four letters”)—is grounded in God’s statement “I am who I am” (אהיה אשר אהיה; eheyeh asher eheyeh; Exodus 3:14). Most basically, then, יהוה (y-h-w-h) refers in some way to God’s being or existence. In the study of God’s name and attempts at translating the divine title, scholars have investigated the history of pronouncing God’s name. It is customary for practicing Jews to avoid pronouncing God’s name today, and this avoidance has an ancient history. Jesus himself suggests that one should not invoke the personal name in oath-making (see Matt 5:33-44) because invoking that name and leaving an oath unfulfilled would bring condemnation on the oath-taker. Another Jesus—Jesus ben Sira—makes this same point long before Yeshua the Messiah is born, saying, “Do not accustom your mouth to oaths nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One.... The person who always swears and utters the Name will never be cleansed from sin.... If he swears in error, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards [an oath], he sins doubly” (Sir 23:9-11). Both Jesuses highlight the power of pronouncing God’s name, which can have negative consequences for those who misuse it (cf. Exodus 20:7). For this reason, as well as a posture of reverence for God, modern Jews refrain from uttering God’s name.
However, the Israelites described in Scripture invoked the personal name of God in prayer. In fact, a psalm attributed to Moses declares, “יהוה (y-h-w-h), turn [to us]! How long? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your covenantal fidelity, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Ps 90:13-14). According to the Bible, Moses did not shy away from the pronunciation of God’s name. Other biblical figures give God new names that remind readers of God’s care for Israel and the divine desire to set them free. For instance, Hagar “named יהוה (y-h-w-h) who spoke to her [saying], ‘You are El-Roi (אל ראי)’”—a name that means: the God who sees me (Genesis 16:13). This title foreshadows what God tells Moses immediately before the Lord reveals the personal name to him at the burning bush: “I have surely seen (ראה ראיתי; raoh raiti) the affliction of my people who are in Egypt... and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:7-8). When Hagar calls the God of Israel the one who “sees,” this naming alludes to the personal name that the Lord will later reveal to Moses. While we may not know the precise meaning of God’s name today, the Bible points us to and understanding of the significance of יהוה; not only does this divine name signify a holy and compassionate God who sees when humanity is hurting, but it also memorializes the idea that human beings—like Hagar, Moses, and those who follow in their footsteps—can interact with the God of Israel to enact salvation in the world.
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