English, when we see the words “in the name of God,” we immediately think it is dealing with what we call Him, and many run off on tangents insisting on this pronunciation or that, often dividing over our conclusions. Yet in Hebrew, the word that we translate as “name” is not dealing with what we call somebody and thus the confusion begins.
So what does it mean to proclaim the name of YHWH? How about taking His name in vain or profaning it? I guess the answer might depend on who is being asked. If I were to ask a more mainstream Christian, his answer to what it means to break the commandment pertaining to not taking the name of God in vain in Exodus 20:7 might be that we can’t say, “G.D.” I agree, saying G.D. is not a good idea, yet that is hardly the breaking of that particular command, “God” isn’t His name after-all. Now, if I asked a Messianic Christian, one tied more to the Hebrew Roots of the faith what the breaking of that command meant to him, he might answer differently. He might say that “taking the name of YHWH in vain” might have something to do with replacing, misusing, or otherwise lifting up in a false manner what we call God. (i.e. however you happen to pronounce the Hebrew letters which form his name, yod hay vav hay) I submit that neither answer captures the concept carried in the Hebrew word “shem.”
We have gotten to a place in our religious culture where God is at times treated as a genie awaiting our request so He can do our bidding. Even worse, many have gotten to the point where we believe that saying or not saying a word or even how we say a particular word, decides whether or not God hears us or that we can count ourselves as brethren. Both of those beliefs are giving power to a spoken word, and like abracadabra or any other word from history’s past that a person has ascribed a power to and expected a result from, we then are dealing with something very pagan in thought. While many run around calling the church pagan, those who expect a result based on a certain pronunciation of God’s name are the ones acting like pagans because the name of God has been demoted to the status of idol. An appellation (what we call somebody) is a word, a word is a thing, things don’t have power, the being the word points to does!
Proclaim the Name, don’t take the Name in vain, declare the Name, walk in his Name, be baptized in his Name, and exalt his Name. What do these really mean? To understand that, we have to make sure we have a solid definition of the words in play here. The word “name” in Hebrew is “shem,” but in Hebrew shem means much more than what we call somebody. Strong’s defines shem as name, as does Brown Driver Briggs, but both also define shem as a& mark or memorial of individuality. Both dictionaries go on to tie it to character, authority, honor, reputation and fame. In other words, in Western English especially that spoken in the United States, a person’s name is what we call him. But in the Semitic mindset, shem might be dealing with what we call somebody, but it is more in line with the type of person the name bearer is. Please allow me show you what I mean.
In the Explanatory Notes of the 1998 version of “The Scriptures” (by ISR) we read this under this topic Name:
“The Hebrew word is shĕm, which means much more than “name” in English. It is not a mere label of identification; it is an expression of the essential nature of the bearer of that name. In Hebrew, in the Scriptures, it speaks foremost of His authority. The Name of יהוה reveals Him, His character, the remembrance of Him, and His authority.”
To repeat, name in English is a label of identification, but shem in Hebrew is an expression of the nature of the name bearer. Shem reveals the person, his character, even his authority. This concept is supported by the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon (AHL), which defines words according the meaning of each Hebrew letter, it says this of shem:
“The wind, or breath, of someone or something is its character. Hebrew names are words given to describe character. The breath of a man is character, what makes one what he is. The name of an individual is more than an identifier but descriptive of his character or breath.”
We now see the same theme being repeated. Words are truly concepts, in any language, and the concept in Hebrew behind the word shem is dealing with the character of the name bearer, the reputation of the name bearer, the authority of the name bearer. While it does mean “name,” the mindset behind shem in Hebraic thought is dealing more with what type of person the name bearer is, rather than what we call him. In fact, what we call him is linked directly to what type of person he is. This is why God took on the name we refer to Him as, because it defines Him. “YHWH” is descriptive of His eternal nature, it means: I AM, I WAS, I WILL BE, it is a declaration of His eternal existence. It is not some magic word that if said properly will cause us to be blessed beyond measure, that isn’t Hebraic thinking it is pagan thinking. So with the definition of shem fresh on our minds, let’s look again at some of these sayings or commands and see what fits best. Let’s apply what we just learned to certain scriptural passages dealing with “the name.”
Proclaim the Name of YHWH– “and I will proclaim the name of YHWH before you.” (From Exodus 33:19)
Does it sound in line with the character of YHWH that by standing on a roof top and simply screaming out His name, that we are really proclaiming it? What if we applied the verses above? If shem is pointing at the name bearers authority, character, or reputation, then how do we proclaim the name of YHWH? Does what Moshe experienced shed any light? It does…
Exodus 34:5 And YHWH descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the YHWH. (6) And YHWH passed by before him, and proclaimed, YHWH, YHWH Elohim, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, (7) Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
***(Note from Steele: Alexander points out a serious mistake in the text of verse 7 above. See his translation of the text from the ancient Aramaic:
5. And the Lord descended in a cloud and stood with him there and called the name of the Lord.*
6. The Lord, then, passed before him, and the Lord declared, "The Lord is Merciful, Gracious, Generous* of Spirit -- His Grace and Zeal are bountiful;
7. "Who safeguards grace for thousands of generations,* who forgives sins and obligations, but who absolutely does not sanctify* [those who sin and fail their duties;] however, He does command the love of parents upon their children and upon their children's children, to the third and fourth generations."
8. Moses rushed ahead and fell to the ground and worshipped,
9. And he said, "If I have found mercy in your eyes, Lord, let my Lord go among us, because this is a stiff-necked nation, so as to forgive us our dereliction of duty, our sins and our intentions."
*34:5 Lit. Ar. idiomatic construction: "And called by the name: Lord." NB!
This and the subsequent passage leave little doubt that it was the Triune God
that was manifested through the Father (Lord,) the Son (Lord) and the Holy
Spirit (symbolized by the cloud.)
*34:6 Lit. Ar. id.: "Flowing."
34:7.1 Lit. Ar. id.: Or: "centuries."
*34:7.2 Lit. Ar. id.: "Sanctifyingly sanctify."
*34:7.3 NB! All other translations have translated this passage in error, suggesting that God punishes children and grandchildren for three to four generations because their parents sinned.)***
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance:
To proclaim the shem (character and reputation) of YHWH is to tell the world what kind of God He is! Sharing the good news, telling people of His love, His joy, His patience, His gentleness, even His anger, this is proclaiming His shem! That does not mean we can’t call him Yahweh, Yehovah, Yahuah, or whatever pronunciation you prefer. But saying those words is not proclaiming his character, authority, or reputation, proclaiming his attributes is!
In His Name – “For where two or three are gathered together in my name” (from Matthew 18:20)
“If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)
How are we “in” his shem or how do we pray “in” his shem? It is almost taboo at this point if we pray about something, petition God for something, and don’t end by saying the words, “in the name of Yehoshua (Jesus).” And while I also end my prayer in like manner, is there a verse saying to do so? No, we are told to pray in his name and because we see the word “name” in verses like that our Western minds jump to “what we call somebody,” so we end a prayer by saying his name in order to remain consistent. Again though, doesn’t that give power to a word? And what if we say the word differently? Yehoshua is the full Hebrew name of Messiah, but it ends with the letter ayin which is a silent guttural sound that is almost impossible to pronounce unless you were raised speaking Hebrew. Do we use Yeshua, the Aramaic and short Hebrew form? What about Iesous the Greek form, or Jesus the English? Is doing something in his name or praying in his name even dealing with words?
Shem is pointing at his character, his reputation, his authority. To be in his shem has nothing to do with saying a word and certainly not “saying a word a particular way.” Rather, being in the shem of God is walking according to His authority, within His will, it is walking like that city on a hill that can’t be hid… in HIS character, being a reflection of HIM. When we walk in His will, according to His instructions, we are walking in His shem. When we extend grace to others, when we love others, we are walking in His shem. When we live according to His instructions and pray according to how Messiah showed us to pray, then we are praying in His shem. If two or three are living as a reflection of the God they serve, and are together because it is his WILL that they come together, the He is there in the midst of them. His is not there in the midst of them because somebody “said” His name.
Profane the name of YHWH– “Neither shall you profane my holy name” (Lev. 22:32)
How do we profane his name? Generally, a Messianic will tie this to replacing the name with LORD, or even using a title when referring to God. This is nonsense, though I want to be clear, I do NOT endorse any translation’s use of LORD where YHWH appears in the manuscripts. Clearly, since God saw fit to use that name 6700+ times in the Hebrew manuscripts, then we should have translated it as such. That said, using a title is not a sin as seen in the following verses: (Adonai= Lord or Master)
Genesis 15:2 But Abram said, “Adonai YHWH, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Exodus 4:10 Then Moses said to YHWH, “O my Adonai, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
Ezekiel 4:14a So I said, “Ah, Adonai YHWH! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now;
Ezekiel 7:1 Moreover the word of YHWH came to me, saying, (2) “And you, son of man, thus says Adonai YHWH to the land of Israel:
Abraham, Moshe, Ezekiel, and others including God himself, have called Him by a title. Therefore, using a title instead of however you prefer to pronounce YHWH is not profaning His name. So what is? Well, if we apply what we have learned here to this command, then profaning His shem is defiling, polluting, staining, or are acting irreverent toward His authority or character. We know what type of God we serve by His Word. His character and reputation are defined in His instructions and so when we walk according to Torah (instructions, directions) we are walking the path that defines His shem. Therefore, we are in His name (character, authority) when we walk in line, but when we don’t, we are not only not in His name, we profane it. When we know what the will of God is for our lives and we stand against it, when we do not reflect the God we serve in our daily actions, when we stand outside of His character and authority, we profane His name. Intentional sin is one way we profane His shem.
Exalt his name– “Oh, magnify YHWH with me, And let us exalt His name together.” (Psalm 34:3)
The Hebrew word for exalt is rûm, (H7311) which means to lift up, make high, lofted, or exalted. By now the theme of this article should be clear that I don’t believe we are to somehow lift up over our heads a piece of paper with God’s name written on it. Rather, to exalt his shem is to lift up all those things which define him as God. When we elevate who God is above all others we are exalting His name. When we with joy tell those around us of His love, His peace, His patience, all the attributes which set YHWH above all others, we are exalting or lifting up His name.
Baptize in the name– “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yehoshua Messiah for the remission of sins.” (From Acts 2:38)
When I began this study some time ago, it was this subject, the being immersed into his name, which tipped the scales for me in understanding. I knew I could not be immersed into letters or a word. I knew when I was dunked into the water that it wasn’t what was said over me by the pastor or any particular pronunciation that I was immersed into, but rather his power and ability to raise me from the grave. When Yehoshua came back from the dead, he stated:
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
Authority, other versions render it as power or dominion, still, the concept is tied to shem. He defeated death, he reversed the curse from the garden, and in doing so gained “the name which is above every name,” the shem, the authority which is above all! So when I am immersed into his name, I am immersed into his authority over death, his power to raise me, and I then begin to walk in his name, i.e. with love, peace, joy, patience, longsuffering, etc.
Peace.
Ken Rank
