The Third Commandment

In the context of names, the nation of Isra-el, at Mt. Sinai, is told in the Third Commandment, "Thou shalt not take (5375) the name (shem) of the Lord thy God (El-ohyim) in vain (7723); for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."(Ex. 20:7).

"5375. nasa, naw-saw'; or nacah, naw-saw'; ...to lift, in a great variety of applications,...: accept,...bear..., ...carry,...hold up,... swear, ...wear,..."

"7723. shav, shawv; or shav, shav; from the same as 7722 in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), lit. (ruin) or mor. (espec. guile): fig. idolatry (as false, subj.), uselessness (as deceptive, obj.; also adv. in vain): --false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity."

The commandment can refer to swearing, but there is a broader and much more significant meaning to "taking the name" and that is "to accept", "to bear", "to carry", "to hold up" and "to wear". In other words we are forbidden to accept, or to bear His name upon us falsely, or deceptively, to claim we are His when, by our thoughts, actions and words, we are not. It forbids us from wearing or holding up His name while not upholding His laws, in other words, hypocrisy or lying. It forbids us from holding up or bearing His name in vanity, or self-righteousness. It also forbids idolatry of His name, or the setting up of His name as an idol, a common practice among pagan religions for the names of their gods.
The name "Israel" means "he will rule as God", yet the history of the OT Israelites shows that most of them were guilty of "taking the name of "el" in vain", [wearing, possessing, bearing the name in vain] because of their sinful thoughts and actions.

"Make No Mention..Of Other gods"

Ex. 23:13 says, "And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention (2142) of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth."
Josh. 23:7 says, "That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention (2142) of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:"
Psa. 16:4 does not contain the word "mention" but expresses the same concept.
"Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips." (Psa. 16:4).
From Strong's:
"2142. zakar, zaw-kar'; ...prop. to mark (so as to be recognized), i.e. to remember; by impl. to mention; ... be mindful, recount, record, remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, still remember, think on , well remember."

The point of the command is to "come out of idolatry" and to "forget" the various "gods" of our lives prior to conversion. It is a command about our vocabulary, only to the extent that our words reflect the object(s) of our preoccupation.
A false god is any being, object, concept or desire to which we give preference, thought, action, or affection, ahead of or in place of the one true God. This includes anything as John says, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 Jn. 2:16).

If we were to attempt to expunge from our vocabulary, every name of every false god or every object which had ever been idolized, then we would have no language left with which to communicate. The world's largest religion is not Catholicism or Protestantism, but Materialism. Materialism is a religion of things such as vehicles, houses, furniture, furnishings, appliances, electronics, jewelry, clothing, toys, and tools. It's a religion of activities involving education, social life, careers, recreation, hobbies and travel. It is a religion of self-gratification through physical pleasures, social acceptance, and the acquisition of "things". None of these "things" are wrong or evil in themselves, any more than a rock or a piece of wood is evil.
However, when a "thing" or "concept" or "activity" becomes more important to us than God or pleasing Him, then we are practicing the religion of Materialism and the objects themselves become the icons or idols of our religion.

Some American Indians believed that there were separate gods of the wind, of water, of the forest, of the mountains, of fire and of animals. Some religions believe there are spirits in all things both living and inanimate objects. Some believe that mankind is already a god race.
Much of our daily vocabulary consists of words which have, at times, been used as names of gods or idols. For instance, the days of the week, the months of the year, the names of cities, states, and some countries are directly named or derived from the names of false gods.
Some have gone so far as to rewrite the Bible, attempting to eliminate some or all of these words.

Re-Writing The Scriptures

Various groups have published their own versions of the Bible, making substitutions for "God", "Lord", "Jesus Christ" and other selected names and words. These vary considerably in their editing. One version makes substitutions for "God" and "Lord" in the OT, but not in the NT.
One version, titled "The Scriptures", includes an appendix of approximately 1,100 words which the authors say should not be used. The following lists are just a few of those words, which the authors say should not be spoken, or written, because they were once used to refer to pagan gods. Their scriptural basis for this is Ex. 23;13, "...make no mention of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." Their reasoning is that by saying words such as "fate, destiny, fame, fortunately, happy, and happen" is to "invoke" and "call upon" pagan gods. [The Scriptures, pps. 1224-1225, pub. by Institute for Scripture Research, http://www.messianic.co.za/isr/index.htm ]
We note that the pagan god "Baal" is mentioned in the OT, and would have been read aloud in the synagogues. This fact alone refutes this argument. (See also, "The Baal Connection" elsewhere in this article.)

A few of the common words, which the authors say cannot be used, include: money, education, thing, the, is, car, dad, ma, pa, papa, man, yes, sign, can, sky, die, equality, even, air, ever, hammer, pan, public, full, care, gift, thanks, here, idea, rising, messenger, area, disaster, earth, automated, baby, bad, beauty, biceps, brag, brownie, bull, arena, sure, judgment, divide, evening, happy, harmony, honor, hydrant, index, jug, juvenile, evil, malice, wickedness, comedy, comic, master, sir, men, pure, and wind.

A few of the personal names and proper names, which the authors also say cannot be spoken or written, include: Alexander, Andrew, Angelo, Angela, Anita, Anna, Arthur, Barbara, Ben, Bill, Brent, Brian, Bridgit, Claudia, Cris, Curtis, Sybil, Cynthia, Daphne, Deirdre, Della, Delila, Diana, Di, Diane, Eve, Mark, and Paul.

Some of the religious terms and words from significant scriptures, which the authors say can not be used, include: religion, faith, hope, charity, life, trust, obey, believe, eternity, salvation, amen, angel, messenger, Bible, assurance, sure, grace, thanks, favor, gift, chastity, carnal, time, season, church, consent, judgment, vengeance, divine, earth, godliness, holiness, Ephesians, Corinthians, Egypt, confidence, Gad, God, Galatians, Greek, grave, hell, Hades, harmony, gentile, hunger, hymn, evil, wickedness, malice, calendar, king, queen, Christ, lord, master, sir, sin, savior, temple, (old or new) testament, theology, truth, will, zeal, tabernacle, devotion, educate.

Many astronomy names and associated terms can not be spoken or written: rising, time, season, space, crater, earth, event, calendar, lunar, north, east, west, south, night, numbers, zero, ocean, air, sky, solar, sun, galaxy, and comet.

Some references to dates, time and seasons would be forbidden: January, February, March, May, June, July, August, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, calendar, month, minute, time, numbers, zero, season, summer, and winter.

Forbidden names of countries, continents, and geographic names and associated words would include: Egypt, Ethiopia, Africa, America, Arabia, Asia, China, Corinth, Damascus, Athens, (Los) Angeles, Europe, land, country, and (Penn)sylvania.

Neither could you speak of the inhabitants of these countries: i.e. Americans, Asians, Africans, Chinese, Colombians, Cubans, Europeans, Germans, Italians, Romans, etc..

Some automobiles and related words which one could not mention, include: Austin, Calias, Madza, Cortina, Cressida, Corona, Electra, Lotus, Mercury, Mercedes, Pantera, Saturn, Taurus, Volvo, Triumph, Viper, (Crown) Victoria, Mustang, or a demo (ride), car, oil, mechanic, or license (permit, tag).

Medical, anatomical and associated terms forbidden, include the following or those derived from: hospital, man, wo(man), life, cure, syringe, fever, gram, hygiene, Latin, lethal, narcotic, stimulant, terminal, terminate, test, therapy, hunger, hybrid, hymen, hypnosis, corona, mania, memory, ophthalmitis, orthus, ortho, pallor, pandemic, penis, psyche, rape, rectus, saturate, somnia, sperm, and staphylus.

Remember, this is only a part of their "condensed" list of approximately 1,100 words. (See Appendix No. 4 for a more complete listing.)
Since "euphemism" is also off limits, we wonder if substitution is allowed. If you think this is all "rediculus!"(sic), or "trivial", please keep in mind that "comedy" and "satire" are also banned.
It is interesting however, that since "sacred" is on the list, that the term, "sacred names" is, by their reasoning, forbidden. We have used the term, "Hebrew names" throughout this article, but not for that reason.
This version of the Bible, is titled "The Scriptures", because "Bible", and "Holy" are banned. We note, that on page 1231 of "The Scriptures", the word "the" is also listed as "a name of the sun-deity, also known as Theos". We notice that the authors did not attempt to eliminate all the words on their own list from their version of the scriptures. We can only imagine trying to read scripture without the words: the, is, can, die, faith, life, man, men, night, even, evening, obey, believe, sin, want, and salvation.
The authors point out that their's is a "condensed" list and that there are probably "many thousands" of other words which should be added to this list.

Eliminating all these words would not necessarily prove one was not an idolater. For instance, Lot's wife may not have said a single word when she turned to look back at Sodom, but that's where her heart was, and so she became a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26).
There is no record of an "onion" god, but the Israelites complained for the lack of them and for the lack of "fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks and garlic," and in doing so, sinned (Num. 11:4-10, 34). They did the same thing with meat (verses 13, 18-20, 33-34). But the sacrifices continued later with meat being eaten, and there was never a prohibition against fish, leeks, onions, or any other vegetable. Neither was there a prohibition against using the names of them (Lk. 24:36, 41-43; Mat. 4:19).
The sin is not in the vocabulary, but in the thoughts, desire and action of the individual, and any individual can sin with or without any particular vocabulary.

Shem and Descriptive Attributes

Ex. 34:14, "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"
[Since God cannot sin (Deu. 32:4, Job 34:10), we understand that there is a "godly jealousy", such as irritation or zeal at undue attention or interest of someone else over something that belongs to you, such as your wife (see 2 Cor. 11:2).]
Here we see God speaking of His name separately from a descriptive appellation of Himself. A descriptive appellation is considered, among men, as a "title" and not necessarily a "personal" name. This scripture shows that distinction is not true for God, that while the appellation may be descriptive (as in a title), and parallel in meaning, it is nonetheless, separate from His name. Here, in a single statement by YHWH, we see Him calling his own "name" (shem) as "Jealous" and explaining that He also has the "attribute" of being a jealous God. We see that He, unlike men, is "named" for what He is. Unlike men, who bear titles which are inaccurate, since men are imperfect and temporary, God's attributes are also names, because He is perfect and true and eternal (Mat. 5:48, Jn. 3:33).

More Than One Shem

Does God claim only one "shem" or name? What does scripture show?

2 Chr. 7:12,"And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him,...
Verse 14, "If my people, which are called by my name (shem), . . ."

By what "name" are his people called? Verse 10, "...to Isra-el his people.". In verse 18, "Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, there shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Isra-el."

If His people are called by his "name" and they are called "Isra-el", then His "name" must be "El".
Deu. 28:10, "And all people of the earth shall see that thou (the Israelites) art called (Isra-el) by the name(shem) of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee."

Even members of pro-names groups refer to themselves as "spiritual Isra-el-ites", not "Yhwh-ites".

Deu. 28:58, "If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name (shem), THE LORD THY GOD;" (Yhwh Elohyim).

Psa. 68:4, "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name (shem): extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name (shem) Jah (3050), and rejoice before him."

"3050. Yahh, yaw; contr. for 3068, and mean. the same; Jah, the sacred name:--Jah, the Lord, most vehement, Compare name in "-iah," "-jah.""*

*[We discussed earlier, that men called themselves by the name of the Eternal. See: "The Eternal's Name Prior to Ex. 3 (yhwh)"]

Isa. 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name (shem) is Holy (6918):..."

"6918. qadowsh, kaw-doshe'; or qadosh, kaw-doshe'; from 6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God...;--holy (One)..."

Psa. 83:18, "That men may know that thou, whose name (shem) alone (as opposed to other, imaginary "gods", or the names of other "gods") is JEHOVAH (Yhwh) art the most high over all the earth." In other words, since you are the only God, you are the only one with a name (in the sense of existence, character, personality, etc.).

We know there is only one God (1 Cor. 8:4; Gal. 3:20; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:5). As we have seen above, He has more than one name (shem).

 

When "One" Equals "Two or More"

Near the end of the Old Testament we find this scripture, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one (259)." (Zech. 14:9).

"259. echad, ekh-awd'; a numeral from 258; properly united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first:--a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any (-thing), apiece, a certain, [dai-] ly, each (one), + eleven, every, few, first, + highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together."

In John 17, we see the word "one" applied to "two" and "many".
John 17:11, "...keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me,that they may be one, as we are."
Verse 21, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:..."
Verse 22, "...that they may be one, even as we are one:"
Verse 23, "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one:..."

In reference to the temple, we see that God referred to it as having his name. "Therefore will I do to this house, which is called by my name, wherein you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. . . .
For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it." (Jer. 7:14,30).

"Also he built altars in the house of the Lord (yhwh), whereof the Lord had said, in Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. . . .
And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God (elohyim), of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever." (2 Chrn. 33:4,7).

Notice that even though he says it has his "name", he calls it by two different names.

The prophet Daniel gives us a third "name".
"Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God (elahh) which was at Jerusalem;..." (Dan. 5:3).
Daniel calls it the "house of Elahh". Elahh (426) is Aramaic for the Hebrew 'elowahh, which comes from (430) elohyim.
If we wish to consider the word "one", in Zech. 14:9, as an ordinal in quantity, we may wonder if all his other names are to be rejected or discarded. In the spirit world, there are "two" beings who are already "one" in some manner, which means that in the spirit world, "two" can equal "one". But even though they are "one", they bear different names in addition to sharing some names.
The Father and the Son, even though they are "one", will forever be "the Father" and "the Son", in addition to any other name or names they may share together, or bear separately. The Son will forever be "the Firstborn". We, who are also "sons" (Rom. 8:14; 1 Jn. 3:2), shall share His "new name" in the future (Rev. 3:12) even though we already bear His name now, as (spiritual) "Isra-el" (Gal. 3:29; Rom. 11:1). It would be confusing, if we were to all, suddenly be called "Elizabeth", and nothing else. So, even though we shall all ultimately be "one", we shall, like the Father and the Son who are already "one", share "one" name and also bear individual names.
The point of Zech 14:9 is that "in that day", there shall be no other "gods" being worshiped or "remembered". There shall be no division, and we shall all be "one".

 

Names Index / Next