The Importance of God's Name Many of the individuals mentioned in scripture have names which are more than just identifying labels. Many have double meanings which can be prophetic, or a memorial, or both. They can have both physical and spiritual meanings. Some were changed from one meaningful name to another one, equally meaningful. Abram ("high father") became, by God's declaration, Abraham ("father of a multitude")(Gen. 17:5). Jacob ("heel-catcher", i.e. "supplanter") was also renamed by God, as Israel ("he will rule as God")(Gen. 32:28).
Names in scripture can refer to an individual by name, be a collective (plural) name and be the name of a race or nation, all at the same time. Adam and Israel are just two examples. [See "Shem and Adam" elsewhere in this article.]
Some names were descriptive of personal attributes. Nabal (dolt, i.e. foolish) was married to Abigail [father (i.e. source) of joy]. His foolish actions toward David resulted in his own death, while Abigail's intervention temporarily spared both he and David from violence (1 Sam. 25:1-42). Ruth (friend) was a friend to her mother-in-law, to the point of giving up her own life (her family, friends, country) to go wherever Naomi went (Ruth 1:16; also Jn. 15:13). She was grandmother of David (loving, from 1730 dowd or dod, boil, i.e. to love) whom God called "a man after mine own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14, 16:12-13).
Israel had asked (demanded) a king and God gave them Saul (asked) (1 Sam. 8:4-7). When Saul repeatedly failed to do all that God had asked of him (1 Sam. 13 and 15), God stopped responding to Saul's inquiries (his asking). In fearful desperation, Saul asked the witch of Endor to conjure up a vision of Samuel for advice, only to learn that his asking days were over (1 Sam. 28 and 31).
In the New Testament, another Benjaminite named Saul (asked) led a one-man Inquisition (asking Christian "heretics" to recant)(Acts 9:1-2). On the road to persecute even more believers, this namesake of the King found himself suddenly in the "dark" (blindness), being asked by God, about this persecution. Groping blindly in the highway, Saul asked a question the whole world still seeks to answer, "Who art thou, Lord?" (Acts 9:3-5). After being 'buried' in blindness for three days, he was converted to the "light" of truth, and his sight returned. After this, he is called Paul (3972, little, from 3973 pano, to stop, i.e. restrain, quit, desist, come to an end.) and with his conversion,he stopped persecuting Christ's followers.
More Than A "Label" In Biblical Hebrew, a single name (shem) can identify or be used to address an individual, group, race, and a nation. It can describe personal attributes, be a memorial to past events, and a prophecy of future ones. It can perform any of these functions or all of them at once, and in doing so, tell a story or illustrate a particular truth of God.
In today?s English, we use the words, name, title and appellative almost exclusively of each other even though, by English definition, they are interchangeable. In Biblical Hebrew however, even though there are Hebrew words for title and surname, they are never used for the names (shem) of God. Only one word, shem, is used as the pronoun for all of what men would attempt to categorize as God's titles, names and appellatives. God used both the Hebrew word for title and the word for surname, but not in reference to his own names. (See "Conclusion to Shem" elsewhere in this article.)
The Hebrew word shem meant much more to the Israelites than we mean when we inquire in English about someone's "name". Our understanding of God would be greatly limited if he had revealed only one shem (name) to us. Instead, the Hebrew word shem (translated as name) represents all of the following:
A Label: Gen. 2:19
Fame, Renown, Reputation: Gen.11:4
Authority, Power: 1.Kgs.21:8
Representation: 1.Sam.25:5
Attributes: Pro.21:24
Memorial: Isa.55:13
Byword: Eze.23:10 (KJV margin "name")
Person: Deut.9:14 ("existence", or "life")
Ownership: Psa.49:11; Isa.4:1In the NT, the Greek equivalent of shem is onoma (name). Just like shem, it represents more than a label.
A Label: Lk.1:27
Reputation: Mk.6:14
Authority, Power: Matt.10:41-42; Eph.1:19-21
Person, People: Acts 1:15
Character: Lk.6:22
Group name, Category: Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Pet. 4:16
Possession, Ownership: Acts 15:14; Rev. 3:12, 13:17, 14:1, 22:4The concept of ownership is reflected in the name "Israel" and throughout the scriptures.
"The phrases 'cause his name to dwell', 'place his name there', 'put his name there', and 'my name shall be there' all demonstrate that the meaning of 'shem' and 'shum' (English: 'name'), can mean to claim ownership . See Deut.12:11; 14:23; 16:2,6,11; 26:2; 12:5,21; 14:24; 1.Kgs.8:1-66; . . .; 9:3; 2.Kgs.23:27. "What God owns he openly possesses by placing his name upon it" (Toward an Old Testament Theology, by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., pp. 134,196-197)."
(Source: http://www.bibleresearch.org/law/sacredname.html).
Eternal Existence All of the promises of God to man, depend upon the eternity of God. Salvation, eternal life, resurrection from the grave, the desire that all be saved, are all dependent upon the infinite life span of the one making the promises. So, if there is a single primary aspect of God that stands out from the rest, it would be his eternal existence. Hence, in Ex. 3:13, when Moses anticipated the question of the Israelites to be, "What is his name (shem)?", God responded "unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."(verse 14). The Hebrew word here is "hayah", translated into the English "am", meaning "to exist". (See "Shem and Moses" elsewhere in this article.).
The significance of God's answer has to do with the reality of His existence and the non-reality of any other god in the same sense. God declares that "beside me there is no (other) god" (Isa. 44:6). Even though Israel, along with the rest of the world, committed "idolatry", their worship of idols, or false gods, does not make other gods real. At most, they are only imaginary gods, being substituted for the real thing. Although man may consider wood, or stone images to be gods, God doesn't consider them to be anything more than wood or stone. The same goes for any material thing or concept that man chooses to serve in lieu of serving the one true God. At most they are "vain imaginations" of men.
"...they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." (Rom. 1: 20-23).False gods are dependent upon man for their conceptual or imaginary existence. Apart from man, they exist as wood or stone, or have no physical existence at all. The Great God existed before man, and if God were to destroy all mankind (as He nearly did at the time of Noah), God would still exist. He is the only God/god whose existence is not dependent upon the mind or imagination of man. False gods are temporary. The Eternal is eternal and self-existent.
Since there are no other true Gods besides God, the fact of his eternal existence is unique. It identifies Him in contrast to all others. There are other spirit beings, angels, demons, and Satan who is sometimes called the "god of this world." (2 Cor. 4:4, Rev. 12:9) but none of these were "self-existent". They are all part of God's creation, and are subject to Him, including Lucifer/Satan (Eze. 28:1-19). [The nature of Christ before his birth as a human and after his ascension to God's throne, is too large a subject to discuss here.]
By His Authority Aside from His eternal existence, the name (shem) of God is shown to be significant in other ways. Moses spoke in God's name (Ex. 5:1). This equates "name" with "authority". God appeared unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by his name, "God Almighty" (Ex. 6:3). In other words, the covenant was made with Abram(Abraham), and confirmed or renewed with Isaac and Jacob by that name. The emphasis here is on the power of God, something necessary to fulfill the promises made. The demonstration of this aspect of God, was God's stated purpose for setting up Pharaoh and Egypt in an adversarial role against God over the freedom of Israel (Ex.9:13-16).
"Holding up" And "Bearing" His Name God warned Israel about taking his name (shem) in vain (Ex. 20:7). The word "taking" is translated from a Hebrew word meaning to "accept", "bear" or "carry". "Vain" is translated from a word meaning "desolating" in the sense of physical "destruction", or moral "guile" (deceit). It also has the sense of "idolatry"(as false, vain) and "lie" or "lying". Used in combination, we see that God does not want us "falsely" "accept" his name, or to "bear" his name "deceitfully". "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his work, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know that we are in him." (1 Jn. 2:4-5). Beyond the avoidance of using his name in profanity or an oath, God feels very strongly about people calling themselves his ("Christians", "people of God" or "spiritual Isra-el") when they, in fact, are not.
He forbids us from "holding up" or "bearing" His name in vanity, or self-righteousness. He also forbids idolatry of His name, or the setting up of His name as an idol, a common practice among pagan religions.
The first two commandments forbid idolatry (Ex. 20:1-6). The third one is about God's name (Ex. 20:7). The history of the Israelites is one of idolatry, from the camp at Mt. Sinai until the Prophets were foretelling captivity (Ex. 32:8, Jer. 2:28). Israel often accepted the idolatry of the nations around them (Jer. 3:1-2, 6-13). According to Jewish history, at some point, (probably between the time of Ezra and the time of Christ), the Jews decided that the name given to Moses, "I AM", was too holy to pronounce or to write. They began to refer to it as "the name" or "ha-shem". Substitute words were used in copying and recopying the Old Testament books. Since this practice was not commanded, it amounted to "adding to the law". [This has been discussed at great length in other articles regarding "names", hence we shall not review that information here.]
While God memorialized his eternal existence with "I AM", some of the Jews, being either spiritually short-sighted or spiritually blind, decided to memorialize the word itself, as a "holy" word. Whether the avoidance of saying or writing the word was instituted in imitation of the nations around them, or whether the practice evolved among the Jews, the end result was the same. The Jews study about, discuss, preach about, and write about the Father using other names (shem), but refrain from uttering or writing one particular word, which is apparently considered more holy than the One who is named ("qara", called) by it.
God places a high value on his name, but He wants us to share it. "If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chrn.7:14).
To Jacob He said, "I am the God (el) of Beth-el..."(Gen. 31;13). "And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God (el), that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother." (Gen. 35:1). "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." (Gen.32:28)."And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, ...and his left hand upon Manasseh's head...and said...let my name be named on them, ...and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. ...a people...great:...and...a multitude of nations." (Gen. 48:14-19, in part).
God changed Jacob's name to Isra-el, so that "his people" would be called by His name, "el". Whether physical Israelites or spiritual "Israelites", God's people are never called "Yahwehites". According to Mat. 28:19*, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all share the same "name". This same name is shared by the 144,000 of Rev. 14:1. God is taking out of the nations, a people "for his name" (Acts 15:13-14), so they too, shall share it. This includes "all the heathen which are called by (his) name", (Amos 9:11-12)."All the nations shall be gathered unto...the name of the Lord,...", (Jer.3:17).
"I will...bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory,..."
This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise."(Isa. 43:6-7, 21).
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named," (Eph. 4:15).
God is the head of a "family", and like any family we shall share his name.*[Note: There is some question as to whether Mat. 28:19 was edited or added to the original text. However, even many pro-names groups acknowledge that the Father and the Son "share" a name or at least part of a name.]
"What Is His Name?" God equates his name with his reputation. "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psa. 23:3).
God's name reflects his mercy. "For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." (Psa. 25:11).
His name reflects deliverance. "Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me." "Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble." (Psa. 143:9, 11).His name reflects his patience. "Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel,...". "For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off." (Isa.48:1, 9).
God promises to give Israel a "new heart" and His "spirit" so that they will keep his law and thus not profane his name (Eze. 36:21-27). "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy names's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went." (verse 22). By enabling Israel to keep his name holy, God demonstrates faithfulness in keeping his promise to Abraham (Gen. 17:1-22).God's name is not a separate being or power of itself. It is not discussed as being "sent" or "given" in the same sense as the Holy Spirit is "sent" and "given". It possesses no power of itself, but reveals the power, the nature, the personal attributes of the One being named. Names are words and elements of human language. They are vocalizations "other than the reality" of the objects being named. If they were a reality, then they would have a separate existence and bear their own names.
There is no "magic", or "power" in any word. There is no word that can "grant favor", or "protect", or "deliver", or "heal", or "exorcise demons", or "grant salvation". Only God himself, a spirit being, a reality, can do these things. All the blessings that He promises, have been granted to thousands who have asked for them "in his name", in their own languages. It is not a matter of ignorance, as many who now understand the Hebrew words for His names, continue to have their prayers answered, receive healing, receive protection and deliverance, and do good works "in his name", in their own language, using any or all of His names.
God Reveals Himself Through His "Shem" God introduced himself by different names at different times. He had introduced himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by the name (shem) of God Almighty (El Shadday) (Ex. 6:3).
He introduced himself to Moses first, as Elohyim, "I am the God (Elohyim) of thy father, the God (Elohyim) of Abraham, the God (Elohyim) of Isaac, and the God (Elohyim) of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God (Elohyim)." (Ex. 3:6).
Beginning with Moses, God also introduces himself as "I AM" (1961, "hayah", to exist, to be, become, come to pass) (Ex. 3:14), and as "yhvh" (3068, from 1961, the self-Existentor Eternal)(Ex. 6:3).God revealed to Moses, and through him to us, that for the first 2550 years of human history, He was known as God Almighty. He was known for his power. His power was demonstrated in creating the earth and everything in it, although man could only see that after the fact (Gen. 1). He demonstrated his power in destroying all life on the earth, except the eight, whom he spared, also by his power (Gen. 6-9). The third great demonstration of his power was in the events of the Exodus. "And the Lord said unto Moses, ...stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, ...For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth." "And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth." (Ex. 9:13-16, in part.). (See also NKJV).
Compared to these three events, God has done nothing since then, on the same scale, to publicly demonstrate his great power. The next public demonstration of his power, on this scale, will be the events prophesied in Revelation.Beginning with Moses, God changes his emphasis from "might" to "glory". While "might" means power and strength, "glory"is more encompassing, as described by God.
"And (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory."
"And (God) said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." (Ex. 33:18-19).
"And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
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." (Ex. 34:5-8).[Note: Here again, God's emphasis is on avoiding idolatry. "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name (shem) is Jealous, is a jealous God:" (Ex. 34:11-17, esp. verse 14).]
At the time of Christ, the Jews were still looking for a God of power, someone to overthrow foreign rule and restore the physical kingdom of David. Even his disciples asked, "...Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).
Christ began his ministry with, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mat. 4:17). The "kingdom of heaven" is mentioned 55 times, in 21 of the 28 chapters of Matthew. The Gospel of Christ had a lot to say about the kingdom, but it was not about power, or about physical things or outward appearances.
Mat. 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
:5, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
:10, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Mat. 7:21, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."How obvious it is that calling out the "name" of God is not the determining factor for being admitted into the kingdom of heaven! What if one has the right "name" and also does "good works"?
"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils" and in thy name done many wonderful works?
"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Mat. 7:21-22).Christ is speaking here, so it's not a matter of having the wrong name.
Is it a matter of becoming "Jewish", of adapting "Jewish" culture, of doing physical things the "Jewish" way? Some say that because Jesus was a Jew (Lk. 3:23-38) and, because he said, "salvation is of the Jews" (Jn. 4:22), that we cannot understand scripture, or understand Christ or his disciples without understanding Judaism. However, Christ did not say that salvation is of "Judaism". The Jews were descendants of Abraham, to whom the promises were made. The experts in Judaism were the Pharisees. "Judaism" is the Pharisaism which Christ condemned (Mat. 16:12, 23:13-33). Some feel very strongly that one must read Hebrew, or be taught by one who reads Hebrew, in order to understand Christ's gospel. But Christ promised that the Holy Spirit would "guide" us into "all truth" (Jn. 16:7, 13). God's Spirit is not limited by human language barriers (Acts 2:1-11). God the Father is not "Jewish".
The Jews became so involved with the physical aspects of worship, that they failed to understand or appreciate the spiritual aspects. In the same way, we can become so involved with one or two "words" that we fail to understand or appreciate the spiritual understanding those "words" and others, are intended to convey.
If we say that the one word (shem) "yhvh" is important because God only grants favor, protection, blessings and salvation by this one "word", then we are saying that all the other "shem" (names, titles, attributes) of God are insignificant, meaningless, and in comparison, worth less, of little or no value, in other words, "worthless". We cannot argue the point both ways, either God has the power to grant blessings, protection and salvation through any of His "shem" (names) or He can do it through only one "shem" and the others are "worthless". God's power and abilities are not limited by what men choose to call Him (Job 38:1-42:2, particularly 38:4).Is it necessary for us to become "Jewish", or to "speak as a Jew", to please God and to obtain salvation?
"For he is not a Jew (a spiritual descendant of Abraham, an inheritor of the promises) which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom.2:28-29).The "mystery of the kingdom of God" as Christ called it (Mk. 4:11), is not a "mysterious word", but a matter of "understanding" (verse 12). He plainly told the Pharisees that it is not a result of physical things, "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:", in other word, by things physically seen or heard, or by "ritual" observances. "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Lk. 17:20-21). Christ told them it was a matter of the heart. The "kingdom" which the Jews looked for is the physical kingdom described in Revelation (at the return of Christ, who is a "son of David" for which the Jews look). Christ explained that "(his) kingdom", the one that will be "seen" (Rev. 1:7, 11:15) "is not of this world" and is "not from hence" (Jn. 18:36), in other words, "It is not here, and it is not now.".
The "kingdom" which Christ said is "at hand" (Mat. 4:17), and "is come unto you" (Mat. 12:28), and is "not far" (Mk. 12:34), can not be seen, because it is a spiritual kingdom of God ruling in our hearts.
"O that there were such an heart in them...", (Deu. 5:29).
"And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." (Deu. 30:6).
"Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?" (Job 38:36).
"Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:" (Psa. 10:17).
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psa. 51:10).
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psa. 51:17).God looks on the heart. When God passed by Moses on the mount, he proclaimed his glory, not the glory of power and might, even though his power is awesome and glorious, not the glory of a name or title or appellative, even though those words describe his glory, but the glory of his character, "merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." (Ex 34:6-7).
Reality In our English language, name, title, and appellation are considered different, even though, by definition, they are interchangeable. For instance "Elizabeth", "Queen Elizabeth", and "Lizzie", could be three different individuals or three references to a single individual. Applications in the physical realm have limitations, which sometimes make analogies to the spirit realm misleading or totally false. For instance, death nullifies rulership and titles of office. Even though history would still refer to her as "Queen Elizabeth" after her death, she would not actually be Queen. People could still refer to her as "Lizzie", but the reality would be that they were referring to someone who no longer exists. People could still call out the name, "Elizabeth", but the Queen could not respond. Again, we see that the "name" is something other than the reality of the thing or person being named or called.
Man is dust. "All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." (Ecc. 3:20). In contrast, God is eternal. Since He cannot die, his offices, titles, descriptive appellations, and his names, by which He "reveals" himself to us, do not end at death. He "revealed" his supreme power to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through his "shem" (name) El Shaddai, (The Almighty). He "revealed" his eternal existence, his self-existence, to Moses through His "shem" (name) Hayah, (I Am).
One of the definitions of "name" is "that by which a person or thing is called or designated, in distinction from other persons or things;". Except for sharing some names (shem) with his Son, none of God's "shem" (names) apply to any other being.The Great God, whose existence and nature we partially understand by the reality of the physical creation around us, offers us blessings, protection, approval and eternal life. He offers us those things by the reality of His existence, His eternal-ness and His faithfulness. He requires only that we are obedient, faithful and fruitful, not just in mere words which are nothing but vibrational disturbances of air, but in the reality of heartfelt love and in good works.
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