Titles and Names As English-speaking people, we understand a difference between titles and names in the English language. For instance, Elizabeth can be a Queen, but not all Queens are called Elizabeth, and not all Elizabeths hold the office of queen. But this is a human application. Is this explanation valid for God? Do any of the names, titles, appellations or descriptive phrases which are used for God accurately apply to any other object, being or concept? Although men may mis-apply them, they do not truthfully apply to anything else, physical or imaginary. The Father and the Son, as spirit beings, do have some names, titles and appellations in common, and they hold some separately, for instance they are both "Eternal", yet one is the Father, while the other is the Son.
What are the differences in the definitions of name, title, and appellation?
"name, n. , [O.E. nama, Goth. namo, Icel. nafn, Dan. navn (for namn), Sw. namn, all cognates with Latin nomen, for gnomen (whence E. noun), Skt. naman, for jnaman or gnaman, a name; from same root as know.]
1) That by which a person or thing is called or designated, in distinction from other persons or things;
2) title or appellation;
3) reputation or character;
4) renown or fame;
5) the mere word by which anything is called, as distinguished from reality;
6) persons having a certain name;"*
"title, n., [from Latin titulus, inscription, label, notice, title, appellation, sign,]
1) any descriptive or distinctive appellation;
2) a distinguishing appellation belonging to a person by right of rank, office, or attainment, or assigned as a mark of respect or courtesy;
3) an appellation indicating social rank,"*
"appellation, n. [from Latin appellatio, from appellare, to address, accost, appeal to.]
1) The word by which a thing or person is known;
2) name;
3) title."**[Source of definitions cited throughout: New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, Encyclopedic Ed., Delair, 1981]
We can see that "name" is defined as "title" and as "appellation". The word "title" is defined as "appellation". The word "appellation" is defined as "name" and as "title". By definition, the words name, title and appellation are interchangeable in English. We may call a particular individual, "Elizabeth", "Queen Elizabeth", or just "Lizzie". Each of these "names" fits the definition of "name", "title", and "appellation". Name and "know" come from the same root. Everyone is aware of the difference between merely "knowing" someone's name and really "knowing" someone in the sense of their character, personality, reputation, experience, history, occupation and goals. The former requires only a single word, the latter can fill a book.
The definitions above are from an authoritative human source, the English dictionary, and some may object on that basis. So let us look at scripture and the Hebrew language.
Name and Title in Hebrew In the Old Testament, the word name (as a noun) is translated from the (Classical or Biblical) Hebrew word shem, (Strong's 8034) approximately 700 times.
"8034. shem [(pronounced) shame]; a primitive word; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character:...name..."
It is translated as a verb two times (Strong's 559).
"559. amar, [(pronounced) aw-mar'] a primitive root; to say; ...call,...name...say... (plus many
more)."It is translated from the "Chaldean" (Aramaic) eight times.
"8036. shum (Chald.),[Aramaic] [(pronounced) shoom] corresp. to 8034; --name."
We see that the Hebrew "shem" is defined as "appellation", "authority" (title), and as "name".
The word appellation does not appear in English translations of scripture, but there is another Hebrew word translated as title. It is Strong's 6725. It is used only once in scripture, in 2 Kings 23:17."6725. tsiyuwn, [(pronounced) tsee-yoon' ]; from the same as 6723 in the sense of conspicuousness; a monumental or guiding pillar; --sign, title, waymark."
The Hebrew word kanah is translated as "flattering (titles)" twice, in Job 32:21-22.
"3655. kanah, [(pronounced) kaw-naw' ]; a primitive root; to address by an additional name; hence, to eulogize;--give flattering titles, surname (himself)."
This same word, kanah, is translated as surname one time, in Isa. 44:5, and once as surnamed, in Isa. 45:4. Both of these statements are Isaiah's quoting the Eternal, "Thus saith the Lord..." (44:2; 45:1).
So we see the specific word, shem being used almost exclusively for name, the only exceptions being the verb form amar (to name), and the Aramaic word, shum, also meaning name. Scripture shows other, distinctively different words which are translated as title and as surname. In English, we may choose to say one term for the Father is a "name" while another is a "title" or "appellation", but in the Hebrew OT they are all "shem". The Father and the Son never "title" themselves or "surname" themselves in scripture. They never speak of possessing "titles" (tsiyuwn) or "surnames" (kanah). Those who are recorded as speaking directly to the Father or the Son, never speak of "calling upon the title of God" or "the surname of God", only "the name(s)" (the shem of God). God never says, "my title is (this)" or "my surname is (this)" even though He used the Hebrew word 'kanah' when referring to others. The Father and the Son never used the terms "title" or "surname" when referring to themselves or to each other.
Let us now look at how the word shem was used prior to the time of Moses and Exodus 20.
Shem and Adam The word shem is used in relation to identifying rivers, cities, places and individuals in the book of Genesis. We shall list those and some other words which are of significance.
From the KJV:
Gen. 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man (120) in our image,..."Gen. 1:27 "So God created man (120) in his own image...male and female created he them."
Gen. 2:15 "And the Lord God took the man (120) and put him into the garden..."
Gen. 2:19 "...and (the Eternal) brought them (the animals) unto Adam (120) to see what he would call (7121) them: and whatsoever Adam called (7121) every living creature, that was the name (8034 shem) thereof."
Gen. 2:20 "And Adam (120) gave names (8034, shem) to all (cattle, fowls and beasts)..."
Gen 2:23 "And Adam said,... (regarding his wife) she shall be called (7121) Woman (802)..."
Gen. 3:20 "And Adam (120) called (7121) his wife's name (8034 shem) Eve (2332)..."
Gen. 5:2 "Male and female created he them;...and called (7121) their name (8034 shem) Adam (120)..."
From Strong's:
"120. (Adam, man) adam, aw-dawm'; from 119; ruddy, i.e. a human being... man...""7121. (called) qara, kaw-raw'; a primitive root [rather ident. with 7122 through the idea of accosting a person met]; to call out to (i.e. prop. address by name;...(give) name..."
"8034. [name(s)] shem [(pronounced) shame]; a primitive word; an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character: ...name..."
"802. (Woman) ishshah, ish-shaw' ; fem. of 376 or 582;...; a woman...:...female,...wife, woman..."
"2332. (Eve) Chavvah, khav-vaw';...life-giver; Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman:--Eve"
[Note: all references to "Strong's" and concordance numbers are from Abingdon's Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong's copyright 1890, Abingdon copyright 1980]
The usage of the Hebrew words above illustrates the following points:
1. The Hebrew shem (name) can refer to an individual's name (Gen. 2:16, 19-20, 23; 3:20), a collective (plural) name (Gen. 5:2), or the name of a race (Gen. 5:2). In other words, the singular Hebrew term "Adam" is used to name a single human male (Gen. 2:15-20) and to name "them", all man(kind), including both "male and female" (Gen.5:2), as well as being the personal name of the first human (Gen. 2:15-20).
2. Adam said in Gen. 2:23 that his wife "shall be called" (qara, called out to, addressed by name, and given the name) "woman". In Gen. 3:20, "Adam called" (qara,called out to, addressed by name, and gave the name) "his wife's name (shem) Eve ...". In other words, one may be qara (addressed by name) using a collective name (Gen. 2:23), or one may be qara (addressed by name) using a personal name (Gen. 3:20). Either way, when one is "called" (addressed), the word used is considered a "name" (shem), not a title (tsiyuwn) or a surname (kanah).
3. Hebrew names have a meaning beyond simply identifying an individual, a group of individuals or a race. By the Hebrew definition they can mean "an appellation, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character:", and a personal name.
4. Man (adam) was given a choice in giving names (shem) to everything in the earth, including the choice of names (shem) for those who came after him (children). In a few instances, the Eternal selected names or changed names (shem) to more accurately reflect the "honor, authority, (and/or) character" of the individual (e.g. Abram, Sarai, Jacob).
Shem and Abram Now look at the scriptures pertaining to Abram, who was renamed Abraham.
Gen. 12:8 "And (Abram) removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el (1008), and pitched his tent, having Beth-el (1008) on the west, and Ha-I on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord (3068)*, and called (qara) upon the name (shem) of the Lord (3068)*.
From Strong's:
"1008. Beyth-El, bayth-ale'; from 1004 and 410; house of God; a place in Palestine: Beth-El."*"3068. Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw'; from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal: Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord. Comp. 3050, 3069."
It is accepted by many who study religion, that Yehovah is an incorrect extension of the Hebrew yhvh or yhwh*. The first syllable is accepted as Yah- because of Hebrew words such as Hallaleu-yah and the frequent use of -yah or Yah- (or the equivalent -jah, or Jah-) in personal Hebrew names. The last syllable is assumed to be -wah or -vah. Since no vowels were used in the original writing of the language, and since Jews refused to pronounce the name for over 2000 years, pronunciation of both syllables are actually assumptions based upon Modern Hebrew. (See "How Languages Change", below.)
*[Note: The original Hebrew language had no capital letters for any words, not even proper names.]In any case, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never heard it pronounced either, as God clearly states in Ex. 6:3.
Ex. 6:3 "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by (the name of) God (410) Almighty (7706) , but by my name (8034) JEHOVAH (3068)[or yhwh] was I not known to them."
From Strong's:
"410. (God) el, ale; short. from 352; strength; as adj. mighty; espec. the Almighty (but used also of any deity):--God (god), x goodly, x great, idol, might(-y one), power, strong. Comp. names in "-el.""7706. (Almighty) Shadday, shad-dah'-ee; from 7703; the Almighty:--Almighty."
"8034. (name) shem , name (See complete citation above.)"
The Eternal's Name prior to Ex. 3 (yhwh) In Gen. 12:8, "...(Abram) called (qara) upon the name (shem) of the Lord (3068)".
Since the name yhwh (3068) was not known to Abraham (Ex. 6:3), what name (shem) did Abraham call upon? In Gen. 4:26, we see that in the lifetime of Enos, men knew a name of God, "...then began men to call (qara) upon the name (shem) of the Lord (3068)."This sounds as though there was a public movement toward righteousness but that wasn't the case, as Gen. 6:5 shows. In fact, men had become so evil that the Eternal destroyed all but eight people (Gen. 7:13, 23).
In the KJV, Gen. 4:26, has a marginal note showing that it should read, "then began men to call themselves by the name (shem) of the Lord." In the following chapter, we see that the grandson of Enos is called "Mahalale-el (4111)" (Gen. 5:12)."4111. Mahalal-el, man-hal-al-ale'; from 4110 and 410; praise of God; Mahalalel, the name of an antediluvian patriarch and of an Israelite:"
A survey of the 8,674 Hebrew words used in the Old Testament shows 604 Israelites whose personal names contain "el" or "ya" or a variation thereof, translated as "God". That is about seven percent of the entire scriptural Hebrew vocabulary. [This does not include those names containing the same letter combination, but which are not translated as "God".]
There are also many more names which can be considered symbolic of "God" but do not contain these syllables (e.g. Adonikam, "lord of rising", and Adoniram, "lord of height").This practice included some well-known names:
Isaiah, Strong's 3470, Yesha'yah or Yesha'yahuw, Jah has saved; Jeshajah, the name of seven Israelites.Elijah, 452, Eliyah or Eliyhuw, God of Jehovah [el of yhw], name of the prophet and two other Israelites.
Jeremiah, 3414, Yirmeyah or Yirmeyahuw, Jah will rise; Jirmejah, the name of eight or nine Israelites.
Zechariah, 2148, Zekaryah or Zejaryahuw, Jah has remembered, Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine Israelites.
Zephaniah, 6846, Tsephanyah or Tsephanyahuw, Jah has secreted; Tsephanjah, the name of four Israelites.
Matthew, Gk 3156 Matthaios, shorter form of Gk 3161 Mattathias [from Heb 4993,
Mattithyah or Mattithyahuw, gift of Jah, Mattithjah, the name of four Israelites.Joshua, 3091, Yehowshuwa or Yehowshua, Jehovah-saved [yhw-saved]; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua).
Israel, 3478, Yisra'el, he will rule as God; a symbolical name of Jacob.
Ishmael, 3458, Yishma'el, God will hear; Jishmael, the name of Abraham's oldest son, and of five Israelites.
Clearly, men who called (qara, call by name) themselves by the name (shem) of God, were using "el" (singular of "Elohyim") and "yah" or variations meaning the same thing. Notice that they were calling themselves by the "name" (shem) of God, not a "title" (tsiyuwn), or "surname" (kanah) of God. The Eternal approves of men bearing His name. He is the one who gave Jacob a new name (shem), one which included His own name (shem) within it, "Isra-el". Jacob (Israel) was inspired by the Eternal in blessing his sons, declaring that they would be called by His name "Israel". In other words, all of the descendants of Jacob, would be called (qara) by the name (shem) of "El" (Gen 48:16; 49:28), or "Isra-el-ites". If "el" were only a "title", then God would have used the word "tsiyuwn" or "kanah", not "shem".
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