Does God Want Us to Use His Divine Name? Part 1

Growing up, I understood that the name of God was “the Lord.” As I got older, I began to understand that when I saw the Lord in all caps, that meant that it was God’s special, divine name that he revealed to Moses. This seemed strange and confusing to me—adding a level of complexity to understanding a Bible that was already difficult enough for a teenager to understand. I don’t remember when it was that I first heard the name Yahweh pronounced, but when I went to seminary, I quickly realized that it was an accepted pronunciation and spelling for God’s name, especially in academic circles.

So how did we get to this point where nearly every English Bible uses “the Lord” (a title) in place of his personal name? Can we know how God’s name was originally pronounced? Shouldn’t we avoid using God’s name out of reverence for the sacred? Why didn’t the New Testament authors use God’s name? How do Bible translators decide whether they should render something like Yahweh or the Lord? These are all important questions that we will try to answer throughout this series. But first, we need to answer a foundational question: What is God’s revealed desire regarding the use and preservation of his name?

God’s desire

Many people think that God is offended by the pronunciation and use of his personal name in any and every context. For example, in Jewish circles there is a strong consensus that it is blasphemous to pronounce or even write God’s name, and that everyone must refer to him only through titles such as “Lord” or “The Name” out of respect and honor. The desire to fear God and treat his name with honor is to be commended, but Scripture teaches that this is done by loyal love and obedience, not by eliminating the pronunciation of his name (Deut. 28:58). In order to test this idea, we must turn to Scripture to understand what God wants us to do with his name.

Many people think that God is offended by the pronunciation and use of his personal name in any and every context.

Let’s begin with Exodus 3:15: “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘Yahweh (יהוה), the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” In Hebrew the last sentence reads literally: “This (is) my name forever, and this (is) my memorial/remembrance/mention (זכר zeker) to all generations.” Some versions like the NET Bible and KJV translate zeker as “memorial,” but the word in this context can be understood as implying the speaking of the name, since things that remain unspoken are usually lost in oral cultures. That’s why the NIV translates: “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”

In Isaiah 26:8 God’s name and “mention/remembrance” are paired together again, hearkening back to Exodus 3:15: “O Yahweh, … your name and remembrance (from zeker) are the desire of our soul.” The opposite of this remembrance is the grave, where Yahweh’s name is not heard: “For in death there is no remembrance (zeker) of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?” (Ps. 6:5, see also Eccles. 9:5). Hosea also echoes Exodus 3:15 when he writes, “Yahweh, the God of armies, Yahweh is his memorial name (zeker)” (Hos. 12:5). The psalmist also picks up the same theme: “Your name, O Yahweh, is everlasting, your remembrance, (zeker) O Yahweh, throughout all generations” (Ps. 135:13).

Thus, it’s clear that God wants us to remember/memorialize the name he revealed to Moses on Sinai, which many scholars pronounce as Yahweh. But what about the names of other gods?

Other gods’ names

If we return to Exodus, we find the verbal form of zeker used to prohibit the mentioning (and hence remembering) of the names of other gods: “and the names of other gods you shall not mention (tazkiru) nor shall they be heard upon your lips” (Exod. 23:13). The point of the verse is that God’s name is the only one worthy to be on people’s lips, and thus remembered and made famous. Other gods should not be allowed to compete with him in this arena.

In the same vein, Joshua says, “and the names of their gods you shall not mention (tazkiru) nor shall you swear by them nor shall you serve them nor shall you bow down to them” (Josh. 23:7). In other words, a unilateral agreement of silence when it comes to the names of the gods is a way of forgetting and belittling them, which will help the Israelites avoid swearing by them and serving them.

Evidence from vows

One of the practical ways God established the use and remembrance of his name was through vows. Scripture speaks clearly about this in Deuteronomy 6:13: “It is Yahweh your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear” (see also Deut. 10:20). Jeremiah, as a faithful Torah student, reiterates the importance of this: “And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people” (Jer. 12:16). This is a surprising promise to restore the other nations along with Judah, if they will learn the ways of Yahweh’s people.

Thus, it is clear that swearing by Yahweh’s name constitutes an important mark of those who belong to and follow him. Conversely, Yahweh places no value on avoiding the use of his name either out of reverence, or to avoid the risk of blasphemy. Consequently, to avoid using the name of Yahweh to make a vow would be to go against his explicit wishes.

Many people in the Hebrew Bible conform to Yahweh’s desire that his name be used to swear or vow. Boaz says to Ruth, “as Yahweh lives, I will redeem you” (Ruth 3:13). The people defend Jonathan to Saul by saying, “As Yahweh lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground” (1 Sam. 14:45). Even Saul says of David, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death” (1 Sam. 19:6). Elijah (1 Kings 17:1) and Micaiah (2 Chron. 18:13) are other examples.

Typical use of the name

If it were forbidden to use God’s name, we would expect that righteous men like Boaz and Elijah would refrain from using it. Yet that’s simply not the case. We even see evidence of the divine name in casual greetings. Ruth 2:4 reads, “Now Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to those harvesting, ‘May Yahweh be with you!’ And they answered him, ‘May Yahweh bless you!’” Although there is no uniform agreement among commentators about how casual or formulaic this greeting was, what is clear is that the divine name is being used in a non-religious context as a kind of greeting. The context gives more weight to the idea that this was a standard greeting like “Good morning!” This seems to be yet another practical way Yahweh’s name was remembered throughout generations (see also Judg. 6:12). The name was not considered too sacred to pronounce in everyday interactions.

Furthermore, it’s important to observe how Eli instructs young Samuel to address God in 1 Samuel 3:9: “Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for your servant hears.’” It’s striking that a priest of God tells a little boy to call God by his name directly. One would think that if ancient Israelites had a strong custom of showing respect to God by addressing him only by “my Lord,” then Eli would have instructed Samuel to do so, but he did not. Given God’s love of children displayed throughout Scripture, it should come as no surprise that he welcomes them to call him by name.

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How God’s name differs

Finally, Yahweh made himself unique amidst the gods of the nations by revealing his own personal name. All the other gods around the Hebrews were called by titles or elements of creation that they ruled over or represented. Examples include Baal (“Lord”), Dagon (probably “grain”), and Molech (“ruler” melek, with the vowels of “shame” bosheth). It makes sense that pagan gods did not have personal names because they were not intended to be related to on a personal level, but rather to be manipulated in order to get the good life.

We lose this striking contrast between the pagan gods and Yahweh when we avoid using the personal name he revealed.

Thus, I might suggest that we lose this striking contrast between the pagan gods and Yahweh when we avoid using the personal name he revealed and only use a title. By only translating the name as “Lord” in the Old Testament, we may be unintentionally blinding the reader to this particular uniqueness of the one true God. Does this same criticism apply to the New Testament writers? Not at all, as we will see in a subsequent article.

Conclusion

God clearly wants his personal name to be remembered forever. And the best way to remember his name is to do what David and other biblical writers did: use his name freely, especially in prayer, praise, vows, and in retelling his marvelous works throughout history. No passage in Scripture forbids the use of God’s name, which is why it is used nearly 7,000 times by the biblical authors. So how did we lose God’s name in many traditions and Bible translations? We’ll treat this question in our next article in this series.

Related

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  Illustration by David Fassett
  How Was the Pronunciation of God’s Name Lost? Part 2

  Ancient tradition divides on the use of God’s name, with no clear reason why some banned it.

  Andrew Case

This article is in the public domain. You may freely use, share, and reproduce it. For a more in-depth treatment, see here.