 The Name of GOD
by Joe Mucciolo, Sr.
Is it necessary to focus on the "proper" name of God? Why do some focus on this almost to the point of obsession? Certainly scripture points to the importance of reverencing the name of the Lord, but is there really only one acceptable term by which we are to refer to God? Let us begin by taking a look at some history on the subject of biblical translation, and then we'll look at scripture.
First we will consider the tetragrammaton, that is, the sacred name of God in Hebrew. In the Hebrew texts this consists of all consonants, the pronunciation of vowels being handed down in oral tradition. The Hebrews, out of reverence, refrained from speaking the sacred name, "YHWH", instead opting for the title "Adonay", meaning "Lord". Adonay, or Lord, is a title for God that emphasizes his sovereignty, much as we would address persons of authority as "your honor", or "sir". By way of translation, vowels were added, resulting in "Yahweh", which was still pronounced "Adonay", and eventually became "Yehowah". It was not until the 1500's that Christian scholars introduced the hybrid spelling "Jehovah" for use in English bibles.
Other Hebrew words for God,
appearing at least 6392 times in the bible, include El, El Olam, Elohim,
Shaddai, and Elyon , to name a few.
The Greek manuscripts of the
New Testament use the word theos from the gospel of Matthew all the way
through Revelation. The Greek Kurios is also used in Matt 22:44 to
represent both Adonay and Yahweh in Ps 110:1, and a similar
situation occurs in Matt 4:10 with Deut 6:13. On top of that are seemingly
countless descriptive titles, all found in the bible that are used to address
God. Some examples are The Ancient of Days (Dan 7:9), The Living
God (Jer 10:10, Dan 6:26, Hos 1:10, Matt 16:16), Righteous One (1
Sa 45:21, Ps 4:1, 7:9), and even Rock , which appears in Dt 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31, and elsewhere.
Now let's go to the Gospel of
Matthew. In Matthew 5:16 we are first introduced to Jesus' use of "Father". Jump
ahead to Matthew 6:9, where, after much reference to praying to your "Father",
Jesus instructs us, After this manner therefore pray
ye: Our Father, which art in heaven ...
When we accept Jesus as our
Lord and personal Savior, asking forgiveness of our sins, recognizing in faith
that we need him in our lives, that without him we can do nothing, we become,
through the grace of God, children of God, and what children address
their father by his proper name? Consider Mark 14:36, "And he said,
Abba, Father..." where Jesus uses the common, household,
word for father, the equivalent today being "Daddy " (also see Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6). In John 20:31 we are told we "might have life through his name" that is, the name of Jesus. Jesus is our "advocate with the Father" (1John 2:1), who intercedes on our behalf (Heb 7:25), when we ask in his name (John 14:13).
So what about the emphasis some faiths put on the proper name of God (or Jehovah)? The Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (2001) calls the translated Jehovah "A misreading of the name of God". Lest we be deceived into thinking that this is a modern take on the subject, we can
look at Nelson's 1964 Dictionary of the Bible, wherein it states, "YHWH (JHVH). Misinterpretation of this eventually led to 'Jehovah'."
Let's put the emphasis where
it belongs! On God’s loving, saving, grace... For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. -
John 3:16
If you are ready to believe this, you can ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior right now,
simply by talking to him (praying), admitting your sin to Him, turning from sin and asking Him to be your Savior. If you do this, you should then tell someone of your decision and get involved with Bible-believing Christians. I would love to meet with you and talk with you about this! You can send me a message by going to the web site and clicking on "Contact" or using the email address "possessthegates(at)gmail.com".
|
