The Name of G-d
Level: Basic |
Please note: This page contains the Name of God. If you print
it out, please treat it with appropriate respect.
In Jewish thought, a name is not merely an arbitrary designation, a random
combination of sounds. The name conveys the nature and essence of the thing
named. It represents the history and reputation of the being named.
This is not as strange or unfamiliar a concept as it may seem at first glance.
In English, we often refer to a person's reputation as his "good name." When
a company is sold, one thing that may be sold is the company's "good will,"
that is, the right to use the company's name. The Hebrew concept of a name
is very similar to these ideas.
An example of this usage occurs in Ex. 3:13-22:
Moses asks God what His "name" is. Moses is
not asking "what should I call you;" rather, he is asking "who are you; what
are you like; what have you done." That is clear from God's response. God
replies that He is eternal, that He is the God of our ancestors, that He
has seen our affliction and will redeem us from bondage.
Another example of this usage is the concepts of chillul Ha-Shem and kiddush
Ha-Shem. An act that causes God or Judaism to come into disrespect or a
commandment to be disobeyed is often referred to as "chillul Ha-Shem,"
profanation of The Name. Clearly, we are not talking about a harm done to
a word; we are talking about harm to a reputation. Likewise, any deed that
increases the respect accorded to God or Judaism is referred to as "kiddush
Ha-Shem," sanctification of The Name.
Because a name represents the reputation of the thing named, a name should
be treated with the same respect as the thing's reputation. For this reason,
God's Names, in all of their forms, are treated with enormous respect and
reverence in Judaism.
I have often heard people refer to the Judeo-Christian God as "the nameless
God" to contrast our God with the ancient pagan gods. I always found this
odd, because Judaism clearly recognizes the existence of a Name for God;
in fact, we have many Names for God.
The most important of God's Names is the four-letter Name represented by
the Hebrew letters Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei (YHVH).
It is often referred to as the Ineffable Name, the Unutterable Name or the
Distinctive Name. Linguistically, it is related to the
Hebrew root Hei-Yod-Hei (to be), and reflects
the fact that God's existence is eternal. In scripture, this Name is used
when discussing God's relation with human beings, and when emphasizing his
qualities of lovingkindness and mercy. It is frequently shortened to Yah
(Yod-Hei), Yahu or Yeho (Yod-Hei-Vav), especially when used in combination
with names or phrases, as in Yehoshua (Joshua, meaning "the Lord is my
Salvation"), Eliyahu (Elijah, meaning "my God is the Lord"), and Halleluyah
("praise the Lord").
The first Name used for God in scripture is Elohim. In form, the word is
a masculine plural of a word that looks feminine in the singular (Eloha).
The same word (or, according to Rambam, a homonym
of it) is used to refer to princes, judges, other gods, and other powerful
beings. This Name is used in scripture when emphasizing God's might, His
creative power, and his attributes of justice and rulership. Variations on
this name include El, Eloha, Elohai (my God) and Elohaynu (our God).
God is also known as El Shaddai. This Name is usually translated as "God
Almighty," however, the derivation of the word "Shaddai" is not known. According
to some views, it is derived from the root meaning "to heap benefits." According
a Midrash, it means, "The One who said 'dai'"
("dai" meaning enough or sufficient) and comes from the fact that when God
created the universe, it expanded until He said "DAI!" (perhaps the first
recorded theory of an expanding universe?). The name Shaddai is the one written
on the mezuzah scroll. Some note that Shaddai
is an acronym of Shomer Daltot Yisrael, Guardian of the Doors of Israel.
Another significant Name of God is YHVH Tzva'ot. This Name is normally translated
as "Lord of Hosts." The word "tzva'ot" means "hosts" in the sense of a military
grouping or an organized array. The Name refers to God's leadership and
sovereignty. Interestingly, this Name is rarely used in scripture. It never
appears in the Torah (i.e., the first five books).
It appears primarily in the prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai,
Zechariah and Malachi, as well as many times in the Psalms.
Jews do not casually write any Name of God. This practice does not come from
the commandment not to take the Lord's Name in vain, as many suppose. In
Jewish thought, that commandment refers solely to oath-taking, and is a
prohibition against swearing by God's Name falsely or frivolously (the word
normally translated as "in vain" literally means "for falsehood").
Judaism does not prohibit writing the Name of God per se; it prohibits only
erasing or defacing a Name of God. However, observant Jews avoid writing
any Name of God casually because of the risk that the written Name might
later be defaced, obliterated or destroyed accidentally or by one who does
not know better.
The commandment not to erase or deface the name of God comes from Deut. 12:3.
In that passage, the people are commanded that when they take over the promised
land, they should destroy all things related to the idolatrous religions
of that region, and should utterly destroy the names of the local deities.
Immediately afterwards, we are commanded not to do the same to our God. From
this, the rabbis inferred that we are commanded
not to destroy any holy thing, and not to erase or deface a Name of God.
It is worth noting that this prohibition against erasing or defacing Names
of God applies only to Names that are written in some kind of permanent form,
and recent rabbinical decisions have held that
writing on a computer is not a permanent form, thus it is not a violation
to type God's Name into a computer and then backspace over it or cut and
paste it, or copy and delete files with God's Name in them. However, once
you print the document out, it becomes a permanent form. That is why observant
Jews avoid writing a Name of God on web sites like this one or in newsgroup
messages: because there is a risk that someone else will print it out and
deface it.
Normally, we avoid writing the Name by substituting letters or syllables,
for example, writing "G-d" instead of "God." In addition, the number 15,
which would ordinarily be written in Hebrew as Yod-Hei (10-5), is normally
written as Teit-Vav (9-6), because Yod-Hei is a Name. See
Hebrew Alphabet for more information
about using letters as numerals.
Nothing in the Torah prohibits a person from
pronouncing the Name of God. Indeed, it is evident from scripture that God's
Name was pronounced routinely. Many common Hebrew names contain "Yah" or
"Yahu," part of God's four-letter Name. The Name was pronounced as part of
daily services in the Temple.
The Mishnah confirms that there was no prohibition
against pronouncing The Name in ancient times. In fact, the Mishnah recommends
using God's Name as a routine greeting to a fellow Jew. Berakhot 9:5. However,
by the time of the Talmud, it was the custom
to use substitute Names for God. Some rabbis
asserted that a person who pronounces YHVH according to its letters (instead
of using a substitute) has no place in the World
to Come, and should be put to death. Instead of pronouncing the four-letter
Name, we usually substitute the Name "Adonai," or simply say "Ha-Shem" (lit.
The Name).
Although the prohibition on pronunciation applies only to the four-letter
Name, Jews customarily do not pronounce any of God's many Names except in
prayer or study. The usual practice is to
substitute letters or syllables, so that Adonai becomes Adoshem or Ha-Shem,
Elohaynu and Elohim become Elokaynu and Elokim, etc.
With the Temple destroyed and the prohibition
on pronouncing The Name outside of the Temple, pronunciation of the Name
fell into disuse. Scholars passed down knowledge of the correct pronunciation
of YHVH for many generations, but eventually the correct pronunciation was
lost, and we no longer know it with any certainty. We do not know what vowels
were used, or even whether the Vav in the Name was a vowel or a consonant.
See Hebrew Alphabet for more information
about the difficulties in pronouncing Hebrew. Some religious scholars suggest
that the Name was pronounced "Yahweh," but others do not find this pronunciation
particularly persuasive.
Some people render the four-letter Name as "Jehovah," but this pronunciation
is particularly unlikely. The word "Jehovah" comes from the fact that ancient
Jewish texts used to put the vowels of the Name "Adonai" (the usual substitute
for YHVH) under the consonants of YHVH to remind people not to pronounce
YHVH as written. A sixteenth century German Christian scribe, while
transliterating the Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote the Name out as
it appeared in his texts, with the consonants of YHVH and the vowels of Adonai,
and came up with the word JeHoVaH, and the name stuck.
© Copyright 5756-5760 (1996-1999), Tracey
R Rich
|
