A name given a human being at birth is a hopeful prophecy expressing the parent’s wishes of identity for the child. After a child has grown up and chosen an identity through their actions, values, and personality, the name can then be thought of as a tag that synthesizes and summarizes the characteristics, attributes, and virtues that person possesses. Many have desired to acquire a ‘good name’ whereas others have acquired an ‘evil name’. It is well known that Hebrew names are often given to children with a Biblical connection to two specific words which parents believe will bring blessing to their offspring: ELOHIM – This word is translated ‘God’ in English, and the prefix EL is attached to many Biblical names. For example, DaniEL, IsraEL, ELijah, EzekiEL, GabriEL, JoEL, and RachEL. Unlike YHWH, the pronunciation and vowels in this word have been preserved. YHWH – This word is God’s personal name and the pronunciation has been lost due to it’s sacredness and due to the lack of vowels in the Hebrew language. However, like EL of ELOHIM, the prefix YAH (JAH and IAH) of YHWH is found in several Biblical names including EliJAH, ObadIAH, HezekIAH, ZeruIAH, MorIAH, NehemIAH, ZecharIAH, etc. Since ELOHIM and YHWH are the two most common references to God in the Old Testament, an examination of the meaning, use, and attributes about these two words is revealing. Let’s begin. elohim The word Elohim occurs more than 2500 times in the Hebrew Bible, with meanings ranging from “non-Hebrew deities” in a general sense (as in Exodus 12:12, where it describes “the gods of Egypt”), to a specific foreign god (as in 1 Kings 11:33, where it describes Chemosh “the god of Moab”). But when Elohim is typically used in the Bible, it is in reference to the one God of Israel, YHWH. The word Elohim can also refer to demons, seraphim angels, and other supernatural beings, including the spirits of the dead (Samuel’s dead spirit in 1 Samuel 28:13). Often, Elohim is used as a descriptive anaphor when describing natural human beings such as kings and prophets (Exodus 4:16). One use of the word is found in the phrase bene elohim which s translated “sons of God” referring to the council of God’s angels, a san hedrin. In general it can be said that Elohim (God) is not a personal name just as man, creature, father, brother, animal are not personal names either. The word Elohim gives further definition to an entity but cannot function as a name without a context. Thus, Elohim is really a description of the DOMAIN of the individual(s) it refers to. For example, in reference to the One God of Israel, YHWH, Elohim mostly refers to His domain of ‘all power and authority’ over something. When Elohim is used in reference to an angel, it is understood that the angel has been delegated a sub-domain from the domain of YHWH. These levels of sub-domain trickle down from the supernatural to the natural. Therefore, humans receive sub-domains from YHWH as do lesser supernatural beings and are thus called ‘kings and prophets’, Elohim. elohim-subdomainIt can be said that the term Elohim is reserved for distinguished persons with a great name. For our discussion surrounding YHWH, Elohim when applied to Him connotes ‘the greatest name’ and the ‘most high’ domain of authority, power, and wisdom. Eloh-im is a ‘plural’ and is a word that reaches back to antediluvian times. Being the plural of Eloah, it demonstrates magnification and excellence when used in relationship with a non-plural singular verb. That is, normally a plural verb would lie next to a plural noun such as Elohim. However, this language rule is broken with ‘plural magnification’ and is accepted in the Hebrew language as a textual way to boldface and underline the text. For example, the Hebrew word shamayyim refers to the sky or heaven but is phrased in English, ‘the heavens’. Certainly there is not more than one heaven or more than one sky. The plural ‘-im’ amps up and gives majesty to the meaning of a word when used with a singular verb. In the case of the name YHWH, a singular verb connected to Elohim let’s us know that a ‘plural magnification’ has occurred. With regard to the pre-fix ‘EL’ in reference to Israel’s Deity, the definition is sure: Might, Power, Wisdom (Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient). The word Elohim is never written before the word YHWH, but always after in the Hebrew manuscripts. In our English translations, ‘LORD God’ (YHWH Elohim) is how you will find it written 230 times. 80 % of the time, the words will specify YHWH’s domain (LORD God of). Thus, YHWH’s domain is over: Heaven, Earth, Angels (El of Elohim), Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Israel , the patriarchal fathers, David, Elijah, Truth, Worshipers (hosts), Recompense (retribution, vengeance), Jesus (Psalm 88:1). One last way to think of the word Elohim is in a taxonomy kind of way. Elohim is a genus of beings with an eternal spirit (pneuma) among classes of other living creatures without an eternal spirit. John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Hypostasis, Source and Cause of Beings Two scriptures in the New Testament use the Greek word hypostasis, translating that word into English as ‘person and substance’ (Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 11:1). A conflagration of philosophical metaphysics divided Christianity in the 2nd-3rd centuries by Gentile Greek Christians in an attempt to explain the incarnation using the word hypostasis. Of course, the incarnation is a mystery that is unexplainable (See my article, ‘The Key Words that Define the Logos’). The word hypostasis is translated as ‘substance’ in Hebrews 11:1 and ‘person’ in Hebrews 1:3 in our English Bible. In both scriptures, the English thought of ‘source of beings, cause of beings’ (Hebrew hayah, I am, let there be) would be a better translation. image The pronunciation of the ineffable name YHWH (not to be spoken due to it’s sacredness) was lost during the second century AD. Rabbinical Judaism (Oral Torah Judaism) had been created through the school of Rabbi Akiba and after his death, a debate was settled that had been raging among religious Jews for a long time. Should ‘the Name’ be desecrated by encouraging it’s pronunciation? As we know, Judaism decided to discourage the pronunciation and writing of the ineffable name, often called Tetragrammaton (4 letter name), due to its sacredness. This Rabbinical ruling is not universally accepted among Jews and thus, the pronunciation of YHWH was lost. [More info: Hashem] Regardless, the name (Hashem, ‘ha’ = the, ‘shem’ = name) of the One God of Israel is written YHWH which simply means, ‘the source of being, the cause of being(s)’. This name is found written 6,828 times in the Old Testament and is further defined by other euphemisms that are written throughout the Bible to lend meaning to the ineffable name. In the New Testament, the ineffable name cannot be found due to the fact that the earliest surviving manuscripts are written in Greek and even those copies that exist in Semitic languages (Aramaic Peshitta) most likely are translations of the same surviving Greek manuscripts. Sidebar: The original Septuagint (V1 of the Greek Old Testament) was translated from the ancient Hebrew in the city of Alexandria Egypt, in 250 BC, by the Jewish community. This version of the OT was so successful in evangelizing and making Christians of Greek speaking Jews in synagogues in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, that Rabbi Akiba concocted a strategy to stop the conversions. One of Akiba’s students, Aquila (also known as Onkelos the writer of the Palestinian Targums) was a gifted polyglot, a Greek linguist from the South shore of the Black Sea in Asia minor (Sinope Turkey, then the region Pontus). Aquila (Onkelos) had left Christianity and conspired with Akiba to remove the ‘Messianic definitions’ clearly found in the ‘Old Septuagint V1’, to stop the tide of messianic conversions in the synagogues. Thus, together they wrote a New Septuagint of 130 AD which they introduced to rabbinical Judaism of the 2nd century, as an inoculation against Jewish Christianity. In this new version, they changed the dictionary of the common tongue, not the Hebrew autographs. What I mean is, the ‘Old Septuagint V1’ which is exclusively quoted by the New Testament, was replaced by the ‘Aquila Septuagint V2’ that changed key Greek words that were used for defining the original Hebrew passages. This strategy attempted to eradicate Jesus from the OT prophecies, since the Septuagint was a translation (interpretation) not original scripture (Hebrew text), subject to the translators bias through which he chose Greek words. This deception strategy worked and eventually this ‘Septuagint V2’ found it’s way into the hands of a Latin Christian who desired to learn Hebrew, Jerome. Jerome used the ‘Septuagint V2’ to make his Latin Vulgate Translation. The Isaiah 7:14 controversy that still rages is a proof of Aquila’s tampering. An 8th century Nestorian Bishop, Mar Timothy I of Seleucia dialogued with Archbishop Sergius (of Elam or Susa) upon the discovery of Biblical manuscripts in the Judean desert around 790 AD, with regard to the Isaiah 7:14 passage (Matthew 1:23). hayah In analysis of the ineffable name in the English transliteration, YHWH, some interesting language rules of Hebrew come forward. Here are a few. Hebrew names which are nouns, often contain verbs to give a dynamic definition. In the case of YHWH, Exodus 3:14 is the verse where God gives Moses a definition of His name. He says, “I AM that I AM’”. In Hebrew of course, this is transliterated as “Hayah asher Hayah”. Hayah translates both ‘Let there be’ and ‘I Am’. In both cases, it is a speaking verb, a word that contains no hard labial consonantal sounds, only breath. The second letter in the word YHWH is the ‘H’. Because this letter is followed by another consonant, W, it must have a vowel after it because it is in the middle of the word. Thus, after the H must come a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). In abbreviation of the word YHWH, the 2nd and 3rd letter are removed to create the abbreviated word YH (Yah, Yih, Yeh or Yoh) which is normally translated JAH in English Bibles. The Hebrew letter Y (Yod) begins the word YHWH and thus, it mandates a vowel breath of ‘e’ afterwards, producing the sound ‘Yeh or Yah’. In Hebrew the letters Vav (W or V) and Yod (Y) are weak letters which are sometimes interchangeable with one another. The 3rd letter Vav (written W or V in transliteration) is an amped up plural magnificent that takes the place of the weaker Yod. In other words, a Y (Yod) should be in it’s place from it’s root word, but the letter was amped up into a vowel (called Vav) to give it significance. That is, the name of God is written one way, but pronounced another way when this rule is recognized by the reader. Thus, YHWH should be written YHYH (Yah Yah or hayah hayah) but because the W is an amped up Y, it is written YHWH. After looking at these language rules in Hebrew, my conclusion is that the memorial name of YHWH is pronounced Yehayah. It’s meaning is, ‘source of being, cause of being’. Thus, when God creates, His name is pronounced (breathed) and worshiped (by angels or humans). Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be [hayah] light: and there was light. Job 38:4-7 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the morning stars [burning ones, seraphim] sang together, and all the sons of God [angels] shouted for joy? rushingwind You could say, God’s name is Spirit, breathe, pneuma. When the Spirit of God rushes, it makes a sound of breathing. It seems to me that the sound of the ‘rushing mighty wind’ in Acts 2:2 is ‘Yehayah’. Notice that this wind is called ‘mighty’, the same word we would use for ‘El’. Acts 2:1-2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. All theologians admit that the Church was birthed at the above event on Pentecost festival, 33 AD. Now considering that God’s verbal speech of authority (amar) is found in the third verse of the Bible, we have an interesting phenomenon unfolding. [See my article, “The Key Words that Define the Logos”] Genesis 1:3 And God [Elohim] said,[amar, commanded] Let there be [hayah] light [ore]: and there was [hayah] light. This verse without English interpretation and dynamic equivalence would read; Elohim amar hayah ore hayah ore. In Hebrew, you would not create a name that repeats a word twice. You would amp it up like a ‘magnificent plural’. Thus God’s name would not be pronounced ‘Hayah Hayah, I Am I Am’, but ‘Yehayah’. Now it becomes even clearer that God’s name means ‘rushing mighty wind that exists and creates’. A good euphemism or descriptor of the name YHWH is a word that lends meaning to the idea of creator. This word is ‘Father’. When we pick up this word from the New Testament, our definition of YHWH get’s even brighter. When Jesus said ‘My Father’, he meant ‘the spoken commandment, the word, that moves the Spirit wind to rush mightily and cause others animate and inanimate, to exist, to be’. To be pithy, the Father of Jesus Christ is ‘Word and Spirit’. What is God when His Spirit is not Fathering, Creating? Hayah. What is God when He is both speaking and moving His Spirit to father, create? Yehayah. The next question is, is God a person? That is a different question I answer in another article. by Dwight Davis
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 22:23:45 +0000
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