parashat shmot God's Proper Name
The Torah portion read in synagogues around the world this week is parashat shmot. Parashat shmot runs from Exodus 1:1 to chapter 6:1. In parashat shmot Moshe asks a legitimate question, and God decides to answer it. Exodus 3:13-15.
“Moshe said to God, ‘Behold, I will go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ They will ask me, ‘What’s his name?’ What should I tell them?’ God said to Moshe, ‘I will be whoever I will be.’ He then said, ‘Thus you should say to the children of Israel, I will be has sent me to you.’ God furthermore said to Moshe, ‘Thus you should say to the children of Israel, HaShem, the god of your fathers, God of Avraham, God of Yitzchaq, God of Yaaqov has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my actualization from generation to generation.”
God provides Moshe with three names. The second name, “I will be,” would seem to be the shortened form of the first, “I will be who I will be.” The third name, “HaShem,” may rhyme with the first and second, and may perhaps be based on the same verb in a different conjugation. Today we simply don’t have sufficient linguistic information to reconstruct how the third name is related to the first two. It’s the third name which Moshe takes to the children of Israel.
The mystery of HaShem is at once simple and profound: the Creator of the universe, who fills all in all, the ultimate reality, has a proper name. In this regard he is not unlike Amran or Yokheved or Moshe or any other protagonist in Israel’s story. A proper name is a very humble thing. A proper name has no meaning on its own. A proper name acquires its meaning solely from the personal history of the person who bears it. As the songwriter asks, “How do you find a word that means Maria?” The point is you can’t. Looking up her name in The Book of Baby Names won’t help you discover who Maria is. For someone who loves Maria, nothing but her name expresses who she is. No description, however long and flowery, begins to tell her story. There’s no substitute for a proper name. Only a proper name identifies the fullness of the person who bears it.
The significance of the name HaShem derives from the incomparable uniqueness of his personal identity. The God of Israel is not a force field, not a subjective projection, not a cosmic awareness, not a category. This God has a name. He is known by his personal history.
The generic word “god” is open to all sorts of manipulation. In the world of the Bible the word “god” could refer to any number of demons and divinities. In our contemporary world the word “god” is still subject to the whim of the speaker. People define god however they please and so invent their own. The South Asian religions use the generic word “god” to refer to a higher level of consciousness, rather than anyone personal.
A proper name is not open to that sort of manipulation. True, HaShem’s name can be defamed, but at least it cannot be mistaken for an abstraction. The fact that he shares his name with no one else, indicates he is a unique individual. HaShem is not your generic god. The 3rd precept of the Decalogue protects the uniqueness of his name.
“You shall not lift up the name of HaShem your God for an improper purpose, for HaShem does not overlook anyone who lifts up his name for an improper purpose.” [Exodus 20:7]
Borrowing or misusing HaShem’s name is intolerable, because it communicates the wrong god. In a polytheistic world, the true God can only be distinguished from the competition by enforcing the copyright on his name. He can’t afford to lend his identity to anybody else, otherwise he himself won’t be recognizable when he needs to be recognized. Nobody else can legally be called HaShem, because there is no other HaShem. Since he is unique, he has exclusive rights to his identity.
So how does Israel learn what is unique about this individual? How does Israel learn the meaning of HaShem’s name? From the burning bush on, HaShem’s interaction with Israel expresses his determination to be known by his name. He goes into action in order to demonstrate that he is HaShem. Exodus 6:2-7
“And God spoke to Moshe, saying to him, ‘I am HaShem. I appeared to Avraham and to Yitzchaq and to Yaaqov by El Shaddai, but my name HaShem I did not make known to them. Furthermore I have established my covenant with them, to give them the Land of Canaan, the land of their residence, where they resided. Furthermore, I have heard the groan of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians have enslaved. I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I, HaShem, will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, and will rescue you from their servitude, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments, and I will take you for myself to be a people, and to you I will be God. Then you shall know that I am HaShem your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt.’”
It may strike us as odd that at this juncture in salvation history HaShem says he hadn’t previously made his name known. Up to here in the Torah we’ve been reading all along about HaShem’s activities. Now all of a sudden he discloses he’s been operating under a different name and he wants to introduce himself. What ever happened to the Book of Genesis? What are we supposed to make of this introduction in Exodus chapter 6?
Since at the time HaShem sent him to Pharaoh Moshe hadn’t yet written the Torah, it’s possible that HaShem’s name in the previous stories is retrospective. Perhaps at the time the events transpired HaShem’s worshipers didn’t know him by his proper name, but Moshe supplies it in order to inform the reader that the patriarchs and matriarchs worshipped the same God who would later redeem Israel. But this explanation is difficult to square with Genesis 4. Genesis 4:26 explicitly says it was the generation of Enosh that began to call on the name of HaShem. If already during the lifetime of Adam and Chava’s grandson Enosh, HaShem’s worshipers began calling on his proper name, how could this name be unknown prior to Israel’s exodus from Egypt?
More likely, earlier generations of his worshipers were cognizant of HaShem’s proper name, but hadn’t experienced the fullness of the person the name identifies. The patriarchs and matriarchs experienced HaShem primarily as a God who makes promises. The generation redeemed from Egypt is the first to experience HaShem as a God who makes good on his promises. God implies the difference by telling Moshe he has remembered his covenant with Avraham, Yitzchaq, and Yaaqov, and now, long after their demise, he will establish his covenant with them. The slaves he brings out of Egypt are the first generation of humanity HaShem takes for a people, and for whom HaShem commits to be God. God implies his by the formula, “I will take you for myself to be a people, and to you I will be God.” This will be a new experience both for the human family and for the God of Avraham, Yitzchaq, and Yaaqov.
To know HaShem’s name is to experience his full sovereignty: politically, socially, psychologically, morally, and spiritually. This cannot be done on a strictly individual basis or on a strictly voluntary basis. In order to experience HaShem’s full sovereignty Israel will need to be removed from the idolatrous environment of Egypt. Israel will require national self-determination. Israel will require restructuring. Israel must become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to know HaShem’s name.
To know HaShem’s name is to experience his personality and to bring out his personality. To know his name is to help HaShem to become himself. Without Israel, HaShem would not be the same God. Israel will become responsible for HaShem’s name in a way which the patriarchs and matriarchs were not. Israel will become jointly accountable with HaShem for the development of salvation history.
Bringing out HaShem’s personality is not only a matter of positive experiences. Bringing human partners on board salvation history is the greatest challenge to HaShem’s character formation. HaShem will be hurt by his relationship with Israel. Eventually, HaShem will be broken for the sake of his covenant partners. Allowing Israel to know his name comes at a very steep price. HaShem will immerge as a different person for having experienced unrequited love. But this heart-wrenching experience will bring out the best in him.
Another biblical expression for knowing HaShem’s name is to sanctify HaShem’s name. Just as Scripture speaks of HaShem going into action in order to demonstrate that he is HaShem, Scripture speaks of HaShem going into action in order to sanctify his name. Ezekiel 36:16-23
“It transpired that HaShem’s word was to me, saying, ‘Son of Humanity, when the house of Israel was dwelling on their own soil they defiled it with their ways and their evil deeds like the defilement of a menstruating woman, so was their way before me. And I poured out my wrath on them, for the blood which they shed on the land and by their evil deeds they defiled it. I scattered them among the Gentiles and they were dispersed among foreign lands. According to their way and their evil deeds I punished them. And they arrived among the Gentiles, wherever they went, and desecrated my holy name. It was said of them, ‘These are HaShem’s folk; they came from his land.’ But I had pity on my holy name which the house of Israel had desecrated among the Gentiles wherever they went. Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus has said the Lord HaShem, ‘Not for your sake am I acting, O house of Israel, but rather for my holy name which you desecrated among the Gentiles upon your arrival. I shall sanctify my great name, desecrated among the Gentiles, which you desecrated in their midst. Then the Gentiles shall know that I am HaShem,’ oracle of the Lord HaShem, ‘When I am sanctified among you in their eyes.’”
The name HaShem has a linguistic meaning, which will become apparent to the children of Israel once they’ve been liberated from Egypt. As God instructs Moshe,
“‘I, HaShem, will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, and will rescue you from their servitude, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments, and I will take you for myself to be a people, and to you I will be God. Then you shall know that I am HaShem your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of Egypt.’” [Exodus 6:6-7]
But according to what we read in Ezekiel, the Gentiles, who don’t speak Israel’s language, will also know that he is HaShem by what he does for Israel. So it isn’t strictly necessary to know the linguistic meaning of the name to know HaShem’s name. Once you acknowledge his dealings with Israel, you’ll know his name. It is sufficient to experience his sovereignty and his personal uniqueness to know his name. You don’t need to catch the verbal association between the first name which he revealed at the burning bush “I will be whoever I will be” and the third name HaShem.
Throughout the Bible HaShem’s name is frequently invoked without actually mentioning what his name is. This practice has been the source of considerable misunderstanding. For instance, Psalm 52:11[9] reads,
“I will give thanks to you forever, for you have performed, and I will hope in your name among your adherents, for it is good.”
Although Psalm 52 encourages the worshiper to hope in God’s name, it nowhere informs the reader that God’s name is HaShem. Another example would be Psalm 63:5[4].
“Indeed, I will bless you while I live. In your name will I lift up my hands.”
God’s name is of particular importance to the psalmist here, but it doesn’t follow that he addresses God by his name. Sometimes within the space of a single psalm, God’s name is referred to several times, without ever mentioning it. Psalm 66:1-4
“Blast to God all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; give the glory of his praise. Say to God, ‘How awesome are your works!’ By the greatness of your might your enemies shall submit to you. All the earth shall prostrate to you and sing to you. They shall sing your name.”
Presumably, any worshiper in the temple would have known that the name of Israel’s God is HaShem, but it seems odd in a setting which calls on worshipers to hope in his name, to sing the glory of his name, to praise his name, that the very same psalm should avoid naming his name. Quite a number of psalms (Psalm 44:9[8] 61:6[5], 9[8] 74:7, 10, 21 75:2[1] 86:12) talk about God’s name without name dropping.
Another scriptural way to avoid name dropping is the use of the passive voice instead of direct speech. This is very common in the Final Portion of Scripture and in Jewish prayer. For example, instead of praying, “Let your name, HaShem, be holy,” Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, “Hallowed be your name.” Instead of teaching, “Privileged are those who mourn, for HaShem will comfort them, Jesus teaches, “Privileged are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Instead of telling the paralyzed man, “Son, take heart, HaShem forgives your sins,” Jesus tells him, “Son, take heart, your sins are forgiven you.” By convoluted syntax the entire recorded body of Jesus’s teaching avoids HaShem’s name even once!
Even when emphasizing the importance of God’s proper name Bible writers frequently go out of their way to avoid taking it on their lips. What are we to make of this?
Some readers have concluded that God’s proper name belongs only to the earliest stage of Israel’s story and is no longer relevant. They say a God who has a proper name is far too provincial to be universally worshiped. Other readers have concluded that Jesus’ example is all wrong; that we ought to boldly pronounce the sacred name at every opportunity.
When your plane lands in Charleston, SC and you walk over to baggage claim, you’ll see the sign: “Yahweh Chartered Limo & Taxi Service.” Evidently, after a rough flight, travelers prefer to ride home with Yahweh.
Then we have Jehovah’s Witness, who promote an earlier English form of the sacred name. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that prayers not addressed to Jehovah arrive at the wrong destination.
On today’s religious landscape we also have the Sacred Namers. Sacred Namers lay great stress on the correct pronunciation of God’s name. Funny thing about Sacred Namers though, hardly any two of them can agree what the correct pronunciation ought to be.
Sacred Namers contend that Jesus revived the correct pronunciation of God’s name and was crucified for zealously opposing the worship practice of the synagogue. They blame the fact that there’s not a shred of evidence to support their contention on wicked scribes who erased the most important stuff in the Bible.
Yahwists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Sacred Namers will all tell you the reason Jews and Christians today don’t pronounce God’s proper name is that they aren’t worshipping the true God of Israel anymore.
I think modern readers have misconstrued the evidence. Ancient Jews did not avoid pronouncing God’s proper name due to apostasy, but precisely because they adored his name. Every deliberate avoidance was a ringing affirmation of HaShem’s personal uniqueness and the incomparable privilege of knowing him. Of course, it would have been easier just to spit out the word and be done with it, but by paraphrase, euphemism, and circumlocution HaShem’s ancient worshipers cherished his name. As modern readers we need to hear intimacy in ancient Jewish practice, not apostasy. We need to hear the silence as heightened awareness, not as forgetfulness. The Apostolic Writings are overflowing with reverential deference to God’s name without saying it. This doesn’t mean God’s name was of no more importance; on the contrary, so much attention to get around the name indicates its supreme importance. The speech habits of Jesus and the apostles indicate they were constantly mindful of the God of Israel’s proper name.
Part of our problem today is unfamiliarity with ancient conventions. Conventions are not self-evident; conventions need to be explained. From the time the deported Jews returned from their exile in Babylon there seems to have been a new sensibility regarding the God of Israel’s proper name.
The earliest convention for getting around HaShem’s name was to substitute adonai. adonai literally means “my lords.” Whenever the Torah was read in public, at every place HaShem’s name is written, ancient readers would say, adonai. This convention was already firmly established two hundred years before the time of Jesus when the Torah was translated into Greek. Along with the Torah, the translators translated this convention. Wherever HaShem’s name occurs, they translated ku’,rioj. ku’,rioj is simply the word Greek meaning “sir,” “mister, “master” or “lord.” In other words, rather than phonetically sounding out HaShem’s proper name in the Greek alphabet, the translators translated the synagogue convention for public reading.
The upshot is that Jews listening to the Bible, whether they attended a Hebrew-speaking synagogue and heard adonai, or whether they attended a Greek-speaking synagogue and heard ku’,rioj, were affirming HaShem’s personal uniqueness and the inestimable privilege of knowing him. For synagogue listeners the word adonai or ku’,rioj instantly triggered HaShem’s proper name. Nobody in synagogue supposed they were worshiping some indefinite “mister” or a “lord” somebody or another. They were praising the unique individual who had brought them out of bondage in Egypt and had brought them home from exile in Babylon. They were experiencing the personal history of HaShem.
The traditional English convention for HaShem’s proper name is a product of ignorance. European Christians toward the end of the Middle Ages knew God’s proper name in Hebrew was spelled with four letters and they knew about the system of superimposed dots to fill in any unrepresented vowels. But they were somehow ignorant of the convention of marking HaShem’s name with the dots for the word adonai. This is in order to remind the reader of the appropriate euphemism. By sounding out the dots for adonai over the four letters for HaShem’s name, European Christians inadvertently invented a name that had never existed: Jehovah.
The academic convention for HaShem’s proper name is a reconstruction. The higher critics in the 19th century used the then-new science of historical linguistics to reconstruct how God’s proper name might have been pronounced in ancient Israel. Since the higher critics didn’t see themselves as worshipers of this God, they wanted to avoid terminology associated with the church or the synagogue. They wanted a designation which would be neutral. The name they came up was Yahweh. Nobody claimed it was the only possible reconstruction. The academic convention has been popularized by several Bible translations published in the 1960’s and 70’s. Some readers are now under the impression that this academic convention is the authentic form of HaShem’s proper name. This is undoubtedly the reason for “Yahweh Chartered Limo & Taxi Service” in Charleston. The problem with the academic convention is that it has no tradition of intimacy or reverence to commend it. Does anybody really pray to Yahweh? Jews pray to adonai or HaShem; Christians pray to the L-rd.
The problem with the English-language convention of substituting the word “lord” for HaShem is that doesn’t communicate a proper name. Who among English-speakers thinks of HaShem when they hear the word “lord?” An English-speaker might think lord of the manor, lord, husband of the lady, or maybe Lord and Taylor’s department store. In our pluralistic environment we hear neighbors speak of lord Vishnu or lord Krishna. In English there’s no immediate association between the word “lord” and HaShem’s proper name, such as we have in Hebrew between adonai and HaShem. The convention of referring to HaShem by saying “lord” fails to carry its own clarification. People don’t know it’s a substitute. The English convention only works for people who’ve received specialized instruction.
The situation is slightly better in print. When the reader spots the word “LORD” written in all caps, or with a hyphen in place of the “o,” at least the reader is clued in that something else is lurching behind this odd form of writing. But verbally the distinction is lost. “LORD” in all caps sounds exactly like “lord” in lower case. The English word “lord” doesn’t point to anyone in particular. The Yahwists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Sacred Namers actually have a valid point. We may not concur with their solutions, but they’ve done us the service of pointing out the inadequacy of the English word “lord.”
Worshipers in the Greek-speaking synagogue or in the congregation of Jesus-confessing Gentiles had no such problem understanding the convention of ku’,rioj substituting for HaShem’s proper name. The Apostle Shaul describes the consequence for Greek-speaking worshipers. 1Corinthians 8:5-6.
“For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and one ku’,rioj, Jesus the Messiah, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”
Once you’re familiar with the synagogue convention for reading Scripture, the usage of ku’,rioj here pops out at you. In 1Corinthians 8 the Apostle Shaul affirms there is one God, and in the same breath he confesses that the one and only HaShem, the unique individual whom Israel knows from her shared history, is Jesus! In the Greek-speaking synagogue ku’,rioj is the conventional substitute for HaShem’s proper name, and the one and only ku’,rioj, says Shaul, is Jesus the Messiah!
In the Epistle to the Philippians Shaul speaks about God handing over his name to Jesus. Philippians 2:9-11.
“Hence God has elevated him and favored him with the name above all names, that at the name Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus the Messiah is HaShem, to the glory of God the Father.”
Within the context of Israel “the name above all names” can only refer to HaShem. Contrary to the lyrics of a certain popular praise song, “the name above all names” is not Yeshua or Jesus. No 1st century Jew would have possibly imagined any candidate for “the name above all names” other than HaShem. In the continuation Shaul confirms that this indeed is his intention by saying, “And every tongue confess that Jesus the Messiah is ku’,rioj. Shaul equates “the name above all names” with ku’,rioj, with HaShem. The God of Israel elevates Jesus and grants him his own unique personal identity, on which he has exclusive rights. The God of Israel, whose glory fills heaven and earth, outside of whose transcendent mind exists nothing, in effect announces, “That utterly obedient Jew over there is me!”
We have to ask, “If God hands over his proper name to Jesus, does that then leave God nameless?” Evidently not. In John 17:11 Jesus prays,
“Hallowed Father, keep them in your name which you have given me, in order that they be one as are we.”
The logic here is that God gives his name to Jesus without giving it away. It is both “your name” and the “name which you have given me.” The name now belongs to both.
The Gospel according to Matthew concludes with Jesus announcing,
“All authority has been given me in heaven and on earth.” [Matthew 28:18]
The amazing thing about this Jesus who announces full possession of HaShem’s authority is that he continues to sanctify HaShem’s name without so much as taking it upon his lips. The straightforward sentence would be, of course, “HaShem has given me all authority in heaven and on earth.” Anybody speaking natural English would formulate it that way. I don’t know which is more amazing: that HaShem gives an executed Jew “all authority in heaven and on earth,” or that the recipient is so Jewish he continues to sanctify HaShem’s name by using the passive voice! The King of the universe, who possesses HaShem’s name and identity and authority, retains the reverential speech habits of a 1st century Jew! In the very act of taking up “the name above all names,” Jesus hallows the name.
After the God of Israel’s new experience of obedience unto death, Jesus is certainly the appropriate individual to reveal the new manner of referring to HaShem. You see, God has not lost his proper name by giving “the name above all names” to Jesus. God has rather gained a new proper name. He now allows his worshipers to call him by his new proper name. Matthew 28:17-20
“Upon seeing him they worshiped him, but they doubted. Jesus approached and said to them, ‘All authority has been given me in heaven and on earth. When you have gone therefore, disciple all the Gentiles, immersing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep whatever I have commanded you. Now behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.’”
Like every proper name, the God of Israel’s new name functions to identify him. Although it is composite, the new name is a single name. It is not the names of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, but rather, “the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The singular number of the name is reinforced by “I have commanded you” and “I am with you,” rather than, “We have commanded you” and “We are with you.”
This new proper name also identifies him because it includes the definite article. It is not “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as we sometimes hear it incorrectly spoken, but “the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The definite article points to the particular Father who gave his beloved and unique Son. The definite article points to the particular Son who rendered the said Father obedience. The definite article points to the particular sovereign will, the particular personal consciousness, the particular knowledge of the future, unique to the Spirit of the said Father and Son. While the separate words which comprise this name are mere generic nouns, together they form a proper name. The very manner in which “the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” is construed points unmistakably to HaShem. HaShem is the very name which belongs to the Father, the very name he gives to the Son, the very name whose praise the Spirit evokes.
The new proper name into which disciples are immersed also points unmistakably to HaShem’s personal history. This Father is the father who called a multitude of descendents from Mother Sara’s barren womb, the father who called his son out of Egypt, the father who constituted liberated slaves children of HaShem their God. This Son is the son who addressed the God of Israel as his Father, the Son who surrendered to his Father’s will in Gatshemane, the Son raised by his Father from the dead on the third day. This Spirit is the spirit who resurrected the dry bones of Israel languishing in exile, the Spirit whom the resurrected Son breathed on his disciples, the Spirit by whom believers confess Jesus, the spirit by whom the Gentiles cry “Abba Father,” and the spirit poured out on all flesh who comprise the end-time remnant of Israel. By immersion into this name, you get in on HaShem’s personal history.
We usually think of immersion as reactualizing Israel passing through the water from slavery to freedom [1Corinthians 10] and Jesus passing from death into the life of the age to come [Romans 6]. Scripture spells out that immersion reactualizes these events in God’s life. But in fact, immersion in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit makes you a participant in all the events of his personal history, all the events by which HaShem recovers his lost creation. Immersion into his new proper name makes you a protagonist in God’s own story, which is the plan of salvation.
“They will ask me, ‘What’s his name?’ What should I tell them?’ God said to Moshe, ‘I will be whoever I will be.’ He then said, ‘Thus you should say to the children of Israel, I will be has sent me to you.’ God furthermore said to Moshe, ‘Thus you should say to the children of Israel, HaShem, the god of your fathers, God of Avraham, God of Yitzchaq, God of Yaaqov has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my actualization from generation to generation.” [Exodus 3:13-15]
Conventionally we transalate zikhri as “my remembrance” or “my memory.” These conventional translations however, are too mechanical and miss the point. They apply only to human memory. When a human being remembers, the thought of a past event occupies the mind. But human action is limited to the immediate present. At best, human beings can carry something from past experience over into present action. But human beings can’t do an event again by remembering it.
With God memory is different. When God remembers, there is more than mental activity. His activity is not limited to the present moment. Unlike us, God is perfectly capable of doing a past event again with additional participants. When God remembers he actualizes the events of salvation history for us. He makes us his contemporaries. It is HaShem’s actualizing the events of his personal history from generation to generation that makes his name persist forever. This is why here I’ve translated zikhri as “my actualization.”
“This is my name forever, and this is my actualization from generation to generation.”
You aren’t remote from any part of HaShem’s story. Past, present, future ― it’s all equally accessible to him. No matter which generation you live in, you get in on the whole story. You really do want to be immersed into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This is a proper name is worth knowing. This is a biography worth getting in on.
