How Use of the Holy Name was Avoided by the Christian Messiah (17 February, 2015, 28 Shevet, 5775)
Contents:
1. Foreword from Yair: Anecdote. The Catch 22 used by a Missionary.
2. Hiding the Ineffable Name.
3. The Present Jewish practice regarding the Name.
4. The Present Christian Practice.
5. The Christian Messiah AVOIDED Using the Name.
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1. Foreword from Yair: Anecdote. The Catch 22 used by a Missionary
In my youth I read portions of the New Testament a few times along with different articles, comic -books, and booklets about it.
[Do not take my reference to comic books as being facetious, some of them are very educational. I personally learnt much from them. Today, I often buy Jewish religious comic books for my grandchildren and recommend others to do so as well. The kids enjoy them, learn from them, practice their reading skills, etc.]
Returning to my younger days,
The New Testament was not really my field so I left off this study and concentrated on other matters. But I had picked up something. Much later in Israel I was once in the company of an assimilated Jew. We were talking to a Christian convert to Judaism who was trying to missionize my friend. He said something that I considered incorrect according to his own sources so I said so. The Christian replied that since I know nothing about the subject then I should not voice an opinion. I quoted a relevant verse or so to show that on this matter I was not totally ignorant.
He then said that in his experience a lot of Jews pretend not to know anything about Christianity but in secret they avidly read up on it.
If this is a secret it is a very well kept one since that was the first (and last) time I heard about it.
Anyway he was implying that the magic of his message was so great that even the Jews were secretly attracted to it, which is not so.
His reply however reflected that of a professional. It was a Catch 22. It you did not know you would be brow-beaten into admitting you needed education on the matter. If on the other hand, as in this case, you were more up-to-date than the other side on their own turf, it meant you secretly were inclined to their viewpoint.
The point is please do not take the present articles quoting from Christian sources as a sign that we are flirting with Christianity. On the contrary.
In principle, we do not engage in polemics concerning Christianity.
In our view Christianity is a tool of Divine Providence to bring the Ten Tribes closer to the Biblical message and to prepare them to accept it.
It is not for Jews but it may be a pathway, at least in our time, for non-Jewish Israelites, or for some of them.
How this will come about we do not know. Nor do we really care. Our own task is to spread knowledge of Israelite Ancestry and that is quite enough.
We do not have to have all the answers, just some of them.
We were however involved in consideration of the Holy Names. This has led us, as a once-only exception, to depart from our usual practice and quote from a Christian source alongside the Jewish ones.
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2. Hiding the Ineffable Name.
Exodus (CJV) 20:
7 YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD, YOUR GOD, IN VAIN, FOR THE LORD WILL NOT HOLD BLAMELESS ANYONE WHO TAKES HIS NAME IN VAIN.
We published a series of articles concerning use of the Holy Names of God, especially the four-lettered name known as the Tetragamatton.
see:
The Holy Name of God
A Series of Articles Discussing the Ineffable Name of God.
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/name.html
in these articles we discussed,
Suggested meaning of the Holy Name.
Queries on the Holy Name
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/name/queryhn.html
How the Hebrew Bible indicates that pronunciation of the name was intended to be hidden,
See:
Holy Name? Uncovering the Misconception Behind Attempts to Utter the Sacred Name of the Almighty
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/name/name.html
Name Hidden
The Ineffable Name of the Almighty and the Injunction not to attempt to Pronounce it
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/name/hidden2.html
We also showed how the Ten Tribes after they separated from Judah also avoided using the Holy Name or derivatives of it but deliberately mispronounced then adding an additional letter.
See:
History of the Name. When the Name was recalled and Why it is no longer Done so.
http://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/name/namehistory.html
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3. The Present Jewish practice regarding the Name
When reading the Torah, the name YHVH is pronounced as Adoni meaning "LORD". This is the source of the KING JAMES VERSION usually using the term LORD where this name occurs. In teaching or private conversation, the name "adoni" is not used but Religious Jews employ saome other expression such as "HaShem" which literally means "The Name".
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4. The Present Christian Practice.
Most Christians used the terms God or the LORD.
Some use the names Jehovah, or Yahwah, or something like that.
These names are mispronunciations and probably not the actual name itself.
Nevertheless they should be avoided.
It appears that the Christian Messiah himself as quoted in the NT followed the Jewish Practice, see below:
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5. The Christian Messiah AVOIDED Using the Name!
There are Christians who think the Jews invented additions and restrictions of their own apart from those that were given in the Torah.
They think that by using what they consider the name to be that they are going back to the original Hebrew practice before the Rabbis messed it up.
We have dealt with this issue in previous articles.
In addition there are those that believe there is something of a religious obligation in using the name or their version of it.
'THEREFORE, BEHOLD, I WILL MAKE THEM KNOW, THIS ONCE I WILL MAKE THEM KNOW MY POWER AND MY MIGHT, AND THEY SHALL KNOW THAT MY NAME IS THE LORD' (Jeremiah 16:21)
GOD ALSO SAID TO MOSES, 'SAY THIS TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, 'THE LORD, 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 (Exodus 3:15).
Our understanding in these cases is that knowing the Name of God means becoming familiar with who HE is. It may also be efficacious to contemplate the actual meaning of The Name but not pronounce it.
God says that HIS knowing YOUR name is a mark of favor. This means HE knows who you are through and through, your very being. It does not mean HE looked you up in the phone book.
Exodus 33:
17 AND THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, 'THIS VERY THING THAT YOU HAVE SPOKEN I WILL DO, FOR YOU HAVE FOUND FAVOR IN MY SIGHT, AND I KNOW YOU BY NAME.'
The Christian Messiah in the Christian Source is quoted as referring to the Name of God by the Jewish pseudonym "adoni" (lord) rather than pronouncing the name itself!
Matthew 22 (hcsb):
41 WHILE THE PHARISEES WERE TOGETHER, JESUS QUESTIONED THEM,
42 'WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE 'MESSIAH? WHOSE SON IS HE?'
'DAVID'S,' THEY TOLD HIM.
43 HE ASKED THEM, 'HOW IS IT THEN THAT DAVID, INSPIRED BY THE SPIRIT, CALLS HIM 'LORD':
44 (Psalms 110:1) "THE LORD DECLARED TO MY LORD,
'SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES UNDER YOUR FEET'"?
45 'IF DAVID CALLS HIM 'LORD,' HOW THEN CAN THE MESSIAH BE HIS SON?'
46 NO ONE WAS ABLE TO ANSWER HIM AT ALL, AND FROM THAT DAY NO ONE DARED TO QUESTION HIM ANYMORE.
The verse of interest to us is Matthew 22:44.
King James Bible
Matthew 22:44
THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD, SIT THOU ON MY RIGHT HAND, TILL I MAKE THINE ENEMIES THY FOOTSTOOL (Psalms 110:1).
The quotation in Matthew is from the Book of Psalms.
In our Commentary to Psalms we explained:
http://britam.org/psalms/psalms110.html
THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD. Should be translated, GOD ALMIGHTY [Tetragamatton] SAID UNTO MY MASTER [Hebrew "Adoni"]. This Psalm could be the work of someone else on behalf of David or David referring to the Future Messiah as his master. God promises him dominion over his enemies.
Psalm (CJV) 110:
1 Of David a psalm. The word of the Lord to my master; "Wait for My right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool at your feet."
Brit-Am Version:
1 Of David a Psalm. The word of the LORD (i.e. God Almighty) to Adoni (i.e. "my master", i.e. the Messiah): "Wait for My right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool at your feet."
In the Christian translation the word "lord" is used twice. This may be from the Greek Septuagint. The same word Kyros meaning "lord" is used above for the word "LORD" (God Almighty) and for "my lord" i.e. "my master" in both cases.
Psalm 110:1 The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit you at my right hand...' OR
'Spake HaShem to my lord, sit at my right hand,.....'
Assuming that the incident took place and is described as happened: The Christian Messiah quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Jewish audience in accordance with Jewish custom as prescribed by the Sages. OR he was so depicted by someone familiar with the Greek Septuagint version.
Either way,
He is NOT depicted as attempting to use the Holy Name as written but rather instead used the Hebrew replacement "adoni" i.e. "lord," translated as "kyros," and meaning either "God Almighty" or "my master."
If the Jewish practice was good enough for him why should you differ?