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Why Jews don't say the sacred name of G-d & Maybe nobody should

IshChayil

IshChayil

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ב"ה
It's late, after 5 AM here but I think this is a question which deserves to be answered and I'm gonna just bang out the gist of it here.

Reason plopping down (this will be a mix of why Jews don't and why Messianic Jews don't.

There is a lot of misunderstanding of passages such as "by my name" or "for my name's sake" etc. There are Hebrew idioms at play which have to do with a range of meanings from "my power" to "my esteem".
The underlying drive is a desire to sanctify G-d's name; it's a respect issue on the one hand and a holiness issue on the other. Check back often as I'm sure tomorrow I'll add more to this list as I remember reasons.

Reasons Jews / Messianics do not pronounce out loud the Tetragrammaton
(4 letter name of G-d) :
  1. Holy (Kadosh) in Hebrew suggests "set apart, not easily accessible". Sabbath is "holy" because it is not the other 6 days... it's "special", we torah keepers treat it differently than other days. G-d's 4 letter name is also holy. So we do not treat it like a regular name like Bob, or Bill (no offense guys). Instead we often substitute הקדוש ברוך הוא"Hakadosh barukh hu"(the Holy One blessed be He) which I find beautiful. We may also say "Adonai" (lit: "My L-rds") or אל שדי "El Shadai"or when not praying simply השם "Ha-shem" (THE Name).
  2. Hebrew numbers-even the way we write numbers in the bible using Hebrew letters, avoids writing G-d's name or a short version of it. For example, א the 1st letter is 1. ב the 2nd letter is 2. this continues until we reach 11 which is 10 + 1 (א+י). When we hit the number 15 which should be yod plus heh (part of G-d's name), the bible instead changes the scheme for that number to be tet (9) + vav (6) thus avoiding writing a number which would look like His name.
  3. Nobody is 100% sure how to say the name. Most who learn Hebrew a bit blunder over the name thinking they know how to pronounce it only to find it occurs elsewhere with different vowels! Is His name pronounced differently? I've had Hebrew roots guys make the claim "seems not so important if we say it exactly right since it's even different in different places in the bible"... knowing just enough Hebrew to be dangerous... (I've explained in a different post the spelling stuff, and this is gonna be a long post anyway so ask if you wanna know the why).
  4. In Yeshua's day, the Greek Septuagint had been in use for centuries already and in the entire Greek Old Testament the name of G-d is never transliterated. Instead, we find only κύριος Kurios "L-rd", obviously substituting אדוני "Adonai" for the Tetragrammaton (4 letter name of G-d).
  5. Of the 5800 Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament, there are only 2 fragments which have the Name in them (they occur in Hebrew letters). I think these were copies for Jewish believing communities who could be "trusted" with the name. Why was the early church so careful not to include the divine name in the new scriptures? Instead they wrote the Greek equivalent of "Adonai" (my L-rd) [κύριος Kurios].
  6. For 2600 years Jews have not said this name aloud except in this circumstance: we are told by the talmud that when the chief priest would enter in to the holy of holies on יום כיפור "Yom Kippur" (the day of atonement) the holiest day of the year at the holiest place on Earth, by the holiest person on Earth (not just a priest but a high priest [so let's not get into "but we are all priests no?"]) they would tie a rope around his ankle so that if he had a sinful thought when he uttered the name of G-d, and G-d struck him dead, the other priests could drag him out of the room without risking their own lives entering in.
  7. The biblical text itself as preserved by the Masoretes, composed of both Pharasaical and Karaite Jews, intentionally pointed (wrote vowels) the name the way it is supposed to be read. In the bible we have "ketiv" (how words are written) and "qere" (how they are to be read). Often the margin will show that a certain word in the text is written differently than how it is to be read. This gets a little complex, you can read about the "masorah" if you want to know more on this. Any way the idea is that the "masorah" the textual tradition and the way Jews had entire books of the bible memorized (by singing) sometimes differed from the text. We may have a verse memorized as "Elohim" (G-d) and the text says "the name". In these cases the text is pointed with the vowels for Elohim under the tetragrammaton. This preserved the written text (where sometimes zealous scribes saught to make clear to Israelites it's not any of the אלוהים Elohim "gods" we are talking about here, it's THE NAME so as scrolls were copied they evolved to have the name written in certain places where it had previously said Adonai or Elohim.
  8. Our fathers taught us not to say it aloud, and we must honor our fathers. Certainly it is not a sin to not say the Name so we obey our fathers.
  9. It is disrespectful to call your father by his first name. Imagine how your siblings would look at you if you said to your father, "Hey Frank what do you think about ...?" How much more so our heavenly father who is far holier than your Earthly dad.
  10. The Messiah Yeshua taught us how to address G-d the Father, He taught us to say "Abba, Father who is in heavens..." If the Messiah himself addresses G-d as "Father" and teaches us to do so, why in the world is it suddenly so important now to pronounce the divine name? What was Yeshua missing there? If "Abba" is good enough for the literal son of G-d, then it's good enough for me as a mortal son.
I know I left off tons so please, if this is an issue you find interesting check back later as I'll update this list. For now I think this is substantial enough to at least help people understand why Jews and Messianics don't say the holiest name on our impure lips. We sanctify His great and mighty name; we do not make it common/ordinary (meaning of profane in Hebrew), but we make it Kadosh, special and different.

Shalom, please don't anyone be angry by this post :), I'm not out to make any of you wrong, I'm just trying to share with my Hebrew roots brothers / sisters why Jews and Messianics behave this way.
שבוע טוב
 
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What they said. Very helpful.

IshChayil said:
common/ordinary (meaning of profane in Hebrew)
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Same in English. "pro-fanum" is Latin for "before the temple", that is "outside the temple", that is not holy (not set apart), therefore common, worldly, unconsecrated, etc. It's a subordinate meaning (probably more important more recently, though) to be actually defiled, polluted, unclean, etc (e.g., "profanity").
 
andrew said:
What they said. Very helpful.


Same in English. "pro-fanum" is Latin for "before the temple", that is "outside the temple", that is not holy (not set apart), therefore common, worldly, unconsecrated, etc. It's a subordinate meaning (probably more important more recently, though) to be actually defiled, polluted, unclean, etc (e.g., "profanity").
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oh cool!
 
I don't have a lot a time to add to this, but ran across this yesterday. Amos chapter 5 seems to be significant and directly lists the name of the LORD several times. Where it affects this thread is in chapter 6.

Amos 6:8 The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.
For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

Chapter 5 seems to be telling them to speak the name and what name they are to speak. Chapter 6 seems to be saying not to say the name of the Lord. The difference between the two seems to be that the people have become repugnant to God and so He has determined to punish them with captivity, destroying their land etc

Time context is about 750 BC before Israel goes into captivity.
It appears that the prohibition is for those who are out of favor with God, presumably because they are false swearers, and are being punished. Due to this being the book of Amos, (pre captivity) this may also be a prophetic mandate for when they are in captivity.

Could be wrong about this and there may be another place that definitively states not to say His Name, but this seems to corroborate a study that I read several years ago that said that the prohibition did not begin until they were in captivity. After the diaspora the tradition continued until virtually no one actually knew how to pronounce the Holy Name.

So . . . . Is the only reason tradition? . . . Carried over from a people who had violated their covenant with God? . . . And is that a justifiable reason for the righteous remnant or for those who are called by His Name to not use His Name?
 
Just thought about this as I was finishing up the previous post.

It took 10 men to qualify for a synagogue in later eras. Sodom & Gomorah would have been saved for 10 souls.

Could the mention of the 10 men in one house be significant to the prohibition?

Yo no se?
 
Verifyveritas76 said:
Is the only reason tradition?
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I think the underlying justification is 'tradition' no matter how you slice it. There are some very sensible bible-based reasons to be protective of the name (as IC laid out in a pretty nice reference), but no direct scriptural prohibition that I'm aware of.

What you've pulled out of Amos 5 contrasted with Amos 6 is provocative. Very interesting point.

Backing up and taking a running start: IC and I have been having an interesting private discussion where I think we are agreed that (1) law-keeping never saved anybody and never will, and (2) law-keeping has more to do with set-apartness (i.e., 'holiness'), and is a covenant requirement of the Israelites and then the big recurring question mark for gentile believers—not a bad thing, not a required thing, most scriptural evidence says a conscience thing.

So back to the starting line: This feels to me like a set-apartness thing, and IC was very careful to identify that he was speaking only on behalf of Jews (Messianic or otherwise) and not trying to put a burden on anyone else. I think that's the right approach.

I don't see this as a right/wrong issue that we all have to agree on. I think some of us will feel led to refrain from using the name for the reasons above, and some of us will feel comfortable calling our heavenly Father by name.

[Full disclosure: I asked my oldest son to start calling me Andrew when he came of age, and he does to this day (he's 36). Because I was in business with my father and still do business with people who know both of us, I float back and forth between calling him Dad and calling him Karl without thinking much of it. Interestingly, Dad & Father are actually more intimate in human relations than the name, and at some point I may ask that son of mine to go back to calling me Dad....]

Anyway, at this point I'm not feeling the conviction to stop using the name, but I am highly interested in the issues presented when believers get together and have to respect each other's beliefs.

Case in point: There's a Vineyard song we like around here that uses the four-letter name as its title and within the lyrics of the song (in this case, with 'a' and 'e' for vowels, for a two-syllable, not three-syllable, pronunciation). (I'm going to err on the side of caution until I've finished praying about this.) I plan to keep singing it in my head, or out loud in private devotions, or with my family, because none of us (absent some major change of direction) has any scruples about doing so. But play it at the next retreat (like I was planning to)? May depend on who's coming....
 
andrew said:
I think the underlying justification is 'tradition' no matter how you slice it. There are some very sensible bible-based reasons to be protective of the name (as IC laid out in a pretty nice reference), but no direct scriptural prohibition that I'm aware of.

What you've pulled out of Amos 5 contrasted with Amos 6 is provocative. Very interesting point.

Backing up and taking a running start: IC and I have been having an interesting private discussion where I think we are agreed that (1) law-keeping never saved anybody and never will, and (2) law-keeping has more to do with set-apartness (i.e., 'holiness'), and is a covenant requirement of the Israelites and then the big recurring question mark for gentile believers—not a bad thing, not a required thing, most scriptural evidence says a conscience thing.

So back to the starting line: This feels to me like a set-apartness thing, and IC was very careful to identify that he was speaking only on behalf of Jews (Messianic or otherwise) and not trying to put a burden on anyone else. I think that's the right approach.

I don't see this as a right/wrong issue that we all have to agree on. I think some of us will feel led to refrain from using the name for the reasons above, and some of us will feel comfortable calling our heavenly Father by name.

[Full disclosure: I asked my oldest son to start calling me Andrew when he came of age, and he does to this day (he's 36). Because I was in business with my father and still do business with people who know both of us, I float back and forth between calling him Dad and calling him Karl without thinking much of it. Interestingly, Dad & Father are actually more intimate in human relations than the name, and at some point I may ask that son of mine to go back to calling me Dad....]

Anyway, at this point I'm not feeling the conviction to stop using the name, but I am highly interested in the issues presented when believers get together and have to respect each other's beliefs.

Case in point: There's a Vineyard song we like around here that uses the four-letter name as its title and within the lyrics of the song (in this case, with 'a' and 'e' for vowels, for a two-syllable, not three-syllable, pronunciation). (I'm going to err on the side of caution until I've finished praying about this.) I plan to keep singing it in my head, or out loud in private devotions, or with my family, because none of us (absent some major change of direction) has any scruples about doing so. But play it at the next retreat (like I was planning to)? May depend on who's coming....
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Not to sidetrack too much, but I got in the habit of calling out to my father by his first name. We would have large family parties with easily about 10-15 "dads". When you say that, lots heads turn around. In intimate situations it was dad. In large groups, it was his given name. Does that influence us with the whole abba father reference in intimacy? Who knows?
 
The real reason...Rabbi Hanina Ben Tradion was burned alive wrapped in a Torah scroll for saying the name while preaching in the street which was against Roman law. The Rabbis later made up some other reasons which were just conjecture and religious mumbo jumbo. The weighter is that the Bible DEMANDS his name be known throughout the Earth. Yahweh, Yahovah, Yahoah....the pronunciation was hidden and will be revealed again. I'm deep in the trenches of the Messianic Jewish world but I completely reject commandments of men (ie rabbis) that go against the word of YHVH.
 
@Elijahsfire, on a quick read, the rabbi's death is clearly history, but what reason is there to link this to not saying the Name? The Romans would have had no reason to have a law on a religious detail like using a word, the rabbi was killed for preaching Torah. I don't get the linkage, can you back this up?
 
I always thought the reason for not speaking His name was so that one didn't accidentally say it in vain. As I understood it, it was a protection measure. That is only what I've heard though, and I cannot back that with any facts.
 
Ive heard it taught often that to take Gods name in vain meant to use it in a curse word or phrase thus making it common.

However, after doing a lot of study on it in multiple places like Zechariah, Amos etc I have come to believe that the meaning behind the phrase would be more accurately reflected as, Do not say that you are mine, call me Lord, eat at my table, wear the clothes and partake of the protection I provide, and then do whatever you please.

I believe it relates to false swearers. Matthew 7:21 is a prime example. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
 
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Same place I came to. In modern terms, for me personally and practically, it has more to do with identifying as a Christian (since so many people seem to think "Christ" is Jesus's last name...:rolleyes:).

More to do with the way a wife "takes" her husband's "name" and becomes a representative of his family and headship than with just saying a word.
 
The account of that Emperor Hadrian specifically outlawed speaking the name can be found in the Talmud. Give me some time to refind it...

Also, according to Mishna greeting someone with the name was considered proper according to the Rabbis...until they changed their minds later...
Example....
Ruth 2:4
4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “YHVH be with you!” And they answered, “YHVH bless you.”
 
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