2009-03-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

The Greatest
Name ever Spoken יהוה

Written By Walter Vaughn

Who hasn't heard of the Ten Commandments? Many institutions, societies, and governments have set these ten words as the foundation or cornerstone of their entire belief system. What's not to understand about the Ten Commandments, isn't it pretty straight forward? Many people from diverse religious backgrounds are certainly familiar with what is commonly known as the Ten Commandments [Hebrew - aseret deverot]. Unfortunately, it is possible to lose vital information pertaining to a specific text due to a less than perfect translation. When this occurs, we lose the ability to receive inspired instruction as intended by G-d. There are numerous reasons why these corrections are not made in our Bibles, but I am inclined to discuss but one.

Often an inaccurate translation will support a particular view or belief of a religious body.

To change the text would mean to change a long standing religious tradition, something not easily done. If a text undergoes a correction it may run in opposition to a teaching of more than one religious institution. Needless to say, a corrected text has the potential to cause confusion among the people who entrust the Rabbi, Priest, or Pastor in their religious education.

This article will attempted shed light upon the greatest Name ever spoken, the “explicit Name, Shem Hameforash” as represented by the Hebrew letters יהוה. This is the most sacred of all names and is referred to as Hashem (“the Name”).

To the religious Jew the name is not spoken according to its letters, it is thought to be too sacred to be spoken. One example of the use of the holy Name and its prohibition can be found in the Torah.

Leviticus 24:1-24:23
ויקרא כד א־ויקרא כד כג
The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel. This half-Israelite and an Israelite man strove together in the camp; and the half-Israelite blasphemed the name of the L-rd, and cursed. So they brought him unto Moses (his mother's name was Shelomith bat Divri, of the tribe of Dan), and they put him into custody, that the mind of the L-RD might be shown them. Then the L-RD spoke to Moses, saying: Take the curser outside the camp; and let all those who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. Now speak to the children of Israel, saying: Whosoever curses his G-d shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemes the L-RD's name shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the foreigner as the native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

It should be noted it is the "curser" of the name and not him who "blasphemed and cursed," proving that one offence is being alluded to.

Leviticus 24: 13,14

יג וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.
13 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
יד הוֹצֵא אֶת-הַמְקַלֵּל, אֶל-מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה, וְסָמְכוּ כָל-הַשֹּׁמְעִים אֶת-יְדֵיהֶם, עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ; וְרָגְמוּ אֹתוֹ, כָּל-הָעֵדָה.
14 'Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

Noticed, the scripture does not say, “The son of the Israelite woman pronounced the name and so they brought him to Moses." If the scripture in question would have been written in this way, then obviously we are not to pronounce the Name as it is written. However, the scripture identifies the "curser" of the Most Sacred Name that brings immediate judgment. In the original Hebrew the word translated for curse is ויקלל (qalal (kaw-lal') which means he “CURSED” the Most Sacred Name. We see this term used in a similar way in the book of Job and in the 2 book of Samuel.

“After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed (ויקלל) his day." Job:3:1

“ 11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants: 'Behold, my son, who came forth of my body, seeketh my life; how much more this Benjamite now? let him alone, and let him curse; (ויקלל) for the L-RD hath bidden him. 2 Samuel 16:11

Midrash Tanḥuma, Emor 24
מדרש תנחומא
And the son of an Israelite woman... went out:
Rabbi Ḥamah bar Abba said: From dealing with matters of personal status.
He had sought to pitch his tent in the midst of the camp of Dan, but they had pushed him away saying: [Sifra: By what right do you pitch in the camp of Dan?] You are the son of an Egyptian. The Torah states: "Every man of the Children of Israel shall pitch by their own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers' houses" [Num. 2:2] and not their mothers' houses! [Sifra: He appealed to the court of Moses but lost his case whereupon] he immediately began to utter the Name and to curse it."

It should be obvious that it was the “cursing” of G-d’s name that is prohibited. It is beneficial for all students of the Sacred Scripture Jew as well as gentile to learn Biblical Hebrew. If but one of these ten words has been translated inaccurately, it cannot truly be counted as G-d's inspired word. Now, lets look at one the Ten Commandments that can be found in ha sefer Shemot (the book of Exodus) in chapter twenty, verse six.

"Thou shall not take the name of the L-RD thy G-d in vain; for the L-RD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain." Exodus 20:6

Judaism teaches that this scripture is forbidding the use of the personal name of G-d, YHVH. The four letter name of G-d is sometimes referred to as [Hebrew - Shem haMeforash - 'the distinctive Name'] or the Tetragrammaton, a Greek word meaning four - alluding to the four letters making up G-d's name. Many Christian religious institutions teach that this text warns us not to swear in G-d's name. When reading the original Hebrew there is little or no evidence for either of these two teachings. Before we began deciphering the Hebrew words in this text we must first apply some common sense. First we must acknowledge that the Holy Name is written in its Hebrew characters thousands of times in the Bible. If G-d intended that His Name was not to be pronounced according to its letters, He simply would not have made it available to the reader by the hand of the prophets. It also must be mentioned that there are many characters in the Bible whose names are combined with G-d’s Name. Everyone is familiar with Eli'yah the prophet. His name means "my G-d is Yah." There are countless persons in the Bible that includes G-d's name as their own. There is Yaho'zabad, Yaho'hanan, Yaho'yada, Yaho'yakim, Yaho'tsadak, Yaho'ram, Yaho'sheba, and Yaho'shua. Certainly if this command intended to teach that the Holy name of G-d should not be pronounced, the ancient religious authorities would not have allowed parents to have named their children in combination with the G-d of Yisrael.

In the book 'EVERYMAN'S TALMUD' By Abraham Cohen writes,

"In the Biblical period there seems to have been no scruple against its use in dailey speech. The addition of Jah or Jahu to personal names, which which persisted among the Jews even after the Babylonian exile, is an indication that there was no prohibition against the employment of the four-lettered name. But in the early rabbinic period the pronunciation of the Name was restricted to the temple service. The rule was laid down: 'In the Sanctuary the Name was pronounced as written; but beyond its confines a substituted Name was employed.' (Sot. VII. 6). You may wonder why the Holy name is no longer pronounced according to the Hebrew characters? "In the last stage of the Temple's existence, there was reluctance to give a clear enunciation of the Tetragrammaton. This practice is attested by R. Tarphon, who belonged to a priestly family. He records that in his boyhood, before he was old enough to officiate, 'On one occasion I followed my uncles on to the dais, and I inclined my ear to catch what the High Priest said. I heard him cause the Name to be drowned by the singing of his brother priest' (Kid. 71a)Behind the care not to give explicit utterance to the Name may be detected a lowering in the moral standard of the priest. The Talmud declares: 'At first the High priest used to proclaim the Name in a load voice; but when dissolute men multiplied, he proclaimed it in a low tone (p. Joma. 40d) On the other hand, there was a time when the free and open use of the Name even by layman was advocated. The Mishnah teaches: 'It was ordained that a man should greet his friends by mentioning the Name' (ber. IX. 5). It has been suggested that the recommendation was based on the desire to distinguish the Israelite from the Samaritan, who referred to God as 'the Name' and not as JHVH. or Rabbinite Jew from the Jewish Christian."

With the destruction of the second Temple by the Romans in the year 70, and the deportation of Jews from the Holy land to neighboring nations, proper pronunciation of this once loved and honored Name was apparently lost. This should be a cause of great shame, after all.., how does one forget how to pronounce their Father's Name? Let us now look at the Hebrew words associated with this much misunderstood verse so that there will be no doubt as to the original intended meaning.

Lo t'sa et shem YHVH eloheicha l' shav chi loy'nachah YHVH et asher y'sah et shmo l shav
not raise the Name YHVH your G-d to falsehood for not hold guiltless YHVH all who would carry His Name to falsehood.

The secret to understanding this command focuses around one Hebrew word, shav. Shav can have more than one meaning. It can indeed define something vain or worthless. But more importantly it represents the actual object that causes worthlessness such as falsehood, deceit, lying, and wickedness. Certainly G-d considers all wickedness as (shav) worthlessness. The scripture is simply telling us when caring or taking up G-d's Holy name we ought not to associate it with worthless schemes of deception or wickedness. It would make no sense to think G-d would punished someone for pronouncing His Name while praising or for that matter swearing to tell the truth or to condemn wickedness. However, to take up or carry His name in a dishonest fashion would associate the Holy One of Yisrael in a gross act of wickedness. "This will not go unpunished", says YHVH the G-d of Yisrael." Now it all seems to make sense, it is not simply pronouncing the Holy name YHVH, it is taking up and using His Name to further a deceptive and wicked cause. "This will not go unpunished!"

After having written this article some may be curious as to why I continue to put a “-” in between the G and d. The Tetragrammaton Quite simply there are many Orthodox Jews who will not view any material without G-d or L-rd appearing in this fashion. It is with respect for them that I continue to write G-d in this way.
There is a tradition when Moshiach comes; he comes with the proper pronunciation of the Shem haMeforash. May he come quickly!

God's Name the Shem Hameforash

The Greatest

Name ever Spoken יהוה

Often an inaccurate translation will support a particular view or belief of a religious body.

not raise the Name YHVH your G-d to falsehood for not hold guiltless YHVH all who would carry His Name to falsehood.