A Word from the Word: God’s Actual Name!
I was reminded recently of a powerful word that is often intentionally left out of our English translations of the Bible. It is a word that sheds light on God’s intention with us—and on God Himself. It is a word God Himself gave us, but tradition has caused us to ignore. It is the very name of God. God has only one name, not counting the human name Jesus. The other “names” often mentioned are actually either titles or descriptions. This is important because in most ancient cultures, a person’s name was considered to be powerful.
So, what is God’s name? We usually pronounce it either Jehovah or Yahweh. Both are attempts at translating a Hebrew word, which of course has no English counterpart. It is the verb “to be”, first person singular—“I Am”. God gave this name first to Moses, and through him, to the nation of Israel and all others who would follow Him. It means He is the very center of existence, and it highlights His mastery over creation—including time. By giving Moses this name, God condescended to establish the beginning of what we today call a “personal relationship” with Him. By giving Moses His name, He not only gave us a much better understanding of who He is, He was inviting us into a more personal relationship with Him. It is this point we often miss, because in most cases, our English translations follow a tradition begun by the Hebrews. When this word is used in scripture, it is intentionally mistranslated, though often with a clue to what is happening.
This all began with the Israelites’ fear of inadvertently taking God’s name in vain (though they and we often do it intentionally with little compunction). In order to not use His name lightly, a tradition arose that, when the name appeared in scripture, they would say “Adonai” (Lord or Master) in case they had some hidden attitude that was disrespectful. This tradition came into English when early translators wanted to honor the desire not to inadvertently say God’s name lightly. So, instead of translating His name or just giving the Hebrew word English letters (Jehovah or Yahweh), they also just used the word “Lord”. Most translators still follow a centuries old tradition of telling us this is happening by capitalizing the word “LORD” instead of writing it as “Lord”. So, in most of our translations when we see the word “LORD” with all caps, it is a signal that this is not a translation of Adonai, but a substitute for Yahweh.
While this may sound like a small thing, it in fact de-emphasizes the personal nature of the relationship God has said He wants with His people. Here are just a few examples of where this is done, and how the passage should read:
Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd” (NIV) actually reads “Yahweh is my shepherd…” Imagine what that meant to the shepherd-King when he said that. Not some unknown, misunderstood deity, but Yahweh, the one who revealed Himself to Israel and opened up this personal relationship!
Psalm 85:12: “The LORD will indeed give what is good” becomes “Yahweh will indeed give what is good”, emphasizing the care this personal God takes of those who love Him.
Should we throw out the Bibles that don’t use God’s proper name? Of course not. There is no conspiracy here. But there is, in my opinion, a mistake being made. By emphasizing the more formal “Lord” (master, boss) title for God, and not using the name He Himself gave us to use for Him, we lose the emphasis on the personal relationship He desires. We need to respect His name and remember it is sacred (holy), but let’s not fear to speak it in worship, admiration or even just love. Those are the reasons He gave it to us!
Know Jesus and Be Faithful!
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