Today there is a debate regarding how to properly pronounce God’s name as was revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14-15. The rationale seems to be that knowing this is important.
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Exodus 3:14 (NASB95) 14 And God said to Moses, saying “I am the One who exists.” And he said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The One who exists has sent me to you.’ ” Exodus 3:14 (LES2)
The first quote from the NASB is based on the Hebrew Masoretic text (MT), which is written in modern Hebrew block script derived from Aramaic and was completed somewhere between 500-1000 AD. The second is from the Lexham English Septuagint (LXX), a translation of the Greek Old Testament in use at the time of Christ. The MT translates the tetragrammaton, YHVH, as “I am who I am.” The LXX translated the now dead paleo-Hebrew Phoenician script into the Greek language in 285 BC as “Ego eimi ho on,” which can be translated most literally as, “I am the Being.”
Scholars believe that when God revealed his name as YHVH he meant to communicate his preexistence, unchangeableness, eternity, and his being the Creator. Some even think it was God’s promise to Moses that he would be with him in the future.
12 And God spoke to Moses, saying, “I will be with you, and this is for you the sign that I will send you out: When you bring out my people from Egypt, and you will also worship God at this mountain.” Exodus 3:12 (LES2)
God’s promised presence was certainly a major motivation for Moses to trust and obey him. It is for us as well.
When God revealed to Moses his name, the emphasis seemed to be on what it communicated about God rather than its being simply a proper name.
This became more obvious during the ministry of our Lord Jesus. The Old Covenant scriptures all pointed to Jesus, who came from God’s very presence in heaven (John 1:1 and 1:14) and is the exact representation or revelation of God (Hebrews 1:3)
What Jesus revealed to us about God fulfills and interprets everything that came before.
It is highly significant that he did not teach us to use the tetragrammaton or even mention any proper name for God at all. Instead, he told us to call him “Abba Father,” Abba being Aramaic for “Daddy” or “Papa.” If the one who knows most about God, who came from God, and is the exact representation of God told us only to call him Father, to go beyond that is tantamount to trying to resurrect the dead corpse of the Old Covenant, which was set aside at the inauguration of the New.
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. Hebrews 7:18–19 (NKJV)
Jesus warned us that it is impossible to put the “new wine” of the Spirit released in the New Covenant back into the “old wine skin” of Judaism.
37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. 39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ” Luke 5:37–39 (NKJV)
The Old Covenant was unable to contain the spiritual explosion that happened on Pentecost when the risen and ascended Lord poured out his Spirit. Shortly thereafter, the enormity of what God had done became apparent when the Gentile Roman centurion and his family were baptized in the Spirit while listening to Peter preach the gospel. The Jewish disciples of Christ could scarcely take it in that God now includes the Gentiles in his great salvation. The Apostle Paul seemed to be the one who understood it best.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:14–18 (NKJV)
This expansion of God’s grace has drawn millions into God’s family from every ethnic group all over the world.
Nevertheless, Satan has done his level best to put a lid on what God is doing.
There continues to be an effort beginning in the days of the early church to attempt to stuff the Spirit of God and the New Covenant back into the old wine skin of the Law.
The Judaizers hounded Paul in an effort to lure new Gentile Christians into becoming Jews and following the law of Moses.
The closest he came was when he said, “I am.”
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58 (NKJV)
If it were important for us to know a proper name for our Father in heaven, it is reasonable to assume that Jesus would have told us.
Therefore, since he did not, there is no reason to be concerned at all about having a proper pronunciation of YHVH. In fact, it might be more akin to seeking occult knowledge.
The Kabbalah is quite concerned about proper pronunciations of the names of God in its pursuit of esoteric magical power. It teaches that such power is released when a person says the divine names accurately. Some Kabbalistic traditions hold that Moses parted the Red Sea by pronouncing the 72-letter name of God, something which is decidedly extra-biblical. Going after such hidden knowledge is the essence of the occult.
Therefore, a case can be made that any emphasis placed on properly pronouncing God’s proper name, if he has one, is more related to the Kabbalah than to the Scriptures.
Since neither Jesus nor the New Testament give us any name for God besides Abba Father, there is absolutely no reason to pursue this matter.
Paul warned against…
14 ..paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. Titus 1:14 (NASB95)
The only name given among men under heaven for salvation is Jesus. (Acts 4:12)
That name, which is given to us in the New Testament, is written in Greek and is pronounced very much like English or Spanish. We do not need to go back to the Hebrew to get his name right. If that were so, the New Testament would have given us the Hebrew version, but it did not.
The Jews, except for the remnant who have been born again through faith, rejected Jesus as their Messiah and Lord. Our Lord Jesus taught that the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to another people who would bear fruit, meaning those who are part of the “one new man” in Christ through the new birth. This is the Israel of God, the bride of Christ – the church. I have written several articles on this very important topic. You can click here to see them.
God will be glorified through eternity through the church, not through those who refuse to acknowledge Christ.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20–21 (NKJV)
We are not to turn to anyone advocating a return to or reliance upon the Old Covenant or Old Testament for acquiring “hidden” knowledge about God and salvation not found in the New Testament and our Lord. So the proper pronunciation of the only name under heaven whereby we can be saved, who is the exact representation of God, is – JESUS!
