What is our Creator's real name?
Is it important to use the His holy name correctly?
Exodus 20:7 reveals that the third command is "Thou shalt not take the name of יהוה
your Elohim in vain; for יהוה will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."
So, do not say "Oh my..." preceded by His name, right?
Not so fast; there's more.
Because the name of יהוה is referenced in scriptures so many times, what does it mean exactly to take His name in vain?
Translators of the King James Bible used the word "vain" for the Hebrew word "shav." This word can mean "in vain," but it can also mean "falsely."
Why is this important?
Upon close examination of the scriptures, we discover that the Israelites routinely fell into the trap of worshiping the false god Baal.
How were they deceived? Jeremiah 23:27 reveals that the Israelites, because they heeded the teachings of false prophets, believed that they were actually worshipping the one יהוה when they worshipped Baal. Satan had succeeded in changing Yah's name, which Yah commanded us not to use falsely.
Could we have fallen into this same deception today? Yes, and Christians generally have. His set-apart name has been forgotten for the sake of men's traditions.
The New Bible Dictionary Third Edition reveals as follows.
"Strictly speaking, [Yah] is the only ‘name’ of God. In Genesis wherever the word šēm (‘name’) is associated with the divine being that name is Yahweh. When Abraham or Isaac built an altar ‘he called on the name of Yahweh’ (Gn. 12:8; 13:4; 26:25).
In particular, Yahweh was the God of the Patriarchs, and we read of ‘Yahweh the God (Elohim) of Abraham’ and then of Isaac and finally ‘[Yah], the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’, concerning which Elohim says, ‘this is my name for ever’ (Ex. 3:15). [Yah], therefore, in contrast with Elohim, is a proper noun, the name of a Person, though that Person is divine. As such, it has its own ideological setting; it presents God as a Person, and so brings him into relationship with other, human, personalities. It brings God near to man, and he speaks to the Patriarchs as one friend to another.
A study of the word "name" in the OT reveals how much it means in Hebrew. The name is no mere label, but is significant of the real personality of him to whom it belongs. It may derive from the circumstances of his birth (Gn. 5:29), or reflect his character (Gn. 27:36), and when a person puts his ‘name’ upon a thing or another person the latter comes under his influence and protection."
According to New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries, Yah's proper name is Hebrew number 3068 and appears as follows.
Similarly, Enhanced Strong's Lexicon reveals YAH's name as number 3068 and reads as follows.
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3068 יהוה, יְהוִה [yeh·ho·vaw] (3)
His name, YAH, literally means "I AM" or "I Exist" and reveals his nature. YAH revealed His name to Moses in Ex. 3:14 as "HA YAH ASHUR HA YAH," which literally means, "I AM that I AM."
His son Messiah Yahushua (whom Christians errantly refer to as "Jesus") also bears His Father's name.
It is important to note that I am not endorsing any group that holds the proper name in particularly high regard. For example, the "Jehovah's Witness" is a cult that has issued many false prophesies, just like the NAC. Furthermore, I am in no way affiliated with the "Sacred Name Movement" or any other religious group.
This information is readily available to all who care enough to look into it.
The overriding concern in my heart is to have knowledge to not offend the ears of my Father in Heaven and to keep His commands as evidence that I do indeed love Him.
So, why do I refer to him as Yah instead of Yahweh? The pronunciation of the last syllable of יהוה has been debated by scholars for a very long time; it is not clear what the true Hebrew pronounciation truly is. Further, Yah has scriptural support (Ex. 17:16, Ps 68:4, Ps 68:18, Ps 148:1, Ps 148:14, Isa 12:2, Isa 26:4) and many of the prophets bear the father's name.
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IsaiYAH
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JeremiYAH
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EliYAH
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YAHushua
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ZechariYAH
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ZephaniYAH
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ObadiYAH
My concern here is to use His set-apart name correctly, in a way that is devoid of men's traditions and is supported scripturally.
The Hebrew word "El" or "Elohim" (plural) literally means "power" but has been translated as "god" in most English Scripture translations.
So, where did the names "God" and "Lord" come from?
We hear the term "Lord God" all the time, right? Where did the term come from?
The Bible tells us.
First, understand that the Hebrew language did not have any vowel markings until after the first century AD, so Hebrew consisted of consonants. How would you spell "God" in Hebrew? Gimel and Dalet. This is the same spelling as the word "Gad" who was interestingly a pagan diety of fortune, which is why Leah the mother of Gad exclaimed, "How fortunate I am!" when he was born, as recorded in Genesis 30:11. Also, the term "Baal" in Hebrew is literally translated as "Lord."
Now turn to the book of Joshua 11:17, which reads, "Thus Yehoshua took all this land: the mountain country, and all the South, and all the land of Goshen, and the low country, and the desert plain, and the mountains of Yisra’ĕl and its low lands, from Mount Ḥalaq that goes up to Sĕʽir, and as far as Baʽal Gaḏ in the Valley of Leḇanon below Mount Ḥermon. And he captured all their sovereigns, and smote them and killed them."
"Baal Gad" was actually a place of pagans in Canaan. "Baal Gad" is translated as "Lord God" or "Lord of Fortune" (http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1171&t=KJV)
I am telling you, we have been victims of a horrible and beastly conspiracy! Indeed, the devil has deceived the entire world. It is urgent that we separate the facts from the lies now.
The commandment "Do not bring the name of Yah your Elohim to naught" literally means do not bring His name to nothing. His name is translated as "I AM" or "HaYAH." "Yah" in Hebrew literally means "AM" or "Exists." To bring His name "Yah" to nothing is a violation of this commandment, and per the commandment, Yah will certainly not leave that person unpunished.
This stuff is deep and it is serious.
This is the reason that I use the names Yah and Yahshua. I am simply dead-tired of men's traditions -- traditions that were inspired by the devil himself! Besides this, I am genuinely afraid of being punished for bringing His name to naught -- per the commandment.
Be encouraged to follow the truth where-ever it leads, and do not fear men, but rather fear Him that has the power to cast into Hell! Yes, fear Yah!
Using the names "Lord" and "God" to refer to the Most High is not supported in the Scriptures! As a matter of fact, just the opposite is true.
His set apart name is not to be used falsely, and do not think for a moment that it is a small matter -- per the commandment.
References
Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. 1996. New Bible dictionary (3rd ed. /). InterVarsity Press: Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.
Thomas, R. L. 1998, 1981. New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries : Updated edition . Foundation Publications, Inc.: Anaheim
Strong, J. 1996. The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) . Woodside Bible Fellowship.: Ontario
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