Sacred Name Movement Errors!
Critics of the Hebrew Sacred Name: Two Categories
Critics Category 1: Strict "Yahweh" and "Yeshua" Holy Names only.
The Original Name? There is no question that "Yahweh" is the most popular modern terminology for the Hebrew Elohim. Yet even many of those advocating this term admit that it is a "development," and if so, it is therefore not the original Name. If we are to accept a name that is a later development, then why not just use "Lord," "God," "Adonay," or any other synonym? Scholars also agree that the word, "Yahweh" is not the original Divine Name. For example, Dr. James Montgomery of the University of Pennsylvania, writing in the Journal of Biblical Literature, states: "The earliest form of the [Divine] Name was doubtless Yahu." Similarly, the nation of Israel is "a pre-Yahwistic entity," says Dr. R.W.L. Moberly in "The Old Testament of the Old Testament." Dr. George Buchanan, in "The Pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton," (Supplement to Novum Testamentum) says, "Elijah's name was Eli-Yahu, 'my God is Yahu'...it seems likely that the Divine Name was pronounced Iaoah or Iauah, whenever it was correctly pronounced." (Dear reader: Are you correctly pronouncing it???) Note that "Iauah" could also be written in English as "Yahuah," but definitely NOT as "Yahweh." Another very respected Hebrew scholar was Dr. Samuel Mowinckel, who wrote an interesting study titled, "The Name of the God of Moses," published in the Hebrew Union College Annual Journal. He stated, "...the correct pronunciation would be Ya-huwa." Other scholars are also in agreement.
We are finding that some Hebrew scholars simply use "Yahweh" as a matter of course when referring to Israel's Elohim, without thereby intending to make any testament to it being the original or correct Divine Name. It is simply the popular form of the Name used today. We all know, however, that popular "traditions of men" are often not accurate!
Is Yahu merely a shortened form of the word, "Yahweh"? This is a popular claim made by some Sacred Name advocates. They say that Yahweh is the correct full Name, with Yahu a type of coristicon, a shortened version. If so, they should have no objection to the use of Yahu as a legitimate form of the Sacred Name. Yet our experience is that those making this claim are stridently opposed to the use of Yahu, contradicting their own seeming claim of authenticity and legitimacy. One new ministry hopes to join all Messianic and Sacred Name people and groups into one big happy family, but to join that cotented assemblage you must agree that Yahweh is the only true Divine Name of Elohim. That of course is nonsense, contradicting the results of Hebrew scholarship.
The highly respected scholar, William Foxwell Albright, stated, "The ostraca from Samaria and the earlier seals from the ninth and eighth centuries write consistently YAU (for the older YAHU)...[There was a] religious revival of Yahwism in the period of Hezekiah and Josiah, which insisted on the use of the full form of the name YAHUEH." Yes, the full form of the Divine Name was "Yahueh," and the shortened form was "Yahu" or "Yah."
Is "YHWH" pronounced "Yahweh"? It is simply assumed by most advocates that the Tetragrammaton was pronounced "Yahweh." This is not the case, according to recognized Hebrew scholars. The famous Dr. Luckinbill was quoted in support by the equally respected Dr. William Foxwell Albright: "The writing YHWH in the Moabite stone, so far from favoring a pronunciation, 'Yahweh', seems definitely to preclude it." Hebrew scholar, Dr. Herbert Chanan Brichto, in "The Names of God," says: "...there never existed a set of vowels designed to accompany any of the pronounced consonants whose letters, vocalic or consonantal, were Y-H-W-H." Read that again, and ponder the misconceptions that so many Sacred Name advocates share on this subject!
This article will be continued in the near future.
Critics Category 2: Opponents of all Hebraic Names
The Difference in Various English Spellings of the Divine Names. Perhaps the strongest argument that critics of the use of Divine Names have in their arsenal is the variety of spellings that occur in the English language. We are told that no one should use these Hebrew Names because Sacred Name advocates cannot "agree" on the actual English spelling of the Hebrew Names. The reason for most of the variety found in English is due to transliterating these Names from Hebrew into English. Hebrew did not use our standard Roman alphabet, of course, and so the English spelling is an attempt to capture an authentic pronunciation. Yet, whether you spell the Name "Yahueh" or "Yahuah" or "Iaoah" or "Iauah" (see above examples), the pronunciation would be similar. Even aside from the Divine Names, Hebrew scholars sometimes spell other Hebrew words in a variety of ways in English as well.
To give a parallel example, our critics would not agree that "Jesus" is a false name just because it is spelled differently in different languages, such as "Jesu" in Latin, "Yaso" in Japan, "Jasu" in parts of France, "Issa" in Arabic, or "Yesu" in Scandinavian. The same argument applies here: If we cannot use the original Hebrew Divine Name because of spelling differences, then neither can we use "Jesus." The argument of the critics here is basically nonsense.
A Matter of Truth versus Tradition. The bitter and even angry attacks on the use of the Sacred Name are perplexing. We read baseless claims that the Jewish Apostles could not read Hebrew and only spoke Greek, and much other nonsense under the guise of scholarship. Reading the words of such reminds us of a comment made long ago in the Ecclesiastical Review Journal (Vol. 60, 1919, p.577) concerning a certain relgious figure of that day: "He proves nothing; theorises a bit; muses some more; and finally progresses along the lines of absolute certainty...He has saved the world from the ignorance of belief...All this destructive criticism masquerades under the respectable form of textual study, [but] below the mask reeks a foul cancer." Much of the argument against using the Hebrew Divine Names is really at heart an insistence on popular tradition. Messiah remember, warned us against basing our religious beliefs upon traditions of men. We read: "But, he, answering, said unto them—Wherefore do, ye also, transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?...—and so ye have cancelled, the word of God, for the sake of your, tradition." (Matt. 15:3, 6) Tradition can stand in the way of Truth, and exert such a powerful influence on many people that only a heart and mind open to the Holy Spirit and its truth can overcome. We plan to dedicate this page to countering much of the misconceptions and "destructive criticism" that we find on the subject of the Sacred Name.
Will Any Name Do Fine When Speaking To Elohim? A popular arguement we encounter is that "God does not care what name we call Him." At the very least, using the correct name when speaking to someone shows closeness and respect. A parent does not want his child calling him, "Hey, you!" Does Elohim answer to any and all names and titles from worshippers of all gods? Some presume to inform us that when they say "Lord" and "God" they mean the Hebrew Elohim. Then why not say so??? This reminds us of a sentence found in a children's book: "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less." -Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass," London: Dean & Son, n.d., p.142
This page will be updated in the near future!
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