God is not and has never been into mysticism! He's after the heart.
God's message, his name, what he represents and his son transcends speech, language, phonetics, translation and pronunciation
People today (mostly western Christians, and some Messianic branches - did you catch that pun?) actually fight over whether or not the spelling/pronunciation should be Jesus, Yeshua, Yahoshua, Yahushua, Yahushooahiuawaeezah or whatever creative minds can produce! There have been people re-baptized because of this stuff.
The starting place of such preposterous notions is the assumption that God is caught-up with the English language, and its transliterations. As much of a mess as this language is, I can assure you, it's not a divine one.
Ironically, what is being debated is not even what "name" represents in Hebrew. The greater meaning of "name" has nothing to do with spelling or phonetics. For example, “calling upon the name of...” has nothing to do with how it's pronounced. It has to do with representation, authority, reputation or character. The Hebrews did not think of their scriptures in the same confined manner as most Christians do today. Authority was in their God and individuals in whom he vested his name, not in spellings, parchment, papyrus, codices, scrolls, ink or quills.
Furthermore, to replace the personal name Yahweh with Lord, Adonai etc. was not seen as a distortion, because it was the same God still being referenced, not a name change. For example, someone may reference me as “bro, man, dude, Mr. Rufener, S. Edwin, etc.," and all the above when directed toward me speak of the same person, Shaun Edwin Rufener. None of the titles or descriptions alter me, or somehow diminish who I am.
Here is an excerpt from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) that may help give some insight:
"it would be quite incorrect to say that in the OT a name was just an identity tag and no more. There, as in other ancient literature, the name of a person sometimes revealed his character, his personality, even his destiny. In fact, a person’s name was often considered to be but an expression, indeed a revelation, of his true nature, as the many popular etymological explanations of names given to people in the OT makes clear OT Old Testament...Because a person’s name is so closely related to what he is, šēm comes also to mean “fame,” “renown,” “reputation"...God sent people to speak “in his name” (Jer. 11:21; 14:14f; etc.).
This sharing of His name with others meant that the message they spoke was spoken under inspiration, with authority, by divine appointment, and thus was to be heard as the word of the Lord and responded to accordingly. “To blaspheme the name of Yahweh” does not mean that someone uses the divine name in a thoughtless oath or expletive. Rather it means that the proud and arrogant and strong intentionally abuse the people of God, those people who bear His name (Ps. 74:10, 18; Isa. 52:5; Jas. 2:7). It means, therefore, that whenever persons revile the people of God, they revile the name of God, and thus revile God Himself (cf. Mt. 25:40).
It is also possible for the people of God themselves to blaspheme the name of God by living in a way contrary to the nature of God, whose name they bear. If the name of God is the revelation of the nature of God, and if the nature of God is characterized by compassion, grace, forgiveness, lovingkindness, truth, justice, etc. (cf. Ex. 34:6f), and if those who carry that name live in a way opposite to that name, to the nature of God, then that name is reviled by the scandal of inconsistency (Ezk. 36:20; Rom. 2:24)."
God's message, his name, what he represents and his son transcends speech, language, phonetics, translation and pronunciation
People today (mostly western Christians, and some Messianic branches - did you catch that pun?) actually fight over whether or not the spelling/pronunciation should be Jesus, Yeshua, Yahoshua, Yahushua, Yahushooahiuawaeezah or whatever creative minds can produce! There have been people re-baptized because of this stuff.
The starting place of such preposterous notions is the assumption that God is caught-up with the English language, and its transliterations. As much of a mess as this language is, I can assure you, it's not a divine one.
Ironically, what is being debated is not even what "name" represents in Hebrew. The greater meaning of "name" has nothing to do with spelling or phonetics. For example, “calling upon the name of...” has nothing to do with how it's pronounced. It has to do with representation, authority, reputation or character. The Hebrews did not think of their scriptures in the same confined manner as most Christians do today. Authority was in their God and individuals in whom he vested his name, not in spellings, parchment, papyrus, codices, scrolls, ink or quills.
Furthermore, to replace the personal name Yahweh with Lord, Adonai etc. was not seen as a distortion, because it was the same God still being referenced, not a name change. For example, someone may reference me as “bro, man, dude, Mr. Rufener, S. Edwin, etc.," and all the above when directed toward me speak of the same person, Shaun Edwin Rufener. None of the titles or descriptions alter me, or somehow diminish who I am.
Here is an excerpt from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) that may help give some insight:"it would be quite incorrect to say that in the OT a name was just an identity tag and no more. There, as in other ancient literature, the name of a person sometimes revealed his character, his personality, even his destiny. In fact, a person’s name was often considered to be but an expression, indeed a revelation, of his true nature, as the many popular etymological explanations of names given to people in the OT makes clear OT Old Testament...Because a person’s name is so closely related to what he is, šēm comes also to mean “fame,” “renown,” “reputation"...God sent people to speak “in his name” (Jer. 11:21; 14:14f; etc.).
This sharing of His name with others meant that the message they spoke was spoken under inspiration, with authority, by divine appointment, and thus was to be heard as the word of the Lord and responded to accordingly. “To blaspheme the name of Yahweh” does not mean that someone uses the divine name in a thoughtless oath or expletive. Rather it means that the proud and arrogant and strong intentionally abuse the people of God, those people who bear His name (Ps. 74:10, 18; Isa. 52:5; Jas. 2:7). It means, therefore, that whenever persons revile the people of God, they revile the name of God, and thus revile God Himself (cf. Mt. 25:40).
It is also possible for the people of God themselves to blaspheme the name of God by living in a way contrary to the nature of God, whose name they bear. If the name of God is the revelation of the nature of God, and if the nature of God is characterized by compassion, grace, forgiveness, lovingkindness, truth, justice, etc. (cf. Ex. 34:6f), and if those who carry that name live in a way opposite to that name, to the nature of God, then that name is reviled by the scandal of inconsistency (Ezk. 36:20; Rom. 2:24)."
G. W. Bromiley, "Name; OT," The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002), 3:481-482.
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