I Have Called You By Name (Part II)
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
Objectively, this part of the series will be based a lot more on logic, deconstruction of verses and history than on verses, but it is imperative to know it. Since the Bible is a history book about the nation of Israel, a book of wisdom and knowledge, a book of law, a book of hope and an inheritance all at once, context is always important.
Since we know the importance of God’s name, we need to decipher between a name, a title and an epithet.
According to Merriam-Webster, name is defined as “a word or a combination of words by which a person, place, or thing, a body or class, or any object of thought is designated, called, or known.” Yet, the word title, for our purposes, means “an appellation of dignity, honor, distinction, or preeminence attached to a person or family by virtue of rank, office, precedent, privilege, attainment, or lands”. An epithet is used as a “characterizing word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing”. While these terms might seem interchangeable, it becomes very important to make a clear distinction in order to not get confused when starting to address bible verses.
The example that one can use to easily distinguish between the three is; President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. In this example, “President” is a title, which is a position that has been held by others. “Barack Obama” is his name given to him at birth and the epithet “the 44th President of the United States” is often used to describe or replace the name of President Barack Obama.
The Bible is drenched with epithets, titles and a name for God and now that we know the difference between them, we can better place and read the Scriptures as He asks us to. Hopefully this small exercise will help open your eyes to what is actually being said in the Bible. In order to invoke further clarity, we are looking at verses where God introduces himself or shows how he wants to be presented to others.
The first verses are those written in the Name of God version of the Bible, while the second ones are in King James Version.
Exodus 3: 14
Elohim answered Moses, “Ehyeh Who Ehyeh. This is what you must say to the people of Israel: ‘Ehyeh has sent me to you.’”
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
Exodus 3: 16
“Go, assemble the leaders of Israel. Say to them, ‘Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me.
Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me,
Exodus 6: 2 - 3
Elohim spoke to Moses, “I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shadday, but I didn’t make myself known to them by my name, Yahweh.
And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.
Isaiah 43: 3
I am Yahweh your Elohim, Qedosh Yisrael, your Savior. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you.
For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom,Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Hopefully, after reading these verses side by side, you can see that the New King James verses either don’t make sense anymore or seem miswritten, somewhat even disfiguring the passage and giving you a different impression of the Word. Now, Let’s put these verses into context and for good measure I also added other commonly used words to describe God or Yeshua in the Bible, which can be found here.
There are so many more epithets and titles I could have listed there but there is only one name for the Father and one name for the Son and that is what I am trying to make clear. Yet, there is an important distinction we need to make, You must use the Lords’s name but titles and epithets are there to help you pray to Him in the capacity that you need Him. Let’s go through an examples in Deuteronomy 10:17 and Mark 14:36 and break it down:
17 “There is no one like Yahweh—your one true Elohim and Adonai. He is the great, powerful, and awe-inspiring El. He never plays favorites and never takes a bribe.” (Names of God)
- Deuteronomy 10:17 (NOG)
And:
“He said, “Abba! Father! You can do anything. Take this cup of suffering away from me. But let yours be done rather than mine.”(Names of God)
- Mark 14:36 (NOG)
Both verses exalt about God’s power and ability, yet they both use different titles to talk about the same person. One invokes God’s power as a Lord and God yet the other focuses on the title of Father, hence both of these are done in two separate capacities. This once again alludes to what we spoke about in the previous installments, that the relationship outlined in the initial introduction between God and the person ultimately decides that person’s ministry, relationship and teachings. The speaker in Deuteronomy is Moses and his relationship and ministry with God was about following God as Lord, hence he codified the Law to give to the children of Israel. The second speaker is Yeshua, whose ministry was focused on the love that God has for his children as Father. Hence, why both speakers are still talking about the same God and using the same spirit will use different titles to invoke God in a different capacity.
While I am happy for the revelation, it does sadden me because we’ve read these verses hundreds of times and never questioned what we were reading and it's everywhere in the Bible in so many versions and languages, further blinding the Lord’s chosen people. So I implore you to pay attention to this as you read your Bibles, it will only deepen your understanding of the Word and make this a point of conversation even with your fellow believers.
In the following installment we will be looking at the reasons why the name of God had been replaced with titles and epithets and what name we should be using as observers of the way.