The Name Beneath the Titles
The titles LORD and GOD appear many times throughout the KJV. In fact, LORD appears 6681 times, while GOD appears 330 times in the OT (Old Testament). That accounts for more than 7000 instances where these titles appear in the OT! Unfortunately, many have been led to believe that these are actual names for God when in fact they are titles. You see, where LORD and GOD appear in all capital letters, that is an indicator that the covenant name of God should be there, represented by the Hebrew consonants, Yod, Heh, Waw, and Heh, thus rendering it as YHWH in English, also known as the Tetragrammaton. This name is most commonly pronounced as Yahweh.
He Gave His Name for a Reason
Yahweh gave us His name for a reason, to show us that He isn’t just any so-called god, but that He is the Living God; the self-existent and Eternal One, who was and is and always will be; the Creator. Therefore, I think that it is safe to say that if He didn’t want us to know His name, then He wouldn’t have given it to us. In fact, if you look at Isaiah 42:8 you will see something very interesting in the KJV, which says,
“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
The problem is very obvious here: LORD isn’t His name; yet the KJV gives the impression that it is. It should be rendered as “I am YHWH: that is my name…”
Now do you think God would have made such a declaration if He didn’t want His people to know His name? The answer to this question is just as obvious as the fact that LORD shouldn’t have been put in place of His name in that verse. One would think that of all the verses where His name ought to be, the KJV translators would have at least put His name here; after all, Yahweh did say, “that is my name.” But they obviously didn’t do that, and one can’t help but wonder why.
Misinterpretation Leads to Obscurity
From what I understand, early Jews used YHWH, but later changed it to Adonai (Lord), believing the name to be too sacred to pronounce. This had much to do with them being fearful of violating the third commandment: “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7 KJV)
As you can see, His name should be in the commandment itself; twice in fact, but it was replaced with LORD instead. Listen, if Yahweh didn’t want His name to be uttered, then why even give a commandment not to use it in vain to begin with? It is obvious that He wants us to use His name.
And by the way, using the name of Yahweh in vain essentially has to do with attributing His name to wicked works, or to a message that is not inspired by Him, or to say that you are His servant while fostering a lifestyle that is contrary to His will, taking His name lightly, or using it in a profane manner. Hence misrepresenting His character, or using His name in vain, so to speak. That is how it is to be understood.
NOTE: The commandment instructs us not to use His name in vain; it doesn’t tell us that we should avoid using His name altogether!
Declaring His Name
Do you want to see something very interesting? Then read on…
David, in prophesying of the Messiah, whom we know to be Yeshua, said this about Him: “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.” (Psalms 22:19-22 KJV)
Now watch this! In 1 John 2:6, John has this to say about how believers should relate to Yeshua: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
If we are expected to walk even as Yeshua walked, and He declared the name of Yahweh to His brethren, praising Him in the midst of the congregation, then shouldn’t we be doing the same thing? Indeed! We shouldn’t be fearful of uttering the name of Yahweh, but rather we should take pleasure in the thought of knowing His name, and in sharing it with others!
Breaking a Man-made Tradition
Incidentally, His name also appears as LORD and GOD in most modern English translations. In fact, Thomas Nelson Publishers (those who publish the NKJV) have this to say about it in the preface of the NKJV:
“The covenant name of God was usually translated from the Hebrew as “LORD” or “GOD” (using capital letters as shown) in the King James Old Testament. This tradition is maintained.”
Notice how they call it a tradition. Did God inspire this tradition? Obviously not. For He revealed His name more than 7000 times in the OT. Man is the one who invented this tradition. That’s right; a man-made tradition is veiling God’s covenant name in more than 7000 places in the OT! This is no conspiracy theory either, but a fact. Those who choose to deny this fact choose to be ignorant.
Having said that, will you keep the veil there in honor of this man-made tradition, or will you remove it to see what Yahweh wanted you to know from the beginning? Will you follow the example of those who were fearful of using His name, or will you follow in the steps of Yeshua, and declare it before your brothers and sisters in Christ?
As for me, I am going to make the necessary changes to remove the veil. I hope that you will choose to do the same, proclaiming the name of Yahweh, just like Yeshua did.
© Chris S. Esty