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Doctrine of God 0001 - Lesson 5
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- THE NAMES OF GOD (Continued)
- Primary Names: The Old Testament uses three primary names for God. In the English, they are usually seen as God, Lord, and LORD. NOTE: The Jews often refer to God simply as Hashem, which means The Name.
- God
- Taken from the Hebrew El, Elah, or Elohim
- The corresponding Greek is theos
- The plural Elohim is often used with singular meaning as seen in places where the corresponding pronoun is plural (Genesis 1:26-27 [26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
See All...; Genesis 3:22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
See All...; Isaiah 6:8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
See All...). This is an Old Testament indication of the trinity. - Generally refers to a strong one and can be used of beings other than the Almighty God (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 [4] As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
[5] For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
[6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
See All...). - False gods (Exodus 20:3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
See All..., 23) - Devils (Deuteronomy 32:17They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
See All...) - Earthly rulers (Exodus 22:28Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
See All...; Psalm 82:6-7 [6] I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. [7] But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
See All...) - The name, God, contains the ideas of strength and prominence (Numbers 23:22God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
See All...; Deuteronomy 10:17For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
See All...; Nehemiah 9:32Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
See All...; Job 36:5Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.
See All...; Psalm 89:8O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
See All...; Zephaniah 3:17The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
See All...). - The name, God, is closely connected to creation.
- “God” is referred to 32 times in the 31 verses of the first chapter of Genesis. This is the greatest number of mentions of God in a chapter in the Bible.
- “LORD” is not mentioned until Genesis 2:4These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
See All.... Even here, the Bible refers to the “LORD God.” “LORD” is not used by itself until Genesis 4:1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
See All.... - This shows God to be the power of creation and to have the right to rule over all creation (2 Chronicles 20:6And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
See All...; Daniel 5:21And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
See All...). - The name, God, is closely connected to His power to rule
- “God” is referred to 31 times in the 35 verses of Psalm 68. This makes Psalm 68 the chapter with the second most references to “God.”
- God is connected with strength (Psalm 68:1-2 [1] Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
[2] As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
See All..., 8, 28, 34-35) - God is connected with salvation (Psalm 68:17-20 [17] The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.
[18] Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
[19] Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
[20] He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.
See All...) - God is connected with supply (Psalm 68:7O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
See All..., 9-10, 19) - Lord
- Taken from the Hebrew Adonai.
- The corresponding Greek is kurios
- The title Lord/lord can refer either to God or to lesser lords (Daniel 5:23But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
See All...; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6 [5] For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) [6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
See All...). - The name is written as Lord when referring to God and lord when not used as a title for God. The all-capitalized spelling, LORD, is used only when translated from the Hebrew Jehovah.
- Refers specifically to the master/servant relationship (Genesis 18:3And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
See All...; Genesis 19:2And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
See All...; Genesis 44:16And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
See All...; Exodus 4:10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
See All...; Matthew 10:24The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
See All...; 1 Corinthians 7:22For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
See All...; 2 Corinthians 4:5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
See All...). - First used as a title for God in the compound “Lord GOD” in Genesis 15:2And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
See All..., 8. First used alone as a title for God in Genesis 18:3And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
See All.... Notice the servant/master relationship in this passage. The primary concept found in the title Lord is that God is our owner and master and we are his servants. At the time of his conversion, Paul prayed, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
See All...). That is the essence of what it means to say that God is our Lord. - The personal nature of this title is seen in the frequent use of the personal pronoun with it. The Lord is “my Lord” (Exodus 4:10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
See All...; Judges 6:13And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
See All...; Psalm 16:2O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
See All...; Psalm 110:1The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
See All...). He is also “our Lord” (Psalm 8:1O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
See All...; Psalm 135:5For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
See All...) as is Jesus Christ (Romans 1:3Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
See All...; Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All...; 1 Corinthians 1:9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
See All...; Ephesians 5:20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
See All...). By way of contrast, the phrases “my LORD” and “our LORD” are never used in the Bible. - The Lordship of God demands obedience and submission from the Master’s servants. However, it also implies the watchcare of the Lord over His subjects (Psalm 39:7And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
See All...; Psalm 40:17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
See All...; Psalm 68:19-20 [19] Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. [20] He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.
See All...; Psalm 86:3-5 [3] Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily. [4] Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. [5] For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
See All...). - A great illustration of lordship is found in Isaiah 6. In the year that Isaiah lost his earthly lord, he saw a vision of his heavenly Lord (Isaiah 6:1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
See All...). This Lord is identified as the King, the LORD of hosts, and He is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6:3-5 [3] And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. [4] And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. [5] Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
See All...). Then, as “Lord,” He commissions Isaiah to take the message of God to the people (Isaiah 6:8-9 [8] Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. [9] And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
See All...) and He gives him the length of his commission (Isaiah 6:11Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
See All...). Compare these verses with those that refer to the LORD (Isaiah 6:3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
See All..., 5, 12). - LORD
- Translated from the Hebrew Jehovah
- In the Old Testament, Jehovah is generally translated as LORD with all capital letters. In some compound titles (as Lord GOD), it is translated as GOD (to avoid a title such as Lord LORD).
- In seven verses in the King James Bible, the Hebrew is transliterated as Jehovah.
- In verses where a special significance is given to the name Jehovah:
- Exodus 6:3And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
See All... – “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” - Psalm 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
See All... – “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” - In verses where a compound form of Jehovah is used:
- Genesis 22:14And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
See All... – “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.” - Exodus 17:15And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
See All... – “And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:” - Judges 6:24Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
See All... – “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” - In verses where a double form of Jehovah is used:
- Isaiah 12:2Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
See All... – “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” - Isaiah 26:4Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
See All... – “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:” - It is transliterated once in the shorter form of JAH: Psalm 68:4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
See All... – “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.” - The name is seen in the shorter form of jah in Hallelujah which means “Praise ye the LORD.”
- The source of the name
- Comes from four Hebrew consonants. Often called by Bible scholars the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-lettered name.
- Unpronounced by the Jews for centuries. They did this in extension to the warnings against blaspheming the name of the Lord (Leviticus 24:16And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
See All...). - It has the same vowel markings as Adonai. Therefore, when the Jewish scribes copied scripture, they would write Jehovah but say Adonai.
- The pronunciation of Jehovah is disputed by modern scholarship. They have changed Jehovah to Yahweh. However, this is not the settled fact that it is claimed to be. John M. Frame, in The Doctrine of God (p.36-37), says of this name of God: “Its pronunciation is problematic, too. At an early point in the transmission of the Bible, the Jews decided that God’s name was too holy to be uttered, and so they replaced it in Scripture reading with ‘adonay [Adonai], which means ‘Lord.’ Because the vowel points of ‘adonay were superimposed on the consonants of the sacred name in the Hebrew text, we cannot be sure what the original vowels were, but most scholars have settled on Yahweh as the original Hebrew word. The older English name Jehovah (used, for example, in the American Standard Version of 1901 [and in the King James Bible]) follows the Hebrew text as it literally appears.” Therefore, Jehovah is the literal rendering of what is in the Hebrew text while Yahweh is a guess by the scholars.
- The ASV of 1901 consistently left Jehovah in the text. However, the King James Bible normally uses LORD. This name is found almost 6500 times in the Old Testament. It is used more than any other name for God. There are several reasons the Bible translates Jehovah to LORD.
- It avoids creating an Old Testament God not found in the New Testament.
- It follows the practice of the Jewish scribes in using Lord for LORD
- It follows the practice of the New Testament in using the Greek kurios (meaning Lord) in quoting Old Testament references to Jehovah (compare Matthew 3:3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
See All... with Isaiah 40:3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
See All...; compare Matthew 4:7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
See All... with Deuteronomy 6:16Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
See All...; Matthew 22:37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
See All... with Deuteronomy 6:5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
See All...). - Jehovah is the unique name of God. Other names, like God and Lord, may be used at times of other beings (1 Corinthians 8:5For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
See All...); but Jehovah is the name that refers only to the God of the Bible (Psalm 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
See All...).
Proverbs 25:18
A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.