Image from yahweh.yolasite.com
[This was first posted October 9, 2013, reposted December 21, 2014. As indefatigable seekers of the One True God and His Revelation, part of our journey are times we review our position when challenged by new findings. This article shows the process we go through every time we discover more ‘truths’ in our research, when we have to re-examine our position and correct any misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or mistaken conclusions in the past which result in re-adjusting our thinking and our position. Transition is a crucial place to be and a good place to be, if we know how to go through it, ever conscious that in research, there is much to discover or uncover, learn as well as unlearn. An open mind accompanies our love for Truth and for the God of Truth Who spoke in the history of the chosen people to whom His Truth was imparted, who were given the responsibility to make that Truth known, that it might lead the ignorant to that God who is not only their God, but the God of all peoples and all nations.
On the topic of the Name of the One True God, we are certain about our stand — but what it means in the original language, we are still on research mode. Obviously we are dependent heavily on Hebrew/Jewish sources, as they—more than anyone else — know best how to read and interpret their own sacred scriptures in the language they speak and read and understand and interpret. —Admin1]
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Oy vey, as the Jews would say in dismay. . . only now it hit us! And quite unexpectedly . . . meaning, we never before questioned the Tetragrammaton as the Name of the Ineffable True God; in fact we had been declaring it all over this website, that the ONE TRUE GOD’S NAME is YHWH, according to Him (please refer to all the posts that previously settled this truth for us).
Are we shifting our position . . . that the YHWH is not the Name of the One True God?
Characteristic of any GOD-QUEST and TRUTH-Quest is keeping an open mind, checking out as much information as there is available “out there.” This requires time as well as availability of reliable and verifiable sources, not to neglect counterchecking the teaching with scripture. Remember, we are in transition, have not “arrived” and probably never will, since TRUTH is a lifetime quest, and our Almighty Creator, True Deity, cannot nor ever be confined nor defined by human language, much less limited to a Name!
But, you might reason out just as we have: surely if there is one way to identify the One True God, it must be a Name He Himself has revealed to man, and that would be in Exodus 3-6 which have been our prooftexts for our short-held belief. However, in our eagerness to start declaring YHWH as THE NAME,
- we failed to consider that we were not reading scripture in its original language, Hebrew or Aramaic,
- and that English translators either took liberties or were ignorant of the original meaning of biblical characters’ appellation.
- Example, “adamah’ or man from the dust became simply “Adam”.
- We also failed to constantly keep in mind that Hebrew names in scripture were not “names” in the way we gentiles think of ‘names’;
- that the names we read often, if not always, have a qualifying phrase or word explaining its meaning when initially introduced.
- Hence, Esau, Noach, Abram, Yacob, were all derived from a characteristic of the person either at birth or as character was formed,
- or as God had transformed him or used him in His plan.
- And that is perhaps why, as persons transformed from what they started as, like Yacob to Yisrael, they assume new names according to their new identity or new reputation or new character for which they will be remembered.
We arrived at our conclusion because three readings finally sank in, unfortunately not soon enough nor early enough.
- Judaism 101 [http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm]; excellent write-up done by: Tracey R Rich, © Copyright 5756-5771 (1996-2011);
- Jewish Encyclopedia entry on the Tetragrammaton [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14346-tetragrammaton]
We are dumbfounded at this recent realization and admittedly, cannot add any more to the information we’ve gathered to present here. While we wish to accommodate readers’ request that we copy/paste the whole unedited articles here because they often have difficulty going to the links, we respect the authors’ understandable request that we simply direct the truly curious and interested directly to their websites, and so that is what we will do.
Hopefully, each one will continue studying the articles recommended, consider, ponder and reach his own conclusion which would be either:
- “ahhhh soooooo” . . . . or
- “Nope, I don’t buy it” or
- “I’ll check it out further to my satisfaction”
Image from cozykitchenchats.com
—-the last being the Sinaite’s unspoken motto.
So finally, what have we, Sinaites, decided to call the One True God?
Any of the following:
- YHWH [and after much research, we have chosen to pronounce the Tetragrammaton as “Yahuwah” instead of “Yahweh”],
- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
- the God of Israel,
- Creator and Sustainer,
- Almighty God/El Shaddai, Elohiym, Adonai,
- the Self-Revealing God on Sinai,
- the Giver of Torah,
- Lord of Hosts,
- the Eternal,
- the One and Only,
Master of the Universe . . . .
We know WHO HE IS.
HE knows who is His specially when His call on HIM and the Name He has revealed Himself.
He is all of such attributions, and more.
Just as important, we should know who He is NOT.
And definitely, what is not His Name!
NSB@S6K
