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The third commandment


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Believe what you want - it is His name to many of His followers.
Really, really bad interpretation of these verses.

Exodus 6:3 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.
Exodus 6:3
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And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of El Shadday(God Almighty), but by my name yeho?va?h(JEHOVAH) was I not known unto them.
God(JEHOVAH) did not appear by the name "God" but by His title of "God Almighty." He was very specific when He told the Patriarchs who He was. "El" was a very generic term for "god" and was used by many Semitic cultures. In fact, "El" was the actual name of a chief deity in that region, which is why whenever God told His name to the Patriarchs or the Jews, He always used a title, or JEHOVAH, or "I AM." Never just "El" because "El" was/is not His name or His title.



Deuteronomy 28:58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
Whenever you see the word "LORD" in all capital letters in the KJV, it is the actual name of God "JEHOVAH." The rendering of the verse here then is "that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, "JEHOVAH thy God."

Psalms 44:8 In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
Logical fallacy. This verse does not state that "Elohim" is the name of God. It merely states that we boast in God and praise His name. It does not say that "God" or "Elohim" is the NAME of God.

Psalms 48:10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
Logical fallacy again, same as above. This verse does not say that "God" or "elohim" is the name of God. God's name that He reveals to us in Scripture is the covenant name of JEHOVAH.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Titles. Even still, if you take "the mighty God" to be a name of God, then His proper name would be "Mighty God" and not merely "God."

Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
"Jehovah." Jehovah is his name, He shall be called the God of the whole earth.

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
I am called by thy name, O Jehovah(LORD) elohim(term for deity, "God") of hosts.

Jeremiah 32:18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,
Again, if you take this to mean that the Mighty God is His name, then "God" is not His name but "Mighty God." And again, it uses the name of God "Jehovah."

Amos 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.
Jehovah again. And, you'd have to use "God of Hosts" to be consistent, can't merely say "God."

Amos 5:27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.
See above.


From Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament:
God

'el (H410), "god." This term was the most common general designation of deity in the ancient Near East. While it frequently occurred alone, 'el was also combined with other words to constitute a compound term for deity, or to identify the nature and functions of the "god" in some manner. Thus the expression "God, the God of Israel" (Gen_33:20) identified the specific activities of Israel's God.
In the ancient world, knowledge of a person's name was believed to give one power over that person. A knowledge of the character and attributes of pagan "gods" was thought to enable the worshipers to manipulate or influence the deities in a more effective way than they could have if the deity's name remained unknown. To that extent, the vagueness of the term 'el frustrated persons who hoped to obtain some sort of power over the deity, since the name gave little or no indication of the god's character. This was particularly true for El, the chief Canaanite god. The ancient Semites stood in mortal dread of the superior powers exercised by the gods and attempted to propitiate them accordingly. They commonly associated deity with the manifestation and use of enormous power. Perhaps this is reflected in the curious Hebrew phrase, "the power ['el] of my hand" (Gen_31:29, KJV; RSV, "It is in my power"; cf. Deu_28:32). Some Hebrew phrases in the Psalms associated 'el with impressive natural features, such as the cedar trees of Lebanon (Psa_80:10) or mountains (Psa_36:6). In these instances, 'el conveys a clear impression of grandeur or majesty.
Names with 'el as one of their components were common in the Near East in the second millennium B.C. The names Methusael (Gen_4:18) and Ishmael (Gen_16:11) come from a very early period. In the Mosaic period, 'el was synonymous with the Lord who delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and made them victorious in battle (Num_24:8). This tradition of the Hebrew 'el as a "God" who revealed Himself in power and entered into a covenant relationship with His people was prominent in both poetry (Psa_7:11; Psa_85:8) and prophecy (Isa_43:12; Isa_46:9). The name of 'el was commonly used by the Israelites to denote supernatural provision or power. This was both normal and legitimate, since the covenant between "God" and Israel assured an obedient and holy people that the creative forces of the universe would sustain and protect at all times. Equally, if they became disobedient and apostate, these same forces would punish them severely.
'elah (H426), "god." This Aramaic word is the equivalent of the Hebrew 'eloah. It is a general term for "God" in the Aramaic passages of the Old Testament, and it is a cognate form of the word 'allah, the designation of deity used by the Arabs. The word was used widely in the Book of Ezra, occurring no fewer than 43 times between Ezr_4:24 and Ezr_7:26. On each occasion, the reference is to the "God" of the Jewish people, whether the speaker or writer was himself Jewish or not. Thus the governor of the province "Beyond the River" (i.e., west of the river Euphrates) spoke to king Darius of the "house of the great God" (Ezr_5:8). So also Cyrus instructed Sheshbazzar, the governor, that the "house of God be builded" in Jerusalem (Ezr_5:15).
While the Persians were certainly not worshipers of the "God" of Israel, they accorded Him the dignity that befitted a "God of heaven" (Ezr_6:10). This was done partly through superstition; but the pluralistic nature of the newly-won Persian empire also required them to honor the gods of conquered peoples, in the interests of peace and social harmony. When Ezra himself used the word 'elah, he frequently specified the God of the Jews. Thus he spoke of the "God of Israel" (Ezr_5:1; Ezr_6:14), the "God of heaven" (Ezr_5:12; Ezr_6:9) and "God of Jerusalem" (Ezr_7:19); he also associated "God" with His house in Jerusalem (Ezr_5:17; Ezr_6:3). In the decree of Artaxerxes, Ezra was described as "the priest, the scribe of the God of heaven" (Ezr_7:12, Ezr_7:21). This designation would have sounded strange coming from a pagan Persian ruler, had it not been for the policy of religious toleration exercised by the Achaemenid regime. Elsewhere in Ezra, 'elah is associated with the temple, both when it was about to be rebuilt (Ezr_5:2, Ezr_5:13) and as a finished edifice, consecrated for divine worship (Ezr_6:16).
In the only verse in the Book of Jeremiah that was written in Aramaic (Jer_10:11), the word 'elah appears in plural form to describe "gods" that had not participated in the creation of the universe. Although such false "gods" were being worshiped by pagan nations (and perhaps worshiped by some of the Hebrews who were in exile in Babylonia), these deities would ultimately perish because they were not eternal in nature.
In the Book of Daniel, 'elah was used both of heathen "gods" and the one true "God" of heaven. The Chaldean priests told Nebuchadnezzar: "And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh" (Dan_2:11). The Chaldeans referred to such "gods" when reporting that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to participate in idol worship on the plain of Dura (Dan_3:12). The "gods" were enumerated by Daniel when he condemned Nebuchadnezzar's neglect of the worship of Israel's one true "God" (Dan_5:23). In Dan_3:25, the word refers to a divine being or messenger sent to protect the three Hebrews (Dan_3:28). In Dan_4:8-9, Dan_4:18; and Dan_5:11, the phrase "the spirit of the holy gods" appears (KJV, RSV, NEB, NIV). Elsewhere the references to 'elah are to the living "God" whom Daniel worshiped.
'eloah (H433), "god." This Hebrew name for "God" corresponds to the Aramaic 'elah and the Ugaritic il (or, if denoting a goddess, ilt). The origin of the term is unknown, and it is used rarely in Scripture as a designation of deity. Indeed, its distribution throughout the various books of the Bible is curiously uneven. 'Eloah occurs 40 times in the Book of Job between Job_3:4 and Job_40:2, while in the remainder of the Old Testament it is used no more than 15 times.
Certain scholars regard the word as being a singular version of the common plural form 'elohim, a plural of majesty. 'Eloah is commonly thought to be vocative in nature, meaning "O God." But it is not clear why a special form for the vocative in an address to God should be needed, since the plural 'elohim is frequently translated as a vocative when the worshiper is speaking directly to God, as in Psa_79:1. There is an obvious general linguistic relationship between 'eloah and 'elohim, but determining its precise nature is difficult.
The word 'eloah is predominant in poetry rather than prose literature, and this is especially true of the Book of Job. Some scholars have suggested that the author of Job deliberately chose a description for godhead that avoided the historical associations found in a phrase such as "the God of Bethel" (Gen_31:13) or "God of Israel" (Exo_24:10). But even the Book of Job is by no means historically neutral, since places and peoples are mentioned in introducing the narrative (cf. Job_1:1, Job_1:15, Job_1:17). Perhaps the author considered 'eloah a suitable term for poetry and used it accordingly with consistency. This is also apparently the case in Psa_18:31, where 'eloah is found instead of 'el, as in the parallel passage of 2Sa_22:32. 'Eloah also appears as a term for God in Psa_50:22; Psa_139:19; and Pro_30:5. Although 'eloah as a divine name is rarely used outside Job, its literary history extends from at least the second millennium B.C. (as in Deu_32:15) to the fifth century B.C. (as in Neh_9:17).
'el shadday (H410, H7706), "God Almighty." This combination of 'el with a qualifying term represents a religious tradition among the Israelites that was probably in existence by the third millennium B.C. A few centuries later, shadday appeared in Hebrew personal names such as Zurishaddai (Num_1:6) and Ammishaddai (Num_1:12). The earliest Old Testament appearance of the appellation as a title of deity ("God Almighty") is in Gen_17:1, where "God" identifies Himself in this way to Abraham.
Unfortunately, the name is not explained in any manner; and even the directions "walk before me, and be thou perfect" throw no light on the meaning of shadday. Scholars have attempted to understand the word relating it to the Akkadian shadu ("mountain"), as though "God" had either revealed His mighty power in association with mountain phenomena such as volcanic eruptions or that He was regarded strong and immutable, like the "everlasting hills" of the blessing of Jacob (Gen_49:26). Certainly the associating of deity with mountains was an important part of Mesopotamian religion. The "gods" were believed to favor mountaintop dwellings, and the Sumerians constructed their staged temple-towers or ziggurats as artificial mountains for worship. It was customary to erect a small shrine on the uppermost stage of the ziggurat so that the patron deity could descend from heaven and inhabit the temple. The Hebrews began their own tradition of mountain revelation just after the Exodus, but by this time the name 'el shadday had been replaced by the tetragrammaton of Yahweh (Exo_3:15, Exo_6:3).
'El shadday served as the patriarchs' covenant name for "God," and continued as such until the time of Moses, when a further revelation took place (Exo_6:3). The Abrahamic covenant was marked by a degree of closeness between "God" and the human participants that was distinctive in Hebrew history. "God Almighty" revealed Himself as a powerful deity who was able to perform whatever He asserted. But the degree of intimacy between 'el shadday and the patriarchs at various stages shows that the covenant involved God's care and love for this growing family that He had chosen, protected, and prospered. He led the covenant family from place to place, being obviously present with them at all times. His covenant formulations show that He was not preoccupied with cultic rites or orgiastic celebrations. Instead, He demanded a degree of obedience that would enable Abraham and his descendants to walk in His presence, and live blameless moral and spiritual lives (Gen_17:1). The true covenantal service of 'el shadday, therefore, was not cultic or ritualistic, but moral and ethical in character.

On YHWH or JHVH:
yehwah (H3068), "Lord." The Tetragrammaton YHWH appears without its own vowels, and its exact pronunciation is debated (Jehovah, Yehovah, Jahweh, Yahweh). The Hebrew text does insert the vowels for 'adonay, and Jewish students and scholars read 'adonay whenever they see the Tetragrammaton. This use of the word occurs 6,828 times. The word appears in every period of biblical Hebrew.
The divine name YHWH appears only in the Bible. Its precise meaning is much debated. God chose it as His personal name by which He related specifically to His chosen or covenant people. Its first appearance in the biblical record is Gen_2:4 : "These 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." Apparently Adam knew Him by this personal or covenantal name from the beginning, since Seth both called his son Enosh (i.e., man as a weak and dependent creature) and began (along with all other pious persons) to call upon (formally worship) the name of YHWH, "the Lord" (Gen_4:26). The covenant found a fuller expression and application when God revealed Himself to Abraham (Gen_12:8), promising redemption in the form of national existence. This promise became reality through Moses, to whom God explained that He was not only the "God who exists" but the "God who effects His will": "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord [YHWH] God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord [YHWH] God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites..." (Exo_3:15-17). So God explained the meaning of "I am who I am" (Exo_3:14). He spoke to the fathers as YHWH, but the promised deliverance and, therefore, the fuller significance or experienced meaning of His name were unknown to them (Exo_6:2-8).
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Jerry,

You quote' "Exodus 6:3 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.

Deuteronomy 28:58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;"

THE LORD - Strong's number H3068 is BDB --- yeho?va?h - Jehovah = ?the existing One? 1) the proper name of the one true God
and Strong's ---- yeho?va?h, yeh-ho-vaw' From H1961; (the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: - Jehovah, the Lord. Compare H3050, H3069.
yeh-ho-vaw'

What part of this confuses you?

You go on to say, "Believe what you want - it is His name to many of His followers.

You are right - like the RCC for one! Because a lot of people believe something doesn't make it right does it? The gate is wide to many - but they won't get in. The gate is narrow to the true followers. Or do you disagree with the Bible too. Should I rail on you now - like you do to others - for your false teachings!

Wayne

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If we are not to call God God then do you believe we should be calling Him Jehovah?

If we are to be calling God Jehovah, then why does the KJB say God or LORD in so many places?

If there is but one true God (and I believe that) and we only call out to the one true God (why would we call out to something else that we don't believe exists) then are we not talking to God or calling upon God when we speak to Him or about Him as God?

Do you think God doesn't hear us or answer us if we call Him God?

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Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,

If the term God was always a title, then this verse would say, "The God," or "The Lord God..." - but it doesn't. It says God spake. If I read a verse that says "Jesus spake," I would certainly assume Jesus was the name of the speaker. Same goes here.

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If we are not to call God God then do you believe we should be calling Him Jehovah?

If we are to be calling God Jehovah, then why does the KJB say God or LORD in so many places?

If there is but one true God (and I believe that) and we only call out to the one true God (why would we call out to something else that we don't believe exists) then are we not talking to God or calling upon God when we speak to Him or about Him as God?

Do you think God doesn't hear us or answer us if we call Him God?


To answer the first question, we can call Him both, but only one is His name-Jehovah.

Because "God" is the translation of "elohim." It's a generic word for deity. It says "LORD" because the translators decided to translate YHWH into LORD as opposed to Lord(Adonai).

Who you have in mind when you refer to or pray to "God" is important. In Christian cultures, it is commonly understood as a reference to the God of the Bible.

Did I say that?
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Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,

If the term God was always a title, then this verse would say, "The God," or "The Lord God..." - but it doesn't. It says God spake. If I read a verse that says "Jesus spake," I would certainly assume Jesus was the name of the speaker. Same goes here.


That's because the Jews understood the word "God" or "El/Elohim" to be a reference to their own God, not to the god of somebody else. The Scriptures are about the God of Israel, therefore it makes sense that the term "God" would be a direct reference to YHWH.
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Isaiah 42:8, "I am the LORD, that is My Name?". Please note this verse begins, "I am the LORD". This verse tells us much more than what God is called, which is the usual reason for a name. It is important to understand that "name" is sometimes used as the figure of speech Metonomy of Adjunct, which is defined as, "When something pertaining to the subject is put for the subject itself". In this verse the phrase "My Name" is used as that which pertains to Jehovah, Who is the subject. "Name" is used as a figure of speech for Who God is.

Figures of speech are used to enhance a truth. What truth is being enhanced by the use of the figure of speech in Is. 42:8? In my opinion, it is used to enhance the truth of Who God is. A definition of "Jehovah" might be helpful in making this point. "Jehovah means the Eternal, the Immutable One, He Who Was and IS and IS TO COME". So when we read "I am the LORD, that is My Name" we are reading, I am "the Eternal, the Immutable One, He Who Was and IS and IS TO COME", that is Who I am".

Exodus 6:3 is also helpful in establishing how "My Name" is used as a figure of speech to enhance the truth of Who God is. That verse reads, "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 as "the Eternal, Immutable One". but as "God Almighty". But when God appeared to Moses, He made Himself known as to Who He is, His very essence, i.e. Eternal.

Love,
Madeline

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I don't know if this will help here but since the topic is the third commandment, and we know that saying "God" is the title for Yahweh then it is a violation not matter which word you use. If You are in your church and your pastor's name is Bill people know if you say something about the pastor your are talking about Bill. Name or title the meaning is clear - so with the thrid commandment - especially when you consider that in the context of the third command the word "name" also carries the meaning "honor".

Wayne

PS - I think most all of use His titles quite often - God, Father, etc.

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I don't believe that calling Him God is disrespectful. WE know who He is. He knows who He is. He has never chided me for calling Him that name. When I pray, my prayer is to Him alone.

I generally use the name "God" for the days when the grief or burden is too great to know what else to say. Otherwise, He is Lord or Father.

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