- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
- Messages
- 352
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- north, Hopkins Co., Tx.
Good morning, God Bless. Today's lesson, "LORD and Lord". I will endeavor to be brief, yet be as assertive as possible with this lesson. The word of God should never be taken lightly, we all agree. We strive to not only learn the WORD, but to obey. Amen. I have merely 20 pages of study set before me preparing for this lesson. My prayer is that today's lesson will be received with great clarity and bring praise To our God and His Holy Name.
The significance of names in Hebrew thought can not be taken for granted. Especially, the names for God and His personel name. Hebrew names were not chosen arbitrarily. A name conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It represents the history and reputation of the 'being' named. Examples are; we often refer to a person's reputation as their "good name'. For a company we say their "good will" when regarding their reputation. The scriptures are intent, using such descriptions as "profane the Word of God' (chillul HA-SHEM), disrepect or disobey. The Name of God is to be sanctified...to remain Holy. Because a name represents the reputation of the thing named, a name should be treated with the same respect as the thing's reputation.
The most important Name of God is the four letter Name represented with the Hebrew letters Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei...YHVH, as it was/is written. This Word is derived from the Hebrew root word Hei-Yod-Hei (HYH) meaning "to be" and reflects the fact that God's existance is eternal. These four letters YHVH when written or spoken is the personal Name of God. In the Old Testament this configuration of letters is found over 5700 times. 99.86% of the times it is what it says it is, the personal name of God. You have to understand the context of the verse to understand any of the Bible.
Now...hold on to these Hebraic mind-sets and let's connect today's lesson with our English translated Bibles. Because I personally use the King James as my study Bible I will use it in reference. Again, to put today's lesson in perspective, let's go back in history. We know that every 40 years the Jewish scribes would painstakingly copy the scrolls for the Temple (research what happened to the old scrolls being replaced). 'ever wanted to thank a Jew for something, thank them for our Bible. The scribes followed strict proceedures and other great measures for exactness as they continued writing YHWH, as was first used for the personal name of God. And they used the Hebrew word Adonai which refers to God as "our Lord". In the New testament the personal name can't be found. The word Adoni (not Adonai) is used 195 times and every time it means"our Lord" used to describe anyone other than God. Jesus is called Adoni.
Getting back to early Hebrew... the Jews were not to profane or misuse the personal name of God, YHVH. About 300 B.C. scribes substituted Adonai where YHVH was written to uphold the misuse of God's personal name. Although His name was often spoken it wasn't to be written for fear of it being erased or profaned. When the King James Bible was written the translators followed this mind-set and wrote LORD where YHVH was used and Lord where Adonai was used. Now as you read your Bible put in to context what you read. LORD and Lord. Further study; Ex. 3:13-22,Ex. 3:15, Ex. 6:3, Psalms 8:1, Psalms 110:1, feel free to e-mail me with Q's or sources. BY THE WAY.....no one can be certain how to pronounce YHVH because it has been lost thru' the ages. The word most associated is Jehovah. 'sorry, but this is incorrect. There is no letter J in the Hebrew alefbet and this pronounciation stems from the 16th century when a German Christian scribe, while transliterating the Hebrew Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote the Name out as it appeared in his texts, with the consonants of YHVH and the vowels of Adonai, and came up with the word JeHoVaH...the name stuck!! Ol' Scrape.
The significance of names in Hebrew thought can not be taken for granted. Especially, the names for God and His personel name. Hebrew names were not chosen arbitrarily. A name conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It represents the history and reputation of the 'being' named. Examples are; we often refer to a person's reputation as their "good name'. For a company we say their "good will" when regarding their reputation. The scriptures are intent, using such descriptions as "profane the Word of God' (chillul HA-SHEM), disrepect or disobey. The Name of God is to be sanctified...to remain Holy. Because a name represents the reputation of the thing named, a name should be treated with the same respect as the thing's reputation.
The most important Name of God is the four letter Name represented with the Hebrew letters Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei...YHVH, as it was/is written. This Word is derived from the Hebrew root word Hei-Yod-Hei (HYH) meaning "to be" and reflects the fact that God's existance is eternal. These four letters YHVH when written or spoken is the personal Name of God. In the Old Testament this configuration of letters is found over 5700 times. 99.86% of the times it is what it says it is, the personal name of God. You have to understand the context of the verse to understand any of the Bible.
Now...hold on to these Hebraic mind-sets and let's connect today's lesson with our English translated Bibles. Because I personally use the King James as my study Bible I will use it in reference. Again, to put today's lesson in perspective, let's go back in history. We know that every 40 years the Jewish scribes would painstakingly copy the scrolls for the Temple (research what happened to the old scrolls being replaced). 'ever wanted to thank a Jew for something, thank them for our Bible. The scribes followed strict proceedures and other great measures for exactness as they continued writing YHWH, as was first used for the personal name of God. And they used the Hebrew word Adonai which refers to God as "our Lord". In the New testament the personal name can't be found. The word Adoni (not Adonai) is used 195 times and every time it means"our Lord" used to describe anyone other than God. Jesus is called Adoni.
Getting back to early Hebrew... the Jews were not to profane or misuse the personal name of God, YHVH. About 300 B.C. scribes substituted Adonai where YHVH was written to uphold the misuse of God's personal name. Although His name was often spoken it wasn't to be written for fear of it being erased or profaned. When the King James Bible was written the translators followed this mind-set and wrote LORD where YHVH was used and Lord where Adonai was used. Now as you read your Bible put in to context what you read. LORD and Lord. Further study; Ex. 3:13-22,Ex. 3:15, Ex. 6:3, Psalms 8:1, Psalms 110:1, feel free to e-mail me with Q's or sources. BY THE WAY.....no one can be certain how to pronounce YHVH because it has been lost thru' the ages. The word most associated is Jehovah. 'sorry, but this is incorrect. There is no letter J in the Hebrew alefbet and this pronounciation stems from the 16th century when a German Christian scribe, while transliterating the Hebrew Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote the Name out as it appeared in his texts, with the consonants of YHVH and the vowels of Adonai, and came up with the word JeHoVaH...the name stuck!! Ol' Scrape.
