The Name Yaua : Thesis
The Use of the Tetragrammaton in the Second Temple Period
Thesis Proposal
Subject: The Use of the Memorial Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, YAUA , in the private life of Hebrews and Christians from the second temple period to late antiquity.
Methodology: The main evidence surveyed will be that of inscriptions with a focus on Greek and Aramaic “magical texts” from the period involved. The New Testament scribal traditions will be considered in the light of Jewish scribal practices from the period. The main sources analysed include Lachish Letters, Elephantine papypri, Wisdom of Solomon, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek Magical Papyri, Aramaic magical texts, Apocryphal writings. Having surveyed the evidence of the use of the memorial name conclusions will be drawn.
Outline
I Introduction/ Methodology
II Historical Religious Context
III The Memorial name in Hebrew texts
IV The Memorial Name in Greek texts
V The Memorial Name in Aramaic Text
VI The Memorial name from the late Second Temple period to late antiquity in the life of Hebrews
VII The Memorial Name from from Late second Temple period Late Antiquity in the life of Christians.
Reference List
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57 Tomaschoff, Avner. Ed. Judaism A-Z Lexicon of Terms and Concepts. (Jerusalem: Dept for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organiization Jerusalem, 1980)
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62 Botterweck, G.J. & Ringgren, H. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Vol V (Grand Rapids Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company)
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74 Judaeus, Philo. Of the Life of Moses
75 Tigay, Jeffrey. What’s in a name? Early Evidence of devotion exclusively to Yahweh. Biblical Review, 2004, 20:1, 24-43, 47-51
76 Barkay, Gabriel. The Divine Name Found in Jerusalem. Biblical Archaeological Review, Mar-Apr 1983, 9 no 2, p.14-19
77 Lemaire, Andre. Another Temple to the Israelite God: Aramaic Hoard Documents Life in Fourth Century B.C. Biblical Archaeological Review, July-August 2004, 38-44.
78 Andersen. F. I., & Forbes. A. Dean. The Vocabulary of the Old Testament. (Roma: Editrice Pontificio Istituto, 1989)
79 Gianotti, C.R. “The Meaning of the Divine Name YHWH.” Bibliotheca Sacra. Jan-Mar,(1985), 38-51
80 Hertog, Cornelius Den. “The Prophetic Dimension of the Divine Name: On Exodus #:14a and Ist Context.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 64 (2002), 213-229.
81 Karel, van der Toorn., Becking, Bob., & Van der Horst. “Yahweh”. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible 2nd rev ed (Leiden: Brill, 1999).
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83 Freedman, David, Noel. Pottery, Poetry and Prophecy: Studies in early Hebrew Poetry
84 Pinches. The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and
Babylonia.
85 Mackenzie, Donald A. Myths of Babylonian and Assyria. www.sacred-texts.com/ane/mba/mba23.htm (1915)
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www.arts.ualberta.ca
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XUI (1928)
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91 Genebrardus Chronologia. (1567) ed Paris 1600
92 Thompson Henry, O. “Yahweh”, Anchor Bible Dictionary ()
M. Grünbaum, Ueber Shem Hammephorasch, in Z. D. M. G. xxxix., xl. (= Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Sprach- und Sagenkunde, pp. 238-434);
L. Löw, Die Aussprache des Vierbuchstabigen Gottesnamens, in Gesammelte Schriften, i. 187-212;
E. Nestle, Jacob von Edessa, über den Schem Hammephorasch, etc., in Z. D. M. G. xxxii. 465-508;
Fürst, Schem Hammephorash, ib. xxxiii. 297-300;
A. Nager, Ueber Schem Hamephorasch, ib. xxxiv. 162-167;
D. Oppenheim, Ueber die Bedeutung der Worte, in Monatsschrift, xviii. 545;
D. Cassel, Noch Etwas über, ib. xix. 73;
W. Bacher, Eine Neue Erklärung für, ib. xx. 382;
A. Sidon, Sens et Origine du Schem Hamephorasch, in R. E. J. xvii. 239;
W. Bacher, Le Schem Hammephorasch, etc., ib. xviii. 290;
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Zunz, S. P. pp. 144 et seq.;
L. Blau, Das Altjüdische Zauberwesen, pp. 124 et seq.W. B.
The Use of the Tetragrammaton in the Second Temple Period
Thesis Proposal
School: UHL Year .2005
Course: MA New testament and Early Christianity
Subject: The Use of the Memorial Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Yaua, in the private life of Hebrews and Christians from the late second temple period to late antiquity.
Methodology: The main evidence surveyed will be that of inscriptions with a focus on Greek and Aramaic “magical texts” from the period involved. The New Testament scribal traditions will be considered in the light of Jewish scribal practices from the period. The main sources analysed include Lachish Letters, Elephantine papypri, Wisdom of Solomon, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek Magical Papyri, Aramaic magical texts, Apocryphal writings. Having surveyed the evidence of the use of the memorial name conclusions will be drawn.
Outline
I Introduction/ Methodology
II Historical Religious context
III The Memorial name in Hebrew texts
IV The Memorial Name in Greek texts
V The Memorial Name in Aramaic Text
VI The Memorial name from the late Second Temple period to late antiquity in the life of Hebrews
VII The Memorial Name from from Late second Temple period Late Antiquity
Yaua God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, this is my name forever my memorial from generation to generation
Exodus 3:14
Introduction
1.0 The Subject of the Memorial Name in Judaism and Christianity
The proper noun Yaua (yod heh vav heh), the memorial (zeker) of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exod 3), has for 1976 years been the primary focus of Christian prayer throughout the earth. The central prayer of the faith ever since the first third of the first century when the disciples traditionally asked their teacher: “Our Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11). Every day the Charismatic, the Orthodox, the Catholic, the Protestant, the Evangelical, the Messianic, the nominal and the committed will in all probability at some point approach their Father in heaven with the words “Hallowed be thy name” “avun dbashmaya niqadash shmaq”(55 Aramaic ); “`agiasqetw to ononma sou” (56- Greek) “avinu shebashamayim yitqadesh shimqa” (55 Hebrew). This prayer for the sanctification of the name of God the Father not by chance finds it counterpart in modern and historical Judaism’s “Kiddush Hashem ‘sanctification of the (divine) Name’...term denoting one of the loftiest principles of Judaism” (57, p.102) . In their terminology kiddush hashem is so central that a religious Jew is required to die rather than “hillul hashem” that is rather than profane the name. The covenant Yaua traditionally made with Israel on Sinai or at Horeb and its restatement at Nebo includes a specific commandment regarding the name which has entered into both Jewish and Christian tradition. It traditonally enters the covenant as the third commandment of the decalogue, Lo tisa et shem Yaua eloheiqa le shav, lo yenaqeh Yaua, et asher yisa et shmo leshav. Traditionally translated “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. He shall not remain guiltless who takes His name in vain”. Lamsa translates it based on the Peshitta “You shall not take a false oath in the name of the LORD [Yaua ] your God; for the LORD [Yaua] will not declare him innocent who takes an oath in his name falsely”(54).
1.1 How the Abuse of the Name was Punished
According to scriptural tradition the first man to blaspheme and curse the name Yaua, was quarantined from the desert camp of the Israelites and imprisioned until Moses could find out Yaua’s judgement for this unheard of crime among the Israelites. Moses consultation was not without result, Yaua gave the judgement swiftly and clearly “Bring outside the camp him who has cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him” (54 Lev 24:11). And a mishpat (law) was written into the Law of Yaua “Whoever curses his God shall suffer for his sin. And he who blasphemes the name of the LORD [Yaua] shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall surely stone him” (54 Lev 24: 15-16). This name then commanded the respected, then as now.
1.2 How the Name has been at the Center of many Debates
To some this legal ruling or the sentence for the crime of blaspheming (naqav) and cursing the name (qelalah) will no doubt in our present age be considered controversial. But this is by no means the only area of controversy in regard to this memorial. A mere cursory glance at the modern academic discussion around the name serves to show that this name, is and for thousands of years has been subject of discussion regarding such questions as the following: Where did it originate? Did the Egyptians know it? Did Abraham know it? What was its original form and composition? Is it the Hebrew letters yod, heh, vav, heh or yod, heh, vav, or yod vav, or yod, heh or heh, vav, or some form of Egyptian hierglyph? What does it mean? to cause be; or to fall upon; or He will be a disaster; He loves; He is kindly; or He blows? What is its pronunciation? Are the letters 4 vowels or are they 4 consonants? Should it be transliterated into Greek letters or into any alien alphabets? What way should it be transliterated into Greek letters?. Is it Iaw or Iao, Iabe or Iaue? Should it be written or not? Should it be translated or not? Should it be spoken according to its letters or not? Should it be spoken according to how it is written or not? Should it be written into Paleo Hebrew, Aramaic Square script or transcribed into Greek letters or just simply replaced? When is it permitted to speak it? Should the scriptures of the minim which contain the name be destroyed by “Orthodox” Jews? With these topics of dispute we begin the long journey of the area of controversy regarding perhaps the most mysterious and yet simple short name the world has ever known. The issue as to it number value (gematria) has also meant discussion. The basic gematria of the four letters are 26, of the three of yau 21, of the two of ya 15 or yu16, but does the name consist of 2, 3, 4, 12, or 42 letters? Is the name the highest name or the second highest name? Is the Gnostic Iaw/o the same as the Elephantine Yau or Yeo(yod heh vav), the same as Jeremiah’s Yaua, the same as the Father of Jesus Christ? Reflections have been held regarding the relation of the name to the Holy Trinity and its relation to the first created primordial Adam. We could go on but we will not, this name, if it is indeed one name, comes into the twenty first century with a lot of baggage. Most of this baggage consists of human traditions which have grown up around the form, composition, meaning, power, the writing, and the speaking of the memorial. And after much discussion we can not say today that there are many certainties, the field is still in a flux. This interest may be summed up in the word of Van der Toorn et.al. “The significance of the name Yahweh has been subject of a staggering amount of publications (for an impression see Mayer 1958)” (van der Toorn, p.913). This phenomena is according to Cross a “monumental witness to the industry and ingenuity of biblical scholars” (1973:60).
The Method and Thesis of This Paper
A fundamental problem to be addressed in dealing with the data available regarding the name Yaua is the issue as to why the usage in terms of speaking, writing and reading the name has gone through the various changes it has gone through.
I analyse the changes in terms of three phases. The Memorial Phase, the Forgetting Phase or the Rewriting Phase and the Replacement Phase. These are the three phases which the name Yaua goes through until it completely disappears from a text and a group. The treatment of the name takes place in certain parts of the community not all parts of the Jewish and Christian community went through these stages. The Memorial phase coincides with the time when the name was used freely in a group. It for example applies to the writers of the Lachish Letters nd other pre exilic documents. Here the name is used completely and freely as part of the Jewish community in 6th century BC. “May {Yaua} make my lord hear good news soon”, is typical greeting in one of these letters. The Forgetting Phase or the Rewriting Phase is exemplified by the exilic Elephantine Papyri where the name is shortened from Yaua to Yau. The Replacement Phase is represented in earlier Israel by the replacement of Yaua by “Baal” (Jerem 23:27) and the replacement in the Mishna by such substitutes as Heh and in the dead sea scrolls by four dots and the replacement in the Greek text of Iaw by kurios. This hypothesis only describes the process of change. The causes of change also need to be addressed. Here I posit that the name has three main contexts of function. The Prophet Power and Might function, the Priestly Temple function and the State Legal Authority function. My thesis holds that whilst these functions are in place the name continues to be used in a community or group. But when one of these functions or the institutions representing these functions disappear, or pass through major transformation, the use of the name is subject to change.
The Prophet, Power and Might function of Yaua
The Prophet, Power and Might function is exemplified in the names use as the authority and signature in prophetic words. All true signs and wonders are to be referred to his name. Those of the true prophet to confirm that the word spoken was a word of Yaua. Moses exemplifies this function at two levels the first was the sign he showed Israel to demonstrate he was the deliverer sent by Yaua. His first of turning water to blood was paralleled by Jesus turning water to the blood of the grape, wine. The second in seeing that the words he prophesied were fulfilled. By this they knew this was a words Yaua had spoken (Deu 18). This function is also illustrated by Solomon’s prayer that Gnetiles would come from a far land pray to Yaua and that he would answer them. They would then go back to their nations and tell how great the God Yaua was. That he would have demonstrated his power to the strangers. The greatness of his name as a result of the power would then be spread abroad among the nations. Yaua’s desire for this universal reputation is seen in his declaration to Pharoah “For this reason have I raised thee up to manifest my power in thee and that my name my be declared in all the earth” (Exod 9), and the prophetic word of Malachi “For I am a great king and my name is great in all the earth” (Mal 1:14). This function is also represented in the “magical” use of the name to heal the sick or cast out demons. Where the function continues the group using the name tends to preserve the whole name it recieved and to use it. In Hebrew the whole name is Yaua but Ya also used and in Greek Iaw and Iao.
This function is also exemplified by statements of prophets as Jeremiah: “Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them , I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is [Yaua]”.
The Priestly Temple Function of Yaua
The Priestly Temple Function is rooted in the tradition that the name is the special preserve of the sons of Aaron who are given the role of putting Yaua’s name on the sons of Israel. The key words of the Aaronic blessing represent a central feature of this function. “Yevereqa Yaua ve yishmereqa, Yaer Yaua panav eleiqa vichuneqa, Yisa Yaua panav eleiqa veyasem leqa shalom”. These words were used daily in the temple to put Yaua’s name on the people of Israel. They also preserved the usage of the name very clearly as long as the temple was standing. The Levites had the function of guarding the the house of Yaua (beit Yaua) and of praising Yaua in Psalms. This activity also took place in the temple and in the first temple period would have been part of the memorial phase. With the destruction of the first temple and the exile to Babylon we have evidence of reticence to singing Yaua’s song in a strange land (Ps 139). These songs of Yaua were seen a songs of Zion. Again they were a way of preserving the name but the evidence we have of the use of the name in these songs in later period is slim. The Psalms are full of references to the name and reflections on the name, Yaua was glorified in these songs. The role of baptism and seems to belong under the head of the prophetic and the priestly functions. This is partyl because these two functions most definitely over lap. Many of the prophets came from among the sons of Aaron, for example Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and Malachi. This was because the presence of Yaua was very strong in his house and it was from their and the word of Yaua often went forth. The house of Yaua was the place where he was praised daily and we see in the case of Elisha that singing and praise lead to the coming of the Spirit and the word of prophecy. All prophets to be considered genuine had to proclaim in the name of Yaua. The Essenes and John the Baptist practiced baptism and they were also descendants of the priesthood. It is not however exclusively a priestly acitivity. The Pharisees also practiced baptism and they were most definitely not a priestly group although they had connection with priests.
The State Legal Authority Function
Since much of the set up Israel was delivered through the prophecies of Moses we again have an overlap with the prophetic function. However in the Legal Authority Function the name Yaua is used as a signature to the judgements (mishpatim) Yaua gives to Moses and the Israelites to guide the nations. Many of the decrees have the signature “Ani Yaua”. We see from the beginning of the monarchy under King Saul and before this in the period of the judges, judgements that were made on the authrity of Yaua. Yaua used the kings to execute his decrees in his name. An illustration of Yaua sovereignty exercised through the kings is that of Yau (Jehu). Elisha sends a prophet appoint him king and to give him his assignment. The child of the prophets went to Ramoth Gilead and found Jehu and said to him:
Thus saith Yaua , I have anointed thee king over the people of Yaua, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yaua, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel.
King David was in the habit of consulting directly with Yaua when he had to make a military decisions and had the ability through song to bring the Spirit of Yaua on to a person. He also claimed that the Spirit of Yaua spoke by him and his word of covenant was on his lips.
While this three contexts of the functions of the name Yaua stood there would be a tendency for the use of the name Yaua to be maintained. However when were removed there was a tendency for the name to disappear from that function. So when Israel lost its state authority in Elephantine the name lost its final heh. It what was perhaps its long movement in Egypt away from Yaua to Yau to Iaw to kurios. This illustration I have given is a bit extreme but this at the end of the day is just one process the name would go through until it was transformed out from a particularly community.
Whilst State authority may lose the name or turn away from the name for example from Yaua to Baal, the prophetic function would act as a guardian of the name. So when Israel in the north rejected Yaua from Baal Yaua raised up Elijah to preserve the name. Elijah anointed Elisha who sent the child of the prophet to Jehu. He then went and executed Yaua’s word on Yaua’s enemies. And so the prophets would through the prophetic word acts as guardians of the name selecting persons they considered willing and able to execute the decrees of Yaua. This function kicked in under extreme occasions. In general the guardianship of the name was in the hands of the family of Levi, starting with Moses and Aaron but continuing from generation to generation. It was they who stood and ministered before Yaua. And whilst in the provinces the name Yaua had already passed through a replacement phase, in the temple of Jerusalem in the first century it was still in the memorial phase right up until the destruction of the temple. After the temple destruction the name came under challenge and with the disappearance of the priesthood came the supposed disappearance of the name.
Thesis Proposal
Subject: The Use of the Memorial Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, YAUA , in the private life of Hebrews and Christians from the second temple period to late antiquity.
Methodology: The main evidence surveyed will be that of inscriptions with a focus on Greek and Aramaic “magical texts” from the period involved. The New Testament scribal traditions will be considered in the light of Jewish scribal practices from the period. The main sources analysed include Lachish Letters, Elephantine papypri, Wisdom of Solomon, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek Magical Papyri, Aramaic magical texts, Apocryphal writings. Having surveyed the evidence of the use of the memorial name conclusions will be drawn.
Outline
I Introduction/ Methodology
II Historical Religious Context
III The Memorial name in Hebrew texts
IV The Memorial Name in Greek texts
V The Memorial Name in Aramaic Text
VI The Memorial name from the late Second Temple period to late antiquity in the life of Hebrews
VII The Memorial Name from from Late second Temple period Late Antiquity in the life of Christians.
Reference List
1 Fossum, J. The Name of God and the Angel of the Lord: Samaritan and Jewish Concepts of Intermediation and the Origin of Gnosticism. (Tubingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck) Tubingen, 1985)
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74 Judaeus, Philo. Of the Life of Moses
75 Tigay, Jeffrey. What’s in a name? Early Evidence of devotion exclusively to Yahweh. Biblical Review, 2004, 20:1, 24-43, 47-51
76 Barkay, Gabriel. The Divine Name Found in Jerusalem. Biblical Archaeological Review, Mar-Apr 1983, 9 no 2, p.14-19
77 Lemaire, Andre. Another Temple to the Israelite God: Aramaic Hoard Documents Life in Fourth Century B.C. Biblical Archaeological Review, July-August 2004, 38-44.
78 Andersen. F. I., & Forbes. A. Dean. The Vocabulary of the Old Testament. (Roma: Editrice Pontificio Istituto, 1989)
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81 Karel, van der Toorn., Becking, Bob., & Van der Horst. “Yahweh”. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible 2nd rev ed (Leiden: Brill, 1999).
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83 Freedman, David, Noel. Pottery, Poetry and Prophecy: Studies in early Hebrew Poetry
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Babylonia.
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www.arts.ualberta.ca
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XUI (1928)
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M. Grünbaum, Ueber Shem Hammephorasch, in Z. D. M. G. xxxix., xl. (= Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Sprach- und Sagenkunde, pp. 238-434);
L. Löw, Die Aussprache des Vierbuchstabigen Gottesnamens, in Gesammelte Schriften, i. 187-212;
E. Nestle, Jacob von Edessa, über den Schem Hammephorasch, etc., in Z. D. M. G. xxxii. 465-508;
Fürst, Schem Hammephorash, ib. xxxiii. 297-300;
A. Nager, Ueber Schem Hamephorasch, ib. xxxiv. 162-167;
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D. Cassel, Noch Etwas über, ib. xix. 73;
W. Bacher, Eine Neue Erklärung für, ib. xx. 382;
A. Sidon, Sens et Origine du Schem Hamephorasch, in R. E. J. xvii. 239;
W. Bacher, Le Schem Hammephorasch, etc., ib. xviii. 290;
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The Use of the Tetragrammaton in the Second Temple Period
Thesis Proposal
School: UHL Year .2005
Course: MA New testament and Early Christianity
Subject: The Use of the Memorial Name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Yaua, in the private life of Hebrews and Christians from the late second temple period to late antiquity.
Methodology: The main evidence surveyed will be that of inscriptions with a focus on Greek and Aramaic “magical texts” from the period involved. The New Testament scribal traditions will be considered in the light of Jewish scribal practices from the period. The main sources analysed include Lachish Letters, Elephantine papypri, Wisdom of Solomon, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek Magical Papyri, Aramaic magical texts, Apocryphal writings. Having surveyed the evidence of the use of the memorial name conclusions will be drawn.
Outline
I Introduction/ Methodology
II Historical Religious context
III The Memorial name in Hebrew texts
IV The Memorial Name in Greek texts
V The Memorial Name in Aramaic Text
VI The Memorial name from the late Second Temple period to late antiquity in the life of Hebrews
VII The Memorial Name from from Late second Temple period Late Antiquity
Yaua God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, this is my name forever my memorial from generation to generation
Exodus 3:14
Introduction
1.0 The Subject of the Memorial Name in Judaism and Christianity
The proper noun Yaua (yod heh vav heh), the memorial (zeker) of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exod 3), has for 1976 years been the primary focus of Christian prayer throughout the earth. The central prayer of the faith ever since the first third of the first century when the disciples traditionally asked their teacher: “Our Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11). Every day the Charismatic, the Orthodox, the Catholic, the Protestant, the Evangelical, the Messianic, the nominal and the committed will in all probability at some point approach their Father in heaven with the words “Hallowed be thy name” “avun dbashmaya niqadash shmaq”(55 Aramaic ); “`agiasqetw to ononma sou” (56- Greek) “avinu shebashamayim yitqadesh shimqa” (55 Hebrew). This prayer for the sanctification of the name of God the Father not by chance finds it counterpart in modern and historical Judaism’s “Kiddush Hashem ‘sanctification of the (divine) Name’...term denoting one of the loftiest principles of Judaism” (57, p.102) . In their terminology kiddush hashem is so central that a religious Jew is required to die rather than “hillul hashem” that is rather than profane the name. The covenant Yaua traditionally made with Israel on Sinai or at Horeb and its restatement at Nebo includes a specific commandment regarding the name which has entered into both Jewish and Christian tradition. It traditonally enters the covenant as the third commandment of the decalogue, Lo tisa et shem Yaua eloheiqa le shav, lo yenaqeh Yaua, et asher yisa et shmo leshav. Traditionally translated “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. He shall not remain guiltless who takes His name in vain”. Lamsa translates it based on the Peshitta “You shall not take a false oath in the name of the LORD [Yaua ] your God; for the LORD [Yaua] will not declare him innocent who takes an oath in his name falsely”(54).
1.1 How the Abuse of the Name was Punished
According to scriptural tradition the first man to blaspheme and curse the name Yaua, was quarantined from the desert camp of the Israelites and imprisioned until Moses could find out Yaua’s judgement for this unheard of crime among the Israelites. Moses consultation was not without result, Yaua gave the judgement swiftly and clearly “Bring outside the camp him who has cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him” (54 Lev 24:11). And a mishpat (law) was written into the Law of Yaua “Whoever curses his God shall suffer for his sin. And he who blasphemes the name of the LORD [Yaua] shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall surely stone him” (54 Lev 24: 15-16). This name then commanded the respected, then as now.
1.2 How the Name has been at the Center of many Debates
To some this legal ruling or the sentence for the crime of blaspheming (naqav) and cursing the name (qelalah) will no doubt in our present age be considered controversial. But this is by no means the only area of controversy in regard to this memorial. A mere cursory glance at the modern academic discussion around the name serves to show that this name, is and for thousands of years has been subject of discussion regarding such questions as the following: Where did it originate? Did the Egyptians know it? Did Abraham know it? What was its original form and composition? Is it the Hebrew letters yod, heh, vav, heh or yod, heh, vav, or yod vav, or yod, heh or heh, vav, or some form of Egyptian hierglyph? What does it mean? to cause be; or to fall upon; or He will be a disaster; He loves; He is kindly; or He blows? What is its pronunciation? Are the letters 4 vowels or are they 4 consonants? Should it be transliterated into Greek letters or into any alien alphabets? What way should it be transliterated into Greek letters?. Is it Iaw or Iao, Iabe or Iaue? Should it be written or not? Should it be translated or not? Should it be spoken according to its letters or not? Should it be spoken according to how it is written or not? Should it be written into Paleo Hebrew, Aramaic Square script or transcribed into Greek letters or just simply replaced? When is it permitted to speak it? Should the scriptures of the minim which contain the name be destroyed by “Orthodox” Jews? With these topics of dispute we begin the long journey of the area of controversy regarding perhaps the most mysterious and yet simple short name the world has ever known. The issue as to it number value (gematria) has also meant discussion. The basic gematria of the four letters are 26, of the three of yau 21, of the two of ya 15 or yu16, but does the name consist of 2, 3, 4, 12, or 42 letters? Is the name the highest name or the second highest name? Is the Gnostic Iaw/o the same as the Elephantine Yau or Yeo(yod heh vav), the same as Jeremiah’s Yaua, the same as the Father of Jesus Christ? Reflections have been held regarding the relation of the name to the Holy Trinity and its relation to the first created primordial Adam. We could go on but we will not, this name, if it is indeed one name, comes into the twenty first century with a lot of baggage. Most of this baggage consists of human traditions which have grown up around the form, composition, meaning, power, the writing, and the speaking of the memorial. And after much discussion we can not say today that there are many certainties, the field is still in a flux. This interest may be summed up in the word of Van der Toorn et.al. “The significance of the name Yahweh has been subject of a staggering amount of publications (for an impression see Mayer 1958)” (van der Toorn, p.913). This phenomena is according to Cross a “monumental witness to the industry and ingenuity of biblical scholars” (1973:60).
The Method and Thesis of This Paper
A fundamental problem to be addressed in dealing with the data available regarding the name Yaua is the issue as to why the usage in terms of speaking, writing and reading the name has gone through the various changes it has gone through.
I analyse the changes in terms of three phases. The Memorial Phase, the Forgetting Phase or the Rewriting Phase and the Replacement Phase. These are the three phases which the name Yaua goes through until it completely disappears from a text and a group. The treatment of the name takes place in certain parts of the community not all parts of the Jewish and Christian community went through these stages. The Memorial phase coincides with the time when the name was used freely in a group. It for example applies to the writers of the Lachish Letters nd other pre exilic documents. Here the name is used completely and freely as part of the Jewish community in 6th century BC. “May {Yaua} make my lord hear good news soon”, is typical greeting in one of these letters. The Forgetting Phase or the Rewriting Phase is exemplified by the exilic Elephantine Papyri where the name is shortened from Yaua to Yau. The Replacement Phase is represented in earlier Israel by the replacement of Yaua by “Baal” (Jerem 23:27) and the replacement in the Mishna by such substitutes as Heh and in the dead sea scrolls by four dots and the replacement in the Greek text of Iaw by kurios. This hypothesis only describes the process of change. The causes of change also need to be addressed. Here I posit that the name has three main contexts of function. The Prophet Power and Might function, the Priestly Temple function and the State Legal Authority function. My thesis holds that whilst these functions are in place the name continues to be used in a community or group. But when one of these functions or the institutions representing these functions disappear, or pass through major transformation, the use of the name is subject to change.
The Prophet, Power and Might function of Yaua
The Prophet, Power and Might function is exemplified in the names use as the authority and signature in prophetic words. All true signs and wonders are to be referred to his name. Those of the true prophet to confirm that the word spoken was a word of Yaua. Moses exemplifies this function at two levels the first was the sign he showed Israel to demonstrate he was the deliverer sent by Yaua. His first of turning water to blood was paralleled by Jesus turning water to the blood of the grape, wine. The second in seeing that the words he prophesied were fulfilled. By this they knew this was a words Yaua had spoken (Deu 18). This function is also illustrated by Solomon’s prayer that Gnetiles would come from a far land pray to Yaua and that he would answer them. They would then go back to their nations and tell how great the God Yaua was. That he would have demonstrated his power to the strangers. The greatness of his name as a result of the power would then be spread abroad among the nations. Yaua’s desire for this universal reputation is seen in his declaration to Pharoah “For this reason have I raised thee up to manifest my power in thee and that my name my be declared in all the earth” (Exod 9), and the prophetic word of Malachi “For I am a great king and my name is great in all the earth” (Mal 1:14). This function is also represented in the “magical” use of the name to heal the sick or cast out demons. Where the function continues the group using the name tends to preserve the whole name it recieved and to use it. In Hebrew the whole name is Yaua but Ya also used and in Greek Iaw and Iao.
This function is also exemplified by statements of prophets as Jeremiah: “Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them , I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is [Yaua]”.
The Priestly Temple Function of Yaua
The Priestly Temple Function is rooted in the tradition that the name is the special preserve of the sons of Aaron who are given the role of putting Yaua’s name on the sons of Israel. The key words of the Aaronic blessing represent a central feature of this function. “Yevereqa Yaua ve yishmereqa, Yaer Yaua panav eleiqa vichuneqa, Yisa Yaua panav eleiqa veyasem leqa shalom”. These words were used daily in the temple to put Yaua’s name on the people of Israel. They also preserved the usage of the name very clearly as long as the temple was standing. The Levites had the function of guarding the the house of Yaua (beit Yaua) and of praising Yaua in Psalms. This activity also took place in the temple and in the first temple period would have been part of the memorial phase. With the destruction of the first temple and the exile to Babylon we have evidence of reticence to singing Yaua’s song in a strange land (Ps 139). These songs of Yaua were seen a songs of Zion. Again they were a way of preserving the name but the evidence we have of the use of the name in these songs in later period is slim. The Psalms are full of references to the name and reflections on the name, Yaua was glorified in these songs. The role of baptism and seems to belong under the head of the prophetic and the priestly functions. This is partyl because these two functions most definitely over lap. Many of the prophets came from among the sons of Aaron, for example Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and Malachi. This was because the presence of Yaua was very strong in his house and it was from their and the word of Yaua often went forth. The house of Yaua was the place where he was praised daily and we see in the case of Elisha that singing and praise lead to the coming of the Spirit and the word of prophecy. All prophets to be considered genuine had to proclaim in the name of Yaua. The Essenes and John the Baptist practiced baptism and they were also descendants of the priesthood. It is not however exclusively a priestly acitivity. The Pharisees also practiced baptism and they were most definitely not a priestly group although they had connection with priests.
The State Legal Authority Function
Since much of the set up Israel was delivered through the prophecies of Moses we again have an overlap with the prophetic function. However in the Legal Authority Function the name Yaua is used as a signature to the judgements (mishpatim) Yaua gives to Moses and the Israelites to guide the nations. Many of the decrees have the signature “Ani Yaua”. We see from the beginning of the monarchy under King Saul and before this in the period of the judges, judgements that were made on the authrity of Yaua. Yaua used the kings to execute his decrees in his name. An illustration of Yaua sovereignty exercised through the kings is that of Yau (Jehu). Elisha sends a prophet appoint him king and to give him his assignment. The child of the prophets went to Ramoth Gilead and found Jehu and said to him:
Thus saith Yaua , I have anointed thee king over the people of Yaua, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yaua, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel.
King David was in the habit of consulting directly with Yaua when he had to make a military decisions and had the ability through song to bring the Spirit of Yaua on to a person. He also claimed that the Spirit of Yaua spoke by him and his word of covenant was on his lips.
While this three contexts of the functions of the name Yaua stood there would be a tendency for the use of the name Yaua to be maintained. However when were removed there was a tendency for the name to disappear from that function. So when Israel lost its state authority in Elephantine the name lost its final heh. It what was perhaps its long movement in Egypt away from Yaua to Yau to Iaw to kurios. This illustration I have given is a bit extreme but this at the end of the day is just one process the name would go through until it was transformed out from a particularly community.
Whilst State authority may lose the name or turn away from the name for example from Yaua to Baal, the prophetic function would act as a guardian of the name. So when Israel in the north rejected Yaua from Baal Yaua raised up Elijah to preserve the name. Elijah anointed Elisha who sent the child of the prophet to Jehu. He then went and executed Yaua’s word on Yaua’s enemies. And so the prophets would through the prophetic word acts as guardians of the name selecting persons they considered willing and able to execute the decrees of Yaua. This function kicked in under extreme occasions. In general the guardianship of the name was in the hands of the family of Levi, starting with Moses and Aaron but continuing from generation to generation. It was they who stood and ministered before Yaua. And whilst in the provinces the name Yaua had already passed through a replacement phase, in the temple of Jerusalem in the first century it was still in the memorial phase right up until the destruction of the temple. After the temple destruction the name came under challenge and with the disappearance of the priesthood came the supposed disappearance of the name.
posted by Evangelist Edi Nachman Bsc. PGCE @ 1:16 AM
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