Yeshua 'Revisited'
Part 2
Before we continue our study of names, I would like to remind you of our purpose in pursuing this subject. I am not trying to present a compromise or a happy medium. I merely wish to present how the Author of scripture views the matter of names. In the last part of this series I will tackle the issue of His name etymologically and evidentially.
We are now going to take a journey through scripture to glean YHVH's attitude toward His own name, and all names for that matter. Let's begin by defining the word 'name'. The word 'name' in Hebrew is shem, pronounced 'shame'. It's verbal root means to 'establish identity'. It's first occurances will confirm this meaning.
B'reshith 2:8
"And YHVH Elohiym planted a garden eastward in Eden; and THERE (sham) he put the man whom he had formed.
B'reshith 2:10
"And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from THERE (umishsham) it was parted, and became four heads."
Here we have the word shem as an identification of a location. In both occurances, this word is used to give certainty and strength to a certain locality. In B'reshith 2:19 it is used to identify the animals, which we looked at last time. In B'reshith 5:2 the word is used to identify humans.
"Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their NAME Adam, in the day when they were created."
Adam means 'mankind' not 'man'. The nature of our beginning is intimately tied to the word 'Adam'. All mankind will come from Adam. In case the narrative is manipulated, the word itself contains this fundamental fact. This is why I love the word of YHVH so much. YHVH anticipates all the crafty paradigm shifts. It is like He is the great algorithm in the sky. Anyway, the first occurance of calling on the name of YHVH is most interesting.
B'reshith 4:26
"And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his NAME Enosh: then began men to call upon the NAME of YHVH."
Most translations use the phrase, "then began". These two words come from one Hebrew word, chalal. This word is generally translated as either 'to begin to' or 'profane'. Yes, that's right, profane. When used in the future tenses it is usually translated as profane. The root meaning of the word is 'to weaken' or 'to take away from'. In this occurance it is in the hoph'al, preterite or otherwise known as the causative passive. It is in the past tense and this is why it is translated as 'then began' rather than 'to profane'. If you research the use of the phrases 'began' or 'they began' in scripture you will begin (pun intended) to see a pattern in the context. It is usually associated with the words 'men' or 'man' (Enosh) and the context is usually some kind of change that man makes. Here are a few examples.
B'reshith 6:1
"And it came to pass when MEN BEGAN to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of Elohiym saw the daughters of MEN that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose."
B'reshith 10:8
"And Cush begot Nimrod; he BEGAN to be a mighty one in the earth."
B'reshith 11:6
"And YHVH said, Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and THIS THEY BEGAN to do: and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they have imagined to do."
Most of the great Rabbinical scholars translate this phrase as "and men began to profane the name of HaShem." Maimonides, Rashi, and the Targum Onkelos all translate it this way. The well known Christian teacher, Chuck Missler, has also interpreted it this way. Not to name drop or anything, but I just want to show that this is not some sort of hair-brained interpretation. It seems to fit the context of the next few chapters as well. By the time we get to Noach the vast majority (an understatement) of the inhabited earth has turned from YHVH. My basic premise is that built within His name is His nature, His ways, and His Torah. When you chalal, or 'weaken' the name, then you begin to take away from His nature, His ways, and His Torah. In other words, disobedience, rebellion, and chaos soon follow, and this is how nations rise and fall. It is also no coincidence that the word 'Enosh' comes from the Hebrew, 'enos which means 'that which is weak' or 'mortal' and is generally translated as 'men' or 'man', in his fallen state (see 'men of renown' in B'reshith 6:4).
Let's move on. One of the most provocative names in scripture is in B'reshith 11:9:
"Therefore is the NAME of it called Babel; because YHVH did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did YHVH scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."
It is this writers opinion that most prophecy that has yet to be realized is only comprehended in the meaning and history of this city. All false religion, all deception, and all that is unholy, unclean, and unrighteous finds its roots in Nimrod and Babylon. The name Babel that is revealed to us here is instrumental in discerning the mashiach tachat (the anti-christ) and the current presence of the 'spirit' of mashiach tachat, the 'instead of' Messiah. The root of this word is to confound, to confuse or to MIX. The very root of 'the lie' and false worship is mixing, i.e. mixing the ways of YHVH with other ways. The source of thousands of religions is based upon this scattering of a thousand voices, all rooted in attempting to unite against the word of YHVH in order to 'make a name' for themselves (11:4). The name of YHVH would not suffice, they needed their own name, and YHVH gave it to them. Proceeding forth from this mixed city will come a myriad of religions and names.
There are several occasions in scripture where we witness a change in nature along with a change of names.
B'reshith 17:5
"Neither shall thy name any more be called Avram, but thy name shall be Avraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee."
YHVH will take Avram's old name and add one Hebrew letter to it. The fifth letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet, the he. The gematria or numerical value of this letter is 5. This number is agreed upon by 'Jewish' and 'Christian' numerologists alike to speak of 'grace'. This letter is also a 'guttural' and is articulated as just a breathy sound. I do not mean to get too 'spiritual' here, but it sounds to me like Avram received the very breath of YHVH, accepted His grace, was made a new creation and given a new name. It is not mere happenstance that some ten verses later the exact same letter is added to Sarai and her name is changed as well (17:15). Okay, so I got a little 'kabbalistic' here.
B'reshith 17:19
"And Elohiym said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his NAME Yitz'chak: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him."
It seems to me that YHVH has at least some interest in the NAME of Yitz'chak, for it is in that NAME that the seed shall be called. Sha'ul also tells us that, "Neither, because they are the seed of Avraham, are they all children, but, In Yitz'chak shall thy seed be called." (Romans 9:7).
In B'reshith 12:8 and 26:25, Avraham builds an altar and "calls on the NAME of YHVH". What did he call Him? He called Him by His name, YHVH! In B'reshith 29 and 30 we have the names of the tribes of Israel. Every one of these names contains a prophetic meaning that is revealed in the midst of the verse in which they appear. Why? Is this just narration filler? There is meaning and purpose behind the choosing of each name, and Israel recognizes this when he prophesied over each child in chapter 49.
B'reshith 35:10
"And Elohiym said unto him, Thy name is Ya'akov: thy name shall not be called any more Ya'akov, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel."
Why is this so important? Why change his name? Because this name will be the name given to all who believe. A multitude of nations will come forth from Israel's sons, including and especially, his grandsons, who are the product of Yoseph and a gentile, the Egyptian daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On. During the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh, Israel makes the following statement:
B'reshith 48:16
"An angel who redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my NAME be NAMED on them, and the NAME of my fathers, Abraham and Yitz'chak; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."
The NAME of Israel will be upon a multitude of people who are essentially the 'seed' of Avraham. This is the teaching of Galatians 3:29: "And if ye be Messiah's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." What promise? The promise that a multitude of nations (fullness of the gentiles) would come from his seed. Yahshua identifies the true seed in the parable of the sower in Luke 8:11: "Now the parable is this; "The seed is the word of Elohiym." He who has the word has the seed. He who has the seed has the NAME of Israel NAMED upon him, for YHVH is only the Elohiym of Israel.
Please stay with me, for this is going to get a lot more interesting as we inch nearer and nearer to the Brit Chadashah.
Shalom Alecheim!