3 names for God...
In one of my classes our professor asked us to write a brief reflection on our favorite names for God (we're studying the way that the Psalms "name" God). Below the fold is my response. Now I turn it back on you, O dear reader: what are your favorite names for God and why?
I suppose my favorite name for God is simply YHWH. There is something mysterious about it. It is a name which is ever allusive. It is never quite definable. Some, of course, have pointed out its affinity with the Hebrew linking verb hayah (היה––cf. Exodus 3:14). St. Thomas even builds his impressive scholastic ontology on this connection arguing that God is Being. Etienne Gilson elucidates: “Being is Being, an absolute positing of that which, lying beyond every object, contains in itself the sufficient reason of objects.” In other words, St. Thomas and the neo-Thomists find the name YHWH to be the source not only of all Christian philosophical reflection but also the Source of all that exists. Because God is, other things can be. However, even with this beautiful philosophical discussion playing around the edges, the name YHWH still cannot quite be grasped. Just when the Thomists think they have it in hand, it bolts and dances about in poetic obscurity. YHWH is God’s self-name and thus will always avoid any boundary which might seek to contain it.
Closely related to the name YHWH is my second favorite name for God: I AM, the English translation of God’s self-disclosure once again derived from Exodus 3:14. Although I realize that these two names are basically identical, I still find them to be two of my favorite expressions for God. Every time I hear the name I AM, I get goosebumps. This happens especially when I am reading through St. John’s gospel and come across passages where Jesus appropriates the name for himself (e.g., John 8:58: αμην αμην λεγω υμιν, πριν Αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι—“Most assuredly I say to all of you, before Abraham was born, I AM.”). As an interesting side note: I find it fascinating that Bruce Waltke uses the name I AM almost exclusively throughout his Old Testament Theology. He writes:
God’s name is a sentence, and in his own mouth means “I AM,” and in the mouth of Israel, “HE IS.” His personal name paradoxically invites the hearer to enter into intimacy in his protective nearness and to stand in awe of him in his eternal being in contrast to human mortality. He is both “I am here” and “I am eternal.” Therefore, in this theology I choose to translate God’s name.
My third favorite name for God is “Most High” (אלין). It emphasizes to me God’s transcendence, or what Karl Barth would call God’s “Holiness.” I find it comforting to think of God as the High God governing creation. None can lift a finger without the Most High’s song of command. Intriguingly, this particular name probably comes from the Canaanite pantheon. Evidence of this can be seen not only in Ugaritic but also in Genesis 14 where Melchizedek, the priest of “God Most High” blesses Abraham (It is also interesting that Abraham corrects Melchizedek a few verses later and says that it is “YHWH, God Most High, who posses heaven and earth.”).
I suppose my favorite name for God is simply YHWH. There is something mysterious about it. It is a name which is ever allusive. It is never quite definable. Some, of course, have pointed out its affinity with the Hebrew linking verb hayah (היה––cf. Exodus 3:14). St. Thomas even builds his impressive scholastic ontology on this connection arguing that God is Being. Etienne Gilson elucidates: “Being is Being, an absolute positing of that which, lying beyond every object, contains in itself the sufficient reason of objects.” In other words, St. Thomas and the neo-Thomists find the name YHWH to be the source not only of all Christian philosophical reflection but also the Source of all that exists. Because God is, other things can be. However, even with this beautiful philosophical discussion playing around the edges, the name YHWH still cannot quite be grasped. Just when the Thomists think they have it in hand, it bolts and dances about in poetic obscurity. YHWH is God’s self-name and thus will always avoid any boundary which might seek to contain it.
Closely related to the name YHWH is my second favorite name for God: I AM, the English translation of God’s self-disclosure once again derived from Exodus 3:14. Although I realize that these two names are basically identical, I still find them to be two of my favorite expressions for God. Every time I hear the name I AM, I get goosebumps. This happens especially when I am reading through St. John’s gospel and come across passages where Jesus appropriates the name for himself (e.g., John 8:58: αμην αμην λεγω υμιν, πριν Αβρααμ γενεσθαι εγω ειμι—“Most assuredly I say to all of you, before Abraham was born, I AM.”). As an interesting side note: I find it fascinating that Bruce Waltke uses the name I AM almost exclusively throughout his Old Testament Theology. He writes:
God’s name is a sentence, and in his own mouth means “I AM,” and in the mouth of Israel, “HE IS.” His personal name paradoxically invites the hearer to enter into intimacy in his protective nearness and to stand in awe of him in his eternal being in contrast to human mortality. He is both “I am here” and “I am eternal.” Therefore, in this theology I choose to translate God’s name.
My third favorite name for God is “Most High” (אלין). It emphasizes to me God’s transcendence, or what Karl Barth would call God’s “Holiness.” I find it comforting to think of God as the High God governing creation. None can lift a finger without the Most High’s song of command. Intriguingly, this particular name probably comes from the Canaanite pantheon. Evidence of this can be seen not only in Ugaritic but also in Genesis 14 where Melchizedek, the priest of “God Most High” blesses Abraham (It is also interesting that Abraham corrects Melchizedek a few verses later and says that it is “YHWH, God Most High, who posses heaven and earth.”).
posted by Nevada @ 8:59 AM
2 Comments:
At 9:29 PM,
Ronald said…
Ehyeh and Yahweh are simply two forms of the one holy name; they should not be viewed as two different names. The Bible never speaks of more than one holy name.
http://name.reslight.net
Jesus never says anything about appropriating the holy name of his God in John 8:58; he simply states his existence in the past: before Abraham came to be.
http://godandson.reslight.net/?cat=370
At 6:00 AM,
Nevada said…
Hi Ronald,
Thank you for your kind comments. You will notice that I did say that "I AM" and "YHWH" are nearly identical (being that they both probably derive from the linking verb--I say probably because, if I recall correctly, there is still debate surrounding the derivation of YHWH)... The purpose of the exercise was that we choose three "English" names and, of course, in English we use "I AM" and "YHWH" separately (perhaps incorrectly but that's the reality).
In regard to Jesus: hmmm.... I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Jesus regularly uses the "I AM" construction when referring to himself throughout the gospel of John (cf. chapter 6). Furthermore, if Jesus is simply stating his existence in the past, doesn't that still suggest that he is I AM? Otherwise, how can he exist before Abraham? I suppose one could take an Arian route and argue for some pre-existent superman or angel, but given the statement in John 1:1, the great Christian tradition roundly rejects such an interpretation (and rightly so).
I am also a little puzzled at how you can say that Jesus was not appropriating HaShem ("the name" for you non-Hebrew speakers :) for himself when in John's gospel Jesus' antagonists clearly take it that way. Who would stone Jesus for merely claiming pre-existence unless he was claiming to be in some way (to use St. Thomas' term) "Being?"
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