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Article THE INEFFABLE NAME. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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The Ineffable Name.
'God , but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them . " Exod . vi . 3 . This name was thenceforth commanded to be kept holy , sacred , and inviolate , and was forbidden to be uttered but once in the year , and then by the High Priest alone . ( "Josephus Antiq . Jews , " lib . ii . c . 12 , sec . 4 . When the third commandment in the Decalogue is properly translated , it does not refer entirely to the habit of profane swearing , but ought to stand thus . " Thou shalt not speak the name of Jehovah
thy God irreverently . " In consequence of this law , the Jews never either wrote or spoke the name of Jehovah , except on the most solemn occasions , and they carried their scruples so far , as to continue the name upon the gold plate on the forehead of the High Priest , in the ancient letter of the Samaritans , in which the Pentateuch was written before the time of
Ezra , by whom it was translated into the Chaldee ; as after their return from captivity , the Jews had forgotten their ancient language , and used the Chaldee which is now called Hebrew , in contradistinction to the old Hebrew , now called the Samaritan . We find this prohibition against pronouncing " the name "in many parts of the Bible ; in Leviticus , the Jews were commanded to abstain from the two great sins , " thou shalt not pass thy children through the fire of Moloch , nor profane the name of Jehovah . " ( See alsoProv . xviii . 10 . 1 Kingsviii . 41 . Luke
, , , i . 49 . ) For these reasons , the Jews call it , nTlSDH-DK" , Shem Hamphoresh , the unutterable name . Throughout the Bible , we continually find the phrase , in the name of the Lord , that is , Jehovah , for the word we translate Lord , in the original Hebrew is iTtiT , I . E . U . E . which some Hebrew scholars say should be pronounced Jahooh . In all the heathen mysteries in which the ineffable name is supposed to have been preserveda similar extreme reluctance and caution in pronouncing
, it , was a distinguishing feature , and this is also observed in the Brahiminical mysteries of India at the present day . At the period of the manifestation of Christ , his disciples manifested their veneration for his name , by never mentioning it , but with the same reverence the Jews had heretofore only felt towards the holy name of God . It was
therefore said by his disciples , " At the name of Jesus , every knee shall bow , " and we find that this token of respect to a name has continued , and is in use among us to the present day . The universality of this reverence for a name , and the fact of a wonderful similarity in the names applied to the Deity by different nations however remote , tend to prove that there was a name , a great and glorious name , by which the Almighty chose to be called among menand that this name was an object of veneration in the earl of
, y ages the world ; but in the process of time , its true meaning became lost , and the name itself , corrupted , varied , and changed , according to the peculiar circumstances , and peculiar languages of each different people , to whom the tradition had descended , until the names applied to the Deity became almost infinite , and were , in consequence of the increasing corruption of the world , applied by the heathen , equally to the supreme Godand to their own idols . On the separation of the Hebrewsas a
, , chosen and peculiar people , God commanded that these names should no longer be applied to him , but that the sacred name should be applied to himself alone , and this is the meaning of his being called a jealous God , jealous of his holy name being applied to idols . See Leviticus , '' The name of thy God is Jealous , for he is jealous . " In this sketch it is not my intention to enquire into , or to trace to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Ineffable Name.
'God , but by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them . " Exod . vi . 3 . This name was thenceforth commanded to be kept holy , sacred , and inviolate , and was forbidden to be uttered but once in the year , and then by the High Priest alone . ( "Josephus Antiq . Jews , " lib . ii . c . 12 , sec . 4 . When the third commandment in the Decalogue is properly translated , it does not refer entirely to the habit of profane swearing , but ought to stand thus . " Thou shalt not speak the name of Jehovah
thy God irreverently . " In consequence of this law , the Jews never either wrote or spoke the name of Jehovah , except on the most solemn occasions , and they carried their scruples so far , as to continue the name upon the gold plate on the forehead of the High Priest , in the ancient letter of the Samaritans , in which the Pentateuch was written before the time of
Ezra , by whom it was translated into the Chaldee ; as after their return from captivity , the Jews had forgotten their ancient language , and used the Chaldee which is now called Hebrew , in contradistinction to the old Hebrew , now called the Samaritan . We find this prohibition against pronouncing " the name "in many parts of the Bible ; in Leviticus , the Jews were commanded to abstain from the two great sins , " thou shalt not pass thy children through the fire of Moloch , nor profane the name of Jehovah . " ( See alsoProv . xviii . 10 . 1 Kingsviii . 41 . Luke
, , , i . 49 . ) For these reasons , the Jews call it , nTlSDH-DK" , Shem Hamphoresh , the unutterable name . Throughout the Bible , we continually find the phrase , in the name of the Lord , that is , Jehovah , for the word we translate Lord , in the original Hebrew is iTtiT , I . E . U . E . which some Hebrew scholars say should be pronounced Jahooh . In all the heathen mysteries in which the ineffable name is supposed to have been preserveda similar extreme reluctance and caution in pronouncing
, it , was a distinguishing feature , and this is also observed in the Brahiminical mysteries of India at the present day . At the period of the manifestation of Christ , his disciples manifested their veneration for his name , by never mentioning it , but with the same reverence the Jews had heretofore only felt towards the holy name of God . It was
therefore said by his disciples , " At the name of Jesus , every knee shall bow , " and we find that this token of respect to a name has continued , and is in use among us to the present day . The universality of this reverence for a name , and the fact of a wonderful similarity in the names applied to the Deity by different nations however remote , tend to prove that there was a name , a great and glorious name , by which the Almighty chose to be called among menand that this name was an object of veneration in the earl of
, y ages the world ; but in the process of time , its true meaning became lost , and the name itself , corrupted , varied , and changed , according to the peculiar circumstances , and peculiar languages of each different people , to whom the tradition had descended , until the names applied to the Deity became almost infinite , and were , in consequence of the increasing corruption of the world , applied by the heathen , equally to the supreme Godand to their own idols . On the separation of the Hebrewsas a
, , chosen and peculiar people , God commanded that these names should no longer be applied to him , but that the sacred name should be applied to himself alone , and this is the meaning of his being called a jealous God , jealous of his holy name being applied to idols . See Leviticus , '' The name of thy God is Jealous , for he is jealous . " In this sketch it is not my intention to enquire into , or to trace to