If you’ve ever read much in the Hebrew Bible, or what most Christians call the Old Testament and what our Jewish siblings call the Tanakh, you’ve probably noticed how God is often referred to as Lord, in small caps (unfortunately, this program doesn’t have small caps as an option so I’ll just make it red). Lord (in small caps), is how most English translations translate the Hebrew name for God, or what’s called the Tetragram (Tetragram is just a fancy way of saying ‘four-letters) because of the four Hebrew letters that make up the name YHWH. This holy name comes directly from the mouth of the divine at the burning bush when God says, “I AM.” While our Jewish friends do not pronounce or read aloud this name as written, instead opting for a substitution such as Adonai (“My Lord”) or Elohim (“God”) in prayer or simply HaShem (“The Name”) in everyday speech, the Christian tradition has been to simply translate it as Lord.
if you were in church this past Sunday, you might have noticed several words in our first scripture reading were in small caps. Rather than always translating YHWH, God’s holy name as Lord, biblical scholar Wilda C. Gafney expanded the options. Here’s the passage from Deuteronomy we read on Sunday:
Now Moses called to all Israel, and said to them:
Hear, O Israel, the statues and case laws that I am speaking in your ears this day: You all shall learn them and observe them faithfully. The Ageless One our God engraved a covenant with us at Horeb. Not with our mothers and fathers did the Ever-Living God engrave this covenant, but with us, we who are here today, all of us alive. Face to face did the Holy One of Old speak with you all at the mountain from the midst of the fire. I was standing between the God Whose Name is Holy and you all at that time to declare to you the words of the Holy God, for you were all afraid because of the fire and did not ascend the mountain. And God said: I am the Eternal One your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
I love how Rev. Dr. Gafney breaths new life into the holy name of God. Because at its heart, the holy name is about life and breath.
Awhile back, Pastor Peg posted a beautiful reflection by Sandra Thurman Caporale about the holy name accompanied by the above picture. I thought about trying to summarize her reflection, but thought it worth sharing the first half of it here:
There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God for a name. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name God gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels. But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.
YH (inhale): WH (exhale).
So with out first breath, we each speak the name of God. When we sigh in a way that’s too heavy for words, we call God’s name. And when we all leave this earth, we do so with God’s name on our lips.
So beloved of God, whatever name you use for God, may you remember God is as close as your breath. The Holy One who sets captives free fills your lungs with life and love.
In Love
Pastor Annette