They are the same name in different languages....a name is a person's identity. God has an identity and his name is one that he revealed to man.....it is not a name that man gave to God.
But God is not a person, so the "name" is not his identity.
When it comes to the vowels, there is not a great deal of difference in the sound.
What? First, the vowel points imported are specifically the wrong ones. Second any vowel difference is significant. Is “bet” the same as “beat”?
So because there is no real way to know which vowels were used,
But there is a way to know which ones were NOT used. The ones assigned the 4 letters were taken from a different word specifically because they were NOT the right ones for the 4 letter name. So if anything, by admitting that you don't know which vowels were used, at best, you cast doubt on your own pronunciation.
According to my information, the loss of the name happened well before the destruction of the Temple.
OK. Your information is incomplete. The question of which name was lost after the destruction of the second temple is discussed in the Talmud. Some say it was the 42 letter name of God, not the 4 letter name. Additionally, there is (IIRC) a tradition among some Yemenite families of the proper pronunciation, but the name is still not used because we aren’t supposed to. I think you are over simplifying the English word “name” and assuming it refers specifically to what you want it to.
It was apparently easier to get rid of God's name than to stop making frivolous oaths.
How is forbidding pronouncing a word the same as “getting rid of God’s name”? The name is still around.
Jewish Law did not apply to the divine name.
I guess we will have to disagree on this. Jewish law applies to Jews and Jewish way of living, including the words we use.
Why would God give Moses his name and then forbid its use?
You mean like giving us leaven but forbidding its use on Passover? Fruit trees but forbid their use until the fourth year? Fields but not in the 7th year? Giving us food, but commanding us to fast on certain days? Handing us the knowledge of cooking but not allowing it on the Sabbath? Sacrifices, but not when we are ritually impure.
> It appears to me as if Jews are very good at making excuses for themselves.
If you want to ignore a history of Jewish law and thinking and come to this conclusion, then do so. It appears that some people are more interested in burying their heads in the sand and dismissing entire cultures, but lifting out what they like and think they understand. Go figure.
In the English translation this scripture lacks the full impact of the Hebrew. David said... "I come to you with the Name of Jehovah (Yahweh) of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel".
Just putting the letters into an English alphabet doesn’t do anything to “impact.” It still means that there is no invoking of the meaning.
but Jehovah is not respected by failing to use his name.
Actually, the commandment tells us not to use his name in vain, so refraining from using the name is equated with giving proper respect if the use is disrespectful. Understanding what "shav" means takes study of Jewish language and law but the bottom line is that, built in to the commandment is exactly the idea that we are not to use a name if the use is not the proper context.
So much is lost when the name is missing. Jehovah is not glorified by his title, but by his name.
God isn’t a person who has a personal name. He has titles. Use of the English word “name” leads to sloppy thinking. When I say “I’m going to make a name for myself” do you assume that this means I am changing my birth certificate? And thinking that anything about God is lost when one uses any of the many, many titles we have, but doesn't pronounce one is just silly.
Where will I find that stated in scripture? God has one name, but many titles. I do not see any titles that are unutterable......and who says?
In a “scripture” you give authority to? You won’t find it because you don’t know what to look for. But you find all sorts of other stuff and use entire texts which we dismiss as they are not authentic or authoritative so, super to you.
> It seems to me that the divine name means "Ehyeh asher ehyeh"......for this is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Why does it seem strange to me that you would not know this?
Actually, from what you quoted, God gives his name
as “Ehyeh”, not meaning it. He says to tell the people that “Ehyeh has sent me.” Why haven't you decided that, as per the exact and literal reading of the text, that is the 4 letter name? And by the way, “zichri” doesn’t mean “mentioned” it means “the way of remembering me” (z-ch-r is memory). You also quote the word לְעֹלָ֔ם but, no doubt, you don’t know how to deal with the defective spelling. If you really want to delve into the text, you will find a lot which undermines your position.
Jehovah is the name of our God in English; it is the English translation of the divine name to us. It may not be to you....but Jehovah is our God too....Jesus did not come to teach about a different God.
You are back to square one. It isn’t a translation of meaning, nor is it an accurate transliteration.[/quote]
