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Laws of writing divine names

According to Jewish tradition, the sacredness of the divine names must be recognized by the professional scribe who writes the Scriptures, or the chapters for the tefillin and the mezuzah. Before transcribing any of the divine names he prepares mentally to sanctify them. Once he begins a name he does not stop until it is finished, and he must not be interrupted while writing it, even to greet a king. If an error is made in writing it, it may not be erased, but a line must be drawn round it to show that it is canceled, and the whole page must be put in a genizah (burial place for scripture) and a new page begun.

In English

The words “God” and “Lord” (used for the Hebrew Adonai) are often written by many Jews as “G-d” and “L-rd” as a way of avoiding writing a name of God, so as to avoid the risk of sinning by erasing or defacing his name.

In Deuteronomy 12:3-4, the Torah exhorts one to destroy idolatry, adding, “you shall not do such to the LORD your God.” From this verse it is understood that one should not erase the name of God.

The general rabbinic opinion is that this only applies to the sacred Hebrew names of God — but not to the word “God” in English or any other language. Even among Jews who consider it unnecessary, many nonetheless write the name “God” in this way out of respect, and to avoid erasing God’s name even in a non-forbidden way.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” 

 Proverbs 18:10

The  NAMES OF GOD  are a way to understand His nature and character. The Names of God used in the Bible act as a roadmap for learning about the character of God. Since the Bible is God’s Word to us, the names He chooses in Scripture are meant to reveal His true nature to us.

In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people.

To show men the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for them, the scribes of sacred texts used terms of reverence so as to keep the true name of God concealed. The various names of God in Judaism represent God as he is known, as well as the divine aspects which are attributed to him.

The numerous names of God have been a source of debate amongst biblical scholars. Some have advanced the variety as proof that the Torah, the main scripture of Judaism, has many authors.

It is also held that the only “name of God” in the Tanakh is Yahweh (the English rendering of YHWH), whereas words such as

Elohim (God),

El (mighty one),

El Shaddai (almighty God),

Adonai (master),

El Elyon (most high God),

Avinu (our Father), etc.

are not names but titles, highlighting different aspects of YHWH, and the various roles which He has. This is similar to how a man may be called ‘Dad’, ‘Husband’, ‘Boss’, ‘Sir’, ‘Son’, etc, but his personal name is the only one that can be correctly identified as his name.

In the Tanakh, YHWH is the personal name of the God of Israel, whereas the other words are titles which are ascribed to Him.

Yahweh Shalom means “Yahweh is Peace” or “The Lord Our Peace”.

The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon to commission him to liberate Israel from  the Midianites (Judges 6:1-22). The Lord greeted him with peace, so Gideon built an altar and named it “The Lord is Peace” (Judges 6:23,24).

The Talmud says “the name of God is ‘Peace’” (Pereq ha-Shalom, Shab. 10b), (Judges 6:24); consequently, one is not permitted to greet another with the word shalom in unholy places such as a bathroom (Talmud, Shabbat, 10b). The name Shlomo, “His peace” (from shalom, Solomon, שלומו), refers to the God of Peace.

“Shalom” translated “peace” appears 170 times and means “whole,” “finished,” “fulfilled,” “perfected.”

It is related to “well,” “welfare.” See Deut. 27:6;  Dan. 5:26;  I Kings 9:25;  8:61;  Gen.15:16;  Ex. 21:34;  22:5,6;  Lev. 7:11-21.

Shalom means that kind of peace that results from being a whole person in right relationship to God and to one’s fellow man.

Shalom can also mean “hello” and “goodbye” and is  used as an actual greeting.

We can experience incredible peace in midst of a storm in our lives.

The way we gain God’s peace over our lives is by trusting Christ and living in obedience to His commands. When we surrender our own will we find that our burden has been lifted from us and we find ourselves immersed in a supernatural peace.  Sometimes this is called a “peace that surpasses all understanding”. (Romans 5:1)

The number of divine names that require the scribe’s special care is seven: El, Elohim, Adonai, Yhwh, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Shaddai, and Ẓeba’ot.

All other names, such as Merciful, Gracious, and Faithful, merely represent attributes that are common also to human beings (Sheb. 35a). The prohibition of blasphemy, for which capital punishment is prescribed, refers only to the Name proper—Yhwh (Soferim iv., end; comp. Sanh. 66a).

In many of the passages in which “elohim” occurs in the Bible it refers to Gentile deities, or in some instances to powerful or learned men (comp. Gen. 3:5 to judges Ex. 21:6) or to Israel (Ps. 81:9,  82:6; see Tan., Ḳedoshim).

A list of all the doubtful divine names found in the Scriptures is given in Soferim and in the codes.  

It became the custom at an early period to use the name of God in personal greetings, as “The Lord be with thee,” or “The Lord bless thee” (Ruth 2:4; Ber. 9:1; comp. Mak. 23a).

The Greek inquisition in Judea prohibited the utterance of God’s name, but when the Hasmoneans became victorious they decreed that the Name should be mentioned even in notes and documents. The formula began: “On . . . in the year of the high priest Johanan, the servant of the Most High God.” The sages, however, opposed this innovation, as they thought the Name would be defiled when the notes were cancelled and thrown away as useless. Consequently on the third day of Tishri following, the record says, the Rabbis forbade the mention of God’s name in documents (Meg. Ta’anit; R. H. 18b).

The Incommunicable Name was pronounced “Adonai,” and where Adonai and Yhwh occur together the latter was pronounced “Elohim.”

After the destruction of the Second Temple there remained no trace of knowledge as to the pronunciation of the Name. The commentators, however, agree as to its interpretation, that it denotes the eternal and everlasting existence of God, and that it is a composition of the Hebrew words meaning “a Being of the Past, the Present, and the Future”).

The name Ehyeh  denotes His potency in the immediate future, and is part of Yhwh. The phrase “ehyeh-asher-ehyeh” (Ex. 3:14) is interpreted by some authorities as “I will be because I will be,” using the second part as a gloss and referring to God’s promise, “Certainly I will be [ehyeh] with thee” (Ex. 3:12). Other authorities claim that the whole phrase forms one name.

The Targum Onḳelos leaves the phrase untranslated and is so quoted in the Talmud (B. B. 73a). The “I AM THAT I AM” of the Authorized Version is based on this view.

The name Yah is composed of the first letters of Yhwh. There is a difference of opinion between Rab and R. Samuel as to whether or not “hallelujah” is a compound word or two separate words meaning “praise ye Yah” (Yer. Meg. i. 9; Pes. 117a). The name Ho is declared to be the middle part of Yhwh and an abridged form of the Name (Shab. 104a; Suk. iv. 5).

Elohim denotes multiplied power, that is, the Almighty, and describes God as the Creator of nature. R. Jacob Asheri, the author of the “Ṭurim,” in his annotations to the Pentateuch, says the numerical value of the letters in the Hebrew word “Elohim” equals the value (86) of those in the word for “nature”.

Elohim represents the force of “din” (fixed laws), while Yhwh is the modification of the natural laws and the elements of “raḥamim” (mercy and leniency) as reflected in the developed state of mankind.

In the Zohar, R. Simeon says the Divine Name (Yhwh) was mentioned only when the world was perfected, and quotes Gen. 2:4 (Hebr.)—”in the day that Yhwh made the earth and the heavens.” The word “‘asot” is interpreted as “perfected,” after the Creation (Zohar, Yitro, 88a, ed. Wilna, 1882).

El is part of Elohim, meaning simply “power” (= “mighty”). “Shaddai” is explained as “the selfsufficient” (“she-dai hu lo”).

The sacredness of the divine names must be recognized by the professional scribe who writes the Scriptures, or the chapters for the phylacteries and the mezuzah. Before transcribing any of the divine names he prepares mentally to sanctify them. Once he begins a name he does not stop until it is finished, and he must not be interrupted while writing it, even to greet a king. If an error is made in writing it, it may not be erased, but a line must be drawn round it to show that it is canceled, and the whole page must be put in a genizah and a new page begun.