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Jewish theologians and
philosophers have indeed often made the assertion,
that the quadriliteral name of God, also called the
Tetragrammaton, can only refer to God, wherefore it
is also called the שם המפורש,
from פרש, to separate,
therefore the separate exclusive name, which only
belongs to the Eternal Being. Nevertheless, an
objection can <<30>>be
made to this assumption, from the fact that in
several Bible passages, this holy name is also
applied to angels, nay, even to several other
species of beings. In Exod. xiii. 21, we are told
that
′ה
“The Eternal went before the people with a pillar of
cloud by day;” ib. xiv. 19, “The angel of the Lord
who went before the camp of Israel, removed from
before and went behind them.” Abraham called the
name of the place where Isaac was bound (Gen. xxii.
14), ה′ יראה; Moses,
that of an altar (Exod. xvii. 15)
ה′ נסי; Gideon, a
similar structure (Judg. vi. 24),
ה′ שלום; Jeremiah
(xxiii. 6), that of the Messiah
ה′ צדקנו; Ezekiel (xlviii. 35), that of
Jerusalem ה′ שמח.
In the wonderful appearance of the burning
thorn-bush (Exod. iii.), there occur alternately the
names ′אלהים ,ה′
,מלאך ה, and again
′ה. In the divine revelation vouchsafed
to Gideon, there alternate the terms
מלאך and
′ה.
From this, and several other passages, it would
appear clearly and uncontrovertibly, that the Bible,
which loves to express itself in human phraseology,
has applied this most holy name also to the
ambassadors of God, in the same manner as human
beings pay the same honour to royal ambassadors,
which they show to the kings themselves. In this
sense are places and spots where the glory of God
manifested itself in a particular manner, designated
by the same name. That which has been clearly
discerned as the will of the Eternal Being, is,
therefore, designated as proceeding from
ה׳, though it be
not performed immediately by Him, but through the
means of an agent. (Compare with Ikkarim Division
ii, chap. xxviii.)
Note by the Editor.—Even
the strictures of Dr. Schlessinger seem to confirm
to our mind the ideas which he combats; the Shem
Hameforash only refers to God, inasmuch as its
application to his messengers is solely because they
represent Him, not as being a part of himself; and
when given to places in a compound noun, as
ה′ נסי, it simply means “The Lord is my
banner;” not that the banner is called Lord, or
designated as the Deity, or a part thereof. So also
the Messiah’s name, ה′ צדקנו,
the Lord is our righteousness; not that the Messiah
is Lord, as little as the name
צדקיהו, Zedekiah, meaning exactly the same,
referred to a divinity inherent in the last king of
Judah.—The subject requires, however, probably more
elucidation than it has yet received, and we invite
to it the attention of our learned correspondents;
and we would ourself go deeper into the matter, but
that a simple note is hardly the proper vehicle to
treat on so great and holy a theme as its
importance, deserves, and one, by the by, which is
not unimportant in a doctrinal point of view. |
