Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Shoshanna,

> Sorry for asking this question, but it is a name, why does it have to 
> have a root or be derived from anywhere, why can't it stand alone as 
> a Name?  Why does it have to have an origin?  Why can't it just be 
> (one of) G-d's name?
>  

1) There is no strong reason to think that God has a name like Ralph to 
distinguish him from others, since there is only one God.

2) Ancient Hebrew names meant something.

3) The explaining of the divine name in the context of the name "I am" 
suggests that Yahweh is a meaningful word, too, and the form of Yahweh 
is quite similar to the verb for "I am," except in a third person form. 
Here is the HCSB Exodus 3:13-15:

13 Then Moses asked God, "If I go to the Israelites and say to them: The 
God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, 'What is His 
name?' what should I tell them?"

14 God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to 
the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you." 15 God also said to Moses, 
"Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of 
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. 
This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every 
generation.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard

>