Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Rolf" <rolf.furuli AT sf-nett.no>]

Dear  listmembers


I have argued that there is no evidence that 'adonay was used as a substitute 
for YHWH in the last centuries BCE. The use of such a substitution is the 
requirement for those who argue that KURIOS  was written as a substitute for 
YHWH the NT autographs. Whether 'adonay was used as a substituter or not is 
not important for those who argue that YHWH was written in the NT autographs, 
because such a use is contrary to the words of Exodus 3:15. Jesus and the NT 
writers rejected customs and traditions that violated the Tanakh.    In 
Matthew  15:9 NIV Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13: "They worship  me in vain: their 
teaching are but rules taught by men."

It is interesting to see how "rules taught by men" arose. Exodus 3:15NIV says 
regarding YHWH:"This is my name for ever, the name by which I am to be 
remembered from generation to generation." Here we have two parallelisms, 1) 
between $M (name) and ZKR (memorial /name/), and 2) between (LM (indefinite 
time/eternity) and LDR DR (from generation to generation). How could this 
commandment of God be ignored?

We find the answer in "The Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation" by M. M. 
Kasher (1967). The volumes of this Encyclopedia show how the Jewish sages 
interpreted passages in the Tanakh. Volume VII, pp. 108-110 deals with Exodus 
3:15, and we find the following interpretations:

1) The word (LM is written defectively,  and therefore the noun (LM (“time 
indefinite”) is not meant but the verb (LM, which means “to conceal,” “to 
hide.” The name must be concealed and therefore it should not be pronounced.

2) A later meaning of the noun (LM is used. In the Tanakh the noun refers to 
“a long time where the length is not stated” or to “eternity.” The Aramaic 
noun (LM often stresses the quality of time; it is even used of “people, 
world.” An extension of this meaning is also found in the Mishnah, for 
example, in the often recurring phrase (LM HBB) (“the world to come”). If the 
meaning of (LM in Exodus 3:15 is “world order,” it may be claimed that it 
refers to “the world to come.” In this world the name will be pronounced for 
ever, but in the present world we must not pronounce it.

3) “This is my name for ever (to time indefinite)” refers to a righteous 
person who will get “a monument” (Isaiah 56:5) in Jerusalem in the world to 
come. He will also get an everlasting “name.” This indicates that the meaning 
of the ineffable name will then be revealed to him, and he will reap its 
benefits for ever. Exodus 3:15, therefore, does not refer to the 
pronunciation of the divine name in this world.

4) The clause “and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation” 
means that in some generations the name would be a memorial and thus be 
pronounced, in other generations it would not be pronounced.

These interpretations are so forced that they must represent retrospective 
explanations to justify why YHWH was not pronounced in spite of the command 
to do so in Exodus 3:15. We note that the LXX and the Samaritan Pentateuch 
take the words of Exodus 3:15 in their normal sense.


Best regards,



Rolf Furuli
Stavern
Norway