Page 122 - Attractive Deception - The False Hope of the Hebrew Roots Movement

and titles were divinely inspired as the Holy Spirit moved upon men to write out the Scriptures.

(Note: All number totals are derived from my present Bible Study software, PC Study Bible.)

Back at the beginning of my online ministry I posted a writing explaining the usage of divine names
in my writings. Following is an excerpt from that document.
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For various reasons the translators down through the ages have chosen to render the divine names as
something other than that which is accurate and original. One reason is due to a misapplication of the
third commandment that Moses brought down on the stone tablets from Mount Sinai. The
commandment I refer to is the one which instructs the followers of Yahweh to not use His name in
a vain manner. The command is often rendered in the following fashion in popular translations.

Exodus 20:7
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him
unpunished who takes His name in vain.”
(NAS)

You will note the uppercase spelling of the word LORD in this verse. If you were to read the
translators’ notes for this Bible version, and many others, you would find that the translators chose
to replace the name Yahweh with the title LORD everywhere that it occurs. Additionally, the word
God is a translation of the word Elohim, which denotes a divine being (a mighty one). This verse
could be more authentically rendered in the following manner.

You shall not lift up or bear the name of Yahweh your Elohim falsely, deceptively, or in vain, for
Yahweh will not regard him as guiltless who lifts up or bears His name in a false, deceptive, or vain
manner.

The Hebrew word that is often rendered as in vain is translated as false just a few verses later in the
commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness,” so one can readily see that the Hebrew word holds
different shades of meaning. The Elohim of Israel whose name is Yahweh was declaring that His
name was not to be used indiscriminately. The name Yahweh was to be used with great integrity.

It was the practice of some Jewish scribes, when making copies of the scriptures, to not write out the
name Yahweh when it occurred in the text, for they misconstrued the above commandment to mean
that Yahweh’s name should not ever be written or uttered, for it was a holy name. Indeed it is a holy
name, but Yahweh never commanded that it should not be written or uttered. He commanded that it
should not be used in a false, deceptive, or vain way.

For example, today when men give oaths they often swear on the Bible, or they swear by God. They
are saying that as God and His word are true, so is their word true. If a man were to swear by the name
of Yahweh this would be a similar binding oath. However, if the man really did not mean what he was
saying, he would be using the name of Yahweh falsely.

Another very common and appropriate application of this command has to do with speaking forth
things, and claiming the words which are spoken are of divine origin. Throughout the Old Testament
we find that there were often myriads of false prophets of Yahweh for every true prophet. When a