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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 man proclaims himself to be speaking the words
of Yahweh, he should make very certain that his words are indeed Yahweh’s words. The
punishment for prophesying falsely in the name of Yahweh was that the prophet was to be
stoned.
Was it such a great issue that a man should speak something that was untrue? We
know that Yahweh also forbid lying, but we are not told that liars were to be stoned. False
prophets were to be stoned because they went beyond lying and they used Yahweh’s name
in a false manner. They ascribed something to Yahweh that He did not say or command to
be spoken. This was a most serious violation and it touches on the commandment regarding
how men are to use Yahweh’s name.
The intent of the commandment regarding Yahweh’s name is that His name is to be
used faithfully, honestly, and with good purpose. It is not to be used falsely, deceptively, or
in a vain or trivial way. Unfortunately, many translators even today have a false
understanding of this command and it is the practice to not write out the name of Yahweh
at all. Yet we are plainly told in scriptures that man was given this name as the name by
which Yahweh was to remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 3:15
And Elohim, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,
'Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac,
and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, and this is
My memorial-name to all generations.”

The name Yahweh is often also rendered in a shortened version as Yah. It occurs in
this form 49 times in the Old Testament. As one realizes this they can see that it was not the
practice of the most ancient Hebrews to avoid usage of the names Yah and Yahweh, for
many of them had His name as part of their own. Elijah is Eliyah, his name meaning mighty
Yah. Jeremiah is Jeremiyah, his name meaning Yah will rise. Joshua is Yahshua, his name
meaning Yah’s salvation. There are many more instances of Israelites who had Yah’s name
as part of their own. Clearly, they had no understanding that His name was not to be
uttered.
As one looks at the root of the word hallelujah it is further evidence that there was no
prohibition in using His name. The word hallelujah is hallelu-yah. (The J in old English was
pronounced as a Y, and only in recent years has the pronunciation changed, but not when
this word is pronounced.) The word hallelujah is of Hebrew origin and it means praise Yah.
The name Jehovah is an incorrect way of rendering the name Yahweh. In a misguided
attempt to preserve the holiness of the divine name, the Hebrew scribes would place letters
from the word Adonai above every occurrence of the name Yahweh. This reminded those
reading the scriptures to not speak the name of Yahweh, but rather to speak the word
Adonai, which simply means Lord. Translators, not understanding what the scribes had
done, combined the words Yahweh and Adonai and came up with Jehovah. Recent