THE NAME
I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I WILL BE
What is a name? Is a name an identity? Does a name have a meaning?
By one name, a Spirit can be invoked.
Is the power in the invocation or in the Spirit?
If the invocation is in the original language,
must it be done strictly by the original pronunciation?
If the invocation is in the translation of the original language
Is the meaning of the name more important and relavant to the invocation?
Either way, we must understand the meaning of a name during invocation.
In antiquity, each person had but one name, and its meaning had much to do with its bearer. It carried something of a characterization, or a pattern for the forthcoming life, as is often noted in the Book of Genesis. Also, it was believed that the name of a demon, spirit, or deity conveyed its essence, strengths and weaknesses. Pronouncing it could make it appear and was thus dangerous. (A reminder of this belief stands behind the Third Commandment, prohibiting the thoughtless use of God's name, and the later prohibition of pronouncing it at all.) Therefore, when Moses asks the name of the Unknown who introduces Himself as the God of his Patriarchs, he needs this informa- tion as part of the message he is to transmit to Pharaoh, but he also seeks firm ground for himself when dealing with the pantheon of Egyptian deities with which he is familiar. And the answer he receives is terrific, authentic, and impressive: "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh."
(GERARDO SACHS, EHYEH-ASHER-EHYEH, JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2010)
Jeffrey Cohen, "How God introduced Himself to the patriarchs," Jewish Bible Quarterly (Vol. 37 (April – June 2009) pp.118-120.
God chose a personal name for Himself.
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
Exodus 3:13-15 ASV
“To comprehend the significance of this, it is necessary to know that Hebrew verbs, unlike verbs in the Indo-European languages, have no present, past, and future tenses. There is a gerund form for an ongoing action of undeter- mined duration, and two other forms which in modern usage apply to "past" and "future," but essentially indicate only whether an action has or has not been concluded. If the letter or word which represents the personal preposi- tion stands before the verbal root, the action has not yet concluded; if it stands after the verbal root, the action has been concluded.
In this instance, the personal preposition letter of ehyeh is an aleph that stands for the first person singular pronoun. The other three letters come from the root h-y-h that connotes "to be." Hence, "ehyeh" signifies an action not yet concluded and can mean likewise "I am" or "I shall be." So, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh can be understood in four very different ways of self-definition:
1. 'I AM WHO I AM' – referring to an eternally unchanging Being. Such understanding corresponds to a "static" philosophy, the idea that since the World was created everything remains unchanged as it came from the Hand of God.
2. 'I AM WHO I SHALL BE' – standing for a fundamental constancy regard- less of variations. Such a conception of the Eternal does not ignore the evi- dent changes that occur in nature in the course of time, but considers them of secondary importance without affecting the eternally unchanging essence of God.
3. 'I SHALL BE WHO I AM' – is the idea that evolution is inherent to the essence of God. It is in agreement with present scientific knowledge of the universe, the formation of the galaxies, the evolution of living creatures on earth, and particularly to the possibilities of the genetic techniques with its crossings and "new models" of plants and animals. In line with this interpre- tation, the contemporary Jewish naturalist Lutz Zwillenberg wrote, "The pur- pose of the Universe is the realization of all the possibilities inherent in it."
4. 'I SHALL BE WHO I SHALL BE' – can have two meanings: "To every one I am something else," or "each person has a different idea of Me," as masterfully expressed by the author of Shir ha-kavod, a well-known synago- gue hymn, or to a theistic thinker it could read as if God continuously realizes Himself.
These four interpretations are not only different but also mutually exclu- sive. Contradictory possibilities are anchored in this marvelous Ehyeh, which He presents as being His true name. Its form is different according to who is speaking: When God presents Himself he says "I" (beginning with aleph). When man speaks of Him he says "He" (beginning with yod). Therefore, His name from His side is written aleph-hei-yod-hei and from our side yod-hei- vav-hei. (Yod and vav are similar in form and sometimes interchanged in bib- lical Hebrew.)”
(GERARDO SACHS, EHYEH-ASHER-EHYEH, JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2010)
A proper translation of God’s personal name by meaning would be:
I AM THAT I AM = ACTUALITY
The repetition of ‘I am’ would to utilize ‘infinite’ or ‘eternal’:
INFINITE ACTUALITY
ETERNAL ACTUALISER
ETERNAL ACTUALISEUR
ETERNAL ACTUALIZA
SELF-ACTUALIZER
EN-ACTUALIZER
The God of Order
Is also the God of Balance
Is therefore the God of Justice
“God isn’t a God of disorder but of peace. Like in all the churches of God’s people,” [?]
1 Corinthians 14:33 CEB
Long life is in its right hand;
Riches and glory are in its left hand. Proverbs 3:16
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God. I will fortify you, yes, I will help you, I will really hold on to you with my right hand of righteousness.’ Isaiah 41:10
His right hand is righteousness; it holds long life.
His left hand must be wisdom; it holds riches and glory.
What is a name? Is a name an identity? Does a name have a meaning?
By one name, a Spirit can be invoked.
Is the power in the invocation or in the Spirit?
If the invocation is in the original language,
must it be done strictly by the original pronunciation?
If the invocation is in the translation of the original language
Is the meaning of the name more important and relavant to the invocation?
Either way, we must understand the meaning of a name during invocation.
In antiquity, each person had but one name, and its meaning had much to do with its bearer. It carried something of a characterization, or a pattern for the forthcoming life, as is often noted in the Book of Genesis. Also, it was believed that the name of a demon, spirit, or deity conveyed its essence, strengths and weaknesses. Pronouncing it could make it appear and was thus dangerous. (A reminder of this belief stands behind the Third Commandment, prohibiting the thoughtless use of God's name, and the later prohibition of pronouncing it at all.) Therefore, when Moses asks the name of the Unknown who introduces Himself as the God of his Patriarchs, he needs this informa- tion as part of the message he is to transmit to Pharaoh, but he also seeks firm ground for himself when dealing with the pantheon of Egyptian deities with which he is familiar. And the answer he receives is terrific, authentic, and impressive: "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh."
(GERARDO SACHS, EHYEH-ASHER-EHYEH, JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2010)
Jeffrey Cohen, "How God introduced Himself to the patriarchs," Jewish Bible Quarterly (Vol. 37 (April – June 2009) pp.118-120.
God chose a personal name for Himself.
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
Exodus 3:13-15 ASV
“To comprehend the significance of this, it is necessary to know that Hebrew verbs, unlike verbs in the Indo-European languages, have no present, past, and future tenses. There is a gerund form for an ongoing action of undeter- mined duration, and two other forms which in modern usage apply to "past" and "future," but essentially indicate only whether an action has or has not been concluded. If the letter or word which represents the personal preposi- tion stands before the verbal root, the action has not yet concluded; if it stands after the verbal root, the action has been concluded.
In this instance, the personal preposition letter of ehyeh is an aleph that stands for the first person singular pronoun. The other three letters come from the root h-y-h that connotes "to be." Hence, "ehyeh" signifies an action not yet concluded and can mean likewise "I am" or "I shall be." So, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh can be understood in four very different ways of self-definition:
1. 'I AM WHO I AM' – referring to an eternally unchanging Being. Such understanding corresponds to a "static" philosophy, the idea that since the World was created everything remains unchanged as it came from the Hand of God.
2. 'I AM WHO I SHALL BE' – standing for a fundamental constancy regard- less of variations. Such a conception of the Eternal does not ignore the evi- dent changes that occur in nature in the course of time, but considers them of secondary importance without affecting the eternally unchanging essence of God.
3. 'I SHALL BE WHO I AM' – is the idea that evolution is inherent to the essence of God. It is in agreement with present scientific knowledge of the universe, the formation of the galaxies, the evolution of living creatures on earth, and particularly to the possibilities of the genetic techniques with its crossings and "new models" of plants and animals. In line with this interpre- tation, the contemporary Jewish naturalist Lutz Zwillenberg wrote, "The pur- pose of the Universe is the realization of all the possibilities inherent in it."
4. 'I SHALL BE WHO I SHALL BE' – can have two meanings: "To every one I am something else," or "each person has a different idea of Me," as masterfully expressed by the author of Shir ha-kavod, a well-known synago- gue hymn, or to a theistic thinker it could read as if God continuously realizes Himself.
These four interpretations are not only different but also mutually exclu- sive. Contradictory possibilities are anchored in this marvelous Ehyeh, which He presents as being His true name. Its form is different according to who is speaking: When God presents Himself he says "I" (beginning with aleph). When man speaks of Him he says "He" (beginning with yod). Therefore, His name from His side is written aleph-hei-yod-hei and from our side yod-hei- vav-hei. (Yod and vav are similar in form and sometimes interchanged in bib- lical Hebrew.)”
(GERARDO SACHS, EHYEH-ASHER-EHYEH, JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2010)
A proper translation of God’s personal name by meaning would be:
I AM THAT I AM = ACTUALITY
The repetition of ‘I am’ would to utilize ‘infinite’ or ‘eternal’:
INFINITE ACTUALITY
ETERNAL ACTUALISER
ETERNAL ACTUALISEUR
ETERNAL ACTUALIZA
SELF-ACTUALIZER
EN-ACTUALIZER
The God of Order
Is also the God of Balance
Is therefore the God of Justice
“God isn’t a God of disorder but of peace. Like in all the churches of God’s people,” [?]
1 Corinthians 14:33 CEB
Long life is in its right hand;
Riches and glory are in its left hand. Proverbs 3:16
Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be anxious, for I am your God. I will fortify you, yes, I will help you, I will really hold on to you with my right hand of righteousness.’ Isaiah 41:10
His right hand is righteousness; it holds long life.
His left hand must be wisdom; it holds riches and glory.
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