My article "The Sacred Name, Part 1" talks about how the Name יהוה (Yahweh) has been replaced in most versions of the Bible. I won't rehash the details here but if you haven't already check out Part 1.
The third commandment reads... You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain." - Deuteronomy 5:11
Many believe think this means "swearing" or "cussing" by using a euphemism of the name of the Creator. Some say it means to even speak the name of the Creator, Yahweh. Let's take a fresh look at Deuteronomy 5:11. I will parse the first part of the verse for you here. (This information can be found on blueletterbible.org using their tools.)
לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת־שֵֽׁם־יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַשָּׁוְא
(Negative word… will not) - לֹא
Lift up or carry - תִשָּׂא
The name of Yahweh - שֵֽׁם־יהוה
your God - אֱלֹהֶיךָ
(H7723 -La-shav) to falsehood or to worthlessness or to nothingness - לַשָּׁוְא
The Strong's word H7723 instead of "vain" can mean:
emptiness, vanity, falsehood, nothingness, emptiness of speech, lying, worthlessness (of conduct).
With that in mind, here are some possible translations of the first part of Deuteronomy 5:11.
"You shall not carry the name of Yahweh your God to falsehood."
Or
"You shall not carry the name of Yahweh your God to nothingness."
Or
"You shall not lift up His Name lightly or falsely"
Names are very important in many cultures. Some fathers get very upset if their son does something that puts a bad light on themselves because the son is carrying on his name and therefore affecting the reputation of the family name. In the Bible, names are also very important. When babies are born, the name he (or she) is given has meaning. For example, we will look at Jacob, Benjamin, and Noah.
Genesis 25:26 - Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding on to Esau's heel, so he was named Jacob ("one who takes by the heel or supplants"); and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
Genesis 35:18 - And it came about, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni ("the son of my sorrow"); but his father called him Benjamin ("The son of my right hand").
Jacob didn't want his son to have the name "son of my sorrow" so he changed it.
Genesis 5:29 - And he named him Noah ("rest"), saying, "This one will give us comfort from our work and from the hard labor of our hands [caused] by the ground which YAHWEH has cursed."
In the Bible, names were given to describe something that the person was, is, or will be. It is my belief that the naming of a child is a very important endeavor for a parent. I also believe that it becomes either a characteristic that we run from or run towards our whole life.
To carry someone else's name (as in our family name / last name) directly affects the reputation of the family. So when we "carry" Yahweh's or Yeshua's (Jesus') name by calling ourselves a Christian or His follower, we are affecting His reputation. People look at us and judge our Heavenly Father based on our words and deeds.
He does not want us to claim to be doing something in HIS NAME when we are not, or to say "Yahweh said... " if it is not from Him, or swearing in His name that something is true when it is not. In my opinion, these would all be would be breaking the third commandment.
A name is both a literal handle to call oneself and one's reputation. When we act contrary to love (contrary to the Word) we put a blemish on our name. Yes, some people will not like us because of their own issues, but when our name is stained from our own behavior, people see us differently, they treat us differently, and they think of us differently. The same thing happens to any "name" we carry when we do these things.
I believe that the heart of this commandment deals with the way we present ourselves, and thus represent Yahweh to the world. The Creator revealed His loving character to mankind through the words of the Bible. He also revealed a Name to which to attribute these characteristics, Yahweh. He is very jealous to protect His reputation. In the third commandment, He is showing us how important it is to be cautious with the usage of His name so that it will not be slandered or misused.
Something else to think about... "Yah" (יה) and "Yahu" (יהו) are shortened forms of the name "Yahweh" (יהוה). Remember this the next time you hear someone proclaim "Hallelu-Yah" or call someone a "Yahoo" in a mocking way, which is sadly about the only usage of His actual name in the general public. The adversary has been hard at work for a long time to bury and slander the name of Yahweh.
Jeremiah 23:26-27 - "How long? Is there [anything] in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even [these] prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal [or... forgot My name and substituted "the lord"].
Thank you for reading, and may Yahweh bless you abundantly.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous,
so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
Link to the previous article of this series:
The Sacred Name, Part-1 (Replacement of the name Yahweh in Scripture)
(The images are public domain from pixabay.com.)
All scripture quotations were taken from the NASB©.
Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
