God has a personal name. Then why is it common practice to use name "God" instead of personal name ?

Question

God, the One Light, the Creator, etc is what "God" is yet God ( the One Light, the Creator...) also has a personal name, Jehovah, Yahweh, etc.

That being the case that God has a personal name, then why is it commonly heard that people instead use "God" instead of personal name of Jehovah, Yahweh, etc. ?

A man would be referred to as John not called "man". Then why is it most heard the use of the "name" God and not personal name of Jehovah, Yahweh, etc. used more ?

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Answer 1

I prefer the word God because it's fairly ambiguous.  It could refer to the God of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, or what have you.  God is everyone's God.

Answer 2

Why does the New Testament use it so often IN TRANSLATION if the Hebrew form is important?

... 24 times in John we see that Jesus applies a TRANSLATION of it to himself. The exact same phrase is used in the Septuagint Greek translation of the "Old Testament" when YHVH is EXPLAINED in Exodus 3:14.

It should also be noted that "personal names" were COMMONLY TRANSLATED in that time. This is because they HAD MEANING. The SOUND of the name was apparently considered unimportant compared to the MEANING.  -- See Cephas (Aramaic) + Peter (Greek). Both WORDS mean "pebble," however, Cephas is rather uncommon in the Greek New Testament. The commonly used Greek form, Petros, reminded the Greek reader of the MEANING of the name. The Aramaic form, Cephas, ONLY held MEANING to those familiar with it IN ARAMAIC.

If the writers of the New Testament were so keenly concerned with maintaining the MEANING of a person's name over its original language sound, why are some people NOW so concerned with maintaining the SOUND of Hebrew or Aramaic names OVER THEIR MEANING?

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Lone Ranger: No, "Jesus" is in no way related to or derived from "zeus." What it IS derived from is σωζω (sozo when spelled with English letters) which means "I SAVE." The form is "he saves" with a prefix which is linked with the beginning of YHVH in this and many other Hellenizations (Greek representations) of Hebrew or Aramaic names.

The name is thus a TRANSLATION of Yeshua in Aramaic or the more ancient form, Yehoshua in Hebrew. Both forms are used in the Old Testament and translated into English as Joshua.

Answer 3

If you read your Bible you will see that God is supposed to be referred to as Skippy.  So quit blaspheming and call him by his rightful name, Skippy.  

Answer 4

Jewish superstition. The Texas Catholic Herald of October 18, 1968, observes: “Although the Jews commonly considered ‘Yahweh’ the personal name of the God of Israel, a kind of superstitious fear prevented them from pronouncing it, and so, when it appeared in their sacred books, it was read as ‘Adonai.’”

In the preface to the Revised Standard Version, it reads: “For two reasons the Committee has returned to the more familiar usage of the King James Version [that is, omitting the name of God]: (1) the word ‘Jehovah’ does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew; and (2) the use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom he had to be distinguished, was discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is entirely inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.”

Someone below said: "G-d is not offended by calling Him "G-d." He is the One True G-d, and He knows the heart and its motivations." Is that true? NO! God's name, Jehovah, is in the Hebrew Scriptures almost 7,000 times. That must mean he wants us to use his name. Avoiding using God's name is not a sign of respect. It is a sign of gross disrespect.

Answer 5

Listen to these words:  

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:(KJV)  but these are titles not the name.

When God revealed him self to man, we would give him titles

Jehovah meaning God almighty depending on the situation.   Even Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost are titles.    We know GOD in three dispensation, the old testament as the Father than later after the cross as the Holy Spirit, but the only name given to man was JESUS

(a) Jesus = "Savior". The Name "Jesus" is from Greek "Iesous" (Strongs #2424), from the Hebrew word "Yehowshuwa" (Strongs #3091) - meaning "Jehovah-saved".

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth

Isaiah 28:10

For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little: John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

Genesis 15:1

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.(KJV)

Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.(KJV)

Isaiah 44:8

Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, [there is] no God; I know not [any].(KJV)

John 8:19

Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also

John 8:58

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am

John 6:62 [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name

John 10:25

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.(KJV)

John 10:26

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.(KJV)

John 10:27

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:(KJV)

John 10:28

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.(KJV)

John 10:29

My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.(KJV)

John 10:30

I and [my] Father are one.(KJV)

Acts 2:38

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.(KJV)

Acts 8:12

But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.(KJV)

Acts 8:15

Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:(KJV)

Acts 8:16

(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)(KJV)

Acts 19:5

When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.(KJV)

Acts 19:6

And when Paul had laid [his] hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.(KJV)

So now you know Gods name JESUS and thats why we use it

Revelation 19:13

And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.(KJV)

Answer 6

The Name of the Living God are the Hebrew letters Yud He Vav He, YHVH. The vowel points and pronunciation are so controversial that today I am reluctant to attempt it. Though it is by this Name we obtain salvation. The word salvation in Hebrew being yeshuw'ah:H3444 according to a Hebrew interlinear using Strong's.

Joel 2:32  "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD (YHVH) Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD (YHVH) has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD (YHVH) calls.

What is disturbing is that the root of the idolatrous name "baal" translates to master or "lord" in Hebrew.*

Jer 23:26  "How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

Jer 23:27  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?

Hosea 2:16  "And it will come about in that day," declares the LORD, "That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali.

Hosea 2:17  "For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.

It is critical to identify and to call upon the god one is worshiping. If it is not YHVH the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob our Creator and Him only, then we will be subject to committing idolatry.

Mat 22:31  "But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,

Mat 22:32  'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

The bottom line is that currently it is difficult without 100% certainty how to pronounce the Name YHVH correctly. Though I will never end seeking to know it.

*  Strong's 1167. ba'al, bah'-al; from H1166; a master; hence a husband, or (fig.) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense):-- + archer, + babbler, + bird, captain, chief man, + confederate, + have to do, + dreamer, those to whom it is due, + furious, those that are given to it, great, + hairy, he that hath it, have, + horseman, husband, lord, man, + married, master, person, + sworn, they of.

Answer 7

FOR centuries Judaism has taught that the divine name, Jehovah, is too holy to pronounce. (Psalm 83:18) Many theologians have reasoned that it is disrespectful to address the glorious Creator in such a familiar fashion or even that it constitutes a breaking of the third of the Ten Commandments, which prohibits ‘taking the Lord’s name in vain.’ (Exodus 20:7, King James Version) In the third century C.E., the Mishnah declared that “he who pronounces the divine Name as it is spelled out” has “no portion in the world to come.”—Sanhedrin 10:1.

Interestingly, many scholars in Christendom follow the spirit of this Jewish tradition when translating the Bible. For example, The New Oxford Annotated Bible comments in its preface: “The use of any proper name for the one and only God, as though there were other gods from whom the true God had to be distinguished, began to be discontinued in Judaism before the Christian era and is inappropriate for the universal faith of the Christian Church.” Therefore, in that translation the word “LORD” is substituted for the divine name.

What Is God’s View?

But do the views of such translators and theologians reflect God’s thinking? After all, God did not choose to hide his name from mankind; rather, he revealed it to them. In the Hebrew portion of the Bible, commonly called the Old Testament, God’s name, Jehovah, appears more than 6,800 times. The Bible record shows that the first human pair, Adam and Eve, were among those who knew and used God’s name. On giving birth to her first son, Eve proclaimed: “I have produced a man with the aid of Jehovah.”—Genesis 4:1.

Centuries later, when God called Moses to lead the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, Moses asked God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” Moses may well have wondered whether God would reveal himself by some new name. God said to Moses: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘Jehovah the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation.” (Exodus 3:13, 15) Clearly, the true God did not feel that his name was too holy for his people to pronounce.

In fact, God’s faithful servants of every generation have freely and respectfully pronounced God’s name. Boaz, a loyal servant of God, regularly greeted his workers in the field with the words, “Jehovah be with you.” Did the workers express shock at such a greeting? No. The account relates: “In turn they would say to him: ‘Jehovah bless you.’” (Ruth 2:4) Instead of viewing this greeting as an affront to God, they viewed it as a way of giving him glory and honor in their daily affairs. In this same spirit, Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.”—Matthew 6:9.

Hope this helps you....and keep santifying his name! How could you really be his friend if you didn't know his name anyway? (God is after all a Title, not a name.)

Answer 8

Matter of respect, as said above, and how confusing is it to call God "I AM"? Makes for some awkward prayers.

Answer 9

same reason you don't call teachers by their first name is the reason i was basically told in Hebrew School

Answer 10

The story your thinking of, the one in Genesis is a perversion of a much older story where the Goddess or woman rightfully had the power to wake man up and still does. Here it is:

The serpent, who dies and is resurrected, shedding its skin and renewing its life, is the lord of the central tree, where time and eternity come together. He is the primary god, actually, in the Garden of Eden. Yahweh, the one who walks there in the cool of the evening, is just a visitor. The Garden is the serpent's place. It is an old, old story. We have Sumerian seals from as early as 3500 B.C. showing the serpent and the tree and the goddess, with the goddess giving the fruit of life to a visiting male. The old mythology of the goddess is right there. {Joseph Campbell}

Answer 11

Because of the mistaken belief that using the Name of YHWH is to

use His Name in vain, the correct rendering of Ex  20:7 You shall not

bring the Name of YHWH your Eloah to vain emptiness, for YHWH will

not hold him guiltless who brings His Name to vain emptiness.

The only way to bring a name to vain emptiness is by not using it at all

and that makes it nothing.

John 17:6,11,26 Y'shua said I have revealed your Name to the men that

you gave Me.

The disciples used the Name of YHWH to teach & claimed that Y'shua

was the Son of YHWH & so landed up in prison. Acts 3 & 4

Stephen in Acts 7 was stoned to death for using the Name of YHWH

and seeing the Son of YHWH standing at the right hand of YHWH in

heaven.

Why do you think there was such an uproar in Jerusalem with the

Pharisee's & Saducee's, because not only were they using the Name

of Y'shua to get people healed, but linking His Name with the Father's

Name even YHWH.

God is just a title, He is the ONE & Only GOD, but He has a Name &

that is YHWH.

I personally prefer to use His Name YHWH as much as possible in a

reverent & honouring way because that way I identify who I serve &

worship, as many people today say we all worship the same god

whether christian, muslim or jew & I totally disagree with that.

Answer 12

Many Jewish people, out of respect for G-d and in order to be careful not to take His name in vain accidentally, do not say His personal name outloud.  

It is like being extra loving and gentle with someone you deeply respect.  

Out of respect and consideration for some Jewish people who will genuinely feel grieved if you use G-d's personal name outloud, it is better to show love and adapt to cultural sensitivities in public.  

G-d is not offended by calling Him "G-d."  He is the One True G-d, and He knows the heart and its motivations.  

Answer 13

He has as many names as his attributes, but we can only adress him as Adonaï. Jehovah, Yahweh, are european mispronounciations of Yahoo.

Answer 14

Part of the reason is that no one seems to be exactly sure of what the Name really is anymore.

The Jews use G_d or HaShem.  Some Christian groups use Yahweh.  The same is true of the personal name of our Savior, for sure it ain't Jesus, which seems to be derived from the Greek word "Zeus".  

http://www.eliyah.com/yahushua.html

Answer 15

First, you must realize that any connection, what so ever, with the Spirit we call God, is strictly human made. Religion is a human invention, and even today many humans are well paid for it.

If you will just pray to the Spirit (we call God), you will be surprised how many of your prayers will be answered. Praying to a dead human is just a dead-end prayer. You can pray to the Spirit (which exists throughout the entire universe) any time 24 hours a day. And it's free!

Answer 16

It's a holdover from the ancient Jewish tradition that one does not speak the name of God except in private.  "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain".  The commandment clearly states that God's personal name is not to be used in anything but prayer.

Answer 17

Honestly? It is because he was based off the sun. You will see reflections of this if you ever have a religious class. Most cultures will have a "god"  which they call "the light of the world" or "the one light" it is just a reference to the sun. Most religions can be explained astronomically. The zodiac is a good example of this. Especially in christianity. The "messiah" is just a name used to describe one who is close to god. During King Davids rule they referred to him as a messiah. When King David left many "messiahs" stepped up, yet Jesus was the radical. I'm sure you know how the story goes from there.