Does God Have A Name Or Not?
YHVH vs Justin Martyr's Nameless God
The God of the Hebrew Bible has a name. The name YHVH (יהוה) occurs 6,828 times, making it the most frequent proper noun found in the Hebrew Bible, beside others such as Israel (2,515) and David (1,075). There are other divine titles, such as, Elohim (2,600), Adonai (445), Tsevaoth (282), El (245), Eloah (61), Yah (49), Shaddai (27), etc, but they are not considered the proper-name of God as YHVH (יהוה) is.
The phrase “name of the LORD,” or “shem YHVH” (שֵׁם יְהוָה), occurs 87 times in the Hebrew Bible. We find people calling on the name of YHVH, praising the name of YHVH, speaking, prophesying and blessing in His name. In the first reference to calling upon His name, we read, “then began men to call upon the name of the LORD (YHVH, יהוה)” (Genesis 4:26).
Yet Justin Martyr, one of the earliest church fathers, a highly influential Christian apologist and philosopher, says that “God the Father” is nameless. Here’s what he said:
“But to the Father of all, who is unbegotten, there is no name given. For by whatever name He be called, He has as His elder the person who gives Him the name. But these words Father, and God, and Creator, and Lord, ant Master, are not names, but appellations derived from His good deeds and functions.” Second Apology, Chapter 6.
“For God cannot be called by any proper name, for names are given to mark out and distinguish their subject-matters, because these are many and diverse; but neither did any one exist before God who could give Him a name, nor did He Himself think it right to name Himself, seeing that He is one and unique, as He Himself also by His own prophets testifies, when He says, ‘I God am the first,’ and after this, ‘And beside me there is no other God’.” Hortatory Address to the Greeks, Chapter 21.
He says elsewhere,
“For no one can utter the name of the ineffable God; and if any one dare to say that there is a name, he raves with a hopeless madness.” First Apology, Chapter 61.
Why does Justin say this? Here are the reasons I gather from his writings:
Justin read the Greek Septuagint (LXX), and not the Hebrew Bible. He apparently didn’t know the Hebrew alphabet, so couldn’t read a single verse in the Tanakh.
In the LXX of Exodus 3:14, God said to Moses, “I am the Being”, or “I am He Who is”. This is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew, as shown in my previous post.
The Divine Name YHVH (יהוה) in Exodus 3:15 is translated in the LXX as κύριος (Kyrios, or Lord), which Justin understood it as a title, and not as a name.
He never mentioned the divine name YHVH anywhere in his writings. Only κύριος (Kyrios, or Lord), and θεός (Theos, or God), as found in the version of the LXX he used. However, there were old LXX versions which did transcribe the Divine Name into Greek in various ways, as ΠΙΠΙ (visual approximation of יהוה in Greek), as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (Paleo Hebrew), or in Greek letters as ΙΑΩ, ΙΑΟΥΕ, etc.
Justin thought that all appearances of God in the Hebrew Bible are the appearances of the Logos, the Word of God, which he said was the pre-incarnate Jesus. However he never attributed to him the Divine Name YHVH.
So in summary, Justin’s views seem to be supported by two things:
The LXX usage of κύριος (Lord), and θεός (God) in place of the Tetragrammaton YHVH (יהוה) found in the Hebrew Bible.
Justin’s own Platonic view of a nameless and transcendent God.
Now I want to show you why Justin is wrong in his view of the nameless God, using his own statements, and the Hebrew Bible.
“He is the Lord who received commission from the Lord who [remains] in the heavens, i.e., the Maker of all things, to inflict upon Sodom and Gomorrah the judgments which the Scripture describes in these terms: ‘The Lord rained down upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.’” Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, Chapter 56.
In the above chapter, Justin talks about God coming to visit Abraham visibly in Genesis 18:1. According to Justin, the visiting individual was the Logos or the Word of God, the pre-incarnate Jesus. He then cites Genesis 19:24 where we read about God on earth raining fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah from God in heaven. According to Justin, the invisible God in heaven was the nameless Father, whilst the visible God who came to Abraham and destroyed Sodom was the Logos, or the Son.
Justin is unable to see the Divine Name YHVH (יהוה) because the LXX uses the word θεός (God) in Genesis 18:1 instead of YHVH (יהוה) , and employs θεός (God) and κύριος (Lord) in Genesis 19:24, instead of two occurences of YHVH (יהוה).
But the Hebrew text uses the Tetragram, YHVH (יהוה) in both instances. It says, YHVH (יהוה) rained fire and brimstone from YHVH (יהוה) in heaven. It is clear from the Hebrew text of Genesis 19:24, that the transcendent God in the heaven has a name, which is YHVH (יהוה). Justin couldn’t read Hebrew, and missed it altogether.
Justin’s objection that he who has a name must have someone elder to him to give his his name is a ridiculous idea. Can’t God give Himself His own name? No, said Justin.
Nor did He Himself think it right to name Himself, seeing that He is one and unique, as He Himself also by His own prophets testifies, when He says, ‘I God am the first,’ and after this, ‘And beside me there is no other God’.” Hortatory Address to the Greeks, Chapter 21.
Well, let’s see what God said in the verse Justin quoted. In Isaiah 44:6, the Divine Name YHVH (יהוה) occurs twice in the verse, but Justin cannot see it, because again, the LXX uses the word θεός (God) twice instead of YHVH (יהוה).
The idea that YHVH (יהוה) Who appeared to Moses and spoke to the prophets is the Son, and that there is another superior nameless Father above Him, is clearly refuted by Isaiah 43:10 (see below), where YHVH (יהוה) says there was no Elohim (God/gods) formed before Him, neither shall there be any after Him.
Basically this is what happened - Justin and the rest of the church fathers developed their theology using a defective translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and not the original Hebrew. They used Greek terminology and Greek ideas, to supplant the Hebrews of their God-given revelation, place, position and promises. And they forgot that verses like Genesis 19:24 are the reason why God gave Israel the shema.
Post Script (29-Aug-2024):
A doubt was raised, as to whether the Church Fathers actually ever heard of the Divine Name YHVH (יהוה). Some of them certainly did, and mentioned it in their writings. Here are the quotes with references.
Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 AD)
ἀτὰρ καὶ τὸ τετράγραμμον ὄνομα τὸ μυστικόν, ὃ περιέκειντο οἷς μόνοις τὸ ἄδυτον βάσιμον ἦν· λέγεται δὲ Ἰαουε, ὃ μεθερμηνεύεται. Link to source.
“Further, the mystic name of four letters which was affixed to those alone to whom the adytum was accessible, is called Jave (IAOU), which is interpreted, “Who is and shall be.” The name of God, too, among the Greeks contains four letters.” Stromata, Book V, Chapter VI.
Yet, Clement later said that God is nameless in Chapter XII of the same Book V.
“For the One is indivisible; wherefore also it is infinite, not considered with reference to inscrutability, but with reference to its being without dimensions, and not having a limit. And therefore it is without form and name. And if we name it, we do not do so properly, terming it either the One, or the Good, or Mind, or Absolute Being, or Father, or God, or Creator, or Lord. We speak not as supplying His name; but for want, we use good names, in order that the mind may have these as points of support, so as not to err in other respects.” Stromata, Book V, Chapter XII.
Origen of Alexandria (c. 184–253 AD)
“And the mystic name which, among the Hebrews, is communicated to those who have been initiated, and which has not been pronounced, is called ‘Ineffable.’ And as among the Greeks, those who have been initiated into the Eleusinian rites, take care not to divulge to the uninitiated, so in the Hebrew mysteries.” Contra Celsum (Against Celsus), Book I, Chapter 24 (Note: I have not been able to verify this or obtain an online source).
Jerome (c. 347–420 AD)
An explanation of the ten names given to God in the Hebrew Scriptures. The ten names are El, Elohim, Sabaoth, Elion, Asher yeheyeh (Ex. iii. 14), Adonai, Jah, the tetragram Jhvh (IAHO), and Shaddai. Written at Rome 384 a.d. Link to source.
Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393–457 AD)
“It is written in four consonants, and so they speak of it as the ‘Tetragrammaton’. This name was also inscribed on a plate of gold worn on the forehead of the high priest and bound to his head with a fillet. The Samaritans call it “Iabe” (Ίαβέ), the Jews “Ia” (Ία). Questions on the Octateuch, Book XV, Question 15.