Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy in vain

In The Emphasized Bible, J.B. Rotherham made the following cogent point:

Men’s names are throughout the Scriptures fraught with significance, enshrining historical incidents, biographical reminiscences, and so forth; and why should the Name of the Ever-Blessed be an exception to this rule?⁴⁴

Yahweh’s name is not an exception to this rule, and nothing demonstrates this better than our Savior’s Hebrew name.

The name "Jesus," transliterated from the Greek name "Iesous," appears in our modern English New Testaments 829 times. For some people this settles the issue because the name "Jesus" is right there in the Scriptures! However, we must not forget that the original Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament contained the Tetragrammaton, but later copies were tampered with, and Yahweh’s name was removed and replaced with uninspired substitutions. Consequently, a first or second century Old Covenant Israelite, who had access to only a corrupted Septuagint translation, could have just as erroneously declared that because "theos" and "kurios" are found therein thousands of times in place of Yahweh’s name that this settled the issue.

The earliest extant New Testament manuscripts date between the 4th and 5th centuries, AD. Could these later manuscripts have been corrupted as it pertains to the Savior’s name in the same manner as was the Septuagint Old Testament as it pertained to the Father’s name?

It stands to reason that if someone wanted Yahweh’s personal name removed from the Old Testament that they would attempt to do the same with the New Testament. In fact, this exploitation was accomplished to some degree through the influence of the contaminated Septuagint. In the March 1978 edition of Biblical Archaeology Review, George Howard, Associate Professor of Religion and Hebrew at the University of Georgia, described how this probably occurred:

A similar pattern probably evolved with respect to the New Testament. When the Septuagint which the New Testament church used and quoted contained the Hebrew form of the divine name, the New Testament writers no doubt included the Tetragrammaton in their quotations. But when the Hebrew form for the divine name was eliminated in favor of Greek substitutes in the Septuagint, it was eliminated from the New Testament quotations of the Septuagint. Thus toward the end of the first Christian century, the use of surrogates (kyrios and theos) and their contractions must have crowded out the Hebrew Tetragrammaton in both Testaments. Before long the divine name was lost to the Gentile church except insofar as it was reflected in the contracted surrogates or remembered by scholars.⁴⁵

Matthew 4 provides us with an example where the Tetragrammaton was eliminated in the New Testament:

…he [Yashua] answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Yashua was quoting a passage from Deuteronomy in which Yahweh had originally inspired the Tetragrammaton:

…man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Yahweh…. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Does it not seem a little suspicious that God would inspire a New Testament verse to be written as Edomite "Jews" corrupted it? Why would Yahweh take His lead from those who sought to eliminate His name? Something seems afoul. It makes more sense to believe that the "Jews" changed the early Greek New Testament manuscripts just as they had the early Greek Septuagint. With this in mind, the same might be true concerning our Savior’s name.

In what many theologians believe is a dual prophecy about both the Prophet Jeremiah and Yashua, scripture declares that one of the reasons for the plot against their lives was to blot out their names:

…I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him [Jeremiah and/or Yashua] off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. (Jeremiah 11:19)

Even after Yashua was crucified there was a plot to obliterate not only the Father’s Hebrew name, but the Savior’s Hebrew name as well:

…they [the Levitical high priest and religious leaders in Jerusalem] conferred among themselves, saying, … that it [news of the miracle performed in Yashua’s name] spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them [the Apostles Peter and John], that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they … commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Yashua. (Acts 4:15-18)

…when they [the Levitical high priest and religious leaders in Jerusalem] had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Yashua…. (Acts 5:40)

Transliteration versus Translation

Translation commutes the meaning of a word from one language to another language. Transliteration transfers the letters of a word from one language to another language. Personal names are almost always transliterated whereas other words are almost always translated. For example, all personal names in the Bible when brought from one language into another, such as from Hebrew to Greek or from Greek to English, have been transliterated with two exceptions – the name of our Heavenly Father and the name of our Savior.

The English name "Jesus"⁴⁶ is a transliteration of the Greek name "Iesous." However, "Iesous" is not a transliteration of the Hebrew name "Yashua." Our Savior’s primary name "Yashua" is the only name in the New Testament where a substitution has been used. For example, consider the names found in Yashua’s genealogy provided to us in Matthew 1. In every instance, with the exception of our Savior’s name, the similarity between English, Greek and Hebrew can be readily seen. In most cases, there is little or no difference at all between the three languages. For example, "Adam" is spelled the same in all three languages. In some cases, as with "David," the name may have one letter that is different. Nevertheless, the affinity between the Hebrew, Greek and English is easily recognizable. This is not the case, however, when it comes to our Savior’s primary name.

Of further significance, our Savior was given two names in Matthew 1. The similarity between the English, Greek and Hebrew is immediately apparent with His secondary name, "Emmanuel." In English it is spelled either "Emmanuel" or "Immanuel," in Greek it is spelled "Emmanouel," and in Hebrew it is spelled "Immanuel." Yet, when it comes to His primary Hebrew name, "Yashua," there is no similarity whatsoever.

If Yahweh’s enemies were intent on removing His name from the Scriptures, then it would have been imperative for them to remove our Savior’s name as well because the name "Yahweh" is found in the name "Yahshua." This is not true with the Greek name "Iesous" or with the English name "Jesus." Consequently, those responsible for removing God’s name from the Greek translation of the Old Testament were probably likewise responsible for corrupting the Savior’s name in the Greek New Testament.

Seven Reasons For Using the Name Yashua

Following are seven important reasons for using the Hebrew name "Yashua" in lieu of the English name "Jesus":

The Memorial Name

God chose Yahweh or its shortened form Yah to be His memorial name to all generations:

…God said moreover unto Moses … Yahweh … hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. (Exodus 3:15)

Only the name "Yahshua" memorializes this name.

The Name Above All Names

The Son’s name is the name above all names:

…God also hath highly exalted him, and [hath] given him [Yashua] a name which is above every name. (Philippians 2:9)

What name in particular is above all other names?

…Stand up and bless Yahweh your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art Yahweh alone…. (Nehemiah 9:5-6)

Since the name above all names is "Yahweh," only "Yahshua" can be the Savior’s name.

A More Excellent Name

The Son inherited a more excellent name:

God … hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son … being made so much better than the angels, as he [Yashua] hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 1:1-4)

The Son inherited His name from the Father. Thus, He could only inherit from the Father what the Father Himself possessed:

O Yahweh our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth…. (Psalm 8:1)

Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the name of Yahweh: for his name alone is excellent…. (Psalm 148:12-13)

Did the Father possess the name "Jesus" or "Yashua"? The answer should be self-evident. The Father is addressed by the abbreviated name "Yah" forty-nine times in the Old Testament, Psalm 68:4, etc., which can only be found in the Hebrew name "Yahshua."

The Son Came in the Name of Yahweh

Our Savior manifested or made known the Father’s name while here on earth:

I [Yashua] have manifested thy name [Yahweh] unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world … I have declared unto them thy name [Yahweh]…. (John 17:6-26)

In only three New Testament passages do we find the Son actually introducing Himself. The first time is found in the account of the Apostle Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. The second and third times are found in Acts 22 and 26 where Paul was recounting the same event. One of these accounts informs us in what language the Savior manifested His name to Paul:

…I [Paul] heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue…. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Yashua…. (Acts 26:14-15)

Had the Savior used the English name "Jesus," He would not have manifested His Father’s name.

Since the family name "Yah" is found in both the Father’s and the Son’s name, Yashua could appropriately say:

I am come in my Father's name [Yahweh]…. (John 5:43)

In most English versions it is recorded that when the Savior made His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, He was hailed in the following manner:

…Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. (John 12:13)

This quotation is from Psalm 118:26 where the Hebrew letters "YHWH" were substituted with the uninspired words "the LORD." In other words, those Israelites actually proclaimed that the Messiah had come "in the name of Yahweh" in fulfillment of this Old Testament prophecy. Only in the name "Yahshua" can it be said that the Savior came in the name of Yahweh.

The Son's Name to Mean "Yahweh Saves"

When Mary was pregnant with the Son of God, Joseph was told to give her offspring a name with the following meaning:

…he [Yahweh] shall save his people…. (Matthew 1:21)

The English name "Jesus" has no meaning in any language; it is a Greek/Latin hybrid, and thus does not fulfill Mathew 1-21. However, "Yahweh saves" is precisely what the name "Yashua" means. In Strong’s Hebrew Concordance Yehowshua or Yashua is 3091 and is defined as coming from 3068 – Yehovah or more properly rendered "Yahweh" and from 3467 – "yasha," which means to save. Together "Yahweh" and "yasha" or "Yashua" mean Yahweh saves.⁴⁷ Additionally, Yahweh identifies Himself with the Hebrew word "yehshuwah," a word very much akin to "yashua," and which is usually translated "salvation" throughout the Old Testament:

Yahweh is … become my salvation ["yehshuwah"]: he is my God…. (Exodus 15:2)

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him [Yahweh] cometh my salvation ["yehshuwah"]. He only is my rock and my salvation ["yehshuwah"]…. (Psalm 62:1-2)

I will take the cup of salvation ["yehshuwah"], and call upon the name of Yahweh. (Psalm 116:13)

Yahweh is my strength and song, and is become my salvation ["yehshuwah"]. (Psalm 118:14)

Behold, God is my salvation ["yehshuwah"] … Yahweh is … become my salvation ["yehshuwah"]. … And in that day shall ye say, Praise Yahweh, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:2-4)

...Salvation ["yehshuwah"] is of Yahweh. (Jonah 2:9)

New Testament Baptism to be in
The Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

The evidence provided to us in the book of Acts demonstrates that the disciples did not baptize using the formula "in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19) Instead, they baptized in one specific name that accurately represented all three entities of the Godhead. What name fulfills the conditions of the Great Commission? What choices do we have for the Father’s name? God’s personal name is Yahweh, shortened to Yah forty-nine times in the Old Testament. What choices do we have for the Son’s name? Given the options of Iesous (Greek), Jesus (English) or Yashua (Hebrew), Yahshua is the only name that can also be used for the Father and the Holy Spirit. Consequently, it was in the name of Yashua that the first century converts were baptized:

…[the Apostle] Peter said unto them [Israelites who had earlier crucified Yashua and who now believed in Yashua], Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yashua [the] Christ⁴⁸ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)

The Apostle Paul quoting Joel 2:32, properly translated, declared how a person is saved:

…whosoever shall call upon the name of Yahweh shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

How does a person call upon the name of Yahweh? In only one place in the New Testament are we informed how this is accomplished:

…Ananias … came unto me [Saul], and said unto me, …And now why tarriest thou? Arise [having already believed and repented], and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:12-16)

Just three days prior to Saul’s baptism, the Savior had manifested His name to Saul in Hebrew as Yashua. Consequently, Saul was baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the name of Yashua, thus fulfilling Matthew 28:18, Romans 10:13 and Joel 2:32.

The Deity of Yashua

Most importantly the Hebrew pronunciation of our Savior’s name should be used because the deity of Yashua is proven therein. If the Hebrew names had been left intact in the Scriptures, it would be much more difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to be persuaded against the deity of Yashua.

Consider the Old Testament prophecies regarding Yahweh that were attributed to Yashua. Whose way was John the Baptist to prepare? Who was to be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver? Whose side was to be pierced? Who was the stone that the builders rejected and who was to become the chief corner stone? If your answer to these questions is "Jesus," it would behoove you to look again at these prophecies. In Isaiah 40:3, Zechariah 11:12-13, 12:1, 10 and Psalm 118:19-22 the Tetragrammaton was removed and replaced with the words "the LORD." Restore God’s personal name "Yahweh," and it becomes immediately apparent that these prophecies were about Yahweh and fulfilled by Yahshua.

Moreover, when a person uses the Hebrew name of our Savior, it clearly describes not what some man is doing or what some prophet is doing or even what another god is doing. It describes what YAHWEH, the GOD of gods and the great I Am is doing! Our Savior was named Yashua because in Hebrew it means Yahweh saves. Additionally, our Savior was named Emmanuel because in Hebrew it means God with us. Only the Hebrew names testify to the deity of Yashua. This fact alone is reason enough for the "Jews" to eliminate both the Father’s and the Son’s names from Holy Writ.

Furthermore, the deity of Yashua is attested to in the Hebrew epitaph that Pilate placed upon Yashua’s cross by the order of Pilate. The epitaph read: "Yashua HaNazarei vMelech HaYahhudim" or "Yashua of Nazareth the King of the Judahites." The acrostic made up of the first letter of each word in the Hebrew makes up the Tetragrammaton of our God, YHVH or YHWH. The letter "v" is essentially the same as the letter "w" in the Hebrew alphabet. Could this camouflaged testimony to Yashua’s deity be the reason why the chief priests wanted Pilate to alter Yashua’s epitaph? It was and is but another testimony to Yahweh’s and Yashua’s oneness.

Yahweh's Sovereignty Demonstrated in The Corrupted Names

It cannot be denied that an untold number of prayers have been answered and an untold number of people have been saved during the last two thousand years in the name of Jesus. Nevertheless, a part of Israel’s awakening, as prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah, is a return to the sacred names of our God and Savior:

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments…. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith Yahweh.…Therefore my people shall know my name…. (Isaiah 52:1-6)

With the foregoing being true, why would Yahweh permit His name to be replaced with corrupted surrogates, to be preserved for thousands of years in His Holy Word? There is no definitive answer to this question, because no one can read the mind of God. Nevertheless, Yahweh certainly had good reasons for allowing these corruptions to be perpetuated.

The illiteracy relative to Yahweh’s and Yashua’s names is certainly a part of the "ignorance [that] God winked at" mentioned by the Apostle Paul when he preached about the "unknown God" in Acts 17:

…Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by … [I] found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you…. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Yashua]…. (Acts 17:22-31)

During Israel’s time in darkness, Yahweh, in His sovereignty, took what our enemies meant for our harm and turned it into a blessing. The Third Commandment is clear that Yahweh will not leave someone unpunished who uses His name profanely. Throughout the last two thousand years of Israel’s disobedience, she has known relatively little concerning the sacred names of her God. Interestingly enough, she has not been blaspheming His personal name either. While God’s last name is not "damn," neither is His first name "God." Neither the expletive "G__ d___!," nor using the name "Jesus Christ" profanely is taking God’s name in vain. However, had the Israelites been using the name "Yahweh" or the name "Yashua" during the last two thousand years in similar fashion, it is quite possible that Yahweh’s wrath would have been unleashed upon what would have been unequivocally Third Commandment transgression.

Yahweh used the machinations of His enemies to eliminate His name from His people’s cursing while retaining His name in their blessings. Although in most instances, God’s personal name was replaced with uninspired surrogates, He never allowed His name to be completely removed from His Word or from Israel’s mouth. Every time someone reads or recites the word "Halleluyah," he articulates God’s name because halleluyah means praise Yah. King David informed us in Psalm 22:3 that God "inhabitest the praises of Israel." Hallelu Yah! Indeed He does! This double blessing fulfills, at least in part, Yahweh's promise through the Prophet Ezekiel:

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more.... (Ezekiel 39:7)

It was in fulfillment of Jeremiah 23:26-27 and Ezekiel 39:7, by Yahweh’s providence, that His personal name was removed from His Word. However, this does not mean that His servants should not restore His name to its proper place in the Bible and in our lives. The Apostle James described an aspect of sin that is not always heeded by Christians:

…to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

As Christians our goal should be to continually "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Yashua [the] Christ." (2 Peter 3:18) In so doing we should not be "conformed to this world [or to the traditions of the anti-Christ Jews]: but be … transformed by the renewing of [our] mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)

At the time that Moses codified the Third Commandment, God’s personal name had not yet been distorted and removed from the Bible. Consequently, the restoration of His name was not the original intent of the Third Commandment. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the memorial name of our God is an integral part of correctly understanding and applying the Third Commandment.

Honoring God Appropriately

Because the names "Yahweh" and "Yashua" have been removed from the Scriptures and almost completely lost to Israel, it was necessary to address these names before directing our attention to the Third Commandment statutes.

Cursing Yahweh

Yahweh’s law, as codified by Moses, commands against cursing God:

You shall not curse God…. (Exodus 22:28 NASV)

Although there is nothing stated therein about God’s name, His name is intrinsic to His very being. Roderick C. Meredith pointed out this affinity in his book The Ten Commandments:

The third commandment deals with God’s name, His office, His position as the great sovereign RULER of the universe…. In the Bible, personal names have a meaning. Every name or title of God reveals some attribute of the Divine character. In studying God’s Word, we learn new facts about God’s nature and character with each new name by which He reveals Himself. In other words, God names Himself what He is!⁴⁹

Consequently, when a person curses God in any fashion, he transgresses the Third Commandment. Cursing God and blaspheming His name are used interchangeably in Leviticus 24:

…Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:15-16)

Bouvier’s Law Dictionary defines blasphemy:

In general blasphemy may be described as consisting in speaking evil of the Deity [Yahweh] with an impious purpose to derogate from the divine majesty, and to alienate the minds of others from the love and reverence of God. It is purposely using words concerning God calculated and designed to impair and destroy the reverence, respect, and confidence due to him as the intelligent creator, governor, and judge of the world. … It is a wilful [sic] and malicious attempt to lessen men’s reverence for God by denying his existence, or his attributes as an intelligent creator, governor, and judge of men, and to prevent their having confidence in him as such.⁵⁰

Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, … no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand … how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? … He wrote also letters to rail on Yahweh God of Israel, and to speak against him…. And they [King Sennacherib and his servants] spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. (2 Chronicles 32:10-19)

Cursing Yahweh's Rulers

The same verse of Scripture that commands us against cursing Yahweh, also prohibits cursing a ruler of God’s people:

You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people. (Exodus 22:28 NASV)

It is a Third Commandment infraction to revile a ruler placed over us by God, such as the type of ruler described by the Apostles Paul and Peter:

…rulers [who] are … a terror … to the evil…. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. …a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject…. Render therefore … honour to whom honour [is due]. (Romans 13:3-7)⁵¹

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king … or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. (1 Peter 2:13-14)

Submission to this type of authority or minister of God is essentially submission to Yahweh because such rulers stand as agents of God ministering His laws. Thus, to curse godly authority is to curse God Himself.

False Swearing

The prohibition against false swearing is another Third Commandment statute:

…ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Yahweh. (Leviticus 19:12)

One of the reasons why Yahweh condemned ancient Israel was because she swore by His name falsely:

Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel … which swear by the name of Yahweh, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. (Isaiah 48:1)

Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: … Their heart is divided…. They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. (Hosea 10:1-4)

This does not mean that we are never to swear by Yahweh’s name:

Thou [the nation of Israel] shalt fear Yahweh thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. (Deuteronomy 6:13)

The Bible contains several examples of men of God making covenants and swearing by Yahweh’s name to seal the compact – Genesis 21:22-24; 24:2-3; 1 Samuel 20:42. Nevertheless, a person should never do so lightly knowing that it is a Third Commandment infraction if he does not fulfill his side of the agreement.

Every oath of public office here in America was once recognized as falling under the jurisdiction of the Third Commandment. In The Institutes of Biblical Law, Rousas John Rushdoony addressed this part of American history:

The presidential oath of office, and every other oath of office in the United States, was in earlier years recognized precisely as coming under the third commandment, and, in fact, invoking it. By taking the oath, a man promised to abide by his word and his obligations even as God is faithful to His word. If he failed, by oath of office, the public official invoked divine judgment and the curse of the law upon himself.⁵²

It was once understood that to make an agreement or a vow under false pretenses was a violation of the Third Commandment. Christians should understand that it makes no difference whether they actually use God’s name when making a vow or not. As Christians all that we do "in word or deed" is done "in the name of the Lord Yashua." (Colossians 3:17)

Every vow or agreement or contract entered into by a Christian is done under the auspices of the Third Commandment and should be kept as if it were with Yahweh Himself:

…This is the thing which Yahweh hath commanded. If a man vow a vow unto [or in the name of] Yahweh, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. (Numbers 30:1-2)

When thou shalt vow a vow unto [or in the name of] Yahweh thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for Yahweh thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform … according as thou hast vowed unto [or in the name of] Yahweh thy God…. (Deuteronomy 23:21-23)

…every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. (Matthew 12:36-37)

While many Christians often give their word, make vows and enter into agreements lightly, the patriarch Joshua understood how serious it was to keep covenant even when the other party had entered the pact with disingenuous motives – Joshua 9:1-20. King David also testified to the importance of keeping your end of the bargain even in a bad business deal:

Yahweh, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. … He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. … He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (Psalm 15:1-5)

Swearing by the Name of Other Gods

In contrast to memorializing the name of Yahweh, we are commanded to not mention, use or swear by the name of other gods:

…be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. (Exodus 23:13)

Joshua interpreted and commented upon this statute in his last instructions to the Israelites prior to his death:

Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom … that ye come not among these nations … neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: But cleave unto Yahweh your God…. (Joshua 23:6-8)

In addition to breaking the First and Second Commandment, anyone who promotes pluralism, multiculturalism, the melting pot or any other concept that would introduce gods other than Yahweh into society is transgressing the Third Commandment and will be judged by Yahweh:

I [Yahweh] will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah … and them that worship and that swear by Yahweh, and that swear by Malcham [a false god of the Moabites and Ammonites]. (Zephaniah 1:4-5)

It is thus imperative upon modern Israel that she repent of her pluralism:

Thou shalt not bow down to their [pagan] gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve Yahweh your God…. Thou shalt make no covenant with them [the non-Israelite nations], nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me…. (Exodus 23:24-33)

False Prophesying

Prophets or ministers who prophesy falsely in Yahweh’s or Yashua’s name or in the name of other gods are also guilty of a Third Commandment infraction:

…the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. (Deuteronomy 18:20)

There shall not be found among you [the nation of Israel] any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto Yahweh…. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

Defiant Hypocrisy

Defiant hypocrisy is also a Third Commandment infraction:

…the person who does anything defiantly … that one is blaspheming Yahweh…. (Numbers 15:30 NASV)

Thus says the Lord Yahweh, "Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed Me by acting treacherously against Me." (Ezekiel 20:27 NASV)

Furthermore, Christian hypocrisy incites heathen blasphemy:

Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you…. (Romans 2:21-24)

…because by this deed thou [King David] hast given great occasion to the enemies of Yahweh to blaspheme…. (2 Samuel 12:14)

Therefore, Christians should be careful to heed the Apostle Paul’s admonition:

…Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19)

Miscegenation

Although a person would not normally think to categorize it as a Third Commandment violation, miscegenation or interracial mixing is depicted in the book of Leviticus as something that also profanes the name of Yahweh:

…thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech [a false god of the Ammonites], neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am Yahweh. (Leviticus 18:21)

…Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death … he hath given of his seed unto Molech … to profane my holy name [Yahweh]. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. (Leviticus 20:2-5)

…`abar (aw-bar'); a primitive root; to cross over; used very widely of any transition (literal or figurative; transitive, intransitive, intensive, causative); specifically, to cover (in copulation).⁵³

This definition is justified in light of the other sexual prohibitions addressed in the verses preceding and following verse 21 of Leviticus 18. Moreover, under the heading "MOLOCH, CULT OF," the Encyclopaedia Judaica provides additional justification for this interpretation:

The book of Jubilees 30:7ff. connects intermarriage or rather the marrying off of one’s children to pagans [non-Israelites] with the sin of Moloch. This tradition seems to be echoed in the dissenting opinion of R. Ishmael (cf. Meg. 4:9) in Sifrei Deuteronomy 18, who explains the prohibition of Moloch as the impregnation of a pagan [non-Israelite] woman, an interpretation lying behind the Syriac translation in Leviticus 18 and 20. The common denominator of all these traditions is the understanding of Moloch worship as the transfer of Jewish [Israelite] children to paganism either by delivering them directly to pagan priests or by procreation through intercourse with a pagan [non-Israelite] woman. This tradition, which could hardly be an invention, is now corroborated by the evidence in the Assyrian documents.⁵⁴

The Book of Jubilees likewise associates giving Israelite seed to Moloch with miscegenation:

…if there is any man in Israel who desires to give his daughter or his sister to any man who is of the seed of the Gentiles [non-Israelites], he shall surely die … for he has committed a sin and a shame in Israel…. And to this law there is no limit of days and no ceasing and no forgiveness, but he shall be rooted out who defiles his daughter, among all Israel, because he has given of his seed to Moloch…. And thou, Moses, command the children of Israel and testify over them that they shall not give any of their daughters to the Gentiles [non-Israelites] and that they shall not take any of the daughters of the Gentiles [non-Israelites]; for this is accursed before the Lord…. And it is disgraceful to Israel to those that give and to those that receive from any Gentiles [non-Israelites] any daughters, for it is unclean and accursed to Israel; and Israel will not be clean of this uncleanness of him who has of the daughters of the Gentiles [non-Israelites] for a wife, or who has given of his daughters to a man who is of any of the seed of the Gentiles [non-Israelites]….⁵⁵

"Seed," in this instance [in Leviticus 18:21], means "semen." The Eastern text reads: "You shall not let any of your semen be cast into a strange [non-Israelite] woman to cause her to be pregnant…." …This ordinance is against cohabiting with pagan [non-Israelite] women….⁵⁶

Both Ezra and Nehemiah confirm that Israelites who "marry" non-Israelites of forbidden lineage, and by extension of other races, sin in Yahweh’s sight:

The people of Israel … have not separated themselves from the people of the lands…. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands…. (Ezra 9:1-2)

…We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land…. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. (Ezra 10:2-3)

In those days also saw I [Nehemiah] Judahites that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab…. And I contended with them, and cursed them … and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. … Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? (Nehemiah 13:23-27)

Although the reason may not be immediately apparent to us, Yahweh classified interracial mixing as a Third Commandment infraction.

The Third Commandment is explained, at least in part, by these six statutes:

• Thou shall not curse Yahweh.
• Thou shall not curse one of Yahweh’s rulers.
• Thou shall not mention, use or swear by the name of other gods.
• Thou shall not prophesy falsely in Yahweh’s name or in the name of other gods.
• Thou shall not willfully transgress Yahweh’s laws.
• Thou shall not miscegenate.

Third Commandment Judgment

The Third Commandment itself warns us that "Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain." (Deuteronomy 5:11 NASV) Leviticus 20:2-5, 24:10-16, 23 and Deuteronomy 18:20 depict blatant Third Commandment transgression as a capital crime for which the perpetrator is to be put to death:

…he that blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of Yahweh, shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:16)

Endnotes

1. Yahweh is the personal Hebrew name of the God of the Bible. Where the Tetragrammaton "YHWH" (the four Hebrew characters that represent the personal name of God) has been incorrectly rendered as "the LORD" or "GOD" in scripture, the author has taken the liberty to correct these passages and insert "Yahweh."

2. All scripture is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.

3. Bill Strittmatter, personal letter, p. 1.

4. James Strong, "Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible," The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 117.

5. Strong, p. 35.

6. Strong, p. 35.

7. "7723," The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979) p. 996.

8. Strong, p. 113.

9. God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever, a 465-page book written by Evangelist Ted R. Weiland, provides a documented dissertation regarding the identity of Israel and today’s Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic and kindred peoples. A copy may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. Suggested donation: hardcover - $23.00, soft cover - $14.00.

10. The Third Commandment is rendered essentially the same in all other standard English versions.

11. Revised Standard Version Committee, "Preface," The Holy Bible Revised Standard Version (Cleveland, OH: The World Publishing Company, 1962) p. v.

12. The Lockman Foundation, "Foreword," New American Standard Bible: Updated Edition (Anaheim, CA: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1997) p. iv.

13. J. M. Powis Smith, "Preface," (1927) The Complete Bible: An American Translation (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1939) p. xv.

14. "Yashua" is the English transliteration of our Savior’s Hebrew name and is preferred by the author.

15. The Jewish Almanac, compiled and edited by Richard Siegel and Carl Rheins (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1980) p. 3.

16. God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever not only provides a documented dissertation regarding the identity of Israel and today’s Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic and kindred peoples, but it also reveals (by the testimony of the Jews themselves) that today’s Jews are not Israelites. A copy may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. Suggested donation: hardcover - $23.00, soft cover - $14.00.

17. Dr. Oscar Levy, "Preface," The World Significance of the Russian Revolution, George Pitt Rivers (Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell, 1920) p. vi.

18. Arthur Koestler, The Thirteenth Tribe (New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1976).

The Thirteenth Tribe may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363 for a suggested $7.00 donation.

19. "EDOM," Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica Company, 1971) Volume 6, p. 378.

20. "EDOM, Idumea," The Jewish Encyclopedia (New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1904) Volume V, p. 41.

21. "EDOM (IDUMEA)," The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977) p. 589.

22. Flavius Josephus (Joseph ben Mattityahu ha-Cohen), The Antiquities of the Jews (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1960) Book XIII, Chapter IX, Verse 1, p. 279.

Who is Esau-Edom? by Charles A. Weisman may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363 for a suggested $8.00 donation.

23. "Preface," Good News Bible, The Bible in Today’s English Version (New York, NY: American Bible Society, 1976) p. iv.

24. George Howard, Associate Professor of Religion and Hebrew at the University of Georgia, "The Name of God in the New Testament – Did the Earliest Gospels Use Hebrew Letters for the Tetragrammaton?," Biblical Archaeology Review (Washington, D.C.: Biblical Archaeology Society, March 1978) Volume IV, Number 1, pp. 12-13.

25. "GOD, NAMES OF," The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966) p. 766.

26. "EDOM," Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica Company, 1971) Volume 6, p. 378.

27. "JEHOVAH," The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia (New York, NY: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Company, Inc., 1942) Volume 6, pp. 54-55.

28. Aid to Bible Understanding (Brooklyn, NY: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc., 1971) p. 882.

29. "KABBALAH (Heb. ‘tradition’): The mystical religious stream in Judaism. The term K. originally denoted the oral tradition which was transmitted alongside the Written Law, but in the 12th cent., it was adopted by mystics to denote the alleged continuity of their mystical ‘tradition’ from early times." "KABBALAH," The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966) p. 1087.

30. Albert G. Mackey, "JEHOVAH," Encyclopedia of FREEMASONRY (Chicago, IL: The Masonic History Company, 1929, 1946, 1958) p. 501.

31. "KABBALAH," The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966) pp. 1087-1088.

32. Mackey, p. 502.

33. Elmer Berger, A Partisan History of Judaism (New York, NY: The Devin-Adair Company, 1951) p. 39.

34. Heinrich Karl Marx, quoted by Richard Wurmbrand, Marx & Satan (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, Good News Publishers, 1986) p. 59.

35. Bernard Lazare, Antisemitism: Its History and Causes (New York, NY: The International Library Publishing Company, 1903) Volume II, pp. 164-165.

36. Rabbi Sherwin Wine, quoted by James Yaffe, The American Jews (New York, NY: Random House, 1968) p. 161.

37. James Yaffe, The American Jews (New York, NY: Random House, 1968) p. 161.

38. God’s Covenant People: Yesterday, Today and Forever , a 465-page book written by Evangelist Ted R. Weiland, provides a documented dissertation regarding the identity of Israel and today’s Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Scandinavian, Celtic and kindred peoples. A copy may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. Suggested donation, hardcover - $23.00, soft cover - $14.00.

39. James Strong, "Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible," The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 8.

40. Strong, p. 8.

41. James Strong, "Dictionary of the Greek Testament," The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 44.

42. "A Witness Against You," New Jerusalem Group, Ltd., pp. 1-2.

43. New Jerusalem Group, Ltd., paraphrased.

44. Joseph Bryant Rotherham, Introduction, "The Incommunicable Name," The Emphasized Bible (Cincinnati, OH: The Standard Publishing Company, 1897) p. 26.

45. Howard, p. 14.

46. "Iesus," as the original King James Bible rendered it, is the true English transliteration of the Greek "Iesous." There was no letter "J" in the English alphabet until the14th century, and it was then that "Iesus" was changed to "Jesus."

47. James Strong, "Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary," The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) pp. 47, 48, 53.

48. The arguments employed by many sacred name users against the use of the English title "Christ" are as invalid as are their arguments against the use of "God" and "Lord." Part four of The Third Commandment addresses the arguments employed against the use of "Christ." The 3rd Commandment may be ordered on five 60-minute cassette tapes from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363. A $15.00 donation is suggested, or these tapes may be obtained on a listen-and-return basis.

49. Roderick C. Meredith, The Ten Commandments (Pasadena, CA: Ambassador College, 1960) p. 19, quoted by Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1973) Volume 1, p. 125.

50. John Bouvier, Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, A Concise Encyclopedia of the Law (Kansas City, MO: Vernon Law Book Company, 1914) Volume 1, p. 369.

51. Christian Duty Under Corrupt Government, A Revolutionary Commentary on Romans 13:1-7, an expository explanation of Romans 13:1-7 by Evangelist Ted R. Weiland, may be ordered from Mission to Israel Ministries, PO Box 248, Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69363 for a suggested $8.00 donation.

52. Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1973) Volume 1, p. 111.

53. James Strong, "Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary," The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) p. 85.

54. "MOLOCH, CULT OF, The Nature of the Worship," Encyclopaedia Judaica (New York, NY: The Macmillan Company, 1971) Volume 12, p. 232.

55. The Book of Jubilees, Chapter 30, Verses 6-12, translated from the Ethiopic by George H. Schodde, Professor at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio (Thousand Oaks, CA: 1980) pp. 66-67.

56. George Mamishisho Lamsa, Old Testament Light: The Indispensable Guide to the Customs, Manners and Idioms of Biblical Times (San Francisco, London, Cambridge: Harper & Row, 1964) p. 177.