It is well known that all the names of God occurring in Scripture are
derived from His actions, except one, namely, the Tetragrammaton, which
consists of the letters yod, hé, vau and hé. This name is applied
exclusively to God, and is on that account called Shem ha-meforash,
“The nomen proprium.” It is the distinct and exclusive designation of
the Divine Being; whilst His other names are common nouns, and are
derived from actions, to which some of our own are similar, as we have
already explained. Even the name Adonay, “Lord,” which has been
substituted for the Tetragrammaton, is derived from the appellative
“lord”; comp. “The man who is the lord (adone) of the land spake
roughly to us” (Gen. xliii. 30). The difference between Adoni, “my
lord,” (with ḥirek under the nun), or Adonay (with kameẓ) is similar to
the difference between Sari, “my prince,” and Saraï, Abraham’s wife
(ib. xvi. 1), the latter form denoting majesty and distinction. An
angel is also addressed as “Adonay”; e.g., “Adonay (My lord), pass not
away, I pray thee” (ib. xviii. 3). I have restricted my explanation to
the term Adonay, the substitute for the Tetragrammaton, because it is
more commonly applied to God than any of the other names which are in
frequent use, like dayyan, “judge,” shadday, “almighty,” ẓaddik,
“righteous,” ḥannun, “gracious,” raḥum “merciful,” and elohim “chief”;
all these terms are unquestionably appellations and derivatives. The
derivation of the name, consisting of yod, hé, vau, and hé, is not
positively known, the word having no additional signification. This
sacred name, which, as you know, was not pronounced except in the
sanctuary by the appointed priests, when they gave the sacerdotal
blessing, and by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, undoubtedly
denotes something which is peculiar to God, and is not found in any
other being. It is possible that in the Hebrew language, of which we
have now but a slight knowledge, the Tetragrammaton, in the way it was
pronounced, conveyed the meaning of “absolute existence.” In short, the
majesty of the name and the great dread of uttering it, are connected
with the fact that it denotes God Himself, without including in its
meaning any names of the things created by Him. Thus our Sages say:
“‘My name’ (Num. vi. 27) means the name which is peculiar to Me.” All
other names of God have reference to qualities, and do not signify a
simple substance, but a substance with attributes, they being
derivatives. On that account it is believed that they imply the
presence of a plurality in God, I mean to say, the presence of
attributes, that is, of some extraneous element superadded to His
essence. Such is the meaning of all derivative names; they imply the
presence of some attribute and its substratum, though this be not
distinctly named. As, however, it has been proved, that God is not a
substratum capable of attributes, we are convinced that those
appellatives when employed as names of God, only indicate the relation
of certain actions to Him, or they convey to us some notion of His
perfection.
Hence R. Ḥaninah would have objected to the expression “the great, the
mighty, and the tremendous,” had it not been for the two reasons
mentioned by him; because such expressions lead men to think that the
attributes are essential, i.e., they are perfections actually present
in God. The frequent use of names of God derived from actions, led to
the belief that He had as many [essential] attributes as there were
actions from which the names were derived. The following promise was
therefore made, implying that mankind will at a certain future time
understand this subject, and be free from the error it involves: “In
that day will the Lord be One, and His name One” (Zech. xiv. 9). The
meaning of this prophecy is this: He being One, will then be called by
one name, which will indicate the essence of God; but it does not mean
that His sole name will be a derivative [viz., “One”]. In the Pirke
Rabbi Eliezer (chap. iii.) occurs the following passage: “Before the
universe was created, there was only the Almighty and His name.”
Observe how clearly the author states that all these appellatives
employed as names of God came into existence after the Creation. This
is true; for they all refer to actions manifested in the Universe. If,
however, you consider His essence as separate and as abstracted from
all actions, you will not describe it by an appellative, but by a
proper noun, which exclusively indicates that essence. Every other name
of God is a derivative, only the Tetragrammaton is a real nomen
proprium, and must not be considered from any other point of view. You
must beware of sharing the error of those who write amulets (kameot).
Whatever you hear from them, or read in their works, especially in
reference to the names which they form by combination, is utterly
senseless; they call these combinations shemot (names) and believe that
their pronunciation demands sanctification and purification, and that
by using them they are enabled to work miracles. Rational persons ought
not to listen to such men, nor in any way believe their assertions. No
other name is called shem ha-meforash except this Tetragrammaton, which
is written, but is not pronounced according to its letters. The words,
“Thus shall ye bless the children of Israel” (Num. vi. 23) are
interpreted in Siphri as follows: “‘Thus,’ in the holy language; again
‘thus,’ with the Shem ha-meforash.” The following remark is also found
there: “In the sanctuary [the name of God is pronounced] as it is
spelt, but elsewhere by its substitutes.” In the Talmud, the following
passage occurs: “‘Thus,’ i.e., with the shem ha-meforash.—You say [that
the priests, when blessing the people, had to pronounce] the shem
ha-meforash; this was perhaps not the case, and they may have used
other names instead.—We infer it from the words: ‘And they shall put My
name’ (Num. vi. 27), i.e., My name, which is peculiar to Me.” It has
thus been shown that the shem ha-meforash (the proper name of God) is
the Tetragrammaton, and that this is the only name which indicates
nothing but His essence, and therefore our Sages in referring to this
sacred term said “‘My name’ means the one which is peculiar to Me
alone.”
In the next chapter I will explain the circumstances which brought men
to a belief in the power of Shemot (names of God); I will point out the
main subject of discussion, and lay open to you its mystery, and then
not any doubt will be left in your mind, unless you prefer to be
misguided.