God And His Word - A Question And Answer Approach To Understanding The Bible

LESSON 4: WHAT IS THE NAME OF GOD? 1. WHAT DOES THE WORD "GOD" MEAN? The word "God" is a title which means "one who is worshipped." 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6. 2. WHY SHOULD THE TRUE GOD HAVE A NAME? The Name of God establishes the identity of God and separates Him from heathen deities. Man is enabled to address God properly through His Name. Genesis 32:24-30; Exodus 3: 13-14; Judges 13. 3. THE ANCIENT HEBREWS BELIEVED THAT GOD AND HIS NAME WERE THE SAME! This means that God and His Name were inseparable; all that the true God stood for was invested in His Name. His Name and His person were the same. 4. WHO WAS THE FIRST MAN TO RECEIVE THE REVELATION OF GOD'S NAME? Moses, as recorded in Exodus 3. 5. HOW WAS GOD KNOWN BEFORE MOSES' TIME? Apparently He was known as "The true God" or "God Almighty." Exodus 6:3. 6. WHAT WAS THE NAME THAT GOD GAVE TO MOSES? The Hebrew word is composed of four letters ( , JHVH), so it is called the "Tetragrammaton" (the four-lettered name). 7. WHAT DOES THIS FOUR-LETTERED HEBREW NAME MEAN? The Tetragrammaton means "I AM" - just as it is translated in your Bible. Exodus 3: 14. 8. HOW MANY TIMES DOES THIS NAME APPEAR IN THE HEBREW BIBLE? This is the most frequent Name of God in the Scriptures. It appears 6,823 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. 9. DID ISRAELITES EVER PRONOUNCE THIS NAME? No, for it was considered too sacred. Leviticus 24: 16 shows that just to utter the Name was punishable with death by stoning.

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