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benelchi -> RE: G-d or God? (8/28/2008 12:55:09 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GrahamCracker
Not only did the Hebrews omit the vowels from their designation of God, but they omitted vowels from ALL words.
And if it were important to write God's name without vowel markings, why didn't the Greek writers of the NT do that? They used the name for God that was common to the Greek speakers: Theos, which included vowels.
The issue really has nothing to do with not writing the vowels, but rather not writing God's name at all. The basis for the tradition is and has always been to avoid using the Lord's name in vain. At a very early date the Jewish people began saying the name adonai (Lord) when ever they read the name YHWH in the text. When the Masorites added the vowel system to the Hebrew they actually took the pointings from adonai and added them to every instance of YHWH to remind people of this substitution. Looking at the oldest Dead Sea Scrolls we even find that after the Hebrew letters were changed from Phonetician to Aramaic that they actually would still write God's name in the original Phonetician script in order to avoid changing God's name in any way.
In the oral tradition there are additional laws governing the writing of God's name. When ever God's name was written on anything that might not be permanent a substitution is made. In Hebrew often it is something like YY, Hashem (the name), and in English it is G-D or L-RD. However, when it is printed in ink in a bible, carved into stone, etc.... the correct spelling is used.
While I personally don't adhere to these oral laws, I do understand and respect the original reason for them; they were a hedge used to remind people of the importance of reverencing God's name. Interestingly enough this tradition is even evident in most of our modern English bibles i.e. it is the reason why our English bibles read Lord (adonai) whenever the original reads YHWH.
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