What’s In a Name?

10 Now an Israelite woman’s son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel. And the Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought in the camp, 11 and the Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name, and cursed. Then they brought him to Moses. His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. 12 And they put him in custody, till the will of the Lord should be clear to them.

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

17 “Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. 21 Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. 22 You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.” 23 So Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed and stoned him with stones. Thus the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses. – Leviticus 24:10-23 ESV

The entire book of Leviticus stresses the holiness of God and promotes a lifestyle of holiness among His chosen people. As His treasured possession, they were to emulate His divine nature by faithfully observing all the rules for holy living He had decreed and that were intended to set them apart from the rest of the nations. In obeying His commands, observing His holy days, and offering the ritual sacrifices He required, they would be honoring Him as the one true God. Their obedience was to be a sign of obeisance or homage. It was the primary means by which they could prove their submission to His will and reverence for His name.

Throughout the book of Leviticus, God is referred to by His name Jehovah, which means “the existing one.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, God’s name is recorded as YHWH because the vowels were not included in written form. This is what’s known as the tetragrammaton, which simply means “four letters.” Some versions of the Bible translate the tetragrammaton as “Yahweh” by adding in the missing vowels. Others choose to translate it as “LORD” using all capital letters. Others still, choose to replace YHWH with Jehovah.

“Any number of vowel sounds can be inserted within YHWH, and Jewish scholars are as uncertain of the real pronunciation as Christian scholars are. Jehovah is actually a much later (probably 16th-century) variant. The word Jehovah comes from a three-syllable version of YHWH, YeHoWeH. The Y was replaced with a J (although Hebrew does not even have a J sound) and the W with a V, plus the extra vowel in the middle, resulting in JeHoVaH. These vowels are the abbreviated forms of the imperfect tense, the participial form, and the perfect tense of the Hebrew being verb (English is)—thus the meaning of Jehovah could be understood as ‘He who will be, is, and has been.’” – www.gotquestions.org

The Jews developed such a reverence for the name of God, that they eventually stopped trying to say it aloud. Instead, they replaced YHWH with the word Adonai, which means “Lord.” While it is almost impossible to know the exact pronunciation of YHWH because we don’t know the identity of the missing vowels, we do know that the Jews treated the name of God with great reverence.

As we saw earlier, the book of Leviticus repeatedly identifies God speaking to His people by using the phrase, “The LORD spoke to Moses…” (Leviticus 24:1 ESV). This is the name YHWH or Jehovah and it is meant to accentuate the unique relationship between God and His people. This is not just any god, but the one true God, the self-existing one, and the people were expected to listen to what He had to say and do exactly what He commanded them to do. Their obedience would prove their reverence for His name.

That brings us to this section of Leviticus 24, where Moses includes a narrative involving a real-life situation that was meant to illustrate the sanctity and holiness of God’s name. In all the talk of feasts, holy days, celebrations, sacrifices, and sabbath rest, the people were never to allow themselves to treat God’s name with disrespect. What made the Tabernacle holy was the One who dwelled within it. What made the people of Israel holy was the One whose name they bore. And they were to treat that name with reverence and awe at all times.

So, at his point in the narrative, Moses includes an example of a young man who chose to take God’s name in vain, in direct violation of the third commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7 ESV). God’s name was a representation of His divine nature. It embodied all of His attributes and was meant to convey the totality of His being, especially His glory. This led the psalmists to write:

O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth! – Psalm 8:1 ESV

Holy and awesome is his name! – Psalm 111:9 ESV

In providing His disciples with what has become known as The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus opened with the words, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” (Matthew 6;9 ESV). This might better be translated, “Let your name be kept holy” or “Let your name be treated with reverence.”

Yet, Moses describes a real-life scenario where a young man chose a different tact. The son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father, this young man got into an altercation with another Hebrew. Moses provides no details regarding the cause of their fight but it would be easy to assume that it had something to do with the young man’s mixed-race background. But whatever happened between these two men, Moses did not include the cause because there was no justification for the young man’s actions. Moses simply states, “the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the Name, and cursed” (Leviticus 24:11 ESV).

In the heat of their argument, the young man “blasphemed” God’s name. The Hebrew word, nāqaḇ, can mean “to bore a hole, pierce” or “to declare distinct by specifying the name.” It seems that this young man used God’s name in an unholy and derogatory manner. He treated it with contempt. And not only that, he “cursed.” The Hebrew word is qālal, and it means “to curse, treat lightly, treat with contempt, consider unimportant.” In his anger, this young man denigrated the holy name of God. He used it as a weapon against His Israelite opponent. And for his actions, the young man was condemned to death.

“Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.” – Leviticus 24:14 ESV

Evidently, this altercation took place before witnesses and these individuals were not only expected to testify against the guilty party but to take part in his execution. They were to stand before the entire congregation and lay their hands on the young man, signifying his guilt and justifying his death. While this story may offend our modern sensibilities, it should provide us with a powerful lesson on the holiness of God. Even the misuse of His name is grounds for judgment because everything about Him is to be treated with appropriate reverence and awe. In God’s economy, the punishment fit the crime. This young man had chosen to treat God’s name in a disrespectful manner and he paid dearly for it. And his death served as a stark reminder to the rest of the nation of Israel that YHWH demanded that He be treated with the reverence He so rightly deserved. And anyone who chose to disregard this command was to suffer the consequences.

Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin… – Leviticus 24:15 ESV

This story provided a natural segue to the next section, in which God outlines the law of retribution, also called the law of retaliation or lex talionis. It is sometimes referred to by the phrase, “an eye for an eye.” These verses outline God’s divine principle concerning justice: The punishment should fit the crime. 

When it came to the unlawful taking of life, God prescribed a just punishment for such a crime.

“Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for life.” – Leviticus 24:17-18 ESV

Anyone who willfully took the life of another human was to pay with their own life. If they caused the death of another individual’s livestock, they were to make restitution by providing a substitute animal. When it came to other crimes or abuses, God outlined a principle of equitable recompense.

“If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.” – Leviticus 24:19-20 ESV

These verses seem to be teaching a need for balance in all things. In truth, they were designed to prohibit unlawful and unbalanced vengeance. Capital punishment would be an unjust punishment for bodily injury. Anger over an injustice suffered could easily result in payback that was way out of proportion and a sin in its own right. These regulations were meant to control unjust vendettas and police vigilantism. Back in chapter 19, Moses records God’s admonition concerning improperly motivated revenge or retribution.

“Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:17-18 NLT

After the rather strange aside involving the young man who blasphemed and cursed God’s name, Moses concludes chapter 24 with the stark summary: “and they brought out of the camp the one who had cursed and stoned him with stones. Thus the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses” (Leviticus 23:23 ESV). The guilty party was dealt with according to God’s command. The people obeyed and gave the young man what he justly deserved. And this difficult assignment must have made an indelible impact on the entire Hebrew community. It would have been impossible to walk away unmoved or unimpressed by the severity of the judgment and the seriousness with which God took the holiness of His name. All the laws, rules, regulations, and religious rituals they had received from God would mean nothing if they failed to honor and revere His name. Without a proper respect for His character, as displayed by His very name, the peoples’ obedience would be meaningless and their observance of His feasts and holy days would be in vain. One of the greatest demonstrations of obedience is a reverence for the character of God as illustrated by His very name.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

No Detail Too Small

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. 3 Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. 4 He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord regularly.

5 “You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. 6 And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold before the Lord. 7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the Lord regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. 9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the Lord's food offerings, a perpetual due.” – Leviticus 24:1-9 ESV

At first glance, the content of chapter 24 seems to be misplaced. It seems to have no logical relationship with the chapters that precede and follow it. After outlining the various annual feasts and holy days the Israelites were to celebrate, God appears to abruptly shift His focus and begins discussing the oil and bread used in the Tabernacle. But there is nothing in the text that suggests these instructions were given in direct or unbroken sequence with the ones concerning the annual festivals. Chapter 24 opens with the statement, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying…” (Leviticus 24:1 ESV).

This same phrase was used in verses 1, 9, 23, 26, and 33 of chapter 23. They each serve as breaks in the narrative where God changes the emphasis from one point to another. Sometimes the changes are subtle, while at other times they are more abrupt. And chapter 23 ends with the statement: “Thus Moses declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:44 ESV). This verse provides a closing to God’s instructions regarding the annual feasts.

Now, in chapter 24, God speaks to Moses once again, but concerning a different but not wholly unrelated matter. Every one of the annual feasts that God decreed involved the use of the Tabernacle. And while these holy convocations were to take place on an annual basis, the Tabernacle was to be in service throughout the entire calendar year. There is a sense in which God wanted His people to properly revere these once-a-year sacred assemblies, but not forget the daily care and maintenance of His dwelling place. It would be easy for the Israelites to give these holy days (holidays) greater significance because they were festive occasions when the entire community gathered together at the Tabernacle. But God suggests that the day-to-day operations of the Tabernacle were not to take a backseat to these higher-visibility events.

While the Passover and the various feasts of Firstfruits, Weeks, Trumpets, and Booths were important, they did not take precedence over the daily care and maintenance of God’s house. The Day of Atonement may have been the most important annual event on Israel’s calendar, but it was not to overshadow the peoples’ obligation to literally “keep the lights burning” in the sanctuary of God. When God had given Moses the instructions for building the Tabernacle, He had included the following command concerning the oil for the Golden Lampstand.

“Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation.” – Exodus 27:20-21 NLT

Aaron and his sons were responsible for keeping the light of the lampstand burning 24 hours a day throughout the entire calendar year. This elaborate piece of furniture, fashioned in the form of a tree, was intended to bring light into the inner recesses of God’s house. The author of Hebrews provides us with details concerning the exact placement of the lampstand.

There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. – Hebrews 9:2-4 NLT

This lampstand was the sole source of light within the Holy Place and made it possible for the priests to fulfill their duties within the Tabernacle. Each morning, the seven bowls of the lampstand were to be filled with fresh oil and the wicks were to be trimmed so that their flames would burn brightly and perpetually. This ritual was to be repeated each evening so that the lamp continued to give off light throughout the night. 

But none of this was possible if the people failed to obey God’s command. In order for the light to burn continually, the people were required to bring “pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp” (Leviticus 24:1 ESV). This perpetual light was a symbol of God’s glorious presence. In its location just outside the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, the lampstand provided light in the darkness. It illuminated the veil that led into the place where God’s glory dwelled above the mercy seat. In that place, God’s Shekinah glory was always present in the Holy of Holies but was off limits to all but the high priest, and even he was restricted from entering that sacred space except on the Day of Atonement.

But the light outside the veil was to be kept burning at all times. It was to be a representation and a reminder of God’s glorious presence within the Holy of Holies. He was there, not just on the Day of Atonement, but throughout the entire calendar year. His glory never diminished. The light of His presence never faded. And the priests were responsible for maintaining the light of the lampstand as a perpetual reminder that God was still among them. Yahweh had promised to dwell with the people of Israel but He had also placed on them the requirement to obey His commands. And while bringing in fresh olive oil each day was a relatively simple and inexpensive task to fulfill, it was essential that the Israelites never fail to follow through on their commitment. If they did, the lights would go out. That simple act of disobedience would have dramatic consequences. The priests would have no oil to light the lamps and, as a result, the lamps on the lampstand would go out, leaving Aaron and his sons in the dark and incapable of doing their jobs. Worse yet, that simple act of disobedience would result in God’s glory departing the Holy of Holies. His presence was tied to their obedience.

And the same thing was true of the 12 loaves of bread that were to be placed on the golden table within the Holy Place every seventh day. These loaves of freshly baked bread, sometimes referred to as the bread of the presence, were to be placed on the Table of Showbread every Sabbath day. Representing the 12 tribes of Israel, these loaves were placed on the golden table in the Holy Place, where they were illuminated by the light from the Golden Lampstand. For six days, they sat just outside the veil that separated them from God’s glorious presence. Symbolically, they represented God’s people, basking in the light of His glory and grace. And each Sabbath, the old loaves would be replaced with freshly baked new loaves, symbolizing the transformative power of God’s presence among His people. The Sabbath was a day of rest and renewal when the people made Yahweh their highest priority. It was a day set apart for Him, and during which no work was done. During the other six days of the week, the people would work and labor, and by the seventh day they would need a time of refreshing from God.

These loaves were also intended to be a gift given to God in gratitude for His gracious provision of all their needs. The 12 tribes of Israel existed because of God’s grace, and they continued to exist for the very same reason. He had set them apart for His use. They belonged to Him and were to live their lives in keeping with His will. Every seventh day, the people of God were to provide the flour that was used to bake the bread that sat before the presence of God. It was to be a perpetual sign of their ownership by God and their willingness to place themselves at His disposal to do with as He wished.

Another point that should not be missed is that the oil and the bread were essential for the priests to do their jobs. These verses stress the integral nature of the priesthood. They were vital to the everyday well-being of the nation. They had been set apart by God and tasked with caring for the Tabernacle but also with overseeing the spiritual health of His people. Yet, they could not do their job if the people failed to obey God’s commands. The provision of oil and bread was the sole responsibility of the people. Everyone had to do their part. The oil provided light so that the priests could do their job. And the bread eventually became nourishment for the priests so they could have the strength to serve God’s people (Leviticus 24:9).

This entire operation was finely tuned and intricately ordained by God to be self-sustaining and mutually beneficial. Every facet of His divine plan was vital and required obedience on the part of all those involved. The priests and the people were obligated to perform their respective responsibilities on time and in keeping with God’s will. Even the smallest details of God’s plan had to be obeyed if the nation wanted to continue to enjoy His presence, power, and provision. What good would the feast days be if the people allowed the lights to go out in the Holy Place? Why would God be obligated to provide atonement and access into His presence if the people were unwilling to provide the bread of the presence?

Everything mattered to God. No feast was greater than any other. No command was more important than any other. The will of God was righteous and worthy of their obedience, from the daily provision of oil to the yearly celebrations of the feasts.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.