In the vast majority of the spiritual teachings of the world, the name of the main deity is subject to regular praise. However, in Judaism and Christianity, everything is exactly the opposite. The name of God is forbidden not only to pronounce, but even to write …
Secret shrine
Most Jewish rabbis really believe that the name of God should not be pronounced. There are several reasons for this. The famous rabbi Baruch Podolsky in his works argued that the ban on the public pronunciation of Jehovah's name was imposed in ancient times. In his opinion, there were two completely objective reasons for this. First, the prohibition on the pronunciation of the name of God was imposed in the third commandment. Its text reads “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who utters His name in vain” (Ex. 20: 7). Secondly, the ancient Jews considered it unacceptable that the name of their God was heard by the pagans. In this case, it could be defiled. Subsequently, the tradition of prohibiting the pronunciation of the name of God from the Jews was adopted first by Christians, and then by the Orthodox. In particular, the Orthodox theologian N. E. At the beginning of the 2000s, Pestov declared that the Jewish attitude to the name of God certainly deserves respect. At the same time, Hieromonk Athanasius noted in his theological works that this tradition goes back to deep antiquity. According to him, even the ancient Jews in temples instead of Jehovah pronounced the allegorical Adonai.
God's fear guards faith
However, any rule quickly loses its force, if there is no danger of inevitable severe punishment for disobedience. Most historians of religion are sure that in addition to the official prohibitions on the pronunciation of the name of their God by the Jews, there were also internal barriers. In particular, after the Babylonian captivity, the Jews developed a superstitious fear of pronouncing the name of their own God. They feared that by pronouncing his name, they inadvertently might offend him and incur the wrath of the Almighty. The ancient Egyptian civilization had a significant influence on the formation of the Jewish belief system. According to the mythology of the Egyptians, the one who knew the name of this or that God could use magic to influence him. The ancient Jews, more than anything else, feared that the pagans, having learned the name of Jehovah, could somehow harm them. To prevent this from happening,a secret magical teaching was born, largely associated with the pronunciation of names - Kabbalah. The famous theologian Theophan Bystrov wrote about this in his works in 1905.
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The origin of tradition
At the same time, historians who have carefully studied the traditions of Judaism noted that the ban on the pronunciation of the name of God did not appear immediately. In their opinion, it was formed over a long period of time. In particular, Metropolitan Hilarion believed that this ban was finally formed not earlier than the third century BC. In turn, Christian theologians are convinced that the name of Jehovah fell out of general use only in the first century of our era. Their data is based on the fact that already Jesus and the apostles did not use the name of Jehovah in their speeches, observing the Jewish tradition. Earlier in the IV-III centuries BC, when translating Hebrew scriptures into Greek, the translators also used the vernacular word "kyrios" - Lord instead of the name of God - Jehovah. At the same time, the first ban on the pronunciation of the name of Jehovah in the temple was introduced by Simon the Righteous in the fourth century BC. Moreover, when scientists analyzed the mention of the name of Jehovah in the unbiblical manuscripts of the Jews of the first century AD, they came to the conclusion that it was forbidden not only to pronounce, but to write it. Well-known philosophers of those years Philo, and then Flavius, argued that those who untimely pronounce the name of Jehovah are worthy of the punishment of death. It is noteworthy that these judgments were expressed at a time when the Jew was under the rule of Rome. It would be illegal to enforce such a punishment. At the same time, despite the fact that Jewish religious laws are much softer today than in ancient times, today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write the name of Jehovah unless absolutely necessary. When scholars analyzed the mention of Jehovah's name in non-biblical Jewish manuscripts of the first century AD, they concluded that it was forbidden not only to pronounce it, but to write it. Well-known philosophers of those years Philo, and then Flavius, argued that those who untimely pronounce the name of Jehovah are worthy of the punishment of death. It is noteworthy that these judgments were expressed at a time when the Jew was under the rule of Rome. It would be illegal to enforce such a punishment. At the same time, despite the fact that Jewish religious laws today are much softer than in ancient times, today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write the name of Jehovah unless absolutely necessary. When scholars analyzed the mention of Jehovah's name in non-biblical Jewish manuscripts of the first century AD, they concluded that it was forbidden not only to pronounce it, but to write it. Well-known philosophers of those years Philo, and then Flavius, argued that those who untimely pronounce the name of Jehovah are worthy of the punishment of death. It is noteworthy that these judgments were expressed at a time when the Jew was under the rule of Rome. It would be illegal to enforce such a punishment. At the same time, despite the fact that Jewish religious laws today are much softer than in ancient times, today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write the name of Jehovah unless absolutely necessary. Well-known philosophers of those years Philo, and then Flavius, argued that those who untimely pronounce the name of Jehovah are worthy of the punishment of death. It is noteworthy that these judgments were expressed at a time when the Jew was under the rule of Rome. It would be illegal to enforce such a punishment. At the same time, despite the fact that Jewish religious laws are much softer today than in ancient times, today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write the name of Jehovah unless absolutely necessary. Well-known philosophers of those years Philo, and then Flavius, argued that those who untimely pronounce the name of Jehovah are worthy of the punishment of death. It is noteworthy that these judgments were expressed at a time when the Jew was under the rule of Rome. It would be illegal to enforce such a punishment. At the same time, despite the fact that Jewish religious laws are much softer today than in ancient times, today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write the name of Jehovah unless absolutely necessary.that Jewish religious laws are much milder today than they were in antiquity, today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write Jehovah's name unless absolutely necessary.that Jewish religious laws are much milder today than they were in antiquity; today it is considered reprehensible to pronounce or write Jehovah's name unless absolutely necessary.
