Hebrew Roots Issue: Don't Call Him "Jesus"

One of the practices often connected with the Hebrew Roots movement is the prohibition of using the English names for God or Jesus. Proponents teach that only the Hebrew names are the "real" names and that using English names is a violation of the third commandment to not take God's name in vain. It is often called the "Sacred Names" movement and began in the U.S. in the 1930's.

The permitted name for God the Father is usually Yahweh, based on the Hebrew YHWH. The permitted name for Jesus is Yahshua or Yeshua, based on a variant of the Hebrew word for Joshua. Spelling variations exist among the followers of this movement but this doesn't stop them from being dogmatic about the particular spelling they prefer.

Some claim that using the "wrong" name for God or Jesus means the person is not saved because they have prayed to a false God, while others simply assert that it is an error that robs the believer from God's blessings.

This entire idea is based on a false premise, an incomplete or inaccurate reading of Scripture and an ignorance of historical facts.

1) Translating God's Name Is Not Taking It In Vain

The third commandment is not a prohibition on translation. Taking God's name in vain literally means using it in a context of falsehood, vanity or emptiness. Practically it means using it as a profanity, making false oaths with it or using it in any other disrespectful way. The commandment has nothing to do with translating God's name from Hebrew into other languages.

God was the one who invented languages in the first place (Genesis 11), so it is a strange premise to assert that he would be offended unless we address him in a language that is foreign to us. Further, the Old Testament shows that God revealed himself using different names. Why is Yahweh the only correct name when he is also called Elohim and El Shaddai and Adonai?

Calling someone John when he's in England, or Jean when he's in France, or Giovanni when he's in Italy, or Johann when he's in Germany does not mean you are speaking to different people. It's the same person with the same name, just translated into different languages. I am not talking to one true John and three false Johns -- its one and the same guy. It's the same situation when praying to God or Yahweh -- it's one person.

Jewish scholars had no problem translating the Hebrew scriptures into Greek a few centuries before Christ. They translated the name YHWH into the Greek word "Kyrios" (Lord) and Elohim into the Greek word "Theos." There was no concern that Jews who read and spoke in the Greek language were worshipping the wrong God because they weren't using his Hebrew names. (I have more to say on this translation effort below.)

This is the underlying false premise of the Sacred Names movement: translating God's names is not the same as taking God's name in vain.

2) The Names "Lord" and "God" Are Not Names of Pagan Gods

Another argument from the Sacred Names camp is that the English Bibles have switched the correct Hebrew names with corrupted pagan names for God and Jesus. Some attribute this to the translators of the King James Bible or the Roman Catholic Church of the time of Constantine or even Satan himself in an attempt to get Christians to worship the wrong God by changing his name. Pick whichever villain sounds best to you.

They criticize the terms "Lord" and "God" as being generic terms, not proper names, and that they are therefore offensive to God. They insist we must only use the proper name of God which is YHWH in Hebrew, pronounced Yahweh or more traditionally Jehovah.

It is correct that the words God and Lord are generic terms in Hebrew, just like they are in English. God can refer to the true God or false gods in both languages. Lord can mean the master of the universe or just the master of a house. That does not mean the names are inappropriate and certainly does not mean they are offensive to the true God. Just like "father" is a generic term, I am not confused when my children call me "Father," wondering which father in the world they might be talking to this time. Similarly God is not confused when we call him Lord or God.

In fact, the Hebrew scriptures use these generic terms to distinguish God from the other gods. In Psalm 136 [NASB], it says:

1 Give thanks to the LORD [Yehovah], for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting

2  Give thanks to the God of gods [elohim elohim], For his lovingkindness is everlasting

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords [adon adon], For his lovingkindness is everlasting

It's a strange premise to teach that God is pleased when we give him thanks using the name in verse 1 but is offended when we give him thanks using the names in verses 2 and 3.

The belief that God is offended by any name other than Yahweh has to be imposed onto the Scriptures -- it cannot be found within them anywhere.

3) The Name "Jesus" is not a pagan term meaning "Hail, Zeus"

A similar criticism from the Sacred Name camp is that Jesus cannot be his correct name because it comes for a Greek word meaning "Hail, Zeus." They claim it was created by the Roman Catholic church to appeal to pagan Romans who lived during the early centuries of the church. Further, they claim the name "Jesus" could never have been used in Jesus' own lifetime to refer to him.

The only problem with these claims is they are completely false.

The English name Jesus derives through Latin "Iesus" and then back to the Greek word "Iesous" which may rhyme with "Zeus" in English but is absolutely not the name of Zeus in Greek. Since Zeus is actually spelled the same in English as in Greek, it's clear to see that "-sous" is not the same word as "Zeus" in either language.

While first century Roman citizens in Lystra once "honoured" Barnabas by calling him Zeus after a lame man was healed (Acts 14:12) there is no evidence the name Jesus was ever confused with the name Zeus.

Further, the Greek name "Iesous" was not invented by early Roman Catholics or even Christians. It was created by Jewish scholars about 300 B.C. when they translated the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language, known as the Septuagint. When they came to the Hebrew name for Joshua, they transliterated it to the Greek "Iesous." Because the languages have different alphabets and different rules of language, the transliterated letters changed accordingly.

The Septuagint version of Scripture became popular as Greek became the predominant language across the Roman empire, so the Greek name Iesous was a well-known name by Jesus' time as evidenced by archeological finds from the first century. When Pilate posted Jesus' crime on his cross, he posted it in 3 languages: Hebrew, Latin and Greek. The only Greek translation for the Hebrew name "Yeshua" (Jesus' name in Hebrew) was Iesous, so the name Iesuos was certainly visible to everyone who witnessed his crucifixion. 

To claim that the Greek name for Jesus was never used in his own lifetime requires an ignorance of historical facts.

The Bottom Line: Jesus' Example

When the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray, he had a prime opportunity to address this issue of using God's "correct" name (Matt. 6:9):

Pray then in this way: Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 

Jesus calls God "Father" consistently throughout the Gospels whenever he prays, and throughout the Sermon on the Mount where this passage occurs. Yet Jesus also adds the phrase, "Hallowed be Your name" with hallowed meaning holy or sanctified. While God's name is to be kept holy or revered, Jesus didn't bother using any of God's names that occur in the Old Testament. He simply calls Him Father, and instructs us to do the same.

The entire Sacred Names movement is a destructive diversion that is not Biblical, not historical and not helpful. It paints the character of God as a confused, offended being who is difficult to talk to without learning the magic foreign words. Christianity is not about a learning a religious formula -- it is about having a relationship. God is a loving father, not a petty tyrant. Jesus answers prayers made in his name in any language.

False teachings like this one bring a lot of confusion and damage to new believers (and some old believers), diverting their energies and attention from the important issues like living a Godly life.