Bearing Yhwh’s Name at Sinai

The Name Command (NC) is usually interpreted as a prohibition against speaking Yhwh’s name in a particular context: false oaths, wrongful pronunciation, irreverent worship, magical practices, cursing, false teaching, and the like. However, the NC lacks the contextual specification needed to support the command as speech related. Taking seriously the narrative context at Sinai and the closest lexical parallels, a different picture emerges—one animated by concrete rituals and their associated metaphorical concepts. The unique phrase ns' shm is one of several expressions arising from the conceptual metaphor, election as branding, that finds analogies in high-priest regalia as well as in various ways of claiming ownership in the Ancient Near East, such as inscribed monuments, the use of seals, and the branding of slaves. The NC presupposes that Yhwh has claimed Israel by placing Yhwh’s own name on her. In this light, the first two commands of the Decalogue reinforce the two sides of the covenant declaration: “I will be your God; you will be my people.” The first expresses the demand for exclusive worship and the second calls for proper representation. As a consequence, the NC invites a richer exploration of what it means to be a people in covenant with Yhwh—a people bearing his name among the nations. It also points to what is at stake when Israel carries that name “in vain.” The image of bearing Yhwh’s name offers a rich source for theological and ethical reflection that cannot be conveyed nonmetaphorically without distortion or loss of meaning.

“Many will benefit from Imes’ judicious work here, especially those with interests in the Decalogue and in the character and role of ancient Israel in its world. Contemporary religious leaders may find the final chapter especially meaningful for their work. In the end, many will find reward in their patient reading of this book and, whether persuaded or not, will nevertheless agree that Imes has put forward a compelling case for a nonelliptical or representational understanding of the name command.”—Mark W. Bartusch, Review of Biblical Literature

“This book is a testimony to the continued value of traditional close-reading strategies and to their renewal through appeal to more recent, cognitively-informed approaches to literary figures.”—Jeremy M. Hutton, Journal of Semitic Studies

“The interpretation of the [Name Command] that emerges from Imes’s study can certainly be very useful to those who pursue a synchronic reading of the [Name Command], insofar as it offers not only a rich theological interpretation relating to the election of the people and its mission of representing yhwh but also important ethical consequences to be kept in high regard.”—Francesco Cocco, Vetus Testamentum

Carmen Joy Imes is Associate Professor in Old Testament and program coordinator for Biblical Studies at Prairie College, Alberta, Canada.

Contents

List of Figures List of Tables

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

1. Introduction2. A History of the Interpretation of the Name Command3. A Reexamination of the Name Command: Lexico-Historical Considerations 4. A Reexamination of the Name Command in the Context of the Decalogue5. Bearing Yhwh’s Name at Sinai Appendix: Semantic Overlap between נשׂא and λαμβάνωBibliographyIndexes

Index of Authors

Index of Scripture