Cultural Grammar – Rewind
At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:26 ESV
Name – Explain the grammatical connections and implications of calling someone’s name. Let’s see. In English (and also in Greek and most Indo-European languages), a name is a phonetic marker that represents some entity. More importantly, it is an arbitrary phonetic marker. That means there is no essential connection between the sound of the word and the properties or attributes of the designated object. So, cat in English and gato in Spanish both designate the same creature but neither word is essentially connected to the existence of the creature. In these languages, names are simply useful conventions. If we assigned wooky to the creature that looks like a domestic cat, and we all agreed to call it by this name, we would not do this creature an injustice.
But not so in Hebrew. In Hebrew a name is an essential expression of the attributes of that object. A name is not an arbitrary convention. A name says something about the necessary properties of the object; properties that cannot be expressed with any other name. For example, av (Aleph-Bet) is the word for “father,” but it is not simply a linguistic convention. Aleph-Bet portrays the essential characteristic of what it means to be a father by expressing the two pictures “strength” and “house” in conjunction. A father is the strength of the house. A man who has children but is not the strength of the house is not a father for he does not meet the essential requirements of what it means to be a father. We see the same linguistic qualities in the language of the Maasai. To be a man is to be the provider for the family. As one person in South Africa told me, when a girl in the breadwinner of a Maasai home, she is referred to as the “man” of the house.
With this in mind, what does Scripture mean when it says that men began to call on the name of the Lord? Does it mean that one day they started using the name “YHVH” as part of their worship? No. It means that at this time men began to identify themselves with the essential characteristics attached to the name YHVH. It isn’t that they just began using the phonetic sound of the name. Rather, they began to do what was implied by conforming their lives to the meaning of the name. They became representative bearers of the name by displaying the essential attributes inherent in the name. That’s why “calling on the name” is actually a technical term for “conforming my life to the attributes of the divine.”
Why is this important to us? Christianity has made a fetish out of the name “Jesus.” Quite often Christians attach “in the name of Jesus” to a prayer in order to proclaim some supposed authority and veracity. But calling on the name of Yeshua (even as “Jesus”) is not some magical rite or spiritual formula. To name Him in some prayer is to proclaim conformity of His character and attributes. In other words, it is to assert that my life is in full alignment with His life, that I do what He does, and that my words are His words. “In the name of Jesus” means nothing if the speaker is not exhibiting the life of the Messiah.
Topical Index: name, shem, šēm, Genesis 4:26
