A Gem in the Talmud
(the Talmud is the written collection of Oral Traditions of the ancient Synagogue )
In the Babylonian Talmud there is a very interesting discussion about a vision that an ancient High Priest sees as he is burning incense on the Day of Atonement. The passage I am speaking about is found in tractate Berakoth 7a.
The context is a discussion of whether God prays or not. This discussion might seem whimsical, but it is from this point of departure that the discussion has its beginning.
The text in question reads :
There is a teaching: R. Ishmael b. Elisha said: Once I entered the Holy of Holies to offer incense and I saw ActriEl YH YHWH seated upon a high and lofty throne.
תניא א'ר ישמעאל בן אלישע פעם אחת נכנסתי להקטיר קטורת לפני לפנים וראיתי אכתריאל יה ה' צבאות שהוא יושב על כסא רם ונשא
So on the surface of this statement there seems to be a very dramatic implication. This Rabbi, (who the Jewish tradition equates with Ishmael ben Phabi, one of the last High Priests of the Second Temple) seems to be saying that he saw God in the Holy of Holies, since the Name YH YHWH would seem to fit only the Most High.
But isn't it written that no one has ever seen God, nor may ever see God? (Deut. 4:15, Ex 33:20, John 1.18).
One Jewish commentator, Rabbeinu Chananel suggests the possibility that this Name refers to an angel.
To someone who is intimately familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures the 2nd half of the Name ( i.e. YH YHWH - יה ה ) will be immediately familiar, since it occurs in Scripture.
Since this statement from the High Priest immediately presents such a stark proposition, I think it demands that the its reader hearken back to analyze very carefully the way this precise Name is used in the Old Testament.
Regarding the first half of this Name , אכתריאל I will say more later.
Before preceeding however it is perhaps appropriate to point out that there are moments in the Scriptures where it is hinted at that God might have more than one Name.
Ps 7:17 (18)
אודה יהוה כצדקו ואזמרה שׁם־יהוה עליון׃
I will praise YHWH according to his righteousness, and I will make melody to His highest Name.
This is my translation.
Since עליון here (English as “highest”)appears most appropriately to be an adjective, it must be indicating that the singer praises the Highest Name (or “the Highest YHWH” which seems less likely).
If one interprets עליון to be a proper name, the translation would be: I will praise YHWH according to His righteousness, and I will make melody to the Name of YHWH, o Most High.
Interpreting in this manner is slightly awkward since the first part of the sentence refers to God in the third person, but then abruptly the last word עליון would then be addressing Him directly, in the 2nd person grammatical form. This is not impossible, but it is awkward, which in my view makes the translation : “make melody to His Highest Name” preferable.
Similar themes occur in Ps 9:2 and 92:1.
The point here is that the Scripture seems to be indicating that God has a uppermost Name, which in and of itself implies the existence of other Names which are lower.
Another Psalm states unequivocally, however, that one Name belongs only and wholly to God:
Ps 83:19:
וידעו כי־אתה שׁמך יהוה לבדך עליון על־כל־הארץ׃
And they will know that You, whose Name is YHWH, alone are most high over all of the earth.
I would suggest that the name referred to in this verse, of which we know only the consonants for sure, and of which we do not know the vowels, is exactly the same as the “highest Name” mentioned in Ps 7:17 (18).
In this context it might be interesting to note that the Talmud, in B. Kiddushin 71a states that there were certain Names of God known only to the priesthood, of which our speaker in the passage of the Talmud is one.
Now returning to analyze the usage of the Name YH YHWH which the High Priest mentions enigmatically, let us carefully examine every place this particular Name is used in Scripture, since it is inevitably true that the High Priest would have been fully conversant in the Scriptures, and thus his speech patterns would in no way have been discordant with them.
This peculiar Name would have been used a full 3 times in Scripture but one of them was emended by Scribes in such a way to altar the truth of the Scriptures, or at least that is what a Scribal tradition reports to us.
Without delving into to much detail and sidetracking the discussion to much, it is sufficient to say that this particular phraseology is used at Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 26:4, and at Psalm 130:3.
This last verse is the one which was altered by the Scribes as one of the 134 Emendations of the Scribes.
Now it is significant that the peculiar wording of this Name occurs a full 3 times. In the Bibilical Numerology the number 3 represents a perfect number which represents fullness. As the Jewish commentator the Maharal of Prague says: The number three is characteristic of a complete entity. No less is adequate, and no more is required. (from his commentary to Pirkei Avoth).
So that this specific Name occurs 3 times is quite significant, since any concept or Name which is mentioned 3 times in the Scriptures is thought to carry a certain weight and have a distinct importance, just by virtue of the fact that it occurs 3 times.
Here are the 3 times this exact wording occurs in the Scriptures:
Isaiah 12:2
הנה אל ישׁועתי אבטח ולא אפחד כי־עזי וזמרת יה יהוה ויהי־לי לישׁועה׃
Behold, God is my Salvation. I will trust, and I will not be afraid, for my strength and song is YH YHWH, and he has become Salvation for me.
Isaiah 26:4
בטחו ביהוה עדי־עד כי ביה יהוה צור עולמים׃
Trust in YHWH unto eternity, for the Rock of the Ages is in YH YHWH.
Psalm 130:3
אם־עונות תשׁמר־יה אדני מי יעמד׃
If you keep record of iniquities, YH My Lord (= Hebrew Adonai) who could survive?
According to the notes of the Scribes which have been passed down this last verse originally read:
אם־עונות תשׁמר־יה יהוה מי יעמד׃
If you keep record of iniquites YH YHWH who could survive?
So the above 3 Scriptures have the exact form mentioned by the High Priest in the Talmud.
They in and of themselves are fairly ambiguous and do not tell us a great deal about what the Name might mean.
There are other Scriptures, however which do shine more light on the topic. I would refer to the next group of verses which I will present as verses which are similar to the YH YHWH verses, but not exactly similar (therefore not falling into the category above).
This next batch of verses will highlight a theme which is repeated a full 3 times and one of the verses I listed above is one of them, showing the intrinsic link amongst all of these verses of both categories. By carefully analyzing this next batch of verses, I believe, one can come to understand the meaning of the Name YH YHWH as the High Priest used it.
The next collection of verses, as I mentioned has as a member Isaiah 12:2: The theme here that is repeated is “my strengh and song is YH, and he has become salvation for me”.
Here are the verses:
Exodus 15:2:
עזי וזמרת יה ויהי־לי לישׁועה זה אלי ואנוהו אלהי אבי וארממנהו׃
My strength and Song is Yah, and he has become Salvation (Yeshua) for me.
Isaiah 12:2:
הנה אל ישׁועתי אבטח ולא אפחד כי־עזי וזמרת יה יהוה ויהי־לי לישׁועה׃
Behold, God is my Salvation. I will trust, and I will not be afraid, for my strength and song is YH YHWH, and he has become Salvation for me.
Ps 118:14:
עזי וזמרת יה ויהי־לי לישׁועה׃
My strength and Song is YH, and he has become Salvation for me.
As before, in these verses there is not anything that definitively unlocks the mystery of what this Name means, but if one is careful to observe the exact context and the similarities present in each verse, then the picture will come into focus.
The first mention of this theme (“Strength and song”) is found in Exodus. This might be important because in Hebrew the book of Exodus is called Shemoth which means “Names”. Indeed it is in this book that the Great and Awful Name of the Most High is revealed to Moshe. And also in chapter 15 of Exodus we have the Name YH revealed also. All of this in the book of Names.
So in Exodus, aka the book of Names, we have the first occurrence of the “Strength and Song” theme which is repeated three times, and which shares a verse with the 3 verses which have the Name YH YHWH ( יה יהוה ) , that is to say that Isaiah 12:2 occurs in both lists (the YH YHWH list and the 'Strength and Song' list).
So these two themes are intimately linked.
Now by closely analyzing the context of all these “Strength and Song” verses we can unlock the mystery of the Name YH YHWH.
The first occurrence of the 'Strength and Song' them is Exodus/Names 15. The context here is extremely significant and indeed will be a major clue to understand the matter.
In Exodus 12 the Israelites exit from Egypt by the strong hand of YHWH. In Exodus 14 they cross the Red Sea. In Exodus 15 we have the Song, in which the “Strengh and Song” theme is first mentioned, and which links on to Isaiah 12:2 where the exact same wording is used, except for there the Name YH is expanded so that it becomes YH YHWH.
If one observes very carefully something very interesting becomes visible in Exodus aka the book of Names (Shemoth). In Exodus/Names 13:21 we read that YHWH went before them in a pillar of fire and in a cloud.
In Exodus/Names 14:19 however we read that it was an angel of God that went before the camp.
So this apparently is a contradiction. One verse seems to says that it was God Himself, another verse states clearly that it was merely an angel. Is there something wrong here?
The Jewish tradition might resolve this apparent discrepancy by saying that “a person's messenger is considered to be as the one sending him” (m. Berakoth).
That could be, but perhaps the book of Exodus/Names itself suggests another explanation.
Exodus/Names 23:19-21
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you in the way, and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Be very careful regarding him, and obey him. Do not replace (or “embitter”) him, for he will not forgive your rebellion, for My Name is in Him.
This verse seems to be speaking exactly to the apparent discrepancy pointed out above. The simple meaning of the 23:19-21 could be that the Most High YHWH placed his one of His Names upon an angel honorifically, and that this angel was to guide Israel.
If this interpretation be accepted, it is not necessarily the case both entities have exactly the same Name, since in Hebrew only consonants are present in any given word, with the vowels left unwritten. In this way words which are apparently the same in terms of the letters present might actually differ, and be pronounced differently even though they are spelled exactly the same.
Consider an example.
אלף
might be interpreted as “one” and be pronounced “aleph”
whereas
אלף
might be interpreted as “one thousand” and be pronounced “eleph”.
So perhaps Exodus/Names 23:21 is indicating that the angel of the Lord actually has a 4 letter name which would appear to be spelled identically as God's Set Apart and Holy Name (see Ps 83:19), but which is pronounced differently.
Thus we see from the usage of YH in Exodus 15 that it likely refers to the Angel of the Lord, and if so the nearly exact same wording found at Isaiah 12:2 would have the same meaning (this is a principle of Biblical Hermeneutics).
But now lets look at the third passage in the “Strength and Song” list, which occurs in Psalm 118:14. This Psalm has many very interesting verses.
It will be seen that in verse 14 YH is spoken of in the familiar “Strength and Song” theme. Then in verses 15 & 16 the same entity is referred to as YHWH's right arm.
If YH is YHWH's right arm one could deduce that the right arm in turn is not the same entity as YHWH Himself, but rather a subordinate entity described poetically as His arm, in the eastern fashion in which all of the Bible is written.
For more information on the them of “right arm” or “right hand” a word study could and should be done, and with good insights to be learned.
Returning though to Ps 118, another similar and very interesting dynamic is to be seen in the text.
After speaking of YH as the right arm of God, the text speaks of praising YH as being the Gate to YHWH (Ps 118:19-20).
Now this verse requires a bit of thought. Why would the Holy Spirit arrange these words in this way? Is it the intent of the Holy Spirit to tell us that God is the Gate to God? If so what on earth could this mean?
Avoiding this flimsy interpretation one sees that YH, defined in verses 14-16 as being God's right arm, is the Angel of the Lord we met in the book of Exodus/Names.
I would suggest that other Names for this same entity are “the Glory of the Lord” (Ezekiel 1:26-28 & Exodus 33:22), or “the Word of the Lord” (Ps 33:6), or “Wisdom” as mentioned in Proverbs chapter 8 and 1 Corinthians 1:30.
The tenor of all these Scriptures indicates that this is the elect of the Angels. To get an idea of the import of this fact, one cold look at the symbolism of the Tabernacle or the Temple. There is a certain area where only one man could go, the elect high priest. Now of the angels the same could be true. This elect angel was selected to guide Israel, and given an honorific Name similar to the Name of the Most High. That seems to be the meaning to be gleaned from these Scriptures.
With this sort of interpretation in mind for Ps 118:19&20 a clear understanding may be had, whereas otherwise only confusion can result.
Continuing in this particular Psalm, the Holy Writ goes on to speak of the Stone which the builders rejected, and then the words which are quoted in the Gospels occur: Hosana (save us please)... Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!
Here the reference is to an entity ( I would suggest the elect of the angels) who would come in the Name of YHWH through the ministry of the human named Yeshua who was selected to be the earthly Messiah.
The verses analyzed prior to here might convince me that this could be translated “Blessed is he the one who comes, he to whom a holy Name from the Lord has been given”. This is admittedly a paraphrase, but in my view it renders the reality better, and is wholly supported by other Scriptures.
At this point it might be worth mentioning that in Genesis 19:24 this paradigm can be fully seen, as it is written:
Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Of course this doesnt mean that there are two gods. But rather that there is one Eternal God who created everything including every angel (Ps 148:2&5 are proof of this)and all of material creation including all of living creatures, the human, of course, included.
The tenor of Scriptures would seem to indicate that the Eternal God, the creator of all, then selected one angel as an elect and bestowed upon him honorifically a version of the Great and Dreadful Name of God. Perhaps this is the key to unlock the encounter described in Judges 13:18.
This is quite analogous to the way in which one human was selected from amongst humanity to fill the role of Adam who fell. The New Testament tells us that he too received a great Name (Heb 1:4, Rom. 1:4, Phillipians 2:6-11, the Aramaic of Acts 2:36 and perhaps John 17:6). And this name giving is also attested in the old testament also, see Ps 89:24 & Micah 5:3.
There is a tradition amongst the ancient Jewish Christians that God chose one elect from every category of of thing, e.g. spirits, angels, stars, trees, rocks, rivers, animals, and humans.
Now after having taken this long detour to understand what the Scriptures might be referring to when the wording YH YHWH is used, lets us now return to the analysis of the passage from the Talmud, which started this Scriptural research.
Here is the passage from the Talmud restated:
There is a teaching: R. Ishmael b. Elisha said: Once I entered the Holy of Holies to offer incense and I saw ActriEl YH YHWH seated upon a high and lofty throne.
Since I have analyzed the Scriptural foundations for analyzing the part of the Name which is Biblical, i.e. YH YHWH, lets look at the first part of the Name which the High Priest mentions, which is not to be found anywhere in the Holy Writ: Actriel - אכתריאל.
The word Actriel comes from the verbal root Kaph- Tau – Resh, which means to enclose a wreath or a crown. The Hebrew word “Keter” which means “crown” is related to it. This word can be found in the Bible at Esther 1:11. That said the language of the Talmud is Aramaic.
This verb seems to be in the Aphel stem, which indicates a causitive meaning. The verb form is the 3rd person singular and the noun is explcitly stated to be God א ל . The yod after the Tau is in my view somewhat unexpected, It doesnt seem to be a valid suffix in this context, although if it were vocalized with a tsere vowel it would have the sound of the masculine singular accusative object suffix, in which case it would have a translation value of “God crowned him”.
If this is the intent of the words of the High Priest then the name means “God crowned him YH YHWH”.
If this interpretation is accurate, then the text is telling us that the High Priest saw the Angel of the Lord, aka the Glory of the Lord, aka the Word of the Lord. It is interesting to note that he, being a high priest and being privy to more information than his lay brethren ( see Talmud Kidusshin 71 a ) calls him by an esorteric name which is hinted at in Scripture, but never fully expounded.
It is as if the High Priest here removes a veil for us, providing a valuable puzzle piece for which we were searching. Another puzzle piece in on this Name is found in Scripture at Ps 68:19 which Paul quotes at Ephesians 4:8 to good effect.
Returning to the passage of the Talmud quoted, the great Jewish sage Rabbi Saadia Gaon offers the following commentary on the passage:
Rabbi Yishmael saw a great and glorious light, a light that was God's first creation. The purpose of this light was to strengthen the convictions of the prophet or saintly person who sees it that the message he hears from God is actually from Him. Whichever prophet saw this light and said, “I saw YHWH” meant “I saw the allegorical symbol of YHWH”. (end of Saadia Gaon's commentary).
I think that a good verse to analyze in support of R. Saadia Gaon's analysis is
Exodus 33: 22&23
And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
As I have attempted to illustrate before, the Name YH YHWH might be synonous with the most elect of the Angels, the Glory of YHWH, aka the Word, aka God's right arm.
So God's glory passes by Moshe, and then at the end of the verse, it is said that “I will pass by”, and the speaker is God. Then it says that one may see God's back, but not his front. I think these words must be interpreted allegorically, to mean that Moshe saw God's Glory YH YHWH, which is like seeing His back,in as much as a general idea may be formed, but not with any great precision, which are symbolically represented by details of the front of the body and facial features.
Interpreting in this way harmonizes the words of
Ex 33:20:
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
So the great Rav Saadia Gaon's interpretation is in tune with the one I have suggested on the basis of Scriptural and linguistic analysis.
It occurs to me that in the process of arriving at this conclusion, I have pulled concepts and verses from both Testaments of Scripture, something which is in line with the principal set forward by the Messiah Yeshua, who said, “ every scribe trained for the kingdom of the heavens is like a master of a house who bring things old and new out of his treasure.
I think it is wholly coherent to suggest that this verse will guide a Biblical scholar to become highly conversant in both the Old and New Testaments, but it is precisely this principle which stumbles many, and prohibits from gaining accurate knowledge.
Since Christians are often unwilling to seriously consider the Old Testament in original language, they are often not able to attain to the clearest understanding of the New Testament.
And the situation with unbelieving Jews is such that they wont even deign to read the New Testament or listen to the voice of one who would speak to them from the New Testament.
I have learned this from first hand experience, and for this reason in particular I am fond of this little gem from the Talmud since it could perhaps become a conversation starter, whereas one might be otherwise impossible since Talmudic Jews are most unlikely to entertain any discourse regarding the New Testament, and indeed are even most reluctant to discuss the Old Testament for fear that it would be interpreted outside of their tradition. This passage from the Talmud might be an impetus to dust off the Hebrew Bible and really analyze and scrutinize the text to see what God is saying in it, something which doesnt happen when the Talmud replaces the Tanach.
I hope this has been somewhat enjoyable for you, and has posed some thought provoking verses for consideration.
I think considerations such as these were likely at the heart of the matter when it was said in
Acts 18:15:
But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.
This verse indicates that much of the debating happening at that time was precisely about Names, perhaps because consideration such as the above were being expounded, rejected by some and accepted by others.
Replies