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The name

At college I spent a whole term studying the Old Testament with a brilliant tutor who had a very impressive beard (surely a must for any teacher of the Old Testament).  During that term I became very interested in what I learned about the ancient Israelites and I decided to have a bash at learning Hebrew.  I didn't get very far with it, but I can sing the Hebrew alphabet to the tune of 'Happy Birthday'...

It is common knowledge that Jewish people don't say the name of God.  The name, which is translated 'I am' or 'I am what I am' or 'I will be what I will be' (no one knows exactly) in English, is not uttered aloud by Jews.  Instead they say Adonai, meaning 'Lord', or just 'ha Shem' - the name.  The funny thing is, reading about this, while studying the Old Testament, I started to feel uncomfortable about saying the name myself.  There is a song by Phil Wickham which I now sing my own words to in church:

'Lord of all the earth, we shout your name, shout your name
Filling up the skies with endless praise, endless praise
Ha Shem ha Shem!  We fear to speak your name, O Lord'

I wasn't going to try and get Harry Potter in tonight, but I'm suddenly reminded of what Hermione says about people who won't say Voldemort's name: "fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."  Perhaps fear of speaking God's name might increase my awe for him.  May it be so.  God is my friend, but a friend who, as the Bible says, dwells in unapproachable light.

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