G-d or God?

[catholic_heart]

Hey, I've noticed that several people in this and other communities, when referring to God, omit the middle vowel. My assumption has always been that this is a mimick of the Jewish practice of removing the vowels from Yahweh and thus writing God's name as YHWH. I'm wondering why people do it with God? In the case of YHWH it is an attempt to

Comments

[reverberates]

lol, i noticed that, too but didn't really feel like asking.
thanks for doing that for me.

[rolypoly_laurie]

I saw that too..thanks for asking!
:D

GOD BLESS!

[catholic_heart]

Your icon is awesome!

[rolypoly_laurie]

Thank you, you may use it if you'd like!

(please credit the vanilla_skie if you do)

[kiwiria]

Amazing icon! Is it stealable?

[technicolornina]

My sister is Jewish. When she is speaking to the members of our family who are not Jewish, she uses "God," but spells it "G-d." I'll copy your post, and send it to her to see if she will explain for you why she does it even when not using the name "Yahweh."

[catholic_heart]

That would be excellent! Thank you :)

[technicolornina]

As I just posted, she's here in the US on vacation. I don't know if she has access to a computer, though she should. So it might take a couple of days. If nothing else, she may be able to provide links that will give you a more complete answer.

[technicolornina]

Must add that she is currently in the US instead of India, so I have no idea if she has access to a computer.

[thehonorableryu]

I've noticed it, too. :)

Another thing I've also thought of putting forward is this:

Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Job, Moses, Samuel, David, the psalmists and the prophets all knew that using the Lord's proper name when calling upon Him is not only salvation to us but also worship and glory to Him.

Although I understand the religious piety behind not uttering or writing the tetragrammaton (I did it myself for awhile as a teenager), I believe that the God who reveals Himself in the Bible gives us His name in order that we might use it to enjoy Him.

Blaspheming the Lord's name is an abomination (Lev. 24:16) as is taking His name in vain (Exo. 20:7) or swearing falsely by it (Lev. 19:12). But it is a delight to God to hear His name upon the lips of those who seek Him in holiness and truth.

Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "I shall give this country to your progeny." And there, Abram built an altar to Yahweh who had appeared to him

[theendless]

Exactly how I feel about this issue too. God gave us His name as a sign of intimacy between Himself and His people. His holiness has not stopped Him, as you say, from drawing near to us.

[thehonorableryu]

Yeah, when God created Adam and Eve, He didn't tell them, "Don't you know that I am God? You must bow down low to Me, and worship Me and serve Me with all pious fear!" He placed them in a pleasant garden with the tree of life--a symbol of God as life to humanity--at its center, in which they would enjoy intimacy in Him. :D

There is a sense, though, in which His holiness prevents Him from drawing near--when a problem between God and us blocks our intimacy. Sin prevents us from using and enjoying His name. The prohibition against using the Lord's name must have originated in a dark time in Jewish history, in which God seemed very far away.

There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who arouses himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.-Isaiah 64:7

[catholic_heart]

fyi, i love this response =)

[gtrnvox]

While you are correct that G-d is not a direct translation of the Name, it is essentially the English Name, as it is a written as a proper noun -- in English that is either a place name or a personal name.

As an English-speaker I believe irreverent use of "God" or "Lord" is in direct conflict with the commands against using the divine name in vain; if not literally, then in the spirit of fearing the Lord.

However, in the Septuagint, θεός (theos; "God") is most often used as the equivalent of Adonai. And κύριος (kyrios; "Lord") is used in place of the four letters. Both would be considered appropriate to use instead of the divine name, no? Or would a modern Jew believe that the translators of the LXX did not go far enough?

The current use of an transliteration of the Name as appearing in the Bible is actually a little disturbing to me.

Are you referring to the common use of LORD in place of the name?

In Hebrew, we would use "Adonai" which is plural for "Adon" or "Lord" whenever the text reads Yud Hay Vav Hay because it is

[pastorlenny]

The current use of an transliteration of the Name as appearing in the Bible is actually a little disturbing to me.

I believe that by "transliteration" he was referring to the use of YHWH or Yahweh or Jehovah, rather than "translation" of the tetragram as "Lord."

[gtrnvox]

There aren't many Bibles that use Yahweh/Jehovah, so I wondered if malasadas meant something else (since LORD is neither transliteration nor translation, but is the most common place marker in English Bibles).