hollowed be Thy name

Deep reverence motivated ancient scribes to translate the Lord’s proper name as Lord—Adonia in Hebrew. Even when modern Messianic Jewish scholars write English translations, they often choose to translate Elohim (Genesis 1:1) G-d dropping the ‘o’ to show respect for our Creator. Consider this statement from the translators of the Tree of Life Bible Version (a Messianic Jewish translation):

Our desire to honor traditional Christian translation practices:

God’s most holy, unspeakable Name usually appears in Bibles as “Lord”, but is sometimes not recognized as especially reverenced due to the mind’s ability to disregard the use of small caps. And, sometimes translators simply add vowels to the YHVH consonants of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet and give “The Name” utterance using the “Jehovah” or Yahweh.” This can be seen as very irreverent by Jewish people who would rather use “HaShem” which literally translates as “The Name.”

Taken from page xiii of the Tree of Live Bible

Many old and modern hymns use “Jehovah” and “Yahweh.” I sang those songs without thought for most of my life in Christ. But recently—I bristle. Through the intimacy we enjoy with God through Christ, have we become too familiar with the Holy Triune One?

His Spirit dwells in us, and He is our Father; does that afford us to be on a first-name basis with the Lord, Who is life and love personified in Jesus? Do you call your biological father by his first name? I don’t. Does that make him less personal? Not at all; Dad, Daddy, Papa, and Abba are terms of endearment reserved for children in a permanently close relationship. My friends called my dad Mr. Donaldson or Dave. My cousins called him Uncle Dave. “Daddy” was reserved for me and my brother alone.

Calling the Lord Father or Abba expresses a closeness that only those He has redeemed enjoy with Him. Calling Him by His first name strikes me as irreverent. Even Jesus never did that. He always said, “my Father,” and that is how he taught us to pray.

Christ refers to Himself as our brother and the Son of God and Man. Therefore, to call our Messiah Jesus (or, more accurately, Yeshua) is appropriate. We are on a first-name basis with our siblings. Hence, “Lord” referring to Jesus is not in small caps because, though He is God, we are referencing One specific person of our Triune Lord. If God amazes and mystifies us, should our awe not be reflected in how we refer to Him?

You may think I’m being persnickety—but words and names matter. They’re powerful. And familiarity, as the cliché goes, breeds contempt. My growing conviction is born from an increasing reverence of the One Who is my all in all, my Creator, Sovereign, and Father. And I just can’t call Him by His first name anymore. So, if we happen to be singing in Church together and my “Adonia” interrupts your “Yahweh,” I hope you understand; I’m not judging you if you feel the freedom as I once did to sing the unspeakable Name. Freely expressing my awe by not speaking the Name liberates my heart. Together by faith, we hollow the Name of our Lord, God Almighty!