Bearing Yhwh's name at Sinai : a reexamination of the name command of the decalogue / Carmen Joy Imes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Imes, Carmen Joy, 1977- author.

Series:

Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

God--Name--Biblical teaching.

God.

Ten commandments--Name of God.

Ten commandments.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (343 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

University Park, PA : The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2018]

Summary:

The Name Command (NC) is usually interpreted as a prohibition against speaking Yhwh's name in a particular context: false oaths, wrongful pronunciation, irreverent worship, magical practices, cursing, false teaching, and the like. However, the NC lacks the contextual specification needed to support the command as speech related. Taking seriously the narrative context at Sinai and the closest lexical parallels, a different picture emerges-one animated by concrete rituals and their associated metaphorical concepts. The unique phrase ns' shm is one of several expressions arising from the conceptual metaphor, election as branding, that finds analogies in high-priest regalia as well as in various ways of claiming ownership in the Ancient Near East, such as inscribed monuments, the use of seals, and the branding of slaves. The NC presupposes that Yhwh has claimed Israel by placing Yhwh's own name on her. In this light, the first two commands of the Decalogue reinforce the two sides of the covenant declaration: "I will be your God; you will be my people." The first expresses the demand for exclusive worship and the second calls for proper representation. As a consequence, the NC invites a richer exploration of what it means to be a people in covenant with Yhwh-a people bearing his name among the nations. It also points to what is at stake when Israel carries that name "in vain." The image of bearing Yhwh's name offers a rich source for theological and ethical reflection that cannot be conveyed nonmetaphorically without distortion or loss of meaning.

Contents:

Intro

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

1. Introduction

Scope and Need for Research

Historical and Theological Presuppositions

Method and Aims

2. A History of the Interpretation of the Name Command

Interpretive Options for the Name Command

The Name Command as an Elliptical Expression

The Name Command as a Nonelliptical Expression

3. A Reexamination of the Name Command: Lexico-Historical Considerations

שׁם

נשׂא

שׁוא

נקה

Conclusion

Excursus: Psalm 24:4 and Psalm 139:20 in Light of the Name Command

4. A Reexamination of the Name Command in the Context of the Decalogue

The Character of the Decalogue

The Literary Context of the Decalogue

The Decalogue as Context for the Name Command

Conclusion: The Decalogue and the Name Command

5. Bearing YHWH's Name at Sinai

Conceptual Metaphor in Biblical Literature

Conceptual Metaphor at Sinai

The Concept of Name Bearing at Sinai

The Occasion of Bearing YHWH's Name

Appendix: Semantic Overlap between נשׂא and λαμβάνω

Bibliography

Indexes

Index of Authors

Index of Scripture.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781646022663

1646022661