If one is to believe that the proper personal name of God found in the Hebrew Bible causes inconsistency, once again the internet theologian (or at the very least the one who is playing a theologian online) would be mistaken because of poor thinking. The God of the Bible does not contradict Himself so the only option left is the interpreter.
Sadly this same problem has infected a lot of way evangelical believers in the church think. This is needless and by engaging our critical thinking skills a bit more and relying less on tradition and creeds this problem could be eradicated.
Here is an example of the problem of conflating personal names in the Bible:
Exactly who is in the authors cross-hairs when discussing the rebel character in Genesis, Job, Zechariah and by proxy Revelation hjkh becomes muddled and misapplied when looking for a direct collation between the personal names of the character rather than an amalgamation of concepts.
An Example From Every Day life
Let me take a shot at using an everyday examples to prove my point.
I have to go to the store to pick up some stuff for my family. While I am gone someone comes over our house and asks my wife: Where is Josh?
My wife replies: My husband is at the store.
While my kids are playing in the garden the neighbors ask them where is their Dad, which they replay: He is out at Wal-Mart.
When I come home I tell my family a story of something that happened to me at the store.
This account is not consistent due to the personal name which each person the main subject by, because the perception of who is at the store is different in each account.
Would the wife not understand to whom the person is inquiring the where a-bouts of simply because they used His personal name instead of the title of her husband?
Is the location which He said to be at incorrect because the children referred to the store by its proper name?
All accounts of who is at the store are harmonious because of the amalgamation of shared context i.e. someone who they know being away from the house.
Applied to Scripture
Likewise it is not because of the personal name of the rebel that appears in the text which links these verses together, but the common context of a primeval rebellion taking place in Gods throne room.
Once again I guess we should take it back to the root of most bad theology which is context. Context is key! When you ditch a context for names, creeds, traditions or anything else you will end up misinterpreting what the authors intended meaning was for another context thus substituting it for something which they did not intended it to be.
This can happen with Gods name as well if one is not careful.
Gods Names
Who is it that brings the Hebrew salves out of Egypt? There are multiple different personal names that are ascribe to this feat.
“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Exodus 13:14
“I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy“
Leviticus 11:45–
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’”
Numbers 15:41
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
Deuteronomy 5:6
“The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you“
Judges 2:1
“he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
Judges 6:8
“Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that Jesus at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.”
Jude 5
Here we have several differing descriptions of who it was that lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, how He did it, and for what reasons He accomplished this task. To write this off as an inconsistency is to miss deep theological messaging about a triune Godhead in Old Testament Theology.
This conglomeration of concepts melting into one grand cosmic picture of what took place while the Hebrews were leaving Egypt was done purposefully. In the same way the multiple “angles” of the man going to the store gives us more detail with what occurred retrospectively when recounting the events that happened in the example above, so too does the Biblical Narrative when examined collectively.
A greater picture comes into focus when verses which are contextually linked are given the proper attention they deserve rather than baselessly writing them off as inconsistent because of a perceived problem with the proper personal name.
I rest my case,
Peace and Blessings
Biblical Doctrine Derives From the Biblical Text
The Unseen Realm Course
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