In the current thread (threading in and out of other posts on other things) I have been discussing some of the most interesting features of the Hebrew Bible by (re-)presenting side boxes found in my book The Bible: A Historical and Literary Introduction, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press). I continue the thread here with discussions of two distinct issues that have a key commonality, “where something originated.”
The first part resumes an earlier post where I explained God’s actual name (“Yahweh” in Hebrew spelled with the four letters YHWH and called the “Tetragrammaton” – a name that was so holy it was not to be pronounced). Here now I explain where the name came from. The second part of the post discusses the origins of Passover, one of the most significant festivals of ancient Judaism, still celebrated today. Enjoy!
BOX 5.1 GOD’S ACTUAL NAME
We earlier saw that the Tetragrammaton YHWH was probably understood by ancient Israelites to be the personal name of God. But where did the name come from? It is not only modern readers who are interested in this question. Ancient speakers of Hebrew wanted to know as well. This is evident in the one passage that is widely thought to be an attempt to answer the question but that appears to answer it in three different ways, possibly indicating the confusion over the matter even in antiquity.
When God first reveals himself to Moses
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