In Volume I of The Schocken Bible, Everett Fox translates Exodus 20:7a as ‘You are not to take up the name of YHWH your God for emptiness’.
I found this translation to be a revelation!
I was more familiar with the translation of the third Commandment which reads, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain’. I’d always interpreted that as not using the Name as a swear word, and had never really bothered to seek for meaning beyond that. But it had always been like a loose thread my mind would pull on, especially as the Lord's Prayer begins, 'hallowed by Thy Name'. Wondering what I was praying with those words would inevitably bring my thoughts to the third Commandment.
The Fox translation, and the notion of not calling on God or referring to God in an empty way, revolutionised my prayer life.
It can be so easy during a church service, when prayer is corporate, to fall into the habit of reciting the prayers rather than praying them, to choose sound over substance. Now I hold myself accountable for whatever I pray. If I call on the Lord, then my intent is communication. And just as if I were addressing anyone directly, I expect God to respond.
So this third Commandment is yet another instruction in how to maintain a close, loving relationship with God. It is very hard to take God for granted or to maintain the pretence that God can be neatly contained when you are being mindful of the way you are using God’s Name.
I found this translation to be a revelation!
I was more familiar with the translation of the third Commandment which reads, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain’. I’d always interpreted that as not using the Name as a swear word, and had never really bothered to seek for meaning beyond that. But it had always been like a loose thread my mind would pull on, especially as the Lord's Prayer begins, 'hallowed by Thy Name'. Wondering what I was praying with those words would inevitably bring my thoughts to the third Commandment.
The Fox translation, and the notion of not calling on God or referring to God in an empty way, revolutionised my prayer life.
It can be so easy during a church service, when prayer is corporate, to fall into the habit of reciting the prayers rather than praying them, to choose sound over substance. Now I hold myself accountable for whatever I pray. If I call on the Lord, then my intent is communication. And just as if I were addressing anyone directly, I expect God to respond.
So this third Commandment is yet another instruction in how to maintain a close, loving relationship with God. It is very hard to take God for granted or to maintain the pretence that God can be neatly contained when you are being mindful of the way you are using God’s Name.
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