Between Babel and Beast
(America and Empires in Biblical Perspective)

The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift for James B. Jordan

Fyodor Dostoevsky
(Christian Encounters Series)

Athanasius
(Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality)

The Four: A Survey of the Gospels

Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom

From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John

Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture

Jane Austen
(A Biography)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns

The Baptized Body

1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary

The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter

A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons

Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature

Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen

The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism

A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel

Against Christianity

From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution

Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy

Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper

A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament

Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature

Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life

The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church

« Previous Post | Next Post »
« Previous post in category | Next post in category »

Theology - Trinity: Martin Luther, Kabbalist

“Why is the Tetragrammaton kept separate from other names?” Luther asks.  ”Can it be so sacred, and other names so profane, that it is polluted when brought into contact with them?  Such would be the fictions of the Jews.”

No Kabbalist he.  Yet, he goes on:

“The meaning [of the Tetragrammaton] is this: Iod = ‘origin,’ he = ‘this,’ vaf = ‘and,’ he = ‘this.’  Let these be put together grammatically and in Latin this sentence will result: ‘The origin of this and this.’ And this fits with the name of the holy Trinity in all respects, because the Father in his divinity is the origin of this, that is the Son, and this, that is the Ho y Spirit.  For these pronouns, ‘this and this,’ rather obscurely represent the Son an Holy Spirit, as was suitable to that scripture in which the mystery of the holy trinity was not to be revealed but was only indicated.”

Kendall Soulen (The Divine Name(s) and the Holy Trinity: Distinguishing the Voices, pp. 90-92) adds this: “Luther notes that some Christians have proposed that the Tetragrammaton foreshadows not only the name of the Trinity . . . but also the name ‘Jesus,’ inasmuch as the latter consists of the Tetragrammaton plus the letter shin.  According to this theory . . . the incarnation of the Word marks the end of the epoch of the ineffable name of four letters, and inaugurates the yet mightier age of the effable Pentagrammaton, ‘Jesus.’  Luther admits that he wishes the theory were true, but in the end he rejects it for etymological reasons.”

In Soulen’s view, Luther’s adherence to a version of Christian Kaballah is reflected in his decision to render the Tetragrammaton as HERR in his translation of the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, since the name is used exclusively of “the real true God.”