Question about two religious documents

Open Forum Biblical Interpretation
#1

Was looking at some of my old google documents, both stuff I’ve made and read from others, and stumbled upon two documents written by another person, all I remember is they said something in a YouTube comment section and left the links to them. They both seem to discuss stuff such as scripture symbolism and the “true name of God”. I haven’t read all of them, and I don’t have the time to. I’m puzzled as to what they’re trying to say, and whether I should trust them or not. Does anyone here think they might be able to figure what these mean?

https://docs.google.com/file/d/1W08GQ8CuzmpbrIj-XTa7vIBnZ9uAUeNB/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword

I think this is the true name of God one.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/1-bQ7gWuKutpn1x4YNfJrKklZPwrCEk-b/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword
And this is the symbolism one
If anyone can, I would like to know what these are intending to say and whether I should trust them or not. Sorry if this question sounds dumb.

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#2

Personally, before I invest my time in reading something, I generally first want to know who wrote it, what their interest is in the topic and whether they have any credentials or qualifications that would help lend some credence to their opinions. Otherwise it could just be a giant mishmash of ideas that someone on the internet threw together without remotely knowing what they’re talking about – know what I mean?

If you wanted to summarize what you think are the main points or arguments in either of these documents, then that might be a start. But without even basic information about the author, I don’t see the point of wading through it – though others may think differently.

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#3

Yeah, I’ll see if I can find out who wrote it.

Edit: unable to view the version history for some reason, so I guess I won’t be able to find who wrote it.

#4

A quick reading of the first document would indicate you hit the nail on the head.

#5

I just skimmed through the first one and I’m extremely confused. I have no idea what they’re even talking about. They sound like they’re trying to say that the God of the Bible is from an ancient Egyptian religion or something. Ridiculous.

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#6

I think this is the appropriate response. Most things “published” on YouTube don’t require a Christian response.

#7

Exactly, when everyone knows He’s a possibly repeated confluence of Yahweh and El

The current consensus is therefore that Yahweh was a “divine [a storm-and-warrior deity[5]] warrior from the southern region associated with Seir, Edom, Paran and Teman”

with only oblique Egyptian associations

The Egyptian god Ptah is given the title ḏū gitti ‘Lord of Gath’ in a prism from Tel Lachish which has on its opposite face the name of Amenhotep II (c. 1435–1420 BCE). The title ḏū gitti is also found in Serābitṭ text 353. Cross (1973, p. 19) points out that Ptah is often called the Lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identification of ʼĒl with Ptah that lead to the epithet 'olam ‘eternal’ being applied to ʼĒl so early and so consistently.[13] (However, in the Ugaritic texts, Ptah is seemingly identified rather with the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis.[14]) Yet another connection is seen with the Mandaean angel Ptahil, whose name combines both the terms Ptah and Il.[15]

A web page by some confused guy is a document as much as the other six billion are I suppose. Reading all of that cr*p apart from as an exercise in failed epistemology is an utter waste of time. Going down such labyrinthine rabbit holes always confuses.

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#8

God has no name. Names mean power. God refers to Himself as the god of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob or the god who brought Israel out of Egypt. He told Moses I am who I am. Yaweh is an acronym. A way of referring to God without actually naming him. It is a textual cypher so that even if read outloud God is not named.

Richard

#9

I’ve seen this but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

El used in the bible just means god, that it corresponds to an other is probably just how languages evolve. Its worth remembering the bible uses Ball and Asherah where catch all terms for the pagan gods and goddess with Ball being plural in the english version but realistically their is no reason that the jew would limite them selves to just those two pagan gods.

I feel its one of those arguments that are true but since we don’t think about them they are presented as unexpected but in reality are expected. An other one I’ve seen popping up is the claim that the Jews were polytheist which might come as a surprise if you didn’t think of it that way but is exactly what the bible says and complains about.

#10

Many books were left out of the Biblical canon. Some because they had no relation to the Messiah, being the purpose of the cannon. Others because of the miracles done by Jesus and tried to weave his authority it into their mysticism handed down through Sumer, where some had claimed to be the decedent of Gods (or angels) that came down before the flood and taught man the secrets of heaven and earth. Egypt, Greece, and Rome, shared multiple gods that war and killed each other. Many such gods were renamed, in and their attributes were often reassigned to a different deity in subsequent religions. But there is a common thread and many similarities handed down and borrowed between the different peoples of such ancient religions. Such as starting with 2 primordial gods, often male and female, symbolized as saltwater and fresh that mingled and created lesser gods. They read as their side of the Hebrew fallen angels story who taught them about war, makeup, agriculture, animal breeding, and more.

Their side of the flood story concerns the first two sons Enlil, who sided with his father to destroy all men with the flood, but Enki, so not to disobey telling man of the royal decree made it so Gilgamesh overheard him speak of it and we have another version of the Ark story.

Not my field but there is scholarly research tracing the different gods back through ancient empires. Mysticism was rampant everywhere as sacred knowledge. Even the Bible mentions a talisman possibly being the firstborn, sacrificed and the head is kept with a coin in the mouth that could then reveal things to the father. Was taken by a daughter so the Father could not see or know where they had fled (Gen 31:19, 32-35).

Not my field of expertise in any way. The above comes from others according to archeological texts and research. I’m just sharing a summary of mostly non-biblical research I have come across. I really can’t answer anything regarding conclusions as I’m sure I’ve likely butchered this topic somewhere. If you trace back Wiccan practices, most are centered on Egyptian or Sumer (later Babalon) gods and teachings.

#11

God revealed His name to Moses. The English equivalent to God’s name is “YHWH.” Christians usually pronounce it as “Yahweh.” It’s also called the Tetragrammaton. Most Jews consider it too sacred to pronounce. In English Bibles, when you see “LORD” in all caps, that is a substitution for the sacred name. Sometimes you’ll see Jews write “G_d” for “God.”

#12

As I undersand it the exact pronunciation has been lost. Tetragrammaton means from 4 letters! It is an acronym not a name!

God refused to give his name to Moses!

I am who I am is not a name… But Jesus is connecting Himself to God every time He Said “I am…” (the Bread, The Light, The Shepherd, and so on)

Why is this so hard to see?

Richard

#13

I see you don’t know what an acronym is

It’s the name God gave to Moses.

We might ask you the same thing. What is your native language?

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#14

An acronym is a made up word using the first letter of a group of words. So what is the tetragrammaton?

A made up word using the first letters of I am Who I am !

And tetragrammaton is not even a Hebrew word. It is derived from Latin!

It is you who clearly does not know what an acronym is!

Richard

#15

That is only 3 words in Hebrew. One of which, the I AM, is repeat twice and consists of 4 Hebrew consonants. Hence, the tetragrammaton.

Try Greek.

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#16

Thanks @Bill_II. You are correct.

Richard, if it was an acronym people would not be placing vowels between the letters to come up with words like Yahweh or Jehovah. An example of an acronym is EU, which stand for European Union. I recommend the Harper-Collins Study Bible. It has lots of good information.

#17

I used The Hebrew Bible - A Translation With Commentary by Robert Alter. Which I picked up after a recommendation by someone around here.

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#18

Are there any vowels in Hebrew?
It seems that the written form and verbal forms were also not the same…Biblical Hebrew - Wikipedia
Might not this explain yhwh?

#19

Another excellent source. In Alter’s translations there is often more commentary than Biblical text.

#20

Yes, but the Biblical Hebrew was written with no indication of the vowels. Which is why the original pronunciation is uncertain.

Yes. The text of Exodus 3 takes up a little more than 1 1/4 page. The commentary is 2 1/2 pages. Of which the commentary on God’s name alone is over 1/2 page.

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6

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