The 3rd of God’s ten commandments is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain1.” I used the King James Version for this verse because it is the source of the warning, “Don’t take God’s name in vain!” that innumerable parents have scolded their children with when their child yells, “Oh, my God!” Many times, this seems like a warning about etiquette. Let’s revisit this commandment.
The Name of God
God’s personal name is YHWH (or Yahweh), typically translated as “the LORD.” God’s name occurs more than 7,000 times in the Old Testament. Of course, God has many names—Yahweh-Rohi (The Lord my Shepherd), Yahweh-Tsidkenu (The Lord our righteousness), and Yahweh-Jireh (The Lord will provide), for example. The name Jehovah is not the name that God gave Israel. We should know from the Bible that a person’s name is significant; just ask Simon. I mean Peter. 😉
The name Jehovah is a product of mixing different words and different alphabets of different languages. Due to a fear of accidentally taking God’s name in vain (Leviticus 24:16), the Jews basically quit saying it out loud altogether.
What is YHWH? What is the tetragrammaton? | GotQuestions.org
Hidden in Plain Sight
A short word in this commandment may have caused many of us some confusion when interpreting God’s intent. The word in question is “take.”
If we use a Bible concordance, such as Strong’s Concordance, we will see that the Hebrew word translated “take” is תִשָּׂ֛א (ṯiś·śā). That should clear things up! 😉 Well, תִשָּׂ֛א means to “lift, carry, or take.” Did you catch that? It communicates the idea of moving as well as possessing. This commandment is about acquiring and carrying God’s name into something. The word “vain” means “nothingness2.”
To paraphrase this verse, we might say, “Do not carry God’s name into things that are nothingness.” Do not bring God’s name into anything that is unreliable, has no worth, is evil, is not in God’s will, and so forth. With this clarification, next we need to consider God’s name.
Practical Aspects of the 3rd Commandment
In this commandment, God tells us not to consider His name as worthless (i.e., nothingness). In fact, we are to do the very opposite. We are to understand that His name is worth without measure.
We are not to carry God’s name into disagreements, false teachings, evil actions, foolish outbursts, or anything contrary to His nature. If we do, we slander God, and that sin carries some very real, dire consequences.
So, common phrases we hear, such as, “As God is my witness,” “OMG,” and “God d*** it,” all carry God’s name into worthless (or worse) declarations or promises. This is even true if we say, “Godspeed” (give our blessing – welcome – wish to prosper) to any false teacher or a person proclaiming an entire false gospel3.
Conclusion
This brings us back to the thought that warning our children, “Don’t take God’s name in vain!” is just good etiquette. God’s third commandment warns us that we commit a very serious sin if we take God’s name and apply it to anything that is inconsistent with His nature or will.
** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **
Footnotes
- Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 20:7 – King James Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved April 10, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020%3A7&version=KJV ↩︎
- Vain – Holman Bible Dictionary. (n.d.). StudyLight.Org. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/v/vain.html ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: 2 John 10 – King James Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved April 12, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20John%2010&version=KJV ↩︎