国学与西学 国际学刊 第 １５ 期,

２０１８ 年 １２ 月

Pa
rtThre
e
TheName
sofGodi nt
heHebrewBib
leand
〔 ６〕
t
heAbs
enc
eofName
so fGodintheArmeni
anBibl
e
１０

Ley
liALEKSANYAN
(
Armen
ianScho
lar,
Depa
rtmen
tofPh
ilo
sophy,
Nan
jingUn
ive
rsi
ty)

Abstra
ct:Thename sofGoda realwaysspec
ifi
cname s,whichsignifythesymbo lofGodanddono tdescr
ibeGodo rHi s
ess
ence．Th i
sess
ayi sgoi
ngtod i
scussthename sofGod———i n HebrewB ib
lema i
nly———andexpla
inwhyi ti
sfai
rlyrare
tofindanynameso fGodi nt
heArmen iantransl
aton〔
i １
０７〕oftheHo lyB i
ble．Thus,th
isessayt
rytopr e,
ov thatGodo rt
he
Divi
neEs sencecannotbedescrbed,
i because God􀆳
s Essenceex is
tsbeyonda lldescri
pton,wh
i i
chi sci
rcumscr
ibedand
l
imited．

Ke
y Wo
rds:
God,
name
sofGod,
Heb
rewB
ibe,
l Armen
ianB
ibl
e

Author:Leyl
iALEKSANYANi sa Ma s
ters t
udenti n Nan
jing Un i
vers
ity,fa
cul
tyo fPhilosophy．Sheg radua
tedf r
om
YerevanS t
ateUni
ver
sit ,
y Fa
cultyofThe o
logyin２０１１． Sheob t
ainedherfirs
tMa ste
r􀆳sdegre
ei nEu ropeanStudi
es,fr
om
t
heFa cultyofEu
ropeanStudis,
e Ye
revanS t
ateUn ive
rsi
tyin２０１５．He rmajorres
earchint
erestsarereli
gion,po
lit
icsand
hi
story．PhoneNumber:＋８６１３０６２５８７７８６, Email:
leyl
ich
ina＠gma i
l．com．

INTRODUCTION

Themo stferventr eli

giousde si
r eofhuman i
tyi stog iveanamet ot hed i
vinebe ing,tofinda
log
ic a
lde fin
itiontoi tandt ryt odemons tra
teitsex i
stence．Although, i
tisimpo ssiblet ofinda l
lt he
exactname sgivent ot heCr eatorineve rytranslat
iono ftheHo l
yB i
ble．“ Thef irstpo intisthatt he
Heb rewt ermswh ichc anbef oundint heOl dTestamen taretranslatedby God o , rDeus o, rTheo s,
theset ermsa rea c
tuallyp ropername sg ivenina c
cordancet othewi sheso ft heTa lmud． Thenameo f
Godi sa lwayss aidtobeap ropernamei ntheSc r
iptures．Thewo rdGodwou ldbeabs entf romt he
anguage! １０８ ”TheB e, heExodus２０:
〔 〕
Heb rewl ibleoftent a
lksabou tGodwi thaun iquef ac sucha si nt
７,Ps alms８: １．Ina l
lt heseo c
cu rr
ences,theHo l
yB ibledoesnotme ananypa rticul
ars ignso fGod, the
commonnameo f Godcon tains many un iquename sbe c
ause Godappe a redt o human ityt hr
ough
varioust i
tle
s． Thesename sdono tperta
i ntohumanc reatur
esbu ta r
eo fDi vineo r
igin( a
lthought hey
arepa rtsofhumanspe echitself)．Howeve r,we willlimitour s
elves witht hed iscussiono fGod 􀆳s
〔 〕
uniquename sus edin Hebr ewB ibl
e１０９ ．

YHWH

Themo
stc
ommonnamef
orGodi
nas
ingu
larf
ormi
nthe Hebr
ew B
ibl
eisYHWH ( )

〔
１０６〕 Th
ise
ssayi
sthei
nit
ialr
esu
lt f“
so S
tud
iesonFemi
nineTr
adi
tiono
fHebr
ewB
ibe”suppo
l rtedbyt
heNa
tiona
lSo
cia
lSc
ienc
e
Founda
tiono
fCh
ina (
Gran
tNo． ０２６)
１４BZJ
〔
１０７〕 He
reIhaveus
edt
heArmen
ianB
ibl
ein Armen
ian,
Eas
ter
n Armen
iannewt
rans
lat
ion,The Armen
ian Apo
sto
li ch,
cChur
Ca
tho
lico
sat
eofAllArmen
iansandTheBibl
eSocie
tyofArmen
ia,Mo
therSe
eofHo l
yEt chmi
adzn,
i １９９４．
〔１
０８〕 Emma lLEVINAS,“
nue ThePh
ilo
soph
icalMean
ingo
ftheNamesofGod”,
RevueInt
ernati
onal
edePh
ilo
soph
ie,
mas２００６,
r
p．
１１９．
〔
１０９〕 Wei
linFANG,“
Gene
alog
ica
lSt
udi
eson Hebr
ew Name
sofGodi
nthe Hebr
ew B
ibe”,
l Studi
esi
n Wo
rld Re
ligi
ons,No．
４
(
Juy２０１３),
l pp．８６
Ｇ９７．

１９８
 Thr
eeCompa
rat
iveS
tud
iesbyLIYi,
FANG We
il
inandLey
liALEKSANYAN

wh i chi sknowna sTe trag r amma tonf rom Gr eek “ fou rＧlett er( wo rd)”t r ans lation． ButwhyYHWH?
Wha tdoe si tme anand whe redoe si tcomef r ?
om YHWHi sr ough lyt henameo fGod, the mo st
commonnamei nt heOl dTe st amen t, whichi sus edne arly７０００t ime s( ６８２８t ime s, tobea c cura te)．
Th i swo rd ha sbe ent rans latedi n to Gr eek a s Lo rd,“Ku rios”．Th isi sd iffer entf rom t he wo rd
“Adona ”(
i Lo )
rd bu , tt hes ea r eequ i valentwo rdsi nGr eek a,sbo tha ret rans lat “
ed Kur io ”(
s Ph il２:
１１)．
TheGodo ft het ribeo fJudah wa sc alled Yahweh ( Jehovah)．TheOl d Te s tamen t􀆳ss c
rip ture
havebe eni n terp r eteda “
s YaHWeH ”( Yahweh i ) nt hes cien tificsphe re,wh i chi sa lsous edi na
dist ortedve r siono fYeHoWaH ( Jehovah)． Thet hir dve rs eo ft heTenCommandmen tsisknownt o
al :“
l Yousha llno tc allt henameo fyou rGodi nva i ”(
n Exodus２０ ７ ． : ) Th iss eemst obeawo r
t hless
l
inebeh indt he wo rdo fJ ehovah．Thef irstpa r to ft heB ible, the Ol d Te stamen t,wa s wr i
tteni n
anc ien t Heb r ew,wh ich, li ke Semi tic,doe s no t us e vowe lsi n wr iting．Cons equen tly, ther e ader
men tallyi nt erpr e t
sandr e s
to re st he vowe ls by h ims e lf．The rei sac rucialc onne ction be twe en
“YHWH”and “ ADONAI” /“ ELOHIM”( ano the rp rope rnameg ivent oGodwh ichwi llbed iscus sed
late r)．Wr iter sd idno tus evowe lsi n Heb rew, thushowc an webesu r et ha tt heTe t
rag ramma ton
shou ldbep r onounc ed “ YeHoWah”andno t“ YaHoWah”o r“ JeHoWah”? He r ei st hec onne ction
betwe ent he set hr eename s． Thec onne ct
ionbe twe ent he set hre ewo rdswa sexp l ainedbyr es earche rs;
thevowe lsf rom “ Adona i”and “ Eloh im”we resmoo th lyt r ansf erredi ntoTe trag ramma ton “ YHWH”
cname “ YeHoWah”,“ YahWeh”,“ YaHoWah”,“ eHoWah”１１０ ．
〔 〕
duet owh ichwehavet hismys t
i J
TheJ ewsf ollowedt hec ommando fGodt ono tp ronounc et henameo fGod, sot hey we reno t
allowedt opr onounc eTe tr agramma t on,bu ti nste adus edano t
he rwo rd, Adona i, wh ichi st rans lateda s
“ma ster,”“ ru l
e r．”Theo r igina lYHWH wo r dc o rre ctlywa son lyknownbyt heh ighr ankedp ries tof
thet emp lei nJ e rus a lem, bu ta f tert hede structi ono ft het emp lei nJ erus alem ( ７０ AD), thec orrect
read ingo ft heTe trag ramma tonandt hepuz zlingbe cameamys ter y． Ove rt ime, whent hene eda rose
toana l
yseands t udyt heOl dTe stamen t􀆳
ss cript uret , heTe trag ramma toni nt hes cientificwo rldwa s
s“ YaHWeH”( Yahweh)o rYeHoWaH ( ehovah)１１１ ．
〔 〕
reada J
d “YHWH １１２ ”l ng,mo y,
〔 〕
The Hebr ew wo r it
e rally me ansd ifferen tly andj udg i rep r ecisel the
diff erencei nwh ichi ti sr eve al (
ed Ex． :
３ １２ Ｇ ,
１４ ６ ２ : Ｇ８ i), tme anst “
he pr e sence o” fGodi swi tht he
Isra elit
es, Hei sc los et oHi speop le, theCho rus, anda lsobyt hewo rd “ Pr omi s ed ＧEmmanue l”( with
God)( Iam７: １４,Ma tthew１: ２３)．“ Yahwehi sp re sen t”, Hei sava ilab leandc los et oa llt hosewhoa re
calling Him Ps ( a :
lm１４５ １８ f ) o rSa lva ti ( :
on １０７ １３ Fo ), r givene s ( :
s Pr２ ２５ andTe) aching． Iti sa lso
rela tedt ot hecovenan t,f orexamp le( Exodus６: ６Ｇ８)“ Iwi llbeyou rGodandyou mypeop le．”I n
sho r t,thi
swo rd, apa rtf romt heus eo fo rdi naryl ett er s,isus eda sapr esen t, salva tion, ali berat or,a
ble ssi ,
ng a swe lla sac ovenan ,
tobed ienc eandf aithf ulne ss．
Byt hisname, Godappe ar edt oh i
speop le, showi ng Hi sme rcyandpo i ntedou t“ Iam wha tIam”
( :
Exodus３ １４ andl ) aters, el
fＧd isclo sur ;”
e Iamt heLo ”(
rd Exodus６ ２ : Ｇ８．) Thema inme aningo ft his
wo rdi s“ Be ing”,“ t obep r esen t”, andl at er,a ssome wou lda ccep tt ohaver e ceivedt hef oll
owi ng
me aning;” Iam ( andno ts omeonee lse)”． Al so, t het rans lationo ft heGr eekphr ase“ EgoEmy”ha s
thes ameme an ingf romt heGr e ekSep tuagin t． And Mo sesg i
ve st hei de at hatt he rei saGod bu , the
ne edst ounde rst andi t． AndJ esush ims elfmadet hiss t atemen t“ Iam”( EgoEmy)(Ma tthew１４: ２７),
(
John８: ２４Ｇ ２８ Ｇ５８)． Thus, t hes amewo rdsa ttr
i bu tedt ot heGodo fI sra ela s“ God,”“ Iwa s, amand
wil ”
lbe havebe enus edbyJ esusChr isthims elf．
YHWH empha sisesGod 􀆳 sabs olutebe ing．Hei st hesour c eo fa llbe ing, ofa llr ealityanda l
l
ex
ist
enc
e．Heex
ist
sin Hims
elf．
Eve
ryt
hinge
lsede
rive
sit
sex
ist
enc
efr
om Him．YHWH expr
ess
es

〔
１１０〕 Hovhanne
sYo
rdanyan, sGod? Whoi
Whoi stheho
lyTr
ini
ty,
Yeevan,
r ２００１．
〔
１１１〕 h
ttp:
//www．
sarkavagag
irq．
ne/２０１２/０２/b
t log－po
st_０８．
html
〔
１１２〕 IHWHi
not
herr
ese
arch:
Franc
isB．
Den
io,“
Ont
heUs
eoft
heWo
rdJ
ehovahi
nTr
ans
lat
ingt
heOl
dTe
st t”,
amen Journa
lof
Bi
bli
calLi
tera
t e,
ur Vo
l．４６, １/２ (
No． １９２７),
pp．
１４６－１４９

１９９
 国学与西学 国际学刊 第 １５ 期,
２０１８ 年 １２ 月

theabs olutetranscendenceo fGod． Hei sabovea llHi scre a

ti on． Hei swi thoutbeginningandwi t
hout
endbe causeHea lwaysis．
Th isisaspe ci
a lmemo rab l
enamet hatGodr evealedt oMo s esa ttheburn ingbush．“ Godsaidto
Mos es,”Iam whoIam,” andhes aid:“Thuss ayt ot hesonso fI srael:Jehovahs entmet oyou􀆺Th is
isMynamef o
r eve ,
randt her ememb ranceo fMef rom gene r at
iont ogene rat
i ”(
on Exodus３ １４ : Ｇ )
１５ ．
Althought henameYHWH appe arsalreadyi n Gene ss２,Godd
i i
dno tr evealHims e
lfa sYHWH
unti
lExodus３i nc onnec
tionwi ththec reat
iono fIsr ae
l．
Howeve ,
ri nt heArmen ianHo lyB ible
〔
１１３〕,
wer e ad “􀆺andGodspoket oMos es, s
aying;“Iamt he
Lord． AndIappe aredtoAb r aham, toIsaac,andt oJ acob．Iamt heirGod, mynamei sLo rd,butIdid
nottellt hem”( Exodus６: ２
Ｇ ３), bu
ti nt he Heb rewve rsioni t􀆳swr itten,“ Ididn􀆳ttellthemt hatmy
namei sYHWH ( Yahweh)􀆺”．Thus, int he mo stimpo r tan tselfＧdescripti
ves entenceo fthe Holy
Bibe,
l wewon 􀆳tfindt heexactnamef orGodi nt heArmen i
ant ranslation,butHec allshimselfLord．
He r
ei st heque st
ion; whatist henameo fGodi nt heArmen ianHo lyB ible? DoesHehaveanyname?
Whydoe sn 􀆳
tHehavename s ?
〔 〕
Armen iabe camet hef irst Chr isti
ancoun tr yi nt he wo rlda cceptingi ti n ３０１ A．D１１４ ．The
on;
〔 ５〕
Armen iana l phabe twa sc reatedi n４０５ A． D byS
１１
t．Me srop Ma shtots．He rei st heque sti wha t
wa st hel anguageo fl iturgyi nchu rchesdu ringonehund redye ar ?
s Howc ouldt heuneduc atedpeop le
learnt he Ho lyB ibl e wi thou t writingsand po ss
ibili
t yt ol e a
rnf oreignl anguage s( f
ort hatt ime
Gr eek)． Ac co rdingt oArmen i
ansou rces,thewo rdo ft hel i
tur gywa se i
the rgreeko ro rall
yt rans l
at ed
〔 ６〕
versiono ft heHo lyB iblei ntoOl dArmen ian ． １
１

The “ canon ic
al”be ingo ft heHo lyBib leha splayedac rucia lr oleinke epingt heo riginaltex to f
thebook． Th isist her easonwhydur ingt he Mi ddleAge s,theArmen ianwr i
tershavebe enc arefully
imitatedbyt hes ac
r edc au ti
onandc arefulnes s． Thati st her easonwhyhund redso fB ibletrans l
a t
ions
〔 〕
oft heB ib ledono td ifferf rome acho therandc oincidewi tht heo r
i ginalGr eekt ex toft heB ible１１７ ．In
３８７A． D． Armen iawa sd iv i
dedbe twe entheBy zantineandSa ss ani dEmp iresanda c cordingt omany
Armen ianwr it
ersa ft e
rt hed i
v is
ion, undert hePe rsianf orce, on ly As sy r
ianl anguage wa sus edi n
８〕,
a,
〔
Ea ste
rnArmen i
a． Ac cord ingt oKho renatsi be
１１
f
oret hed ivisiono fArmen i t her ituallanguageo f
theArmen ianChur chwa sGr eekandt henAs s yri
an．Howeve r,iti sno tru l
edou tt ha ttheAs s yr
i an
languagei sequa ltoGr e ek, ast hes outhernr egionso fArmen iahavebe eni nt heAs sy r
iani nfluenc e
foraqu itel ongt ime． Howeve r, thesefactsa r ec omingt oexp lainwhyt heArmen iant ranslati
ono ft he
HolyB ibl ei nitsr ou tha st heGr eekve rs
i onr athert hant he Heb rew B ible,thuss imilarly witht he
Gr eek Ho l y B i
blew ew o n􀆳tfindo t herna m es forG odb utL o rda n do t
h e
r sm entio neda s fol
l ows ．
Int heArmen i
ant rans lati
ono ft he Ho ly Book Godha s manyt i
tles:Godi s (ararichＧ
Cre ator), he 􀆳s——— (Te r
ＧLo r d)o fall, (Tagavo rＧKi ng), (Da tavorＧJudge)and
(
I shkhan ＧPri nce)．Hei s (Amenaka lＧOmn ipo ten t), (Amenaka rokh Ｇ
Almi h
g yt ) , (B ardzr ya
lＧ Most H i h
g yl ), (B ru tＧP o
tter ), (B avak anＧ

〔
１１３〕 Thef
irs
tBi
blewa
spub
lishedbyVo
skanYe
revanc
iin１６６６i
nAms
ter
dam．
Thep
rin
tingwa
sst
art n１６６６,Ma
edi rch１１and
f
ini n１６６８,
shedi October１３
th．ThisBi
b l
ewa sf
irstus
edin１２９５．
Thistextwased
itedbyVo skhanYerevan
t s
iintheLati
ntransl
ationof
Vulga
ta．Heha
stransla
tedandaddedsever
albooksoftheOldTe
stament,wh
icharemis
singint heArmenianBib
le．ht
tp://armchurch．
i
nfo．
〔
１１４〕 Theh
ist
or ft
yo he Armen
ian Peop
le,H．G．Zhamko
chyan,A．G．Abr
ahamyan,S．T．Me
li shkhyan,S．P．Poxo
ＧBa
q syan,
Ye
revan１９７５．
〔
１１５〕 I
bid．
〔
１１６〕 Abexyan M．
１９６８pp１３６
Ｇ１４５,
５４５
Ｇ５４８,
６３０
Ｇ６４１,Me
srop Ma
sht
ots(
art
icl
es)Ye
revan１９６２,Me
srop Ma
sht
ots(
art
icl
es)
Ye
revan１９６３, Ak
inyan H．N．,St．Mashto
tsva
rdape
tVienna１９４９．
〔
１１７〕 Pa
randzem Mey
tikhanyan,“
Thenamesandt
het i
tle
sgivent
oGodi
ntheHo
lyBook (
TheFa
t r)”,
he Yer
evan２００６．
〔
１１８〕 Movs
esKho
rena
tsiwa
sap
romi
nen
tArmen
ianh
ist
ori
anf
romt
hepe
riodo
fLa
teAn
tiqu
ityandt
heau
tho
roft
heHi
sto
r f
yo
Armen
ia．

２００
 Thr
eeCompa
rat
iveS
tud
iesbyLIYi,
FANG We
il
inandLey
liALEKSANYAN

Enough), (ErknavorＧHeavenly), (Hz or

ＧMi ghty), (Kena r
a rＧLif
eＧ
〔 ９〕) , ,
giv
ing １１
．Weana lyz
esomeo fthesename swithr efe
r encet otranslati
on s emanticlinguisticand
stl
yist
ica spec
ts．Exodusha save r
ys ign
ifi
cantandun i
quer ol
ei ntheonoma sti
csystemo ftheB i
ble,
asin３． １３－１４o fthi , ,
sbook God whoha sd i
ffer
entname sr,evealsthei n
terpretat
iono fthename s“:I
amt heEs s
ence”．Thec omparisono fthe Armen ian prope rname sandt i
tlesandt hei
requ iva l
ents
exi
stingi no the
rl s (Gr
anguage eek,As sr
yian,La t
in,Ge rman,Rus sian)showst hatt het ex t
si n
anci
en tandEa sternArmenianhaveal o
to fsimil
arit
ieswi tht heGr eekSep tuagin ,
tye tt heyar equ i
te
dif
fe r
en tf romt heAs syrianone． ThePr ope rName sinEa st
ernArmen ianandRus sianver si
onso fthe
Biblewi t hr efer
enc et ot ranslationa rene arlyide nti
cal．B es
ides,thetranslatorsofth eH oly Bibl
ew e
re
educ at
edi nBy z
an t
ium t , hust hey we ret hebe s
tspe cial
istsint heGr eekl (
anguage La ti
nandGr eek
um １２０ )．
〔 〕
we rebe ingus edi nByz an t
i
Ac tually,one o ft he mo stimpo r
t antr abb in
icl aws abou t God 􀆳
s name i saf undamen ta
l
sbook,God,De hand Time,Lev
〔 〕
proh i
bitionaga insts ayi ngt henameo fGoda loud． Inh i at i
na s１２１
〔 〕
sugge stst hatt her e
a sonf ort hi
sp rohibiti
oni st os ay nothing abou t God１２２ o rtoavo i
ds aying
anyt h
ingabou tGod． God 􀆳srespons etoMos esf romt heburn ingbushwa sEhyehAshe rEhyeh —— —“I
willbet hatIwi llbe”( Exodus３: １４)．Th isnamei saspe c
ialnamebe c
aus eitisno tar ealname．Man
canno tc allGodbyt hi sname, andc ouldl earnno thingabou tGod 􀆳sp resence,cha r
acter,o rbe ing．
Ra theri,tr esemb lesade scri
ptiono fabe i ng withop ti : “
ons Iwi l
lbewha tIwi l ”
lbe andno twha tI
on? He
〔 〕
willno tbe１２３ ． Isther eapo ss
i b
ili
t yo fde scr
ibingwha tha snode scr
ipt
i reIwou l
dl iketoc i
te
Rabb Hayy im Vo lozh ine r􀆳
sd ifferentiat
ionbe twe “
en fr om Hi ssi ”
de and f “rom ou rsi ”
de． Manha s
noth i
ngt os ayabou tGodby Hims elf———“ from Hi sside．”Al lhumanl anguager elat
ingt oGodi s
〔 〕
from t he human 􀆳s pe rspe ct
ive１２４ ．The Armen iani nterpret
ationf or God 􀆳s name s hast hes ame
explana t
i on; wec anno tde scr
ibewha tisi ndescribableon lybyg iving Himname s, namesa reus edf or
Godt omakei tsna turec l os
ert oushumans, event hought heydono trefertot heGod 􀆳sna ture,bu tto
Hi sde eds．

ADONAI

Duringt heyea
rso fEgyp tians l
avery,theJ ewss tartedtous eYHWH ( Yahweh)ve ryr arey,
l due
tosuperstit
ion,andt hewo rd «Adona i”becamemo repopu lar．In mode rn Hebrew,thewo rd“adon”
isuseda s “Mr．”,as“ Adonai”isneve rus edbe causet hiswo rdi sattr
ibutedt oGodandha splura
l
meaningi n Hebrew．
“ADONAI”i sar abbin
icalve rs
iono ft her epl
a cemento fTe tr
agramma ton． L
itera
llyt hi
swo rd
canbet ransla
tedas“ gent
lem en ”．
T hi
s i
s ane xpressiveformo ft hew ord “
A don,” meaning “mast
er”
orl“or ”(
d I sai : ),
ah１０ ３３ Godi stheLo rd． Heru lesandg i
veso rder “
s．Adona ”
ii susuallytransla
ted
as“Lo rd．”Th is wor disus edabou t４５０t imes．“ Is aw Adona i( theLo rd)s i
tti
ng onah i
ghand
one, e”( ah６: １)１２５ ．
〔 〕
exal
tedt hr andt heedge so f Hisr obef i
lledt he who let emp l Is
ai I
nt he Old
Testamen t (Armeniant ransla
tion)t herea ret hre
epeop leus i
ngt hisname; thefourthsono fking
David(２Ki ngs４,２Ki ngs１: ５,７,８􀆺)andtwoLev it
e s(１Chr onicl
es３: ２,２Chr oni
cles１７: ８)．

〔
１１９〕 Pa
rand
zem Mey
tikhanyan,“
Thename
sandt
het
itl
esg
ivent
oGodi
ntheHo
lyBook (
TheFa
t r)”,
he Yeevan,
r ２００６．
〔
１２０〕 Hovhanne
sYo
rdanyan, sGod? Whoi
Whoi stheho
lyTr
ini
ty,
Yeevan,
r ２００１．
〔
１２１〕 Emmanue
lLev
ina
swa
saFr
enchph
ilo
sophe
rofL
ithuan
ianJ
ewi
shanc
est
ry whoi
sknownf
orh
iswo
rkr
ela
tedt
oJewi
sh
ph
ilo
sophy,ex
ist
enti
alsm,
i et
his,
c phenomeno
logyandonto
logy．
〔１
２２〕 EmmanuelLev
inas,God, Dea
thandTime,t
rans．B．Be
rgo,
Stan
for
dUn
ive
rsi
tyPr
ess,
Stan
fod２０００,
r p．２３４．
〔
１２３〕 He
rewes
eeanexamp
leo
fthel
imi
tat
ionso
flanguage．Weshou
ldno
tspe
aki
nte f“
rmso be”whenspe
aki fGod,
ngo whoi
s
beyondbe
ing．
〔
１２４〕 SeeEmmanue
lLev
i s,“
na Int
heImageo
fGod
􀆳ac
cor
dingt
oRabb
iHayy
im Vo
lozh
i r”,
ne pp．
１５１
Ｇ１６７．
〔
１２５〕 Rus
sianKha
zar
zar,
ThenameofGod,
Mos
cow,
２０００．

２０１
 国学与西学 国际学刊 第 １５ 期,
２０１８ 年 １２ 月

Thef inalsy
llab
leofAdonaius
est hevowelkamatz,
ratherthanpa
t achwhichwouldbeexpected
f
romt he Hebrewf o “
r mylor ( )
ds ．”Pr o
fesso
rYoe lEli
tzurexplai
nsthisphenomenonasano rma l
on———Heb s, g: han, chak,
〔 〕
t
rans
formati r
ew wordsbecomecanbe c
omename e． Nat Yi
tz andYigal１２６ ．

ELOHIM

Godi st hel egit

ima tea c
tingp ersono ftheHo lyB iblefromt hev eryfirs
ts e ntence; int heHe brewB ibe,
l
wef indou tt hatE loh imi sthef irstn ameo fGod Ge ( n． :
１１ E: lohim E, l ,
iE loah i(nHe br )
ew ha v eac ommon
t)． ng; s“ r, h,mi s１２７ )．Wh
〔 〕
ro o El
ohimi tselfha sp lur
alme ani i
tc a nb et ranslat
eda powe s trengt gh tines en
E lohimi su se dw itho t herwo rds, i
ti sno trelatedt oan amea nymo e,
r butin st
ea dr eferst ot h equ a
lit
iesand
ch aracter
ist
icso fth ewo r dsdes cribingGod． Eli sc omi ngf romt h en ameE l
ia ndha st heme an ingo fgodi n
th eSemi ti
cl angu ag e．Int hebo oko fJ oba ndt hep salms, thereisag reatsect
i ont hath a sme ntion ed“ El”２３８
t
ime sbyt he me aningo fpowe r．Th eo therme aning sa rer el
ate dt od i
fferentqu ali
fications, s ucha st r
uth
( Numb er :
s２３１９ De, u teronomy３２ ４ e: ), nv (
y De uter :
onomy５ ９ a ) nd me rc (
y Ne hemi a :
h９ ３１ Ps , alm８６:
１５)．
Thewo rd “El oah”( ６０t ime s)i smo recommon lyf oundi nt hebooko fJ ob, wh i
chl iterallyme ans
“ powe r．” Ac co rd
i ngt ot heo rigint, h ist e
rmi sa ttributedt ot het ,
rueGod howeve ,“
r El oah c” anbe
us edf oranygodi ngene ra
l． El ohimo rGod, un l
ikeEl oahha sp luralme aningandi sus edabou t２３００
time si nt he Ho lyB ible．Howeve r, allo ft hes et hree name sa ret ransla t
eda s God (Theos)i n
Sep tuag intandc omb ineeve ryt hingt hati sr elatedt oGodandd ivini
t y．De spitet hef actt ha tt hewo rd
“ Eloh im”i ts e
lfha sp l uralme an ng,
i int heHo lyB iblei tisus edwi thnounsi ns ingu larf o rm． Inbr i
ef,
duet ot hewo rd “ El oh im”,God 􀆳sab ilityi sr eve aledi nva r
i ousp laces, sucha sc re ation,when God
cr eatedt hewo rl
dt hr ough Hi s Wo r (
d Gene sis１ ３ :Ｇ )
８ i ,tcha rac t
e r
izest hea lmi gh typowe ro fGod．
Hi swo rdsde scribeHi spowe rwhenba rrenwomenhavech ild ren ( Gene sis１８: １０ Ｇ１４, ２５: ２１), when
thesu fferi
ngpeop lea r efreedf rom Egyp t( Exodus２０: ２),whent hec ruc if
iedChr is ti sr aisedf r
om
thede (
ad Romans１ １ : Ｇ ):
４ Theapo stlePe te rwr ite : “
s Andt hr oughyourf a i
t ,
h Godi sp rote ct
ingyou
byh ispowe run tilyour ec
eivet hiss alvation, whichi sr eadyt ober evea l
edont hel a stdayf orallto
se e”( １Pe t１: ５)． Iwou ldl iket o men t
iont hr eequ it
es igni f
i cantpa r
t so ft he Ho lyB ib l
e．Asi tis
wr itteni nPs alm２１ El “ ,
i Elil,emas aba cht han ?”
i t hati ,“ , ,
s My God my God whyhaveyouf orsaken
me?”; t
hes ames en tenc ewef i ndi nt heNew Te stamen t“􀆺andabou tt hreeo 􀆳c lockJ esusc riedwi tha
loudvo ice,“ Eli, Eli,l emas aba ch than i?”t hati s,“My God,my God,whyhaveyouf ors aken me ?”
(Ma tthew２７: ４６,Ma rk１５: ３４)．Ac co r
dingt o Armen iani nt erpr e
t a
tion, byc alling Fa the rGod wi th
thename El “ iJ” esusChr istus est hes ameme an ingt hatha st hewo rdingene ral, sucha s“ almighty”,
“t hepowe rfu lone”, wh icha lla rea ttributedt oGodHims el
〔 〕
f１２８ ．

CONCLUS
ION

Thr
oughJesusChris
twehaveknow Goda s“Fat r”;
he inthePr r,
aye Jesussays:“Ho
llowedby
yourname􀆺” butnevermen t
i
〔
onsname ．
１２９〕

Aswecans eet
herearename sofGodandva r
iousepi
thetsforGod,wh i
chr e
fertohisact
ions
andtohisCr
eation．Thus,i
st her
eanydiffe r
enc
esbetween “God”as“pro
fe s
sion”and “
God”a sa

〔
１２６〕 Yoe
lEl
itzur,“
Shemo
t HaElVeTa
ari
che
iKe
tiva
tSi
fre
iHaMi
qra”,
pub
lishedi
nBe
＇ei
neiEl
ohim Va Adam,
Bei
t Mo
rasha
J
erus
alem:
２０１７,
p．４０７．
〔
１２７〕 Ho
vha
nne
sYo
rda
nyn,
a sGod? Whoi
Whoi sth
eho
l r
yTin
ity,
Yer
evn,
a ２００１．
〔
１２８〕 Pa
rand
zem Mey
tikhanyan,“
Thename
sandt
het
itl
esg
ivent
oGodi
ntheHo
lyBook (
TheFa
t r)”,
he Yeevan,
r ２００６．
〔
１２９〕 “
OurFa
the
ri aven,
nhe hal
lowedbeyourname．
Yourk
ingdomc
ome．
Yourwi
llbedone,
one
art
hasi
tisi
nhe
aven．
Giveus
t
hisdayourda
ilybre
ad．Andfori
gveusourdebs,
t asweals
ohavef
ori
gvenourdeb
tor
s．Anddono
tbr
ingust
othet
imeo
ftr
ial,
but
r
escueusfr
omt heev
ilone”．Ma
tthew６:９１３,
Ｇ Luke１１:
２Ｇ４．

２０２
 Thr
eeCompa
rat
iveS
tud
iesbyLIYi,
FANG We
il
inandLey
liALEKSANYAN

nameo fthe “ a
lmightybe ing”? I nrabbi n
iclite
rature,thet erm “ El im”(“
oh God”)i sus edt orefert o
God 􀆳sfunctiona ssup remej (
udge powe r
fu ),
lGod YHWH empha sizes God􀆳sabs olutebe ing and
“Adonai”isar abbinicalve r
s i
ono ft her eplacemento fTe tragramma ton (YHWH)．Howeve r,t he
commonpo inti nallo ft he namesg ivent o Godi st hatnone o ft hem ist r in
y g t
o d escr
ibea
relat
ionship,and i sr ooted in br inging wha ti s beyond t he pr es
en ti n
t ot he p resent．I na
ph i
losophic
allypr ofound manne r,the name so f God a rean a tt
emp tt o descr
ibea pa radox, t he
parad ox
icn atu r
e ofr evelati
o n ．Tetragramm aton ( YHWH ) itse
lfist he hypotheticalv er
siont o
pronounc eGod 􀆳 ,
sname bu titi ssti
llinc or
rect．
Mo r
eove r,wec an c oncludef rom t hissho rte ssay thata llo ft he name sg ivent o God a re
adjecti
vesw h ichattem ptt o m akeas t
a t
e menta boutG oda n da boutt heD i
vineE s sence．Itisn ot
provedt hatt hename smen ti
onedi nl i
teraturearetheon lyone sg i
vent oGodi ,t
􀆳squ itepos s
iblet hat
therewe remanyname sg ivent oGodwh i
chwe reno tevenus edint heHeb rewB ible． Thus,thisess ay
bringsmet ot heconclusiont hatthename sofGod ( int heHeb r
ewB i
ble)a readjec
tive sorseemt obe
descript
ionso fGodbu tno tname sata ll．

２０３
 国学与西学 国际学刊 第 １５ 期,
２０１８ 年 １２ 月

中文题目:
希伯来圣经中上帝的名字在亚美尼亚译本中的缺席

雷丽 ,毕业于亚美尼亚叶立文州立大学神学院,
２０１１ 年获得学士学位.２０１１ 年至 ２０１５ 年,在叶立文州立大学欧洲研究
院学习并获得硕士学位.２０１５ 年在南京大学哲学系宗教学系攻读哲学硕士学位.她的主要研究兴趣是宗教,政 治 和 历
史.联系电话:＋８６１３０６２５８７７８６,电子邮箱:
ley
lich
ina＠gma
il．
com.基金项 目:国 家 社 科 基 金 项 目“希 伯 来 圣 经 女 性 传
统研究”( ０２６)
１４BZJ

提要:上帝的名字,它表征上帝的符号,并不描述 上 帝 本 身 或 上 帝 的 本 质. 本 文 探 讨 了 上 帝 的 名 字 的 问 题,指 出,在 希

伯来圣经中出现的上帝的名字,在亚美尼亚的圣经译本中,未有被翻译体现,因而造成 了 上 帝 名 字 在 亚 美 尼 亚 圣 经 中 的
缺席.本文试图指出,上帝的名字并不能体现上帝的本质,上帝的本质是不可被表面化的指称来描述的.

关键词:上帝;上帝的名字;希伯来圣经;亚美尼亚圣经

２０４