>> Read the story of Abraham and Isaac. <<
I'm a Christian. I have read it a number of times.
>> God (not Lord God) tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. <<
Well, if we are going to have any fruitful discussion on this topic we will have to make recourse to the original language in which these verses were written, and not just some English translations, which can be the source of much confusion.
English translations of the Bible translate the word "Lord" differently depending on the case.
LORD in all caps is oftentimes a translation of the so-called Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek term meaning "four lettered", referring to the four-lettered name of God. The names Jehovah (JHVH) or Yahweh (YHWH) sometimes are substituted for these four transliterated Hebrew letters.
Manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament Scriptures, translated a couple centuries prior to the manifestation of Christ in the flesh, oftentimes render the Tetragrammaton as "Kyrios" or "Lord". This is likely where many English translations took their cue.
The "Yahweh" for Lord in "Lord God" is not exclusive to any particular member of the Holy Trinity.
Proof of this exists in many passages of Scripture, but since we are currently dealing in Genesis I will provide you with a verse from this book:
"Then the Lord [i.e Yahweh or Jehovah] rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord [i.e Yahweh or Jehovah] out of heaven" (Genesis 19.24)
As is quite clear, there are two distinct individuals or hypostases called "Lord" here in this verse.
The Holy Fathers of the Church teach that this is a mystical reference in the Old Testament to the Father and the Son, with the Son of God raining brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah from the Father in heaven.
Yet in both cases of this verse for "Lord" we have the Tetragrammaton or four-letter name of God employed.
So it is quite evident that Yahweh/Jehovah is a name that applies to both the Father and the Son.
Of course the unbelieving Jews, as a result of their blindness, reject any notion of God having a Son, so as a consequence they must concoct alternative explanations to explain away the fact that there are countless references in the Old Testament to all three members of the Holy Trinity. |
