Planning to write this article, I wasn’t immediately sure if it should be included in The Abuse Verses or as a Tough Topic. But then, as I was reading other articles written about the issue, it became clear that while this is a tough topic, it is also an abuse verse. Many writers use it as a measure of a “good Christian.” I used to as well.
We all know the typical rhetoric regarding the issue- Christians saying “oh my god” is bad because it violates that the third commandment to not take the Lord’s name in vain.((Exodus 20:7)) But that begs a few questions. Is it okay to write out “OMG” if we don’t actually use the whole word? Is it okay to say “h my gosh” since we aren’t saying god? Or are they just as bad because of the intent behind the words? There are arguments for both sides.
But what really caught my attention when looking into the topic is that the majority of the commentaries I read stated it was meant to be read in this way, but there was never an explanation given. It was stated as a universally known fact, with no foundation as to why. It’s as if the word nasa’ meant to “take” as in use, either orally or in written form, but don’t ever question it. Some posited alternative meanings like trying to invoke God’s name in a magic way or trying to control God using magic, though.((John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary (IVP Academic, 2000), 95.)) And others suggested it meant using God to swear by something, especially in court.((James K Bruckner, Exodus (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series) (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2008), 184.))
One such commentator also suggested that the meaning was ambiguous on purpose, allowing it to take on many meanings.((Victory Hamilton, Exodus: An Exegetical Commentary (Baker Academic, 2011), 335.)) He also made a point that nasa’ very often means “carry”, not just “take”.((Ibid, 336.)) This applies the verse more to being called God’s people, and less to using his name. They were not to take on God’s name and still act like the surrounding peoples.
Something about this stood out to me. Not simply because it was different from the typical understanding,((which you know I am all about)) but because it referenced other uses of the word to influence our understanding in this instance. As a writer, of both fiction and non-fiction, I understand the importance of words. I also notice I tend to use the same words repeatedly in a work, and usually in the same way.
As such, when we interpret authors from antiquity it is important to understand how they are using words in other instances to clarify what they mean in the one being addressed. The writer is likely to use nasa’ to mean the same thing in various parts of Exodus.
Nasa’ is used 654 times in the Old Testament, and 33 times in Exodus.1 Of those 33 times, two are the usage in question(( two times in Exodus 20:7)) so we’ll have to take those out of our discussion for now.
Now, it’s important to recognize that nasa’ can have many meanings. BlueLetterBible lists 16 distinct translations of the word, and 74 uses of the word translated “miscellaneously”.((https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?page=1&strongs=H5375&t=KJV#lexResults))2 I took a look at the 31 uses of nasa’ in Exodus and created this piechart.((Of the 16 meanings, 7 were not used in Exodus so do not appear on the chart.))
It appears there is a clear preference for nasa’ to mean “bear” by the author of Exodus.
What’s interesting is that one would expect us to translate nasa’ as “lift up” if the condemnation was against using God’s name improperly. While “lift up” is often used to to describe a physical lifting, it can also be used to describe speaking. But, the one use of “lift up” in Exodus, in Exodus 14:10, is used as a physical action.3)
So the author of Exodus uses nasa’ as a physical action the one time they use it in Exodus,4 and uses “bear” more than anything else.
It’s starting to seem unlikely that nasa’ in Exodus 20:7 is referring to using God’s name in a verbal way, but what about “take”, could it still fit the typical understanding? “Take” is used once (outside the two uses in Exodus 20:7) in Exodus 30:12 to talk about conducting a census. Not really a comparable use to using the name of God in vain.
But the 14 uses of nasa’ to mean “bear” are are about people bearing something- to carry or take on something.
While this is nowhere near conclusive, and definitely not an exhaustive word study of nasa’, could it not be true that a better reading would be to not take on the name of the Lord in vain? This would fit much better within the author’s typical usage of nasa’.
Perhaps people saying “oh my God” or typing OMG isn’t what God meant when he commanded us not to nasa’ the name of the Lord in vain, but not to claim to be his people lightly. Maybe he’s more concerned with how we’re representing him to the world- loving people; taking care of people; helping people– than exclaiming god when something happens (either good or bad).
Could it be that he simply wants us to love him and love others, and not get so caught up on the minute details of people’s word choices?
- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?page=2&strongs=H5375&t=KJV#lexResults [↩]
- Some of the miscellaneous translations in Exodus are “swear”, “brought”, “pardon”, “stirred up”. [↩]
- And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. (KJV [↩]
- A quick examination of the use in other books estimates a greater than 80% rate for “lift up” being a physical action. [↩]
