“The Name of Yahweh” a name for God?

Question

I have often been told that "name" in the Old Testament has much more weight than it does to us today. Then I noticed this passage recently:

See, the Name of the Yahweh comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. —Isaiah 30:27

Is "The Name of Yahweh" a name for him? How ought I to understand this phrase? Is the extra degree of separation an indication of thrice-holiness, like using הַשֶׁם for יהוה? What kind of implications does it have for understanding the concept of name in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament?

Answer 1

"The name of YHVH comes from afar" seems puzzling; YHVH may come from afar, but what does it mean for his name to do so? Rashi, the medieval compiler of rabbinic tradition, writes the following:

the Name of the Lord: His might, which will be for Him as a name, viz., what He will do to Sennacherib.

He does not give a source, but this interpretation is consistent with the context of these verses:

27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, with His anger burning, and in thick uplifting of smoke; His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue is as a devouring fire;
28 And His breath is as an overflowing stream, that divideth even unto the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction; and a bridle that causeth to err shall be in the jaws of the peoples. [...] 30 And the LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lighting down of His arm, with furious anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a bursting of clouds, and a storm of rain, and hailstones. (etc)

"Might" is consistent with anger, devouring fire, sifting the nations with a sieve of destruction, and so forth.

Answer 2

שׁם for name also means 'fame' or 'reputation'

שׁמם which is considered a different root, but has the same form as the plural of םשׁ means 'desolate' or 'to make desolate'. Since שׁם is in שׁמם, the one who makes desolate gets a reputation for doing it.

The context of Is 30.27 is suggestive of the linked meaning:

See, the "reputation for making desolate" of Yaweh comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire.