Is the name of God in Romans 2:24 the same as the name of the Lord in Leviticus 24:16?

Question

Romans 6:24; KJV;

24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Leviticus 24:16; KJV;

16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.

Does the name of God = the name of the Lord?

What's the difference between God's name and the Lord's name?

Answer 1

Let us be clear -

• "God" is a title
• "Lord" is also a title of God
• "God of your fathers" is a title
• "YHWH" (= "LORD" in English Bibles) is the closest we get to a personal name of God as per the following. This name is almost the same as "I Am" in the Hebrew.
• Ex 3:13-15 - Then Moses asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ What should I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD (= YHWH), the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.

In the LXX, this "I Am" name occurs a number of times such as: Deut 32:39, Isa 41:4, 43:10, 13, 25, 45:19, 46:4, 48:12, 51:12, 52:6. In the Hebrew, "YHWH" name occurs hundreds of times.

In the case of Jesus:

• "Christ" is a title
• "The Son of God" is a title
• "The Son of Man" is a title
• "Jesus" is a personal name

The Holy Spirit does not appear to have been given a personal name in the Bible. However, we have this fascinating comment of Jesus as per the appendix below.

The reference in Lev 24:16 is simply about the Israelites not upholding the name (idiom for character here) of the God by living sinful lives. A good example of this is fopund in the story of David when he sinned with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah. Nathan the prophet said this:

2 Sam 12:14 - However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

APPENDIX - Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit and the Unforgivable Sin

The NT makes an interesting claim about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in Matt 12:31, 32, Mark 3:28, 29, and Luke 12:8-10. This sin, it appears, cannot be forgiven.

And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Matt 12:31, 32.

The question naturally arises: How is it possible that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven but blasphemy against Jesus can be forgiven? Does the Holy Spirit have some especially exalted status?

The problem here is not a matter of status but function of the Holy Spirit. Before dealing with this let us establish what blasphemy actually is. Generally, it means (BDAG), “to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates and maligns”. However, the NT provides a more precise meaning when God is involved.

In Matt 9:3, 26:65, Mark 2:7, 14:64, Luke 5:21, John 10:33-36, blasphemy means to claim to be God, or presume the prerogatives and function of God, that is to usurp the place of God (including the Holy Spirit), for example by presuming to forgive sins, Mark 2:7. Thus, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be usurping His place by presuming to have the function of the Holy Spirit (see above), namely, producing the fruit of the Spirit, trying to reform the life, acting as conscience for others, forgiving sins, trying to confer supernatural abilities on others, etc; all of which are the exclusive job of the Holy Spirit.

Now, if one is usurping the place of the Holy Spirit, then that effectively shuts out the essential work and influence of the Holy Spirit in the person’s life, thus excluding that person from spiritual perception or even the felt need to confess sin. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to be a Christian (Rom 8:9).

Such a person is beyond the reach of the Holy Spirit’s miraculous work. The person then shuts himself away from heaven’s work and feels no need of salvation and becomes spiritually self-delusional. No wonder that forgiveness is excluded, not by God but by the actions and decisions of the person.

Answer 2

The KJV “Lord” (κυρίου) removed the abbreviated Hebrew שֵׁם “Name” of El : יְהֹוָה YHVH (YihYeh-HoVeh-HaYah), when translating [Vayiqra 24:16]

שֵׁם יְהֹוָה

since the KJV was translated from the Greek Textus Receptus manuscript of [Leviticus 24:16] which stated :

ὄνομα κυρίου

**The Greek “κυρίου” (Lord) sadly removes the abbreviated Hebrew Name of El : יְהֹוָה YHVH (YihYeh-HoVeh-HaYah) = “[He] Will Be - [He] is - [He] was”.

• Greek manuscripts of Torah follow oral traditions of Abba Shaul אַבָּא שָׁאוּל in [Sanhedrin 10.1] which prohibited pronunciation of The-Name ( אַבָּא שָׁאוּל אוֹמֵר, אַף הַהוֹגֶה אֶת הַשֵּׁם בְּאוֹתִיּוֹתָיו ) : https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Sanhedrin.10.1?with=all&lang=bi.

In Romans 2:24 of KJV, the term κυρίου “Lord” is replaced with the English term “God” due to the Greek phrase

ὄνομα θεός

The Greek term θεός “theos” is also sadly hiding the abbreviated Hebrew Title of Yehovah (YihYeh-HoVeh-HaYah).

Answer 3

Romans 2:24 In Greek - Concerning the Word God. θεός,n {theh'-os}

1. a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities 2) the Godhead, trinity 2a) God the Father, the first person in the trinity 2b) Christ, the second person of the trinity 2c) Holy Spirit, the third person in the trinity 3) spoken of the only and true God 3a) refers to the things of God 3b) his counsels, interests, things due to him 4) whatever can in any respect be likened unto God, or resemble him in any way 4a) God's representative or viceregent 4a1) of magistrates and judges.

In Hebrew Levitucs the word יְ הוָה means Jehovah The meaning of Jehovah Jireh in Hebrew Jehovah or Yahovah or Yahweh means “the existing one, the one true God, the become, to exist.” Jireh meaning to “see, to inspect, the perceive, to provide, to consider.”

So to answer your question. yes, they both mean the same thing.

Answer 4

There are many Lords. There is only one Lord and God in the OT just as there is only one Lord who is God in the NT. Jesus is called Lord, but he is not God - for the Lord who is God is also the God of Jesus and we cannot, biblically, have two Gods.

John 20:17 "Do not cling to me," Jesus said, "for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell my brothers, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

Biblically, the Holy Spirit has no name as it is not a person (according to the idea of a triune God) to have a name. How an alleged 'person' can have no name is a great mystery trinitarianism cannot answer. We are told however that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God or the Father.

Yes the Lord of Leviticus 24:16 is the same God of Romans 6:24

God has many titles, but His name is Yahweh or something similar derived from the Hebrew letters YHVH.