Is Jesus called YHWH in Joel 2:32/Romans 10:13?

Question

In Romans 10, Paul is discussing the Lord Jesus, and in verse 13, he writes (NKJV, emphasis mine):

For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

The reason "LORD" is capitalized by the New King James Version here is that in Joel 2:32, the original verse Paul quotes, the word used is YHWH. Yet Paul uses this verse in reference to Jesus. If the subject of Joel 2:32 is YHWH/Jehovah, and if Joel 2:32 applies to Jesus (as says Paul), then does Joel 2:32 refer to Jesus as YHWH/Jehovah? Thanks!

Answer 1

Several modern versions do capitalize Lord in Rom 10:13 such as NLT, NKJV, LSV, etc.

This is somewhat justified as the Rom 10:13 passage is unambiguously referencing Joel 2:32 as the OP has correctly pointed out. That Paul is referring to Jesus as "Lord" in Rom 10:13 is beyond doubt; and the fact that he quotes an OT text referring to Jehovah/YHWH and applies it to Jesus shows clearly what he thinks of the status of Jesus. This is not the only time this sort of thing occurs in the NT - there are other occasions where OT passages that refer to YHWH/Jehovah on the OT are applied to Jesus in the NT:

• Heb 1:6 quotes Deut 32:43
• Heb 1:8, 9 quotes Ps 45:6, 7
• Heb 1:10-12 quotes Ps 102:25-27 (LXX)
• Phil 2:10, 11 quotes Isa 45:23
• Matt 3:3 (cf V11) quotes Isa 40:3

One could extend this list greatly by including various exclusive titles of YHWH in the OT that are applied to Jesus in the NT such as:

• "Savior" Isa 43:3, 11, 45:17, 21; vs Matt 1:21; Acts 4:12; 2 Tim 1:10; Tit 1:4, 2:13, 3:6; 2 Pet 1:1, 11
• "First and Last" Isa 41:4, 44:6, 48:12; vs Rev 1:17, 18, 2:8, 22:13
• "Lord of Lords" Deut 10:17, Ps 136:3, 26; vs Rev 17:14, 19:16

... and many many more.

Answer 2

In the old testament (and in many ANE cultures), "name" was a synecdoche for the person, but with the connotation that this is the mechanism by which the person was known. In modern English, we only think of "name" as an identifier with no relationship to the underlying character of the person, and thus many of these "name" references in scriptures are confusing.

Thus when the Angel asked Jacob, "What is your name?", this was not a request for identification, but the Angel was demanding that Jacob confess his nature, that is, that he was a supplanter, as Jacob means "supplanter".

A better sense-for-sense translation for modern readers might be "tell me who you are?" which would carry with it the connotation that this was about your character rather than just a mechanism of identification.

This is why it so profound that God changed the name of Abram and Jacob, as God is effectively changing their character from that point forward. It is a reference to an inward change. We are also promised to receive new names in Revelation 3.12, 2.17. This is also a promise of an inward change. See also Isaiah 62.2

The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.

Similarly, to do something "in the name" of someone else was to take on that person's authority and character. Thus praying "in the name" of Jesus does not mean saying "in Jesus' name" as a magical incantation, but it means representing Jesus in the world as we pray, with his authority and character.

So with this background knowledge, if Christ plays the role of "davar" or Word of God, that is, the revelation of YHWH to the world, then to call on the name of YHWH would automatically require calling on Christ, as God's nature (i.e. his name) is revealed to the world only as Christ, and thus Christ's name would be the only "name" that could be called on if one wanted to call on the name of YHWH.

John 14.6-9:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

This passage in John, in the language of "names", says that Jesus was acting in the name of the Father, therefore to call on the name of the Father is to call on the name of Jesus.

Acts 4.12

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved

Answer 3

Is Jesus being identified as YHWH in Joel 2:32 and Romans 10:13?

Joel 2:32a New International Version

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD [H3068 Yahweh] will be saved;

Brenton Septuagint Translation

And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord [G2962 κυρίου] shall be saved

Conventionally, H3068 is translated as G2962.

Now to the NT in Romans 10:

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord [G2962],” ...

This is the same Greek word that corresponds to the Hebrew Yahweh. In a sense, it says "Jesus is Yahweh". Not convinced? More contextual evidence follows:

12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord [G2962]

It says that the OT Yahweh is one and the same Lord of the Gentile.

is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [G2962] will be saved.”

Now Paul directly linked Joel 2:32's Yahweh to Romans10:9a's "Jesus is Lord".

Is Jesus being identified as YHWH in Joel 2:32 and Romans 10:13?

Indeed, the evidence and linkage are strong. There is no doubt in my mind that in Paul's mind, they are one and the same in the context of Romans 10:13.

Answer 4

Is the name Ἰησοῦν "Jesus" in [Romans 10:9-13] equal to the Name YHVH from Joel 2:32? - No.

In Joel 2:32 (English bibles) | Yoel 3:5 [MT], does the prophet יוֹאֵ֖ל Yoel tell Roman Christians (33-70CE) that they "shall be saved" יִמָּלֵט Yimalet (from keeping Torah) by calling on the name of Jesus? - No.

[Joel 2:32 | **Yoel 3:5**] "And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call in the name of YHVH shall be delivered, for on Mount Zion and in Yerushalaim there shall be a deliverance, as YHVH said, and among the survivors whom the YHVH invites." ( וְהָיָ֗ה כֹּ֧ל אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֛א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָ֖ה יִמָּלֵ֑ט כִּ֠י בְּהַר־צִיּ֨וֹן וּבִירֽוּשָׁלִַ֜ם תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה פְלֵיטָ֗ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה וּבַ֨שְּׂרִידִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה קֹרֵֽא )

In the NT book [Romans], the apostle Paul reinvents Torah prophesy of [Joel 3:5] for Roman Noachide students of Yeshua the Nazarene - by stating a new prophesy in [Romans 10:9] :

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." ( 10:9 ὅτι ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου κύριον Ἰησοῦν καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν σωθήσῃ· )

The apostle Paul in [Romans 10:13] misuses Yoel's prophecy in Yoel 3:5 to justify a new intercessory belief for Gentile Noachide students of Yeshua the Nazarene - to no longer observe Mitzvot of Torah:

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." ( 10:13 Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται )

Paul reiterates the revisionist philosophy of Yoel's prophecy in [Romans 10:4] to support the end of Torah Mitzvot :

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." ( 10:4 τέλος γὰρ νόμου Χριστὸς εἰς δικαιοσύνην παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι )