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INSIDE THE GARDEN
Jehovah-Elohim only. - Man innocent and unashamed
(Gen. 2:4 to 3:1).
Elohim only. - In mouth of serpent and Eve
(Gen. 3:1-5).
Jehovah-Elohim only. - Man fallen and ashamed
(Gen. 3:8-24).
OUTSIDE THE GARDEN
Jehovah only.
-
The birth of Cain, the offering of Abel and the banishment of Cain (Gen. 4:1-16).
Elohim only.
-
The birth of Seth (Gen. 4:25).
Jehovah only.
-
The birth of Enos, and the calling on the name of the LORD (Gen. 4:26).
Some light is cast upon the two relationships intended by the two great names of God if we observe their use in
the following passages :
`And they that went in, male and female of all flesh, as God (Elohim) had commanded him: and the LORD
(Jehovah) shut him in' (Gen. 7:16).
`And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel.
Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD (Jehovah) helped him;
and God (Elohim) moved them to depart from him' (2 Chron. 18:31).
It will be seen that there is a more intimate relationship intended by the name Jehovah than by the name Elohim.
One indicates the Creator and His creature, the other the covenant-keeping God. We have already found that the
name Elohim indicates God in the capacity of One Who had a purpose, an oath, a promise; this is the name which
He assumed in connection with the aspect that creation bears to that purpose.
We now consider the name Jehovah, and find that this title indicates the same God, Who, as Elohim, created
heaven and earth, but Who now limits Himself to `the ages', and enters into covenant relationships involving the
whole process of redemption and restoration, together with the overthrowing of Satan and his seed. The name
Jehovah occurs 7,600 times in the Old Testament. About 6,800 times it is rendered `LORD' and 800 times `GOD'.
In Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4, the A.V. uses the English equivalent `Jehovah'. The name also
occurs in the English titles Jehovah-Jireh Jehovah-Nissi, and Jehovah-Shalom.
Should anyone be disturbed by the theories of Higher Criticism regarding this name, it may be helpful to remind
them that the Moabite Stone, which was erected in the days of 2 Kings 3, has the name Jehovah engraved upon it,
the spelling being exactly as we find it in the Hebrew Bible today.
The title is a combination in one word of the three periods of existence. It places the future first: Yehi - `He will
be', then the present participle hove - `being', and finally the short tense used in the past, hahyah - `he was'. This
meaning of the word is supported by the Targum of Jonathan, and better still by the book of the Revelation :
`Who is, and was, and is coming' (Rev. 1:4,8); - The hope of His people.
`Was, and is, and is coming' (Rev. 4:8); - The hope of creation.
`Who art, and wast' (Rev. 11:17); - The future omitted. The kingdom set up.
The R.V. following the critical texts, omits from the last passage the words: `is to come'. The promise involved
in the covenant name having been at last attained, that part of the title is omitted.
In one passage of the book of Genesis, the title Jehovah is explained by the Lord Himself, and to this we must
turn. The passage is Genesis 21:33, and the context speaks much of covenant and oath. As a result of the oath
between Abimelech and Abraham, the name of the place was called Beer-Sheba `The well of the oath' (Gen. 21:31),
and it was there that Abraham called upon the name Jehovah El Olam - `The God of the age'.