What is the meaning of Hashem?

TL;DR:

Hashem is a Hebrew word that means “the Name,” used to respectfully avoid pronouncing God’s name. While “Hashem” is a later Hebrew term, the Bible emphasizes that knowing and calling on God’s true name is central to faith and salvation through Jesus Christ.

what does the bible say?

The word Hashem is a Hebrew word meaning, “the Name.” It is not used in the Bible to refer to God; the use in 1 Chronicles 11:34 refers to a person. Instead, it became popular in later times as a way of avoiding saying God’s name to prevent misusing it. Despite that well-meaning restriction, God never forbade the use of His name. On the contrary, He gave it to be spoken and remembered (Exodus 3:15). The name He gave was YHWH. Because speaking it was avoided for so long, the pronunciation was lost. However, most modern scholars think it sounded like “Yahweh.”

When giving His name, God told Moses that “I AM” is sending you (Exodus 3:14). The word for “I AM” is the root of YHWH, meaning that God’s name defines Him as the eternal God. This set Him apart from, and above, every false god. Additionally, by calling Himself “I AM,” YHWH allowed His chosen people to know Him intimately and entered into an eternal relationship with them. In the New Testament, we learn that Jesus is the way to that relationship (John 14:6) and that we must call on His name in order to be saved (Romans 10:13).

from the old testament

In Hebrew, shem means “name,” and “ha” is “the.” Combined, hashem means, “the name.” The Old Testament only uses the full word, hashem, once as the name of an individual (1 Chronicles 11:34). Therefore, there is no biblical example of it being used to refer to God.
The use of Hashem became more broadly used after the Bible was written, as Jews began avoiding the use of God’s name for the fear that they might use it in vain. So, they would say Hashem (“the Name”), rather than saying His name.
The name they (and groups of Jews today) were avoiding was YHWH, the name God gave to His people. We read about that given name in Exodus 3:15. A name is important because it defines someone, as well as the relationship between two people. God gave His personal name to His people to distinguish Himself from pagan gods and to define His relationship with them.
Just before giving His name, God told Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14), declaring Himself as the eternal, unchanging “I AM.” Unlike how we use “am” to describe a temporary state, God’s declaration shows that He always exists.
By always being, God was saying that He existed before all things (Psalm 90:2), is distinct from all things (Isaiah 40:18, 25), and is unchanging (Malachi 3:6).
In addition to declaring His eternality, by giving His name, He was expressing an interest in forming a relationship with His people. But it was not to be a mere acquaintance. Instead, He intended to form an eternal relationship with the people He had chosen. He said, “This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:15b).

from the new testament

The New Testament is written in Greek, and thus, does not use Hashem or YHWH. However, Jesus identified Himself as Yahweh (John 8:58). Like in Exodus, Jesus used the Greek “being” verb without any description. Jesus was saying, “I am,” with the same eternal, self-existent, unchanging meaning that God had said in Exodus 3:14.
The Jews understood Jesus and sought to stone Him for blasphemy (John 8:59a). Their attempted murder proved that they understood the significance of Jesus’s “I am” statement.
Because Jesus is fully God, it was not blasphemy for Him to claim the name I AM. As God, He is self-existent (Colossians 1:17). He is eternal, existing before Abraham, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father for eternity (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 8:1). He is self-sufficient, needing nothing, and self-directed, doing His will as He sees fit (John 5:26). He is also unchanging, being “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Additionally, relationship with God is to be done through “the name” of Jesus. Speaking about the arrival of Jesus on earth, John said, “to all who did receive [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
Indeed, we learn that there is no name higher than Jesus’s name. “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11).
As mentioned in the Old Testament section, the name of a person both defines who he or she is and indicates some form of relationship with all who use the name. In the case of Jesus, His name defines Him as the eternal God (John 1:1), Savior (Acts 4:12), and the only way to a personal relationship with God (John 14:6).

implications for today

God gave His name so that He could form a personal relationship with His creation. This was not because God needed a relationship to be complete—He was perfectly complete within Himself. However, He forms relationships to show how great His love, mercy, and grace are. In short, He gave us His name so that we might know Him and worship Him.

God is holy, which means that He cannot dwell with sin. So, before forming an eternal relationship, He had to deal with sin. This is why He sent His Son, Jesus. Jesus came and lived a perfect life, never sinning even once. Because He is perfect, He did not have to die, but He did so willingly. When He did, the Father punished Jesus for all the sins of those who believe in the name of Jesus.

That act is the foundation for a relationship with God and the only way sinful men and women can enter into a relationship with Him. In order to be saved, we must repent of our sin and confess His name. This is not a formulaic prayer where we say the name of Jesus and then get saved. Rather, it is understanding all that His name represents as God, the sinless human sacrifice, and eternal redeemer. In other words, evidence of true salvation is the ongoing, genuine expression of our trust and faith in His life, death, and resurrection (Romans 10:9–10).

understand

Hashem means “the Name” in Hebrew and is used to respectfully avoid saying God’s personal name.
Knowing and calling on God’s name remains central to faith, fulfilled in Jesus as the eternal “I AM.”
God gave His name to invite an eternal relationship with His people, made possible through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.

reflect

What do you understand about God’s name and calling upon it?
How does knowing that Jesus shares God’s eternal name influence your trust in Him?
How are you comforted by knowing that God can be approached personally by those who trust in Him?

engage

What does the practice of avoiding God’s name with terms like “Hashem” reflect about humanity adding rules to what God intended?
What does God’s name reveal about His character and His desire for relationship with His people?
How does Jesus’s claim to the name “I AM” challenge or deepen your understanding of His identity and mission?