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Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

What is the name to which he refers?

How is it hallowed by the NT saints?

Thanks,

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Bill Ross
"What I lack in youth I make up for in immaturity!"

This is the model prayer. Jesus is teaching us to keep God's name Holy. In John 17:6 he said he had made his fathers name known. God's name is represented in Hebrew as YHWH and is translated as Jehovah in some translations, as Yahweh in some and represented by LORD or GOD in all capitals in others. You might find it at Psalm 83:18.

There are two parts to this question: the name and what it is to hallow it.

In Hebrew thinking, “a name is not merely an arbitrary designation, a random combination of sounds. The name conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It represents the history and reputation of the being named” . In other words, it conveys the full character of the one named. Jesus came in the Father’s name (John 5:43). As such he embodied the Father’s nature. The relationship was so close that Jesus could say “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

The word ‘hallowed’ embodies reverence, sacredness and a marked separateness (holiness). God has declared Himself and His Name holy, so this petition isn’t asking Him to make His Name something it isn’t. Rather, it seeks His Name’s hallowing in the life of the disciple and by the world at large. Why would we pray to God that He should hallow His name? - because we're so poor at doing so!

The verb ‘hallowed’ (ἁγιασθήτω) in the Lord's prayer is in the aorist passive imperative tense, giving a once-for-all aspect to the petition and, hence, an eschatological flavour. The hallowing of God's name in the world forms part of the ushering in of His kingdom (Ezekiel 36:23), the subject of the next petition in the Lord's prayer: “Thy kingdom come.”

In addition to reverencing God's name, I see it also leading us in the practical sense of living in such a way that when God is brought to mind by those in the world, it leads to blessing, not cursing. The opposite is such as O.T. Israel that caused the nations to blaspheme God's name.

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Andrew Bernhardt
"Salvation costs me nothing. Discipleship costs me everything."
my homepage / my blog

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The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.

Notably the passive voice in ἁγιασθήτω, as opposed to the active voice, indicates or causes one to understand that when the imperative (command) is given, it is not that "we" make it holy; i.e. that we elevate it in our minds so to speak. Rather we recognize its already existing holiness and we acquiesce to this reality. We (the subject of the imperative verb) receive or yield to the action of the verb. God's holiness already exists, we are to yield to it. And this is wholly consistent with how we, as believers, examine and determine the nature or essence of God which is from his infinite being.

You Ask:
How is it hallowed by the NT saints?

Actually, this is a praise to God, not a request.

That is, there is nothing that the NT saints can do to make God's name more hallowed than it already is.

A better reading would be, "hallowed is your name" meaning your name IS hallowed, with or without me and any efforts that I may produce.

keliy

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