Good Morning Yamin Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayomim;

Genesis 2:4:  “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.”

There is the story in the Talmud of a king who received two very fine pieces of glassware.  They were so fragile that the king despaired and said: “If I put hot water in the glass it will crack, but if I put cold water in the glass it will also crack.  So what did he do?  He mixed the hot with the cold and poured it into the glass.  Thus the Blessed Holy One knew that if He created the world with the Attribute of Mercy it would not stand, if He created the world with the Attribute of Justice it would not stand.  And thus he created the world as Jehovah (Lord) – Mercy and Elohim (God) – Justice.

As hard as it is for Christians to understand the trinity, it is equally as hard for the Jews to understand their modalism.   There is only one God but with very distinct attributes.  The sages try to explain it by saying that God has two thrones one from which He sits to judge the world in justice and the other to forgive the world in mercy. The rabbis teach that the divine name YHWH refers to the aspect of mercy while the divine name Elohim refers to the aspect of Justice.  Hence the creation story combines the two names (Lord God) to teach us that the world can not endure on justice alone nor mercy along.  He had to mingle justice with mercy for the world to endure.  Hence  God speaks to Moses as YHWH He is speaking from the aspect of mercy and when He is speaking as Elohim He is speaking from the aspect of judge and administering justice.

In John 8 some scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in adultery to Jesus and advised that the Law of Moses commanded that she had to be stoned.  In an attempt to test Jesus they asked what they should do, follow the law or not.  Jesus gave his famous answer: “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.”  Before he gave this answer, however, he wrote something on the ground.   Scripture does not tell us what he wrote and there has been much speculation.  One rabbi suggested he either wrote Isaiah 1:18 or something that would express the idea of mercy.  To write out the whole verse would have been a lot of writing, even in Hebrew.  Another rabbi suggested that due to the dramatic response from the religious leaders and that fact that Jesus did not speak but wrote on the ground. It is very possible he simple wrote out the Hebrew letters “yod” and “he,” or maybe just simply a “yod.”  A scribe and Pharisee would instantly know what that meant.  He would have written out the abbreviated form of the sacred name of God – Jehovah.   He could have spoken the name “Elohim” and that would have meant justice, stone her.  But to appeal to the name that was so sacred it could not be uttered, the name that these religious leaders would automatically associate with mercy, would have a profound affect.  Then to say “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone” would have left these leaders speechless for they could not say that they were without sin and they had to admit that they themselves were must appeal to Jehovah – mercy and not Elohim – justice.

I like to think that all Jesus wrote on the ground was a simple “yod.”  The smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  With that letter he saved a woman’s life and won an argument with scribes and Pharisees.  Then after he spoke he knelt again and this time he wrote out Isaiah 1:18, the words spoken by the “yod.” These words spoke of mercy and not judgment, they said even if  your sins are scarlet (misplaced passion) they can be white as snow. Those  religious leaders knew that long before there was a law that condemned this woman, there was at creation Jehovah – mercy.  That name does not apply to any other god.

Subscribe to our free Daily Hebrew Word Study for in-depth commentary using Biblical Hebrew!

* indicates required