Based on excerpts taken directly from The Truth About Inspired Titles in the Light of the Sacred Names written by: Elder Dale George of "Yah’s Assembly in Messiah" and Elder Silvio Soto of "Restoration Ministry in Messiah" (with expanded information and formatted to a forum audience and article submission to Messianic Ministries, Executive Director, Angus and Batya Wootten, founders of the Messianic Israel Alliance and book entitled 'WHO IS ISRAEL?)

Verses quoted throughout this brief article are from the standard King James Version, unless otherwise indicated. The Name Yahweh has been restored in every place where the KJV used "the LORD."

It is common knowledge among Sacred-Name organizations that the word God is considered an unclean inappropriate word to refer to Yahweh. Most argue that to apply the word God to Yahweh is tantamount to idolatry. For example:

"... in Isayah 65:11, KJV, we find the word ‘TROOP’ mentioned. The ‘Center Reference’ of the King James Version will show you ‘what’ the word ‘troop’ means... The word ‘troop’ means ‘gad,’ which is a euphemism for ‘GOD,’ as Webster’s Deluxe Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition, pp. 746, indicates:

Gad, n. 1. In the Bible, a son of Jacob. 2. A tribe of Israel descended from him. 3. The land where this tribe lived. Gad, gad, interj. A mild oath or expression of surprise, disgust, etc.: a euphemism for God."

[1]"... From this alone we see that the word GOD was never a Name for the Creator – it was a TITLE FOR PAGAN GODS!"

[2]"... To worship this idol, or any idol, is destructive to one’s own life, and those whose names aren’t written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will receive wrath from Yahweh because they worship the idol ‘God.’ Baal God worship in Jeremiah’s time was one of the sins of the children of Israel. They, like many today, worshiped the Queen of Heaven and her son... In conclusion, the pagan idol known as ‘God’ from the beginning, was never glorified by Yahweh, nor has Yahweh ever said He would give His glory to it. Neither has He said that the word ‘god’ would be His own name or title. But He has said just the opposite. ‘You who forget My holy Name and spread a table for Gawd (God) and forget my holy mountain, I will destroy (Isaiah 65:11).’" [3]

As seen from the above Scriptures, the basis for rejecting the word god is the claim that this term is derived directly from the name of a Babylonian pagan deity which the Bible identifies in Isaiah 65:11. This linguistic argument is advanced even though modern Christian etymologist do not agree with this claim. [4] Nevertheless, the charge is made that regardless of the opinion of modern etymologist, the Teutonic language (i.e. German and English) did indeed adapted and developed the word god from the name of the false deity recorded in the Bible known as Gad.

In response to these arguments, the following observations are made:

1. We first encounter the Hebrew word gad in the book of Genesis where it is used as the name of Jacob's seventh son, born unto him by Zilpah, who was Leah's handmaid (Gen. 30:11-13). When Leah named the child, she described her motives for doing so by saying:

"A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad."

Unfortunately, the English translation conceals the natural play of words of this text. In Hebrew, this verse literally reads,

"Gadad cometh: and she called his name Gad."

Immediately we can see the connection between the name Gad and the word which the KJV renders as troop! According to Strong’s Analytical Concordance, Gad (Strong’s #1410) is derived from guwd (#1464) which means:

"To crowd upon, i.e. attack:–invade, overcome."

Strong’s also argues that guwd is linguistically "akin to 1413," that is, the word Gadad, which it defines as:

"To crowd; also to gash (as if by pressing into):–assemble (selves by troops), gather (selves together, self in troops), cut selves.

Therefore, we can easily determine the original meaning of the Hebrew word Gad to be that of an assembling of force or might with a specific goal to achieve, thus the rendering: troop. Additionally, Easton’s Bible Dictionary (as do many other references) defines Gad as "fortune; luck." Hence, the Hebrew word can also refer to "good fortune or luck."

In essence, the word Gad emphasizes the ability to deliver. As we will soon demonstrate, the deliverance may come through the use of power, force, attack and strength resulting in good fortune on account of the victory gained over one’s enemies. The deliverance could also come through wealth or abundance (that is, extreme financial power). When used of wealth, Gad carries the meaning of overwhelming abundance of distribution. We have all heard the old adage: WEALTH IS POWER! It truly is! When used in relation to an army, Gad carries the meaning of overwhelming abundance of power. When an Israelite named his child Gaddiel (Gad-dee-el as in Num.13:10), it had a connotation somewhat similar to Shaddai — which carries the thought of bountifulness. The idea of mightiness to produce wealth, fortune or protection and deliverance is manifested in this word Gaddiel (that is, El will deliver me through power and wealth)! Therefore, concepts such as bountifulness, distribution, overwhelming abundance, force (army, troop) and invading (to oppress with force, attack and conquer through might or strength) are all inherent in the Hebrew word Gad.

2. It can therefore be said that the word Gad carries the grandeur of mightiness in its intrinsic meaning (which is very similar to the Hebrew word El and Elohim). While not immediately apparent, a connection can now be demonstrated to exist between the revealed nature of Yahweh and the Hebrew word Gad as originally employed by the Scriptures.

In Genesis chapter 49, we read about the final prophetic blessing that Jacob pronounced upon each of his sons. Verse one states:

"And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days."

Throughout the chapter, Jacob describes each of his twelve sons and attributes to each what will be their future characteristics or peculiarities. In Gen. 49:19 we read regarding Gad:

"Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last."

Once again, the wonderful play of words in the Hebrew text is hidden by the English translation.

Gad, geduwd [5] guwd [6] guwd ‘aqeb [7]

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: But he shall overcome at the last.

Jacob’s entire proclamation upon his son is literally a Hebrew play of words based on his son’s name. Observe how the idea of Gad as deliverance through force, might, power, and strength is most obvious in this text: Along these lines, the Dictionary of the Bible edited by James Hastings makes the following observation on page 309:

"Gn 49:19 implies the name means a"raiding troop force" and connects it with the tribe’s experience in border warfare."

Perhaps here will be a good time to address an objection that has been proposed by some. In an attempt to minimize the impact of the fact that Leah named Jacob’s son (and therefore, one of Israel's tribes) with the name Gad, (Gawd / God) it has been argued that Leah was originally from a pagan home and may have been influenced secretly by pagan motives. However, when Leah named her son, inspiration records that she did so because she understood him as "a troop comes." Later we read that when Jacob proceeded to bless his seventh son, he predicted the same idea on his son that Leah did on her son!!

Could Leah had been under the prophetic unction of the Spirit of Yahweh when she named Jacob’s seventh son by the apparent prophetic name Gad (Gawd / God), "a troop comes?" If she was not guided by the Spirit of Yahweh Almighty in the naming of this child, we are at a lost to explain how she was able to select the very name that will later come to accurately portray the characteristics of Gad as an adult and his descendants. In naming Jacob’s seventh son as Gad, Leah was displaying the same level of inspiration (not paganism) as her husband and Moshe will do many years later! No woman can look at a newborn baby boy and accurately determine what his main personality features are going to be when he becomes an adult, unless Yahweh Almighty grants it by inspiration! Furthermore, no man can look at his adult son (despite of knowing him all his life) and accurately determine what his descendant's main personality and skill features are going to be, unless again, it is granted by inspiration! This fact alone should immediately put to rest any argument against the original purity of the Hebrew word Gad (Gawd / God).

The Schocken Bible, Volume I, attempts to preserve the Hebrew play of words by rendering the translation of Gen. 49:19 as follows:

"Gad, goading robber-band will goad him, yet he will goad at their heel."

With "robber-bands" the author means "bands of robbers." Notice that Jacob’s prophecy is that his son Gad will be attacked and to some extent overcome, but in the end, he will secure the victory and the deliverance. This is what gad really means in Hebrew!

In fact, the men of Gad would in time develop a reputation for being fierce in battle.

1Ch. 5:18-19: The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skillful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.

And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.

1Ch. 12:14-15: These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.

These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.

Even Moshe under the influence of inspiration foretold of the military nature that would characterize the people of the tribe of Gad.

Deut. 33:20-21: And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwells as a lion, and tears the arm with the crown of the head. And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of Yahweh, and his judgments with Israel.

The Encyclopaedia Judaica, [8] makes the following remarks about Moses’ description of Gad:

Moses declared: "Poised is he like a lion to tear off the arm and scalp" (Deut. 33:20), showing that Gad was a tribe of fighting warriors. Indeed, in the era of the monarchy, the Gadites are described as "expert in war,"...

Regarding Gad’s military reputation, Easton’s Bible Dictionary remarks;

"This tribe was fierce and warlike..."

The Complete Word Study Old Testament, [9] while commenting on the meaning of the word Gadad (Strong’s # 1413 from which the name Gad is directly derived), it states:

"The name of Gad was drawn from this root because he had military capabilities (Deut. 33:20; 1 Chr. 5:18; 12:8)."

All things considered, based on the biblical testimony seen thus far, if Gad later became the name of a pagan deity, this would be no different to the other Hebrew words that we have reviewed in our booklet. [10] Originally, it would have been a clean word that later got corrupted (just like: el, elohim, adon, baal, and countless others we prove in our book).

COMMENT: While there may be nothing inherently evil in naming a man, a tribe or a region Gad/God, try that in today’s world and see just what kind of retribution you will receive. The word God, to today’s world is so sacred that they would deem it blasphemy to name a child, a man or a region as such. The world takes this word to be the name of the Creator. It is also their definition of what He is, to wit: God is God. What we have here in this statement is God (PROPER NOUN) is God (COMMON NOUN). To today’s world, the two cannot actually be separated.

I was a member of a church at one time which named itself Worldwide Church of God. Why did it do so? The founder explained that the Savior prayed, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou has given Me, that they may be one, as We are," Jn. 17:11. Therefore the name "God" had to be incorporated into the name of the group.

Later, before his death, the man discovered that the true name of the Creator was YAHWEH and he confessed as such, but preferred to continue to utilize the "God" word in the name of the group and also as the descriptive title, however, he preferred to change the words "the LORD" to "the Eternal."

He refused to embrace the true name of our Heavenly Father. He refused to change the name of the group to Worldwide Church of YAHWEH. There are over 200 groups that have splintered off from this main group now and each and everyone has incorporated the name "God" in the name of their groups. I know of only one group that has changed to the name YAHWEH and that is the Congregation of YHWH. Most of the "God" groups absolutely hate the names YAHWEH and YAHshua and froth at the mouth every time they hear them.

3. However, it is the prophet Habakkuk which gives us a glimpse of how the Hebrew word gad can be applied to Yahweh:

Hab. 3:13-18: Thou did walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he comes up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops (Heb. Guwd ).

COMMENT: THE WORD GUWD UTILIZED HERE REFERS TO HIS TROOPS, NOT TO YAHWEH. TO UTILIZE THIS WORD IN VERSE 16 IN THIS MANNER TO JUSTIFY CALLING YAHWEH GOD WILL ALSO GIVE CREDENCE TO CALLING HIM SUS (ZEUS) AS THE HEBREW WORD FOR HORSE IS THAT EXACT TERM UTILIZED IN VERSE 15. BUT IT IS SPEAKING OF THINE HORSES IN VERSE 15 EVEN AS IT IS SPEAKING OF HIS TROOPS IN VERSE 16.

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in Yahweh, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

COMMENT: THIS WORD "GOD" IS NOT A PROPER RENDERING OF THE TERM ELOHIM. PLEASE NOTICE WHAT YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO JUSTIFY. YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO JUSTIFY UTILIZING THE ENGLISH WORD GOD FOR THE HEBREW TERM "ELOHIM," BUT THE HEBREW TERM "GAD" DOES NOT MEAN ELOHIM, IT MEANS TROOP OR TROOPS.

PLEASE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THE HEBREW WORD "GAD" IS TAKEN AS A PROPER NOUN WHICH IS GIVEN AS A NAME FOR A SON OF JACOB, WHICH WE ALSO KNOW WAS A PROPER NOUN OR NAME OF A BABYLONIAN DEITY. THUS, WHAT THE WORLD DOES IS TAKE THIS WORD AS NOT ONLY A COMMON NOUN IN REFERRING TO YAHWEH AS A "GOD", BUT IT ALSO APPLIES THE WORD TO HIM AS A PROPER NOUN, TO WIT, HIS NAME. BEFORE I KNEW WHAT THE TRUE NAME OF THE CREATOR WAS, THIS IS WHEN I WAS IN CHRISTIANITY, HAD ANYONE ASKED ME WHAT THE NAME OF THE CREATOR WAS, I WOULD HAVE RESPONDED, "WHY GOD, OF COURSE!" THIS IS A GREAT SIN, MY BROTHER, THAT YOU ARE SEEKING TO JUSTIFY. THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THIS WORD "GOD" THAN MEETS THE EYE, MY BROTHER, OTHERWISE, WHY WOULD THE WORLD SEEK TO APPLY IT TO THE CREATOR IN TODAY’S WORLD? LOOK AT THE DEFINITION AGAIN: To crowd upon, i.e. attack:–invade, overcome. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT THIS WORD GOD HAS BEEN UTILIZED TO ATTACK, INVADE, CROWD OUT AND OVERCOME THE VERY NAME OF THE CREATOR YAHWEH. IT, ALONG WITH THE TERM "THE LORD" ARE UTILIZED TO REPLACE THE NAME YAHWEH AND ALSO THE COMMON NOUN "ELOHIM." CAN’T YOU SEE HOW THEY HAVE INVADED AND OVERCOME HIS TRUE NAME AND TITLE?

THE WORD "GOD" HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TERMS, NAMES, OR NOUNS "YAHWEH" OR "ELOHIM." ACCORDING TO YOUR OWN RESEARCH IT HAS TO DO WITH TROOPS, FORTUNE, WEALTH, POWER, ETC.

Here we see the contextual use of the Hebrew word gad in reference to the delivering hand of YAHWEH Almighty! All fears is dispersed! All crying ceases! All intimidation and disdain is no more! When YAHWEH rises to do battle for His people! YAHWEH'S gad qualities are demonstrated in the furious unleashing of His power! At the end, all that the inspired prophet can muster to say is "... I will joy in the Elohim of my salvation." And why not rejoice? After all, YAHWEH through His powerful display of His military might has brought good fortune and deliverance as a result of "gadding" (so to speak) on behalf of His people.

4. As if what we have seen thus far were not enough, we have the fact that in the book of Revelation, John records the following for us:

Rev. 7:5: Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

COMMENT: AGAIN, I MUST REMIND YOU THAT THIS IS THE NAME OF A SON OF JACOB. BUT WHY SHOULD WE TAKE THIS NAME AND APPLY IT TO YAHWEH? IF THIS IS POSSIBLE, THEN WE CAN TAKE ALL OF THE NAMES OF THE SONS OF JACOB AND APPLY THEM TO HIM BECAUSE THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN MEANING WHICH CAN ALSO APPLY TO CERTAIN ATTRIBUTES OF THE CREATOR. WHAT ABOUT THE NAMES ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB? WHY DON’T WE CALL YAHWEH BY THE NAME ABRAHAM? AGAIN, YOUR LOGIC IS MISGUIDED HERE, MY DEAR BROTHER.

Rev. 21:12: And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

Now the obvious question would be, if Yahweh so hates the word Gad (gawd/god) as many Sacred-Name believers have advocated, then why is the Almighty honoring that name throughout eternity? Was it not in the power of Yahweh to change and alter the name of Gad? Certainly it was! After all, Yahweh changed the name of Abram to Abraham, of Sara to Sarai, and of Jacob to Israel! Could he not had done the same for Gad seeing that He had divine plans of naming the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem after the Twelve Tribes of Israel? Therefore, the Hebrew word Gad cannot be as deplorable a word to the Almighty as many have supposed.

COMMENT: I DON’T EVER REMEMBER ANYONE EXPRESSING HATE FOR THE NAME "GAD/GOD" AS APPLIED TO THE SON OF JACOB NOR TO HIS DESCENDANTS. WHAT THE SACRED NAME PEOPLE HATE IS THE APPLICATION OF THIS TERM AS A REPLACEMENT OF THE NAME OF THE CREATOR OR AS A REPLACEMENT OF THE COMMON NOUN ELOHIM.

5. There is an old proverb that says, "A man convinced against his will, remains of the same opinion still." So it is not surprising to us to see some — who after reading the above — are still looking for some argument by which to still condemn the use of the word God as an English translation of the Hebrew El or Elohim. Lately, the arguments have been directed to demonstrate through scholarship and documentation that the word Gad was borrowed from heathen sources. In other words, Gad was not an original Hebrew word per se, but one that at some point in time was adapted from the Canaanites by the people who spoke Hebrew. By this argument, an attempt is made to show that even if the word Gad appears in the Hebrew Scrolls as the name of one of the 12 Tribes, of a Prophet, or a region in Israel, we cannot place too much trust on this word for its is of heathen origin and not pure Hebrew. Furthermore, the emphasis on the documentation presented is designed to hammer home the point that Gad was the personal name of the Babylonian deity of Fortune (as in Is. 65:11).

There are two fundamental flaws with the above rationale.

COMMENT: WHILE THERE WOULD BE A FLAW IN A PERSON’S THINKING THAT THE NAME "GAD" BEING THE NAME OF A SON OF JACOB, A PROPHET, A FAMILY OR A REGION WOULD BE SUSPECT, THERE IS ALSO A FLAW IN YOUR REASONING THAT THE TERM "GOD" IS A TRANSLATION OF THE HEBREW "EL" OR "ELOHIM" SINCE YOU HAVE PROVEN BY YOUR OWN RESEARCH THAT SUCH SIMPLY IS NOT THE CASE. SCHOLARLY RESEARCH DOES REVEAL THAT THE WORD "GOD" WAS A PROPER NOUN WHICH WAS APPLIED TO THE ELOHIM OF THE TEUTONIC/ANGLO-SAXON PEOPLE WHO TODAY INHABIT WESTERN EUROPE, ENGLAND, IRELAND AND THE REST OF THE ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD. "GOD" WAS THEIR PAGAN DEITY AND UPON THEIR CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY THEY SIMPLY APPLIED THE NAME OF THEIR PAGAN DEITY TO THE DEITY OF THEIR (SUPPOSEDLY) NEW FAITH. GOD WAS ORIGINALLY A PROPER NOUN BECAUSE IT WAS THE NAME OF THEIR DEITY. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT THIS TERM AS BEING PROPERLY APPLIED TO THE CREATOR, THEN THE PAGAN NAMES OF ALL OTHER DEITIES OF ALL OTHER NATIONS WOULD ALSO APPLY.

(1) If we are going to follow and accept the word of scholars against that of inspiration, then Gad is NOT the only word that supposedly was BORROWED by the Israelites! Consider the following "scholarly" documentation, especially the underlined portions (note: statements appearing within [] are ours for clarification):

(a) Sabbath will have to go! In the book, ALL ABOUT THE BIBLE, on page 20 it states: "The earliest language spoken after the flood of which we have any knowledge was that known as Akkadian, from Akkad, the north-western division of ancient Babylonia. And it may be interesting here to mention that 'Adam,' 'Eden,' and 'Sabbath' appear to be Akkadian, not Hebrew, words."

(b) El will have to go! The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, on page 411, under the sub-heading EL, it states: "An echo of this meaning [that is, that EL means power] is preserved in the story of Jacob, who awoke from a dream and, realizing that he had been sleeping in a sacred place, was filled with great dread (Gen. 28:17). In the present form of the story the El is identified with Yahweh (vs. 16); this is an indication of how the old Canaanite tradition associated with the Bethel sanctuary has been reworked by Israel... The fact that the preponderance of theophorous names in the book of Genesis contain the element 'El,' and none the element 'Yahweh,' is strong evidence of the dependence of Israel's faith upon a Semitic heritage as transmitted through Canaanite cult centers."

The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible makes the following summary regarding El on page 413, "In summary, these El names were originally pre-Israelite in their meaning. With the exception of El Shaddai, they generally appear in connection with particular Canaanite shrines and reflect ancient Semitic religion. When the Israelites came into Canaan, they took over these shrines, together with the religious traditions associated with them [which included sacred heathen words and names], and rededicated them to the worship of Yahweh."

W.E. Vine in AN EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL WORDS on page 96 states concerning EL.: "This term was the MOST COMMON designation of deity in the Ancient Near East. He also adds: "This was particularly true for El, the chief Caanite god."

Unger's Bible Dictionary, on page 293, regarding "El," it reads: "El is a generic name for God in Northwest Semitic (Hebrew and Ugaritic), and as such it is also employed in the Old Testament for heathen deities (Exod. 34:14; Psa. 81:10; Isa. 44:10). The original generic term was 'ilum [that is, Akkadian], which dropping the mimation and the nominative case ending 'u' became el in Hebrew.

(c) Shaddai will have to go! The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, on page 412, relates how "El Shaddai" was worshiped during the patriatchal period when it carried the meaning of "God, the one of the mountain." It then goes on to observe, "... After the patriatchal period, the original meaning of 'Shaddai' was eclipsed, and the name occasionally was used as a synonym for 'Yahweh'..."

(d) Adon will have to go! The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, on page 414, regarding Adon, states: "This title ('lord'; Greek Adonis) is closely related in meaning to 'Baal' and is also of foreign origin, as indicated by its appearance in Canaanite names like Adoni-zedek (Josh. 10:3)."

(e) Ab will have to go! The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, on page 415, this time regarding the word ab (father), it states: "In this connection it is noteworthy that the conception of God as Father is much older than the NT or rabbinic period. It is found in the hymns of ancient Babylonia in which worshipers addressed the deity as 'Father of the Land' and in Canaanite worship of El as the all-father."

(f) Elohim will have to go! Again, on page 413 of The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, we read: "The 'plural of majesty' did not arise first in Israelite tradition as a result of the identification of Elohim with Yahweh or the gradual development from polytheism to monotheism. On the contrary, this is an ancient pre-Israelite expression which was employed in Babylonia and Canaan even with a singular verb."

Although we have quoted from these reputable and well-known sources,(esp. Interpreters' and Unger); the list is by no means exhausted and most other scholarly references concur and agree with the statements made by the scholars who wrote The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. The only competing argument of any credibility against this higher liberalism of bible critics who impugn plagiarist charges among other things against the Torah, is what we, the authors have also been saying, namely: "These SEMITIC words were common vernacular to the nations around and therefore it was only natural in their trek away from Eden that they would employ out of their own language, NAMES FOR THEIR IDOL-STATUTE-MAGICAL DEITIES"

This should not be surprising when we consider that one can make an elohim and elohim can be a lifeless magical incantation statute of demonic source AS WELL as the True and Living elohim, Yahweh!

Therefore, were one to argue that based on scholarship opinion Gad was a borrowed term — and as such, it cannot be applied to Yahweh — then one would have to argue the same for the words Sabbath, El, Shaddai, Adon, Ab, Elohim, and a much large host of Hebrew words that in order to be brief we have chosen not to document. In logic there is a principle that we all will do well to follow: "An argument that proves too much, proves nothing." Besides, were we to still insist in viewing Gad as a borrowed heathen word (instead of an original pure Hebrew term), we would be compelled by logic to accept the fact that Yahweh chose to inspired Leah to use a pagan word in order to name what will later become one of the eternal tribes of Israel and a gate in the New Jerusalem!

COMMENT: THEN ALSO THE TERMS ZEUS, JUPITER, SOIREES, ISIS, TAMMUZ, EASTER, ETC., ETC. MUST ALSO BE ACCEPTABLE. MY DEAR BROTHER, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AROUND YOU AND SEE WHAT THE WORLD IS UTILIZING AS ITS OWN ACCEPTABLE TERMS OF YAHWEH. THE WORLD IS UTILIZING THE TERM "GOD" AS BOTH A PROPER AND COMMON NOUN IN RELATION TO THE CREATOR. THE WORLD IS ALSO UTILIZING THE TERM "THE LORD" AS A COMMON AND PROPER NOUN OF THE CREATOR. YOUR REASONING AND LOGIC IS THE ONE THAT IS FLAWED AND YOU ARE GIVING POWER AND JUSTIFICATION TO THE ENEMIES OF THE SACRED NAMES TO CONTINUE TO UTILIZE THE TERMS IN LIEU OF THE TRUE HOLY NAMES AND TITLES. DOES THE WORLD KNOW WHAT IT IS DOING? ISN’T THE WORLD STEEPED IN ERROR? OR HAS THE WORLD BEEN CORRECT ALL THE TIME AND WE HAVE BEEN THE ONES IN ERROR? DON’T YOU REMEMBER THAT THE WORLD IS AT ENMITY WITH YAHWEH? EVEN THOUGH THE NAME "GAD" WILL BE ON ONE OF THE GATES TO THE NEW JERUSALEM, IS IT A TERM THAT IS APPLIED TO THE CREATOR OR SIMPLY TO THE GATE BECAUSE IT IS THE NAME OF ONE OF THE SONS OF JACOB?

EVEN THOUGH MANY OF THE HEBREW TERMS MAY BE FOUND IN OTHER RELIGIONS AND APPLIED TO OTHER DEITIES, SUCH AS EL, ELOHIM, EL SHADDAI, ADON, ETC. THE SIMPLE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT YAHWEH INSPIRED THESE TERMS TO APPLY TO HIMSELF. SOME SACRED NAME BELIEVERS MAY THROW THESE TERMS OUT, BUT IF THEY ARE IN SCRIPTURE AS TITLES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF YAHWEH, THEN THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM. YOU WILL FIND TERMS SUCH AS YAHWEH ELOHENU OR HA ELOHIM YAHWEH OR ADONAI YAHWEH OR HA ADON YAHWEH, BUT YOU WILL NOT FIND THE TERM HA GAD/GOD YAHWEH OR YAHWEH HA GAD/GODU. THUS, NO MATTER WHAT YOU HAVE PHILOSOPHIZED ABOVE, IT IS ALL USELESS AND EMPTY.

(2) The second fundamental flaw is that so much special attention has been given to Gad as the personal name of a Babylonian deity meaning Fortune, that the linguistic fact that the word Gad is rarely used with this meaning in the Hebrew scrolls has been totally ignored!

COMMENT: DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THIS TERM HAS BEEN UTILIZED AS THE CREATOR'S NAME OR AS HIS TITLE? THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE SEEKING TO JUSTIFY HERE AND THERE ARE NO HEBREW SCROLLS WHICH HAVE UTILIZED THE TERM YAHWEH GOD OR THE TERM THE GOD YAHWEH. IT IS ALWAYS YAHWEH ELOHIM OR THE ELOHIM YAHWEH. AGAIN, YOUR REASONING AND LOGIC ARE FLAWED HERE BECAUSE THE TERM GOD (GAD) IS NOT EQUIVALENT TO THE TERM EL OR ELOHIM IN THE HEBREW.

A review of all the usages of gad in torah, AMAZINGLY REVEALS that a whopping incredible NINETY-NINE PERCENT(99%) OF THE TIME IT IS USED FAVORABLY while SURPRISINGLY ONLY ONE- PERCENT of the time IT IS USE NEGATIVELY OR UNFAVORABLY. It defies logic therefore to see some of our opposers advocating baal as inspired as a common noun despite the FACT that this word probably HAS THE GREATEST CONDEMNATION IN SCRIPTURE AND INDEED HAS A NINETY-NINE PERCENT UNFAVORABLE RATING and ONLY A ONE-PERCENT FAVORABLE ONE, while taking other Yahudites and Ephramites to task for using gad (gawd-god).

COMMENT: THE ENGLISH WORD GOOD IS A FAVORABLE WORD WHICH IS TAKEN FROM THE WORD GOD. MANY THINGS ARE GOOD. EVEN YAHWEH IS GOOD, BUT THIS IS UTILIZED AS A FAVORABLE EXPRESSION AND NOT AS THE EXPRESSION OF HIS GREAT AND MIGHTY POWER AS THE TERMS EL, ELOHIM, OR MIGHTY ONE ARE UTILIZED.

As we have demonstrated earlier in this article, Gad refers more (99% so!) to the ability to deliver through the use of power, force, attack and strength. The meaning "fortune" is secondary in the Scriptures. Naturally, we do not deny that there was in fact a Babylonian deity by this name (as in Is. 65:11). However, we find that scholars are too eager to "read into the Hebrew scrolls" the Babylonian meaning and usage of Gad rather than to extract the actual literal usage of the word in a case by case basis, as done in most linguistic research. Thus, when Gad is used of the seventh son of Jacob, of the tribe that bears his name, and of Yahweh in Habakkuk 3:13-18, it should be logically obvious to any casual reader that the intended meaning cannot be "fortune"!!

COMMENT: AGAIN, THE CREATOR YAHWEH IS NOT CALLED GOD/GAD IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE. EVEN THOUGH A HEBREW SON OF JACOB, A FAMILY AND REGION MAY HAVE BEEN NAMED GOD/GAD, WHY SHOULD WE THEN RENAME THE CREATOR AFTER THE NAME OF A MAN, FAMILY OR REGION? YAHWEH'S NAME HAS ALWAYS BEEN YAHWEH. HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN ELOHIM. WHY FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF A WORLD THAT IS ANTAGONISTIC TO YAHWEH AND RENAME HIM TO SUIT OUR OWN PURPOSES AND DESIRES? WHY NOT UTILIZE THAT WHICH HAS BEEN INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT?

PS. IMPORTANT COMMENTARY NOTE:

There are some who in their zeal would rather adopt self-made rules and a supposed piousness and faulty logic all intended to scare the uninitiated. However, it should be noted that the evidence clearly shows that from Genesis to Revelation (and beyond) that the Patriarchs, Prophets, Kings, Apostles and Yes!- the very ANGELS themselves dared to keep a consistent tread. It is only the unwise and the foolish who will dare to tread where THEY HAVE NOT TRODDED!

COMMENT: THEN WHY ARE YOU TREADING IN PLACES WHEREIN THEY HAVE FEARED TO TREAD? WHY HAVE YOU NOT REMAINED CONSISTENT? THE ONLY ANGELS WHO HAVE NOT FEARED TO TREAD IN THE UNWISE PATHS ARE THE EVIL ANGELS AND YOU CAN BET THAT THEY LOVE THE WORD "GOD" BECAUSE IT TAKES AWAY AND DETRACTS FROM YAHWEH ELOHIM.

The Patriarchs, Prophets, Kings, Apostles and Yes!,- my friends the very ANGELS themselves did NOT ATTEMPT to differentiate themselves from the GENERIC TITLES OF THEIR HEATHEN NEIGHBORS AROUND. The distinction was not in the titles that separated them but in the PROCLAMATION OF THE NAME YAHWEH!!

COMMENT: YOU HAVE NOT PROVEN IN THIS WRITE UP THAT THE TERM GOD IS A TITLE FOR THE CREATOR. THROUGH FLAWED REASONING, YOU HAVE JUSTIFIED THOSE WHO REMAIN ADAMANT IN THEIR REFUSAL TO UTILIZE THE TRUE NAME OF THE CREATOR IN LIEU OF A FALSE ONE. THE SIMPLE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE WORLD LOVES THIS WORD AS BOTH NAME AND TITLE. THEY DO NOT SEPARATE BETWEEN THE TWO. WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND ARE DOING IS GIVING THEM JUSTIFICATION TO CONTINUE IN THEIR ERROR.

Put another way, Pharaoh did not have any trouble understanding who El was for this was as common a name and title for egyptian deities, babylonian deities, phoenician deities and the Ur of Chaldee deities from whence Abram came out of. Pharoh. rather, my fellow Yahudites and Ephramites was concerned with who was this el called Yahweh. He was not familiar with this name which will give him BIG TROUBLE and MORE THAN HE COULD HANDLE! El was used genericly by all pagan deities but it was the worship of Yahweh as the only elohim of Israel that made the difference.

COMMENT: WHILE THIS IS TRUE TO A POINT. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT EL WAS UTILIZED IN THAT WORLD AS A PROPER NOUN JUST LIKE THE TERM GOD IS IN THIS WORLD TODAY. AGAIN, YAHWEH, IN HIS WORD HAD JUSTIFIED UTILIZING THE TERMS EL AND ELOHIM IN TITULAR REFERENCE TO HIM, BUT HE HAS NEVER UTILIZED THE TERM GOD/GAD AS A TITULAR REFERENCE.

Today, we are now having those with a zeal but sadly lacking knowledge who are indeed and truly erringly treading where ANGELS NEVER DARED TO TREAD and I may add-neither Patriarchs, prophets, kings or Apostles and not even Yahweh himself who even uses words that were before and after used of false idols, magical items, etc. We, also find ourselves using generic words. Even our very word "the" comes from "theos". But more importantly our whole english language when a thorough analysis is made and with the constant unearthing of archaelogical finds, reveals a plethora of names of idols that are now GENERIC TITLES THAT WERE FIRST USED BY HEATHENS AS NAMES OF THEIR DEITIES. Two as an example which we will be hard-pressed to eliminate are the words MAN and BABY. We still say Yahweh is a Man of war. And we address each other by the designation Man or Men of Yahweh.

COMMENT: I MUST SAY BROTHER, THAT YOU ARE ALSO LACKING KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE TERM "GOD". THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THIS THAN YOU HAVE EVEN BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND YOURSELF. OF COURSE, WHEN I PRESENT YOU WITH THE PROOF, I HOPE THAT YOU WILL REPENT, AND I WILL PRESENT YOU WITH THE PROOF SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE, YAHWEH WILLING.

The wrong fear tactic should not be done. We have about 14 million Jehovah Witnesses who has proven over more than one-hundred years that their children and children's children can still make a very marked distinction and disdain over their proclamation of the Name Jehovah (we know this is a hybrid but this is not the purpose of this article); yet though proclaiming the Name, they keep the common thread of generic titles like their surrounding neighbors. And, contrary to the claim, all their opposers and christianity in general (since they consider themselves different from christianity and special) CONSIDER THEM TO BE A JEHOVAH PROCLAIMING PEOPLE AND SO THEIR REPUTATION FOLLOWS THEM and this even with using so-called christianity's generic titles. It has not confused them, or hindered their organization for over one hundred years and true to form it has not confused their children. And certainly it has not confused the christian world or secular world for that matter, for wherever they go and wherever they settle down, they are at once known as a peopld that proclaim the Name Jehovah and are not only SEEN AS DIFFERENT AND EVEN QUEER BUT TREATED AS DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THEIR DEVOTION AND INSISTENCE ON JEHOVAH. So much for our unwarranted fears that generic titles would affect us. It has not affected 14 million Jehovah witnessess and their usage of the same has not earned them one brownie points or golden star with their detractors!

COMMENT: WHAT A PRIME EXAMPLE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT IF WE PRESENT THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WITH THE TRUE NAME YAHWEH, THEY MAY RESPOND WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YAHWEH IS MORE PROPER THAN JEHOVAH, BUT SINCE THE WORLD HAS ALREADY BEEN ABLE TO MORE EASILY IDENTIFY THE NAME JEHOVAH, WHY ROCK THE BOAT? IN OTHER WORDS, THEY (THE GREAT OVERALL MAJORITY) ADAMANTLY REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE TRUTH AND TURN TO IT. THEY CONTINUE TO TEACH ERROR AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING BY UTILIZING THIS EXAMPLE, JUSTIFYING OTHERS TO CONTINUE IN ERROR RATHER THAN REPENT.

A QUESTION PLEASE.

On the day of Pentecost, why didn't the Ruach spirit make the people of diverse languages understand Hebrew or do a miracle and have them speak in Hebrew? (See Acts 2-5) AMAZINGLY, rather, the Ruach Spirit adopted THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND SPOKE TO THEM WITH THE USAGE OF THEIR OWN LANGUAGE. THIS MEANS THE COMMON GENERIC TERMS AND WORDS WERE USED BY THE SPIRIT OF YAHWEH! He did not use common Hebrew Terms. If we deny or challenge this, then we are forced into the inevitable conclusion that we must only say adon" and not Master or Sovereign. We must only say elohim and not Theos or god or mighty one, etc. We must only say Ruach and not spirit; we must only say kodesh and not holy or sacred or separate. I think you get the picture.

COMMENT: ON THAT DAY OF PENTECOST THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE WAS NOT IN EXISTENCE. THE VERY WORD "ENGLISH" COMES FROM THE WORD "ANGLE" WHICH MEANS TO BE BENT OR CROOKED. ONE OF THE DEFINITIONS FOR "ANGLE" IS "A TRICKY METHOD FOR ACHIEVING A PURPOSE." ALSO "TO SCHEME OR USE TRICKS TO GET SOMETHING." (WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD DICTIONARY) ISN’T IT AMAZING THAT THERE IS A DECEPTIVE SERPENT NAMED SATAN WHO UTILIZES TRICKY SCHEMES TO GET WHAT HE WANTS? HE SEEKS TO EXALT HIMSELF ABOVE THE STARS OF EL (YAHWEH). SCRIPTURE REVEALS THAT SATAN HAS DECEIVED THE WHOLE WORLD. ALMOST THE WHOLE WORLD IS FAMILIAR WITH AND UTILIZED THE TERM "GOD" IN REFERENCE TO THE CREATOR AS HIS NAME (PROPER NOUN) AND ALSO AS A DESCRIPTION (COMMON NOUN). MOST OF THE WORLD HAS NEVER HEARD OF THE NAME YAHWEH NOR THE COMMON NOUNS EL OR ELOHIM. NOW YOU ARE MAKING A STAND TO CAUSE THE WORLD TO JUSTIFY CONTINUING IN ITS IGNORANCE.

This would also mean that the ruach spirit would not have used the pagan word "man" or baby, or king, or grace, etc. If I recall right, even the word Feast and the word "festival" has pagan connections!

There is no end in sight if we make issues of words and generics.

COMMENT: IT IS WITH WORDS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE AND UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. THUS ISSUES MUST BE MADE OF WORDS. BUT ONE THING THAT WE MUST REFRAIN FROM IS THE UTILIZATION OF WORDS THAT TAKE AWAY FROM YAHWEH'S MAJESTY AND GIVE IT TO ANOTHER. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE WORD "GOD" DOES BECAUSE YOU CAN’T SEPARATE THE PROPER NOUN AND COMMON NOUN IN THE WORLD’S MIND.

We do not come any more distinct than the Jehovah Witnesses, who despite using generic terms are not view as within the bosom of christianity (nor do they desire to be so viewed). Even so, despite the fact that the ancients utilized and had in common the same generic terms, the difference was in, as said before, THE PROCLAMATION OF THEIR el WHO WAS NONE OTHER THAN YAHUWEH and Pharoah found this out in the most painful way which caused his demise!- I, therefore have opted to go where my Ancient inspired Yahudites/ Ephramites, and ANGELS have treaded before, and confidently tread where THEY HAVE TRODDED! - halleluyah!

COMMENT: READ THE SCRIPTURES AGAIN. BOTH JUDAH AND ISRAEL WALKED DOWN FORBIDDEN PATHWAYS AND ARE DOING SO TODAY. YOU ARE GOING IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE PROPHETS WARNED AGAINST.

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End Notes

[1] Who is Lord God? Who is Baal?, published by "The House of Yahweh," pg. 4

[2] The Prophetic Word Magazine, published and produced by "The House of Yahweh," pg 15 of their April-May 1996 issue:

[3] Master Key, published and produced by "Yahweh’s Assembly in Messiah," pg 13 of the July/August 1997 issue.

[4] Dictionary of the Bible edited by James Hastings, pg 333: The English word ‘God’ is not itself a product of the Jewish-Christian tradition, but existed in the Germanic family of languages in pre-Christian times. Its original sense is doubtful, and according to the Shorter OED the sense ‘what is invoked’ or ‘what is worshiped by sacrifice’ have been suggested as the primary meaning.

[5] Strong’s #1416: ghed-ood’; from 1413; a crowd (espec. of soldiers): – army, band (of men), company, troop (of robbers).

[6] Strong’s #1464: goode; a prim. Root [akin to 1413]; to crowd upon, i.e. attack: – invade, overcome.

[7] Strong’s #6119: aw-kabe; from 6117; a heel (as protuberant); hence a track; fig. the rear (of an army):

[8] Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 7, pg 246

[9] page 2307 of its "Lexical Aids"

[10] Read our 95 page booklet entitled The Truth About Inspired Titles in the Light of the Sacred Names.