Beyond “Invoking”: Additional Meanings of the Phrases “Qara’/Hizkir Sheim X” in the Hebrew Bible

In an article published in the July-September 2025 issue of the Jewish Bible Quarterly,¹ I examined the use of the expressions qara’ besheim X and hizkir besheim X (where “X” refers to a god) in the Hebrew Bible. I showed that the first expression is often used (9 times), and the second expression is always used (4 times), to mean “invoke” a god by name; this means pronouncing a god’s name in a short request that he manifest his powerful presence to the invoker on the spot, whether to provide help, witness and serve as a guarantor of an oath, or accept a sacrifice. In addition, either the request or the god’s response is usually phrased in terms of “answering” or “responding” to the call. However, many other verses make use of some form of these phrases, and this article will examine those verses. First, the phrase qara’ besheim X appears in 13 additional biblical verses.² In two of them (Psalms 116:13 and 17), I will show that the verse and its context reflects the above-mentioned characteristics of “invoke” and therefore has that meaning. However, in the remaining 11 verses, these characteristics do not explicitly appear. Secondly, the preposition be- in the phrase besheim X may have two possible meanings. It may indicate that the name (of) X is being used in the invoking (i.e. “invoke using/by means of the name X”). However, it may also indicate that a direct object follows (i.e. to indicate what is invoked – the name (of) X). In biblical Hebrew a direct object may be “marked” (i.e. indicated) by certain prepositions (including be-) preceding them. However, a direct object can also be preceded by the particle ’et as a marker, or the verb and the direct object may simply stand next to each other without any marker.³ Although I have not found any verses in which the phrase qara’ ’et-sheim X is used, the phrase qara’ sheim X appears in Deuteronomy 32:3, Psalm 99:6 and Lamentations 3:55. The phrase hizkir ’et-sheim X is used in Exodus 20:21, and the phrase hizkir sheim X appears in Exodus 23:13, II Samuel 18:18, Isaiah 12:4, 26:13 and 49:1, and Psalm 45:18 (note that in Isaiah 12:4 and 49:1 the phrase hizkir sheim X stands parallel to qara’ besheim X and qara’ X, respectively). We can ask two questions: First, in these verses, do these phrases mean “invoke” or do they have other meanings? And second, if other meanings exist, are those meanings consistently associated with the use of one or the other verb (qara’ or hizkir), and/or by how the phrase sheim X is introduced? We will see that neither the verb used nor the way sheim X is introduced have any consistent effect on the phrase’s meaning. The phrases in all their forms are used with four possible meanings: “invoke X,” “worship X,” “relate the details of X’s great characteristics and acts,” or “designate or appoint X.” In some cases, several of these meanings may be possible.

The First Meaning: “Invoke X”

Four verses contain some version of these phrases: qara’ besheim YHWH (Ps. 116:13 and 17), hizkir ’et-sheim YHWH (Ex. 20:21) and qara’ sheim YHWH (Lam. 3:55); these phrases are most easily explainable as meaning “invoke.” The meaning is the same no matter which verb or manner of introducing sheim X is used.

Psalms 116:13 and 17

In my previous article I discussed Psalm 116:4, which reads: uvesheimYHWH ’eqra’ / ’anah YHWH maltah nafshi (“and I invoked the name of the Lord, ‘O Lord, save my life!’”).⁴ On this verse, Radak (Rabbi David Kimḥi, 12th-13th century Provence) comments: keshehayiti betzarot ’ani besheim YHWH ’eqra’ vehayiti ’omer ’anah YHWH malṭah nafshi (when I was in trouble I called the name of the Lord and I said, ‘Please Lord save my life!’).⁵ I argued that the poet’s calling of the Lord’s name to request that He manifest His helping power on the spot to save the caller fit the definition of “invoke.” Verse 13 reads: kos-yeshu‘ot ’esa’ / uvesheim YHWH ’eqra’ (I raise the cup of deliverance and invoke the name of the Lord); v. 17 says: lecha ’ezbaḥ zevaḥ todah / uvesheim YHWH ’eqra’ (I will sacrifice a thank offering to You, and invoke the name of the Lord). As in v. 4, NJPS and Dahood⁶ translate the phrases in these verses “invoke.” Ibn Ezra (12th century Spain) explains the phrase’s meaning in v. 17 as “calling on others to worship Him.” Radak clarifies this in light of the context of this psalm, which is the poet’s act of offering a thanksgiving sacrifice. In this type of sacrifice, certain parts are offered on the altar and then most of the meat is eaten at a festive meal by the participants in the sacrifice. Radak thus explains the cup of deliverance and calling the Lord’s name in v. 13 refer to a sort of toast made at the feast given by the poet in thanks for the Lord’s help; in v. 17, the phrase refers to calling to others to participate with him in the sacrifice and hear his expression of gratitude. However, it is not exactly clear how calling the name (of) the Lord could mean “calling on people to take part in a sacrificial meal.” The reference to a thanksgiving sacrifice which would be eaten at a festive feast given by the poet may imply that the “cup,” presumably of wine, is part of the same feast. If so, the phrase in both cases follows a phrase referring to a ritual act of thanksgiving. Just as I argued in my prior article that a sacrifice to a god can be followed by invocation of the god’s presence to accept that sacrifice (I Kings 18:24-26 and 36-37), this may be another such case; the Lord is being invoked to accept the poet’s thanks which the sacrifice is meant to convey. Therefore, it seems easiest to explain all three uses of the phrase in this psalm as meaning “invoke” His presence: in v. 4 to request His immediate help, and in vv. 13 and 17 to request His acceptance of the thanksgiving sacrifice.

Exodus 20:21

Exodus 20:21b reads . . . bechol-hamaqom ’asher ’azkir ’et-shemi ’avo’ ’eilecha uveirachticha (in every place where I cause My name to be mentioned I will come to you and bless you).

The traditional Jewish translators and commentators struggle with this verse; what does it mean that the Lord “mentions His (own) name?” Both Rashi (11th century France) and Ramban (13th century Spain) see this phrase as indicating human calling/invocation of the Lord’s name. Ramban writes “…every place where they call/invoke His name, He will personally come to cause His presence to dwell among them and to bless them.” This explanation may underlie NJPS’s translation “cause My name to be mentioned,” i.e. by a human being. However, it is difficult to understand how a human “mentioning” of the Lord’s name can be intended by a phrase whose plain meaning is the Lord Himself performing the act. Alternatively, the Aramaic translation Targum Onkelos (2nd century Israel) renders: “in every place in which I cause My divine presence to rest there.” Ibn Ezra interprets the phrase this way as well when he paraphrases: “in every place where I place a memory/reference to My name, where My presence dwells, such as Shiloh and Nob where the Ark stood.” In other words, the phrase which usually refers to a human act of invoking the Lord is being used by analogy to refer to the same act done by Him; it is a way of the Lord saying “manifest My presence.” Onkelos and Ibn Ezra hold that it refers to places where the Lord has already manifested His presence before. This is also how S.R. Driver⁷ and Martin Noth⁸ explain the verse; according to Driver, the phrase means “where I manifest My presence,” and as examples he mentions prior manifestations of His presence such as theophanies or military victories (such as Exodus 17:15, after which Moses builds an altar). Driver points out that the context of v. 21b is given by the command in v. 21a regarding how sacrifice is to be done; those who offer sacrifice at places where the Lord has already manifested His presence before can expect Him to manifest His presence and blessing there again.⁹ However, prior manifestation of the Lord’s presence may not be required. This case is similar to the case of the phrase qara’ besheim X in Exodus 33:19 and 34:5-6 which I discussed in my prior article, in which the Lord promises to call out/proclaim His own name in connection with manifesting Himself to Moses. In Exodus 20:21b, the Lord uses the phrase ’azkir ’etshemi in the same way: a phrase that normally refers to human invocation is used to refer to a sort of “self-invocation” by the Lord, i.e. His decision and intention to manifest Himself. Again, the meaning of these phrases is the same no matter which verb is used or how sheim X is introduced.

Lamentations 3:55-56

This verse reads: Qara’ti shimcha YHWH mibor taḥtiyot. Qoli shama‘ta… (I have called on Your name, O Lord, From the depths of the Pit. Hear my plea…). The poet, in dire straits, calls the Lord’s name in a request for immediate help, which fits the idea of “invoking” Him. We might compare Psalm 118:5: Min-hameitzar qara’ti Yah / ‘anani vamerḥav Yah. Although the word sheim doesn’t appear here, we still see a case of “invoking:” calling on the Lord, and Him immediately answering.

A Second Meaning: “Worship X”

In my prior article, I discussed the invoking of a god to accept a sacrifice offered to him. Sacrifice in the ancient world is an act of “worship,” i.e. an act that expresses praise or thanks, a desire to serve, or that declares loyalty or subservience to the god. However, other acts of worship existed in the ancient world in addition to sacrifice. Prayer, defined as speaking to a god, was considered such an act. However, not all “prayers” are the same. “Invoking” a god to request that he manifest himself on the spot is a different sort of prayer than requesting that he do something in the future without manifesting himself on the spot (for example, Hannah’s prayer in I Samuel 1:10-13). In turn, both of these are different from prayer that expresses praise or thanks, a desire to serve, or that declares loyalty or subservience to a god, prayer that we would classify as “worship.” Many modern commentators refer to all three of these types of prayer as “worship.” However, it is not clear whether the Hebrew Bible sees the first two types in this way. I have therefore distinguished the first two from the third. Three biblical verses contain evidence that the phrase qara’ besheim YHWH is intended to refer to formal worship, whether sacrifice or prayer of the third type: Zephaniah 3:9 and Psalm 79:6 (which is almost the same as Jeremiah 10:25).

Zephaniah 3:9

Zephaniah prophesies that nations will unite liqro’ chulam besheim YHWH / le‘ovdo shechem ’eḥad (So that they all invoke the Lord by name / and serve Him with one accord). In her commentary on Zephaniah, Adele Berlin translates: “So all of them will invoke the name of the Lord, and worship him with one accord.” Thus she too translates our phrase “invoke,” but renders le‘ovdo as “worship” rather than “serve.”¹⁰ The verb ‘avad in biblical Hebrew can refer specifically to sacrificing to a god (see Exodus 10:26, II Kings 21:3, and Isaiah 19:21); however, it is also used more generally to refer to any sort of formal ritual worship-acts (see Deuteronomy 12:2 and 20). Indeed, starting with Deuteronomy and extending into the Former Prophets and Jeremiah, the terms la‘avod and lehishtaḥavot le- (to prostrate oneself before) a god appear regularly as a linked phrase.¹¹ Thus, we can understand how Berlin could render le‘ovdo in Zephaniah 3:9 as “worship.” In Zephaniah 3:9, it is unlikely that the phrase qara’ besheim YHWH means “invoke,” since no clear reason for invoking His presence on the spot is given. Furthermore, the phrase is used in parallel to “serve (i.e. formally ritually worship) Him.” This parallel use may imply that the poet is equating the two acts. While it is possible that the verb le‘ovdo is being used specifically to mean “to sacrifice to Him,” it is more likely that the verb is being used in its more general sense of all sorts of formal ritual worship-acts (sacrifice, prayer and prostration). If so, it is unlikely that the phrase qara’ besheim YHWH here sees “calling the name (of) the Lord” in and of itself as a specific act of worship, since it is unlikely that one particular act of worship would be used in parallel with a general term for worship. The poet may thus be using the phrase as a figurative way to refer to formal ritual worship-acts in general.

Psalm 79:6 (and the Almost Identical Jeremiah 10:25)

This verse may be familiar to us from the Passover Haggadah. Ps. 79:6 reads: Shefoch ḥamatcha ’el-hagoyim ’asher lo’-yeda‘ucha / ve‘al mamlachot ’asher beshimcha lo’ qara’u (Pour out Your fury on the nations that do not know You, / upon the kingdoms that do not invoke Your name).¹² The parallel between not knowing the Lord and not calling His name provides evidence that the meaning of qara’ besheim YHWH here is not strictly “invoke” but something broader than that, something like “acknowledging” with re- spect. While the poet might be using “call His name” to refer to a specific worship-act, it is more likely that he is using it as a general figurative expression that means “worship,” whether sacrifice or prayer. Although it doesn’t use any of the phrases we are discussing, we should mention here the use of the verb hizkir in I Chronicles 16:4: …lehazkir ulehodot ulehallel laYHWH ’elohay Yisra’el (to invoke, to praise, and to extol the Lord God of Israel). Although NJPS translates lehazkir as “to invoke,” the word hizkir appears without the word sheim but with YHWH preceded by the preposition la-, and seems to be used as an equivalent of other verbs of prayer-worship of the third kind in my above analysis.

A Third Meaning: “to Relate the Details of X’S Great Characteristics and Acts”

The noun sheim (“name”) is sometimes used in biblical Hebrew to indicate “fame” or “reputation.”¹³Therefore, we shall see that the phrases hizkir sheim X (II Sam. 18:18, referring to a human being) and qara’ sheim X (Deut. 32:3, referring to the Lord) can mean “to relate the details of someone’s great characteristics and acts.” Although this meaning refers to a human being with the verb hizkir and to a god with the verb qara’, the fact that there is only one example of each prevents us from knowing whether the verbs are specific to these uses.

II Samuel 18:18

This verse tells how David’s son Absalom sets up a pillar and names it yad ’Avshalom; he does so, the narrator relates, because Absalom reasoned, I have no son to keep my name alive – avur hizkir shemi, literally, “recall/mention my name.” Radak says that Absalom intended the pillar to be a zikaron (memorial, remembrance) for him; when people referred to the pillar out loud as yad ’Avshalom, they would be “re-calling” his name. Metzudat David (Rabbi David Altschuler and his son Rabbi Yehiel Hillel, 18th century, Galicia (Poland)) proposes a similar explanation. If this explanation is correct, we can infer that for some reason Israelites believed it was very important for a father to have a son who would say his father’s name out loud after that father had died; if he had no son, the next best thing was to build something and name it using his name, so that people would say his name out loud when saying the structure’s name. It is unlikely that the phrase here literally means “invoke me by name,” and even less that it might mean “worship” me. Of course, it is possible that ancient Israelites might have believed that the presence of the spirits of the dead could actually be invoked in the same way as a god could be. However, there is no obvious reason here why one would invoke them; furthermore, it doesn’t seem that the intention of saying a dead person’s name by referring to a building would be to request that the dead person manifest his/her presence.¹⁴ Radak’s explanation takes the phrase which often means “invoke” in a figurative sense; the son (or the people referring to the monument) might have been thought to be “re-calling” the memory of the person, his character and the deeds he performed during his life, by pronouncing his name. Thus the phrase hizkir sheim might be understood to mean “cause your fame (i.e. the knowledge of you and the great things you have done) to be remembered.”

Deuteronomy 32:3

In my prior article, I called attention to Psalm 99:6 in which the phrase qara’ sheim YHWH appears, and argued that there it has the same meaning “invoke” as the phrase with the preposition be-. Another example of this side-by-side placement occurs in Deuteronomy 32:3, which reads: ki sheim YHWH ’eqra’ // havu godel lei’loheinu (For the name of the Lord I proclaim; Give glory to our God!). However, it is not likely that the phrase here means “invoke.” While we might imagine that it requests that the Lord manifest His presence to lend support to the poet’s coming words, to attest to their truth similar to His witnessing and guaranteeing an oath, this does not take account of the phrase “give glory to our God” which stands in parallel with it. The parallelism with the phrase “give glory to our God” (i.e. “praise Him”) may indicate that sheim YHWH ’eqra’ is also a way of saying “worship.” Rashi, translating the word ki as “when” (as in Lev 23:10, when you come into the land), paraphrases: “When I call out the name of the Lord, you will/should ascribe greatness to Him,” which Rashi says means “bless His name.” Rashi therefore seems to take this “calling” as an invitation to the people listening to the poem to praise, i.e. worship Him. But the rest of the poem doesn’t fit the context of service or worship of the Lord.¹⁵ In my opinion, Rashbam (12th century France) has a better approach; he paraphrases: “When I relate to you the mighty deeds which He did for you and the goodness He has shown you and the justice of His treatment of you, then you ascribe greatness to Him, i.e. agree with the truth of all this.” In other words, the poet may be using “call His name” to mean “relate the details of His character and His great acts.” This explanation fits much better with the rest of the poem. In my prior article, I noted that Rashbam offers the same explanation in Exodus 34:6 when either the Lord or His retinue calls out YHWH! YHWH! as He manifests Himself; the calling of His name is immediately followed by a listing of His great traits and acts.

A Fourth Meaning – “to Designate or Appoint X”

In my prior article, I noted that in Psalm 20:8-10 the phrase hizkir besheim YHWH and the verb qara’ (in the phrase hamelech ya‘aneinu beyom qor’einu, the King will answer us when we call) appear in the same context, and I argued that both of them can best be understood with the meaning “invoke” due to the expressed need for immediate help and the reference to the Lord “answering” or “responding” to the call to Him using His name. In Isaiah 49:1, the phrases qara’ X and hizkir sheim X actually appear as parallel terms. Isaiah 49:1 reads . . . YHWH mibeten qera’ani / mime‘ei ’imi hizkir shemi (The Lord appointed me before I was born, He named me while I was in my mother’s womb). The fact that qara’ X (albeit without the word sheim) and hizkir sheim X are used as parallel terms was pointed out by Metzudat David, who calls this “repetition of the content in different words.” As in II Samuel 18:18, the phrases refer to an act performed on a human being, in this case by the Lord. As in Exodus 20:21 (hizkir sheim), and 33:19 and 34:5-6 (qara’ besheim), the Lord Himself performs the act. Here, these phrases cannot mean “invoke,” “worship,” or “relate the details of one’s great character or acts.” The parallelism of the phrases would suggest that if qera’ani means “appointed” or “designated” me to have a particular role (as NJPS translates), then hizkir shemi would mean the same thing rather than literally “named me.” Radak connects both of the phrases with the Lord’s designation of him as a prophet: I was called/ designated for prophesy from the womb. Here both phrases are being used figuratively to mean “designate,” in the sense of “to invest a person with a character, a role or an identity.” Such a meaning can be seen as another extension of the meaning “invoke” as we have defined it, to cause a person to take on and manifest a certain nature. This view receives significant support from ancient Mesopotamian texts. Blenkinsopp notes: “The pronouncing of the name (hizkir shemi cf. Akkadian šuma zakaru) is a solemn act of invocation or conferring a special identity” (italics mine).¹⁶ Similarly, Shalom Paul notes that “This concept of appointment and mission is very common in the royal inscriptions of Mesopotamia, which often state that the king was selected to rule even before he was born.” As an example, Paul cites an inscription of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal: “…Assur and Sin… had called [him] by name in the distant past for ruling, and who had created him in his mother’s womb for the shepherding of Assyria…” Paul continues: “The expression hizkir sheim… is the… semantic equivalent of Akkadian šumam zakaru, which appears in these royal inscriptions describing the divine preordination of kings.”¹⁷

Verses Where the Phrases Might Be Understood in a Number of the Above Ways

In a number of verses, the phrases under discussion could be understood in more than one of the above ways. These verses are: Genesis 4:26, 12:8, 13:4, 21:33 and 26:25 (all qara’ besheim YHWH); Exodus 23:13 (hizkir besheim X); Isaiah 12:4 (qara’ besheim YHWH and hizkir sheim YHWH), 26:13 (hizkir besheim YHWH) and 65:1 (qara’ besheim YHWH); and Psalm 45:18 (hizkir sheim YHWH).

Genesis 4:26, 12:8, 13:4, 21:33 and 26:25

In the latter four of these verses, a patriarch “calls the name (of) the Lord” following some act which he performs:

• Following the building of an altar, by Abraham in Genesis 12:8 and by Isaac in Genesis 26:25 • Following the return to a previously-built altar, by Abraham in Genesis 13:4 • Following the planting of a tamarisk tree, by Abraham in Genesis 21:33 In Gen. 4:26, the “calling” is referred to as something generally done by people, without any details except that it began in the time of Enosh. Invoke. None of these verses refer to any of the traits associated with invoking: a need for immediate help, witnessing/guaranteeing an oath, acceptance of a sacrifice or other act of worship, or reference to the Lord “answering” or “responding” to the caller. In his comment to Genesis 4:26, Radak says that the phrase might refer to the special type of prayer asking for help in times of trouble, just as he commented on Psalm 116:4. This is similar to the way I have defined “invoke,” namely a short prayer pronouncing the name of a god to ask him to manifest his presence on the spot to aid the caller. However, he gives no reason for his opinion from the verse itself. In his comment to Genesis 4:26, Driver says that the phrase in all five of these verses means “invoke” His name “… in the manner of ancient cults, especially at times of sacrifice.” Speiser holds this opinion as well.¹⁸ However, while three of the verses refer to an altar, no sacrifice is mentioned;¹⁹ additionally, these commentators don’t explain why the Lord would be invoked after planting a tree, or even without mention of any specific act. In my comments above, I have argued that a god was sometimes invoked (i.e. requested to manifest his presence on the spot) to accept any act of worship. We might speculate that these texts see the building of and return to the altars and the planting of the tree as acts of worship, and the following “calling the name (of) the Lord” as referring to invoking Him to accept these worship-acts. While this explanation is possible, we have no other examples of such worship-acts. This is especially true of Abraham’s return to the altar he built previously; we would have to take Abraham’s simply presenting himself before this altar as an act of worship. And this still doesn’t account for the use of the phrase in Genesis 4:26, where no specific act is mentioned. Another possibility is that the patriarchs are invoking the Lord because they want to encounter His powerful and holy presence, and they believe that the altar or tree, built or planted to honor Him, is a place at which He would agree to this. In this way, we may see here another example (similar to Moses’ request in Exodus 33-34 which I discussed in my prior article) of invok- ing a god out of a desire to encounter him and be in a close relationship with him. This might also explain the reason for invoking Him in Genesis 4:26, even though no act justifying the place where this might happen is mentioned. Once again, however, these verses lack any hard evidence that this understanding is correct. Worship in the form of prayer. It is possible that in ancient Israel any form of prayer, including invoking the Lord, was considered a worship-act. Invoking the Lord out of a desire to be in a close relationship to Him, a possibility which we raised above, might be seen as a prayer in that it in itself expresses the essence of worship: a desire to serve, loyalty and subservience. This possibility that the Hebrew Bible considers any form of prayer to be an act of worship is supported by two verses which I cited in my prior article. I Samuel 12:18 reads: Vayiqra’ Shemu’el ’el-YHWH… which NJPS translates as “Samuel prayed to the Lord…” Although the verse says ’el-YHWH instead of besheim YHWH, I argued that the meaning is that he “invoked” the Lord’s powerful presence, and He in fact responds on the spot with thunder and rain. And yet, the NJPS translation does see “calling to the Lord” as a form of prayer. In this connection, I also cited Psalm 145:18 which reads: Qarov YHWH lechol-qor’av / lechol ’asher yiqra’uhu be’emet (“The Lord is near to all who call Him / to all who call Him with sincerity”). Here the phrase used is qara’ YHWH without either the word sheim or any preposition or direct object marker. Here too, though, the phrase could mean either “invoke” His presence or offer a worship-prayer to Him expressing praise or thanks, a desire to serve, or declaring one’s loyalty or subservience. The possibility that the phrase as used in the five Genesis verses refers to prayer of all types appears in Targum Onkelos’ translation of the phrase in the first four verses: vetzali bishma’ daYHWH (“he prayed in/using the Lord’s name”). Onkelos translates the phrase in Genesis 4:26 similarly. Ibn Ezra suggests in his comments to Genesis 4:26 and 12:8 that the phrase may refer to prayer. Sforno (16th century CE Italy) writes that this refers to “publicly seeking” the name of the Lord (lidrosh berabim ’et sheim YHWH), by which he means public worship of Him. Many modern commentators such as Segal write that qara’ besheim YHWH (like the verb ‘avad as discussed above) means “worship.”²⁰ Westermann says that the phrase in all five verses is a “term for the worship of God.”²¹ Sarna comments that the phrase in this verse refers to prayer as a development independent of sacrifice; although he doesn’t explain why he holds this view, he might possibly base it on the other verses in Genesis discussed above, where no explicit reference to sacrifice is made.²² Finally, with specific focus on Genesis 4:26, Wenham writes that this phrase “… seems to be an umbrella phrase for worship, most obviously prayer and sacrifice.”²³ Given the lack of evidence in these verses as to what the phrase means, it is certainly possible that it is being used to mean “worship (sacrifice or formally offer prayer in a sacred place to) the Lord,” just as in Zephaniah 3:9 and Psalm 79:6. Relating the details of someone’s great characteristics and acts. With regard to the four verses in which the patriarchs “call the name (of) the Lord” after performing some act, several of the medieval Jewish commentators present what is in effect this explanation of the phrase. Ibn Ezra says in his comment on Genesis 12:8 that the phrase may be referring to calling on others to serve the Lord. Ramban cites Bereishit Rabbah which states, “[the phrase] teaches that he proclaimed the Lord’s name to all people.” Ramban explains that the patriarch called out the Lord’s name so as to inform everyone around him of His divinity and His kavod (presence, or gloriousness), i.e. of His great characteristics and acts. Ramban’s comment on Genesis 21:33, in which the Lord is called ’el ‘olam (“God of the world” or “eternal God”), adds that in that case Abraham emphasized to others that the Lord is ruler of the entire world or of time, both of which are possible meanings of ‘olam. Radak on Genesis 12:8 says that Abraham called to all the surrounding people to come to the altar he built in the Lord’s name and explained to them who He is and that worshipping Him alone is proper. Thus, most of these medieval Jewish commentators see the phrase qara’ besheim YHWH as meaning “call to others and proclaim the name and characteristics and great acts of the Lord.” However, this explanation has the serious difficulty that the verses do not give any hint that other people are even present to hear such proclamations.

Summary of the Genesis Verses

. The lack of evidence in all five of these verses allows for various interpretations involving either “invoking” Him or “worshipping” Him.

Exodus 23:13B

This verse reads … vesheim ’elohim ’aḥeirim lo’ tazkiru lo’ yishama‘ ‘alpicha (Make no mention of the names of other gods; they shall not be heard on your lips). The context of this verse is ambiguous. Invoking. While Ibn Ezra and Ramban raise the possibility of understanding tazkiru as invoking other gods’ names specifically in the context of swearing, there is no explicit indication in this verse or in the context of the surrounding verses that this is what the text has in mind. Rashi (referring to TB Sanhedrin 63b) comments, “he shouldn’t say to Him ‘guard me’ or ‘stand with me’ while requesting this from another god at the same time.” Rashi appears to understand the verse as prohibiting invoking other gods along with the Lord, i.e. requesting that they manifest their powerful presence to aid the caller on the spot. Mentioning their names at all. Ramban raises a second possibility. Similar to NJPS’ translation “make no mention,” he says the phrase here means simply saying other gods’ names out loud, like ‘Chemosh God of Moab’ or ‘Milcom God of Ammon’ (I Kings 11:33), or even just their names without referring to them as gods. The second part of the verse, “… they shall not be heard on your lips,” supports this view. Driver similarly comments that other gods “[are] not even to be mentioned, still less invoked… ”²⁴ While Propp raises this possibility as well, it seems difficult to imagine that the intent of this verse is to prohibit any mention of another god by name, even in a factual statement such as “Chemosh is the god worshipped in Moab.”²⁵ Worship in the form of other types of prayers. The second part of the verse indicates that the phrase is not referring to sacrifice. However, the verse might just as well be referring to invoking other gods out of a desire to encounter or relate to them, or to a worship-act of prayer.

Isaiah 12:4

The verse reads: va’amartem bayom hahu’: hodu laYHWH qir’u bishemo / hodi‘u va‘amim ‘alilotav / hizkiru ki nisgav shemo (“And you shall say on that day: ‘Praise the Lord, proclaim His name. / Make His deeds known among the peoples; / Declare that His name is exalted’”). The phrases qara’ besheim X and hizkir sheim X are used in this verse as parallel poetic expressions. Invoke. What the people will say “on that day” is divided into three “cola” (parts; one part is a “colon”). In the first colon, while NJPS translates hodu as the imperative “praise!” this verb often has the alternative meanings “acknowledge” or “give thanks.”²⁶ The “proclaiming” of His name (qara’ besheim X) might thus refer to invoking the Lord’s presence; i.e. the poet calls on his hearers to invoke His name so that He will manifest His presence to receive the acknowledgment or thanks of the worshipper. Worship in the form of other types of prayers. Alternatively, “calling His name” in the first colon might be seen as an act of worship just as “Praise the Lord” is; the phrase might be a figurative way to say “worship Him” by prayers that proclaim praise or thanks, a desire to serve Him, or loyalty or subservience to Him. The third colon of the verse is not totally clear at first glance. The NJPS translation understands the word ki as “that,” a frequent meaning of the word; what is to be declared is that His name is exalted. This breaks up the common verb-direct object connection between hizkir and sheim; the poet is not urging his listeners to “mention/recall the Lord’s name,” but to “mention/recall (i.e. “declare” per NJPS) that the Lord’s name is exalted.” The phrase ki nisgav shemo is also used in Psalm 148:13, which reads yehalelu ’et sheim YHWH ki nisgav shemo levado… (“Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name, His alone, is exalted…”).²⁷ Here the word yehalelu (“praise”) has the direct object “the name of the Lord,” which as Rashi notes is then followed by our phrase with ki having an explanatory function: “for [i.e. because] His name [alone] is exalted.” In Isaiah 12:4, Rashi explains ki as “for/because” just as in Psalm 148:13. He adds a word to his paraphrase of the colon which he thinks is implied by the poet: “hizkiru” lashevaḥ ki nisgav hu’ (‘Declare’, e.g. ‘call out’ in praise, for He is exalted). Rashi thus sees hizkir as being used here not with any direct object but simply as a word denoting an act of worship, appropriate in the company of hodu and hodi‘u. His paraphrase parallels the pairing of “praise” and “call His name” in the first colon of Isaiah 12:4.²⁸ This is similar to what we saw in I Chronicles 16:4 above.

As an alternative, I would suggest that the third colon might be read: hizkiru (ki nisgav) shemo, i.e. hizkiru shemo ki nisgav (“Call/mention, for it is exalted, His name,” i.e. “Call/mention His name, for it is exalted”). This reading preserves the verb-direct object connection between hizkir and sheim, while leaving the phrase ki nisgav shemo intact; the word shemo is doing “double duty” as part of both phrases. In all these possible explanations of the third colon, we see that the colon is another expression of a call to worship similar to hodu and hodi‘u. Thus since qir’u besheim and hizkiru sheim are being used here as parallel expressions, this would imply that they have the same meaning in this verse. Both phrases thus could refer to a worship-act of prayer in which the Lord is praised, thanked or acknowledged. Relating the details of someone’s great characteristics and acts. In the second colon, the poet exhorts the listeners to inform the peoples of His great deeds, another form of praise connected with His “name” as a possible reference to His “fame” (i.e. reputation due to great deeds) as we saw in II Samuel 18:18 and Deuteronomy 32:3. If we understand “proclaiming His name” in the first colon and “declaring His name to be exalted” in the third colon as referring to His fame or reputation, these may both be the same as “making His deeds known” in the second colon.

Summary – Isaiah 12:4

A case can be made in this verse for three of the four meanings proposed for our phrases: invoke, worship in prayer, or relate the details of someone’s great characteristics/acts.

Isaiah 26:13

This verse reads: YHWH ’eloheinu / be‘alunu ’adonim zulatecha / levadbecha nazkir shemecha (“O Lord our God! Lords other than You possessed us, But only Your name shall we utter”).²⁹ As with Exodus 23:13 above, the verse is ambiguous as to place, situation or ritual. In addition, the second half of this verse is difficult since becha (You) and shemecha (Your name) present two equivalent direct objects for the verb nazkir, one with the preposition be- and one without it.³⁰ The phrase levad-becha nazkir (“only You will we invoke/mention”) makes sense by itself and would be sufficient, as would the phrase levad nazkir shemecha (“we will only invoke/mention/utter Your name”).³¹ Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Radak understand the meaning of the verse as “although other nations have ruled over us (and continue to do so), we only mention You” or “remind them that we are loyal to You alone.” These commentators do not explain the verse as referring to requesting something by invoking or worshipping the Lord; they understand the meaning to be simply that the people were loyal to Him in speaking to others. In his comment to the following verse (v. 14), Radak implies the possibility that being “possessed (ruled) by other ‘lords’ than You” might refer to other gods to whom the Israelites were exposed by the empires which controlled them. V. 14 begins Meitim bal-yiḥyu / refa’im bal-yaqumu… (“They [i.e. those ‘lords’] are dead, they can never live; Shades, they can never rise…”). Radak comments: vei’lohay ha‘amim haheim shelo’ paninu ’aleihem bagalut ki heim meitim ve’ein bahem mamash… (And the gods of those nations, to whom we didn’t turn in exile for they are dead and have no real existence…). Thus Radak sees becha nazkir shemecha as referring to “turning” to the Lord. This may be either invoking the Lord by use of His name, or a worship act by which the Lord is praised and honored, or even a prayer for a longer-term request. This is the same range of meanings as we proposed for Exodus 23:13.

Isaiah 65:1

This verse reads: Nidrashti lelo’ sha’alu / nimtzei’ti lelo’ viqshuni / ’amarti hineini hineini ’el-goy lo’-qora’ vishmi (“I responded to those who did not ask / I was at hand to those who did not seek Me / I said ‘Here I am, here I am,’ / to a nation that did not invoke My name”). The parallels with “asking” and “seeking Me” might imply that our phrase is also meant to refer to invoking the Lord to provide a some sort of response. The fact that the Lord says that He has said hineini (“here I am”), the word with which humans regularly answer His literal calling to them by name in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. Genesis 22:1, 31:11, 46:2; Exodus 3:4, I Samuel 3:4), seems to imply that qara’ besheim YHWH here means literally “calling on/to the Lord by name,” i.e. “invoke Him” as NJPS translates.

However, there is no clear reason in this verse or the surrounding ones why the nation should invoke His presence. The subsequent vv. 3ff indicate that something broader may be meant, possibly such as respectful turning to Him in worship and/or respectful obedience to His dictates.

Psalm 45:18

Psalm 45 is a poem of praise to a human king who was blessed (v. 3) and anointed (v. 8) by God. The concluding v. 18 reads ’Azkirah shimcha becholdor vador / ‘al-kein ‘amim yehoducha le‘olam va‘ed (“I commemorate your fame for all generations, so peoples will praise you forever and ever”).³² It is possible that this verse refers to the king, as does most of the rest of this psalm, and that the poet is using hyperbole in speaking of him (specifically, the terms “for all generations” and “forever and ever”). However, these terms are normally used to refer to God, who is eternal. Accordingly, the last verse may possibly have been intended to refer to God. In his comment to v. 18, Ibn Ezra raises this possibility (he assumes that the unnamed king is not a subsequent king of the Davidic line but David himself): “Some say [‘your name’] refers to David because… each generation will tell the next of David’s majesty, and some say ‘your name’ refers to the Lord; the poet praises Him for the greatness of David and his descendents.” Whether this verse relates to the current human king, to David or to God, it is unlikely that it means I will “invoke” him; humans can’t be invoked, and here there appears to be no reason for invoking God. The NJPS translation “commemorate your fame” picks up on the fact that the poet sees the two cola of this verse as cause and effect: because ’azkirah shimcha (literally, “I will recall/mention your name”), therefore ‘amim yehoducha (“peoples will praise you”). Just as in II Samuel 18:18 and Deuteronomy 32:3 (both of which use qara’ sheim X), the phrase hizkir sheim X here may mean “cause your fame (i.e. the knowledge of you and the great things you have done) to be remembered.” If, though, ’azkirah shimcha in v. 18 refers to God, we saw above that the verb yehoducha can also mean “acknowledge you” or “thank you.” Thus, just as we saw with the phrase qara’ besheim YHWH in Zephaniah 3:9, the parallel with yehoducha might also be taken to argue that the phrase hizkir sheim X may be another way of saying “praise (or acknowledge or thank) X.” It might be seen as another way of referring to the prayer worship-act of “praising,” “acknowledging” or “thanking” Him.

Conclusion

In a previous article, I argued that the phrases qara’ besheim X and hizkir besheim X can have the meaning “invoke” the god X, i.e. to request that he manifest his powerful presence in order to render aid, witness and guarantee an oath, or accept a sacrifice. In this article, I have examined the other verses in which the phrase qara’ besheim X appears, as well as those with the phrases qara’ sheim X and hizkir (’et) sheim X. We have seen that these phrases’ meanings do not depend on the verb used or on the way in which sheim X is introduced. The various forms of the phrases may have the meaning “invoke X,” “worship X,” “relate the details of X’s great characteristics or acts,” or “designate/appoint X.” In many verses, we can fairly confidently say which of these meanings is intended; however, in others the meanings “invoke X,” “worship X” and “relate X’s great characteristics and acts” are all possible. Indeed, in certain verses it is difficult to distinguish between “invoke” and “worship;” in at least some verses, the Hebrew Bible may see these as part of one continuum. It might be tempting to speculate that because it is more “primitive,” the meaning “invoke” was the “original” meaning of these phrases, and that with time their use expanded to include other meanings. However, it is dangerous to speculate in this way since our evidence, and our certainty of the dating of that evidence, is very limited. We have also seen that the Akkadian phrase šuma zakaru has both the meaning “invoke” a god and “designate” a human being. The various possible meanings of these phrases may therefore have existed side by side in biblical Hebrew throughout the entire pre-exilic period.