Exod 20:7

“Although making a variety of suppositions about him, we all know something of God but do not all know what he is, for few indeed and fewer (if I may say so) than few are they who grasp his holiness in all things. Thus we are rightly taught to pray that our concept of God may be hallowed among us. Thus we shall see his holiness in creating, in providing, in judging, in choosing and abandoning, in accepting and rejecting, in rewarding and punishing each one according to his merits.In these activities and others like them is found, so I may say, the stamp of the personal character of God, that which in my opinion is called in Scripture the "name of God." So in Exodus: "You shall not take the name of your God in vain."”

“Here too the Lord himself teaches in the passage before us about another Lord. For he says, "I am the Lord thy God," and adds, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." The second Lord is here mystically instructing his servant about the Father, that is to say, the God of the universe. And you could find many other similar instances occurring in Holy Scripture, in which God speaks as if in a second voice about another. The Lord himself speaks as if about another.”

“The second commandment: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for whoever takes the name of the Lord his God in vain will not be purified." The name of the Lord our God Jesus Christ is Truth: he himself said, "I am the truth." So truth purifies; futility defiles. And because whoever speaks the truth speaks from what is God's—for "whoever speaks falsehood speaks from what is his own"—to speak the truth is to speak reasonably, whereas to speak futility is to make a noise rather than to speak. Rightly, because the second commandment means love of the truth, the opposite of that is love of futility.”

“LO THISA’ (THOU SHALT NOT TAKE) THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL THY G-D IN VAIN. This verse has already been explained in the words of our Rabbis. He prohibits [here] swearing by the Glorious Name in vain, such as swearing that which is contrary to facts known to man, or swearing to [the truth of] a self-evident fact. For example: if one swears that a pillar of marble is of gold, or that it is of marble, and the pillar is right before them and they recognize it as such [that it is of marble]. By way of the plain meaning of Scripture, the verse also prohibits the taking of the Glorious Name in vain upon one’s lips [even without an oath], the usage of the term [lo thisa] being similar to these expressions: ‘Lo thisa’ (Thou shalt not utter) a false report; Nor ‘esa’ (do I take) their names upon my lips. Speaking is called thisa, [which literally means “lifting”], because the speaker thereby lifts up his voice. Similarly: ‘masa’ (The burden) of the word of the Eternal; also, In that day ‘yisa’ (shall he swear), saying: I will not be a healer, which means that he will lift up his voice to say so. And in truth, this — [i.e., just taking G-d’s Name in vain even without an oath] — is also forbidden, and in the language of the Sages, it is called “pronouncing the Name of Heaven to no purpose.” Thus our Rabbis have already said: 2. “Whence do we know that [in dedicating a beast for a sacrifice] a man should not say, ‘Unto the Eternal this is a whole-offering,’ or ‘Unto the Eternal this is a sin-offering,’ but instead he should say, ‘This is a whole-offering unto the Eternal,’ ‘This is a sin-offering unto the Eternal’? Scripture therefore says, an offering unto the Eternal. And must we not reason by using the method of kal vachomer?, Note 208. If the Torah said of him who is about to dedicate [something to Heaven], ‘Let My Name not rest on it until [he has first said] korban (sacrifice)’, is it not logical [that we must not pronounce the Name of Heaven to no purpose]!” He has placed this commandment after the prohibition of idolatry, because just as it is proper to fear the Great and Fearful Name by not giving His Glory to another, so it is fitting to give glory to His Name. He who takes it in vain profanes it, similar to that which is written, And ye shall not swear by My Name falsely, so that thou profane not the Name of thy G-d. Just as He was stringent in the case of idolatry and wrote the punishment [for transgression], i.e., that He is a jealous G-d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, so did He record here the punishment that He will not hold him guiltless. He used this expression instead of saying that He will visit his sin upon him, [as He did in the case of idolatry], because people who swear [in vain] do not consider it a real sin, and they think it is proper that He forgive them. Therefore He said that whosoever toucheth that shall not go unpunished. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has written appropriately on this verse. Now the language of this verse, the Name of the Eternal thy G-d, implies that it is as if Moses was speaking, and so also in the case of all the following commandments, whereas in the first two verses G-d is speaking: I; Who brought thee out; before Me; For I; Of them that love Me and keep My commandments. It is for this reason that our Rabbis of blessed memory have said: “We heard the two commandments — I am the Eternal thy G-d and Thou shalt have no other gods — from the Almighty Himself,” for they are the root of everything. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra asked [concerning this tradition of the Rabbis] that Scripture says, And G-d spoke all these words, and still more clearly it is written [following the Ten Commandments], These words the Eternal spoke unto all your assembly, and again it is written there, And He wrote them down upon two Tablets of stone,, 4:13. meaning that as He said the Ten Commandments to all your assembly, so He wrote them down upon the Tablets! I will explain to you the tradition of our Rabbis [that we heard the first two commandments from the Almighty Himself]. Surely all Israel heard the entire Ten Commandments from the mouth of G-d, as the literal meaning of Scripture indicates. But in the first two commandments, they heard the utterance of speech and understood their words even as Moses understood them. Therefore He spoke to them directly [in the first person], just as a master speaks to his servant, as I have mentioned. From then on, in the rest of the commandments, they heard a voice of speech but they did not understand it, and it became necessary for Moses to explain to them each and every commandment until they understood it from Moses. And so [the Rabbis] explained:. In explanation thereof, the Sages said in the Mechilta that Moses brought to them every commandment as he heard it.” I have not been able to identify the exact quotation in the Mechilta. Moses spoke, and G-d answered him by a voice. Therefore [the rest of the Ten Commandments] were addressed by G-d to Moses so that he should tell them thus. The reason [that the first two commandments were spoken to the people directly by G-d] was so that they should all be prophets in the belief of G-d, [His existence, and His Unity], and in the prohibition of idolatry, as I have explained., 19:9. Those are the root of the whole Torah and the commandments, just as He said, Assemble Me the people, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days. But in the rest of the Ten Commandments, they received their explanation from the mouth of Moses after having heard a voice of words,, Verse 12. while in all other commandments [of the whole Torah], they believed in Moses completely.”

“Because God is triune, namely Father and Son and Holy Spirit, to whom belongs the highest majesty to be adored, truth to be professed, and charity to be embraced, according to the irascible, rational, and concupiscible powers, through the act of deed, of mouth, and of heart: therefore the commandment of the first tablet is threefold, corresponding to the three aforesaid, namely subjective adoration, truthful oath-taking, and sacred sabbath-observance.”

“Just as in the first commandment humble adoration of the supreme majesty is commanded, so in this second commandment faithful confession of the supreme truth is commanded, and the denial of truth is forbidden. In the Old Testament it is said that he who swears in the name of God should swear and not perjure himself. For to perjure is the same as to forswear, and this is to take the name of God in vain. Jeremiah says: "And you shall swear: the Lord lives, in truth and in judgment and in justice;" and the Gloss says there that "an oath ought to have three companions: truth, judgment, and justice." First, I say, an oath ought to be made with truth; whence he says: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain," that is, without truth. Now it must be understood that there is a twofold oath, namely assertory and promissory, such that there is a certain oath given as testimony and a certain oath given as a promise. An assertory oath is made thus: I assert this to you and testify to it by the witness of divine truth. Now this assertory oath must first possess truth. Truth is present in an assertory oath when a man does not deny what is true, nor affirm what is false, nor knowingly assert what is doubtful; for speech is indicative of those things which are in the heart. But do you know what it means when a man testifies to something false by the witness of divine truth? It is to say that he lies and that divine truth lies along with him. And this is the first way of taking the name of God in vain, namely, when we deny the truth. Second, an assertory oath must be made with justice. It is made with justice when it is not made against a commandment of the divine law, nor against a precept of holy Mother Church, nor to the detriment of one's own salvation or that of another. And he who swears against these three swears rashly and sins in a twofold manner: both because he swears and because he keeps the oath. Third, it is necessary that judgment accompany an assertory oath, so that there be in the mind a discernment of truth and justice, namely, whether the oath is true or false, just or unjust, fruitful or unfruitful. Whence, if I swear without judgment, not discerning among these three, I swear rashly. These three companions ought to be present in an assertory oath. But the Manichaeans assail us and say that we ought not to swear at all, because it is said in the New Testament, namely in Matthew: "You shall not swear falsely;" and it follows: "But I say to you, not to swear at all. But let your speech be: yes yes, no no." I certainly say that in certain cases or for certain reasons it is quite lawful to swear. But the heretics do not rightly attend to the force of the words. For it is one thing to say: "not to swear at all," and another to say: "at all not to swear" — just as it is one thing to say: "a certain man does not run," and another: "not a certain man runs." "At all not to swear" is the same as "in no way to swear," and "not to swear at all" is the same as not "to swear in every way," but for certain reasons. Second, the name of God ought not to be taken in vain in a promissory oath. Now a promissory oath is made in three ways, namely for promoting good, for preserving fidelity, and for entering into mutual peace. In the first way, inferiors swear to superiors; in the second way, equals to equals; in the third way, superiors to inferiors. By the first oath the Apostle swore, saying in Romans: "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit." In the second way, Laban swore fidelity to Jacob. In the third way, superiors swear to protect the people. From the first oath a threefold benefit results: faith in the intellect, love in the affections, and peace in effect. For these three reasons an oath is made for promoting good. In the second way, a promissory oath is made for preserving fidelity, and this is done in three ways, namely for restraining malice, for settling controversy, and for clearing away infamy. First, I say, it is made for restraining malice, so that a man may neither deny the true nor affirm the false; and this is the reason for the usefulness of the oath. Second, it is made for settling controversy. Whence the Apostle says to the Hebrews: "The end of all controversy is an oath." Third, it is made for clearing away infamy. Whence in Deuteronomy it is said that the elders had to clear themselves by oath when a dead body was found. For these three reasons an oath is made for preserving fidelity. In the third way, a promissory oath is made for entering into mutual peace: and in this is understood the restraint of all mortal sins; because "every true oath is dangerous, a false one is pernicious, and no oath is safe." And for this reason it is said in Ecclesiasticus: "Let not your mouth become accustomed to swearing." This is the literal understanding of the words. But the spiritual understanding of this precept is this: that we take the name of God not in vain in three ways, namely for effecting, for promising, and for expressing. First, I say, we take up the name of God not in vain for effecting, as in the Sacraments, when it is said in baptism: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Second, we take up the name of our God not in vain for promising, as when I promise to go to Saint James, or to enter religious life, by an oath. Third, we take up the name of God not in vain for expressing, as when we speak with an oath. Conversely, we take up the name of God in vain in three ways: first, through frustration of a Sacrament received; second, through breaking of a vow made; third, through uttering of blasphemous speech. First, we take up the name of God in vain through frustration of a Sacrament received; and according to this there is a threefold degree of taking the name of God in vain. The first is when someone does not believe in the Sacrament, like a heretic. Second, when one believes but does not dispose himself for the Sacrament, like a usurer. Third, when someone does not preserve the grace received in the Sacrament, like one who afterward sins. Hear, you who are marked with the Christian name: the character is then imprinted upon you through the power of the name of God; and when you afterward sin, you empty out the power of the Sacrament. Of such persons the Apostle says to Titus: "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him;" and thus "you trample upon the Son of God" and "treat as polluted the blood" of the covenant, you who were washed in the blood of Christ! The second mode of taking the name of God in vain is through breaking of a vow made. And here there is likewise a threefold degree. The first is through irrational delay, as when I promise to go to Saint James by an oath and do not assign myself a fixed term, and thus always procrastinate. In the second way, breaking of a vow occurs through a contrary will, as when someone promises something to God and afterward repents of it. Against such persons it is said in Deuteronomy: "If anything has proceeded from your lips, you shall not make it void." In the third way, breaking of a vow occurs through apostatic rebellion, as when a man apostatizes from religious life. The first of these modes is evil, the second worse, the third worst, because it is said: "An apostate man is a worthless man;" on account of which it is said in Ecclesiastes: "If you have vowed anything to God, do not delay to pay it; for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases God." And this is so when time and hour and day and year were calling out. In the third way, we take up the name of God in vain through uttering of blasphemous speech; and this occurs in three ways: first, when someone, speaking of God, uses cursing speech, as when he curses God. The second mode is through mendacious speech, when someone denies what is true of God, or affirms what is false; because Anselm says that the nobler part of every contradiction is to be attributed to God. The third mode is through reproachful speech, such as when someone speaks of the lower members of Christ, he blasphemes most wickedly, even if he speaks the truth, and despises Christ in that He was humble and assumed our nature. And such persons have been destroyed by divine judgment. For Gregory narrates that a certain boy of six years was accustomed to blaspheme the name of the Lord. One day, when he was blaspheming and was in the lap of his father, he was seized by demons and carried into hell. On account of which it is said in Leviticus: "Whoever shall have blasphemed the name of the Lord, let him surely die."”

“God is the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. To the Father is attributed majesty, to the Son truth, and to the Holy Spirit goodness. In the Son there is supreme truth to be faithfully asserted. In the second commandment is commanded the faithful assertion of divine truth, when it is said: "Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain."”

“And from this fact, that He is the pious worshiper of Himself, the true witness to Himself, and the holy lover of Himself, there comes down from heaven a threefold radiation in the mind, according to the three commandments of the first tablet. For the creature must behave in relation to God in a manner that is pious, true, and holy. This consists in worshiping God piously, hence, the first commandment, You shall not have other gods besides Me, but only one; in witnessing to God: You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain; in loving God in a holy manner: Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. These three imprint the Sun in the higher portion of the soul.”

“This is the Second Commandment of the law. Just as there is but one God whom we must worship, so there is only one God whom we should reverence in a special manner. This, first of all, has reference to the name of God. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." "In vain" has a threefold meaning. Sometimes it is said of that which is false: "They have spoken vain things every one to his neighbor" [Ps 11:3]. One, therefore, takes the name of God in vain when one uses it to confirm that which is not true: "Love not a false oath" [Zech 8:17]. "You shall not live because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord" [Zech 13:3]. Any one so doing does injury to God, to himself, and to all men. It is an insult to God because, when you swear by God, it is nothing other than to call Him to witness; and when you swear falsely, you either believe God to be ignorant of the truth and thus place ignorance in God, whereas "all things are naked and open to His eyes" [Hb 4:13], or you think that God loves a lie, whereas He hates it: "You will destroy all who speak lies" [Ps 5:7]. Or, again, you detract from His power, as if He were not able to punish a lie. Likewise, such a one does an injury to himself, for he binds himself to the judgment of God. It is the same thing to say, "By God this is so," as to say, "May God punish me if it is not so!" He, finally, does an injury to other men. For there can be no lasting society unless men believe one another. Matters that are doubtful may be confirmed by oaths: "An oath in confirmation puts an end to all controversy" [Hb 6:16]. Therefore, he who violates this precept does injury to God, is cruel to himself, and harmful to other men. Sometimes "vain" signifies useless: "The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain" [Ps 93:11]. God's name, therefore, is taken in vain when it is used to confirm vain things. In the Old Law it was forbidden to swear falsely: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" [Dt 5:11]. And Christ forbade the taking of oaths except in case of necessity: "You have heard that it was said to them of old: You shall not swear falsely... But I say to you not to swear at all" [Mt 5:33-34]. And the reason for this is that in no part of our body are we so weak as in the tongue, for "the tongue no man can tame" [Jm 3:8]. And thus even in light matter one can perjure himself. "Let your speech be: Yea, yea; No, no. But I say to you not to swear at all" [Mt 5:34,37]. Note well that an oath is like medicine, which is never taken continually but only in times of necessity. Hence, the Lord adds: "And what is over and above these is evil" [Mt 5:37]. "Let not the mouth be accustomed to swearing, for in it there are many falls. And let not the name of God be usual in your mouth, and meddle not with the names of saints. For you shall not escape free from them" [Sir 23:9]. Sometimes "in vain" means sin or injustice: "O sons of men, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love vanity?" [Ps 4:3]. Therefore, he who swears to commit a sin, takes the name of his God in vain. Justice consists in doing good and avoiding evil. Therefore, if you take an oath to steal or commit some crime of this sort, you sin against justice. And although you must not keep this oath, you are still guilty of perjury. Herod did this against John [Mk 6:17]. It is likewise against justice when one swears not to do some good act, as not to enter a church or a religious community. And although this oath, too, is not binding, yet, despite this, the person himself is a perjuror. One cannot, therefore, swear to a falsehood, or without good reason, or in any way against justice: "And you shall swear: As the Lord lives, in truth, and in judgment and in justice" [Jer 4:2]. Sometimes "vain" also means foolish: "All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God" [Wis 13:1]. Accordingly, he who takes the name of God foolishly, by blasphemy, takes the name of God in vain: "And he who blasphemes against the name of the Lord, let him surely die" [Lev 24:16]. However, the name of God may be taken for six purposes. First, to confirm something that is said, as in an oath. In this we show God alone is the first Truth, and also we show due reverence to God. For this reason it was commanded in the Old Law that one must not swear except by God [Dt 6:13]. They who swore otherwise violated this order: "By the name of strange gods you shall not swear" [Ex 23:13]. Although at times one swears by creatures, nevertheless, it must be known that such is the same as swearing by God. When you swear by your soul or your head, it is as if you bind yourself to be punished by God. Thus: "But I call God to witness upon my soul" [2 Cor 1:23]. And when you swear by the Gospel, you swear by God who gave the Gospel. But they sin who swear either by God or by the Gospel for any trivial reason. The second purpose is that of sanctification. Thus, Baptism sanctifies, for as St. Paul says: "But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of God" [1 Cor 6:11]. Baptism, however, does not have power except through the invocation of the Trinity: "But You, O Lord, are among us, and your name is called upon by us" [Jer 14:9]. The third purpose is the expulsion of our adversary; hence, before Baptism we renounce the devil: "Only let your name be called upon us; take away our reproach" [Is 4:1]. Therefore, if one return to his sins, the name of God has been taken in vain. Fourthly, God's name is taken in order to confess it: "How then shall they call on Him, in whom they have not believed?" [Rm 10:14]. And again: "Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved" [Rm 10:13]. First of all, we confess by word of mouth that we may show forth the glory of God: "And every one who calls on My name, I have created him for My glory" [Is 43:7]. Accordingly, if one says anything against the glory of God, he takes the name of God in vain. Secondly, we confess God's name by our works, when our very actions show forth God's glory: "That they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who is in heaven" [Mt 5:16]. "Through you the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles" [Rm 2:24]. Fifthly it is taken for our defense: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just run to it and shall be exalted" [Prov 18:10]. "In My name they shall cast out devils" [Mk 16:17]. "There is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved" [Acts 4:12]. Lastly, it is taken in order to make our works complete. Thus says the Apostle: "All that you do in word or work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" [Col 3:17]. The reason is because "our help is in the name of the Lord" [Ps 123:8]. Sometimes it happens that one begins a work imprudently by starting with a vow, for instance, and then not completing either the work or the vow. And this again is taking God's name in vain. "If you have vowed anything to God, do not defer paying it" [Eccles 5:3]. "Vow and pay to the Lord your God; all you round about Him bring presents" [Ps 75:12]. "For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases Him" [Eccles 5:3].”

“The Third Word, "Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain," is closely connected with the former two. Although there is no God beside Jehovah, the absolute One, and His divine essence cannot be seen or conceived of under any form, He had made known the glory of His nature in His name (Exo 3:14., Exo 6:2), and this was not to be abused by His people. שׁם נשׁא does not mean to utter the name (נשׁא never has this meaning), but in all the passages in which it has been so rendered it retains its proper meaning, "to take up, life up, raise;" e.g., to take up or raise (begin) a proverb (Num 23:7; Job 27:1), to lift up a song (Psa 81:3), or a prayer (Isa 37:4). And it is evident from the parallel in Psa 24:4, "to lift up his soul to vanity," that it does not mean "to utter" here. שׁוא does not signify a lie (שׁקר), but according to its etymon שׁאה, to be waste, it denotes that which is waste and disorder, hence that which is empty, vain, and nugatory, for which there is no occasion. The word prohibits all employment of the name of God for vain and unworthy objects, and includes not only false swearing, which is condemned in Lev 19:12 as a profanation of the name of Jehovah, but trivial swearing in the ordinary intercourse of life, and every use of the name of God in the service of untruth and lying, for imprecation, witchcraft, or conjuring; whereas the true employment of the name of God is confined to "invocation, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving," which proceeds from a pure, believing heart. The natural heart is very liable to transgress this command, and therefore it is solemnly enforced by the threat, "for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless" (leave him unpunished), etc.”