MacPhisto...
I'm not Jewish but I have a friend who is, so I'm kind of winging it here, but here goes...
The word "Yahweh" derives from the Hebrew letters that are the equivalent of YHWH, a spelling of God's Name that is unpronouncable. According to the Kabbala, the Jewish book of Mysticism, that is God's true Name. Which makes sense--why would God want to reveal to Man a "pronouncable" true Name? It would be blasphemous for us to know it; we are not worthy. We are merely His Creation. Many Orthodox students will only write YHWH. (There are thee main "books" in Judiasm: the Torah -the First 5 Books of Moses plus the rest of the OT; the Talmud, the Jewish Book of Law, which was a huge commentary and sort of more contemporary update on the Laws described in Leviticus, that was written after the Jews were kicked out of Jerusalem by the Romans--it was a sort of guidebook for the Jews in Exile; and the Kabbala. Don't know when that was written, sorry. I'm sure Morleigh has given Edge a crash course
)
What Biblical figure the Name was revealed to I forgot, I think it was either Moses or a prophet or someone who dared to ask God what He really looked like, and God covered him in a "cloud of light" and revealed Himself to his face. Whereupon, of course, this blasphemous guy guy fell down dead. Sorry, I haven't read the Kabbala. The "cloud of light" story is somewhere in the OT, though.
In medivial times, only serious students of the Law were even allowed to read the Kabbala; you had to be made of strong spiritual stuff. It was thought to be too dangerous to dabble too deeply in matters that weren't supposed to be open to Man. There's all sorts of playing around with letters and numbers and symbols etc--a lot like "the Da Vinci Code" come to think of it! You just couldn't ask your local rabbi if you wanted to study it; he had to have known you a long time, and decided that you were ready for the REAL stuff . I don;t know if that's true today, anybody can pick up a copy at the local bookstore. But at one time, it was serious stuff.
Sometimes I wonder if the Jews don't have the right idea regarding God's Name. Maybe we Christians claim to be a little too familar with Jesus at times. Our politiicians certainly do--like the current occupant of the White House *COUGH COUGH*. For this reason I fall currently into the category of "reformed squeaky". For me, the only place religion and politics should mix is in a U2 song! If you don't know what a squeaky is, ask Bono on the tour--it's a favorite term of his, you'll get an interesting answer. Even though I'm a Christian, I fall into the category who don't like to say the Name too often. I saw the song title and said, "Why couldn't it be "Eloi", Bono? Edge has the Jewish wife..."
So "Eloi" (pronounced "El-oh-HEE", accent on the last syllable) is the traditional name Jews have always addressed God with. And here's where it REALLY gets interesting! Where have we seen "Eloi" before? What did Jesus say on the cross, in His moment of deepest despair? "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabach thani--My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Which itself was a quote from the Book of Isiah. (Did Jim Caviezel say this in the "Passion? Quick movie buffs! I'm waiting for the DVD.)
So the Bible tells us that not even Jesus Himself, the Son of God, dared utter His Father's true name, even though He must have known it, even in the most "human" moment of His life. Like any good Jew, He used the word "Eloi"(Lord.)
Now here's the debate: one can imagine Bono searching for a way to express his righteous anger at the state of the world at present, whether it be over indeifference to AIDS or Iraq or misplaced global priorities, whatever, a way to express his deepest and angriest prayer he's ever put into a song, something to make his very idol King David in heaven tremble, from his POV. A real "I believe: help Thou my unbelief" moment. A song that makes "Peace on Earth" and that little gem from "Zooropa" seem like wimpy compositions. So what better way than to use a term that not even Jesus dare use?
Then, too, as a theologan of sorts, Bono must have wondered if that is really what happened, or if one of the early Christian followers of Jesus, whoever put wrote those stories, deliberatley changed what he had heard even if firsthand, because he himself, as a former or still practicing Jew, would not want future Christians to know the True Name. Maybe this guy had been at the cross, or was a friend of those who had, and only his belief in Jesus being the Son of God could keep him from being angry at Jesus' blasphemy, if He did say something else; but who knows. You can imagine these sorts of arcane debates running circles in Bono's head. (When you've been a fan for as long as me--I'm 35, been a fan since I was 12, and in case you haven't figured it out, defeenitely more in tune with the spiritual side of the band), you think about these things.
. Did Jesus really dare to utter the Name of God in public in His moment of greatest despair, the moment God abandoned Him, or did he even then stay humble, "Incognito" as it were? Bono is not suffering physically of course!!!--but maybe his spiritual life has never been in greater turmoil. Maybe. Can this be a way of pissing God off? Is the blasphemous idea that maybe Jesus didn't say "Eloi" on the corss but something else, just to piss God off, going through his head? Of course this arcane like I said, I am sure Jesus did nothing of the sort!! But if he had a moment of despair, did he not also have a moment of anger. Did the ather allow Him that grace, in His Mercy.
Um, I think I'd better shut up. I am a newbie, after all.