## Tractate Sefer Torah Chapter 4

###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:1
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אלו שמות שאין נמחקין הכותב אלהים אדני יוד הא ואו הא שדי צבאות אהיה אשר אהיה ר׳ יוסי אומר צבאות היו נוהגין בו חול:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
The following divine names may not be erased, viz.¹ *Alef-lamed-he-yod-mem*,² *Alef-daleth-nun-yod*,³ *Yod-he-waw-he*,⁴ *Shaddai*,⁵ *Ẓeba’oth*,⁶ *‘Eheyeh-’asher-’eheyeh*.⁷ (Ex. 3, 14). R. Jose says: *Ẓeba’oth* is generally treated as a secular noun.⁸

footnotes:
¹ lit. ‘he who writes’.
² Meaning ‘God’.
³ Translated ‘Lord’.
⁴ Composing the Tetragrammaton.
⁵ i.e. ‘Almighty’.
⁶ Meaning ‘[Lord of] hosts’.
⁷ I am that I am
⁸ Which may therefore be erased.


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:2
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הכותב אל ימחוק אל מאלהים יה מארבע אותיות אינן נמחקין מפני שיש שמות כיוצא בהם:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
If one writes *’El*⁹ it may be erased;¹⁰ if *’El* of *Alef-lamed-he-yod-mem* or *Yod-he* of the four letters [of the Tetragrammaton],¹¹. they may not be erased, because there are divine names corresponding to them.

footnotes:
⁹ It can mean ‘to’ or ‘God’ so far as the consonants are concerned.
¹⁰ It is presumed to be the preposition ‘to’. This Rule is omitted in Sof. IV, 2.
¹¹ Which are Yod-he-waw-he


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:3
[Tractate Sefer Torah 4:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Sefer%20Torah/r/4:3)

כל אותיות המשמשות את השם בין מלמעלה בין מלמטה הרי אלו נמחקין:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
All prefixes or suffixes connected with a divine name may be erased.


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:4
[Tractate Sefer Torah 4:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Sefer%20Torah/r/4:4)

כל השמות ההדיוטות שאותיותיהם כאותיות השם מכנין בהם הרי אלו נמחקין:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
All ordinary words the letters of which are the same as those of a divine name may be erased.¹²

footnotes:
¹² Because they possess no sanctity.


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:5
[Tractate Sefer Torah 4:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Sefer%20Torah/r/4:5)

כי ה׳ אלהיכם הוא אלהי האלהים (דברים י׳:י״ז) הראשון קודש והשני חול ואדני האדנים (שם) הראשון קודש והשני חול אלהי אברהם (בראשית ל״א:נ״ג) קדש ואלהי נחור חול אלהי אביהם חול. אלהים לא תקלל (שמות כ״ב:כ״ז) משמש קודש וחול ר' ישמעאל אומר קודש:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
In *For the Lord your God, He is God of gods*,¹³ the first [two]¹⁴. are sacred and the last¹⁵, signifying ‘judges’ or ‘princes’. is secular. In *Lord of lords*,¹⁶ the first is sacred and the second secular. In *the God of Abraham*¹⁷ it is sacred; in *the god of Nahor*¹⁸ Nahor did not worship the true God. it is secular, and in *the god of their father*¹⁹ Terah (*their father*) was an idolater. it is secular. In *Thou shalt not revile God*,²⁰ [the noun may bear] a sacred or a secular meaning.²¹ R. Ishmael²² maintains that the noun is sacred.

footnotes:
¹³ Deut. 10, 17.
¹⁴ i.e. your God He is God
¹⁵ Of gods
¹⁶ ibid.
¹⁷ Gen. 31, 53.
¹⁸ ibid.
¹⁹ ibid.
²⁰ Ex. 22, 27.
²¹ It may refer to God or judges.
²² In Sof. IV, 5, ‘R. Simeon’.


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:6
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כל שמות האמורים בתורה באברהם קודש חוץ מן הראשון ר׳ חנינא בן אחי ר׳ יהושע אומר קודש:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
All nouns in the Torah [signifying God] that are mentioned in connection with Abraham are sacred except the first.²³ (Gen. 18, 3), because *my lord* was addressed to the leader of the three angels R. Ḥanina the son of R. Joshua’s brother holds that it is sacred.²⁴ was addressed to God.

footnotes:
²³ The verse, And he said: My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight
²⁴ In his opinion my Lord


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:7
[Tractate Sefer Torah 4:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Sefer%20Torah/r/4:7)

כל שמות האמורים בתורה בלוט חול חוץ מן האחרון במיכה חול אפילו יה בנבות קודש אפילו אל:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
All names in the Torah mentioned in connection with Lot are secular²⁵ except the last.²⁶ (Gen. 19, 18). Lot’s address to the angels is understood as ending at *not so*, and his petition to God then begins, *My Lord, behold*, etc. [So the Targum and Shebu. 35b, Sonc. ed., pp. 205f.] [All names] in the story of Micah²⁷ are secular, even [when they begin with] *Yod-he*.²⁸ In [the account of] Naboth²⁹ they are sacred even [when they begin with] *Alef-lamed*.³⁰

footnotes:
²⁵ There is only one secular name in the Lot passages, and the Tetragrammaton occurs twice. The word ‘all’ is not intended to be taken literally (cf. N.Y. on Sof. IV, 7).
²⁶ Viz. And Lot said unto them: ‘Oh, not so my Lord’
²⁷ Judg. 17f.
²⁸ The Tetragrammaton.
²⁹ 1 Kings 21.
³⁰ Meaning elsewhere ‘God’.


###### Tractate Sefer Torah 4:8
[Tractate Sefer Torah 4:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tractate%20Sefer%20Torah/r/4:8)

אלהים נצב בעדת אל בקרב אלהים ישפוט (תהלים פב) משמש קודש וחול יסגירני אל אל עויל (איוב ט״ז:י״א) הראשון קודש והשני חול כי אל אל האמור (שם לד) הראשון חול והשני קודש ואל יהי מקום לזעקתי (שם טז) חול ואלהים אמר לבהלני (ד״ה ב לה) קודש חדל לך מאלהים אשר עמי (שם) קדש כדברי ר׳ יוסי בר יהודה אלהים זדים קמו עלי (תהלים פו) קדש אלא שהקורא צריך להיות קורא ומפסיק:

**The Minor Tractates of the Talmud, trans. A. Cohen, London: Soncino Press, 1965:**
In *God standeth in the congregation of God, in the midst of the judges*³¹ *He judges*,³² [the divine name] is used as sacred³³. and as secular.³⁴ In *God delivereth me to*³⁵ (to) which is the same consonants as the word for ‘God’. *the ungodly*,³⁶ the first is sacred and the second³⁷ in the sense of ‘to’. secular. In *For hath any said unto God*,³⁸ XXXIV, 31. the first [*’el*] is secular and the second sacred. [In the verse] *And let my cry have no*³⁹ *resting-place*,⁴⁰ XVI, 18. In Sof. IV, 9 the analysis is extended to the continuation of the verse. etc., [the words whose consonants are the same as those of a divine name] are secular. In *God hath given command to speed me*⁴¹ [the name] is sacred. In *Forbear thee from meddling with God, Who is with me*,⁴² the name is sacred, according to the view of R. Jose b. Judah. In *O God, the proud are risen up against me*,⁴³ the name is sacred but the reader must pause in his reading [after *God*].⁴⁴ might erroneously be taken as qualifying God.

footnotes:
³¹ The Heb. has the consonants of the divine name.
³² Ps. 82, 1.
³³ In God standeth
³⁴ The name bearing the meaning of judges.
³⁵ Heb. ’el
³⁶ Job 16, 11.
³⁷ ’el
³⁸ ibid.
³⁹ Heb. על, the same consonants as those of the name of God.
⁴⁰ ibid.
⁴¹ 2 Chron. 35, 21.
⁴² ibid.
⁴³ Ps. 86, 14.
⁴⁴ In the absence of the pause, the adjective proud