Historical terminology
Shem HaMephorash
Shem HaMephorash is a historical Hebrew term for the explicit or distinguished divine Name. In early and medieval sources it can refer specifically to the Tetragrammaton; its association with the 72-name system belongs to later and broader usage.
Terminology
What does Shem HaMephorash mean?
Shem HaMephorash is commonly translated as the explicit, distinguished or special Name. Historically, the term did not always mean the 72 Names.
Its meaning changed across periods and authors, which is why context matters whenever the term appears.
What did the term mean in early rabbinic usage?
Historical reference works describe Shem HaMephorash as an early term for the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter divine name יהוה. Maimonides uses the term this way in Guide for the Perplexed I.61.
How did the term become connected with longer divine Names?
Later Jewish mystical and esoteric literature also discusses divine Names of 12, 42 and 72 letters, and the terminology around Shem HaMephorash broadened in some later contexts. As a result, modern pages often use the phrase for the 72-triplet system even though that is not its only historical meaning.
Is Shem HaMephorash the same as the 72 angels?
No. Later Western esoteric writers connected the 72 Hebrew units with 72 angelic names, but that angelic system is a later development and should not be treated as identical to the Jewish triplet tradition.
See the dedicated 72 Names vs 72 Angels comparison.
Quick answers
Direct answers.
Does Shem HaMephorash always mean the 72 Names?
No. In important earlier usage, including Maimonides, it refers to the Tetragrammaton. Later sources use the terminology more broadly.
Why do modern websites use Shem HaMephorash for the 72 triplets?
That usage reflects later developments in Jewish mysticism and Western esotericism, where the term became associated with longer divine-name systems.
What term does this site prefer?
For clarity, this site generally says “72 Names of God” or “72 Hebrew triplets” and explains Shem HaMephorash separately.
Is the spelling fixed?
English spellings vary, including Shem HaMephorash, Shem ha-Meforash and related transliterations because Hebrew can be romanized in different ways.
Sources used on this page
Trace the claim.
- Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed I.61 ↗
Important evidence that Shem ha-Meforash can specifically denote the four-letter Tetragrammaton.
- Jewish Encyclopedia — “Shem Ha-Meforash” ↗
Historical overview of the term and its changing use for divine names of different letter counts.
- Jewish Encyclopedia — “Tetragrammaton” ↗
Historical reference for the four-letter divine name and the terminology surrounding it.
- Rashi on Sukkah 45a:2 ↗
Medieval commentary explicitly describing 72 names embedded in the three 72-letter verses and the first/reversed-middle/last extraction pattern.
- Rabbeinu Bahya on Exodus 14:21 ↗
Medieval commentary stating that the three verses contain 72 letters each and explaining the forward/reverse/forward arrangement into three-letter units.