What does the Old Testament-especially the law-have to do with your Christian life? In this warm, accessible volume, Carmen Joy Imes takes readers back to Sinai, arguing that we've misunderstood the command about taking the Lord's name in vain. Instead, Imes says that this command is really about bearing God's name, a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture.

What does it mean to be human? For this timeless question, the Bible offers truths for the flourishing of all creation. Carmen Imes recovers the theologically rich creation narratives and explores the implication of our kinship relationship with God, considering what it means for our work, gender relations, creation care, and eternal destiny.

Have you ever wondered what the Old Testament-especially the Old Testament law-has to do with your Christian life? You are not alone. Some Christian leaders believe we should cast off the Old Testament now that we have the New. Carmen Joy Imes disagrees. In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes readers back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we've misunderstood the command about ''''taking the Lord's name in vain.'''' Instead, Imes says that this command is about ''''bearing God's name, '''' a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture. Readers will revisit the story of Israel as they trudge through the wilderness from a grueling past to a promising future. The story of Israel turns out to be our story too, and you'll discover why Sinai still matters as you follow Jesus today.

The Name Command (NC) is usually interpreted as a prohibition against speaking Yhwh's name in a particular context: false oaths, wrongful pronunciation, irreverent worship, magical practices, cursing, false teaching, and the like. However, the NC lacks the contextual specification needed to support the command as speech related. Taking seriously the narrative context at Sinai and the closest lexical parallels, a different picture emerges--one animated by concrete rituals and their associated metaphorical concepts. The unique phrase ns' shm is one of several expressions arising from the conceptual metaphor, election as branding, that finds analogies in high-priest regalia as well as in various ways of claiming ownership in the Ancient Near East, such as inscribed monuments, the use of seals, and the branding of slaves. The NC presupposes that Yhwh has claimed Israel by placing Yhwh's own name on her. In this light, the first two commands of the Decalogue reinforce the two sides of the covenant declaration: I will be your God; you will be my people. The first expresses the demand for exclusive worship and the second calls for proper representation. As a consequence, the NC invites a richer exploration of what it means to be a people in covenant with Yhwh--a people bearing his name among the nations. It also points to what is at stake when Israel carries that name in vain. The image of bearing Yhwh's name offers a rich source for theological and ethical reflection that cannot be conveyed nonmetaphorically without distortion or loss of meaning.