Acts 9:5; 26:14-18 – Who Are You, Lord? - c

Acts 9:5 - He said, "Who are you, Lord?" The Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Acts 26:14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

Acts 26:15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ ” ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied.

Acts 26:16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.

Acts 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'”– World English

Acts 26:14-18 is sometimes cited as proof that Jesus is Jehovah, most often to support the trinity or oneness doctrines..

We know that some refer to Saul’s usage of the word “Lord” in Acts 26:15, and the statement “the Lord replied”, and claim by this that Saul was addressing the one whom he speaking to as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Such usually claim that the Greek word often transliterated as KURIOS in the NT represents Jehovah. It is true that in many instances in the extant Greek manuscripts, we find that the Holy Name has been replaced with forms of the Greek word KURIOS; this, however, does not mean that KURIOS in the NT is always speaking of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

One author states regarding Acts 9:5:

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated "LORD" is the unpronounceable Yhvh, a name which specifically refers to the God of the Bible (to make it pronounceable, Yhvh is referred to as Yahweh, Yahovah or even Jehovah after the addition of vowels). Since there is no equivalent in Greek, kyrios, the Greek word which means "master" or "lord" is used in the New Testament to refer to the God of the Bible. In Acts 9:5, however, Saul is using kyrios in its general sense.

Of course, YHVH in English is not pronounceable, but the name was pronounced in ancient Hebrew. Some seem to think that only the Holy Name of God was written without vowels in ancient Hebrew. The truth is that ancient Hebrew had no written vowels for any word at all; such was not exclusive God's Holy Name. This does not mean that ancient Hebrew had no vowel sounds; the vowel sounds were used when words were spoken although they were not shown in the written words. For more concerning the Holy Name, one may see our site on God's Holy Name.

The assumption is presented as being a fact that there was no equivalent in the Greek, evidently referring to the Koine Greek of the first century. It this be true, then it would also be true of most, if not all, of the Old Testament Hebrew names. Yet, we do find Greek forms of many other Hebrew names that are presented in the New Testament, including forms of Elijah, Moses, Joshua (Jesus), Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. There is no reason to imagine and assume that forms of the Greek word KURIOS was used to replace the Holy Name because there was no Greek form of the Holy Name.

After presenting some discussion of how the Holy Name is presented as "Kyrios" (another way of transliterating KURIOS) in the New Testament, the author concludes that Kyrios in Acts 9:5 is not being used in that scripture for "Jehovah", but rather in its "general sense" of "master" or "lord." We do commend the author for this conclusion, although we believe that Saul was, in effect, saying, "Sir, who are you?"

One states:

The name Lord summed up all that the Godhead implied. It was a word that could be applied only to Deity. Israel's conception was: "The Lord our God is one Lord." Israel held that God would never give to another, the name of Lord.

Christ accepted that title, and the early saints asserted it. Christ came in the Name of the Lord, He also came bearing the Name, Lord. This was the core of the confession of faith that marked the early Church. They were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus, because they confessed that Jesus was Lord, the same as the Father was Lord, and the Spirit was Lord. Neighbour, Robert E. "Wells of Living Water Commentary on Acts 9:5". "Living Water". .

Evidently, the author confuses the Holy Name -- often rendered in English as Jehovah -- as being "Lord". This may be because of the way most translations have changed the Holy name to "Lord" or "the Lord" in most places. Additionally, in the extant New Testament manuscripts we find the the Holy Name has often been changed to forms of the word often transliterated as KURIOS, meaning, Lord, Master, Sir. Due to this confusion, even many Bible scholars inaccurately present the Holy Name as meaning, Lord. For more regarding how the Holy Name has been replaced in the extant manuscripts, we recommend our site:

The Holy Name of God

Nevertheless, it is this confusion of the Holy Name with forms of Kurios that forms the basis of the idea that Saul, when he used “Lord,” meant Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

There is no indication in Acts 9:5; 26:15 that Saul thought he was speaking to the God of Abraham. Indeed, if he already knew who it was who was speaking to him, there would have been no need for Paul to have asked the question, “Who are you?” In other words, if he did not know who it was who was addressing him, why would he calling that one the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by use of the term "Lord?"

Adam Clarke lets us know that Saul's question was:

Who art thou, Sir? He had no knowledge who it was that addressed him, and would only use the term Κυριε, as any Roman or Greek would, merely as a term of civil respect. -- Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Acts 9:5". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". 

The same applies to the fact that Saul bowed to his knees before this “master” who was speaking to him. Some have claimed that Saul bowed before Jesus in recognition of Jesus' being the God of Israel. The truth is that Saul certainly would not have given homage due only to the Almighty to someone whom he did not know. Such obeisance was common among the Hebrew people and was often given to kings and others; such homage, of itself, does not mean giving homage that is only due to the Most High. 

Albert Barnes tells us:

The word “Lord” here, as is frequently the case in the New Testament, means no more than “sir,” John 4:19. It is evident that Saul did not as yet know that this was the Lord Jesus. He heard a voice as of a man; he heard himself addressed, but by whom the words were spoken was to him unknown. In his amazement and confusion, he naturally asked who it was that was thus addressing him. -- Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Acts 9:5". "Barnes' Notes on the New Testament".  1870.

John Gill states:

For he knew not whether it was God, or an angel, or who it was that spake to him; he knew not Christ by his form or voice, as Stephen did, when he saw him standing at the right hand of God; he was in a state of ignorance, and knew neither the person, nor voice of Christ, and yet his heart was so far softened and wrought upon, that he was desirous of knowing who he was. -- Gill, John. "Commentary on Acts 9:5". "The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". 1999.

The conclusion is that there is nothing in these scriptures that offer any proof that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus is definitely not the "one God of whom are all," (1 Corinthians 8:6) nor is he the one person who spoke through the prophet Moses. -- Hebrews 1:1,2; Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Exodus 3:14,15; Acts 3:13-26.