THE SHEM HA-MEPHORESH
(DIVIDED NAME OF SEVENTY-TWO NAMES; THE 72 LEAVES OF THE TREE OF LIFE)
The esoteric tradition of the Shem Ha-Mephoresh originates from a Kabalistic reading of three specific verses of the Bible, namely Exodus chapter 14, verses 19 through 21. In the original Hebrew these three brief verses consist of 216 letters. The verses are as follows, in rough English approximation:
v. 19
And the Messenger of the Mighty One(s) [Elohim] that went in front of the Camp of Israel moved and took position behind them and also the Pillar of Cloud [sent by God to protect the Israelites] also moved from in front of them and went to the rear.
v. 20
And it came in between the camp of the Egyptian army and the Camp of Israel, and it was a dark cloud to the Egyptians but a light of guidance and protection to the Israelites, thus keeping the Egyptian army away from the Israelites all night.
v. 21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the Sea of Reeds, and God [YHVH] drew back the water with a strong east wind all the night, making the sea into dry land, the waters being divided.
Again, the above is only an approximate translation into English of this famous scene in which Moses parted the Sea of Reeds to enable the Israelites to escape their Egyptian pursuers. The original Hebrew words are quite precise, and make up a total of 216 Hebrew letters. Some ancient Kabalist, we know not who, was inspired to write these three verses out as three long individual rows of letters, forming 72 columns of three letters each. These 72 "divided names" are thought of, among Kabalists, as esoteric expansions of the Sacred Fourfold Name. Each possesses unique characteristics such an elemental attributions, zodiacal attribution, and so forth. Only the fundamentals are presented here; Initiates must consult one or more of several books on the subject for deeper study.
THE SEVENTY-TWO NAMES
1 VHV
2 YLY
3 SYT
4 OLM
5 MHSh
6 LLH
7 AKA
8 KHTh
9 HZY
10 ALD
11 LAV
12 HHO
13 YZL
14 MBH
15 HRY
16 HQM
17 LAV
18 KLY
19 LVV
20 PHL
21 NLK
22 YYY
23 MLH
24 ChHV
25 NThH
26 HAA
27 YRTh
28 SAH
29 RYY
30 AVM
31 LKB
32 VShR
33 YChV
34 LHCh
35 KVQ
36 MND
37 ANY
38 ChOM
39 RHO
40 YYZ
41 HHH
42 MYK
43 VVL
44 YLH
45 SAL
46 ORY
47 OShL
48 MYH
49 VHV
50 DNY
51 HChSh
52 OMM
53 NNA
54 NYTh
55 MBH
56 PVY
57 NMM
58 YYL
59 HRCh
60 MTzR
61 VMB
62 YHH
63 ONV
64 MChY
65 DMB
66 MNQ
67 AYO
68 ChBV
69 RAH
70 YBM
71 HYY
72 MVM
Each Name
has qualities traditionally associated with it (element, zodiac sign,
planet); additional characteristics of each Name may be deduced by
analysis of its constituent Hebrew letters and the numerical value
thereof. For instance, #72, MVM, consists of two Mems (symbol of
water and femininity and fruitfulness) surrounding a Vau (symbol of
the Son, air and sound); perhaps the Name represents the Divine Son
(Word = Breath?) within the womb of the primordial waters or Mother.
The numerical value of the Name would be 40 + 6 + 600 = 646. If one
has studied one's Gematria one will know how to look up this
numerical value and find other Hebrew words with the same value,
signifying some connection.
Additional significances may be granted by inspiration during scrying or astral travel.
Tradition has assigned Messengers to each of the Names, whose names are generated by adding the suffix -al (Aleph Lamed) or -ih (Yod He) to the end of each name. The -al suffix signifies a Messenger of the Pillar of Severity, while the -ih signifies a Messenger of the Pillar of Mercy. Thus, for the 72nd Divine Name above (MVM or "Mum" as it might be transliterated in English) the Messenger of Severity would be MVMAL (Mumal) while the Messenger of Mercy would be MVMIH (Mumih.) (In English transliteration, the -IH ending may also be written as -iah, as long as one remembers that it is really only two Hebrew letters, not three.) Thus a complete expansion of the Shem Ha-Mephoresh would consist of 72 Divine Names, 72 Angels of Severity and 72 Angels of Mercy.
Names which consist of three of the letters of the Fourfold Name (YHVH) may be considered especially potent or particularly deeply related to that Name. These names would be Numbers 1, 22, 49, 62, and 71 above. The actual name YHVH appears only once in the selection of Biblical verses used (Verse 21), and it goes to make up Names #22, 23, 24, and 25, which Names may be considered equally significant.
The Hebrew letters may be pronounced by adding vowel sounds in between each letter. As in the case of YHVH, there is no single "correct" pronounciation. Thus, Name #22, an especially potent triple Yod (YYY), borrowing one of its Yods from the actual Tetragrammaton -- may be pronounced "YaYaYa," "YaYeYi," "YeYaYo," or some other variation thereof.
One might also pronounce each Name in the fashion of the Enochian angels, that is, by separately vibrating each letter, e.g. "Yod - Yod - Yod," "Mem - Vau - Mem," and so forth.