Throughout the OT, there are repeated references to Yahweh’s “name” dwelling in the place of Yahweh’s choosing (Deut 12; 2 Sam 7; 1 Kings 6-8). Frequently (as in 1 Kings 8:16), there is a pun on the word “name” (SHEM) and the word “there” (SHAM). If we can extrapolate from this pun to theology proper: To speak of the name of God is to speak of a manifestation of God that has a “there,” that possesses the locative quality of “thereness.” I think the best explanation of this is that “name” is a reference to Yahweh Himself available in a designated location; the “name” is the Second Person, who is with the Father and is God, but is the locative manifestation of the Father who is in heaven and of the Spirit who blows where He wishes.
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