How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Caught up into paradise - The Jewish writers have no less than four paradises, as they have seven heavens; but it is needless to wade through their fables. On the word paradise see the note on Genesis 2:8. The Mohammedans call it jennet alferdoos, the garden of paradise, and say that God created it out of light, and that it is the habitation of the prophets and wise men.
Among Christian writers it generally means the place of the blessed, or the state of separate spirits. Whether the third heaven and paradise be the same place we cannot absolutely say; they probably are not; and it is likely that St. Paul, at the time referred to, had at least two of these raptures.
Which it is not lawful for a man to utter - The Jews thought that the Divine name, the Tetragrammaton יהוה Yehovah, should not be uttered, and that it is absolutely unlawful to pronounce it; indeed they say that the true pronunciation is utterly lost, and cannot be recovered without an express revelation. Not one of them, to the present day, ever attempts to utter it; and, when they meet with it in their reading, always supply its place with אדני Adonai, Lord. It is probable that the apostle refers to some communication concerning the Divine nature and the Divine economy, of which he was only to make a general use in his preaching and writing. No doubt that what he learned at this time formed the basis of all his doctrines.
Cicero terms God illud inexprimible, that inexpressible Being. And Hermes calls him ανεκλαλητος, αρῥητος, σιωπῃ φωνουμενος· The ineffable, the unspeakable, and that which is to be pronounced in silence. We cannot have views too exalted of the majesty of God; and the less frequently we pronounce his name, the more reverence shall we feel for his nature. It is said of Mr. Boyle that he never pronounced the name of God without either taking off his hat or making a bow. Leaving out profane swearers, blasphemers, and such like open-faced servants of Satan, it is distressing to hear many well intentioned people making unscripturally free with this sacred name.