I remember learning a gemarah (midrash?) that one of the tanaim (possibly R' Chanina [ben Dosa]) said the shem hameforash explicitly. Can you source this story and explain why the shem hameforash was used?
1 Answer
The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 17B-18A) tells us that heaven decreed Chanania ben Teradion's death for using G-d's 42 letter name.
See this answer as well.