What is YHWH? ( Known as the tetragrammaton ) | GotQuestions.org

What does YHWH, or the tetragrammaton mean? How do you pronounce YHWH and why was it used in the Bible. In this video we answer your question: What is YHWH?

[InfoLunix]

I love that y'all are making these in video format!

[NewCreationInChrist]

AMEN!
I AM WHO I AM = YHWH
Exodus 3:14 👑 Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, ” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

[samuelrodriguez]

Amen! My pastor at church talks a lot about the Hebrew. I love this stuff.

[StayTrueToGod]

It's also very interesting to note that in Revelation 1:4 it says... "... from Him who is and was and is to come..." referring to Yeshua (Jesus). It's one more example of Yeshua revealing who He has always been!! You can see Him throughout the Old Testament wherever you see YHVH!!💙 Please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem!! Sha-alu Shalom Yerushalayim!!!🤍💙🤍🇮🇱

[wordbird]

In 'Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self', C. G. Jung writes "According to Irenaeus, the Gnostics held that Sophia represents the world of the Ogdoad, which is a double quaternity. In the form of a dove, she descended into the water and begot Saturn, who is identical with Yahweh."

[barryjtaft]

I love PPP videos. As information Gordon Nehemia (Hebrew scholar) has documented over 1000+ Hebrew MSS showing the Tetragrammaton including all the vowel points documenting that it is pronounced Yahovah or in English Jehovah.

[Deej]

It's so hard to determine how to properly address God...

[kableguy]

Thanks for the presentation. Yes you are right that God has only one personal holy name as represented by the Tetragrammaton ( יהוה) often transliterated as YHWH. Then as known then translated into various best guessed forms such as Yahweh, Yehwah, Yehwih, or Yeho·wah

According to Britannica - "Early Christian writers, such as St. Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used a form like Yahweh, and this pronunciation of the tetragrammaton was never really lost. Many Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh"

Of course, when this is put into English or Latinized (as an example) then we can get Jehovah, Yehovah, Iehovah, Iehouah etc… all pretty similar. I personally speak English. Did God say not to translate his name into other languages that we speak? Please show me a scripture that’s says he didn’t want humans to use his name in other language forms. Sure, we can say Yahweh or similar if we choose to or a close representation in our own language. There is no prohibition in the Bible to do any of this.

Also if you don't want to use a J letter at the beginning of the English form then stop also using J for Jeremiah and Joseph and Jehu and Jonah etc...etc... So if you are going to pronounce it Yahweh and not a English or Latinized form then you are of course going to be consistent and call Jesus - Yeshua. Jehovah is simply a Latinized form the same as Jesus is Latinized.

If we don’t know the exact way to pronounce it due to the lost vowels, then should we NOT use it? Should we really believe its too sacred to get wrong? Should we follow ancient superstations that are not in the Hebrew Bible anywhere?

On this interestingly the Encyclopaedia Judaica says: “The avoidance of pronouncing the name YHWH is . . . caused by a misunderstanding of the Third Commandment (Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11) as meaning ‘Thou shalt not take the name of YHWH thy God in vain, ’ whereas it really means ‘You shall not swear falsely by the name of YHWH your God.’”

So clearly this is not a commandment by God not to use his name. He is simply saying don't use my name in a bad, worthless way or use it to lie basically. Or to impugn his character in any way. This is NOT don't say my name if not sure how to pronounce it. Why would he mean that? Does not fit with the scriptures at all! (see the verses below in various translations for comparisons)

Also, Leviticus 24:16 is talking about blasphemy (as shown by verse 15) and using Gods name in a bad or blasphemous way such as calling down evil on God's name which was a practice that started previously. So, God stated that the death penalty was to be invoked for such a crime against him. This is not at all saying DONT use Gods name! Purposely ignoring context here to say otherwise.

Gods holy personal and divine name is in the Hebrew Bible over 6800 times much more than any other name. Quite amazing. Its very obvious he wants us to know his name and use it! The common noun words (as examples) - God or god, Almighty, I Am Who I Am Lord, Sovereign, Father, First and Last - are all descriptive titles and are not personal names of God or a proper noun to identify Gods name. Again, context is not taken into account and surrounding verses which tell the accurate story. Ex 3:14 being a case in point. This is used by itself to give a false impression about what God is saying about his identity. But then verse 15 is ignored. This next verse explains what God really said to Moses about his name which is Yahweh or similar.

But what is Gods viewpoint? Does he want us to use his name whichever language translated version we use of the Tetragrammaton in the Bible? What is God telling us in these verses below (provided in various Bible translations below)

Is God saying don’t use my name- forget it? Its to sacred to use? You must only use for a 1500 hundred or 2000 years or so then stop using it? Then just use my titles like ...The I Am Who I am, Almighty God, Most high, Father, Lord etc…..? Or don’t use my name if not sure how to pronounce! Really are there any verses in the Bible at all that hint at this at all?? Isn't it completely the other way around?

How important is God's word and name to us. Or is it just our own viewpoint that's important.

Hopefully some food for thought for truth seekers. Thanks

The Bible in Living English
Ex 3:15
And God said to Moses again “You are to say to the sons of Israel ‘Jehovah, your fathers’ God, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, Jacob’s God, has sent me to you’; this is my name forever, and this my identification for generation after generation

Literal Standard Version
Ex 3:15
And God says again to Moses, “Thus you say to the sons of Israel: YHWH, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this [is] My Name for all time, and this [is] My memorial, to generation [and] generation.

World English Bible
Ex 3:15
God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.

King James Version
Psalm 83:18
That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Psalm 83:18
And they shall know that your Name is LORD JEHOVAH; you alone are exalted in all the Earth!

Rotherham
Psalm 83:18
That men may know that thou Whose Name alone is Yahweh Art Most High over all the earth.

Rotherham
Isaiah 54:5
5 For thy husband is thy Maker, Yahweh of hosts is his Name, —And thy redeemer the Holy One of Israel, The God of all the earth shall he be called.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Isaiah 54:5
Because your Lord did thus for you. LORD JEHOVAH of Hosts is his name, and your Savior, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the Earth he shall be called

Rotherham
Isaiah 42:8
I am Yahweh, that is my Name, —And my glory to another will I not give, Nor my praise to images.

American Standard Version
Isaiah 42:8
I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Isaiah 43:10
You are my witnesses, says LORD JEHOVAH, and my Servants whom I have chosen, and you shall know, and you shall believe in me, and you shall understand that I am he, and before me there has not been a God created, and none shall be after me

Rotherham
Isaiah 43:10
Ye are my witnesses, Declareth Yahweh, And my Servant whom I have chosen, —That ye may take note—and believe me And perceive that I am He, Before me was not formed a God, Nor after me shall one come into being:

The Bible in Living English
Isaiah 43:10
You are my witnesses, quoth Jehovah, my servants that I have chosen, in order that you may know and trust to me and understand that I am the one: no deity was shaped before me, and after me there will not be any.

American Standard Version
Isaiah 43:10
Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Rotherham
Psalm 135:13
O Yahweh! thy Name is age-abiding, —O Yahweh! thy memorial is to generation after generation.

The Bible in Living English
Psalm 135:13
Jehovah, your name is forever;
Jehovah, the remembrance of you to generation after generation,

Byington
Psalm 135:13
Jehovah, your name is forever; Jehovah, the remembrance of you to generation after generation,

Please consider this as well….

Professor G. T. Manley points out: “A study of the word ‘name’ in the O[ld] T[estament] reveals how much it means in Hebrew. The name is no mere label, but is significant of the real personality of him to whom it belongs. . . . When a person puts his ‘name’ upon a thing or another person the latter comes under his influence and protection.”—New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas, 1985, p. 430; compare Everyman’s Talmud, by A. Cohen, 1949, p. 24;

No wonder Almighty God told the ancient Israelites that they were his witnesses and to be called by his name. He wanted to protect them and also to reveal his name and his power through his miraculous protection of his people. His people were his children. He was their father. They were in reality to represent him through their actions and worship. All the nations were to come to know his name as the true God! A loving father but also identified specifically by his personal unique and special name. This would also separate him from all the other false gods of this world promoted by the enemy of truth and the father of the lie – Satan the devil.

Those that serve the true Almighty God and our creator today and use his name regularly in conversation and in prayer (Yahweh, Jehovah or whichever one you prefer or in your own language) today know that he is their God protecting them and guiding them today. They are also being obedient to his instructions in his word. Thanks for your time ( Isa 43:7 – Acts 15:17)

[STROND]

The name of God in the OT is written without the vowels, research based on recent ancient manuscripts now digitised and put online, such as the Allepo Codex, and the Royal MS 16 A II available online at the British museum which have the tetragrammaton with the VOWEL POINTS, the vowel points being the "Sheva, the Cholem & the Kamatz.

There is also a clue in the names of people in the Bible whose names were made up in part from the names of their gods, referred to as THEOPHORIC NAMES IN THE names are names derived from a god. For example:

False gods: Bel and Nebo: Bel = Belteshazar (Daniel) Nebo = Nebonidus, Nebuchadnezzar,

True God Yeho(vah) ….Yehoyakim, Yehoram, Yehoshua, Yehoshaphat, Yehudah, Yehoash, Jeho-a-haz

The CLUE is in the name. The Hebrew scholar Nehemiah Gordon will point you in the right direction as he does NOT have a horse in the race, and will prove how the name was NEVER LOST, but rather was hidden !

[sophielesher]

I have heard people argue that the reason it''s "YHWH" is because they didn't want anyone to be able to say the name of God (in vain, out of respect, etc). But the entire language didn't have vowels, so that can't be true

[Yesica]

A side issue, but how can a language only have consonants? How can you read that or speak that?

[coqui]

The Jehova's Witnesses are not gonna like this. Pray that they will come to the knowledge that Jesus is God in the flesh.✝

[blank-]

I’ve heard the meaning of hallelujah is essentially the reflection of Gods name. He says “I am” & man says “He is” essentially.

[craigime]

pretty sure the vowels in Yahweh didn't just come from Adonai and Elohim

[bruinranger]

Actually the Yah part of Yahweh is pretty universally well known among hebrew scholars. The weh pronunciation is the part that is uncertain.

[RimaxiRuck]

Also the letter J didnt come until year 1524 AD so we know is not With the letter J but Y also those are the only 4 Consonants that doesnt require to close your lips or move the tongue therefore To pronounce YHWH all you have to do is inhale and exhale. Psalms 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord

[brittanyangelina_]

It just sounds like a breath if you try to sound it out ❤

[roweljimenez]

So if no J in Hebrew, all name in OT with letter J are wrong? Coz your basis iis that letter is not found in Hebrew.
If you research more J is Y sound in German bible translation so it's not issue if letter J is used . The English change the sound of that letter
Similar toY in modern American alphabet

[charlesmorris]

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”

[ing-mariekoppel]

In the Interlinear version at Bible Hub the Yhvh letters are marked as
Y e H o V a H.
It is the Leningrad version.
I have no idea why they choose these
vocal marks.
In Exodus 3 God first presents himself with the name Eyeh asher Eyeh =
I am who I am. It also means lots of other things in different verb tempus
as passed and future.
Then the text suddenly inserts
yhvh which does NOT mean exactly the same thing as EaE.