Why I Use the Hebrew Name for God: YHVH – YeHoVaH

 

Hello! My name is (fill in the blank)

[You know, the ubiquitous name tags.]

 

What’s your name?

 

Do you know God the Father has a Name?

 

A personal name.

Not a title or an attribute.

 

But a Name, representing Him as a unique entity.

 

The Israelites, and later, the Jews, knew the Personal Name of their God.

And, at least up to the end of the first century AD, they used it.

 

Why I Use the Hebrew Name for God

 

Jesus speaks to His disciples about His Father’s Name, especially in prayer to the Father.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.                                                      Matthew 6:9 KJV

 

Do you know God by Name?

 

By His personal Name.

A Name which can be used to promote and deepen relationship and intimacy.

 

Do you know His Name?

 

Probably not.

After all, almost all English Bibles do not have the Holy Name written in them anywhere!

  • They do not contain the Personal Name of God as written in Hebrew Scripture, the TaNaK. [See NOTE 1]
  • They do not contain the Name of the God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob.
  • They do not contain the Name of the God Who spoke to Moses and to the Israelites.
  • They do not contain the Name of the God of the Judges of Israel.
  • They do not contain the Name of the God of King David and King Solomon.
  • They do not contain the Name of the God of the Prophets who spoke His word to the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel.
  • They do not even contain the Name of God the Father.
  • They do not contain the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, the four-letter Name of God. [See NOTE 2]

 

I’m not really sure why.

I’m looking into it.

 

YeHoVaH

 

“The first rendering of God’s personal name in an English Bible appeared in 1530 in William Tyndale’s translation of the Pentateuch. He used the form ‘Iehouah.’”

 

The English letters “I” and “J” (both from the Latin “I”) differentiated in the late Middle Ages.

“The form of J was unknown in any alphabet until the 14th century. Either symbol (J, I) used initially generally had the consonantal sound of Y as in year. Gradually, the two symbols (J, I) were differentiated, the J usually acquiring consonantal force and thus becoming regarded as a consonant, and the I becoming a vowel. It was not until 1630 that the differentiation became general in England.”

The Encyclopedia Americana, from The Mistaken English Letter Called “J” and the Name Jesus by Milton Carnes 10 10 2017

The Mistaken English Letter Called “J” And The Name Jesus

 

Also, the letter “U” had evolved into both a vowel “U” and a consonant “V.”

u and v were graphic variants of a single letter. The form v was used at the beginning of a word and u in all other positions, irrespective of whether the sound was a vowel or a consonant.

Early modern English pronunciation and spelling

 

The 1622 King James Version of the Bible note the initial letter “I” in Iehovah and in Iacob, as well as, the “V” as the initial letter of “vnto.”

2 And God spake vnto Moses, and said vnto him, I am the Lord3068. 3And I appeared vnto Abraham, vnto Isaac, and vnto Iacob, by the Name of God Almighty, but by my name IEHOVAH3068 was I not knowen to them.                                                             Exodus 6:2, 3 KJV (1611)

 

By the time of later editions of the King James Bible was published, English had added the letter “J” to be used instead of the letter “I” as an initial letter. [See NOTE 3]

Therefore, the later King James Version rendered the Name of God as “Jehovah.”

2 And God430 spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD3068:  3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God410 Almighty7706, but by my name JEHOVAH3068 was I not known to them.                                                          Exodus 6:2,3 KJV

 

But, notice, while verse 3 has “Jehovah” from Strong’s Number 3068, verse 2 renders the same 3068 as “LORD.”

Eventually Bible publishers dropped Jehovah completely and began using “LORD” in small capitals, to represent what was YHVH in Hebrew. Thus, the auditory connection to YHVH –  “Ieouh,” then, “Jehovah” – has been lost.

As yet, I have not found the source/ reason for this alteration.

For Deuteronomy 12:32 says

32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.                                            Deuteronomy 12:32 NAS

Yet the publishers of English Bibles have taken away and replaced the Name of God with Titles of God.

Therefore, English readers of the Bible have lost the opportunity to see, hear, and understand the closeness, the intimacy, that YHVH offers to all who seek Him.

 

Consider, if you are meeting for the first time CEO and President of a multi-billion-dollar company, Mr. Smith, how intimate is your relationship?

But, what if he greets you and says, “Hi. Call me John.”?

How intimate do you feel your relationship is now?

 

How intimate do you feel with “LORD God Almighty”?

What if you knew Him by His Name?

 

Couldn’t knowing Him, talking to Him, and worshipping Him by Name make you feel closer, more intimate, deepen your relationship?

 

At the burning bush God tells Moses His Name:

15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD3068, 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-name to all generations.                                                        Exodus 3:13-15 NAS

YHVH3068 the proper name of the God of Israel

 

YeHoVaH Is His Name

 

Why do I use the Hebrew Name for God?

 

Because that’s His Name, that’s why.

 

 

Blessings,

 

TLThomas

 

NOTE 1:

The Hebrew Scripture is called the TNK (pronounced: TaNaK)

T is for Torah (the five books of Moses)

N is for Nevi’im (the Prophets)

K is for Ketuvim (the Writings)

 

NOTE 2:

In the TaNaK, the four-letter Name, called the Tetragrammaton by scholars, is YHVH, (the Hebrew letters: Yod Hay Vav Hay, i.e., YeHoVaH)

 

NOTE 3:

While English changed letter and sound of “I” to “J,” the similar Germanic languages merely changed the letter “I” to “J” without changing the sound. Therefore, as Johann Sebastian Bach is pronounced “Yohann,” so “Jehovah” is pronounced “Yehovah.”

 

 

It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!

Be a Berean!

 10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.                   Acts 17:10, 11 ESV

 

See also

Is My Word On The Word for You?

It’s Ok to Doubt, If You Check It Out

 

Please join me in this journey of discovery.

  • Leave a comment, or ask me a question.
  • Share this blog with others, whether they are doubting, or not.
  • Take what I say and CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!

 

 

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