God’s Name = Yahweh
As noted earlier, in the OT God made himself known by a name that He chose himself. This name is Yahweh (Ex. 6:3, Ex. 3:15, Ps. 83:18, Isa. 42:8). The name is used in over 6,300 verses in the Hebrew OT. Unfortunately it has largely been disguised in most English Bibles by substitute words, such as LORD or GOD when written in capitals.
Some people and groups use the term Jehovah, but this is not a correct pronunciation of the name. The word ‘Jehovah’ was unknown until the 16th century when it was erroneously introduced by translators, when translating the Hebrew text into English. Early translators used Jehovah by mistake, as they misunderstood the Hebrew texts and the underlying superstition that the Jews had concerning the use of the name of God. They unfortunately combined the vowels from one word with the consonants of another to create a synthesised or artificial word.
The closest estimation for the pronunciation of the name by the language experts is Yahwè, where the final è is pronounced like the e sound in the English word ‘there’. The general convention is now to write the name in English Bible’s as Yahweh.
The Hebrew word Yahweh is called the ‘tetragrammaton’, which literally means ‘the four letters’ (YHWH), for the original Hebrew had no vowel points and no J sound. The word itself, like all Hebrew words, has a meaning and this meaning unsurprisingly is closely connected to the declared purpose of God. It is first claimed to be God’s name in the fascinating record of Exod.3:13-16 where God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. On that occasion Moses asks God by what name he is to be known to the Israelites. God responds with a Hebrew word that is based on the verb “to be”. It is often translated into our English Bibles as ‘I am who I am’, or ‘I will be what or who I will be’. (in this place it is roughly pronounced - Hayah-Asher-Hayah).
This declaration is very significant, as it has the same meaning as God’s name. We can see this In Exod.3:14 where the verbalised form is in the first person singular ‘I am that I am’ or ‘I will be who I will be’ whereas the name (proper noun) which is derived from these words is now used in Exod.3:15 is the Hebrew name of God, translated as ‘Yahweh’. When used as a proper noun as a name it is used in the third person singular. (Remember: First person is when someone is speaking of them-self, as in;’ I’ or ‘me’. Second person is when we speak of the second person in a conversation, as in; ‘you’. Third person is when we speak of another who is not me or you, as in; ‘He’ or ‘She’).
Some suggest that the name relates to God’s declared self-existence, and as such it should be considered as ‘I am who I am’, that is that God is saying that ‘I am the self-existent God alone’. Although this is true in itself, perhaps it has even more meaning than this as evidenced by how it is used as a name in the third person, in Exod.3:15. Here God says that he is ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ The word God in each of these places is one of the titles that God takes to himself, being the Hebrew word Elohim, which quite literally means ‘Mighty Ones’. Therefore, taking the meaning of both Hebrew words and applying them to the words of God as noted above, we really seem to be finding a message of purpose in the phrase itself.
Using these ideas in Exod.3:15 we get the following ideas being presented in the declaration of God = ‘He who is (and will be) the mighty ones of your fathers, the mighty ones of Abraham, the mighty ones of Isaac, and the mighty ones of Jacob ..’ This speaks of a close and on-going relationship between God and these men, who were the fathers of the (latter) nation of Israel. Interestingly, they were long dead when these words were spoken.
This idea is also seen in the way it is used in Exod.3:18, where Moses was to speak to the King of Egypt, and say ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us’, or literally, ‘He who is (and will be) the mighty ones of the Hebrews….’ The meaning in the name and in this phraseology certainly soon became a reality, after God’s mighty acts were made known to Egypt.
In this way then, the name of God holds within it the purpose of God. That is, that God intends to be in and with the certain people, called the mighty ones of God. The name itself proclaims a purpose and a promise, inasmuch as God’s revealed purpose has always been to make people like himself, in His image and likeness (Gen.1:26-28).
The import of this idea is what motivated Jesus to make the statement he did in Mark.12:26-27. Although Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were long dead when God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush (Exod.3:6, 15), Jesus says that this declaration by God shows that he is (note the present tense) ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’, and thus proves the resurrection of the dead. How? For to God, even the dead are as good as alive, for God has promised to raise these men to life again. That was His promise to them, and that is how they understood the promises that God made to them. For God is ‘Yahweh Elohim of your fathers ….’ Read Mark.12:26-27 & Exod.3:15.
As noted earlier, in the OT God made himself known by a name that He chose himself. This name is Yahweh (Ex. 6:3, Ex. 3:15, Ps. 83:18, Isa. 42:8). The name is used in over 6,300 verses in the Hebrew OT. Unfortunately it has largely been disguised in most English Bibles by substitute words, such as LORD or GOD when written in capitals.
Some people and groups use the term Jehovah, but this is not a correct pronunciation of the name. The word ‘Jehovah’ was unknown until the 16th century when it was erroneously introduced by translators, when translating the Hebrew text into English. Early translators used Jehovah by mistake, as they misunderstood the Hebrew texts and the underlying superstition that the Jews had concerning the use of the name of God. They unfortunately combined the vowels from one word with the consonants of another to create a synthesised or artificial word.
The closest estimation for the pronunciation of the name by the language experts is Yahwè, where the final è is pronounced like the e sound in the English word ‘there’. The general convention is now to write the name in English Bible’s as Yahweh.
The Hebrew word Yahweh is called the ‘tetragrammaton’, which literally means ‘the four letters’ (YHWH), for the original Hebrew had no vowel points and no J sound. The word itself, like all Hebrew words, has a meaning and this meaning unsurprisingly is closely connected to the declared purpose of God. It is first claimed to be God’s name in the fascinating record of Exod.3:13-16 where God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush. On that occasion Moses asks God by what name he is to be known to the Israelites. God responds with a Hebrew word that is based on the verb “to be”. It is often translated into our English Bibles as ‘I am who I am’, or ‘I will be what or who I will be’. (in this place it is roughly pronounced - Hayah-Asher-Hayah).
This declaration is very significant, as it has the same meaning as God’s name. We can see this In Exod.3:14 where the verbalised form is in the first person singular ‘I am that I am’ or ‘I will be who I will be’ whereas the name (proper noun) which is derived from these words is now used in Exod.3:15 is the Hebrew name of God, translated as ‘Yahweh’. When used as a proper noun as a name it is used in the third person singular. (Remember: First person is when someone is speaking of them-self, as in;’ I’ or ‘me’. Second person is when we speak of the second person in a conversation, as in; ‘you’. Third person is when we speak of another who is not me or you, as in; ‘He’ or ‘She’).
Some suggest that the name relates to God’s declared self-existence, and as such it should be considered as ‘I am who I am’, that is that God is saying that ‘I am the self-existent God alone’. Although this is true in itself, perhaps it has even more meaning than this as evidenced by how it is used as a name in the third person, in Exod.3:15. Here God says that he is ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ The word God in each of these places is one of the titles that God takes to himself, being the Hebrew word Elohim, which quite literally means ‘Mighty Ones’. Therefore, taking the meaning of both Hebrew words and applying them to the words of God as noted above, we really seem to be finding a message of purpose in the phrase itself.
Using these ideas in Exod.3:15 we get the following ideas being presented in the declaration of God = ‘He who is (and will be) the mighty ones of your fathers, the mighty ones of Abraham, the mighty ones of Isaac, and the mighty ones of Jacob ..’ This speaks of a close and on-going relationship between God and these men, who were the fathers of the (latter) nation of Israel. Interestingly, they were long dead when these words were spoken.
This idea is also seen in the way it is used in Exod.3:18, where Moses was to speak to the King of Egypt, and say ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has met with us’, or literally, ‘He who is (and will be) the mighty ones of the Hebrews….’ The meaning in the name and in this phraseology certainly soon became a reality, after God’s mighty acts were made known to Egypt.
In this way then, the name of God holds within it the purpose of God. That is, that God intends to be in and with the certain people, called the mighty ones of God. The name itself proclaims a purpose and a promise, inasmuch as God’s revealed purpose has always been to make people like himself, in His image and likeness (Gen.1:26-28).
The import of this idea is what motivated Jesus to make the statement he did in Mark.12:26-27. Although Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were long dead when God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush (Exod.3:6, 15), Jesus says that this declaration by God shows that he is (note the present tense) ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’, and thus proves the resurrection of the dead. How? For to God, even the dead are as good as alive, for God has promised to raise these men to life again. That was His promise to them, and that is how they understood the promises that God made to them. For God is ‘Yahweh Elohim of your fathers ….’ Read Mark.12:26-27 & Exod.3:15.
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