Hebrew Names of God

The Sacred Name YHVH

Introduction

In the Tanakh, YHVH (יהוה) is the personal name of God and his most frequent designation, occurring over 6,800 times. This is the Mysterious or "Unutterable Name" of the God of Israel.  Because it is composed from the four Hebrew letters Yod, Hey, Vav, and Hey, it is also referred to as the "Tetragrammaton," which simply means "the four letters."

When God commissioned Moses to be Israel's liberator from the bondage of Pharaoh's Egypt, he asked for God's Name in order to validate his God-given role to the children of Israel (see Exodus 3:14). God simply answered Moses, "ehyeh-asher-ehyeh":

The phrase ehyeh asher ehyeh (rendered as "I AM THAT I AM" in the KJV) derives from the Qal imperfect first person form of the verb hayah (היה): "I will be" (אהיה), and therefore indicates a connection between the Name YHVH and being itself. YHVH is the Source of all being and has being inherent in Himself (i.e., He is necessary Being). Everything else is contingent being that derives existence from Him. The name YHVH also bespeaks the utter transcendence of God. In Himself, God is beyond all "predications" or attributes of language: He is the Source and Foundation of all possibility of utterance and thus is beyond all definite descriptions.

This special Name of God (YHVH) was moreover combined with "The God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" to be God's Name forever, "my memorial unto all generations" (see Exodus 3:15-16).

In the traditional Jewish view, YHVH is the Name expressing the mercy and condescension of Almighty God:

"The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to those, You want to know my name? I am called according to my actions. When I judge the creatures I am Elohim, and when I have mercy with My world, I am named YHWH" (Exodus Rabbah 3:6).
 

Elohim (אלהים) is the Name given for God as the Creator of the universe (Gen 1:1) and implies strength, power, and justice. YHVH, on the other hand, expresses the idea of God's closeness to humans. For example, YHVH is first mentioned as the One who "breathed into his (Adam's) nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7).

The Phonetics of the Name

The Third Commandment (Exodus 20:7) states, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." In Hebrew:

Jehovah?

On account of this, the Masoretes ensured that the Name of the LORD would not be taken in vain by substituting the vowel marks for Adonai and putting them under the letters י־ה־ו־ה in the running text (this is called Qere (קְרֵי), "what is to be read") as opposed to Ketiv (כְּתִיב), "what is to be written"). The Hebrew text, then, contains the Ketiv form YHVH (יהוה), usually translated as "LORD" in English, but deliberately changed the voweling for the name for use when reading, and this has led to the obviously incorrect pronunciation of the Name as "Jehovah" (in older English, "J" had a "y" sound).
 

Yahweh?

It was later speculated that perhaps the Masoretes reversed the vowels for Adonai when applied to the letters י־ה־ו־ה in the running text, so some attempted to "correct" the pronunciation by pronouncing the Name as "Yahoveh" (יָהֹוֶה) or "Yahveh" (יָהוֶה). This, too, is likely incorrect (though the construct form "Yah" probably is part of the original pronunciation (e.g., see Psalm 68:4; Isaiah 26:4)). Note that Yahweh is most likely also an incorrect transliteration, since there is no "w" sound in classical Hebrew. Perhaps the preferred pronunciation would be "Yahoveh," since the morpheme YAH is undoubtedly correct for the first syllable with the inversion of the Masoretic nikkudot following.
 

Adonai? Hashem?

Since ancient Hebrew did not use any vowel markings, the actual pronunciation of the sacred Name י־ה־ו־ה is simply not known. In ancient Temple times, only the Kohen Gadol (high priest) would utter the Name during Yom Kippur [Yoma 39b].

The Jewish tradition is to not pronounce the sacred Name at all, but to substitute the word Adonai (אֲדֹנָי), "my Lord," in its place. Thus, when reading Torah publicly, you do not attempt to vocalize the Name YHVH, but will say Adonai instead. When not reading Torah or the Siddur, however, most observant Jews will refer to the sacred Name simply as Hashem (השם) or "the Name" (Lev. 24:16).

In Hebrew the Name YHVH is called Shem HaMeforash (שם המפורש),"the ineffable Name." Attempts to provide an exposition of the Name have come to be known as Shelosh Esreh Middot, or the Thirteen Attributes of God and are usually based on exegesis of Exodus 34:6-7 (mystical speculation about the Name is found in Kabbalistic literature).
 

Gnosticism and the Name

There are some people who, despite the educated uncertainty of careful scholarship and Jewish tradition, pretend to "truly" understand the phonetics of the Sacred Name and offer to "restore it" to those of us willing to be initiated into their secret knowledge. For example, there are some who want to use a "w" for the Vav in the Name, and then permutate the nikkudot (vowels) to find a favored reading. This is a dubious practice, however, since even our English idea of "w" is laden with cultural biases, and no practicable equivalence can reasonably be made.  Language, in other words, is about meaning, not about technique.

Frankly, I consider the search for a conjuration of the Sacred Name to be a form of gnostic occultism, symptomatic of people who elevate spiritual technique and "abracadabra" above the shared meaning of the "Presence of God." Moreover, such conjuration is a sign of unbelief, since once you understand the meaning of the Name, the words you use to express it are incidental.  Perhaps this explains why we have such a plethora of various Names and Titles of God given in the Tanakh. Like poets, the sacred writers sought for various words to express the Reality that stands behind the glyphs. But once you get ahold of the Reality (or rather, the Reality gets ahold of you), the words you use to express your awe will always be limited and seem inadequate.

The Morphology of the Name

The earliest forms of the sacred Name appear in proto-Hebrew script (a script that is closely related to ancient Phoenician script). In the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), instances of this morphology can be seen in the same running text as the classical Hebrew script (called ketav Ashurit: כתב אשורית, or "Assyrian writing style"):





This earlier form of the Name was used until Ezra the scribe converted the ancient script to Aramaic morphology (ketav meruba), which is now the form used in Torah scrolls:

YHVH and YHVH Compounds

Though we do not know how to pronounce the sacred Name, we can be confident that the letters י־ה־ו־ה derive from the Hebrew verb "to be" (i.e., hayah: הָיָה) and indicate God's utter transcendence as the Source and Ground of all being.

For each name in the list below, I provide the following information:

1. The Hebrew text for the name
2. The most common English transliteration (in italics)
3. A definition for the name, references to the Tanakh, and frequency information
4. Additional comments, if applicable.

YHVH / YHWH





Yahoveh. yah-ho-VEH.  YHVH / YHWH.  [The basic form. Qere: a-doh-nai]


The personal Name of Adonai, the transcendent Source and Ground of all being whatsoever. This Name appears 6,800+ times in the Tanakh (rendered in the KJV as the LORD [all caps]). The Jewish sages note that the four letters of the Name are used to form the phrase היה הוה יהיה, hayah hoveh yi'yeh, "He was, He is, He will be."

The Name of God, YHVH (יהוה), means "Presence" (Exod. 3:13-14), "Breath" (Gen. 2:7; Num. 16:22), "Life" (Deut. 30:20), and "Love" (Exod. 34:6-7), but it also means "I-AM-WITH-YOU-ALWAYS" (אני תמיד איתך), teaching us that God is an ever-present help for us (Psalm 46:1). The Name YHVH means that "God was (i.e., hayah: היה), God is (i.e., hoveh: הוֶה), and God always will be (i.e., veyihyeh: וְיִהְיֶה)," which implies that He is ever present and not restricted by time or space. Moreover, God is called havayah (הֲוָיָה), which means He is continually sustaining creation by the Word of His power: "In Him we live, move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28; Heb. 1:3). As it is poetically expressed in the Psalms, "Behind and before you cover me; You lay your hand upon me" (Psalm 139:5).

Note that in those contexts where the actual title "Lord" (Adonai) also occurs, the convention is to translate YHVH as Elohim, that is "GOD," written in all caps:






KJV Note: YHVH is transliterated as "Jehovah" in four passages where the name is particularly stressed (Exod. 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isa. 12:2; Isa. 26:4] and in three passages to form constructs (e.g., Jehovahjireh (Gen. 22:14; cc Exod. 17:15; Jud 6:24)).

Siddur Note: Often in the Siddur (and other Jewish religious literature apart from the Scriptures) the Sacred Name is not written as Y-H-V-H, but rather in an abbreviated manner:



This is a convention in many Hebrew prayerbooks and dikdukim (grammars) to avoid casually writing or reading the Sacred Name.

Note: The sacred Name for God was uttered aloud only 10 times once per year (during Yom Kippur) by the Kohen Gadol. When the people heard the Name, they prostrated themselves in deep reverence (Yoma 39b).




HaShem





Hashem.
The Name (Lev. 24:11,16; Deut. 28:58).
This term is often used to refer to the Sacred Name when studying the Scriptures and considering the Sacred Name of YHVH. This is often abbreviated simply as .




I AM THAT I AM





Ehyeh asher Ehyeh
(eh-YEH a-sher eh-YEH) I AM THAT I AM. (Exodus 3:14; cp. John 8:58).






The LORD God





Yahoveh Elohim.
The LORD God (Gen. 2:4). This Name shows that the Source and Ground of all being is also the personal God and Creator of the entire universe. References:  Gen. 2:4f, 7ff, 15f, 18f, 21f; 3:1, 8f, 13f, 21ff; Exod. 9:30; 2 Sam. 7:25; 2 Kgs 19:19; 1 Chr. 17:16f; 28:20; 2 Chr. 1:9; 6:41f; Psa. 72:18; 84:11; Jonah 4:6.




The LORD my God





Yahoveh Elohai.
The LORD my God (Psalm 13:3).




The LORD our Father





Yahoveh Avinu.
The LORD our Father (Isa. 64:8).




The LORD Most High God





Yahoveh El Elyon.
The LORD Most High God (Gen. 14:22; Psalm 7:17; Psalm 47:2).




The LORD God of Israel






Yahoveh Elohei Yisrael.
The LORD God of Israel. Identifies YHVH as the God of Israel in contrast to the false gods of the nations (Isa. 17:6).




The LORD who sees





Yahoveh Yir'eh.
The LORD who sees; Gen. 22:14; Adonai sees all and knows our needs intimately (rendered in the KJV as Jehovahjireh). Sometimes transliterated as "Jehovah Jirah" or "Jehovah Jireh."




The LORD your Sanctifier





Yahoveh Mekaddishkhem.
"The Lord your Sanctifier." Portrays the Lord as our means of sanctification or as the one who sets believers apart for His purposes (Ex. 31:13).




The LORD my Miracle





Yahoveh Nissi.
The LORD my Miracle, or The LORD my Banner; (Ex. 17:15) (rendered in the KJV as the Jehovahnissi).




The LORD our Maker





Yahoveh Osenu.
The LORD our Maker (Ps. 95:6).




The LORD our Righteousness





Yahoveh Tzidkenu (or Tsidkeinu).
The LORD our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6, 33:16).




The LORD of hosts





Yahoveh Tzeva'ot.
The LORD of armies (or hosts).
Tsava means army.
References: Exo 12:41; 1 Sam. 1:11; 4:4; 15:2; 17:45; 2 Sam. 6:2, 18; 7:8, 26f; 1 Ki. 18:15; 2 Ki. 3:14; 1 Chr. 17:7, 24; Ps. 24:10; 46:8, 12; 48:9; 59:6; 69:7; 80:5, 20; 84:2, 4, 9, 13; 89:9; Isa. 1:9, 24; 3:1, 15; 5:7, etc.; Amos 4:13; 5:14ff, 27; 6:8; Mic. 4:4; Nah. 2:14; 3:5; Hab. 2:13; Zeph. 2:9f; Hag. 1:2, 5, 7, 9, 14; 2:4, 6ff, 11, 23; Zech. 1:3f, 6, 12, 14, etc.; Mal. 1:4, 6, 8ff, 13f; 2:2, 4, 7f, 12, 16; 3:1, 5, 7, 10ff, 14, 17, 19, 21.




The LORD my Shepherd





Yahoveh Ro'i. (ro-ee)
The LORD my Shepherd (Ps. 23:1, Ez. 34:2).




The LORD who heals you





Yahoveh Roph'ekha.
The LORD who heals you; The LORD your healer; (Ex. 15:26). Sometimes mistakenly named the LORD our Healer.




The LORD of peace





Yahoveh Shalom.
The LORD of Peace (Judges 6:24) (rendered in the KJV as Jehovahshalom).




The LORD your God





Yahoveh Eloheikhem.
"The LORD your [pl.] God" (Lev. 19:3).




The LORD my Rock and Redeemer





Yahoveh Tzuri v'goali.
"The LORD my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14[5h]).




The LORD God of David





Yahoveh Elohei David.
"The LORD God of David" (Isaiah 38:5).




The LORD my Rock





Yahoveh Sal'i.
The LORD my Rock (or Hiding Place, as in the crag of a cliff) (Psalm 18:2).




The Angel of the LORD





Malakh Adonai
This mysterious Angel was treated as YHVH Himself, exercising divine prerogatives and receiving worship (see Genesis 16:7, 9, 11; Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:21-22).

References: Genesis 16:7, 9ff; 22:11, 15; Numbers 22:22ff, 31f, 34f; Judges 2:1, 4; 5:23; 6:11f, 21f; 13:3, 13, 15ff, 20f; 1 Kings 19:7; 2 Kings 1:15; 19:35; 1 Chronicles 21:16, 30; Psalm 34:8; Isaiah 37:36; Haggai 1:13; Zechariah 1:11f; 3:1, 6; Malachi 2:7.

Note: The Aramaic Targum of Onkelos (Genesis 16:13) identifies the Angel of the Lord with the Shekhinah, the concrete manifestation of the presence of God.




The LORD my Light





Yahoveh Ohri
The LORD my Light (Psalm 27:1)




The LORD my Salvation





Yahoveh yishi
The LORD my Light and my salvation (Psalm 27:1)




Shem Hameforash





The sacred Name for God was spoken only 10 times once per year (during Yom Kippur) by the Kohen Gadol. When the people heard the Name, they prostrated themselves in deep reverence (Yoma 39b).
 

Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 20:7a Hebrew reading with comments (click):


 

• Exod. 20:7a Hebrew page (pdf)
   

Theophoric Names
 

A "theophoric" name is one that "bears" or embeds God's Name into a person's name. They are very common in the Scriptures, and here I will list a few that are well known.

With the Tetragrammaton "YHVH" (יהוה), some theophoric names are formed by prefixing the first two consonants (יה-) while others apend the first two consonants as a suffix to the name (-יה). The name "Judah" (יהודה) is unique in that it is formed using the name with the letter Dalet (ד) inserted as an infix.



Yehoshua





ye-hoh-shoo-a
"The LORD (יה) is salvation (ישׁע)." 
English: "Joshua"




Yehoram





ye-hoh-rahm
"The LORD (יה) is exalted (רם)." 
English: "Jehoram"



Yehoyakim





ye-hoh-yah-keem
"The LORD (יה) is arises (קוּם)."  English: "Jehoiakim"




Yehoshafat





ye-hoh-shah-faht
"The LORD (יה) is Judge (שָׁפַט)." 
English: "Jehoshaphat"


Yehonatan





ye-hoh-nah-tahn
"The LORD (יה) has given (נָתַן)." 
English: "Jonathan"




Yehonadav





ye-hoh-nah-tahn
"The LORD (יה) has willed (נָדַב)." 
English: "Jehonadav"




Aviyah





a-vee-yah
"My father (אָבִי) is the LORD (יה)." 
English: "Jehonadav"




Eliyah





e-lee-yah
"My God (אלִי) is the LORD (יה)." 
English: "Elijah"
Elongated: אֵלִיָּהוּ (e-lee-yah'-hoo)
"My God (אלִי) is our LORD (יה)." 




Gedalyah





ge-dal-yah
"Great (גָּדַל) is the LORD (יה)." 
English: "Gedaliah"




Yeshayah





ye-sha-yah
"He saved (יָשַׁע) -- the LORD (יה)." 
English: "Isaiah"
Elongated: יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (ye-shee-yah'-hoo)
"The LORD has saved us"




Yirmeyah





yeer-me-yah
"He appointed (רוּם) -- the LORD (יה)." 
English: "Jeremiah"
Elongated: יִרְמְיָהוּ (yeer-me-yah'-hoo)




Yoab





yoh-ahv
"the LORD (יה) is Father (אָב)"  
English: "Joab"




Yoram





yoh-rahm
"the LORD (יה) has exalted (רם)"  
English: "Joram"




Yoel





yoh-el
"the LORD (יה) is God (אל)"  
English: "Joel"




Yehudah





ye-hoo-dah
"The LORD (יהוה) is praised (יָדָה)." 
English: "Judah"





 

• Proverbs 18:10 Hebrew page (pdf)
   

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