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

What is YHWH? The ancient

Hebrew language that the Old Testament was written in did not have vowels in its alphabet. In written form, ancient

Hebrew was a consonant -only language. In the original Hebrew, God's name transliterates to YHWH, sometimes written in the older style as YHVH.

This is known as the Tetragrammaton, meaning four letters. Because of the lack of vowels,

Bible scholars debate how the Tetragrammaton YHWH was pronounced. The Tetragrammaton consists of four

Hebrew letters, Yod, He, Wah, and then He repeated. Some versions of the

Bible translate the Tetragrammaton as Yahweh or Jehovah. Most translate it as Lord in all caps.

Contrary to what some believe, Jehovah is not the divine name revealed to Israel. The name

Jehovah is a product of mixing different words and different alphabets of different languages. Due to a fear of accidentally taking

God's name in vain, the Jews basically quit saying it out loud altogether. Instead, when reading scripture aloud, the

Jews substituted the Tetragrammaton YHWH with the word Adonai or Lord. Even in the

Septuagint, Greek translation of the Old Testament, the translators substituted Kyrios for the divine name.

Eventually, the vowels from Adonai or Elohim found their way in between the consonants of YHWH, thus forming

Yahweh. But this interpolation of vowels does not mean that was how God's name was originally pronounced.

In fact, we aren't entirely sure if YHWH should have two syllables or three.

Any number of vowel sounds can be inserted within YHWH, and Jewish scholars are as uncertain of the real pronunciation as Christian scholars are.

Jehovah is actually a much later variant. The word Jehovah comes from a three -syllable version of YHWH, Y -E -H -O -W -E -H.

The Y was replaced with J, although Hebrew does not have a J sound, and the W with the

V plus the extra vowel in the middle resulting in Je -ho -vah. These vowels are the abbreviated forms of the imperfect tense, the participial form, and the perfect tense of the

Hebrew being verb. Thus, the meaning of Jehovah could be understood as he who will be, is, and has been.

So what is God's name, and what does it mean? The most likely choice for how the Tetragrammaton was pronounced is

Yahweh, Yah -wah, or something similar. The name Yahweh refers to God's self -existence.

Yahweh is linked to how God describes himself in Exodus 3 .14. God said to Moses, I am who

I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I am has sent me to you.

God's name is a reflection of his being. God is the only self -existent or self -sufficient being.

Only God has life in and of himself. That is the essential meaning of the

Tetragrammaton, YHWH. Got questions? The Bible has answers, and we'll help you find them.