The Names of God Series : YAHWEH (LORD, JEHOVAH)
Meaning and Derivation: Yahweh is
the promised name of God. This name of God which (by Jewish tradition) is too
holy to voice, is actually spelled "YHWH" without vowels. YHWH is
referred to as the Tetragrammaton (which simply means "the four
letters"). YHWH comes from the Hebrew letters: Yud, Hay,
Vav, Hay. While YHWH is first used in Genesis
2, God did not reveal Himself as YHWH until Exodus
3. The modern spelling as "Yahweh" includes vowels to assist in
pronunciation. Many pronounce YHWH as "Yahweh" or
"Jehovah." We no longer know for certain the exact pronunciation.
During the third century A.D., the Jewish people stopped saying this name in
fear of contravening the commandment "Thou shalt not take the name of the
LORD thy God in vain" (Exd
20:7). As a result of this, Adonai is occasionally a
substitute for YHWH. The following compound names which start with
"YHWH" have been shown using "Jehovah." This is due to the
common usage of "Jehovah" in the English of these compound names in
the early English translations of the Bible (e.g., the Geneva Bible, the King
James Version, etc.). [BlueLetterBible]
These are the generations of the
heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God
[Yahweh] made the earth and the heavens, And
every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the
field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it
to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.Genesis 2:4-5
Yahweh is used
over 6,500 times in the Bible, and admittedly it is one of my favorite names
for God. To me Yahweh evokes a loving, kind - regal, yet friendly and
comforting feeling when I speak it. As such, to commemorate this particular
name of God I invite you to say it, or rather sing it with me.
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