14 And God said to Moses,“I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
When I first learned the meaning of this Name of God, it so captivated my heart that it prompted me to study Hebrew. His great love for us shines out so clearly through this Name.
Yahweh literally means "I AM." Below is a picture of it's Hebrew spelling. In the English text when this word is translated, it appears as all upper case letters: LORD and is actually a composite of three words:
The first mention of this Name of God is in Genesis 2:4. He is the covenant keeping One. Before this, there was only "Elohim: Creator" mentioned because there was no one with whom to have a covenant. Man had not been created yet.
Hidden in the Hebrew letters of His Name are even more amazing things. No wonder it is God's language of choice.
Hebrew is a form of picture writing, like Chinese. These pictures are very consistent. The "pictures" God uses to spell words give us a glimpse from His perspective, something you would never find in any definition. One thing becomes crystal clear when you understand these pictures: Sacrifice was written into His Name from the very beginning.
Hebrew reads from right to left.
The letters of His Name are:
yod-hei-vav-hei.
The letters of His Name are:
yod-hei-vav-hei.
[יהוה]
[י] Yod is a picture of an open hand. It is that teeny, tiny little line.
Hand speaks of power; of human effort apart from trusting God. It is also the number "10." Unlike us in the West, Hebrew uses letters for numbers. In certain instances, you can also see it is being used to refer to the ten commandments or the tithe.
[ה] Hei, which is also the number "5," means "grace." It is a picture of an open window. What does God open to pour out blessings? The "windows of heaven!"
[ו] Vav is a picture of a "hook" or "nail."
Do you see it?
[יהוה] yod-hei-vav-hei:
[י] Yod is a picture of an open hand. It is that teeny, tiny little line.
Hand speaks of power; of human effort apart from trusting God. It is also the number "10." Unlike us in the West, Hebrew uses letters for numbers. In certain instances, you can also see it is being used to refer to the ten commandments or the tithe.
[ה] Hei, which is also the number "5," means "grace." It is a picture of an open window. What does God open to pour out blessings? The "windows of heaven!"
[ו] Vav is a picture of a "hook" or "nail."
Do you see it?
[יהוה] yod-hei-vav-hei:
Hand of Grace, Nailed in Grace.
It's a picture of Jesus on the cross. AWESOME!!!
But that's not all. Remember the superscription above our Jesus on the cross? Would you like to know the real reason the Pharisees were so bent out of shape about it? Check this out.
Yeshua HaNazari Vemelekh HaYehudim
This is the transliteration of the Hebrew written above Jesus' head. Looks benign enough, right? Ah, but the Pharisees saw something FAR different than we do as non-Jews. You see, they know the Torah. They know their language inside and out. The rabbis are well aware of many phenomena in the Hebrew text. They had long since discovered that throughout the Torah are hidden messages in acrostic form.
Here's what they saw: It's an acrostic that spells Yahweh:
Y H V H!
"Y"eshua----------Jesus
"H"aNazari--------Of Nazareth.
"V"emelekh--------King
"H" aYehudim-----Of the Jews
The first letters of each of the words of the superscription shown below spell YAHWEH!
"Y"eshua----------Jesus
"H"aNazari--------Of Nazareth.
"V"emelekh--------King
"H" aYehudim-----Of the Jews
The first letters of each of the words of the superscription shown below spell YAHWEH!
Is it any wonder those green-eyed Phearisees wanted it changed? They hated Jesus because they were no longer the ones getting all the attention. Jealous? You betcha!
Pilot, an ignorant Gentile with no spritual insight or understanding WHATSOEVER, had NO IDEA what he had done, of course. God used this clueless, pagan barbarian to unwittingly SHOUT TO THE WHOLE WORLD:
"THIS IS GOD-YAHVEH!!!"
And that, Church, is the meaning of Yahweh, the Name of God.
Thank you so much for this article. God bless you.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThis blog has impacted me. As a devote Catholic who is currently learning Biblical Hebrew, this article has been very helpful in my learning. Very touching words and pictures; very profound article. Thank you.
God is ONE. The RCC however teaches that god is a triune god, 3 headed (same as the pagan gods 3 heads hence Roman Pagan Church; a god that changes with multiple personalties. The Hebrew Bible does NOT teach this manmade TRINITY doctrine set not by God Almighty Yahweh, but instead by "councils".
DeleteHOW DID THE TRINITY BEGIN:
DeleteThis man made doctrine rooted and began around the Third Century.
It took 3 man-made councils at the Roman Empire Church to build the Trinity dogma. The first one in Nicaea in AD 325, one in Alexandria around 360 and one in Constantinople in 381.
In the summer of 325, the bishops of all provinces were summoned to Nicaea, a place reasonably accessible to many delegates, particularly those of Asia Minor, Georgia, Armenia, Syria, Egypt, Greece, and Thrace.
This was the first general council in the history of the Church summoned by emperor Constantine I. In the Council of Nicaea, "The Church had taken *her first great step to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology."
NUMBERS 23:19: “God (Yahweh) is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent”
Delete1 TIMOTHY 2:5: “For there is ONE God; there is also ONE mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human.”
DeleteIsaiah 9:6 = Old Testament Greek & Alexandrian Texts:
Delete“Father of the age to come.”
Version Commonly used in Latin (Vulgate):
“The Father of the future age.”
Robert Lowth Translation:
“The Father of the everlasting age.”
Douay-Rheims Version:
“The Father of the world to come.”
Why in the CJB is Adonai (in all caps) used when speaking about God Almighty the Father? ~ Jews who desire not to misuse the personal name of God Almighty The Father, (who is one, singular, and not the Son) “Yahweh” say rather “Adonai” when they see the four letters of Gods name (YHWH) in the Hebrew. This is because they view Gods name as too sacred to speak aloud. So they use Adonai in place of. Yeshua (Jesus, Gods Son) however never taught us not to speak Gods personal name, He taught us all to ‘glorify His Fathers Name’! (John 12:28).
ReplyDeleteGods divine name Yahweh - YaHoVaH actually appears 6,828 times in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures.
DeleteThe meaning of the Hebrew name YHWH – God’s name – is “the Self-existent,” “He who becometh,” or “the becoming one.” (YHVH)
YHVH is written as YeHVaH
Gods Hebrew name or words in Exodus 3:14, that most translate to: “I am that I am” are: ehyeh asher ehyeh which should be more accurately translated as “I will be what I will be” or translated, “I will become whatsoever I may become.” Gods self expression is an idiom, an expression that has a meaning. Then God gives his direct personal name along with great meaning. In English most pronounce Gods name as: Yahweh (Latin: Jehovah).
DeleteBy using the translation “I will become whatsoever I may become,” we see the relationship of this phrase to Yahweh – “He who becometh.” They both use the word “become.” The use of ehyeh asher ehyeh in Exodus 3:14 was God’s way of assuring and pledging to Moses and Israel that God would become whatever they needed Him to become. Yahweh always protects his people and gives them what they need.
DeleteRemember the context of the passage in Exodus. The Israelites were crying day and night for deliverance. God was calling Moses to help lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses asked God – what is God’s name or what should he say to the Israelites? In God’s response, He provides a promise to Israel – He would become what they would need Him to become – in this case – their deliverer. This promise found in the name of God can be extended to the world of mankind. God will become what they need Him to become – an architect for the plan of salvation that will bring them back into harmony with Him. In the case of the heavenly church, God will be all we need to make our calling and election sure.
DeleteFrom its Hebrew roots Gods personal name has been translated; YHWH known as the Tetragrammaton. From Hebrew most pronounce Gods name today as Yahweh. From Latin many pronounce Gods name as Jehovah. The translation YAHWEH is directed to one supreme being and that is our most high and "only one true God". Most Bibles translate Gods name as LORD in all caps so you can tell the difference between who is God Almighty and who is Gods Son Jesus (Yeshua) who is the son of man, our messiah, king; often seen in lower caps as “Lord”.
DeleteThe scriptures tell us to pray to God the Father through His Son, Jesus. So as Christians we pray to the Father and end with; "in Jesus (Yeshua) name we pray". Everything goes through Jesus then to the Father, the one only true God. The name Yahweh refers to God’s self-existence. Yahweh is linked to how God described himself in Exodus 3:14.
DeleteExodus 3:14-15 (CJB) “God said to Moshe, “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’” 15 God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [Adonai], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.”
DeleteSome people render the four-letter Name YHWH as "Jehovah". The word "Jehovah" comes from the fact that ancient Jewish texts used to put the vowels of the Name "Adonai" (the usual substitute for YHVH) under the consonants of YHVH to remind people not to pronounce YHVH as written. A sixteenth century German Christian scribe, while transliterating the Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote the Name out as it appeared in his texts, with the consonants of YHVH and the vowels of Adonai, and came up with the word JeHoVaH ("J" is pronounced "Y" in German), and the name stuck. Greek transcriptions indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh.
DeleteJesus speaks at Matthew 6:9; "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." - *Hallowed means regarded as Holy and Sacred. (Jesus has the same Father we do: Yahweh)
DeleteJesus Christ (Yeshua) is Gods (Yahweh) son, our Promised Messiah, and our King.
Delete"Yehoshua" - Jesus Original Name, Hebrew Translation
JOHN 4:25-26; 8:23 / MATTHEW 17:5; 3:17; 20:28; 24:36 / COLOSSIANS 1:15-21 / PROVERBS 8:22-30 / 1 PETER 3:18
The apostle John repeatedly describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the only-begotten Son of God. (John 1:14; 3:16; 18; 1John 4:9) This is not in reference to his human birth or to him as just the man Jesus. As the Loʹgos, or Word, “this one was in the beginning with God,” even “before the world was.” (John 1:1 2; 17:5, 24) At that time while in his prehuman state of existence, he is described as the “only-begotten Son” whom his Father sent “into the world." - 1John 4:9
DeleteHe is described as having “a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father,” the one residing “in the bosom position with the Father.” (John 1:14, 18) It is hard to think of a closer, more confidential, or more loving and tender relationship between a father and his son than this.
DeleteBosom: as an illustration, Jesus spoke of a beggar named Lazarus who was carried at his death to “the bosom position of Abraham,” and John refers to Jesus as being in “the bosom position with the Father.” (Luke 16:22; 23; John 1:18) The expression “bosom position” alludes to one’s reclining in front of another person. / The apostle John, whom Jesus dearly loved, “was reclining in front of Jesus’ bosom,” and in such a position he “leaned back upon the breast of Jesus” and privately asked him a question at the celebration of the last Passover. (John 13:23; 25; 21:20)
DeleteThe angels of heaven are sons of God even as Adam was a “son of God.” (Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6; 38:7; Luke 3:38) But the Loʹgos, later called Jesus, is “the only-begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) He is the only one of his kind, the only one whom God himself created directly without the agency or cooperation of any creature. He is the only one whom God his Father used in bringing into existence all other creatures. He is the firstborn and chief one among all other angels (Col 1:15, 16, Hebrews 1:5,6) which angels the Scriptures call “godlike ones” or “gods.” (Psalm 8:4,5) Therefore, according to some of the oldest and best manuscripts, the Lord Jesus Christ is properly described as “the only-begotten god [Gr., mo·no·ge·nesʹ the·osʹ].” (John 1:1)
DeleteA few translations, in support of the Trinitarian “God the Son” concept, would invert the phrase mo·no·ge·nesʹ the·osʹ and render it as “God only begotten.” But W. J. Hickie in his Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (1956, p. 123) says it is hard to see why these translators render mo·no·ge·nesʹ hui·osʹ as “the only begotten Son,” but at the same time translate mo·no·ge·nesʹ the·osʹ as “God only begotten,” instead of “the only begotten God.”
DeleteSo from several viewpoints in regard to the promise and the covenant, the things about which Paul was writing to the Hebrews, Isaac was Abraham’s only-begotten son. Hence, Paul parallels “the promises” and the “only-begotten son” with “‘your seed’ . . . through Isaac.” (Heb 11:17, 18) Whether Josephus had a similar viewpoint or not, he too spoke of Isaac as Abraham’s “only son.”—Jewish Antiquities, I, 222 (xiii, 1).
DeleteThe Lamb represents Jesus Christ as both suffering and triumphant; it is typically a sacrificial animal. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (see also: John 1:36; Isaiah 53:10; Romans 8:3; Hebrews 10)
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