The Biblical Name of God: Part 1
What is His Name?
4 December 2010
By David Maas
218 Main Street, #133
Kirkland, Washington 98033, USA
bear7755@gmail.com
eleutheria@prodigy.net
When asked what is the name of the God of the Bible, the most common answers are “God,”
“Lord,” and occasionally “Jehovah.” The English word “lord” appears over 7,500 times in the
King James Version (KJV) of the Bible and “god” 4,444 times. The name “Jehovah” occurs only
four times in the KJV (EXODUS 6:3, PSALM 83:18, ISAIAH 12:3, 26:4) and its contraction
“Jah” once (PSALM 68:4). “Jehovah” is familiar to many because of its frequent use in church
by preachers. Are any of these terms the proper name of God?
The English noun ‘god’ is a generic term used to refer to deity or divine beings. It can be
singular or plural. In the Bible it usually refers to the true God but in some places to false gods,
real or imagined (EXODUS 12:12, 1 KINGS 18:25). Even Satan is described as “the god of this
world” (2 CORINTHIANS 4:4). The Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew equivalents of “God” are
used in the same manner by the authors of the books of the Bible. Several different Hebrew
words are used for “god,” most often ‘elohim but also ‘el and ‘eloah. In the Greek New
Testament the Greek noun consistently used for “God” is theos. In short, the term “god” is a
noun that defines what the identified individual or being is or is alleged to be, not who he is.
God is a common noun, not a proper name.
In English translations “lord” is used to translate the Hebrew term ‘adon or ‘adonai and on a
few occasions ba’al meaning “master.” In the New Testament the Greek term kyrios is
consistently used for “lord.” “Lord” and its Greek and Hebrew equivalents is a term of respect
for someone who is a master or owner. It is used most often to refer to the true God but also as a
term of respect for men of prominence. For example, Sarah called her husband Abraham “my
lord” (GENESIS 18:12). In COLOSSIANS 4:1 the Apostle Paul refers to slaveholders as
“lords” or “masters.” “Lord,” like “god,” is a generic noun that designates what someone is. It
also is not a proper name and does not necessarily imply the divinity of the one addressed.
There is one additional frequent use of the English term “lord” in English translations of the
Bible. It occurs over six thousand times in the Old Testament where English versions print
“lord” in all capitals letters (‘LORD’). This convention is used whenever the Hebrew name of
God occurs in the Hebrew text. For example, when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush
He proclaimed:
“And God said yet further unto Moses, ‘Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, Yahweh, God of your
fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me unto you. This is my name to times
everlasting, and this is my memorial to generation after generation” (EXODUS 3:15).
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In many English versions the name “Yahweh” is not found but instead the English word
“LORD” in all capital letters as in the King James Version and New American Standard.
This form of “lord” (‘LORD’) represents the Hebrew name of God, which in the original
consists of four Hebrew consonants, Y-H-W-H or yod-hé-waw-hé. There are no vowels in
written Hebrew as we think of them. The written Hebrew alphabet consists of twenty-two
consonants. Vowels were used in spoken Hebrew but in the ancient language there were no
written characters used to represent the vowel sounds. The implied vowels were supplied and
vocalized by the reader when he or she read written words, phrases and sentences.
The Hebrew name of God is commonly represented in English by transliterating the four
Hebrew consonants as ‘YHWH.’ This name has been given the designation Tetrgrammaton
from the Greek words tetra, meaning “four,” and gramma or “letter.” “The Tetragrammaton, or
name of four letters (in allusion to the four letters Y H W H), is a technical term frequently
employed by scholars.”1
Because this name is often written simply as ‘YHWH’ without any vowels, it has been
called the incommunicable or unpronounceable name. Such labels are mistaken. It is obvious
from many of the dialogues recorded in the Old Testament that the name was vocalized. In
many passages God Himself pronounced his name as when he proclaimed his memorial name to
Moses from the burning bush. If it can be spoken it is pronounceable. This erroneous
assumption also stems from a lack of understanding of the Hebrew language and how it handles
vowels.
There is no dispute that the name of God in the Old Testament consists of the four
consonants Y-H-W-H. The open question is, which vowels are to be supplied for the proper
pronunciation of the name?
Based on Hebrew spelling patterns Y-H-W-H must be a two-syllable word or YH-WH. This
means two vowels are required, not three (or more). Also based on spelling patterns there are
only two possible pairs of vowels to be used: a-e or e-e, or, ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Yehweh,’ with the
first pair (Yahweh) being the most likely.2 Thus the name of God that occurs more than six
thousand times in the Old Testament is Yahweh.
What about the form Jehovah? This spelling of the name is simply not a possible option. It
was first coined or created over fifteen hundred years after the last book of the Old Testament
was penned. Note the comments by Joseph Rotherham:
“Why not in the form “Jehovah”?… The reason is, that it is too heavily burdened with merited critical
condemnation—as modern, as a compromise, as a “mongrel” word, “hybrid,” “fantastic,” “monstrous.”
The facts have only to be known to justify this verdict, and to vindicate the propriety of not employing it
in a new and independent translation. What are the facts? And first as to age. ‘The pronunciation
Jehovah was unknown until 1520, when it was introduced by Galatinus; but was contested by Le Mercier,
J. Drusius, and L. Capellus, as against grammatical and historical propriety.’…The monstrous
combination Jehovah is not older than about 1520 A.D.’ ”3 (emphasis in the original).4
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If Yahweh is the name God has given to himself, and if it occurs over six thousand times in
the Old Testament, why is this name missing from most of our Bibles? What is the meaning or
significance of his name?
Part 2 of this study will discuss the meaning and significance of the name of Yahweh. Part 3
will explain how this name went missing from modern translations of the Old Testament.
ENDNOTES:
1
Joseph B. Rotherham, The Incommunicable Name, Introduction to the Emphasized Bible (Grand Rapids: Kregel
Publications, 1967), p. 22.
2
Ibid., p. 25.
3
Professor Paul Haupt, General Editor of “The Polychrome Bible,” in the Book of Psalms, pp. 163, 1674.
4
Rotherham, The Incommunicable Name, p. 24-25.
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