YHVH

What does it mean? And how is to be pronounced if at all?

By Rabbi Haim Levi

It is well known that Hebrew is an ancient language void of vowels. It is classified as a consonantal language, mankind’s original language, used by Adam, the first man, and by all succeeding generations. This includes well beyond the great flood and up the Tower of Babel where God confounded use by all nations, dividing it into approximately 70 different Languages. The only exception was that the Hebrew Language was kept and taught by the sons of Shem. Aramaic branched and remains a relative of Hebrew, which is still used today by the peoples known as the Arameans.

Centuries later, during the middle ages in Europe, vowels points and subscripts were added to the language, in order to facilitate it’s reading. During the classical times, as far back as the second Temple period, only The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, could pronounce the YHVH. This acronym is The Name of God, and can only be mentioned once a year during Yom Kippur as He entered the Holy of Holies bringing the blood of the atonement. YHVH is the symbol of all Universal existence translated from Hebrew as follows:

HYH, (Hayah,) means was.

HVH, (Hoveh) means is.

YHY, (Yehiyeh) means will be.

The combinations of these words convey the meaning of past, present, and future, which make up the four- letter Name of God. This is the Name by which, in the Torah, He has been known to us.

The rabbis of old have taught us that YHVH was not a simple illusion, He is still today, and will be unto eternity.

When I was in college I briefly studied Einsteim’s theory of Relativity. This theory taught that time in itself, is not absolute; it is merely another dimension analogous or similar to height, width, and depth. God is then YHVH, because all three tenses are part of His own existence, or spiritual oneness. He is the creator of time and unaffected by it. He is above all limitation found in the word: “before” as well as the word ”after”.

He is YHVH. He fills all time at the same time simultaneously, even as he fills all space. (Melo khol ha-aretz kevodo), as we read in all our shabbat Torah services, during our Kedushah portion of the Amidah, when we repeat in Hebrew:

“ Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, YHVH tzvaot melo kol haaretz kevodo.” ” Holy, Holy, Holy, YHVH the whole universe is filled with his glory.”

The letters YHVH is also a number, or series of numbers as follows:

Yod = 10

He = 5

Vav = 6

He = 5

All these numbers are equal to twenty-six, which for one thing represent also the number of twits used by the Sefardim when tying their Tzitizt for their talits.

There are also ten generations from Adam to Noah; another ten from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Sinai there are six generations.

In Exodus 3:13 Moses says to God:

“Behold when I come to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’ and the say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

Verse 14 HaShem answered to Moses:

“‘I shall be as I shall be’ and so shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘HaShem the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.’”

The Hebrew words for “ I shall be as I shall be” are “ EHEYEH ASHER EHEYEH”. Obviously the Israelites knew that there were numerous names to describe Him. Each of which is a different way in which He reveals himself through the ages.

The words YHVH we already noted as a way to represent the eternity of God, as noted “Yeheyeh Hoveh Eheyeh, , , He was, He is and He will be” meaning that He is timeless. This is found in the Stone edition of the Chumash, Art Scroll Series, page 304, Parashat Shemot, Chapter 3:13-17.

The letters YHVH is more than a descriptive name; it is a proper noun for His name, which is also a verb known also as “ Shem HaMeforash”, the indefinable name. For that reason, thousand years ago our ancient fathers, as well as today’s orthodox, conservatives, and some Messianic Jews, refusing to say Adonai, simply substitute the expression: “HaShem” meaning “The Name”. This is where some substitute, “The Lord”.

How to pronounce four consonantal letters that never had vowels? In this form YHVH is definitely a verb. Should we pronounce this verb today?

In some English, Spanish, French, and German speaking churches some have boldly made attempts to pronounce it “Yahweh”, “Jejovah”, or “Yehovah”. Jehovah is frequently found among the Protestant Hymnals. These of course are mere misrepresentations and inventions.

“EHEYEH ASHER EHEYEH “,” I SHALL BE AS I SHALL BE”, is in itself a divine name as implied by Ankelos, since he does not translate these words. Rashi explains that the import of the “Eheyeh” literally “I shall be with them in sorrow, as I shall be with them in other sorrows.” To this Moses replies, “An evil in its own time is enough.” i.e. why should imply to them that there will be future exiles: it is true enough that they suffer now in Egypt? Accepting Moses’ argument God instructed him to say: “I shall be {with them in sorrow} has sent me to you” (Rashi from Berachot 9b).

In the Midrash, the words “Eheyeh” describes “God as timeless and eternal, (Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh”).

Moses later receives from God additional information regarding another most holy name. It is found in Parashat, weekly yearly reading, Tetshaveh, of Exodus 27:1-28:1-30, Verses 29-30 states:

“…unto the breast plate (Choshen) of judgment you shall place Urim and the Thunim and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he comes before HaShem; and Aaron shall bear the Judgment of the children of Israel on his heart constantly, before HaShem.”

The word for “constantly” in Hebrew is the word “Tamid”, that is eternally active in the sense that the Priests duty will always be to pray and to bless the children of Israel. This commandment can be seen in Numbers 3:22-27. A blessing known in our Hebrew language is the “birchat hakohanim”, “The Aaronic Benediction”. The following is a quotation from the Stone edition of the Chumash.

“What are the Urim and the Tunim, noted above? The breastplate was folded in half to form a pouch –like pocket. Into it, Moses was to insert a lip of Parchment containing the indefinable name. {According to Rambam, there was more than one name}. This name was called the Urim and the Tunim. Tunim from the Hebrew word “OR” meaning “Light” because the individual letters of the tribal letters, on the Breast plate would light up; and it was called the Thunim, from the Hebrew word “Tamim”, “completeness”, because if read in their proper order, these luminous letters represented complete and true answers to questions of national importance that the Kohen Gadol, the high Priest would ask God. (Rashi from Yoma 73b) ‘

Rambam (rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, Cordova Spain 1100) gives an example of how only the Priest accomplished his task when the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River and had to begin the conquest of the land, the question arose which tribe would begin the war against the Canaanites.

Pinehas the Kohen Gadol, The high Priest, entered the Tabernacle and posed the question. The name Judah lit up and also the Hebrew letters “Yud”, “Ayin”, “Lamed” and “Hei”. The Kohen had to know what this combination of letters represented because they could, in several arrangements, give different orders. If done in different combinations of words they then could give a wrong message. A divine spirit gave him the wisdom to know the message of the Urim and the Tunim was {“Yehudah yaaleh”}. The tribe of Judah shall go forth {to wage war}.

During the years of the First Temple era, King Josiah realized that Eretz Yisrael would be conquered and fearing that most of the sacred parts of the Tempe would fall into profane hands. He moved the Urim and the Thumin from the breast plate and hit it, and he also hid the Arc containing the tablets and the anointing oil. From that time on the Kohen Gadol, High Priest, could not use those items containing God’s Holy Name. Urim and Tunim to represent Israel’s urgent questions for God’s response.

Therefore the names, YHVH, “Yeheyeh, Hoveh, Hayeh”, He is, He was, and He will be, is one of the most Holy Names followed by Urim ve Tunim. Light and completeness, fullness, plus “Yeheyeh Asher Yeheyeh”, “I Am what I Am” equals to eternity past, present, and future fullness of light.

Rambam himself adds that Moses wrote His Name, or Names, because only he had the spiritual revelation, knowledge, and greatness to know what had to be done. This is why the urim and the tunim is not mentioned among the vestments and artifacts of the Tabernacle that were made by artisans or the ones that were contributed by the people.” Art Scroll Chumash, page 471.

What about the name Elohim that is used in the Book of Genesis? “Bereshit Barah Elohim?” Elohim translated God denotes God in His attributes: Justice, Midat Hadin, as Ruler, Lawgiver, and Judge of the world. That is also the reason why the Torah refers to the court Judges of Israel as “Elohim”, Judges, rulers and Lawgivers of Justice and Mercy.

The Torah teaches that Justice must be the ideal state of the world when ruled by God, when man is treated exactly as he deserves, according to His deeds. Since man is not virtuous enough to survive God’s real harsh scrutiny, God then adds His attributes of mercy and grace to the story of His creation. In other words, His judgments will always be tempered with grace and mercy. This is a teaching that Christianity later removed as never been part of the Hebrew, “old Testament”, a sad twist from the Truth of Torah.

Lets look at other names: El Shaddai? This is merely a title translated: God who is enough. El Gibor: God’s title as powerful, El Kanah: Jealous One, Raphael: God who is healer, Adonai Nissi: God the Banner, Tzedikeinu: God our Righteousness.

How, what, or who has given this knowledge, to relatively modern Christian, catholic, or protestant theologians? This assurance that they somehow have been able to give pronunciations to a series of consonants to designate a name that is not a name, but a series of the verb to be. This is presumptuously done while at the same time dealing with a most Holy utterance given exclusively to the Kohanim? No Jew has ever ventured to do so. At one time, only the High Priest did it and that was long ago.

We have to thank His Name that He raised King Yoshiah to have the knowledge to hide everything until the end of days. In the late 70’s, the Lord raised a Holy Priest, Yaakov Goetz of blessed memory, who was given special revelation knowledge to discover this hiding place of those holy items. They are now hidden in the cave next to the Hall of the Kohanim under Mount Moriah, soon to be brought to light.

I trust that this brief study will add a small part to your knowledge.


	Hebrew Names of God


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	The Sacred Name YHVH

The Name as Revealed in the Tanakh

In the Tanakh, YHVH is the personal name of God and his most frequent designation, occurring over 5,200 times. This is the Ineffable Name 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 who I am” in the KJV) derives from the Hebrew verb “to be” (hayah), and 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” (Ex R. 3:6).

Elohim is the Name given for God as the Creator of the universe (Gen 1:1-2:4a) and implies strength, power, and justice. YHVH, on the other hand, expresses the idea of God’s closeness to humans. For example, YHVH “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 in the running text (this is called Qere [what is to be read] as opposed to Ketiv [what is to be written]). The Hebrew text, then, contains the Ketiv but uses the vowels of the Qere 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 in the running text, so some attempted to “correct” the pronunciation by pronouncing the Name as “Yahoveh” or “Yahveh.” This, too, is 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 Hebrew.

Hashem: The Name
Since ancient Hebrew did not use any vowel markings, the actual pronunciation of the sacred Name 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 (“my Lord”) in its place. Thus, when reading Torah, you do not attempt to vocalize the Name, but say Adonai instead. When not reading Torah or the Siddur, most observant Jews refer to the sacred Name simply as Hashem or “the Name” (Lev. 24:16).

In Hebrew the sacred Name is called Shem HaMeforash, “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).

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 (ketav Ashurit) script:

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 Constructs

Though we do not know how to pronounce the sacred Name, we can be confident that the letters derive from the Hebrew verb “to be” (hayah) 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:

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

YHVH

YHVH. [The basic form. Ketiv: unutterable; Qere: A-do-nai]

The personal Name of Adonai, the transcendent Source and Ground of all being whatsoever. This Name appears 5,200+ 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 , hayah hoveh yi’yeh, “He was, He is, He will be.”

In those contexts where the actual title "Lord" (Adonai) also occurs, YHVH is translated as “GOD,” (all caps):

KJV Note: YHVH is transliterated as “Jehovah” in four passages where the name is particularly stressed (Exo 6:3; Psa 83:18 [H 19]; Isa 12:2; Isa 26:4] and in three passages to form transliterated constructs (e.g., Jehovahjireh (Gen 22:14; cc Exo 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 is 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. 24:16).
This term is often used to refer to the Sacred Name when studying thw Scriptures and considering the Sacred Name of YHVH. This is often abbreviated simple as .

The LORD God

Adonai 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.

The LORD my God

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

The LORD our Father

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

The LORD Most High God

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

The LORD God of Israel

Adonai 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

Adonai 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

Adonai 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

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

The LORD our Maker

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

The LORD our Righteousness

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

The LORD of hosts

Adonai Tseva'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

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

The LORD who heals you

Adonai 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

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

The LORD your God

Adonai Eloheikhem.
“The LORD your [pl.] God” (Lev. 19:3).

The LORD my Rock and Redeemer

Adonai Tsuri v’goali.
“The LORD my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:4).

The LORD God of David

Adonai Elohei David.
“The LORD God of David” (Isaiah 38:5).

The LORD my Rock

Adonai 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.

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).