Also Yahweh: a name for the God of the Old Testament as transliterated from the Hebrew consonants YHVH (Yod)(Heh)(Vav)(Heh), it is the distinctive personal name of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This is the same name ("I AM") that Jesus used when the high priest asked if He was the Christ (Mark 14:61-62).

YHVH

Outside of direct prayer, the word "’ǎdônây" (אֲדֹנָי) is not spoken by some Jews since to do so is considered a violation of the commandment not to use the Lord's name in vain (Exodus 20:7). Therefore, the word is often read as HaShêm (שֵׁם; literally, "The Name"), or in some cases ’ǎdô-Shêm, a composite of ’ǎdônây and HaShêm. A similar rule applies to the word ’ělôhîym ("God"), which some Jews intentionally mispronounce as ’ělôkîym for the same reason. (In a process analogous to the "euphemism treadmill", a prosaic substitute for the Tetragrammaton during one historical period may acquire sanctity and thus itself be considered too holy for ordinary use in subsequent periods.)

Jehovah

For example, the Spanish monk Raymundus Martini, in his book Pugeo Fidei, attempted to transliterate the name into Latin in the 13th century. The Massoretic Text had placed the vowels of ’ǎdônây and fit them into YHWH so that the reader would read "Adonai" aloud. Because YHWH is obviously unpronouncible, and because the Christian scholars did not know of the Jewish taboo, they assumed this was the correct pronunciation, creating Yǎhôwâh, which was translated into Latin as Iehouah or Jehovah. This rendering became more prominent around 1518 when Catholic theologians rediscovered and popularized it. 1 Jehovah, however, is generally held to be an implausible rendering, based on the written form יְהֹוָה (read normally, "Yehovah") that was used to indicate to the reader of the Bible in Hebrew (see also Hebrew bible) to pronounce it "Adonai" (אֲדֹנָי).

Note: due to a rule of Hebrew grammar, the beginning E of the first transliteration is analogous to the beginning A of the second, although they are pronounced differently.

This theory regarding the disuse of the Tetragrammaton is the result of an interpretation of the Third of the Ten Commandments. The Jewish people stopped saying the Name by the 3rd century out of fear of violating the commandment "You shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7).

Meaning

Another tradition regards the name as coming from three different verb forms sharing the same root YWH, the words HYH haya [היה]: "He was"; HWH howê [הוה]: "He is"; and YHYH yihiyê [יהיה]: "He will be". This is supposed to show that God is timeless, as some have translated the name as "The Eternal One". Other interpretations include the name as meaning "I am the One Who Is." This can be seen in the traditional Jewish account of the "burning bush" commanding Moses to tell the sons of Israel that "I AM [אהיה] has sent you." (Exodus 3:13-14) Some suggest: "I AM the One I AM" [אהיה אשר אהיה], or "I AM whatever I need to become". This may also fit the interpretation as "He Causes to Become." Many scholars believe that the most proper meaning may be "He Brings Into Existence Whatever Exists" or "He who causes to exist".

Transcription

Using consonants as semi-vowels

Further, Josephus's four vowels are confirmed by theophoric stems in personal names, always: Yaho/Yahu/Y:ho/Y:hu. These yield in English Yau and Yao, which are pronounced the same. Once again, the heh is not pronounced here in Hebrew, but is used instead as a place holder. Moreover, Gnostic texts (see gnosticism), such as those Marcion wrote, discuss the Judaic god extensively, and spell the Tetragrammaton in Greek, Ιαω, that is "Yao." Lastly, Levantine texts (including those from ancient Ugarit) render the Tetragrammaton Yaw, pronounced "Yau."

Using the vowels of YHWHJosephus wrote that the sacred name consisted of four vowels. Many sacred name ministries who believe that YHWH consists of four vowels pronounce these four vowels as "ee-ah-oo-eh" and believe that indicates God's name was either "Yahweh" or "Yahuweh". In what may be a coincidence, the Greek name "ιαουε" would have been pronounced "Yah-oo-eh". (Iota is used as both a vowel and a semi-vowel.)

Of course, early Hebrew had no written "vowels" as such — every letter of the Hebrew alphabet was primarily consonantal in function.

Vowel marks

An added problem comes from the fact that the diacritical vowel marks on the Tetragrammaton may have served a purpose different than indicating the pronunciation. When the term is read out loud by Jews, the Tetragrammaton is substituted with the word Adonai ("my Lord(s)"), Elohim ("God(s)"), Hashem ("the name"), or Elokim (no meaning), depending on circumstances (see Jewish use of the word below). Since someone reading the text aloud might inadvertently pronounce the name, the diacritical vowels of Adonai or Elohim are normally printed with the consonant letters of the Tetragrammaton, to remind the reader to make the change, so the text contains the letters YHWH interlaced with the vowel marks of Adonai/Elohim (a masoretic device known as Q're perpetuum which was also applied in a number of other cases, such as giving the spelling הוא in the Pentateuch an "i" vowel diacritic to indicate that sometimes it should be pronounced as a feminine pronoun hi, rather than a masculine pronoun hu). This is the case in modern editions of the Hebrew Bible, and also explains a number of medieval codices. In other words, these marks do not and were never intended to explain how to pronounce the Tetragrammaton.

In particular, there is a possible explanation of the vowel marks on the Tetragrammaton in the Ben Chayim codex of 1525. It is worth noting that the aleph in Adonai has a hataf-patah (pronounced "ah" in Modern Hebrew) under it while the yod in the Tetragrammaton has a sheva (pronounced as a very short "eh" in Modern Hebrew). This can be explained by rules of Hebrew grammar, which forbid a sheva under an aleph, although this explanation is not entirely satisfactory.

The first English transcription of the Tetragrammaton appeared on the title page of William Tyndale's translation of 1525 as "IEHOUAH." Sir Godfry Driver wrote: "The Reformers preferred Jehovah, which first appeared as Iehouah in A.D. 1530 in Tyndale's translation of the Pentateuch (Exodus 6.3), from which it passed into other Protestantism Bibles." The English transcription "Iehovah", is found in the 1611 edition of the King James Bible, and during the 1762-1769 edit of the KJV, the spelling "Iehovah" was changed to "Jehovah" (in accordance with the general differentiation of I/J and U/V into separate letters which developed over the course of the 17th century in English). Thus began a period where the word was rendered: "Jehovah". The Jerusalem Bible (1966) uses Yahweh exclusively.

Wilhelm Gesenius Punctuated YHWH as "יַהְוֶה" (i.e. Yahweh)

Smith's " A Dictionary of the Bible" [published in 1863] notes 5 that Wilhelm Gesenius punctuated YHWH as "יַהְוֶה".This vocalized Hebrew spelling of the Tetragrammaton "יַהְוֶה" ( i.e. Yahweh ) started to appear in scholarly sources in the early and mid 19th century. "יַהְוֶה" is sometimes referred to as a "Scholarly Reconstruction" and is based in large part on various Greek transcriptions (ιαουε—iaoue and ιαουαι—iaouai and ιαβε—Iabe) dating from the first centuries BC and AD.

Particularly cited is Clement of Alexandria's spelling of the Tetragrammaton in his Greek Stromata Book V. Chapter 6:34. The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. II's English translation of Clement of Alexandria's Greek Stromata, Book V. Chapter 6:34 reads:

Further, the mystic name of four letters which was affixed to those alone to whom the adytum was accessible, is called Jave, which is interpreted, ' Who is and shall be.' The name of God, too, among the Greeks contains four letters.

As noted above, the Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. II translator wrote "Jave" in his translation of Stromata Book V. Chapter 6:34, however, questions have been raised about whether Clement of Alexandria used "ιαουε" or "ιαου" in the underlying Greek. "Yahweh" is thought to be an accurate Greek to English transliteration of "ιαουε" and "Jave" is thought to be an acceptable translation of "ιαουε", however the Encyclopædia Britannica of 1910-11 states that "Iaou" (Yau) not "Iaoue" is found at Stromata Book V. Chapter 6:34 in the 11th century Greek Codex Laurentianus V 3.6

The last critical edition of the text of Clement of Alexandria is thought to be:

(A. le Boulluec - /Les Stromates V, VI:34,5/ in: Sources chrétiennes n°278, Paris 1981 Ed Cerf pp. 80,81).

This 1981 critical edition of the Greek text of Clement of Alexandria notes that Greek Codex Laurentianus V 3 preserved the spelling "ιαου" yet still writes "ιαουε" at Stromata Book V. Verse 6:34 noting that "ιαουε" is found in a Greek Catena [i.e. Coisl. 113 fol. 368v].

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 says: Inserting the vowels of Jabe [e.g. Latin form of Iabe] into the Hebrew consonant text, we obtain the form Jahveh (Yahweh), which has been generally accepted by modern scholars as the true pronunciation of the Divine name;7. A possible "broad" transcription of this in terms of IPA symbols is [jah'we].

Some scholars suggested that the Josephus quote above supports this pronunciation.

Arguments based on possible interpretations, and on analogies with other Hebrew words, such as hallelujah, have also been introduced to support it.

On the other hand, In Biblical Archaeology Review reference is made to the fact that a two-syllable pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton as “Yahweh” would not allow for the o vowel sound to exist as part of God’s name. Thus the article stated, “When the Tetragrammaton was pronounced in one syllable it was ‘Yah’ or ‘Yo.’ When it was pronounced in three syllables it would have been ‘Yahowah’ or ‘Yahoowah.’ If it was ever abbreviated to two syllables it would have been ‘Yaho.’”

Despite the work at reconstruction, it is still impossible to say with certainty how the name was originally pronounced, and discussion continues among scholars.

Scholarly sources in which "יַהְוֶה" is found

1863 A.D.

Smith's 1863 " A Dictionary of the Bible" states that Clement of Alexandria wrote "Iαου" and not "Iαουε" in Stromata Book v.9

Smith's 1863 "A Dictionary of the Bible" does not consider "יַהְוֶה" to be the best scholarly reconstructed vocalized Hebrew spelling of the Tetragrammaton which it is aware of.

Although "יַהְוֶה" was not the only scholarly reconstructed vocalized Hebrew spelling of the Tetragrammaton that appeared in scholarly sources in the 19th century, it gradually became accepted as the best scholarly reconstructed vocalized Hebrew spelling of the Tetragrammaton.

1901-1906 A.D.

Early 1900's

Jewish use of the word

According to rabbinic tradition, the name was pronounced by the high priest on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement as well as the only day when the Holy of Holies of the Temple would be entered. With the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70, this use also vanished, also explaining the loss of the correct pronunciation.

There is a Jewish tradition that the actual name of God, only known to and stated by the high priest, was actually 72 letters long. The name was written out on a long strip of parchment, then folded and slipped inside the fold of the high priest's bejeweled breastplate. When someone would ask the high priest a question of Torah, or Jewish law, the high priest could invoke the Name, wherein the 12 jewels, representing the 12 tribes of the Israelites, would light up in a certain order whose meaning was, too, only known to the high priest. Through the power of the 72-letter name of God, the high priest communed, as it were, with the Almighty.

Why 72 letters? The answer may be found in the medieval rabbinic use of Gematria, that is assigning a number to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, allowing scholars to attribute numeric sums to words, find equivalencies in certain words, even use sums to try to predict a year and date for the coming of the Messiah. Even today, Jews often attribute mystical significance to the number 18, which has a possible Hebrew letter equivalent in the word "Chai", meaning "Life". Using "Gematria", we find that "Chai" equals 18: it's composed of the letter "chet", which equals 8, and the letter "yod", which equals 10, i.e. 8+10=18; consequently 18x4=72, so, in a sense, each letter of the 4-letter form of the Name represents a metaphoric symbol of the living power of God. Also, when the letters of the Tetragrammaton are arranged in a Kabbalistic tetractys formation, the sum of all the letters is 72 by Gematria (as shown in the diagram). Keeping along these lines, the Tetragrammaton, since it's only an abbreviation of the actual name, is not as powerful by nature (or supernature) as the original full name of God, though it's still not something to use in vain.

When most religious Jews refer to the name of God in conversation or in a non-textual context such as in a book, newspaper or letter, they call the name HaShem, which means "the Name." Similarly, the word Elohim is prononuced "Elokim" outside of certain religious contexts when it refers to God, and likewise for a few other names of God. When any such word is used to refer to anything but God (e.g., HaShem), it is pronounced as normal by even the most traditionalist Jews.

A number of modern translations of the Hebrew Bible and of Jewish liturgy render the Tetragrammaton as "the ETERNAL" (emphasized or all caps), because it is gender-neutral (unlike "The Lord"). The Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton are the only ones required to write the Hebrew sentence "haya, hove, ve-yiheyeh" (He was, He is, and He shall be), hence "Eternal."

Possible effect on the Hebrew Language

Alternative names

Another name, four-letter word, has lost its popularity for obvious reasons. Some people refer to the Tetragrammaton as Hebrew word #3068 after the numbering in James Strong's concordance.

Possible origins

Even Earlier there are signs that Yahweh was worshipped as Yah at Ebla (2,350 BCE) and as Yaw at Ugarit (1800-1200 BCE), where he was one of the Elohim (Canaanite 'lhm) - the sons of El.

Likewise, Jean Bottero in Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods, suggests that Yah was the West Semitic version of the Akkadian God of Wisdom Ea, a name derived from the Sumerian E=house, A=water, a title given to the Sumerian God Enki. Yah and Ea were pronounced alike. Yahweh, like Ea was the creator of humankind, who saved the flood hero (Noah / Utnapishtim) from the flood.

Van der Toorn's article "Yahweh" in the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible notes that, although a wide range of opinions have been presented, no clear etymology for the tetragrammaton presents itself.

Hebraist Joel M. Hoffman, in Chapter 4 of In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language, argues that the Tetragrammaton was purposely composed only and entirely of matres lectiones.

(See also:
Elohim
The Names of God)