The National Name Of The Elohim Of Israel !
By what Name did the Hebrews and foreign nations call Israel's God?
“After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.” -Matt 6:9
What is the Hebrew name of Elohim? This issue has been a source of discussion and even contention for centuries. There are two basic forms of the Father’s Hebrew name in use today: Yahweh or Yahuah. Similarly, two forms of the Savior’s Hebrew name are in use: Yeshua and Yahshuah. We mean no disrespect to those who use a different form of God’s Name than we do, and do not seek to cause division over this issue. But for the sake of consistency and uniformity we need to examine the available evidence and make an educated decision concerning which form of the sacred name to use in our own fellowship. We feel, moreover, that the evidence following is quite compelling. We will begin by answering questions people have concerning the origin of the word, Jehovah.
Jehovah
Biblical scholars are all agreed on the origin of the word, Jehovah, which was basically a combination of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton, YHVH (the Name of God in consonants) wedded to the vowels from the word Adonai. The famous archaeologist and Bible scholar of a century ago, Dr. A.H. Sayce, explained it well in his book, Fresh Light From The Ancient Monuments: “…It is unfortunate that this sacred name has descended to the readers of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament in a corrupt and barbarous form. The Hebrew alphabet was designed to express consonants only, not vowels; these were supplied by the reader from his knowledge of the language and its pronunciation. As long as Hebrew was still spoken, there was little difficulty in doing this; but the case was changed when it ceased to be a living language. A traditional pronunciation of the sacred records was preserved in the synagogues; but it necessarily differed in many respects from the pronunciation which had actually been once in use, and was itself in danger of being forgotten or altered. To avoid such a danger, therefore, the so-called Masoretes, or Jewish scribes, in the sixth century after the Christian era, invented a system of symbols which should represent the pronunciation of the Hebrew of the Old Testament as read, or rather chanted, at the time in the great synagogue of Tiberius in Palestine. It is in accordance with this Masoretic mode of pronunciation that Hebrew is now taught. But there was one word which the Masoretes of Tiberius either could not or would not pronounce. This was the national name of the God of Israel. Though used so freely in the Old Testament, it had come to be regarded with superstitious reverence before the time when the Greek translation of the Septuagint was made, and in this translation, accordingly, the word Kyrios, “Lord,” is ‘substituted’ for it wherever it occurs. The New Testament writers naturally followed the custom of the Septuagint and of their age, and so also did the Masoretes of Tiberius. Wherever the holy name was met with, they read in place of it Adonai, “Lord,” and hence, when supplying vowel-symbols to the text of the Old Testament they wrote the vowels of Adonai under the four consonants, Y H V H, which composed it. This simply meant that Adonai was to be read wherever the sacred name was found. In ignorance of this fact, however, the scholars who first revived the study of Hebrew in modern Europe imagined that the vowels of Adonai (a or e and o) were intended to be read along with the consonants below which they stood. The result was the hybrid monster Yehovah. In passing into England the word became even more deformed. In German the sound of yis denoted by the symbol j; and the German symbol, but with the utterly different English pronunciation attached to it, found its way into the English translations of the Old Testament Scriptures.” (pp. 63-65) It should be abundantly clear that “Jehovah” is not the Biblical name of God but a grotesque error,“ a corrupt and barbarous form” of the Sacred Name.
Yahweh or Yahuah?
Dr. Sayce continues, “There are two opinions as to what was the actual pronunciation of the sacred name while Hebrew was still a spoken language. On the one hand, we may gather from the contemporary Assyrian monuments that it was pronounced Yahu. Wherever an Israelitish name is met with in the cuneiform inscriptions which, like Jehu or Hezekiah, is compounded with the divine title, the latter appears as Yahu, Jehu being Yahua, and Hezekiah Khazaki-yahu. Even according to the Masoretes it must be read Yaho (that is, Yahu) when it forms part of a proper name. The early Gnostics, moreover, when they transcribed it in Greek characters, wrote Iao, that is, Yaho… The form Yahveh, however, is incompatible with the form Yahu (Yaho), which appears in proper names.” (pp. 65-66) In other words, “Yahveh” or “Yahweh” cannot be the correct pronunciation of the Sacred Name because of incompatibility with Yahu, the shortened form of God’s Name. The full Sacred Name must be [Yahu plus something], since Yah and Yahu are the shortened forms of the complete Name of God. Yahu coincides with the word, Yahuah.
Evidence from ancient written records confirms that this is true. “The Assyrians transcribed the Name as ‘Ya-u-a,’” according to the Institute for Scripture Research. (The Scriptures, p.xii) This proves that the Sacred Name was “Yahuah,” not “Yahweh.” The Assyrians were a Semitic people related to the Hebrews who adopted the gods of the nations around them, including Israel. Daniel chapter 4 further indicates that Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar worshipped the God of Israel as well.
Yeshua or Yahshuah?
As to the proper pronunciation of the Messiah’s Name, The Institute for Scripture Research states, “While the short post-exilic form Yeshua is popular with many… Dr. Solomon Zeitlin refutes this form as the Name of our Messiah, favouring instead the form Yahshua, in The Jewish Quarterly Review, Jan. 1970, p. 195.” (The Scriptures, p.xii) The same source reports that the Sacred Name began to be suppressed by the Jews, and states, “Possibly for the same reason Yeho [Yahu], the abbreviated form of the Name of YHVH, became eliminated from the name of the Successor to Mosheh [ie., Moses], Yehoshua, who now became known as Yeshua(see Neh. 8:17). Deleting the Yeho [Yahu] from Yehoshua’s name, was probably the reason our Messiah became known as Yeshua in the Hebrew Shem-Tob text of Mattithyahu [ie., Matthew]. According to [John] 17:11-12, and Phil. 2:9, the name of YHVH, or at least part of it, ought to be in the name of Yahshua!” (pp. 1219-1220) It is important to recognize that the name of the Father, YHVH, is not found in Yeshua, but it is included in the name “YaHshUaH.”
A Curse Word?!!
Jewish scholar, Dr. Israel Shahak, tells us that the letters in this shortened and chopped up form of the Sacred Name, YesHua, form an acronym for a Jewish curse-phrase. He states, “The Hebrew form of the name Jesus – Yeshua – was interpreted as an acronym for the curse, ‘may his name and memory be wiped out,’ which is used as an extreme form of abuse. In fact, anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews (such as Neturey Qarta) sometimes refer to Herzl as ‘Herzl Yeshua’ and I have found in religious Zionist writings expressions such as ‘Nasser Yeshua’ and more recently ‘Arafat Yeshua.’” (Jewish History, pp. 97-98, 118)
The Original Pronunciation
One author instead maintains, “the four consonants, Y H V H, can hardly have been pronounced otherwise than as Yahveh.” However, the letter “V” was originally pronounced like a “U.” Encyclopedia Britannica states, “This letter [V] was originally, like Y, only one of the earlier forms of the letter U. According to Floria (1611) V is ‘sometimes a vowel, and sometimes a consonant.’” Therefore, the Tetragrammaton could be written as YHUH, which could be pronounced, YaHUaH. The Dictionary of New Testament Theology (II:67) verifies this as the true pronunciation of the Sacred Name. They state, “The origin and meaning of the divine name has been the subject of considerable discussion. Some scholars derive it from a primitive form Yah (cf. G.R. Driver, ZQW, 46, 1928, 24). It is suggested that it derives from Ya-huwa (cf. M. Buber, Moses, (1946) 1958, 49f.; S. Mowinckel, “The Name of the God of Moses,” Hebrew Union College Annual 32, 1961, 121-33).” Concerning the Messiah’s name, the same source indicates that it is Yahshua, which is a combination of Yah and sua, the short form of yesua meaning salvation. (II:69) The Savior’s name therefore means, “Yah is salvation.”
Biblical Evidence
The similarity in the names YaHUaH and YaHshUaH is not just coincidental. Evidence from Scripture indicates that there is indeed an inter-related connection between the names of the Father and the Son. The Savior declared, “I am come in my Father's Name…” (John 5:43) Some people attempt to just “spiritualize” this, but it was fulfilled both spiritually and literally as a double witness to the identity of the Savior. We are in fact told that there is only ONE true sacred name: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) As God is above all of creation, so His Name is above every name, and the Son was given this name (it was incorporated in His Name): “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a Name which is above every name…” (Phil 2:9) The Jewish people of His day recognized that the Son indeed had the Father’s Name, for we read, “And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord…” (Matt 21:9) The identity of the Son and the Father as ONE is indicated in the fact that their names are ONE, for the Savior declared, “…keep through Thine Own Name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” (John 17:11)
The fact that there is an inter-relationship between the names of the Father and the Son, coupled with the fact that there is only ONE NAME and NONE OTHER in the Godhead, provides the final convincing proof that the Father’s name is YaHUaH and the Son’s name is YaHshUaH. The only difference is the addition of the Hebrew letter “S” (the Shin). This letter represents the Teeth or by implication, THE WORD. It graphically illustrates the Scriptural fulfilled prophecy that “…the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father)…” (John 1:14)
A Few Points To Consider:
1. There is ONLY ONE basic Divine Name.
2. The Father and Son share “the Name which is above every name.”
3. The Son came in the Name of His Father (Jn.5:43): the Name of the Father is incorporated into the Name of the Son to verify that ‘He and the Father are ONE.’ (Jn. 10:30) The Father and Son therefore share “the Name which is above every name.” (Phil. 2:9)
4 . The Father’s Name was Ya-huwa or YA-U-A [i.e., YaH-U-aH], according to ancient written records.
5. The shortened form of God’s Name was “Yahu” according to the Bible’s record of kings and prophets.
6. The Son’s Name adds the letter “S” (Hebrew: Shin) to the Father’s Name to indicate that He is the WORD of the Father made flesh. (Jn. 1:14)
7. The Son’s Name means “Yah is Salvation.” The Father and the Son both share the same plan for the world, as evidenced in the meaning of the Name they share: “God is Salvation.”
8. Using disparate names (Yahweh-Yeshua-Jesus) is not accurate, and destroys the UNITY of the nature, essence, and Divine Plan of the Father and the Son.
The information in this study should be read in conjunction with our separate study, “What is His Name and what is His Son’s Name,” found on this website on the articles page.