What is YHWH?

Answer  
  

The ancient Hebrew language that the Old Testament was written in did not have vowels in its alphabet. In written form, ancient Hebrew was a consonant\-only language. In the original Hebrew, God’s name transliterates to *YHWH* (sometimes written in the older style as *YHVH*). This is known as the tetragrammaton (meaning “four letters”). Because of the lack of vowels, Bible scholars debate how the tetragrammaton *YHWH* was pronounced.  
  

  

The tetragrammaton consists of four Hebrew letters: *yodh*, *he*, *waw*, and then *he* repeated. Some versions of the Bible translate the tetragrammaton as “Yahweh” or [“Jehovah”](Jehovah.html); most translate it as “LORD” (all capital letters).  
  

Contrary to what some believe, *Jehovah* is not the Divine Name revealed to Israel. The name *Jehovah* is a product of mixing different words and different alphabets of different languages. Due to a fear of accidentally taking God’s name in vain (Leviticus 24:16\), the Jews basically quit saying it out loud altogether. Instead, when reading Scripture aloud, the Jews substituted the tetragrammaton *YHWH* with the word [*Adonai*](meaning-of-Adonai.html) (“Lord”). Even in the [Septuagint](septuagint.html) (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), the translators substituted *Kurios* (“Lord”) for the Divine Name. Eventually, the vowels from *Adonai* (“Lord”) or *Elohim* (“God”) found their way in between the consonants of *YHWH*, thus forming *YaHWeH*. But this interpolation of vowels does not mean that was how God’s name was originally pronounced. In fact, we aren’t entirely sure if *YHWH* should have two syllables or three.  
  

Any number of vowel sounds can be inserted within *YHWH*, and Jewish scholars are as uncertain of the real pronunciation as Christian scholars are. *Jehovah* is actually a much later (probably 16th\-century) variant. The word *Jehovah* comes from a three\-syllable version of *YHWH*, *YeHoWeH*. The *Y* was replaced with a *J* (although Hebrew does not even have a *J* sound) and the *W* with a *V*, plus the extra vowel in the middle, resulting in *JeHoVaH*. These vowels are the abbreviated forms of the imperfect tense, the participial form, and the perfect tense of the Hebrew being verb (English *is*)—thus the meaning of *Jehovah* could be understood as “He who will be, is, and has been.”  
  

So, what is God’s Name, and what does it mean? The most likely choice for how the tetragrammaton was pronounced is “YAH\-way,” “YAH\-weh,” or something similar. The name *Yahweh* refers to God’s self\-existence. *Yahweh* is linked to how God described Himself in Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.”’” God’s name is a reflection of His being. God is the only self\-existent or self\-sufficient Being. Only God has life in and of Himself. That is the essential meaning of the tetragrammaton, *YHWH*.  
  

