Where you got the vowels For Y(a)hw(e)h?

Q     Where you got the vowel of Y(a)hw(e)h? If you break the YHWH into two syllable it would be YH – WH then the vowel “a” and “e” is inserted to pronounce Y(a)H – W(e)H. Where you got the sound WEH? Can you give an example of Hebrew names that the Waw and Hey ( וה ) is pronounce as WEH

A     The name Yahweh is unique and one of a kind so trying to compare it to other names is futile. The name Yahweh is from the verb of existence and comes from breath no other name in the Bible is “breathed.” “Let every thing that hath breath praise Yah. HalleluYah.” Psalm 150:6 retains the short form Yah in the Masoretic text. It is vowel pointed to “Yah” (yod, qamets, heh) twice in the text. The final heh in Yah contains a mappiq dot indicating the heh is to be pronounced as a full aspirated consonant “YaH,” rather than just the qamets vowel “Ya,” adding the breathy “h” sound to Yahh. Many rabbis know the importance of the Tetragrammaton YHWH in relation to breath. The Jewish prayer book, the Siddur, teaches, “Nishmat kol chai tivarekh et-shimcha, YHWH elohenu” — “The breathing of all life, praises your Name, YHWH our Elohim.”

The vowels in Hebrew were only recorded by the Masoretes around the Medieval times. So every Hebrew word (vowel combination) in the Old Testament was recorded at that time. The Masoretes used an orthographic device known as Kativ Kere, in the text to hide the true vowels of the name Yahweh. Ketiv means read and Kere means written. They inserted the vowels for Adonai, Elohim and variants in the Tetragrammaton so every time they would see those associative vowels they would either read Elohim or Adonai. Amazingly, you can prove the vowel combinations of Yahweh by simple deduction. If Yahweh is the true name you would not expect to see the “Yah” and “Weh” vowels in any form by the Masoretes and this is exactly what you see notice:

 

יְהוָה – Yehwah (Genesis 2:4)
יְהֹוָה – Yehowah (Genesis 3:14)
יֱהֹוִה – Yehowih (Judges 16:28)
יֱהוִה – Yehwih (Genesis 15:2)
יְהֹוִה – Yehowih (1Kings 2:26)
יְהוִה – Yehwih (Ezekiel 24:24)

The Armarna letters have preserved the name Yahweh in Cuneiform form 1750 BCE. See: Friedrich Delitzsch, Babel and Bible Page 71. The Nag Hammadi also preserved the name Yahweh from about 70 AD in Greek. We see Yahweh written alongside Elohim. The Three part short form (Yahw) is also found in Greek in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Samaritans, as another witness, also preserved the name Yahweh to this very day. Many who visit the Samaritan High Priest with Don Esposito’s group in Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Tabernacles listen to him explain this.

Three parts of the Tetragrammaton YAHW is written in Greek in plate 378, fragment 15 for Leviticus 3:12. Later in biblical translations this was changed to Kyrios or lord but in the Masoretic text this remains YHWH with the Kativ vowels for Adonai. The Greek letters Iota, Alpha and Omega translate to Yahw (Yao). The Greek Omega (o equivelent) has the sound of “w” like in the word raw. The translator here could have used the upsilon, which anciently had the “u” sound like the word ruse or the German brüder but instead used the softer “o” sound like in the word “tone.”

For a similar word in Hebrew, you can look up the masculine Hebrew word “beautiful” Yapheh (seghol heh) describing David in 1 Samuel 17:42. The feminine form of this is Yaphah (qamets heh). Notice the “ah” ending? This is common when using this word in its feminine form. for instance see this from used when describing Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:1.

See:  https://yrm.org/breathing-the-name-yahweh/ for other reasons why the semivowel combination YHWH (matres lectionis) also show the form Yahweh as more probable.

Posted in Q&A - Sacred name.
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Ken Schmidt
Ken Schmidt
2 years ago

If God wanted or meant His name to be spoken then He would’ve included the “a” and “e” from the beginning….. but God did not do that.
Therefore, call God by His pronouncable name, “I Am” as instructed by God Himself.