Lesson 1 — The Sacred Name of the Father

b. His Name, Yahweh, derives from YHWH. These letters are known as the “Tetragrammaton,” a Greek word meaning “four letters.” The erroneous name “Jehovah” was a copyist’s mistake created when the vowels for the title Adonai, and likely Elohim as well, were inserted into the Tetragrammaton. The letter J does not exist in either the Hebrew or Greek language.

b. As with all languages, Hebrew indeed has vowels. These vowels, however, were not written but preserved by copyists known as Masoretes using diacritical marks called vowel points. No language can be spoken without vowels because vowels are articulated with the open mouth. “Tr prnncng ths wtht vwls’ is a sentence showing how vowels make a language pronounceable. Adding the vowels to these consonants, we have the sentence, “Try pronouncing this without vowels.” Hebrew scholars attest that the Tetragrammaton is made us of vowel-consonants. Like our letter “Y,” these three letters, and the Hebrew letter aleph as well, can be used as either vowels or consonants.

d. The common idea that Yahweh has many names is unscriptural. Philippians 2:9 clearly says His Name is “above every name” and Psalm 83:18 tells us that His “name alone is Yahweh.” He has many titles, but these are all used in connection with His Name (for example, Yahweh Elyon, Yahweh Nissi, Yahweh Yireh).

a. Scholarship and archaeology both confirm that His Name is Yahweh, spelled in Hebrew: יהוה.

b. The belief that the Name was not known until Yahweh revealed it to Moses derives from a misunderstanding of Exodus 6:3: “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of Elohim Almighty, but by my name Yahweh was I not known to them.” In Genesis 22:14 we read that Abraham built an altar to Yahweh. Eve and the patriarch Jacob knew and spoke Yahweh’s Name, Genesis 4:1 and 28:13. Moses’ mother was named Yahchobed. The Hebrew text reveals that Exodus 6:3 means that the people did not perceive or understand the full implications of His Name until they saw His great miracles among the Israelites. “To know” means to understand by what is experienced (see NIV Study Bible note).

c. To insert an “o” or “u” into the Name Yahweh is to mistake the third letter, waw. The waw is properly a “w.” in the book, How the Hebrew Language Grew, by Edward Horowitz, we read that the Yemenite Jews of Arabia “who retain an ancient, CORRECT and PURE pronunciation of Hebrew still pronounce the waw as ‘w,’ as does Arabic.”

d. Throughout the Hebrew text Yahweh’s Name is found in the form of the Tetragrammaton, yet it was concealed by translators who believed it was too sacred to use.

d. The Hebrew Tetragrammaton was found in all of these, especially throughout the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible.

a. In Exodus 3:14, Yahweh tells Moses, “I AM that I AM. Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me unto you.’” Then He identifies Himself as Yahweh. Here we have a connection between “I AM” and “Yahweh.” In the Hebrew, I AM is “ha Yah.” It is the very verb is existence and means, I will be whatever my people need of me. Yahweh is existence personified. He causes everything to exist.

d. Yahshua the Messiah spoke His Father’s Name numerous times while He walked the earth. In His model prayer in Matthew 6:9 He prays that His Father’s Name be hallowed (set apart). Psalm 22:22 is a prophecy that Yahshua would proclaim His Father’s Name. John 17:26 is a direct fulfillment of that prophecy, wherein the Messiah prays: “And I have declared unto them Your Name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith You have loved Me may be in them and I in them.” When He quoted the Old Testament containing the Father’s Name, Yahshua would naturally pronounce the Name. An example is Luke 4:4, where Yahshua quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of Yahweh.” Again in Luke 4:18, when speaking in the synagogue, Yahshua spoke His Father’s Name: “The Spirit of Yahweh is upon me…” Other examples where Yahshua used Yahweh’s Name include: Matthew 21:42 (Ps. 118:22); Matthew 22:37 (Deut. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6); Matthew 22:44 (Ps. 110:1); Luke 4:8 (Deut 6:13; 10:20); and Luke 10:27 (Deut. 6:5).

d. Yahweh promises that those who honor Him by calling on His revealed, personal Name, will be blessed for doing so. Yahweh promises that He will set those on high who love Him and know His Name, Psalm 91:14. On the other hand, those who will not give glory to His Name will be cursed and will have dung spread on their faces, Malachi 2:2-3. They will receive His wrath, Psalm 79:6. The true Philadelphia Assembly in Revelation 3:8 are those who keep His word and do not deny His Name.

Salvation is only in His Name, Acts 4:12