Yahweh - The LORD | Carolyn E. Jacobs

Yahweh is our God’s covenant name. Technically, it’s the tetragrammaton, YHWH. It doesn’t have vowels, so we’ve inserted the A and the E to be able to pronounce it. The writers of the KJV transliterated it as Jehovah. (They swapped the Y for a J and the W for a V.) JeHoVaH.

It’s associated with the burning bush when the angel of YHWH, ( the preincarnate Jesus,) appeared to Moses. When Moses asked Him what His name was, He said, “Ehyeh (who) Ehyeh.” I AM who I AM. Self-existent. Eternal.

The name Yahweh is used nearly 7,000 times in the Old Testament, and yet our modern translations don’t use it. We see LORD instead. Why?

Because a long time ago, the rabbis decided that name was too holy to say. They may have made that decision as early as the Babylonian Exile, 605-538 BC. The Babylonians couldn’t say the name of their chief god, Marduk, so they called him Bel, (God) instead. It’s possible the Jews adopted that idea. They were so afraid of taking His name IN VAIN that they stopped saying it at all.

And that’s another issue for another blog post in another series for another day. Long story short, that commandment is about so much more than cussing.

In our most popular English translations, we’ve continued that tradition. Just as they substituted Adonay (Lord) and Hashem (the Name) for Yahweh, we use LORD.

Here’s the point. Who are you? A mother? A son? A construction worker? A cat servant? Imagine you were known only as, “Mother of Julie,” or “Teacher,” or “Fan of chocolate chip cookies” but never by YOUR NAME!

I teach ESL, and many of my students call me Teacher. It’s a sign of respect, and it’s easier than remembering Carolyn, so I don’t mind it. But it creates distance. It’s not intimate. What if you were only ever called by your titles or descriptions? Don’t you want the ones closest to you to call you by your name?

“God” is a catch-all term, a category of beings. “Lord” is a title. “Yahweh” is His name.

Compare two translations of this verse:

I am the LORD, that is My name. . . Isaiah 42:8a (NASB)

I am Yahweh, that is My name. . . Isaiah 42:8a (Names of God Version)

Not to beat a dead horse, but the first one is like saying, “My name is Mister.”

As New Testament believers, we have the very great privilege of calling Yahweh by His name. So take a moment to thank Him for revealing Himself as Yahweh.

So long as we say it with reverence, don’t you think Yahweh would be blessed if we used His name? Or how about singing it to Him?