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YAH
or YAHU
The
'Personal' Name of the 'God of Israel' by which He anciently
revealed Himself to Moses (EXODUS 6:2). 'YAH' is spelled in
original Hebrew, with the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet - the
'yood', smallest letter in the alphabet, represented by the
inverted comma ( ' ). YAHU also has the meaning of 'He is
YAH'
This
Name, through recent archeological discoveries in Israel,
has been found to be part of more Hebrew words and names than were
formerly known. There is an untold number of usages in the Tanach
('Old Testament') where this form of the Sacred Name is used as a
conjunction in Biblical names. Some of the more common
examples of these are:
EliYahu ('Elijah'
YeremiYahu ('Jeremiah')
YeshiYahu ('Isaiah')
YahuShafat ('Josephat')
NetanYahu (also the name of former Israeli Prime Minister)
YahuNatan ('Jonethan')
And of course, the Messianic Salvation Name YAHU'SHUAH ('Yeshuah')
Regarding the sacred name 'YAHU'
Hebrew
personal names have meanings. In each of the above cases, the
meanings of these names refer to the Name of the Most High, eg. YAH
is Strength, my God is YAH, etc Similarly, the names of
the 12 Tribes of ancient Israel each had a specific meaning,
except the Tribe of Judah, the progeny of which to this day, still
represents the original Hebraic Faith instituted by Moses
according to the Divine Mandate which was handed to him personally
by YAH, God of Israel, some 4000 years ago. All the
disasters of Time failed to wipe out the Tribe of Judah, which
today is known as 'the Jews' - in Hebrew: Yehudim.
The Tribe of Judah, in Hebrew is 'Yehuda', a Jew is 'Yehudi'.
While no specific Hebrew meaning is attached to this term in the
modern usage, we do find the following meanings as applied to
obscure Bible characters with similar names:
'YahuAdah' (YAH unveils) 1 Chron. 8:36
'YahuYadah' (YAH knows) 2 Samuel 8:18, etc.
In the modern Hebrew dictionary, three words appear in
successive order:
Yehudah
- with its derivations referring to Jews
YHVH
- the Sacred Name, and
Y'SHUAH
- the Messiah's Name.
The
Tetragrammaton
The
Sacred Name appears in the Hebrew Scriptures as four Hebrew
letters Yud, hey, vav, hey, which is closest
represented by the letters YHVH. This format is
known as the Tetragammaton. According to Jewish
tradition it is regarded as 'not to be uttered' in order never to
profane it in any way. In Judaism it is therefore pronounced
as 'Adonai', meaning 'Lord'. Notwithstanding this prohibition, the
Sacred Name is acknowledged in its usage as part of the names of
many Biblical characters, as referred to above - and as any Bible
concordance or reference book will provide.
Because of these prohibitions, translations of the original Hebrew
scrolls have, throughout the ages, replaced the Tetragammaton with
'the LORD' (in capital letters) and the Sacred Name, in so doing,
became 'lost' for many centuries.
Since the sixties, there has been a movement in modern theology
and especially amongst sincere Bible students throughout the
world, to restore the newly 'rediscovered' Sacred Hebrew Name.
Sacred Name publications which chose to restore the Sacred Name in
the almost 7000 instances in the Bible, appeared one after the
other and the 'Sacred Name Movement', towards the nineties and the
turn of the millennium, became a flood which today literally
engulfs the world...
Although there is no firm consensus on the actual pronouncement or
spelling of the Tetragammaton YHVH, there are several
representations or transliterations in use by theologians and
Bible students. Some of the more popular forms are YAHVEH,
YAHWEH and Jehovah. A comprehensive list of the various usages
that abound, are presented further down on this page.
Out of respect for the
Sacredness and sanctification of the Name, we will print the
Tetragammaton form YHVH throughout the studies on this web page and leave the reader free to either substitute it or pronounce it
in the way they find comfortable as guided by God's Holy Spirit.
The mystery attached to the Name of the Almighty, is related to
the verb ‘to be' ( I am, I was, I will be) which is the Hebrew
verb ‘Hoveh’ (the ‘v’ pronounced as in ‘victory’),
meaning “to be”, in the present tense. YHVH therefore,
means: “YAH Hoveh”, which means “YAH is ...” (YAH
being His abbreviated (actual ?) name as reflected in Psalm 68:4
in some translations.
It is therefore quite possible that the correct rendering of the
SH'MAH (the Greatest Commandment - Deut 6:4) should therefore
read:
| SHMAA |
YISRAEL |
YAH |
HOVEL |
ELOHENU |
YAH |
HOVEH |
ECHAD |
| HEAR |
ISRAEL |
YAH |
IS |
OUR GOD |
YAH |
IS |
ONE |
This is how it appears in the Hebrew Scrolls:
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Read from right to left (so also the following)
Top line: YHVH Yisrael Shmaa
Bottom
line:
echad YHVH Eloheinu
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In
modern Hebrew grammar this matter is so serious and important,
that the verb ‘to be’ (‘I am’) is not used in the present
tense at all! An Israeli will therefore state in
Hebrew: “I teacher ... I clever”, omitting the verb 'to
be' (I am) in the present tense. Usage of the Hebrew verb
‘HOVEH’ (I am) would imply referring to oneself as being the
Almighty! This gives reason for serious contemplation.
The Almighty “is” everything good, without question. The human
being, being exactly the opposite, is so easily inclined to self
exaltation and self praise (often hidden under a false pretence of
humility, love, care, etc.). The use of "I" and "I
am" in the vocabulary of the proud and arrogant individual is
a popular practice. The indwelling Spirit of the Almighty in the
heart and soul of the believer, changes this selfish, haughty,
deceiving attitude to an attitude of genuine humility, recreated
in His Image, as the Almighty requires of us to possess. Volumes
could be written on this subject.
YAHU'SHUAH
(Jesus)
The
original Hebrew or Jewish Name of the professing Jewish Messiah,
who was accepted as such by a certain section (some 3000 souls) of
Israel, at and after His Appearance in Israel, some 2000 years
ago. To them He was known as YAHU'SHUAH (abbreviated:
Y'SHUAH, also pronounced YEHOSHUA or YESHUA). In time, over
the first few centuries after Messiah, His Name was
gradually changed to "Je-Zeus Khristos" by the pagan
masses who converted and joined the originally Jewish Messianic
Sect. Out of this, Christianity was born, which was a
mixture of originally pure Judaism, and gradually, progressive
influences of pagan customs and traditions, together with a
growing tide of an anti-Semitic spirit. This was greatly due
to the instigation of influential leaders like Constantine the
Great, who was a Zeus worshipper, and who purportedly converted to
Christianity. It was also a natural process as a result of
the infiltration of followers of the sun god, Zeus, into the
Christian ranks. Even the name of their pagan idol 'Zeus' was
applied to their new-found Jewish Messiah - and Y'Shuah (the
abbreviated transliteration of YAHU'SHUAH), became "Y'Zeus"
or Je-Zeus - which became 'Jesus' in English (Note: the
middle 's' is pronounced as a 'z'). In other languages, it
took on various other forms.
A
similar pagan influenced name-shift has been retained to this day
in the KJV translation of Luke 4:27, where it refers to the
prophet "Eliseus' and an event recorded in 2 Kings 5:14
(according even to the KJV reference version). This
prophet's Hebrew name, however, was 'Eli'Shuah', which means
"God is my Salvation" (as Y'SHUAH means "YAH is
Salvation" or "YAH the Saviour"). Exactly the same
as the pagan influence changed Y'SHUAH to "Y'Zeus" -
('Jesus' - phonetically 'Jezus'), so also Luke 4:27 reflects the
change of "Eli'Shuah" to "Eli'Zeus' ("My
God is Zeus")! Youngs Bible Concordance in its
reference to the name 'Eliseus', states: "The form in
which the name of Elisha appears in the common version of the New
Testament and the Apocrypha in Luke 4:27".
The Hebrew form of the Name YAHU'SHUAH (or Y'SHUAH) is often used
in the Tanach (Old Testament) as well as in the official Jewish
daily and festival Prayer Books, where it is generally translated
as "Salvation".
The 6th Book of the Bible uses the identical Hebrew form, and is
translated "Joshua". The most probable
authentic form is YAHOSHUA or YAHU'SHUA
The author wishes to emphasize that, although the forms YAHVEH
(for the God of Israel), and YAHU'SHUAH (for the Messiah) are
favored in this web site, we acknowledge most of the other
accepted forms. We believe that we should not be dogmatic,
since all the various forms which are so dogmatically insisted
upon by various interpreters, are merely transliterations
of the original Hebrew - which after all, is the only true and
exact Name. All the various forms which are presented by
Sacred Name promoters and which are the cause of so much
confusion, are proposed here in an earnest endeavor to
proclaim the Biblical Sacred Names. This process of
representing a word or a name in a different language, is called
'transliteration'.
Transliteration
Of The Hebrew Scared Names Into Other Languages
This
process of writing Hebrew words in another language or alphabet is
more an art than a science, and opinions on the correct way to
transliterate Hebrew words and names vary widely amongst the
Sacred Name Restorers amongst all the nations of the world.. This
is why, for instance, the Jewish festival of lights (in
Hebrew, spelled Chet-Nun-Kaf-He) is transliterated as
'Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hanuka' and many other
forms Each spelling has a legitimate phonetic and
orthographic basis; none is right or wrong from a linguist's
viewpoint. It is only specific in the original Hebrew.
For
purposes of this study, we have conglomerated from the Oxford
Dictionary, a definition for the process of transliteration,
from the three definitions affecting it, namely, name, word
and transliteration. We then arrive at the following:
Transliteration of the Sacred Name is the process of representing
the original Hebrew sound or combination of sounds which form a
spoken word by which God is known and identified, in the closest
corresponding letters of a different alphabet
It is obvious, that this process of using "the closest
corresponding letters", would present various options in the
'new' alphabet, more so, because some Hebrew letters or sounds are
not always represented in other languages.
A
problem presented by this transliterating process, is that
often the 'new' representations introduce sounds that are
non-existing in the Hebrew language, as for instance:
- the 'J' in 'Jehovah' ('J' as in 'George')
- the 'J' in 'Jesus'
- the 'w' in 'Yahweh' or 'Yahowah'
We have to re-emphasize that these sounds do not exist an
Hebrew and is not provided for in the Hebrew alphabet, yet some
Sacred Name promoters insist on their interpretation and
transliteration as the 'only true' form.
It is for this reason that BIBLE REVELATIONS promote the wider
tolerant stance of "acknowledging most of the other accepted
forms", without digressing from the importance of finding the
correct form of the Sacred Name/s. The soundness of this tolerant
stance can be substantiated by performing the following exercise:
The following paragraphs below publish a list of the various
transliterated forms that are commonly proclaimed for the Sacred
Name/s. Read thru this list fast, almost casually, without
great concern for specific pronunciation - and LISTEN to your own
voice. You will find that all these variations present one
almost identical sound. It is also important to realize
that, in any nation we find various sectors and dialects and when
presenting these sectors with the pronunciation of even their own
language, we will find great variations. The foundational Truth
is, that a name represents a sound (and a meaning), and in the
written language, this sound is represented by certain letters to
secure that sound. regarding the Sacred Name/s - the only true foundation that we
have for it, is the written Hebrew form. And to
represent this in various languages, is where the problem rests -
thus, in the Curse of the Tower
of Babylon
(Gen. 11).
The
following transliterated versions of the Sacred Names which are in
use by various Sacred name groups, are therefore
acknowledged:
YHVH
YHWH Yahweh Yahveh Yaveh Yaweh Jehova Jehovah Jahova Jahovah
Yahova Yahovah Yahowah Jahowa Jahowah Yahavah Jahavah Yahowe
Yahoweh Jahaveh Jahaweh Yahaveh Yahaweh Jahuweh Yahuweh Jahuwah
Yahuwah Yahuah Yah Jah Yahu Yahoo Yaohu Jahu Yahvah Jahvah Jahve
Jahveh Yahve Yahwe Yauhu Yawhu Iahu Iahou Iahoo Iahueh
Jeshua,
Yeshua, Yeshuah, Yehshua, Yehshuah, Yeshouah, Y'shua,
Y'shuah, Jeshu, Yeshu, Yehoshua, Yehoshuah, YHVHShua, YHVHShuah,
Yhvhshua, Yhwhshua, YHWHShua, YHWHShuah, Yhvhshuah, Yhwhshuah,
Yahvehshua, Yahwehshua, Yahvehshuah, Yahwehshuah,
Yawhushua,Yahawshua, Jahshua, Jahshuah, Jahshuwah, Jahoshua,
Jahoshuah, Jashua, Jashuah, Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Yashua, Yashuah,
Yahshua, Yahshuah, Yahushua, Yahushuah, Yahuahshua, Yahuahshuah,
Yahoshua, Yahoshuah, Yaohushua, Yaohushuah, Yauhushua,
Iahoshua, Iahoshuah, Iahushua, Iahushuah, YAHO-hoshu-WAH
PRONUNCIATION:
YAHU = YA-HU, the ‘YA’ as in ‘yard’; and
‘Hu’ as in 'Who’
YAHU'SHUAH = YAHU- SHOE- A (the
final ‘A’ as in ‘arm’). 'YA' as in 'yard'
PRINTED FORMAT:
For
YAHU- we shall print YHVH
For YAHU'SHUAH - we may sometimes
print Y'SHUAH
Author's
Note: Knowing the original Hebrew name of God is important. God
chose to give us His name through the Hebrew scribes. However,
when I call upon the Creator using the Name "God", His
Holy Spirit that dwells within me assures me that He, God, who
knows all things, also knows my heart and is fully aware that I
am, humbly and with no disrespect, speaking or referring to Him
and to Him only. The same applies to my prayers and reference to
Jesus. I am not referring or praying to Zeus from which the name
Jesus was transliterated, but to Jesus the Christ, the only
begotten Son of God.
Humbly
before God my Creator, Barry L. Brumfield
A
very special thank you to OvadYah Avrahami for allowing us to use
his article as posted above. You may see more of OvadYah
Avrahami's excellent work here: http://www.revelations.org.za/NotesS-Name.htm
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