Surprising Facts
Did you know that your Heavenly Father has a personal Name? Surprisingly, His Name is found 6, 823 times in ancient texts of the Bible, but it was hidden by Bible translators who believed it was too sacred to use. Yet, the Bible itself challenges you to discover and call on the only true and revealed Name of the Creator as well as the Name of His Son – the only Name on which salvation is based. Here are the facts about His Name. But don’t take our word for it, prove it for yourself!
Surprising Facts from the Scriptures
“Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, if you know it?” Proverbs 30:4.
“I am Yahweh; that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images,” Isaiah 42:8
“That men may know that Thou, Whose name alone is Yahweh, art the Most High over all the earth,” Psalm 83:18
“You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your Elohim to bring it to nothing, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that misuses His name to bring it to nothing,” Exodus 20:7. (This is the third commandment.)
“Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to His name: extol Him that rides upon the heavens by His name YAH and rejoice before Him,” Psalm 68:4
(“Yah” is the last part of the word “halleluyah.” HalleluYah is the most ancient of all words of praise and means “Praise Yah.” The title “Elohim” is the Hebrew original for the Germanic title “God.” “God” is from the ancient root gheu, which means to pour, as in a molten image. See Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 11th edition, under “God.”)
“Seek Him that made the seven starts and Orion…Yahweh is His Name,” Amos 5:8
“And you shall not swear by My name falsely, neither shall you profane the name of your Elohim: I am Yahweh,” Leviticus 19:12.
Facts from Religious Scholarship
A New Standard Bible Dictionary states, “Jehovah…properly Yahweh… the form ‘Jehovah’ is impossible, according to the strict principles of Hebrew vocalization.” Neither the letter J nor its sound existed in the Hebrew or Greek language texts of our Bibles. The J is the newest letter in the English alphabet, coming into existence about the time of Christopher Columbus. Therefore, “Jesus” cannot be the original name of the Son.
James Moffatt, in his introduction to the Moffatt Bible translation (pp. 20-21), makes it clear that he would have had no hesitation about using the Name Yahweh in his translation if he had intended it for students of the original Scriptures.
In the preface to the Goodspeed translation we find, “The Hebrews called their deity by the name Yahweh, and in shorter form Yah.”
The New Catholic Bible (Catholic Bible Press), at Exodus 3:14, says, “’I am who I am’; apparently this utterance is the source of the word Yahweh; the proper, personal name of the God of Israel… Out of reverence for this name the term ‘Adonai,’ ‘my Lord,’ was used as a substitute. The word Lord in the present version represents this traditional usage. The word Jehovah arose from a false reading of this name as it is written in the current Hebrew text.”
This revealing statement is from the Jewish Encyclopedia: “The reading Jehovah is a comparatively recent invention. Jehovah is generally held to have been the invention of Pope Leo the 10th’s confessor, Peter Galatin [De Arcanis Catholic Veritates 1518, Folio XLIII], who was followed in the use of this hybrid form by Fagius Drusius” (vol. 7, p. 88).
The veracity of the Name Yahweh is confirmed in the Lexicon for the Books of the Old Testament (Koehler and Baumgartner), which reads, {The wrong spelling Jehovah occurs since about 1100,” noting that Yahweh is the correct and original pronunciation” (p. 20).
Facts from Secular Sources
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language says under “Yahweh”: A name for God assumed by modern scholars to be a rendering of the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.”
The Oxford English Dictionary notes: “Jehovah – The English and common European representation, since the 16th century, of the Hebrew divine name Yhwh...It is now held that the original name was IaHUe(H), i.e. Jahve(h, or with the English values of the letters, Yahwe(h….”
Encarta, the on-line encyclopedia, says under “Jehovah”: “Name of the God of the Hebrew people as erroneously transliterated from the Masoretic Hebrew text. The word consists of the consonants JHVH or JHWH, with the vowels of the separate word, Adonai (Lord). The evidence of the Greek church fathers shows the forms Jabe and Jao to be traditional, as well as shortened Hebrew forms of the words Jah and Jahu. This evidence indicates that the name was originally spoken as Jaweh or Yahwe (often spelled Yahweh in modern usage).”
The Encyclopaedia Britannica (Micropedia, vol. 10) says “Yahweh—the personal name of the God of the Israelites…the Masoretes, Jewish Biblical scholars of the Middle Ages, replaced the vowel signs that had appeared above or beneath the consonants of YHWH with the vowel signs of Adonai or of Elohim. Thus the artificial name Jehovah (YeHoWaH) came into being…Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used the form Yahweh, thus this pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was never really lost. Greek transcriptions also indicated that Yhwh should be pronounced Yahweh.”
Webster’s New World Dictionary reads, “Yahweh—God, a form of the Hebrew name in the Old Testament.”
More Facts from the Scriptures
“Praise Yahweh, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted,” Isaiah 12:4
“And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, neither let it be heard out of your mouth,” Exodus 23:13
“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, Yahweh’s Name is to be praised,” Psalm 113:3
“And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name Yahshua, for He shall save His people from their sins,” Matthew 1:21.
The name of the Son in Hebrew etymologically means “Yah is salavation” (Yah-shua). No etymological meaning exists in the Latinized-Greek name Jesus.
In John 5:43, the Messiah said, “I am come in My Father’s name.” The name Yah is found in both names of Father and Son, Yahweh and Yahshua. The shortened “Yah” form of His name is found as both prefix and suffix in names of many Biblical patriarchs and persons. Here are some examples: Yahshua (Joshua); Yahel (Joel); YahkhanYah (Jeconiah); Yahchobed (Jochobed, mother of Moses); EliYah (Elijah); YehshaYah (Isaiah); YirmeYah (Jeremiah) ZekharYah (Zechariah), MicYah (Micah), MattitYah (Matthew), and there are many more.
Paul wrote, “Wherefore Yahweh has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Yahshua every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Yahshua the Messiah is the Savior, to the glory of Yahweh the Father,” Philippians 2:9-11.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts 4:12.
“And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Yahshua the Messiah…” 1 John 3:23
The saving nature of the Son’s Name is shown in Acts 10:43, “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believes in Him shall receive a remission of sins.”
Name-titles for Yahweh
Some may point to Yahweh’s various titles to show that He has “many names,” but in fact these are only titles connected to and describing His one, true Name Yahweh:
Yahweh Elyon = Yahweh Most High (Ps. 7:17)
Yahweh Mekaddishkem = Yahweh That Sanctifies (Ex. 31:13)
Yahweh Nissi = Yahweh My Banner (Ex. 17:15)
Yahweh Rapha = Yahweh That Heals (Ex. 15:26)
Yahweh Roi = Yahweh My Shepherd (Ps. 23:1)
Yahweh Shalom = Yahweh Send Peace (Judg. 6:24)
Yahweh Shammah = Yahweh Is There (Ezek. 48:35)
Yahweh Shua = Yahweh Our Salvation (Matt. 1:21)
Yahweh Yireh = Yahweh Will Provide (Gen. 22:14)
Yahweh Zebaoth = Yahweh of Hosts (1Sam. 1:3)
Yahweh Zidkenu = Yahweh Our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6)
El Shaddai = El All Powerful or Almighty (Gen. 17:1)
Restoring the True Names in YOUR Bible
The common titles for the Father and Son should be replaced with the proper names or designations in the original Scriptures. Here is how you can do that when reading your Bible.
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT…
LORD, Lord = Yahweh (the only true name of the Mighty One of Israel and of Scripture)
GOD = Yahweh (Out of mistaken reverence, the Sopherim or text editors, changes Yahweh to the titles Adonai and Elohim in 134 places, ultimately giving us the title “GOD.”)
GOD = In all caps, was also used to replace the singular El.
God = El (“Mighty One”)
God, Gods = Elohim (plural of El, and sometimes used of the singular, Supreme Mighty One)
God = Eloah (singular of Elohim, meaning “Mighty One”)
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT…
God = Yahweh
God = Eloah, Elohim
Lord = Master, Savior (Yahweh when quoted from the Old Testament or in reference to Yahweh of the Old Testament)
Jesus = Yahshua
Christ = Messiah (the Annointed)
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