Wednesday, September 13, 2017

The Personal Name of God—Yahweh/Jehovah and Adonai


Names have meaning and are powerful, especially biblical names. You know the names and “nicknames” of your friends, do you know the names of God and their meaning? Each name gives us another picture of our LORD God.    

September’s Awakening, Day 13

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Exodus 3:14–15 NKJV

 

            “I AM WHO I AM,” or “I will be who I will be,” is the transliteration of the Tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew consonants denoting the personal name of God—YHWH. The Hebrew language has no written vowels—they are only pronounced through the knowledge of oral tradition. Hence, the best representation of the personal name of God is Yahweh. The Latinized version of YHWH was JHVH, which ultimately became transliterated as Jehovah. In Scripture, the personal name of God is most commonly transliterated as “LORD,” in all capitals, in the KJV and NKJV versions of the Bible. Oftentimes, we see “LORD God” together (or simply “Lord God” in most other translations), denoting the personal nature of God. Keep that nuance in mind as you read Scripture and God is revealing His very personal nature to you. It is tragically disappointing that most of our newer translations do not distinctly represent much of the true meaning and nuances of the Hebrew language.

 

So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Exodus 4:11 NKJV 

 

            Adonai reverently means “Lord or Master” and was the name of God used instead of Yahweh at an early point in time when Yahweh became thought of as too sacred to be pronounced in any public fashion. Hence, Adonai was almost always substituted for Yahweh when praying or reading the Scriptures, but the connotation was the same as the personal name of God. Therefore, even though the Scripture read “Yahweh,” “Adonai” was spoken instead.

            In summary, Yahweh, Jehovah, and Adonai all reference the personal name of God. Yahweh is by convention the most appropriate, since it is the best direct transliteration of the original Hebrew. Good sheep know the Shepherd’s voice and His name.

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