GODS NAME IS

YAHWEH

The most common name for God in the Old Testament is Yahweh, which appears more than 6,800 times and is derived from the tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew consonants transliterated into English as “YHWH”). God revealed this name as “his name” and “my name forever” at the burning bush (Ex. 3:13–15). It speaks of God’s eternal and unchanging nature. As can be seen in Exodus 3:15, the name Yahweh is what God intended by his response to Moses’s question about God’s name in 3:13. God responded by saying, “I AM WHO I AM” and “I AM” (Ex. 3:14), and then by identifying “LORD” (Yahweh) as “my name forever” (Ex. 3:15). Although this name of God was known before the time of the burning bush (e.g., Gen. 4:26; 5:29; 9:26; 14:22), according to Exodus 6:3, God told Moses concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “By my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.” There is no contradiction between these Genesis passages and Exodus 6:3, because the verb for “known” most likely here refers to relational knowledge. When the patriarchs addressed God as Yahweh, they did not relate to God with the understanding that Yahweh was “his name.” Another possible explanation of Exodus 6:3 is to understand “known” as referring to experiential knowledge, meaning that the patriarchs did not have “the full experience of that which lies in the name.”
After the Babylonian exile, the people of Israel came to refrain from saying the name of Yahweh, replacing it in pronunciation by the Hebrew name adonai, or by the Hebrew name elohim when Yahweh preceded or followed adonai in the written text as the name of God. This change in oral reading was likely due to reverence for it and to fear of blaspheming it. The translators of the Greek Septuagint and the writers of the New Testament (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) respected this Jewish tradition, writing the Greek word kyrios (“Lord”) when quoting an Old Testament passage with the name Yahweh. When the Masoretes invented the system of vowel pointing for the Hebrew Bible, they followed Jewish tradition in pronouncing the name of Yahweh, pointing “YHWH” with the vowels of the name adonai (a, o, a). Though the name was written as “YHWH,” it was to be pronounced as adonai (“Lord”).
The Masoretic pointing of “YHWH” led Latin-writing Christians to transliterate the Masoretic writing of “YHWH” with its vowel markings as “Iehovah.” Some have claimed that Petrus Galatinus (ca. 1460–ca. 1539) innovated this transliteration in 1518, but it appears in Latin Christian writings as early as the twelfth century AD. So the church of the Middle Ages came to combine the consonants of “YHWH” (transliterated as “IHVH”) and the vowels of adonai to produce the name Iehovah. The Reformers embraced this transliteration, and William Tyndale also used it in some passages in his Old Testament translation (1530). Then the Authorized Version (or King James Version) of 1611 (cf. Ex. 6:3) and the English Revised Version of 1885 used “Jehovah” in a few passages, accepting the J in place of the I, and this was the usual translation of Yahweh in the American Standard Version of 1901. But most modern English versions have respected the tradition of not pronouncing the tetragrammaton by translating “YHWH” as “LORD,” generally set in small caps to differentiate it from adonai.
The meaning of Yahweh is important for theology. Since it is derived from the Hebrew verb for being (khavah), especially against the backdrop of Exodus 3:14–15, the basic meaning of Yahweh is “he is” or “he will be.” So the name indicates that God “is” and “wills to be.” The name implies that he had no beginning, will have no ending, and is ever present. The name also implies that his being is derived from his own self-determination to be and to be what he is, so he is eternally who and what he is.
Since God revealed this name to Moses in a specific historical circumstance and because God acted as Yahweh in prior events and would act as Yahweh in future acts, his name would indicate the constancy of his being amid the changing conditions of his creation, especially those of his people. For example, as Yahweh, he had been and would be present as (1) the Revealer of himself and his will, (2) the Redeemer (Gen. 1:1–2:3 compared with Gen. 2:4–25; 9:26–27; Ex. 3:15–16; 6:26; Deut. 7:9; Ps. 19:1–6 compared with Ps. 19:7–14; Isa. 26:4), (3) the Eternal One (Isa. 41:4; 48:12), (4) the Life Giver (Gen. 2:4–25; Ezek. 37:13–14, 27), and (5) the supreme Judge of all creation (Ezek. 6:13–14; 7:27; 11:10; 12:16). Later, the perfections (attributes) of God will be specified, but one needs to know from the name Yahweh that God is eternal, simple, self-existent, and present at every event in time.


YAHWEH COMPOUNDS

In his Word, God reveals the relevance of his name Yahweh to humans, especially to his people, through the compounds of his name. They are revealed in connection with God’s actions.

Yahweh-tsabaoth. God is “the LORD of hosts” or “armies.” Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God created, governs, and leads the angels as the “armies” of heaven (Ps. 24:10; Isa. 6:1–5; 9:7; Hag. 2:6–9; Zech. 4:6) and his people as his “armies” (Ex. 7:4; 12:41; 1 Sam. 17:45) to accomplish his purposes in his creation.

Yahweh-yireh. God is “the LORD” who “will provide” or “will see” (Gen. 22:14). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God will see and provide what is needed to fulfill his promise. In Genesis 22:14, Abraham remembered God by this name because God had provided a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac.

Yahweh-rophe. God is “the LORD, your healer” (Ex. 15:26). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God will deliver his people to fulfill his will. In Exodus 15:22–26, Moses remembered that God sweetened the water at Marah so the people could drink and live. God’s mercy, compassion, and loving-kindness are on display.

Yahweh-nissi. God is “The LORD Is My Banner” (Ex. 17:15). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God will be the “banner” or “standard” that will lead his people to victory over their enemies. In Exodus 17:15, Moses worshiped God as the One who gave his people victory over Amalek and would destroy Amalek utterly from the earth.

Yahweh-meqaddishkem. God is “the LORD” who sanctifies his people. Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God will sanctify or set apart his people from sin and the surrounding nations to obey him. Keeping the Sabbaths holy or set apart would be a sign to the people that God makes them holy, set apart from the other nations, to belong to and serve him only (Ex. 31:13).

Yahweh-shalom. God is “The LORD Is Peace” (Judg. 6:24). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God, through the angel of the Lord, sent Gideon to “save Israel” from the Midianites (Judg. 6:14). The angel of the Lord gave Gideon a sign—that the angel’s staff consumed Gideon’s sacrifice with fire—to assure him that he was sending Gideon and would go with him to give him victory. The Hebrew word for “peace,” shalom, means wholeness and well-being. Through Gideon, God would grant his people wholeness in freedom from enemies and well-being in the Promised Land.

Yahweh-roiy. God is “the LORD is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, according to Psalm 23, God will provide everything his people need in this life, in death, and forever. He will guide and protect his people.

Yahweh-tsidkenu. God is “the LORD is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, in the future God will establish the Messiah as the Davidic King, and “he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer. 23:5). When this Davidic King will reign in righteousness “in the land,” then “Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely” (Jer. 23:5–6).

Yahweh-shammah. God is “The LORD Is There” (Ezek. 48:35). Because he “is” and “will be” who he is, God will restore Israel as a saved nation in the Promised Land and will establish a new temple in a renewed Jerusalem, which will be called by the name “The LORD Is There.”


MacArthur, J., & Mayhue, R. (Eds.). (2017). Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (pp. 155–157). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.