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What the Bible says about YHWH
(From Forerunner Commentary)

YHWH: The Eternal first introduced His name as YHWH (LORD) in Exodus 3 where Moses records the account of receiving his commission from God. In verse 15 God calls Himself YHWH Elohim translated "LORD God" in most English-language Bibles. In the Authorized Version, wherever we find the name "GOD" or "LORD " printed in small capitals, the original is YHWH (see Genesis 2:4-5, 7-8).

The original Hebrew text consists of consonants only and no vowels, and thus the Creator's name is spelled YHWH. This is often referred to as the tetragrammaton, meaning the "four letters." YHWH derives from a form of the Hebrew verb to be and has the same meaning as the name "I AM" (hayah) in Exodus 3:14. Hebrew scholars say YHWH could mean "He exists" or "He causes to be." English equivalents to this would be "the Ever-Living" or "the Eternal." God and His name are both everlasting (Psalm 135:13). The meaning of the name and the permanency behind it are crucial to properly recognizing His sovereignty.

Scholars believe that YHWH was originally pronounced as Yahweh, but we have no concrete evidence of what the missing vowels should be. The Jews considered YHWH too sacred to speak, so they stopped pronouncing it after the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, when it was considered unlawful and blasphemous to vocalize it. The correct pronunciation was forgotten over time. When a Jew recites scripture and comes to YHWH, he substitutes the word Adonai, meaning "Lord" or "Master." Therefore, the name of God is written YHWH but pronounced Adonai.

Some have thought YHWH should be pronounced "Jehovah." In AD 1520, Peter Galatin, the confessor of Pope Leo X, invented this name by interjecting the vowels of Adonai (a-o-a) between the consonants YHWH. This produced the hybrid YaHoWaH, later pronounce "Jehovah." This name, contrived through human reasoning, has no biblical basis.

Martin G. Collins
The Names of God

Related Topics: Adonai | Jehovah | Yahweh | YHWH


 

Exodus 34:5-8

God expounds eleven attributes: YHWH, El, the Merciful One, the Gracious One, the Longsuffering One, the Mighty One, the Kind and Loving One, the True One, the One who Preserves Kindness, the Forgiving One, and the Chastising One.

God gives Moses, not so much a vision of His power and majesty, but of His love, of how He relates to His creation. The real glory of God is His character, His nature, especially toward His children. His names are signposts of His nature, reminders of what we can expect Him to do as we live by faith.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Third Commandment (1997)

Luke 9:3

At this point in His ministry, Jesus tells themnot to be concerned with procuring extra provisions for their journeys as they went to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. He specifically instructed them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece" (Luke 9:3). A short time later, He gave similar instructions: "Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road" (Luke 10:4). The parallel account in Matthew 10:7-10 mirrors these directives:

And as you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

Jesus Christ was not issuing a blanket prohibition against sandals, or against money, or against owning more than one shirt. However, for a limited interval of time, He directed them to travel lightly, for a number of reasons.

First, for these initial activities, Christ did not want His disciples to be concerned about physical preparations. He wanted them to focus on the job that He had given them to do—preach the gospel and report back to Him—rather than on worrying about obtaining extra clothing or footwear. His emphasis was on the mission He was sending them on, but He knew human nature's tendency to worry about the details of its own comfort and existence. He did not want the disciples caught up in any preparations that would delay or distract them from His work through them.

Second, Christ was helping them to build faith in God as their Provider. He was teaching them to live and do His work without concern for their physical lives. He states clearly that if we are seeking His Kingdom first, and all that it entails, God will provide for all of our real needs (Matthew 6:33). The Father provides for even the birds and flowers, and we are of much greater worth than these (verses 25-32). God even has a name that reflects this: YHWH-Jireh, the Lord will provide as He thinks fit.

There is an alleged contradiction between the accounts given by Matthew and Mark. In Mark 6:8-9, Jesus says, "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics." In Matthew 10:9-10, He instructs, "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs." This problem is easily resolved when we realize that He is really talking about two different things. In Matthew's account, Jesus does not forbid wearing sandals or carrying a staff, but only forbids their providing themselves with more—getting extra ones. Instead of being concerned when their current trappings wore out, they should trust God to supply their need and go just as they were. On this verse Albert Barnes comments, "The meaning of the two evangelists may be thus expressed: 'Do not procure anything more for your journey than you have on. Go as you are, shod with sandals, without making any more preparation.'"

Third, Christ did not want His disciples caught up in the spirit of materialism. Certain elements within the culture of the day would "preach" for money, either religiously or philosophically. Charlatans would sell "snake oil" cures. Mediums and spiritists could do seemingly miraculous things—for a price. People in this society would do anything to turn a quick penny just like today.

Christ's words in Matthew 10:8 are meant to counteract this mindset. He had given the disciples miraculous power to heal and cleanse, as well as authority over demons. Yet, because He had given these spiritual gifts to them freely, Christ told them to carry out His instructions without seeking monetary or material compensation. God's workers are worthy of their hire but should not build personal fortunes through the services they render for Him. God is certainly generous, and provides for His servants as He sees fit, but He prohibits them from using His gifts for their own gain. He will bless them as it pleases Him!

David C. Grabbe
Living By the Sword

1 Corinthians 1:2

Paul wrote his letter in Greek to a majority Greek-speaking audience. If we were to look at the epistle's manuscripts, we would see that they are entirely in Greek; they are not interspersed with Hebrew names for Deity.

The apostle refers to those who are sanctified in Christos Iesous (as "Christ Jesus" is transliterated from the Greek). Then he mentions all who call on the name of Iesous Christos. When the angel appeared to Mary, he told her that she should call her son Iesous (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31). Obviously, this is not a Hebrew (or Aramaic) word, and it differs from the names of God that the heroes of faith would have known.

For instance, unless Abraham had an unrecorded vision of the future, he never heard the word Iesous. Instead, he knew Yahweh El Elyown, the Lord God Most High. On the other hand, Philip never had a chance to instruct the Ethiopian eunuch how to pronounce YHWH:

And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Iesous Christos is the Son of Theos." (Acts 8:36-37; emphasis and the insertion of transliterations of God's names in Greek are ours throughout)

The eunuch's faith, given by God, provided him with the heart—and thus lips—to call on the name of the Lord, which He did in Greek, not Hebrew.

Romans 10 appears amid a long teaching about Israel's place in God's plan. Notice what Paul focuses on in this letter, also written in Greek:

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Iesous and believe in your heart that Theos has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Romans 10:9-13)

There is not one word in the whole Book about Jews and Greeks having to learn each other's languages to worship God! There is tremendous value in understanding the names and titles of God, as they describe His character, but what He requires is a different heart that can appreciate, value, and desire that character.

This passage also shows that the prophecy in Zephaniah 3:9 about giving a pure language to call on the name of the Lord was already being fulfilled, in part, because these Corinthians were calling on the name of the Lord. With repentance, baptism, and the receipt of the Holy Spirit, a cleansing takes place and a new heart is given—a heart that will teach the lips to speak in a way that reflects a new spiritual reality. The speech of one being converted becomes pure, not merely by avoiding foul language, but also by speaking truth. A Christian's speech increases in purity as it reflects more of the culture of God's Kingdom and less of the culture of carnal mankind that is passing away.

"Calling on the name of the Lord" is simply another way of describing true worship. Abraham and Isaac are shown calling on the name of the Lord in the context of building altars (Genesis 12:8; 13:4; 26:25). Combining this with the instructions given later for sacrifices, we can understand that calling on God's name involves recognizing the need for a payment for sin, at the very least. It also encompasses committing oneself to complete devotion to God and fellow man and celebrating peace with God with thanksgiving.

Elijah called on the name of the Lord in front of an altar, with a brief prayer in which he acknowledged God's sovereignty and asked that the Israelites be turned back to God (I Kings 18:24-37). The psalms show that calling on the name of the Lord involves remembering and proclaiming His mighty works (Psalm 80:18; 99:6; 105:1; 116:4-17). In short, calling on the name of the Lord is honoring and beseeching God because of His fundamental nature and character. The actual calling or speaking may be a singular event, but a great deal of spiritual preparation always occurs before it can be done.

Pure lips, and thus a pure heart, are required for this because only when the heart is cleansed can it begin to recognize the truth of God and thus speak what is true. A cleansed heart is turned toward God. With that change in focus and direction, a person's whole life begins to change, and what comes out of his mouth will show that, regardless of his native tongue.

Beyond what is said, a pure heart will be reflected in the life that is lived, for a change of heart affects far more than just a person's words. So, Peter writes that, after conversion, other people will think it strange that we do not continue in sin with them, and they will speak evil of us (I Peter 4:4). What now motivates us differs from what motivates them, even though we are still using the same human tongue. Our lives are a testimony either of God or of the world, no matter what we profess verbally or what language we use.

The Day is approaching when Israel, Judah, and other peoples will be brought through a purifying fire. In the aftermath, the cleansed and humbled peoples will speak a pure language, indicating that they have different hearts. But spiritual Israel has already undergone a cleansing and received access to a pure heart. Yet, despite already having what it takes to call on the name of the Lord, we still have plenty of work to do in purifying our hearts so our King will accept our culture—our way of life—when He returns.

David C. Grabbe
What Is the Prophesied 'Pure Language'? (Part Three)


 




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