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:

This is how it appears in the Hebrew Scrolls:
 

	Read from right to left (so also the following)  Top line: YHVH  Yisrael  Shmaa    Bottom line:  echad YHVH Eloheinu

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 my Creator.  

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