YHVH—Memorial Name of God

Shabbat shalom to everyone from our family to yours! 

Here’s a  little Sabbath treat for everyone. Enjoy…

Exodus 3:14–15, I AM THAT I AM.The name YHVH is Elohim’s memorial name forever. It reflects that fact that he is; that he is undefinable in human terms, and that he has always existed. This is the name by which he is to be remembered (not forgotten as is the case with the ineffable name concept of the rabbinic Jews whereby the names of deity or forbidden to be used). Exodus 3:14 and 15 read as follows:

14 And Elohim said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM (EHYEH ASHER EHYEH YHVH RAT YHVH): and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM (EHYEH YHVH) hath sent me unto you. 15 And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, YHVH the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name [Heb. shem] for ever, and this is my memorial [Heb. zeker] unto all generations.

slide.001

Here are some examples of how various Bible versions translate the name of YHVH:

  • I Am That I Am (KJV)
  • I Am Who I Am (NAS, NIV, NKJV
  • I Am That Which I Am (YLT)
  • I Shall Be As I Shall Be (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach)
  • I Will Be What I Will Be (The Gutnick Edition Chumash, JPS)
  • I Will Be There Howsoever I Will Be There (The Schocken Bible)
  • I Am the Being (LXX, Brenton)

Exodus 3:15 states that YHVH is the name Moses was to use when referring to I AM THAT I AM. Both the former and latter are forms of the Hebrew verb hayah meaning “to be.” YHVH instructed that YHVH was to be his memorial name forever. In other words, humans were to use YHVH to remember him by. There is no indication here that it was YHVH’s intention that his name was to be forgotten or hidden through euphemisation. The word memorial is the Hebrew word zeker (Strong’s H2143) and means “remembrance, memory.”

It must be noted here that we don’t refer to YHVH as I Am, for were we to do so it would be necessary to say “I Am,” and in all reality, we aren’t the I Am, but YHVH is the I Am. Just so there is no confusion when communicating YHVH’s name in every day speech, the Bible uses, not the Hebrew ehyeh meaning “I Am,” but the form of the verb which means “He Is.” In this way, every time we say his name we’re glorifying him, and not inadvertantly glorifying ourselves.

In writing, I use the Hebrew letters yud, hey, vav, and hey (or in English YHVH). Why is this? Because there are many possible ways to pronounce YHVH when transliterating it into English, and I don’t want to offend anyone by not spelling it your favorite way. So I just use the consonants as found in the Scriptures.

However, for those who are curious, I pronounce YHVH as Yehovah, or Yehowah. Many say Yahweh. I used to also, until it become clear to me that Yehovah seemed more correct. This can become a matter of discussion and debate, but I don’t choose to go there. Study out the subject for yourself and do what you think is right. Just keep an open mind, and be gracious to others who are of a different opinion.

Blessings to you all!

 

3 thoughts on “YHVH—Memorial Name of God

  1. The Name means I create life and secure life, or hand behold, nail behold. The Memorial Name is the very Gospel itself. It is time the world knew this great truth.

  2. Hours ago, the Pope compromised on homosexuality. No surprise, Constatinians have always tampered with the truth. The Shema is the truth. Any trinity concept is a lie. Keter Seneh

    • With regard to the pope’s pronouncement in favor of civil unions for homos, YHVH is taking the lid off of the gilded garbage can and showing the world what’s really inside. Didn’t Yeshua call the religious systems of men whited sepulchers full of dead men’s bones?

Share your thoughts...