Inspired by...: Inspired by . . . Day 2: His Name, YHWH

Inspired by . . . Day 2: His Name, YHWH

Yahweh (YHWH), Jehovah

We begin with His name that identifies the Lord to us as a Person.

yehôvâh
yeh-ho-vaw'
(the) self Existent or eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: - Jehovah, the Lord.

Derived from the root:

hâyâh
haw-yaw'
A primitive root; to exist, that is, be or become, come to pass

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them,

The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me,

What is His name? what shall I say unto them?

And God said unto Moses,

I AM THAT I AM: and He said,

Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Exo 3:13-14

In most Bibles YHWH, is translated by writing LORD, in all capital letters. It is found more than 6,000 times in the Old Testament. As we discussed before, God’s name is holy, and His word warns us about taking His name in vain. (Lev 24:16) The name of God was so sacred to the ancient Jewish scribes that they used a special pen to write the name of God when they reproduced the scriptures. Each time they came to His name, they would set down their regular pen and pick up a holy pen that was used only to write God’s name. After saying a prayer, they would write His name with the holy pen, then pick up their regular pen and resume writing.

I have to admit, this is a pet peeve of mine. I cringe when I see people write God with a little g. I always change the first letter of pronouns that refer to Him so that they are capitalized. I realize not all biblical translations even do this, but it is one small way that I show my reverence for His name.

Tomorrow we will begin looking at the compounds of Yahweh used in scripture. Strictly speaking, these compounds are designations or titles which reveal additional facts about God’s character.

God is Jehovah. The name of the independent, self-complete being - - “I AM THAT I AM” - - only belongs to Jehovah God.

Our proper response to Him is to fall down in reverence and awe of the One Who possesses all authority.