The History of the Tetragrammaton
How YHWH became Jehovah
John Drummond
February 08, 2023
14 Comments
8741 views
The four-letter name of God, YHWH, also known as the tetragrammaton, represented in the Phoenician (top line), Old Hebrew (middle line), and modern square Hebrew (bottom line) scripts. Image credit: Zappaz created the png file, Bryan Derksen created the SVG file, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There is a famous movie scene in which the world’s most notorious archaeologist, Indiana Jones, must pass a series of harrowing trials in order to reach the Holy Grail. In one of these trials, Indy must traverse a particularly deadly trap by only stepping on the stones marked with the letters that make up the name of God. Indy does so and then everyone gets to learn that in Latin the name “Jehovah” starts with the letter I—after Indy almost dies by stepping on the letter J.
In reality, Indy would have fallen to his doom anyway because the name Jehovah did not appear until the 16th century when William Tyndale introduced it to the world in his translation of the Book of Exodus. Indeed, the Crusaders who, at least in Steven Spielberg’s film, built the booby-trapped temple of the Grail would have simply used “Dominus,” the word used for the name of God in the Latin Vulgate version of the Bible. Likewise, if the trials had been devised by a Judean of the Second Temple period, like Joseph of Arimathea—the keeper of the Holy Grail according to medieval legend—Indy would have only had to walk on four letters—YHWH—known to many as the Tetragrammaton.
It is this four-letter Hebrew word that William Tyndale would eventually translate into the name Jehovah. Unfortunately, Tyndale was unfamiliar with the word’s history. Because of the perceived holiness of God’s name, many observent Jews never uttered it aloud. Instead, they say haShem (“the name”) or Adonai (“my Lord”), a tradition that dated back to at least the Hellenistic period (c. 332–37 BCE). This was so important that when the Hebrew vowel system was invented in the Middle Ages, the rabbis that penned the scriptures chose to add the vowels for Adonai onto the Tetragrammaton as a reminder not to say God’s true name out loud. It was these Hebrew texts that Tyndale used to make his translations, which ultimately became the basis for the Old Testament of the King James Version of the Bible in 1611. And the rest is history.
The true pronunciation of YHWH can never be truly known because of the nature of the language, but clues do exist, including theophoric personal names known from the Bible and archaeology that reference YHWH—names such as Elijah, Adonijah, and Jeremiah. This led to the most commonly accepted pronunciation, “Yahweh,” but even this is still debated. Because of this uncertainty, many simply just use YHWH for the name.
Like the pronunciation, virtually everything about the name YHWH is debated—its origins, its significance, etc.—as is every aspect of the religion of the god who bears the name. In the article “Yahweh’s Desert Origins,” published in the Fall 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, scholar Juan Manuel Tebes discusses the ongoing debate surrounding the origins of Yahweh and the evidence that the deity may have been first worshiped by nomadic tribes living east of Sinai—people known to the Egyptians as the Shasu.
Regardless of the origins of Yahweh worship, it is clear that by the United Monarchy (c. tenth century BCE), Yahweh had become a very important deity to the people of Israel and Judah. It is at this time that personal names honoring YHWH become prevalent, replacing those of earlier Canaanite deities in popularity. By the mid-ninth century, when Mesha, king of Moab, erected his famous victory stela at his capital in Dibon, YHWH had become the national deity of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, officially recognized by their neighbors and enemies. And since then, the name YHWH has been firmly cemented in history.
To further explore the historical origins of Yahweh and how he came to be the patron deity of Israel and Judah, read Juan Manuel Tebes’s article “Yahweh’s Desert Origins,” published in the Fall 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
Subscribers: Read the full article “Yahweh’s Desert Origins” by Juan Manuel Tebes in the Fall 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
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The Name of God in the New Testament
Why God Has So Many Names
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Unfortunately, the Latin got it wrong – Yud is equivalent to “Y”. Regarding ‘waw’, it’s actually a ‘Vav’ in ancient Hebrew, and proof lies in the ‘w’ pronunciation stems from all the Arabic speaking regions where the Jewish population also had lost the ability to speak the ‘v’ sound, Spain to Yemen, as there is no ‘v’ sound in Arabic. The origins of “Yahweh” are dubious, indeed. For in-depth studies in the proper pronunciation of YeHoVaH, visit http://www.nehemiahswall.com and explore the work of Dr. Nehemia Gordon.
Interesting article but there are few corrections/other views: In SH’MOT (not ‘exodus’) 3, the mal’akh (messenger) of Yahweh pronounces our Creator’s Name: Yud-Heh-Waw-Heh (some say Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh, but this was a later addition in Medieval Hebrew, not Ancient Hebrew). The word Adonai was a later addition after the Greeks informed the Jews not to mention Our Creator’s true name. Adonai was a title used by the Jews to appease the Greeks. The word Adonai comes from the Greek ‘god’ of rebirth Adonis, who was the favourite of the ‘goddess’ Aphrodite (identified with Venus by the Romans; By the way, did you know that most of our planets, months, days of the weeks, clothing, cars, company names & logos, personal names & places are from Greco-Roman ‘gods’). After the Maccabean revolt, certain Jewish Leaders disobeyed Yahweh (in SH’MOT 6, Yahweh stated that His Name would be known throughout the land), and changed our Creator’s name to Ha-Shem, and other sinful practices that Yehoshua our Maschiach/Messiah openly refuted when He confronted them.). Furthermore, the term ‘god’ is a title, originating from the Germans who used this title for their supernatural being ‘Odin.’ The Ancient, Medieval, and even Modern Hebrew languages & dialects never used the title ‘god’ or ‘lord’ (another title originating from England for their kings, knights, & persons of nobility; some say the term ‘lord’ originated with the name ‘Baal’, Canaanite supernatural being). Finally, the ‘father of the letter J’ is Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian author and grammarian who lived from 1478 to 1550. He invented the letter J around 1524, but it wasn’t used in the first few ‘Bibles’ or in common print until decades later. William Tyndale was arrested and burned at the stake for (among so many other accusations) stating that we shouldn’t be using the word ‘church’ for the house of Yehoshua our Messiah, instead we should use the word ‘congregation’ or ‘Kehilla or kehillah’. The word ‘church ‘ derives from the word ‘circus’, where (in earlier times) people go to be entertained by dogs, ponies, and the mistreatment of slaves.
Interesting article but there are few corrections/other views: In SH’MOT (not ‘exodus’) 3, the mal’akh (messenger) of Yahweh pronounces our Creator’s Name: Yud-Heh-Waw-Heh (some say Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh, but this was a later addition in Medieval Hebrew, not Ancient Hebrew). The word Adonai was a later addition after the Greeks informed the Jews not to mention Our Creator’s true name. Adonai was a title used by the Jews to appease the Greeks. The word Adonai comes from the Greek ‘god’ of rebirth Adonis, who was the favourite of the ‘goddess’ Aphrodite (identified with Venus by the Romans; By the way, did you know that most of our planets, months, days of the weeks, clothing, cars, company names & logos, personal names & places are from Greco-Roman ‘gods’). After the Maccabean revolt, certain Jewish Leaders disobeyed Yahweh (in SH’MOT 6, Yahweh stated that His Name would be known throughout the land), and changed our Creator’s name to Ha-Shem, and other sinful practices that Yehoshua our Maschiach/Messiah openly refuted when He confronted them.). Furthermore, the term ‘god’ is a title, originating from the Germans who used this title for their supernatural being ‘Odin.’ The Ancient, Medieval, and even Modern Hebrew languages & dialects never used the title ‘god’ or ‘lord’ (another title originating from England for their kings, knights, & persons of nobility; some say the term ‘lord’ originated with the name ‘Baal’, Canaanite supernatural being). Finally, the ‘father of the letter J’ is Gian Giorgio Trissino, an Italian author and grammarian who lived from 1478 to 1550. He invented the letter J around 1524, but it wasn’t used in the first few ‘Bibles’ or in common print until decades later. William Tyndale was arrested and burned at the stake for (among so many other accusations) stating that we shouldn’t be using the word ‘church’ for the house of Yehoshua our Messiah, instead we should use the word ‘congregation’ or ‘Kehilla or kehillah’. The word ‘church ‘ derives from the word ‘circus’, where (in earlier times) people go to be entertained by dogs, ponies, and the mistreatment of slaves.
The myth about appending the vowels from Adonai to the Tetragrammaton is just one of the common misconceptions and inventions that have been disproven by Dr. Nehemia Gordon in his book, “Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence.” I would suggest that the author of this article read that book and then prayerfully consider rewriting this article.
“Adoni” means “my lord.” “Adonai” means “my lords.” I have often wondered about this.
Adonai is singular, meaning “Lord.” Adonim (ad-oh-neem), is lords
Thank you for writing about such an interesting topic as Gods personal name according the Bible.
About pronouniciation, I find the lectures of Nehemia Gordon very informative. I get the impression he knows hebrew quite well. (Take a look at YouTube, and at his website Nehemias Wall.) He explains in detail why he ends up with the conclution that Gods name YHWH is to be pronounced Jehovah/ Yehovah.
Names are being pronounced different in different languages. That is the case with my name, and yours as well. Also the name of Jesus is pronounced different in different languages. But that fact is not a logic reason to not use his name. Or yours. Or mine. Last but not least, it can not be a valid reason to not use and prounounce Gods personal name, the name he introduced himself with, repeated about 7000 times in the Bible – more than any other biblical name. Even pagan Gods are named in the Bible, so why not The Authors own name…? Plain logic 🙂
(About film clips related to Gods name. You might be familiar with Monty Python’s clip «The Stoning Scene»? Also on YouTube)
– Therefore, thank you for highlighting this very interesting and important topic!
Joseph of Arimathea or other Jews at the time wouldn’t have wanted Indy or other Gentiles to tread on the sacred name!
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14
According to the Bible God’s name is I AM.
I always expand the translation in Exodus 3:14 to “I am the self-existent one.” Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb 13:8.
Aa the term ‘Abba’ is used for God — meaning ‘Daddy’ or ‘Papa’, or even just ‘Pop’ — and since God has also been portrayed as an all-seeing Eye situated above a truncated pyramid (as in the Great Seal of the United States), then God could be referred to as “Pop-Eye” and His identifying epithet given to Moses could then be pronounced “I Yam What I Yam!” Notice that His larger-than-normal forearms contain symbols associated with Christ in the 1st Century: the Anchor. His eternal enmity with Bluto suggests a theological identification of the latter with the Devil, the Man of Blood — and ‘Blut’ in German means ‘Blood’. The people of Israel — often likened to God’s ‘spouse’ in Scripture — would be represented by Olive Oyl, over whom God and the Devil battle for favor. And, of course, the baby “Sweet Pea” would represent the Messiah. Who, other than God Himself, can be said to be “strong to the finish” in the ages-long battle against the forces of the Devil?
“Abba” does not mean ‘Pop’ or ‘daddy’, instead it is a formal word meaning “father”. We should stop saying it means “daddy”.
Way too many assumptions in the article.
First: Adonai means “Lord”; Adoni means “my Lord.”
Second: the vowels for the tetragrammaton are easily known since it was derived from the “to be” verb in Hebrew. Moses asks God who shall I say sent me, and God replies with the first person, common singular form of the “to be” verb, however in Hebrew he can’t go the the elders of Israiel, and say, “I am” sent me. In English we can do it, because English allows for direct and exact quotes, though in Hebrew this totally foreign to the language. Moses must say, “He Is” sent me, however, it may be a name but linguistically it is still a verb. The Masorites understood this, so in the Hebrew texts that are pointed, there are different vowels, depending on its use in a sentenence. No debate warranted.
Third: Assuming God is “god.” Archeaologists such as your self, always act like you are trying to uncover fact. Your assumption is there is no fact and that you must find fact to create a baseline for fact, then improve on the baseline to create more fact. The problem with this is that you refuse to acknowledge any fact that is already before you, so what you and so many do is create a predjudice against anything that already exists. Such as the Bible, or Moses, or the Law and ultimately God. May God have mercy on your souls.
Hear! Hear!