01 11th, 2020Proverbs 30:4 – “Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His son’s name, if you can tell?”
This is a very difficult question for the majority of the world to answer but it shouldn’t be for the Creator’s own people. The answer is to be found in the Bible, especially in the Hebrew manuscripts. Notice the question does not say, “What are His Names . It uses the singular “name” implying He only has one name that He desires to be known by.
Psalm 83:16-18 – “Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” KJV
The KJV states His name is “JEHOVAH”, but is that His correct name?
Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
Here the Almighty declares His name through the prophet Isaiah. The KJV state His name is “The LORD.” But in Psalm 83:18 that we just read, it said His name is “JEHOVAH.” If you check the Hebrew of both verses you will find that both LORD and JEHOVAH are translated from the same word [YHWH]. It is called the “tetragrammaton,” meaning “the four letters,” and it is the revealed personal name of our Heavenly Father. This name is used more than any other name in Scripture. It appears about 7,000 times in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and it should have appeared about 100 times in the New Testament. It is pronounced “Yahweh”.
Leviticus 24:16 – “And he that blasphemes the name of the Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemes the name of the Yahweh, shall be put to death.”
The Israelites understood how holy Yahweh’s name was and had a great reverence for it. So, in an effort to avoid blaspheming the Name themselves, and in an effort to keep the heathen nations from blaspheming the Name, they began saying “Adonai,” meaning “Lord,” whenever they came across the tetragrammaton when reading Hebrew or whenever they referred to the Almighty in conversation. It is similar to what they did by building walls around the Sabbath to keep from polluting it.
Sometime after the 6th century C.E. a group called the Masoretes added vowel marks to the Hebrew text in an effort to preserve the pronunciation as they knew it. The vowel marks for Adonai were inserted with the letters of the sacred name to remind the people to say Adonai when reading the name. As a result, when translators sought to translate the scriptures into other languages, they became confused. They mixed the vowels of adonai with the letters of the tetragrammaton and came up with Jehovah.
Psalm 68:4 – “Sing unto Elohim, sing praises to his name: extol him that rides upon the heavens by his name YAH, and rejoice before him.”
Here we are told to extol Him by His name which is given as “Jah” in the KJV. It appears as “YH” in Hebrew and is pronounced “Yah.” It is the poetic short form of the Creator’s name. This short form is found within the names of many Israelites such as Isaiah meaning “Yah has saved” or Jeremiah meaning “Yah will rise.” It is also found in the word Halleluyah meaning “praise you Yah.” This short form appears about 50 times in the Hebrew text, yet the KJV allows it to appear just this once. The NIV doesn’t even allow that. Instead it has “LORD.”
The name Yahweh is not a translation of the tetragrammaton. It is a transliteration meaning the sounds of those original Hebrew letters have been reproduced into another language. Names should never be translated from one language to another. They should always be transliterated as are most Biblical names. For example, Abraham in Hebrew is pronounced Abrawhawm; Sarah is pronounced Sawraw. Today, Mikail Gorbachev’s name is the same in Russian or English. Francois Mitterand’s name is pronounced the same in France as it in Argentina. If President Clinton goes to China they will pronounce his name Clinton. They won’t change it to Chung. The name of Yahweh should be pronounced exactly the same in any language on earth, contrary to the multiplicity of names this world applies to Yahweh.
Exodus 3:15 (and Psalm 135:13) – “And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, Yahweh, Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
This verse declares Yahweh’s name to be a memorial. We are to remember Him by this name forever. If we substitute false names and titles for His memorial name, then we no longer memorialize it. The same principal holds true when people substitute Sunday for the Sabbath. They no longer memorialize creation. Ironically, Satan’s name does not change from one language to another. “Satan” is recognized in all languages. The Bible says to memorialize the Creator’s name yet, man changes His name and memorializes Satan’s name instead!
Tyndale’s Bible was the first English Bible to substitute “LORD” in place of “YHWH”. This resulted from the fact that the Greek text was already corrupted in that it had substituted “kurios,” meaning “lord,” and “theos,” meaning “God,” in place of Yahweh’s name. The substitution of kurios and theos for the sacred name took place gradually after the first century. The earliest copies of the Septuagint (Greek translation of the O.T., 200-100 BCE) show that the sacred name was written in Hebrew letters within the Greek text. Sometimes it was written in gold letters. Aquila’s version (128 CE) and Origen’s Hexapla were also written in Greek yet, the Sacred Name was written in Hebrew directly into the Greek text.
Notice what happened when Deuteronomy 8:3b was quoted in the N.T.; The text, as it appears in the O.T. of the KJV, reads, “that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” And, as it appears in Mtatthew 4:4 of the KJV, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Not only did the translators substitute “the LORD” for “Yahweh” in the O.T. text, but they also removed “the LORD” and put “God” in the N.T. text. A truthful translation would have Yahweh’s name in both verses.
Psalm 72:17-19 – “His name shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be Yahweh Elohim, the Elohim of Israel, who only does wondrous things. And blessed be His glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen.”
Despite the efforts of the forces of darkness, Yahweh’s name will endure forever. He will personally see to it that His people know His name as we read in Ezekiel 39:7 ;
“So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel.”
One of the ways to profane or pollute His Holy name is by applying a false name or title in its place. The time will come when Yahweh will remove these substitutes from the lips of His people.
Jeremiah 16:19-21 – “O Yahweh, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Yahweh.”
Yahweh declares that He Himself will do the teaching concerning who He is and what His name is. He has already begun to do this with those who have accepted and use His name. But if we fight against the power of the Holy Spirit as it tries to teach us these things, then we grieve the Holy Spirit. And that is something we don’t want to do if we love Yahweh.
Notice in verse 19 that the fathers of the Gentile nations have passed down lies to their children. You and I have inherited the lies of Sunday worship, eating unclean foods, eternal hell-fire, etc. We have also inherited the lies concerning the sacred names. But Almighty Yahweh is now working to restore the truth among His people.
I’ve used the phrase “sacred names” several times in this study. Let’s turn to Matthew 6:9 to find out what that means.
Mt.6:9 – “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
The word “hallowed” in Greek means to set apart for holy use. Not only is Yahweh’s name Holy, but it is to be set apart, just as the Sabbath day is set apart, for holy use. What does Yahweh say concerning those who set apart His name?
Malachi 3:16,17 – “Then they that feared Yahweh spake often one to another: and Yahweh hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared Yahweh, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, says Yahweh of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.”
Not only will their names be written in the Book of Life, but they will also be recorded in a special Book of Remembrance because they remembered to reverence and sanctify His name. They memorialized it.
Joel 2:31,32 – “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of Yahweh come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as Yahweh has said, and in the remnant whom Yahweh shall call.”
This passage was quoted by the Apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:20,21. The Hebrew text doesn’t say, “All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” It says, “All who call upon the name of Yahweh shall be delivered.” The translators of the New Testament didn’t even have enough respect for the Name to give the word “LORD” all capital letters. In Acts 2:21, LORD is written “Lord.”
Let’s look at a few more prophetic scriptures to end this study on Yahweh’s name.
Zechariah 13:7-9 – “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Yahweh of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, says Yahweh, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, Yahweh is my Elohim.”
The “striking of the shepherd” in verse 7 refers to the death of Messiah Yeshua resulting in the scattering of his disciples. Verses 8 & 9 have not been fulfilled yet, but when they are the refined saints will be calling upon the holy name Yahweh. This remnant that is saved will have the Heavenly Father’s name written on their foreheads as we see in Revelation 14:1 . Notice the seal that is placed on the forehead of the 144,000 is not the seal of sabbath keeping, but instead, the sacred names of Yahweh and Yeshua. It is true that to be among the 144,000 sealed in Revelation 7 you must be a Sabbath keeper, but that is not the seal.
Micah 4:5 – “For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of Yahweh our Elohim for ever and ever.”
This is exactly what is happening today. All nations have a name for their particular god who they say created the universe. But His people know Him by His personal revealed name. And that name is Yahweh.
The Apostle Paul said, in 1 Cor.8:5;
“For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,).”
If we do not clearly identify the individual that we worship, how can one be sure which one of the many gods and lords we worship? Satan is called a god (2 Corinthians 4:4). Dagon and Molech are also called gods in the Bible. Since that is true, can we continue to call our Heavenly Father “God”? The practice of capitalizing the “G” in God or capitalizing all the letters of LORD does not make that His true name nor does it clearly identify Yahweh.
Yahweh’s name is holy just as the Sabbath is holy. It must be sanctified or set apart just as the Sabbath is. According to Ezekiel, the very purpose of the regathering of Israel and the New Covenant is to sanctify Yahweh’s great name (Ezekiel 36:20-27 ).
Many people are under the mistaken belief that “Yahweh” is a Hebrew name and, since they don’t speak Hebrew, they shouldn’t have to use it. Using that logic, these same people should not say Satan, Abraham, Sarah, Abel, or even hallelujah, all of which are pure Hebrew. In Genesis 4:1, Eve said, “I have gotten a man from Yahweh.” Even before a Hebrew ever existed on earth, the name Yahweh was being used. Yahweh told Adam and Eve what His name was and that is what they called Him. The name finds its origin in heaven itself. If Adam and Eve were Chinese, would that make Yahweh a Chinese name? Simply because Yahweh’s name is revealed to us through Hebrew manuscripts does not make it a Hebrew name.
Finally, to sum up why all this error concerning Yahweh’s name has come about, we need to read Yahweh’s commandment found in Deuteronomy 4:2 and the chapter we began this study with, Proverbs 30:5,6;
“You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish ought from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
“Every word of Elohim is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)
The Holy Spirit inspired “YHWH” to be written in the sacred text. It was the purest word in all of scripture. Yet man broke Yahweh’s commandment and removed that Holy name from His word and substituted a false name (Jehovah) and false titles (LORD and God). The people who did that and those that continue to propagate the error will be found to be liars.
Blessed be His Holy Name forever. HalleluYah!
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