Why the Heavenly Father's name is pronounced, "Yahweh" (updated 30
sept 2010)
To see why His name is pronounced "Yahweh" I would point you to the following resource
which I have checked out thoroughly and have found to be adequate and in agreement with what I have found on the
pronunciation. I do not necessarily endorse the views of the author in other topics presented in this book or in
other books by this author.
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study.
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This is a chapter from the book entitled "The Sacred name" by R.Clover
IMPORTANT NOTE AND UPDATE:
Lately, I have noticed that there are many using the form "Yahuah" or "Yahuwah" based on
the fact that the name יהודה "Yahudah/Yehudah" (Judah) contains the same letters as with the exception of the
ד Daleth (D) being added (Hebrew reads from right to left). In other words, Yahweh's name contains (Yod Heh
Waw Heh) and the name of one of the sons of Israel (Judah) is יהודה (Yod Heh Waw Daleth Heh.)
They say that the Heavenly Father's name can be "made simple" by learning that since there
is only one letter difference between the two names, we can learn the pronunciation of the Heavenly Father's name
by looking at how Judah's name is pronounced in Hebrew.
But the truth is, we cannot determine the pronunciation of one Hebrew word by looking at
how another word is pronounced with similar letters. In Hebrew there are numerous words that have only one letter
difference but they are pronounced completely different.
A couple of examples in Hebrew as it relates to Yahweh's name:
יהצה #3096 is pronounced "Yatsah" in Hebrew. This is in contrast to יהודה "Yahudah" which
is only one letter different.
The verb Hama (#1993) is found in Jer. 6:23, 48:36, 50:42 in the qal imperfect 3rd person
masculine singular form, and is spelled יהמה but pronounced "Yehemeh." Again, this is in contrast to יהודה
"Yahudah" which is only one letter different.
Notice that there is only is only letter difference between those words and and
יהודה but they have vowels which are not the same. If we removed vowels from two English words that had similar
consonants, no one would argue that we can figure out the vowels of one by knowing the vowels of
another.
If the "Yahu" in "Yahudah" is in reference to Yahueh/Yahweh (and this is not certain), the
"dah" comes from a different Hebrew word, so we can't rely that to arrive at the correct pronunciation of
.
In fact, there are examples in Hebrew where two completely different words are spelled
exactly the same way, but are pronounced completely different. The word שאול, which is pronounced "Shaul" (King
Saul's name) is spelled exactly the same as the word שאול, pronounced "Sheol." "Shaul" means "desired" but "Sheol"
means "grave." The vowels are completely different, but the word is spelled the same.
The reason why Yahweh's name is upon His people is not because "Yahudah" contains part of
Yahweh's name as some claim. Yahweh's people are called by His name because of the elements seen in the priestly
blessing:
Numbers 6:24-27 Yahweh bless you and keep you; 25 Yahweh make His face shine upon you, And
be gracious to you; 26 Yahweh lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." ' 27 "So they shall put My
name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."
So in conclusion, to base the pronunciation of the Heavenly Father's name on how another
name or word is pronounced is not sound reasoning and should be completely disregarded when seeking to understand
how is pronounced.
Also, it is important to understand that in Hebrew, the verb form determines how the
vowels sound. This is not unlike English where the verb "Run" changes to "Ran" if past tense is intended and
"Running" if present tense is intended. In Hebrew, the vowels sounds will change depending on whether it is 1st,
2nd or 3rd person, or whether it is masculine or feminine, etc.
In Exodus 3:14 Yahweh said to tell the people of Israel that His name is "I AM THAT I AM"
or "Ehyeh asher ehyeh." We know that "ehyeh" is the way you pronounce "Hayah" (a verb meaning, "to be") in the
first person form.
Why then did He say to call Him "Yahweh" in Exodus 3:15? The form "Yahweh" is the 3rd
person form of the same Hebrew verb, "Hayah." Yahweh was declaring who He is in saying "I AM" ("ehyeh") but when we
say "Yahweh" we speak of Him in the 3rd person form.
Yahweh's Name Designates Yahweh Himself
Commentary on Bible Prefaces.
The truth about the third commandment
Why I proclaim the name of Yahweh.
Why His name is pronounced Yahweh
The name Yahweh in the 2000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls!
Tetragrammaton found in earliest copies of the Septuagint!
But I don't speak Hebrew, I speak English!
What about Jehovah?
Did the Messiah say the Sacred Name?
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