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- THE TETRAGRAMMATON
The Sacred Name appears in the Hebrew Scriptures as four Hebrew letters Yud, hey, vav, hey, which is closest represented by the letters YHVH. This format is known as the Tetragammaton. According to Jewish tradition it is regarded as 'not to be uttered' in order never to profane it in any way. In Judaism it is therefore pronounced as 'Adonai', meaning 'Lord'. Notwithstanding this prohibition, the Sacred Name is acknowledged in its usage as part of the names of many Biblical characters, as referred to above - and as any Bible concordance or reference book will provide.
Because of these prohibitions, translations of the original Hebrew scrolls have, throughout the ages, replaced the Tetragammaton with 'the LORD' (in capital letters) and the Sacred Name, in so doing, became 'lost' for many centuries.
Since the sixties, there has been a movement in modern theology and especially amongst sincere Bible students throughout the world, to restore the newly 'rediscovered' Sacred Hebrew Name. Sacred Name publications which chose to restore the Sacred Name in the almost 7000 instances in the Bible, appeared one after the other and the 'Sacred Name Movement', towards the nineties and the turn of the millennium, became a flood which today literally engulfs the world..
Although there is no firm consensus on the actual pronouncement or spelling of the Tetragammaton YHVH, there are several representations or transliterations in use by theologians and Bible students. Some of the more popular forms are YAHVEH, YAHWEH and Jehovah.
A Simple Overview of The Divine Name
All of the material here is historical fact. I present it not as a religious piece but as simple information. Please note that Hebrew is spelled right to left, and is so written in this document.
The Absolute Name as originally given to Moses on Sinai (Exodus 3:14) is AHYH ASR AHYH: "I Will Be Who I Will Be."
"I Am That I Am", while quite valuable, is ultimately a mistranslation. This is a Christian interpretation applied 1000 years after the fact.
Saying "I Will Be" made people very nervous. So "I Will Be" (AHYH) was changed into "He Will Be": YHWH This Name is known as the Tetragrammaton: "The 4 Letter Name." In English you most often see this Name as "Yahweh." The certain original pronunciation has been lost. Over 30 different pronunciations are known to the Kabbalists.
The Tetragrammaton, spelled vertically, is the pictogram of a human being: . This is a visual representation of what it symbolically means to be created in the image of God.
Over the years this discomfort with the Divine Name continued. Soon, people would not pronounce YHWH at all. Whenever they saw YHWH in the Bible, they would either say "The Name" (Ha Shem) or "The Lord" (Adonai).
Originally, Hebrew did not have vowels. Eventually the Hebrews felt it was wise to insert little dots (called vowel points) around the letters to remind the reader of the exact pronunciation.
When they came to YHWH in the text, they added the vowel points for Adonai ("Lord") to remind the reader that the Divine Name was not to be pronounced.
In the Middle Ages, around 1500, translators misunderstood that the vowel points were for "Adonai", not "Yahweh". Thus, they combined the letters of YHWH with the vowels of Adonai. The result was "Jehovah". This is, quite simply, a mistranslation. (NOTE: We are NOT saying that this is evil, or that those who use this name are sinners, nor that everyone in the Jehovah's Witnesses are going to hell. No, No, NO! But the etymological fact is that "Jehovah" is a mistranslation based upon a historical misunderstanding.) Like changing "Betty" into "Botta" by keeping the same consonants but using the wrong vowels.
In our modern Bibles, then, whenever YHWH is found, we usually "translate" it as LORD or Jehovah. Both are wrong, though Jehovah is certainly preferable to LORD.
"God" is a noun. It is a type of Being. "God" is not a name. "Human" is what you are....but you also have a name.
Thus, when catechisms & preachers say "What is God's name? God is God's name" they are also simply wrong.
As you can see, the farther we go in time, the more confusion & ignorance we acquire. At this point, very few of even the ordained clergy understands any of this. Of those who know it, only a small percentage actually cares.
Yet the 3rd Commandment STILL SAYS, "Thou shall not take the Name of YHWH your God in vain, for YHWH will not leave him unpunished who takes His Name in vain."
Thus, the need for The Church of Yahweh.
YHWH sent His Son YHSWH (Jesus) to the earth to remind us that we are all YHWH's children. YHSWH came in the Name of YHWH.
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- Yes, date unknown
Has no ancestors but more than 100 descendants in this family tree.
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