Who gave God His name, YHWH ("Yahweh," "Jehovah")?

Question

What does the Name mean?

Was it used freely and often by people in the Bible?

Why do some call God "un-named and un-nameable" when it is obvious that He does have a name?

Answer 1

1. If you take the past, present and future tenses of the being verb 'I am' in Hebrew, slam them all together and delete the repeating letters, you get the YHWH, according to the Stone Edition of the Tanach.

2. It was used quite often in the Bible. When it was translated into English, the word LORD, in all caps, was put in it's place. This is why some verses read something like "...my name is the LORD." It originally said "...my name is YHWH."

3. He is called unnamable because no one can say His name right anymore. It became illegal in ancient Israel to speak His name, and they didn't write their vowels, so everyone who knew the proper vowels to go with the letters died off. "Jehovah" and "Yahweh" are guesses, most likely wrong, and considered to be blasphemous by most Jews. Instead, they just use the word HaShem, which literally means, "The Name".

Answer 2

He gave Himself His name.

(Exodus 3:15) . . .This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘Jehovah the God of YOUR forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to YOU.’ This is my name to time indefinite. . .

Answer 3

God gave that name for Himself to Moses when Moses asked Him what to tell his people when they would ask him the what is the name of the God of their fathers.  God said to Moses:  "I AM WHO I AM, you will tell the sons of Israel that I AM has sent me to you."  Later, in Exodus 6:2, 3, God spoke to Moses and told him, "I am Yahweh.  And I appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, as 'el Shaddai [God Almighty]; but by my name Yahweh I never made myself known to them."  

The name Yahweh means "He who was, and is, and will ever be come."  Yahweh is ever-living, the only One whose life derives solely from within Himself.  In short, He has no beginning, nor does He have an end.  He is eternal, ever-existing.  As far as eternity reaches back in to the past, and stretches into the future, there I AM.  

Some out of reverence for Yahweh fear to use the name that He gave us to call Him by.  This came about during the period of Israel's Babylonian captivity, through a misunderstanding of Leviticus 24:16.  The text says:  "Whoever blasphemes the name of YHWH will be put to death."  But through an Aramaic vocalisation of the vowel sounds placed upon the original Hebrew, this text was thought to say, "Whoever pronounces the name of YHWH will be put to death."  Since Aramaic ultimately replaced Hebrew as the spoken language of the people of God at that time, this misunderstanding prevailed.  But the original intent of God in giving His personal name indicates that He wants humanity to know Him by that name, and know Him as their only 'elohim, the one true God, 'Adonay.                    

Answer 4

God gave himself the name יהוה, in Hebrew YHWH, and translated into English as "Jehovah," and into other languages in a variety of ways and pronunciations.

It is blasphemous to take a word that was inspired by יהוה himself to be in the Bible almost 7,000 times, and replace it with a different word, such as LORD or GOD.

Yes, it was used freely in every day life in Israel.

And, look! Boaz came from Bethlehem and proceeded to say to the harvesters: “Jehovah be with you.” In turn they would say to him: “Jehovah bless you.”

Answer 5

Only the high priest was allowed to pronounce the name of God on one day of the year in the inner temple as part of a ritual. The day was a Jewish holiday, I forget which one. The pronunciation of YHVH has been lost.

There are various interpretations of what the name means. Google it.

It was a powerful, holy name, and the secrecy of it's pronunciation was for protection.

There is also an idea of God as "un-named and un-nameable" to designate God's power and as God being beyond complete human understanding and control.

Answer 6

His name expresses His essential attribute.  (Being)  We believe it is three syllables, pronounced YAHOOWEH.  It means 'I AM THAT I AM'  It was used often.  It is in Scripture 6800 times.  At the Babylonian captivity, about 500 BC the leaders of the 'Jews' decided to stop using it, that it had fallen into 'common' use, and should be restricted, so they started the saying that it was unpronouncable.  That, making people to know His Father's name, was one thing the Jews condemned YAHOSHUA for.

Answer 7

That's because people invented him and they didn't consult each other. 'God' being "un-namable and un-nameable" and yet still having a name is about as logical as an Invisible Pink Unicorn.

Answer 8

God gave Moses that name to identify Himself to the Jewish people. Christians call Him Father.

Exodus 6:3  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD (יהָוֹה)I was not known to them.

yehōwāh: A noun meaning God. The word refers to the proper name of the God of Israel, particularly the name by which He revealed Himself to Moses (Exo_6:2-3). The divine name has traditionally not been pronounced, primarily out of respect for its sacredness (cf. Exo_20:7; Deu_28:58).

Until the Renaissance, it was written without vowels in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, being rendered as YHWH. However, since that time, the vowels of another word, ’aḏōnāy (H136), have been supplied in hopes of reconstructing the pronunciation. Although the exact derivation of the name is uncertain, most scholars agree that its primary meaning should be understood in the context of God's existence, namely, that He is the "I AM THAT I AM" (Exo_3:14), the One who was, who is, and who always will be (cf. Rev_11:17).  

Answer 9

The ancient Hebrews did not want to make an Idol of their god like so many others. That is why they made not only his name sacred but his shrine. During this time period it was common for people to create gods and use symbols to give them identities. That is why we see such a problem with idol worship in the bible. It was a way to prevent that from happening with Yahweh.  

Answer 10

God named himself.

Ps 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Gods name was used extensively in the older versions of the bible .

I feel the Churches have changed the bible because it does not suit there false teachings to have Gods name known .

They use the excuse that we can not pronounce it properly so we should not use it but i do not believe God is that petty .

This may help

Premise: the use of "LORD" in Christian, English translations is a stupid and indefensible tradition that should have been cast aside centuries ago.

Nearly 7000 times (6,823, if memory serves), God saw fit to move His prophets to use His personal name Yahweh in the Hebrew Old Testament. Now, it is often observed that the Name is actually YHWH, written without vowels, and so the pronunciation is uncertain. In itself, this is true.

What is not often mentioned in this connection is the fact that all of the OT is written in consonants, without vowels; and so the pronunciations of all names is somewhat speculative. But that has never yet prevented English translators from giving vocalized (and somewhat Anglicized) forms of names such as Abraham, Isaac, Isaiah, and so on.

What is different when it comes to YHWH is that the Jewish scribes developed an unbelieving superstition about the Name of God. Because God forbade using His name in vain (Exodus 20:7), they figured, with Pharisaical legalistic precision, that the safest way not to take it in vain would be never to say it at all. They would copy it, but put in the vowel points for the Hebrew words for "Lord" or (if YHWH followed the actual word for "Lord") "God." (This is why our English Bibles sometimes have "LORD God," and sometimes "Lord GOD.")

Now of course, we can see that this is just as foolish as the Sabbath laws that condemned our Lord for healing on a Saturday. Dumber, in fact, for it forbade obedience to the many calls to call on Yahweh's name, swear by it, trust in it, and the like

Answer 11

"At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to YOU.’”

Exodus 3:14

"He causes to become" is the literal translation of the name Jehovah.

In the copies of the original texts the tetragrammaton is used 7,000 times.

Many call God un-named because they don't know him. Yes they profess to but Satan has blinded their minds.

“If, now, the good news we declare is in fact veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.”—2 Cor. 4:3, 4.

x x x

Answer 12

God gave himself that name. It's very unique.

God himself explained the meaning of his name to his faithful servant Moses. When Moses asked about God’s name, Jehovah replied: “I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be.” (Exodus 3:14) Rotherham’s translation renders those words: “I Will Become whatsoever I please.” So Jehovah can become whatever is needed in order to fulfill his purposes.

Suppose that you could become whatever you wanted to become. What would you do for your friends? If one of them became seriously ill, you could become a skilled doctor and perform a cure. If another suffered a financial loss, you could become a wealthy benefactor and come to his rescue. The truth is, though, that you are limited in what you can become. All of us are. As you study the Bible, you will be amazed to see how Jehovah becomes whatever is needed in order to fulfill his promises. And it pleases him to use his power in behalf of those who love him. (2 Chronicles 16:9) These beautiful facets of Jehovah’s personality are lost to those who do not know his name.

The reason why many don't use God's personal name is because they don't know about it. In old manuscripts the divine name appears more than 7000 times. However, many bible translations have removed the name and replaced it with titles such as GOD or LORD.

How did this happen and why ?

There seem to be two main reasons. First, many claim that the name should not be used because the original way to pronounce it is unknown today. Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels. Therefore, no one today can say for sure exactly how people of Bible times pronounced YHWH. However, should this prevent us from using God’s name? In Bible times, the name Jesus may have been pronounced Yeshua or possibly Yehoshua—no one can say for certain. Yet, people the world over today use different forms of the name Jesus, pronouncing it in the way that is common in their language. They do not hesitate to use the name just because they do not know its first-century pronunciation. Similarly, if you were to travel to a foreign land, you might well find that your own name sounds quite different in another tongue. Hence, uncertainty about the ancient pronunciation of God’s name is no reason for not using it.

A second reason often given for omitting God’s name from the Bible involves a long-standing tradition of the Jews. Many of them hold that God’s name should never be pronounced. This belief is evidently based on a misapplication of a Bible law that states: “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his name in a worthless way.”—Exodus 20:7.

This law forbids the misuse of God’s name. But does it forbid the respectful use of his name? Not at all. The writers of the Hebrew Bible (the “Old Testament”) were all faithful men who lived by the Law that God gave to the ancient Israelites. Yet, they made frequent use of God’s name. For instance, they included it in many psalms that were sung out loud by crowds of worshipers. Jehovah God even instructed his worshipers to call upon his name, and faithful ones obeyed. (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21) Hence, Christians today do not hesitate to use God’s name respectfully, as Jesus surely did.—John 17:26.

In replacing God’s name with titles, Bible translators make a serious mistake. They make God seem remote and impersonal, whereas the Bible urges humans to cultivate “intimacy with Jehovah.” (Psalm 25:14) Think of an intimate friend of yours. How close would you really be if you never learned your friend’s name? Similarly, when people are kept in ignorance about God’s name, Jehovah, how can they become truly close to God? Furthermore, when people do not use God’s name, they also lack knowledge of its wonderful meaning.