Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell? (Proverbs 30:4)
One of the first things I learned while searching for the truth was the true name of the Creator and His Son. All my life Christianity had referred to the Most High as God. And that had been a source of confusion for me from the beginning even when I was just a lad. Because after all, everyone that I knew had a name. And I knew that God was just a title. I also knew that there were many gods. Gods were mentioned in Scripture, gods were mentioned in Greek and Roman mythology that I read about in grade school. There were also gods in Egyptian and Babylonian mythology as well. Angels are even called gods (Ps. 82:6).
So when we say god, which one are we talking about? Well researching the name yielded me the truth. I found out the “rendering” of the Creator’s name. His name is YHWH. These four letters are called a tetragrammaton. The pronunciation of Almighty’s name is: YAH, Yahuwah, Yahowah, YAHWEH or YIHHOWAH. All these are perfectly acceptable transliterations of His name. YAH is a shortened version of His name. And you may notice that YAH is a construct in many Hebrew names. More about all of this in a moment.
Why is His Name So Important?
Did you know that just about every proper name mentioned in the Scriptures is wrong. They have been purposely changed. How can you get Peter from the Hebrew name Kepha? How can you get the English name John from the Hebrew name Yahchanan? How does MattiYahu in Hebrew became Matthew in English? These were deliberate attempts to change proper names. Why? Because names in Scripture are important. Names have power. Think about this: What was one of the first things the Babylonians did to the three Hebrew men who they threw into the fiery furnace? Change their names.
“Their Hebraic names were HananiYAH, Mishael, and AzariYAH. It was probably King Nebuchadnezzar’s order that made Babylon’s Chief Official, Ashpenaz, assign Chaldean names to these men. HananiYAH’s name was changed to Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach and AzariYah became Abednego(Dan.1:3-7). In addition, remember that the chief official also gave Daniel the name—Belteshazzar (Dan. 1:7).
HananiYah’s name means YAH is gracious. Mishael means who is like the Mighty One (or Elohim). AzariYAH means YAH helps. Daniel means the Mighty One (or Elohim) is my judge. When Daniel’s name was changed to Belteshazzar it’s meaning became “Baal protect the king”. Baal is a god worshiped by the Canaanites and other pagans (see 1 Kings 18 for more about Baal).
Now here is something else that is very interesting. Look at what the slave masters in North America did to just about every so-called Negro brought to America–changed their names. Can you name a place or time in history where this was done to any other group of people? Here you had masses of people enslaved and brought to this country and each one deliberately stripped of their names. Why? Because names have power, names are important. They are supposed to define the attributes of the person
As a side note, here is an exercise you can do. Go to slavevoyages.org. This website contains information on over 35,000 trans-Atlantic slave voyages. One of the databases it has contains the names of slaves brought to this country. Do a search for slave names that contain the leters “yah” and the letters “iah”. Almost one thousand names. These were Ysraylites who held on to their heritage. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD the Ysraylites dispersed to various nations (this is known as the Diaspora prophesied in the Scriptures1) within the continent of Africa. We were strangers to other cultures in Africa and they began to call us Yahoodee (Hebrewisms of West Africa, John J. Williams, pg 64). They called us that because our ancestors still worshiped YAH.
What Does Scripture Say About the Name Of The Creator?
We have examined history for indications of the true name of the Father, but what does Scripture tell us about His name and why it is so important to honor it:
Ex. 3:15 “And YHWH said moreover unto Moses, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, The YHWH God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
Mal 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Jer. 23:26-27 “How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal.”
And these are but a handful of passages that tell us that YAH wants us to call Him by his name.
Have You Read The Preface To Your Scriptures?
If you look in the preface of just about every Bible (Scriptures) you will find that the translators admit that the Tetragrammaton (four letters) YHWH is the name for the Most High in Hebrew. And many of these same translators will admit that it is probably pronounced YAHWEH. If you don’t believe me take a look at the preface to the NIV translation of the Scriptures:
“In regard to the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as “Lord” in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered “Lord,” for which small letters are used. Wherever the two names [Lord, Lord] stand together in the Old Testament as a compound name of God, they are rendered “Sovereign Lord.” (source: 1984 Preface to the New International Version of the Bible)
Here’s an excerpt from the preface to the Revised Standard Version of the Scriptures:
“While it is almost if not quite certain that the Name was originally pronounced “Yahweh,” this pronunciation was not indicated when the Masoretes added vowel signs to the consonantal Hebrew text. To the four consonants YHWH of the Name, which had come to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced, they attached vowel signs indicating that in its place should be read the Hebrew word Adonai meaning “Lord” (or Elohim meaning God).” Source: Revised Standard Version 1971
You see tradition is being placed above the truth by these translators. But what does the Savior say about tradition: “And He said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of YAH, that ye may keep your own tradition”(Mk 7:9). Also notice that the translators keep saying, “we don’t use this pronunciation because it was considered too holy (set apart) to pronounce. Please, give me a break. YAH, Himself, explicitly tells His people to call on Him in the day of trouble (Ps. 50:15). But how can you call on Him if you don’t know His name?
Power In Names
Satan knows the power of names. His name used to be Lucifer–the morning star. He was one of the most powerful angels in Heaven. But that powerful and beautiful name has been stripped from him(just as our names have been stripped from us). He is now called the Adversary–HaSatan or Satan. Satan’s children who pretend to be us, do not want us calling on the true name of the Father or the Son. They keep telling us His name is too holy to pronounce. What a lie this is when the very Scriptures themselves contradict this falsehood. See Ps. 145:18 and Jer. 33:3-4.
Let’s say your name is Bob Jones and you are a parent. You have three children that are 1,2, and 3 years old. You want your children to call you “Daddy”. However, they call you Dad or Doddy, or Dah Dah. Would you be offended by any of these pronunciations? I doubt it. Because you know that they are trying their best to call you by your name. And you as a loving Father would answer them.
But let’s suppose a wicked maid keeps your children during the day and she tells your children to call you man or Bob Jones. And, indeed rather than use the name you told them to use, they started referring to you as “man” or “Bob Jones”. How would you feel? Let’s suppose they kept this up until you got annoyed and fed up with them dishonoring your name. So you fire the wicked maid and find them a good teacher who trains your children in the right ways. She teaches them how to call on you with dignity and respect for your name. Some of your children begin to call you Daddy, Dad, or Dah Dah again. But one refuses to do so, and starts calling you man, or Bob, or Bob Jones even though they have come into the knowledge of the truth. How would you feel about that rebellious child who dishonors you and your name? Since there is no one there in the household to manipulate the truth (the wicked maid is gone), there is no reason for the child to refuse to follow your dictates. It is rebellion, pure and simple.
So the question is, are you being rebellious? Or, are you one of those people who say, “Ahh, what difference does it make? He knows my heart.” First off, 2 Timothy 2:12 says, “Study to show yourself approved. A worker need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Scriptures say we are supposed to continue to study the Scriptures in search of the truth to show ourselves approved unto YAH. Are you doing that by rejecting the truth?
Here’s an another example. Let’s say food was in great scarcity. And so, you only ate rice and beans and a little bread eat day for your meals. However, you found out that someone was putting a slow-acting poison in your rice each day. Would you continue to eat the rice knowing that it contains poison? Would you convince yourself that since the poison has not killed you already that it probably won’t? Thus, you continue to eat the rice. Or, once coming into the knowledge of the truth, would you forego the rice until you found something else to round out your meal?
Romans 10:26-27 make it even more plain: “26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. “
Pronouncing The True Name
As I stated at the outset, the Tetragrammaton for the Creator’s name is YHWH. And, you will even find the shortened form of His name—YAH, in words familiar even to Christians. For example, the word HalleLuYAH. Many Christians don’t know that HalleLuYAH means praise be to YAH. Many of the names of the prophets and the names of Hebrews in Scripture contain this shortened form of the Creator’s name. For example, EliYAH (Elijah), YermemiYAH(Jeremiah), HezeKiYAH(Hezekiah).
The Creator’s name is mentioned almost 7,000 times throughout Scripture. His name: YAHWEH, YAHOWAH, YIHHOWAH or YAHUWAH are all acceptable pronunciations. The Creator’s name means: He is, He was, and He will be. That is to say, that He is ever-existent.
The Creator’s name in Hebrew (YHWH) means this:
HAYAH => He was
HOWEH => He is
YIHYEH => He will be
YAHWEH is eternal. And His name reflects that. Psalms 102:12 says this about His Holy name: “But You, O YAH, abide forever, And Your name to all generations.” Listen to what Shaul or Apostle Paul had to say about YAH’s attributes. Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
Some people say that the name of the Most High is: I AM. That’s because in Ex. 3:24 the verse says, YAH said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. However, I AM is just one aspect of the Creator’s divine nature. It means that He exists and is self-contained.
However, Revelation 1:4 clarifies who He is and shows that He is eternal. It says, “John (Yahchanan), To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne…” As you can see, this verse goes to the heart of Who the Creator is: The past, the present, and the future. He is ever-existent, ever-present.
Another reason I do not use I AM is because I AM is a translation, not a transliteration of one aspect of His being. And since we do not translate names (we transliterate them) if one wanted to use this one aspect of YAH’s being (that is, that He is here and now), you would say EHYEH, since EHYEH is the Hebrew word for I AM.
In addition to I AM, some people say His name is El or Elohim. I do not use those terms because El means mighty one. An El could mean an angel…a powerful angel, like the angel that Ya ‘aqob wrestled with. So in other words, El is not distinctive enough for me. You could be referring to the Mosh High or you could be referring to an angel. It’s too generic for me.
Some people even use the word Jehovah. But there is no letter J or phonic for the letter J in either Hebrew or Greek. Interestingly, the Jehovah’s Witnesses know that the Creator’s name is YAHWEH, (they admit it) but they still call themselves Jehovah’s Witnesses rather than YAHWEH’s witnesses. Go figure.
The word Jehovah is a poor transliteration of YAHWEH. Originally, Jehovah was pronounced Yeh-ho-wah” or “Ya-hu-wah.” Remember there is no J sound in Hebrew or Greek. The word Jehovah was created by Roman Catholics. Even the Jewish Encyclopedia calls it a recent invention and further says, “This name is commonly represented in modern translations by the form “Jehovah”, which however, is a philological impossibility. This form has arisen through attempting to pronounce the consonants of the name(YHWH) with the vowels of Adonai.” (Jewish Encyclopedia pg 160, 1905 edition.
Lastly, I want to share a quick video that may shed some additional light on this subject:
1 Genesis 15:13-16, Deuteronomy 28:64, Isaiah 11:11-12, Ezekiel 20:34, Hosea 3:4-5