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Some people
render the four-letter Name as
"Jehovah," but this
pronunciation is incorrect.
The word "Jehovah" comes from
the fact that ancient Jewish texts used
to put the vowels of the Name
"Adonai" (the usual substitute
for YHVH) under the consonants of YHVH
to remind people not to pronounce YHVH
as written. A sixteenth century German scribe, while transliterating
the Bible into Latin for the Pope, wrote
the Name out as it appeared in his
texts, with the consonants of YHVH and
the vowels of Adonai, and came up with
the word JeHoVaH. This incorrect
name has been widely circulated in
Christian churches, to the point it is
widely regarded by most to be the name
of G-d..
The most
important name for G-d is the
four-letter Name represented by the
Hebrew letters Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh (YHVH).
It is often referred to as the the
Unutterable Name. It's Hebrew root is
Heh-Yod-Heh (to be), and reflects G-d's
existence is eternal. In scripture, this
Name is used when discussing God's
relationship to humanity, and when
emphasizing his qualities of loving
kindness and mercy. It is frequently
shortened to Yah (Yod-Heh), Yahu or Yeho
(Yod-Heh-Vav), especially when used in
combination with names or phrases, as in
Yehoshua (Joshua, meaning "the Lord
is my Salvation"), Eliyahu (Elijah,
meaning "my God is the Lord"),
and Halleluyah ("praise the
Lord"). |
