Compound Names with Jehovah
Jehovah-Shammah (יְהוָה שָׁמָּה)
The LORD Is There
Description
The climactic name יְהוָה שָׁמָּה (Jehovah-Shammah), meaning 'the LORD is there,' forms the final words of Ezekiel's prophecy, concluding his extraordinary visions of judgment, exile, and restoration. Ezekiel had witnessed the glory of the LORD depart from the temple and Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10:18-19, 11:23)—the most devastating moment in Israel's history, when God's manifest presence abandoned His sanctuary because of the people's abominations. The prophet who saw the glory depart was also granted to see the glory return. Ezekiel's final nine chapters (40-48) present an elaborate vision of a restored temple, reconstituted priesthood, purified worship, reapportioned land, and—supremely—the return of God's glory filling the house (Ezekiel 43:1-5).
The vision's final verse names the restored city: 'And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there' (Ezekiel 48:35). After detailing the city's dimensions (18,000 measures around), gates (twelve, named for Israel's tribes), and boundaries, Ezekiel identifies the city's essential character: not Jerusalem ('city of peace') but Jehovah-Shammah—'the LORD is there.' What makes the restored city glorious is not its architecture, not its gates, not its measurements, but YHWH's abiding presence. Where God dwells, there is life, blessing, security, worship, joy—everything the exile lacked.The Hebrew שָׁמָּה (shammah) is an adverb meaning 'there,' 'in that place,' or 'thither.' The name Jehovah-Shammah thus means 'YHWH [is] there'—a declaration of divine presence and dwelling. This recalls the tabernacle promise: 'I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God' (Exodus 29:45), and the temple dedication: 'the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God' (2 Chronicles 5:14). God's presence constitutes the supreme covenant blessing; His absence, the ultimate curse. Ezekiel's vision promises permanent, uninterrupted presence—God dwelling with His people forever.
The vision is eschatological—it describes realities not fully realized in the post-exilic return from Babylon. The second temple, though rebuilt, never witnessed the glory-cloud's return; Herod's expansion, though magnificent, housed a corrupted priesthood; when Messiah came to His temple, the religious leaders rejected Him. Ezekiel's vision awaits complete fulfillment in the New Jerusalem, which John saw descending from heaven: 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God' (Revelation 21:3). Significantly, John's vision contains no temple: 'For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it' (Revelation 21:22). The reality surpasses the shadow—direct, unmediated divine presence forever.
Meanwhile, Jehovah-Shammah finds present application in Christ and His church. When the Word became flesh and 'dwelt among us' (John 1:14—literally 'tabernacled'), God was 'there' in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem. Jesus is Immanuel, 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23), and promised, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Matthew 18:20). His final words assured, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). The church is God's temple, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:22). Where believers gather in Christ's name, Jehovah-Shammah—the LORD is there. Ultimate fulfillment awaits the eternal city where God and the Lamb dwell with redeemed humanity forever, and the tabernacle of God is eternally with men.
The vision's final verse names the restored city: 'And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there' (Ezekiel 48:35). After detailing the city's dimensions (18,000 measures around), gates (twelve, named for Israel's tribes), and boundaries, Ezekiel identifies the city's essential character: not Jerusalem ('city of peace') but Jehovah-Shammah—'the LORD is there.' What makes the restored city glorious is not its architecture, not its gates, not its measurements, but YHWH's abiding presence. Where God dwells, there is life, blessing, security, worship, joy—everything the exile lacked.The Hebrew שָׁמָּה (shammah) is an adverb meaning 'there,' 'in that place,' or 'thither.' The name Jehovah-Shammah thus means 'YHWH [is] there'—a declaration of divine presence and dwelling. This recalls the tabernacle promise: 'I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God' (Exodus 29:45), and the temple dedication: 'the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God' (2 Chronicles 5:14). God's presence constitutes the supreme covenant blessing; His absence, the ultimate curse. Ezekiel's vision promises permanent, uninterrupted presence—God dwelling with His people forever.
The vision is eschatological—it describes realities not fully realized in the post-exilic return from Babylon. The second temple, though rebuilt, never witnessed the glory-cloud's return; Herod's expansion, though magnificent, housed a corrupted priesthood; when Messiah came to His temple, the religious leaders rejected Him. Ezekiel's vision awaits complete fulfillment in the New Jerusalem, which John saw descending from heaven: 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God' (Revelation 21:3). Significantly, John's vision contains no temple: 'For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it' (Revelation 21:22). The reality surpasses the shadow—direct, unmediated divine presence forever.
Meanwhile, Jehovah-Shammah finds present application in Christ and His church. When the Word became flesh and 'dwelt among us' (John 1:14—literally 'tabernacled'), God was 'there' in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem. Jesus is Immanuel, 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23), and promised, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them' (Matthew 18:20). His final words assured, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). The church is God's temple, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, Ephesians 2:22). Where believers gather in Christ's name, Jehovah-Shammah—the LORD is there. Ultimate fulfillment awaits the eternal city where God and the Lamb dwell with redeemed humanity forever, and the tabernacle of God is eternally with men.
Key Verses
It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.