Primary Names of God
Yahweh/Jehovah (יהוה)
The Self-Existent, Eternal God
Description
The sacred Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH)—four Hebrew consonants representing God's most intimate, covenant name—stands at the heart of Israel's faith and worship. Revealed to Moses at the burning bush when he asked God's name, the divine response was 'I AM THAT I AM' (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)—a declaration rooted in the Hebrew verb הָיָה (hayah), meaning 'to be' or 'to exist.' The name YHWH derives from this verbal root, signifying eternal, self-existent, underived being. God exists necessarily, eternally, independently of all else; He is the one who was, who is, and who forever shall be.
This name occurs approximately 6,800 times in the Old Testament, far exceeding any other divine designation. While Elohim emphasizes God's power and majesty as Creator-Judge, YHWH stresses His covenant faithfulness, His redemptive purposes, and His personal relationship with His chosen people. The name first appears in Genesis 2:4 in connection with God's intimate work in Eden, forming man from dust and breathing life into him. Throughout the Pentateuch, YHWH is the God who calls Abraham, who covenants with the patriarchs, who remembers His promises, who redeems Israel from Egypt, who gives the Law at Sinai, who dwells among His people in the tabernacle.The sacred Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH) was considered too holy to pronounce aloud. By at least the third century BC, Jewish readers substituted אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, 'Lord') when encountering YHWH in Scripture. When medieval Masoretes added vowel points to the Hebrew text, they placed Adonai's vowels (a-o-a) under YHWH's consonants as a reminder to say Adonai. Christian scholars unfamiliar with this convention combined the consonants of YHWH with the vowels of Adonai, producing 'Jehovah'—a hybrid form that appeared in English translations. Modern scholarship reconstructs the pronunciation as 'Yahweh,' based on Greek transcriptions and comparative Semitic linguistics, though absolute certainty is impossible since the original pronunciation was lost.
God explains this name's significance to Moses: 'And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them' (Exodus 6:3). The patriarchs knew God's power (El Shaddai) but had not experienced the full revelation of His covenant faithfulness (YHWH) until the Exodus generation witnessed Him keeping His promises to deliver, redeem, and establish Israel as His people. YHWH is the name of promise-keeping redemption.
The name's theological depth is staggering: it declares God's self-existence ('I AM'), His eternality (unchanging being), His faithfulness (He remains constant to His covenant), and His sovereignty (He defines Himself rather than being defined by creation). When Christ declared, 'Before Abraham was, I am' (John 8:58), He claimed this name for Himself, identifying with YHWH and provoking accusation of blasphemy from His Jewish hearers who recognized the claim to deity. Revelation 1:8 echoes this: 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty'—the eternal I AM revealed in Christ.
This name occurs approximately 6,800 times in the Old Testament, far exceeding any other divine designation. While Elohim emphasizes God's power and majesty as Creator-Judge, YHWH stresses His covenant faithfulness, His redemptive purposes, and His personal relationship with His chosen people. The name first appears in Genesis 2:4 in connection with God's intimate work in Eden, forming man from dust and breathing life into him. Throughout the Pentateuch, YHWH is the God who calls Abraham, who covenants with the patriarchs, who remembers His promises, who redeems Israel from Egypt, who gives the Law at Sinai, who dwells among His people in the tabernacle.The sacred Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH) was considered too holy to pronounce aloud. By at least the third century BC, Jewish readers substituted אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, 'Lord') when encountering YHWH in Scripture. When medieval Masoretes added vowel points to the Hebrew text, they placed Adonai's vowels (a-o-a) under YHWH's consonants as a reminder to say Adonai. Christian scholars unfamiliar with this convention combined the consonants of YHWH with the vowels of Adonai, producing 'Jehovah'—a hybrid form that appeared in English translations. Modern scholarship reconstructs the pronunciation as 'Yahweh,' based on Greek transcriptions and comparative Semitic linguistics, though absolute certainty is impossible since the original pronunciation was lost.
God explains this name's significance to Moses: 'And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them' (Exodus 6:3). The patriarchs knew God's power (El Shaddai) but had not experienced the full revelation of His covenant faithfulness (YHWH) until the Exodus generation witnessed Him keeping His promises to deliver, redeem, and establish Israel as His people. YHWH is the name of promise-keeping redemption.
The name's theological depth is staggering: it declares God's self-existence ('I AM'), His eternality (unchanging being), His faithfulness (He remains constant to His covenant), and His sovereignty (He defines Himself rather than being defined by creation). When Christ declared, 'Before Abraham was, I am' (John 8:58), He claimed this name for Himself, identifying with YHWH and provoking accusation of blasphemy from His Jewish hearers who recognized the claim to deity. Revelation 1:8 echoes this: 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty'—the eternal I AM revealed in Christ.
Key Verses
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.