Issue 1,108 Drawing a Blank – March 311, 2023

One of the challenges of writing Gleaning From the Word fresh daily six (and at times seven) days of the week is staring at the screen to start writing.

Some days, I awaken with the post for the day almost fully formed in my mind. On other days, I know the text, theme or image I will write on. Then there are days like this morning. There have been a couple of false starts (some may ripen over time and come to fruition as a fully completed post) and a lot of prayer, meditating upon what I have read recently in the Scripture and staring at a blank screen.

A part of a piece written about bridging the gap between Scripture and life uses Canada’s Confederation Bridge as a kickoff. There are some half-worked-out thoughts stemming from the display of African violets and other plants in my office window. 

I thought about the many times Jesus and the prophets quoted or alluded to the Psalms and thought about the consistency and integrity of the Bible.

I learned many years ago that when you don’t know what to write about, start writing, and it will often come. That’s why I am telling you about the block this morning. As I typed this, my mind finally settled on the actual topic for today.

It is excerpt from a previous series I did about the names and Titles of God. That topic came up recently, and someone asked if I would do a new series on it, so I have been reviewing some of the previous work for a fresh look at an old topic.

So, let’s talk about the ineffable name. The what? Ineffable name? What is that?

The Ineffable Name 

Which one is it? Is He called God, Lord or LORD? Is it YHWH, YHVH, Jehovah or Yahweh? Well, it’s all of them, sort of, and none of them as well. 

In the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh), God’s most common personal name is rendered YHVH. YHVH appears more than 6,800 times in what we call the Old Testament. 

The name is called the “Tetragrammaton” because it comprises four Hebrew letters: yod, hey, vav and hey. YHVH is the Unutterable or Ineffable Name of God. 

Based on an Old Testament law, it would be blasphemous for devout Jews to say the name of God and mispronounce it or misspell it.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7

Accordingly, the name was spelled without vowels. So how do we get Jehovah or Yahweh out of these four simple letters? 

Jewish scholars wrote the name as YHWH in the running text [called the Qere – “What is written”], but underneath in the Ketiv [“What is spoken”] included the vowels from the name Adonai. Adonai meant Lord or My Lord and was permissible to say. The combination of letters gave Jehovah (although old English had a “y” sound where the letter “j” appeared. 

At a later date, it was suggested by some that the vowels had been reversed, so a new “name,” Yahweh, was created. The name is often spelled simply as YHWH, although YHVH is probably more accurate. There is no equivalent for “w” in the Hebrew alphabet. 

In any event, the authentic pronunciation has long been lost. Old Hebrew had no vowels, and only the High Priest (Cohen Gadol) would say the name and even then, only once a year during the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). On that day, He would say the name ten times, each time with the people prostrate on the ground. 

YHVH is often referred to as Hashem (“the name”) or Shem HaMeforesh (“the ineffable name”), or simply Adonai. Orthodox Jews believe even today that one of the signs of the Messiah will be His knowledge of the authentic pronunciation of the Hashem. 

Whether spoken as Adonai, Hashem, YHVH, YHWH, Yahweh or Jehovah, it is a name to be revered. 

In most English translations, YHVH appears as LORD (in all capital letters), so when we see that form, we know that we are encountering a name that people have feared speaking for thousands of years. It is not something to be taken lightly. I do not believe that we need to fear saying it, but it calls for reverent awe. 

YHWH, often shortened to Yah, is closely linked to the Hebrew Word “havah,” which means “being” or “to be .”It is also linked to “chavah,” which means “to live” or “life .”In Exodus, YHVH declares His name to Moses at the burning bush in the wilderness. 

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:14

In God, we have the source of all being and all life. He is genuinely the I AM. Without our beloved YHVH, there would be nothing. 

As you ponder life, give HaShem the honour due to His name.

Praise His name.

Be Blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

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All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2023 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin Gleanings From The Word.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV). 

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