Yahweh

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This article is about the deity Yahweh, especially as he appears in ancient Hebrew texts. See God in Judaism and God in Abrahamic religions for conceptions of God. See Tetragrammaton for the term "Yahweh" ("YHWH").

Yahweh (Hebrew יהוה, formerly also vocalized as Jehovah) was the tribal god of the ancient Hebrews.^[2] In Judaism and Christianity, the name "Yahweh" is the personal name of God. Following Jewish practice, the name "Yahweh" (spelled YHWH) is traditionally translated a LORD in English-language Bibles.

According to the Kenite hypothesis, Yahweh was the tribal god of the Kenites. The Kenites, who were nomadic metalsworkers, were apparently incorporated into the tribe of Judah. In any event, Yahweh was the chief god of the ancient Hebrews, though they acknowledged and sometimes worshiped other gods. Yahweh was especially associated with mountains and storms. Yahweh's consort was the goddess Asherah.^[3] Contrary to the practice of their pagan neighbors, Hebrews worshiped Yahweh without an idol to represent the deity. King Hezekiah (8th to 7th century BC) enacted sweeping religious reforms, during which he removed non-Yahwistic elements from the Jerusalem temple,^[4] such as the brazen serpent. He also focused worship of Yahweh at the Temple, shutting down the various high places where Yahweh had also been worshiped. When the Hebrews developed monotheist theology, perhaps under influence from Zoroastrianism, they identified Yahweh as the one and only God.

According to the documentary hypothesis, the parts of the Torah that use the term YHWH (Yahweh) for God derive from the "Yahwist" source, compsed c 950 BC. This source depicts Yahweh as more human-like than Elohim, the title used for God in the Elohist source.

Latter-Day Saints identify Yahweh in the Old Testament as Jesus, whom they identify as a child of Elohim.

Contents 1 Origins and meaning 1.1 "Yahweh" and the tetragrammaton 1.2 Linguistic roots and meaning 2 History of Yahweh worship 3 Yahweh in the Hebrew bible 3.1 Yahweh in the Torah 3.2 Yahweh in the Nevi’im (Prophets) 3.2.1 Contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal regarding the name of God 3.2.2 Yahweh in the Book of Isaiah 3.2.3 Yahweh in the Book of Jeremiah 3.2.4 Yahweh in the Book of Zechariah 3.3 Yahweh in the Kethuvim (writings) 4 The nature of Yahweh 5 Latter-Day Saints 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

Origins and meaning

"Yahweh" and the tetragrammaton

"Yahweh" is a the name of God in the Hebrew bible, where it is written as four consonants (YHWH), called the tetragrammaton. Jews ceased to use the name in the Greco-Roman period, replacing it with the common noun Elohim, “god,” to demonstrate the universal sovereignty of Israel’s God over all others; at the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered, and was replaced in spoken ritual by the word Adonai (“My Lord”). From about the 6th to the 10th century the Masoretes, Jewish scholars who were the first to add vowels to the text of the Hebrew Bible, used the vowel signs of the Hebrew words Adonai or Elohim as the vowels for YHWH, producing the artificial name Jehovah (YeHoWaH). Christian scholars after the Renaissance and Reformation periods used the term Jehovah for YHWH, but in the 19th and 20th centuries biblical scholars again began to use the form Yahweh and it is now the conventional usage in biblical scholarship.^[5]

Linguistic roots and meaning

The name is generally linked to a form of the Semitic word-stem HWY, conveying the idea of "being". (Semitic word-stems are groups of consonants around which vowels are arranged to form nouns and verbs). The verb "to be" plus the name of El, the chief god in the pantheon, could give rise to the forms yahweh-el ("He is El", "He shows himself as El") or the reverse, El-yawheh (El who shows himself) - the latter, but not the former, is found occasionally in the bible.^[6] In Exodus 3:19 God himself, asked by Moses for his name, replies: "I am that I am...Say (to the Israelites), 'I Am has sent me to you'."^{[Exod. 3:13-16]} A similar statement recurs throughout Leviticus, where God states with each law, "I am Yahweh." But despite looking back to the same verbal root HWY, these passages are essentially theological: they are intended not to explain the origin or meaning of the name, but to convey the image of a powerful God who will stay with and strengthen Israel.^[7]

History of Yahweh worship

The oldest plausible non-Biblical occurrence of a name which can be linked with the Hebrew Yahweh comes from 14th century Egyptian texts which mention the "Shosu (i.e., nomads) of the land of YHW". (Mid-20th century theories that a god named Yah or Yaw, an earlier version of Yahweh, existed in 2nd millennium Ebla, have been largely rejected by scholars today). Many scholars follow Mark S. Smith, who identifies this YHW with YHWH and places it in the region of Edom and Midian, south of Israel and Judah, in accordance with the biblical traditions which trace Yahweh to this region (e.g. Numbers 23, 24; Deuteronomy 32; Judges 5; and Psalm 82), although the identification is not certain.^[8][9]

An 8th century BCE pottery shard (or ostracon) inscribed "Berakhti etkhem l’YHWH Shomron ul’Asherato" (Hebrew: בירכתי אתכם ליהוה שומרון ולאשרתו‎ "I have blessed you by Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah") was discovered by Israeli archeologists at Quntilat 'Ajrud in the course of excavations in the Sinai desert in 1975. Another inscription, from Khirbet el-Kom near Hebron, reads: "Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh and by his Asherah; from his enemies he saved him!".^[10][11] These and other discoveries, together with a reassesment of the biblical texts, have led the majority of contemporary scholars to the conclusion that the original god of Israel was the common West Semitic father-god El, as witnessed by the religious history of Shechem, the home of "El Berit", (El of the Covenant, a Late Bronze Age title of El). Yahweh and El later merged at religious centres such as Shechem, Shiloh and Jerusalem, and the priesthood of Yahweh inherited the religious lore of El.^[12] As a member of the original Israelite pantheon Yahweh had his own consort, the goddess Asherah.^[3] The emergence of Yawheh-centred monotheism in ancient Israel has thus come to be seen as a late and gradual phenomenon, passing through several stages of development before consistent monotheism became the norm in the Babylonian Exile or even later.^[13]

Contrary to the practice of their pagan neighbors, Hebrews worshiped Yahweh without an idol to represent the deity. King Hezekiah (8th to 7th century BC) enacted sweeping religious reforms, during which he removed non-Yahwistic elements from the Jerusalem temple,^[4] such as the brazen serpent. He also focused worship of Yahweh at the Temple, shutting down the various high places where Yahweh had also been worshiped.

Yahweh in the Hebrew bible

Yahweh in the Torah

The second chapter of Genesis begins the story of The Man, which Yahweh forms from dust and places in a garden, then creating a woman from The Man's side (צלע, ṣelaˁ, usually translated as "a rib"). It is also in the second chapter where the name Yahweh is first introduced (in the form YHWH ʔLHYM — Yahweh ˀElohîm), but it is used here as part of the narration of the story, not as a name uttered by humans in the story.

Several short stories follow The Creation account which depict different aspects of Yahweh. In the story of Adam and Eve, Yahweh is concerned about the loneliness of The Man, which he responds with first creating animals, and then a helper (a woman, later name Ḥawwah, "Eve"). Yahweh gives them all the trees in The Garden to eat from, while at the same time forbidding them to eat from one particular tree. When the man and woman eat from the forbidden tree Yahweh expels them from The Garden, punishing them with death, pain, and toil. In the story of the Tower of Babel, Yahweh is depicted as confusing humans' language and scattering them across the world in response to their being able to work together to build a city and a tower so that they would be respectable and united, having the ability to do whatever they set their minds to.^{[Gen 11:4-7]}

Another story, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, depicts Yahweh as willing to destroy entire cities for their wickedness, but at the same time, willing to listen and make bargains with a mortal man, Abraham, to spare the lives of the cities' inhabitants. Abraham, here, being portrayed in opposition to Yahweh, as feeling that the entire population of a city should not be punished for the sins of its people, even if the wicked people are in the overwhelming majority.

This Abraham is the first major (mortal) character in the Hebrew Bible, first being introduced as Abram in Genesis 11:26. With Abraham, Yahweh makes a covenant ordering him to leave his homeland and promising Abraham numerous descendants, and that his name would be great and a blessing.^{[Gen 12:1-3] [12:7]} In the narratives concerning Yahweh and Abraham, Yahweh is frequently described in anthropomorphic terms (appearing before Abraham, sometimes in the form of a man) and speaking directly to him and Abraham's wife, Sarah (from whom Yahweh promises a son to Abraham). The Genesis narrative continues, “Yahweh treated Sarah as he had said, and he did what he had promised her. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age.”^[14]

When this son, Isaac, is grown, Abraham’s servant credits Yahweh with orchestrating events to lead him to Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife. Rebekah’s father and brother agree: “This matter stems from Yahweh […] Rebekah is at your call; take her with you and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as Yahweh has spoken.”^[15] When Jacob (Isaac and Rebekah’s son) flees from his twin brother Esau, Yahweh appears to Jacob, saying, “I, Yahweh, am the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you are lying I shall give to you and your descendants.”^[16] After Jacob’s son, Joseph, is sold as a slave in Egypt, his master notices that “Yahweh was with Joseph”^[17] and takes him into his household, with the result that “Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph’s sake; indeed, Yahweh’s blessing was on everything he owned.”^[18][19]

In Exodus, Yahweh initiates a covenant with Israel. His right to be Israel’s God is based in his redeeming them from slavery in Egypt. The people of Israel agree to the covenant terms Yahweh gives, including the Ten Commandments,^[20]

I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

– Exodus 20:1-6 (WEB)^[21]

In Leviticus, Yahweh indicates that an overarching purpose of these laws is to distinguish the nation of Israel and highlight the unique identity of Yahweh. “For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”^[22] Leviticus can be described as “the book of the holiness of Yahweh” whose fundamental requirement is, “You shall be holy to me.”^[23]

In Numbers, the priests are instructed to bless the nation of Israel as follows: “‘Yahweh bless you, and keep you. Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’ “So they shall put my name on the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”^[24]

In Deuteronomy, Moses reviews the terms of the covenant before Israel continues on to the promised land under the leadership of Joshua.^[25] Yahweh intends his commands to reveal his unique wisdom and identity to the other nations of the earth.^[26] Moses writes,

Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do so in the midst of the land where you go in to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who shall hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there, that has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on him? What great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

– Deuteronomy 4:5-8 (WEB)^[27]

The detailed religious requirements of the covenant should not detract from the love between Israel and their redeemer, “Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one: and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."^[28]

According to Exodus, Yahweh appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.^[Exodus 3] Yahweh said to Moses, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”^[29]

Throughout the discussion between Yahweh and Moses, Moses seems reluctant to attempt to lead Israel out of Egypt. At one point, he said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you;’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?”^[30] God replied, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Yahweh also said to Moses:

You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt; and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey."

– Exodus 3:14-17 (WEB)^[31]

This introduction to “Yahweh” as the personal name of God associates the divine name with the Hebrew verb “hayah” meaning “to be.”^[32] “I will be what I will be” indicates “My nature will become evident from my actions.”^[33] Later in Exodus, God frequently declares that from his actions (such as the ten plagues) Israel and Egypt “shall know that I am Yahweh.”^[34] Thus, as God, Yahweh is revealed by both his personal name and his mighty deeds in history rather than a list of characteristics.^[35]

Yahweh in the Nevi’im (Prophets)

The Nevi’im draw clear distinctions between the worship of Yahweh as God and the worship of other gods which are regarded as false.^[36] Faithfulness to Yahweh brings blessings of rain, health, peace, and victory over one’s enemies. Worship of false gods brings drought, plague, foreign invasion, captivity, and destruction.^[37]

Contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal regarding the name of God

According to the book of Kings, the prophet Elijah, whose name means Yahweh is God,^[38] announced a period of drought as a consequence for Israel’s worship of false gods during the reign of Ahab.^[39] After 42 months of drought, Elijah proposed a contest between Yahweh and the prophets of Baal, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of Yahweh; but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let them therefore give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh. The God who answers by fire, let him be God.”^[40]

All the people agreed to the contest, and the prophets of Baal arranged a bull for sacrifice on a pile of wood and called on the name of their god from morning to noon without result. They cried aloud, cut themselves with lances, and prophesied well into the afternoon, but there was no answer. Elijah then repaired the altar of Yahweh, put the wood in order, and cut the bull and placed the pieces upon the wood. After having a large quantity of water poured over the sacrifice and the wood three times, Elijah prayed, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, Yahweh, hear me, that this people may know that you, Yahweh, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”^[41]

After this, the narrative describes that the fire of Yahweh fell, and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. All the people saw it, fell on their faces and said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”^[42]

Yahweh in the Book of Isaiah

A main theme in the Book of Isaiah is Yahweh’s holiness as the essence of his divine being, which causes men to tremble before him as they worship him.^{[citation needed]} This holy God has associated himself in a special way with Israel.^[43] According to Isaiah, Yahweh expected Israel to rely on him rather than neighboring nations for support and protection.^[44]

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many,and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh! Yet he also is wise, and will bring disaster, and will not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of those who work iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God;and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.

– Isaiah 31:1-3 (WEB)^[45]

Isaiah emphasizes that Yahweh is the Lord of the whole earth. Yahweh directs the history of Israel and of the other nations too. Israel is to be a light to the gentiles that the salvation of the nations of the earth lies in serving Yahweh. Isaiah also portrays Yahweh as the God who created the heavens and the earth, and as jealous when the praise due him is given to idols.^[46]

Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it. “I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations; to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison. I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images."

– Isaiah 42:5-8 (WEB)^[47]

Yahweh in the Book of Jeremiah

Jeremiah portrays Yahweh as a God who will hold his people accountable for their actions.^[48] God appointed Jeremiah to confront Judah and Jerusalem for the worship of idols and other violations of the covenant described in Deuteronomy.^[49] According to Jeremiah, Yahweh declared that the covenant was broken and that God would bring upon Israel and Judah the curses of the covenant.^[50] Jeremiah explained the reason for the impending disaster (destruction by the Babylonian army and captivity), “And when they say, 'Why did Yahweh our God do all this to us?' you shall answer them, 'As you forsook me and served alien gods in your own land, so must you serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'”^[51]

Yet, Jeremiah also portrays Yahweh as a God who is willing to answer the cries of the upright heart and bring restoration to the penitent.^[52]

Thus says Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it; Yahweh is his name:

Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don’t know. For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are broken down to make a defense against the mounds and against the sword; while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city: "Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth. I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which they have sinned against me, and by which they have transgressed against me. This city shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure to it."

– Jeremiah 33:2-9 (WEB)^[53]

Yahweh in the Book of Zechariah

The prophet Zechariah portrays Yahweh as bringing past misfortunes to Israel because of sins, but goes on to describe the means by which Yahweh will restore his people to their country. Yahweh will give his people strength to resist and overcome their oppressors and gather them from the remotest regions. Zechariah portrays Yahweh as the giver of the rain and contrasts the source of life-giving rain with the deception of idols that brings oppression.^[54]

Ask of Yahweh rain in the spring time, Yahweh who makes storm clouds, and he gives rain showers to everyone for the plants in the field. For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep. They are oppressed, because there is no shepherd.

– Zecharaiah 10:1-2 (WEB)^[55]

Zechariah asserts that Yahweh will answer those who call on him by name, “They will call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is my people;’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”^[56]

Yahweh in the Kethuvim (writings)

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In the Psalms, the unique supremacy of Yahweh is iterated: “May they know that You alone— whose name is Yahweh— are the Most High over all the earth.”^[57] However, several other characteristics are also developed in the Psalms. The psalmist David wrote, “Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”^[58] Yahweh is portrayed as the creator, who continues to care for his creation: “… the faithful love of Yahweh fills the earth. By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, by the breath of his mouth all their array.”^[59] “For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods …The sea is his, and he made it. His hands formed the dry land … Let's kneel before Yahweh, our Maker, for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care.”^[60]

According to Psalms, Yahweh is a warrior.^[61] “O Yahweh, strive with my adversaries, give battle to my foes, take up shield and buckler, and come to my defense; ready the spear and javelin against my pursuers; tell me, ‘I am your deliverance.’”^[62] In battle, Yahweh’s help is preferred to help from conventional sources: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.”^[63] Psalms portrays Yahweh as responsive to people who call on his name, whether in battle or in times of personal distress. “Hear, Yahweh, my prayer. Listen to the voice of my petitions. In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me.”^[64] Psalm 107 describes people in circumstances of wandering, oppression, punishment for their own misdeeds, and physical danger. After each scenario, the refrain is repeated, “They cried out to Yahweh in their distress, he rescued them from their plight.”^[65] Many Psalms include a call to praise Yahweh by name: “Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds — His name is Yahweh—and rejoice before Him.”^[66] A subcollection of Psalms begin and/or end with the liturgical call to worship, “hallelujah,”^[67][68] a transliteration of the Hebrew meaning “give praise to Yahweh.”^[69]

In Proverbs, Yahweh is described as the source of wisdom: “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools spurn wisdom and discipline.”^[70] Yahweh is portrayed as knowing a person better than the person knows himself, “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Yahweh weighs the motives.”^[71] Each of these characteristics is also mentioned in Psalms.^[72]

The book of Job depicts Yahweh being praised in the midst of tragedy: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked I shall return again. Yahweh gave, Yahweh has taken back. Blessed be the name of Yahweh!”^[73] Job 38-41 is a first-person narrative in which Yahweh describes his creative work and authority over nature: “Then Yahweh answered Job … ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?’”^[74]

In Ruth, Yahweh is credited with restoring the widowed Naomi’s family line as well as her social standing by allowing the marriage of her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth, and Boaz to produce a child.^[75] “And so, Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife, and he had intercourse with her and Yahweh made her conceive and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be Yahweh who this day has not let there cease to be a redeemer for you.'”^[76]

Lamentations represents the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Israelites as a fulfillment of previous warnings to Israel not to worship other gods. “Yahweh has resolved to destroy the walls of the daughter of Zion.”^[77] “Yahweh has done that which he purposed; he has fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old.”^[78] Yet, hope is expressed that relief will come based on Yahweh’s mercy as well as his faithfulness to his covenant with Israel:^[79] “Surely Yahweh’s mercies are not over, his deeds of faithful love not exhausted … Yahweh is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him.”^[80]

The nature of Yahweh

Yahweh is the God of Israel, as described in the shema (Deuteronomy 6:4): "Hear O Israel, Yahweh our God is one, Yahweh alone." Yahweh is the creator-god, bringing the heavens and earth into being by the power of divine speech alone (Genesis 1), or as the divine craftsman who works with his hands (Genesis 2), and as the divine warrior, bringing order to the original chaos through his combat with the chaos-monsters (Psalms 74, 89).^[81] He makes his "name" to dwell among his people (although he himself dwells in Heaven), and, after the age of the biblical Patriarchs and Moses, communicates not directly but through the Prophets. He is the source of law, which he has transmitted to his people at Sinai. He is a father to his people, capable of anger, but also of love and forgiveness. He is the source of Wisdom (Proverbs 1:7 and elsewhere). He is Israel's protector, but also Israel's judge; all Israel's disasters are the result of Israel's sins against him (e.g., Lamentations 2:8, on the destruction of Jerusalem). Yet hope is expressed that relief will come through Yahweh’s mercy and his faithfulness to his covenant with Israel:^[82] “Surely Yahweh’s mercies are not over, his deeds of faithful love not exhausted … Yahweh is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him.”^[80]

The religion of ancient Israel which informs the Hebrew bible had certain basic tenets: Israel is Yahweh's chosen people; Israel and Yahweh are bound by covenant as lord and vassal; the land is God's, given to Israel by Yahweh, with Yahweh as sole landlord; Israel's tenancy on the land is conditional on keeping covenant; and keeping covenant necessitates tempered rule by state and village leaders who also keep the covenant. These beliefs, dubbed biblical Yahwism, are widely recognized in biblical scholarship as enshrined in Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua through Kings), with pronounced affinities to the Pentateuchal E source and to the prophets Hosea, Jeremiah, and Malachi.^[83]

Latter-Day Saints

In 19th-century America, Joseph Smith established the Latter-Day Saints movement. His doctrine of God and Jesus contradicted the orthodox view of the trinity. In particular, he described Elohim and Yahweh as separate men, with Yahweh identified as Jesus.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tetragrammaton

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Jehovah.

• Adon
• Allah
• Ea
• El (god)
• Ellil
• Elohim
• God in the Bahá'í Faith, God in Christianity, God in Islam, God in Judaism
• Jehovah
• I am that I am
• -Ihah
• INRI
• Jah
• JHVH-1
• List of Septuagint versions that have the Tetragrammaton
• List of Hebrew versions of the New Testament that have the Tetragrammaton
• Names of God in Judaism
• Tetragrammaton (YHWH)
• Tetragrammaton in the New Testament
• Theophoric names
• Yam (god) (Ya'a, Yaw)

Notes

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.

References

• Holman Christian Standard Bible. 2004. B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 1586400681 ISBN 978-1586400682
• New Bible Dictionary. 1982 (second edition). Tyndale Press, Wheaton, IL, USA. ISBN 0842346678
• New Jerusalem Bible. 1985. http://www.catholic.org/bible/ (accessed 28 August, 2009)
• The Anchor Bible. Vol. 1, Genesis. Speiser, E.A. 1987 (third edition). New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385008546
• The Anchor Bible. Vol. 17A, Psalms III (101-150). Dahood, Mitchell. 1970. New York: Doubleday. ASIN: B000OM3SGC
• The Anchor Bible. Vol. 7, Ruth. Campbell, Edward E. F., Jr. 1975. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385053169 ISBN 978-0385053167
• The Jewish Study Bible, Tanakh Translation. 2004. Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Fishbane, Michael, eds. Jewish Publication Society, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195297512
• World English Bible. http://ebible.org/web/ public domain. (accessed 28 August, 2009)

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Yahweh

• Bibliography on the Tetragrammaton in the Dead Sea Scrolls
• Encyclopedia Mythica. 2004. Arbel, Ilil. "Yahweh."
• Metatron as the Tetragrammaton
• Hebrew Names of G-d (including YHVH), with audio
• Easton's Bible Dictionary (3rd ed.) 1887. "Jehovah."
• Jewish Encyclopedia count of number of times the Tetragrammaton is used
• The Sacred Name: Yahveh or Yahweh?
• YHWH/YHVH—Tetragrammaton
• The Sacred Name Yahweh, a publication by Qadesh La Yahweh Press
• "Yahweh." Encyclopædia Britannica Online.