JEHOVAH |
The ineffable name of God among the Hebrews. It never has the article before it, nor is it found in the plural form. The Jews never pronounced this name; and wherever it occurs in the Hebrew Scriptures, the substituted for it, in reading, the word ADONAI, Lord, or ELOHIM, God. See GOD. In the Hebrew Bible, it is always written with the vowels of one or the other of these words. Its ancient pronunciation is by many thought to have been Yahweh, but this is not certain. Its meaning is HE IS the same as I AM, the person only being changed. Thus it denotes the self-existence, independence, immutability, and infinite fullness of the divine Being, which is a pledge that he will fulfil all his promises. Compare Ex 3:14, I AM THAT I AM, the meaning of which see under the article GOD. In Ex 6:3, God says, "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;" yet the appellation Jehovah appears to have been known from the beginning, Ge 4:2. We have reason to believe that God himself, who named man Adam, named himself JEHOVAH; but in his revelation to the patriarchs he had not appropriated to himself this name in a peculiar way, as he now did, nor unfolded the deep meaning contained in it. He had said to them, "I am God Almighty," Ge 17:1 26:11; or, "I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham," etc.; but never simply, "I am Jehovah." It should be remembered that our English version translates this name by the word LORD, printed in small capitals. |