Has anyone done much studying on the tetragrammaton? (a couple unanswered questions still)

Has anyone done much studying on the tetragrammaton or the name of God YHWH?

I know the Jews didn't use His name but did they ever so we know at least how they pronounced it?

Doesn't exodus tell us what it means in saying "I am that I am"? If this is the case and it is rightly translated would it not be fair to say that whatever God said His name was the point was that He was who He was and therefore there is really no name to give to Him for He is all encompassing His name is mercy His name is Lord ect? If such is the case and love encompasses all attributes can we then say that Love is God's name?

HIS Name so sacred the Jews dare not speak it.
But GOD is known to those who seek HIM and His
glory and His Will by many names; covenant names
as El Shaddai{One Who Suffices} Elohim {Creator}
and Adonai {LORD}. Ann Spangler wrote a very
good book on the Names of GOD.

All,

thanks for all your comments.

Natan,

thanks for the video link I will have to watch it it looks interesting. Once again I am thankful for your insightful info on the Jewish culture.

Other,

It seems crazy to me that the way that the name of God was written has been lost! I understand that it is out of reverence that it was not written or spoken but it also seems irreverent to lose it at the same time. I just wonder if there are some Jews or others who do not see it as irreverent to use and therefore stored it whether textually or by oral tradition or some rabbinical writing.

A couple of my questions are still out there. One being does the Name not mean "I am that I am" therefore it is more of an all encompassing title as opposed to a certain name since names are usually descriptive and to describe God would be a great task therefore instead of saying My name is Savior, or Mercy, He said I am that I am since He is many and all things good and I do not mean in a pantheistic sense?

JIG,

I think it is okay and well to not use God's name in reverence and that there is a place for that but I don't think we should never use it. So I think it is a wrong extreme therefore I think it crazy.

I don't think me thinking this will really stumble many people especially since I am mainly thinking it.

If you are talking about me wanting to use God's name then I think I will still use it whether it stumbles some or not. I mean if some false religion was stumbled when we said Jesus' name then I do not believe most of us would stop using His name.

At the same time I would be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove and be sensitive to it.

So I think we have to make a discernment on what we should and should not do that will stumble people. Mainly I will do all that I "can" within conscience to not offend.

I would also note that trying to not offend people can lead to mega church type mentalities and should be watched out for though there is also good in many such concepts but that it a totally different subject.

I also think that one of the things that Jesus would do is rebuke some for making a tradition of men such as not using God's name because it is not under the law so even if I were to be under the law for the sake of the Jew I would not need to do this.

My main point though is that I would desire that the name of God not be lost that is my main qualm. I am still trying to figure out if this was really a name or an all encompassing title or one of His many names ect...

Jesus is God,

Yeah I was concerned that the Name of God had been lost. Though I am not really sure it is specifically His name per se as I have explained. That is what everyone has been saying. I know people have deciphered it as Jehovah, Yahweh, ect. I am not sure in detail about the validity of all these so therefore I was posting to get some input. I didn't know there were hundreds. So, IF no one really knows for sure then it has been lost possibly.

IF you are saying that I am saying that I do not care about reverence I think you are being a bit extreme in interpreting my words. Also, IF you are saying that I think that is pretty off of you.

When I wrote JIG I was abbreviating your title to let you know I was writing to you. IF this is a problem for you as well I think you are once again being extreme I mean many often write H.S. for Holy Spirit.

I know the Jews didn't use His name but did they ever so we know at least how they pronounced it?

Some believe that one of the things the messiah would do when He came was to teach them the proper way to pronounce YHWH. There are no vowels so any pronunciation is speculation at best.

But as regards the use of Hashem, it is important to realize that God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles when we fall into sin and give the enemies an occasion to 'blaspheme the name of God.'

RW,

There are no vowels so any pronunciation is speculation at best.

Some believe that one of the things the messiah would do when He came was to teach them the proper way to pronounce YHWH

But as regards the use of Hashem, it is important to realize that God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles when we fall into sin and give the enemies an occasion to 'blaspheme the name of God.'

BT,

as Jesus taught, that when we pray, "Our Father" was enough,

When we say that Jesus is Lord

I don't think he was hung up on words being too holy.

Okay so I am pretty sure that God did not want us to forget His name by trying to be reverent in a way in which we lose it by not writing it or saying it since He said in Exodus 3:15 that we are to [b]remember[/b] it forever.

I also think that the name "I am that I am" is given since names are descriptive and to describe God completely is impossible by man.

I still am trying to figure out a couple things though.

1.
I have heard the name interpreted "I am that I am" and "to be" or "the becoming one". Also when I look at the Strong's concordance it seems to be 3 words I am, that, I am. So which one is correct so that I can know the meaning? Is it I am that I am, to be, the becoming one, 3 words or one name?

2.
If there are 3 different words how do we know that these are the right words if there are letters missing?

3.
I was also told that the scribes took out every other letter. We try to replace them with vowels. But the Hebrew language has no vowels. So how does that make sense? Why would we put vowels in a place where there were none? (sorry if this is a stupid question)

4.
If we know the meaning of the name how can we if we don't have all the letters? If we have somehow deciphered what the words were then why don't we know how to pronounce those words?

Oh okay, so there were 3 different names. Elohiym, YHVH or YHWH, and Hawyah.

I thought that I AM THAT I AM was YHWH.

So I believe he was saying that the I AM THAT I AM/Hawyah was his name.

Whereas Lord/YHWH and God/Elohiym were more like titles.

So I wonder a couple things about these definitions.

Like where did they get them from?

I am not sure they had a dictionary to refer to. So we would then therefore get the meaning from the context and usage.

It seems that the three are defined somewhat similarly.

Maybe he said YHWH God to distinguish from other false God's?

Or maybe it does just mean master or lord?

Also, is it YHWH or VH?

Lastly, the question remains how did they define YHWH if they did not have the whole spelling? Did they just define it by context and usage? maybe they don't really know what it means completely? or is there a word in an ancient Hebrew dictionary that can be matched like a crossword puzzle or something that is similar in spelling and would fit?

And, can someone explain to me this whole vowel thing? Why doesn't the Hebrew language have vowels? If it doesn't have vowels then how can we fill in the missing letters with vowels?

What I can't wait for is to find out HIS Name at the time of Rev 19:12. Amen!

As sacred as the names of Yahweh and Jehovah are, the name of Jesus is the only name that has the power to move mountains and set the captive free.

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.'" God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, 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 thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Exodus 3:14-15

1. How do they define Hayah, Elohiym, and YHWH? Is it by a dictionary? the context and usages? a guess?

2. Is it YHWH or YHVH?

3. Is the name in Exodus 3:14-15 Hayah/I AM or YHWH/LORD? If it is Hayah/I AM then we have not lost the spelling of His name? I think Hayah/I AM is what He said His name was specifically whereas YHWH and Elohiym were titles?

4. If there are no vowels in Hebrew then how can we try to fill in the missing letters in YHWH with vowels?

5. What is the difference between YHWH and Elohiym in meaning?

p.s. I think Eheyeh is the correct way to pronounce I AM as opposed to Hayah or Hawyah.

I thought I would bump this once to see if anyone out there can answer my questions or at least knows of a good resource to study this topic.

anonymity,

I would like to stick my head in here a moment and share a bit, then I will leave this to more learned persons.

As I recall from my youth days when I attended Bible School, the instructors taught us a lot about the different names given to God. They were all adjectives, a word that described a deity, specifically God, suited for a specific situation but true at all times.

Then I think of Thomas' reaction when he realized who Jesus was "My Lord and my God". This, to me is the point where we should be: that when we realize who Jesus is, we will bow the knee in holy reverence and fear with "my Lord and my God". This is what He desires - a holy realization of who is is and us living this out where the rubber meets the road.

Blessings,
ginnyrose

Ginnyrose,

Sorry sometimes I miss that someone replied. Yeah I agree this is the main point.

I believe the reason most so-called Jews don't say it is because they don't believe in him, as Steven stated in Acts 7. The only way you can be grafted into Israel is by Messiah that's even for the real Sephardic Jews Jer 11:16 YHWH called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Jer 11:17 For YHWH of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
Most Jews are of the Ashkenazim line, they were converted. Most of these will say that a Jew that converts to Messiah is no longer a Jew.Thi is what scripture speakes of the Ashkenazim
The Ashkenaz of the Bible refers to a people living somewhere in the vicinity of Mount Ararat and Armenia. The name occurs in Gen 10:2-3 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and
Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and
Riphath, and Togarmah.
and
1Ch 1:5-6 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech,
and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and TogarmahI

also
Jer 51:27-29 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers .Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of YHWH shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.

Some say Je'hova which is from the Babylon the Je is said to mean Yah but check out the other, (from strongs)
H1943
הוה
hôvâh
ho-vaw'
Another form for H1942; ruin: - mischief.

Some use God

Isa 65:11 But yeH859 are they that forsakeH5800 the LORD,H3068 that forgetH7913 (H853) my holyH6944 mountain,H2022 that prepareH6186 a tableH7979 for that troop,H1408

H1408
גּד
gad
gad
A variation of H1409; Fortune, a Babylonian deity: - that troop.

Apart from Gad, the son of Jacoḇ, there was another “Gad.” The astrologers of Baḇel called Jupiter (Zeus) by the name “Gad.” He was also well known among the Canaanites where his name was often coupled with Baʽal, Baʽal Gad, which according to the Massoretic vowel pointing in the Book of Yehoshua is pronounced: Baʽal God. This same name is discovered in the ancient Germanic languages as Gott, Goda, Gode, God, Gud, Gade. And searching further back into its Indo-Germanic (Indo-European) roots, we find that it traces back to the word GHODH, which means “union,” even “sexual union.” No wonder this meaning is still evident in the Dutch and German gade. It is also not difficult to see it in the English “gadfly” and “gadding about.”

When I struggled with the name of God, years ago, this word stuck out to me and settled it.

John 17:11niv John17:12niv

{addition}
...there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12niv

Love in Christ tom