יהוה

Hebrew

Wikipedia has articles on:

יהוה (Hebrew)
YHWH (English)

Alternative forms

יְיָ, ׯ (YY) (abbreviation)
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (yhwh) (Paleo-Hebrew script)
ࠉࠡࠄࠅࠝࠄ (yâːhweh) (Samaritan Hebrew script)

Etymology

Uncertain. The etymology of this theonym has been discussed extensively in scholarly literature. Possible etymologies include:

Derived from the verbal form of הֱוֵה (“to be”), the masculine singular imperative of הָיָה (“to be”), with the third-person singular masculine prefix [script needed] (y-), according to Lewis (2020).^[1] The root's ancestor is reconstructed by Huehnergard (2011) as Proto-Semitic *h-w-y (“to fall, happen, be, become”)^[2]. Lewis (2020) further interprets the word as a non-causative meaning of "the [permanently] existing one; the god who is" and a pre-monarchic archaic vocalization from another dialect than classical Hebrew, hence Yahweh instead of expected *Yihweh; compare יִהְיֶה (yihyeh, “he will be”).
Meaning causative "he who causes to be" (reflecting Yahweh's role as a creator), by Albright, Freedman, and Cross.^[1]^[2]
Meaning "he blows (it)" by van der Toorn.^[3] Cognate with Arabic هَوَى (hawā, “to blow, to breeze, to waft”).
Meaning "he fells (with lightning)", causative of *hwy (“to fall”), by Wellhausen (1897).^[4] Cognate with Arabic هَوَى (hawā, “to descend, to sink”).

Pronunciation

(reconstructed Biblical, before 400 BCE) IPA^(key): /jahˈwɛː/
(Modern Israeli) IPA^(key): /je.hoˈva/ (see usage notes)
Audio (Israel): (file)

The hypothetical Tiberian descendant would have been יַהְוֶה /jahˈvɛ/ [jahˈvɛː] or יַהֲוֶה /ja.hăˈvɛ/ [jaː.haˈvɛː], which would have yielded Modern Israeli /ja(h)ˈve/ or /ja.(h)aˈve/ respectively.

Proper noun

יהוה • (YHWH) m

used as the ineffable name of God in the Hebrew Bible: Yahweh, Jehovah
- Tanach, Genesis 4:26, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society^{The value tsrc=JPS is ambiguous and deprecated. After checking the translation, please replace it with JPS1917, JPS1985, or JPS2023. See the documentation.}:
  וּלְשֵׁ֤ת גַּם־הוּא֙ יֻלַּד־בֵּ֔ן וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱנ֑וֹשׁ אָ֣ז הוּחַ֔ל לִקְרֹ֖א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָֽהֹ
  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh; then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

Usage notes

The word is written in the Hebrew Bible either without vocalisation or written using the vocalization of the word אֲדֹנָי (adonái, “my Lord”), as יְהֹוָה, due to the prohibition of uttering the name. It is thought that the original pronunciation was probably lost around the Hellenistic era. In some cases, when preceded by the word אֲדֹנָי (adonái, “my Lord”), it is written using the vocalization of the word אֱלֹהִים (elohím, “God”), as יֱהֹוִה.
Religious Jews pronounce the word as אֲדֹנָי (adonái, “my Lord”) only for liturgical purposes, otherwise they use other terms such as הַשֵּׁם (hashém, “the name”). Secular Jews in Israel usually pronounce it as אדוני / אֲדֹנָי (adonái) under most circumstances. Samaritans pronounce it as ࠔࠝࠌࠠࠀ (šəmā, “the name”) – from שְׁמָא (šəmā, “the name”), the Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew הַשֵּׁם (hashém) – under all circumstances, even in liturgy.
While Jews would not be likely to refer to the Christian God with the Tetragrammaton, Hebrew-speaking Christians and Messianic Jews may; and it is used in translations of the New Testament.

Derived terms

יָהּ (Yah)
־יָהוּ (-yáhu)
יהו־ (y'ho-)

Descendants

→ Arabic: يَهْوَه (yahwah), يَهُوَه (yahuwah)
→ Classical Syriac: ܝܗܘܗ (ܝܗܘܗ)
→ English: Yahweh
→ Esperanto: Javeo
→ French: Yahvé
→ Hindi: यहोवा (yahovā), याहवे (yāhve)
→ Japanese: ヤハウェ (Yahawe), ヤーウェ (Yāwe)
→ Latin: Iehōva, Jehōva, Iōva, Jōva
- → English: Jehovah
  - → Cantonese: 耶和華 / 耶和华 (je⁴ wo⁴ waa⁴)
  - → Mandarin: 耶和華 / 耶和华 (Yēhéhuá)
  - → Māori: Ihowā
  - → Tokelauan: Ieova
- → Esperanto: Jehovo
- → French: Jéhovah
- → Italian: Geova
- → Portuguese: Jeová, Jehová
- → Spanish: Jehová, Jehovah
→ Portuguese: Javé
→ Spanish: Yavé, Yahvé, Yaveh, Yahveh, Yahweh

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Lewis, Theodore J. (2020), “The Origin of Yahweh”, in The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, Section I: The Meaning and Revelation of the Name Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible, pages 210-227
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Huehnergard, John (2011), “Proto-Semitic Language & Culture; Semitic Roots”, in American Heritage Dictionary‎^[1], 5th edition, Appendix II: Semitic Roots, page 2074 of 2066-2078
^ Van der Toorn, Karel (1999), “Yahweh”, in Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, pages 910-919
^ Wellhause, Julius (1897), Israelitische und jüdische Geschichte, page 25

Brown, Francis; Driver, Samuel Rolles; Briggs, Charles Augustus (1906), “יהוה”, in A Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB), Oxford: Clarendon Press