Chapter 2

                                                       What is His Name?

The time is at hand when the Almighty Creator shall return and restore all things.  As He approaches the earth, the light of His countenance is piercing the shroud of darkness and deception that has covered it.  Multitudes lie in this darkness and they WILL perish for lack of knowledge (Hos 4:6).  Yet in His sovereignty, He desires no man to perish and ALL to be saved.

The prophet Joel proclaims: ". . . whoever calls on the name of the lord Will be delivered, . . ."  (Joel 2:32).

Proverbs asks a vital question which is foundational to this book: “Who has ascended into heaven and descended? . . . Who has established all the ends of the earth?  What is His name or His son's name?  Surely you know!"  (Pr 30:4).  Do you know?  Is the Creator's name God or Lord?  Perhaps Jehovah?

Most world religions have an object of worship that they call Lord or God; however, these are titles, not proper names.  The noun god or God can be described as anything that is worshiped by men as a deity, and lord or Lord as one who has power and authority from headship or leadership.  The dictionary defines God as ". . . any of various beings conceived of as super natural, immortal and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, especially a male deity."^[1]  Multitudes from innumerable religions call their deity(s) by the common title God.  The name of the pagan god, Baal, in the Old Testament, means "lord."^[2]  This is the origin of the word Baalzebub (Beelzebub) or "Lord of the flies."^[3]  We must ask then, who is their  "God" and "Lord"?

The more important question is, "What is the Name of YOUR God—the one you call Lord?"  The Creator of heaven and earth has an incomparable and sacred name which He will not share with other gods—for He will give His Glory to no other  (see Isa 42:8).  His name throughout the scriptures is called holy and exalted.  In the Old Covenant Scriptures, the names of pagan gods are spelled out (e.g., Molech, Dagon, Ashtoreth, Baal, Marduk and others) yet His divine and most Holy Name has been substituted, with rare exceptions, with the generic title LORD or God.

It is important to emphasize that the common title God (θε_ς, theos in Greek) has its roots in paganism.  This title has been shared among the various heathen deities throughout history.

Since the second century the Hebrew word, Elohim, which means "the Mighty One" has been translated as God throughout most versions of Scripture.

Due to the focus of this book and the desire for simplicity in its presentation, the central issue will be the Mighty One's original memorial-name as proclaimed to Moses for Israel and all generations of Jews and Gentiles to come.

                                                   "This Is My Name Forever"

He declares in His Word:  "For nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light." (Lk 8:17).  Let us search the Holy Scriptures and petition the Holy One to reveal to us that which has been hidden with regard to His most holy name, and the truth and power which His name embodies.

Two reference points help to clarify the use of His divine name, YAHveh, as proclaimed to Moses at the burning bush.

In regard to the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragram­maton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of render­ing that name as "Lord" in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered "Lord," for which small letters are used.^[4]

Here we see the intervention of man's devices in substituting the common title of "Lord" in place of His sacred name, YHVH or YHWH, seen below in Hebrew characters:

Read right to left, this is phonetically spelled:  Yod‑Heh‑Vav‑Heh.  This explanation is to be found in the Preface of most English Bibles.

Second, a footnote on Deuteronomy 28:58 expresses with perplexity:  "One of the oddities of history and revelation is the loss of the proper pronunciation of the Hebrew YHWH, the most intimate and personal name of God in the OT [Old Testament]." (emphasis added)^[5]

Many dictionaries render YAHveh or YAHweh as the accurate spelling and pronunciation of the original name of the Almighty.  The Hebrew letter "vav" is represented in English by the letters "V" or "W."  However, Jewish scholarship leans towards the "V" as the ancient and correct representation of the letter "vav."  "Overwhelming scholarly opinion holds that YHVH [Yod‑Heh‑Vav‑Heh] was in Moses' time pronounced Yahveh." (emphasis added)^[6]

Because the most conservative scholarship of the ancient Hebrew Scriptures supports the use of YHVH,  this author will be reinserting His original name, YAHveh, in place of the substituted LORD in all Scripture verses quoted in this book.

In Exodus 3, Moses, the deliverer of Israel, is timid yet obedient in his call to go to Pharaoh to deliver the Jews from bondage.  Before going to Pharaoh, Moses asks:

"Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.'  Now they may say to me, 'WHAT IS HIS NAME?'  What shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM;'^[7] . . I AM has sent me to you."  And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'YAHveh, 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-name to all generations."  (Ex 3:13‑15)

Did He intend for His Name to be forgotten?  The Scripture says:  ". . . let YAHveh be found true, though every man be found a liar . . ." (Ro 3:4).  YAHveh is the same yesterday and today and forever.

                                                        His Name Was Hidden

The most holy name, consisting of the Hebrew letters Yod‑Heh‑Vav‑Heh, appears approximately 7000 times in the Old Testament.  It is commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, a Greek word meaning "four letters," but originally by the Hebrew, hashem ha‑meforash, which means "the ineffable name."

Is the title, LORD, an acceptable substitute for His original and ancient name YAHveh, or is this in fact an invention of man?  The Scriptures speak:  "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death" (Pr 14:12).

What has happened is the death of a vital truth!  The name of the Mighty One of Israel has been buried in obscurity by tradition.

At some point in history, Jewish leaders concluded that YAHveh's name was too holy to be spoken by common man.  The priests were concerned that the name of the God of Israel would be irreverently used, especially by Gentiles.  Desiring to protect the holy name, the convention was instituted which permitted only the high priest of Israel to pronounce His holy name one day a year on Yom Kippur.  This soon became a tradition based on the commandment not to misuse or take YAHveh's name in vain (Ex 20:7; Lev. 19:12, 24:10‑16, 23).

From here, the Jewish Orthodoxy and subsequent Gentile translators transgressed His mandate for all mankind to remember, proclaim, and revere His holy name (Ex 3:15).  Israel's history is laced with grave consequences due to their substituting and forgetting YAHveh's name.  The hiding of His memorial-name under substitute titles brought the diminishing of His abiding presence and glory, causing a diluted, compromised form of religious worship to develop down to the present time.

His Name was hidden under the substituted title Adonai in Hebrew and Kurios in Greek, both of which are translated "LORD" in English.  Many Orthodox Jews have used the title Hashem —meaning, "The Name"—out of reverence for His unspoken holy name.

                                                                 Scribal Errors

The dictionary supports the fact that Jehovah is not a biblical name and has no warrant or authentic place in the Scriptures.

            The form Jehovah did not exist as a Hebrew word. . . . The Hebrew alphabet consists only of characters for consonants; vowels are indicated as dots or "points" written in characteristic positions above or below the consonants.  The Hebrew name for God, the consonants of which are transliterated Yhwh, was considered so sacred that it was never pronounced and its proper vowel points were never written.  In some texts the vowel points for a completely different word, Adonai, "lord," . . . was to be spoken whenever the reader came upon the word Yhwh.  Yhwh was never intended to be pronounced with the vowels of Adonai, but Christian scholars of the Renaissance made exactly that mistake, and the forms Iehovah (using the classical Latin equivalents of the Hebrew letters) and Jehovah (substituting in English, J for consonantal I) came into common use.^[8]

The Third Commandment, which forbids the taking of the name of God in vain, was interpreted in ancient days also as forbidding the utterance of the proper name of God, which was written by the Tetragrammaton YHVH.  Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest pronounced the Tetragrammaton or the shem ha‑meforash ("ineffable name").  At all other times it was, and is, read by Jews as Adonay, translated by "Lord," or as Elohim, translated by "God." . . . The transliteration, Jehovah, is the result of pronouncing YHVH with the vowels of Adonay, . . . and is, therefore, no indication of the proper Hebrew pronunciation. . . . The transliteration, Jehovah, is generally ascribed to Peter Galatin, the confessor of Pope Leo X, but it occurs as early as the thirteenth century in the writings of Raymond Martin (c. 1270).  The pronunciation Jehovah began to be popularly used by Christian scholars in the early part of the sixteenth century.^[9]

Thus, the vowels of Adonai and/or Elohim mixed with YHVH, rendered in error, YeHoVaH, or Jehovah.  "The people who introduced this name were medieval Christian Hebrew scholars; Jews never acknowledged such a name.  The defense of this Christian hybrid is the same as the defense of the Jewish avoidance of pronouncing the name—tradition!"^[10]

It must be emphasized that the English letter "J," as we know it, does not exist in Hebrew.  "J, the tenth letter of the English alphabet, is one of the few relatively modern additions to the Semitic‑Greek‑Etruscan‑Latin line of development that gave rise to the alphabet."^[11]  In fact, J was the last letter to be added to our alphabet.  In the translation of Scripture, the letter "Y" in Hebrew was commonly replaced by the English letter "J" in the late Middle Ages.  This method explains the innumerable changes in Scripture such as the name Eliyahu becoming Elijah and Halleluyah becoming Hallelujah.

Once again the Almighty wants us to ask ourselves, "What is His name?"  Are we part of a heritage of believers who have continually from generation to generation remembered His name?  YAHveh speaks to us through the prophet Ezekiel:

"So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel [and all Gentiles joined with her]; and I will not let them pollute [dissolve]^[12]  my name any more:  and the heathen shall know that I AM [YAHveh], the Holy One in Israel."  (Eze 39:7 kjv — emphasis added)

                                                            Unholy Substitutes

As we continue, let us keep in mind that LORD in the Old Testament, is the commonly accepted substitute for YHVH or YAHveh.  It is important to note that the title "Lord" with a capital "L" but lower case "ord" in the Old Testament is to be translated "master."  However, in many New Testament translations where the Old Testament is quoted,  "LORD" (substituted for YAHveh) was replaced by New Testament translators with "Lord" or "God," further losing the obvious connection to the divine name, YHVH.

The name, YAHveh (translated Lord) throughout the Old Testament appears 6823 times.  In the New Testament, His memorial-name should have appeared, at least in the form of its Old Testament substitute, "LORD."  Grievously however, it has been deleted in many translations even when directly quoting from the Old Testament—The New American Standard Bible is one of the exceptions.  In the New Testament, the NASB capitalizes all quotes from the Old Testament and therefore maintains the capitalization of the word "Lord."

In the New International Version, we read in Acts 2:21: "'. . . everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved'" (emphasis added).  Here the apostle Peter is quoting from the book of Joel:  "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [YAHveh] will be saved . . ."  (Joel 2:32 niv — emphasis added).

Another example is in the King James Version.  Messiah Himself is quoted as saying:  ". . . It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"   (Mt 4:4 kjv — emphasis added).

Yet the Torah^[13] from which He quoted reads:  ". . . man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord [YAHveh] . . ."  (Dt 8:3 kjv — emphasis added).

Controversy regarding the original language of the New Testament Scriptures (Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek) is irrelevant.  It is unthinkable that the Jewish apostles when writing the New Testament would have substituted YAHveh's holy name with the Greek title Theos (God) or Kurios (Lord).

This confusion was an inevitable by‑product of the early Gentile translators.  Many were oblivious or indifferent to the vital importance of remembering and maintaining YAHveh's holy name.  But the Spirit of Truth will set you free from such confusion as He continues to unseal the scroll of His eternal Word.

                                                              Honor His Name

The Jewish priests were correct regarding the requirements of purity and holiness in order to speak His name.  They simply felt His name was too holy to utter; however, there was provided through the Old Covenant the sacrificial blood system for Israel which continually atoned for their sins, in order that they, as a redeemed people could speak His name with honor.

YAHveh never intended for His name to be lost to a common title shared by other gods.  He declares through His prophet Isaiah:  "I am YAHveh; that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, . . . " (Isa 42:8).  ". . . for YAHveh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God [He is jealous for his holy memorial-name!] (Ex 34.14).  In Exodus 20:24 we have a beautiful promise to those who revere His name:  "'. . . in every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.'"

Through the New Covenant, all people can speak and honor His name through the atoning blood of the Lamb—the Messiah of Israel.  As His redeemed priesthood, we can speak His name with purified hearts and lips, and He will come to us personally and bless us.

In fact, in Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:8 & 20 we read that the priests were commanded to take their vows and to bless Israel in YAHveh's name.  Because He is jealous for His name, He desires a purified, and separated remnant—redeemed by the blood of the Messiah—to proclaim and bring praise and glory to His holy name.

                                                       Name Above All Names

As the Old Covenant leads to and magnifies the New Covenant, so does YAHveh's name lead to and magnify His Son's name.  The importance and sanctity of ". . . the name which is above every name, . . ." (Php 2:9)  is the major golden thread woven throughout the tapestry of the Bible as well as this book.  The most vital issue regarding the Son's name will be explained later in great detail; however, a brief explanation here is necessary inasmuch as His original Hebrew name will be reinserted, where it was originally written in the Holy Scriptures.

                             The Original Hebrew Name of the Son Is YAHshua

In the English Bibles, the name of our Savior is rendered Jesus.  This is an English/Latin transliteration from the Greek Ίησo_ς (Iesous), not the original Hebrew name of the Son.  The name Iesous is a Greek word fashioned after the Hebrew name "Joshua," a corruption of the Hebrew YAHshua.  The Greek name, Jesus, was not the name proclaimed to the Jewish virgin by the angel before Messiah's birth.  The Hebrew Messiah was named and called YAHshua, a very Hebrew name befitting the Jew of all Jews, the Messiah of Israel.

During His sojourn on earth, the Savior never heard himself referred to as Jesus.  The rendering of YAHshua's name as "Jesus," is man's attempt to approximate a form of His Hebrew name in Greek.  YAHshua means "YAH"—YAHveh—is "SHUA"—Hebrew for "salvation."

                                           YAHshua Means "Yah Is Salvation"

The Father, YAHveh, and the Son, YAHshua are one both in essence and in name.  The very fact that YAHshua said, "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; . . ." (Jn 5:43), is a perfect example of Israel's erroneous tradition which said only the high priest could speak YAHveh's name.  Through spiritual blindness and self‑righteous indignation, the religious leaders viewed YAHshua as a mere carpenter's son; not even a Levite priest, speaking the name of YAHveh, proclaiming that He and YAHveh are one.  To the traditional Jewish leadership, to even mention YAHveh's name was blasphemy.

Through the process of reading this book, may the Spirit of Truth fill your heart and mouth with praises to His Holy name.  May your heart be united with the great King David in proclaiming with reverential joy:  "Teach me Thy way, O YAHveh; I will walk in Thy truth; unite my heart to fear Thy name.  I will give thanks to Thee. . . with all my heart, and will glorify Thy name forever" (Ps 86:11-12).

In Biblical times, names were a vital embodiment of the nature and character of the person or deity.  Thus, the name of the Mighty One of Israel is the very manifestation and embodiment of His character:

"God spoke further to Moses and said to him, 'I am YAHveh; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by My name, YAHveh, I did not make Myself known to them. . . . I have remembered My covenant.  Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, "I am YAHveh, and I will bring you out . . . I will deliver you . . . I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God;  and you shall know that I am YAHveh your God, . . .  And I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I will give it to you for a possession; I am YAHveh."'" (Ex 6:2‑8)

The "I AM" of Exodus 3:14 comes from the Hebrew verb, hayah,  meaning "to be" or "he will be."  HaYAH is the causative root of His name, YAHveh.  His name is the embodiment of His character.  His character and name are the manifestation of His sovereign promise to redeem His people from the hand of their enemies and to righteously judge all the enemies of Israel.  YAHveh's name implies that He is the covenant-keeping God.  He will redeem Israel and all Gentiles joined with her through Messiah's sanctifying blood.

                                              My People Shall Know My Name

We are going on a little archaeological dig which will strengthen you in this truth.  No scorching sun and heat; no sand in your eyes; no sweat on your brow; no shovel in your hand; no back breaking labor.  A real artifact regarding His holy name is to be found in the Psalms—in the New King James Version—which uses the original letter "Y" instead of the substitute letter "J":  "Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His Name YAH, and rejoice before Him"  (Ps 68:4 nkjv —  emphasis added).

YAH is a poetic contraction of YAHveh.  The New King James Version has three other verses that use YAH in its original form.  ". . .'For YAH, the LORD, is my strength . . .'" (Isa 12:2); "Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength. . . ." (Isa 26:4); "'I shall not see YAH, the LORD in the land of the living; . . ." (Isa 38:11).

His voice declares to us through Isaiah:  "Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, 'Here I am'"  (Isa 52:6).

Let us go back to the original question posed in Proverbs 30:4:  "What is His name or His Son's name?  Surely you know!"   As we come to Him as little children, we can answer with childlike faith and excitement, "I know, I know.  His name is YAHveh!"

Now for the less childlike and more reserved in demeanor who might be thinking, "So what?  I've heard that name before.  What's the difference?  I know of whom I'm speaking and to whom I'm praying when I call Him Lord or God."  To you I say, "Hold on!"  We have just begun to unearth treasures of truth that will make a golden pathway into a more glorious and intimate relationship with the Almighty, as He, by His Spirit, builds this foundation ". . . precept upon precept, Line upon line, . . ." (Isa 28:10 nkjv); be patient!  Do not despise small beginnings.  After all, we do not want any cracks in this foundation, lest the whole structure be built on shaky ground.

                                               HalleluYAH (Praise Be To YAH)

Hoping we can all with one accord, to one degree or another, say HalleluYAH; we can move on to this universal and well-known word.  This most exalted form of praise has been spoken, written, prayed and sung by Jews and Christians alike for thousands of years.  Halleluyah is simply:  Hallelu—"praise be to," YAH—"YAHveh, the one true living God."  Praise be to YAH—HalleluYAH!

The proclamation of YAHveh's name elicits from the worshiper, the highest form of praise, glory, and honor due to the Almighty King.  His name speaks of His salvation for Israel and all Gentiles joined with her.  His name proclaims His infinite mercy, compassion, goodness, protection, and deliverance for those who love Him and revere His name.

His name also declares His holiness and resulting vengeance against Israel's enemies and His judgments and wrath upon all who mock His name and transgress His righteous commandments.  Those who wholeheartedly exclaim, "HalleluYAH," bring glory to the name of YAHveh and give praise to all that His name embodies.  "There is none like Thee, O YAHveh; Thou art great, and great is Thy name in might.  Who would not fear Thee, O King of the nations?  Indeed it is Thy due! . . ." (Jer 10:6-7).

Many of King David's psalms, as well as those written by the other psalmists, were aimed at the magnification and exaltation of YAHveh's holy memorial-name.

"Ascribe to YAHveh the glory due to His name; worship YAHveh in holy array" (Ps 29:2).  —  "Let them praise the name of YAHveh, For His name alone is exalted; .  .  ." (Ps 148:13).  —  "O magnify YAHveh with me, And let us exalt His name together" (Ps 34:3).  —  "Oh give thanks to YAHveh, call upon his name; . . . Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek YAHveh be glad."  (Ps 105:1-3)

The Holy Scripture, YAH's written, eternal Word, concludes the ages with a resounding of heavenly HalleluYAH's:

". . . I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'HalleluYAH!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God . . .'  And a second time they said, 'HalleluYAH! .  .  .  And the twenty‑four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped YAHveh who sits on the throne saying, 'Amen.  HalleluYAH!' .  .  .  And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, 'HalleluYAH!  For YAHveh our God, the Almighty, reigns.'" (Rev 19:1-6)

The ultimate HalleluYAH chorus is going to close this age and welcome all the redeemed of all ages into the eternal kingdom—of Who?  What is His name?  Surely you know it is YAHveh!  " and He will reign . . . forever; and His kingdom will have no end" (Lk 1:33).

Does He love His Name?  Yes.  He and His Name are inseparable.  Do YOU love His name?  Let us all who love the holy name of YAHveha proclaim together this Psalm.  It is the first Psalm of the Hallel.^[14]  For centuries it has been joyfully recited by the Jewish people for the holy festivals of Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) and Tabernacles (Sukkot).  Quite possibly, this Psalm, among the others of the Hallel was reverently sung from the mouth of Messiah and His twelve disciples at the Passover Seder (the Last Supper — Mt 26:30).