June 22, 2012—SnyderTalk Editorial: His Name is Yahweh

Welcome to SnyderTalk!

________________________________________

#####

His Name is Yahweh

Yahweh is God’s personal Name, or His Divine Name. Yahweh is called the Tetragrammaton,[i] or four-letter word, because it has four letters in Hebrew. Orthodox Jews won’t say Yahweh. Instead, they say HASHEM which is a Hebrew word that means “The Name.” Also, Yahweh is called the Ineffable Name, or the unspeakable Name, but God’s Name is not unspeakable. In fact, according to the Bible, Yahweh commanded us to tell the world who He is by Name. Make no mistake. Not declaring God’s Name is an act of disobedience, and it is wrong.

Yahweh Means “I AM”

Yahweh means I was, I am, and I will be,[ii] and “I AM” is one of His Names. “I AM” is also the definition of His Name. God’s Name sets Him apart by distinguishing between Him and anything or anyone else. When Moses asked Yahweh to tell him His Name so he could let the Children of Israel know who sent him to lead them out of Egypt, God said, “I AM WHO I AM; thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”[iii] Then immediately He added this command:

“Say to the Israelites, ‘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 (Yahweh) is My Name forever, the Name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”[iv]

Since “forever” means without end, it’s obvious that Yahweh didn’t intend for us to substitute titles for His Name in the Scriptures. Also, since He instructed Moses to tell the Children of Israel to remember Him by the Name Yahweh “from generation to generation,” it’s crystal clear that Yahweh wants us to know His Name, to call on Him by Name, and to tell the world about Him by Name.

The Correct Pronunciation of God’s Name

Some people believe that the correct pronunciation of God’s Name was lost, but according to the Encyclopedia Judaica, that’s not so.[v] However, because people use it so infrequently, the correct way to pronounce God’s Name remains a source of considerable debate.

Many people believe that all the letters in Yahweh’s Name are consonants, but that is not the case either. In fact, each letter in His Name is a vowel-consonant or semivowel.[vi] The Hebrew spelling of Yahweh, yod-hey-vav-hey, appears below. Since Hebrew reads right to left, “yod” is the letter on the far right:

Most Bible scholars and Hebrew linguists believe that “Yahweh” is the correct way to pronounce God’s Name.[vii] The Y-a-h in His Name sounds like “Yah,” and the w-e-h in His Name sounds like “way.” That said, considerable debate persists about whether to enunciate the second syllable in God’s Name with a “v” sound or with a “w” sound, but compelling evidence proves that the “w” sound is correct.[viii]

God’s Name is Not Jehovah

Between the years 500 A.D. and 1000 A.D., vowel markings were invented and introduced in the Hebrew language. To prevent Jewish people from accidentally saying Yahweh, the rabbis decided to place the vowel markings for the word “Adonai” (which means lord) on the Name “Yahweh.” That produced a word with this sound: YeHoVah.[ix]

In 1520 A.D., a Bible scholar named Galatinus[x] mistakenly called God by the name “Jehovah,”[xi] and in 1611 A.D., the translators of the original King James Bible explained in a footnote that God’s Name is Jehovah. That’s why so many people today believe that God’s Name is Jehovah.[xii] Of course, they’re wrong, but most of them know only what they have been told, and they have been given incorrect information.

This is an excerpt from His Name is Yahweh. It explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s a book that you need to read and share. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.

#####

[i] Kohlenberger, John III, The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1987, p. xxxv.

[ii] Scherman, Rabbi Nosson, The Stone Edition Tanach, The ArtScroll Series®, Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, New York, 1996, p. xxv.

[iii] Exodus 3: 14.

[iv] Exodus 3: 15 from the New International Version. The parentheses are mine.

[v] Encyclopedia Judaica Jerusalem, vol. 7, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, Israel, the Macmillian Company, Jerusalem, 1972, p. 680.

[vi] Weingreen, J.A. Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew, Clarendon Press, 1939, pp. 6-7; Harris, R. Laird. Introductory Hebrew Grammar, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Michigan, 4^th Edition, 1955, p. 16; Marks, John H. and Rogers, Virgil M. A Beginner’s Handbook to Biblical Hebrew, Abingdon, Nashville, 1958, p. 7; and Horowitz, Edward. How the Hebrew Language Grew, Jewish Education Committee Press, 1960, pp. 333f.

[vii] If you would like to know more about the correct pronunciation of God’s Name, refer to the Encyclopedia Judaica, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Unger’s Bible Dictionary, The Jewish Encyclopedia (Volume 12), the Encarta Encyclopedia, or Clover, R. The Sacred Name Volume I Third Edition, Qadesh La Yahweh Press, Garden Grove, California, 2002, chapter 9.

[viii] Encyclopedia Judaica, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Unger’s Bible Dictionary, The Jewish Encyclopedia (Volume 12), the Encarta Encyclopedia, or Clover, R. The Sacred Name Volume I Third Edition, Qadesh La Yahweh Press, Garden Grove, California, 2002, chapter 9.

[ix] Landman, Isaac, ed. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia. 10 vols. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. New York, 1941, vol. 5, p. 7.

[x] According to The Jewish Encyclopedia (Singer, Isadore, ed. 12 vols. KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1964, vol. 7, p. 88), Galatinus was the confessor for Pope Leo the 10^th.

[xi] Many, if not most, Bible scholars believe Galatinus was the person responsible for interpreting the Name “Yahweh” incorrectly as Jehovah. However, there is some controversy about this question. No matter who made this mistake, we know the name Jehovah did not come into use until at least the 1400s A.D.

[xii] Kohlenberger, John III, The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1987, p. xviii.

________________________________________

Email Distribution List:

I have created an email distribution list that I use to notify people when I post a new SnyderTalk. If you would like to be on that list, send your email address to nhsny@yahoo.com, and put “add me to your distribution list” in the subject line. If you know others who are interested in SnyderTalk content, tell them to send me their email address, and I’ll put them on the list.

________________________________________

Ezekiel 3: 4-11

Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. “For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. “Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. “Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I will speak to you and listen closely. “Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Adonai Yahweh.’”

________________________________________

His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘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 [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)

________________________________________

#####

Obey Yahweh and Let the Name Jesus Go

#####

________________________________________

Hosea 4: 6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

________________________________________

Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.

________________________________________

#####

Top 5 digg^tm articles yesterday—read them to see what people are sharing:

#####

________________________________________

#####

________________________________________

What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.

________________________________________

#####

________________________________________

Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.

________________________________________

#####

________________________________________

Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.

________________________________________

#####

________________________________________

If you haven’t been there already, you should take the opportunity to visit Natural Healthcare Store. Each product selected for sale at Natural Healthcare Store undergoes rigorous research to make sure that it is the highest quality at an affordable price.

Natural Healthcare Store carries skin care, hair care, and oral care products. Be sure to check out the Dead Sea products imported from Israel and support the Israeli economy with your purchases. Natural Healthcare Store carries makeup, deodorant, and detoxification products. It also carries supplements, weight loss products, and loose leaf tea. Rounding out its product mix, Natural Healthcare Store carries natural household cleaning products.

Katie and I believe strongly in healthy living, and we use the products. We’re proud to say that our daughter Melanie owns the store.

________________________________________

#####

Ben Shapiro: Will Obama Admin Leaks Prompt Middle East War?
Rick Richman: Do Iranians Read “Foreign Affairs”?
Jonathan S. Tobin: Rockets Prove Hamas Hasn’t Changed
Robert Spencer: Carrying Water for Jihad at ‘The Nation’
P. David Hornik: Washington Backs Islamists as Sinai and Gaza Explode
Nonie Darwish: Over 75% of Egyptian Americans Voted For Islamist
Joseph Klein: The UN’s Dead End in Syria
Giulio Meotti: Black Leaders’ Vendetta Against Israel
Conrad Black: Intervene in Syria
David P. Goldman: Did a Saudi Ex Machina Save Egypt?
Ed Driscoll: Watching Euro-Pangaea Break Up
Ion Mihai Pacepa: The Gods of Socialism
David Ignatius: Drones vs. diplomacy
Lally Weymouth: An interview with Ehud Barak
Lee Smith: Who Won the Egyptian Election?
Thomas Joscelyn: Pakistan’s New Al Qaeda Detainee and Iran
Ilan Berman: Why Iran Covets Brazil
Abraham Cooper and Yitzchok Adlerstein: Nobel winner’s problem with ‘a peculiar people’ and Israel
Paul Greenberg: Death the deliverer
Steven Emerson: At Islamic radicalization hearings, moderate Muslims warn Congress while Dems question their very participation
Jeff Jacoby: Forget the research; our minds are made up
Clifford D. May: The Trouble with Multiculturalism … It undermines freedom
Walter Russell Mead: Iran Talks Break Down
Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall: The Role of Iranian Security Forces in the Syrian Bloodshed
Isi Leibler: Promote aliyah now
Elliott Abrams: How many refugees?
Eyal Guber: True grit
Dr. Aviad Hacohen: The state comptroller’s ‘special responsibility’
Eli Hazan: No civil war

#####

________________________________________

http://clickhere.igetpaidtodrinkcoffee.com/

“The scales at my doctor’s office said I weighed 201 when I began drinking the B-Skinny coffee. Today, four weeks later, my scales said I weigh 188. I love this stuff.” Pat Parks

________________________________________

If You Voted for Obama in 2008 to Prove You’re Not a Racist, You Need to Vote for Someone Else in 2012 to Prove You’re Not an Idiot explains why voters in the United States need to elect someone besides Barack Obama to lead them. Whoever is elected President of the United States in 2012 will have to contend with the monumental problems that Obama’s misguided policies have caused both at home and abroad. One thing is certain, though. It should not be Barack Obama. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.