Why is YHWH's name spelt without vowels?

Answer 1

This was not something particular to the divine name.

Ancient Hebrew did not record the vowels of any word. It was only centuries later that so-called "vowel points" were developed.

More modern research is actually leaning toward "Yehowah" rather than "Yahweh" as the more likely pronunciation of the Hebrew-language personal name of the Almighty. The important thing is to use God’s personal name in whatever language you speak, rather than insisting upon the impersonal! The name “Yahweh” or "Yehowah" is certainly preferable to the non-name “God” or “Lord”, especially if you speak Hebrew. If you speak English, feel free to use the name "Jehovah".

(Psalms 83:18) That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth

(John 17:26) [Jesus said] I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/na/

Answer 2

Correct Pronunciation of the Divine Name.

"Jehovah" is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although "Yahweh" is favored by most Hebrew scholars. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of four consonants, commonly called the Tetragrammaton (from Greek te·tra-, meaning "four," and gram´ma, "letter"). These four letters may be transliterated into English as YHWH (or, JHVH).

The Hebrew consonants of the name are therefore known. The question is, Which vowels are to be combined with those consonants? Vowel points did not come into use in Hebrew until the second half of the first millennium C.E. [Hebrew Alphabet and Script].) Furthermore, because of a religious superstition that had begun centuries earlier, the vowel pointing found in Hebrew manuscripts does not provide the key for determining which vowels should appear in the divine name.

Answer 3

Because the Hebrew language doesn't contain vowels. It was supposed to be impossible to pronounce, for the fear that the ancient Jews would commit blasphemy by uttering His name. The only time YHWH was ever pronounced without vowels was on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, in Hebrew) by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies.

The most common modern pronunciation is "Yahweh", although this cannot be verified. It could be "Yahveh", "Yahoweh", or any other number of spellings and pronunciations.

Answer 4

In ancient written Hebrew, they did not write the vowels. In Latin Characters, the answer to Moses' question as to who God was is written: YHWH. Which vowels to add were usually figured out by the context of the sentence, but, that's iffy at best! Depending on the vowels used, YHWH means "I was/am/will be who I was/am/will be." We use Yahweh most often, which translates to "I am who I am," or "I AM" for short. Jews once considered this particular name for God (and, there are others) as so holy, they would not write it. Some Christians use G-d to this day, and in the Bible, when you see "THE LORD" in small capitals, that is actually YHWH.

Answer 5

Hebrews wrote words without vowels. YHWH stands for God's personal name, Jehovah.

Answer 6

The Jews reverenced God so much that they would not even speak His name. YHWH is often mistranslated by Christians as Jehovah or Yahweh but as the earlier answer mentioned Hebrew has no consonants so YHWH should not be made into a word anyway.

Answer 7

The Hebrew Language has no vowels.... and YHWH is one of Gods names in Hebrew.

Answer 8

That is the original Hebrew spelling. More advanced Hebrew added vowels eventually.

Answer 9

Because the Hebrew alphabet had no vowels.

Answer 10

Tetragrammaton (YHWH)
This is a term applied to the four Hebrew letters that make up the name of God as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14. God said to Moses, "And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” YHWH makes up the base of the verb "to be" from which God designated His own name as "I AM." In English the letters are basically equivalent to YHWH. It is from these four letters that the name of God is derived and has been rendered as Yahweh and Jehovah. The true pronunciation of God's name has been lost through lack of use, because the Jews, who were first given the name of God, would not pronounce it out of their awe and respect for God.