Is ‘Yahweh’ the “Divine Name” For God?

Question

When Muslims confront the Christian missionaries with the etymological evidence that the word Allah is indeed related to the word Elohim, the missionaries are very quick to point out that


Yhwh

is the “Divine Name” for The Deity that they worship and that since Muslims are not taught about this “Divine Name” of God, it therefore follows that Muslims are calling upon God wrongly. This is not a new argument from the missionary. When the Prophet Muhammad(P) was in Madinah, the Jews of Madinah offered a similar objection, claiming that Muslims should not refer to The Deity by merely calling Him Allah. Thus, the following Qur’anic verse was revealed to reply to the objection:

“Say: Call upon “Allah or call upon “Rahman”; By whatever name ye call upon Him (it is well): for to Him belong the most beautiful names.” (Qur’an, 17:110)
We should also note the following observations regarding the claim:
1 - First of all, the very first word in Genesis 1:1 is “Elohim”, not ‘Yahweh’. The word YHWH only started appearing in Genesis 2:4, and even then, it was almost always accompanied with the word “Elohim”, as in “Yahweh Elohim”.

2 - According to The New Strong’s Exhausive Concordance of the Bible, the word Yahweh is “…the Jewish national name of God”[1]. In short, this is the name that only the Jews themselves use. Compare this with the entry for Elohim, in the same reference: “…specially used of the supreme God”[2]

3 - The final point is that according to the Christian belief itself, the name Yahweh is only used for the old covenant context, and not valid for Christians, who believe that they are in a new covenant. This is evident when nowhere in the New Testament does the word Yahweh appear. As John Gilchrist says:

… While the name Yahweh appears throughout the Old Testament in the original Hebrew text, it appears nowhere in the books of the New Testament, not even in the original Greek texts. In 0ld Testament times Yahweh was the name of the covenant God of Israel (Exodus 3.15), but the Lord has never used this name in a new covenant context. The coming of Jesus Christ brought about a major change in God’s relationship with his people. Now he is projected solely as the Father of all true believers, Jew and Gentile alike, without any distinction being made between them (Romans 10.12). The name Yahweh was used solely in an old covenant context and the New Testament plainly states that the old covenant has become “obsolete” (Hebrews 8.13) and that it has been entirely “abolished” (Hebrews 10.9). For this reason one never finds the name Yahweh in the New Testament - it was relevant only to the people of Israel in old covenant times….The New Testament deliberately avoids the use of the name Yahweh and the only possible translation of theos into Arabic is Allah[3]

On a side note, we refer to Mark 15:34 where Jesus(P) is reported to have cried out in Aramaic:

ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?

Which is translated into English as:

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

According to The New Strong’s Exhausive Concordance of the Bible, the defination of eloi is as follows:

?eloi [ELWI] of Aramaic origin, 0426 with pronominal stuff.; n m AV - Eloi 2; 2; Eloi = “my-God”; 1) Aramaic for the phrase “my-God”[4]

If the claim is that Yahweh is the so-called “true” name of God, then why instead of calling out

ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?

Jesus(P) could have instead just cried out

YAHWEH, YAHWEH, LAMA SABACHTHANI?

This shows that the claim that Yahweh is the “only true name” for God certanly does not hold water. Jesus (P) did refer to God as “ELOI”, or “ELI” (according to Matthew 27:46). So are we expected to believe that Jesus (P) was ignorant of this “true name” of God when he called upon Him as “ELI” (which root word is related to the root of the Arabic, ALLAH) instead of Yahweh, and Christians who only exist 2000 years later are “aware” of the “true name” of God? We think not!

It seems that the missionaries have created more problems than they think they had solved. And certainly, only God knows best!

Answer 1

The best way to handle this is we all learn to speak and read hebrew and greek in less i'm mistaken is what language the Word was written.Then we will call His name correctly. I call Him(God-Allah ) Daddy so am I wrong? I think as long as you call on him and are respectable that is what truly matters. Oh yeah great info!!!!!!!

Answer 2

The most ancient Bible manuscripts were written in the Hebrew language. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the divine name occurs almost 7,000 times and is spelled with four consonants—YHWH or JHVH. These four-consonant words are commonly called the Tetragrammaton, or Tetragram, derived from two Greek words meaning "four letters." Now the question of accurate pronunciation arises because early Hebrew writing consisted of consonants with no vowels to guide the reader. So whether the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton becomes Yahweh or Jehovah depends on which vowels the reader supplies to the four consonants. Today many Hebrew scholars prefer Yahweh as the true pronunciation.

However, consistency favors Jehovah. In what way? The pronunciation Jehovah has been accepted in English for centuries. Those who object to using this pronunciation should also object to the use of the accepted pronunciation Jeremiah and even Jesus. Jeremiah would need to be changed to Yir·meyah' or Yir·meya'hu, the original Hebrew pronunciations, and Jesus would become Ye·shu'a` (Hebrew) or I·e·sous' (Greek). Hence, many Bible students, including Jehovah's Witnesses, feel that consistency favors the use of the already well-known English-language "Jehovah" and its equivalent in other languages.

When teaching his disciples to pray, he stressed the importance of God's name by listing it first in things to pray about. At Matt. 6:9, he said: "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified." When Jesus was tempted by the Devil, he quoted Deut. 6:13, which included God's name. At John17:26, Jesus said in prayer to God: "I have made your name known to them and will make it known." How could he do that if he did not use the name?

Answer 3

Yahweh and Jehovah are two different attempts at an English reading of יהוה‎ (the Tetragrammaton), which is accepted by both Jews and Christians as being God's Hebrew name, as preserved in the original consonantal Hebrew text.

These consonants read JHWH (in German transcription) or YHVH (in English transcription). It is common to use YHWH.

Jews do not pronounce the name, but use e.g. HaShem ("The Name"). When the Masoretes added vowel points to the consonant text to assist readers, they added the vowels for "Adonai" ("Lord"), the word to use when the Bible text is read.

Also the Septuagint (Greek translation) and Vulgata (Latin translation) use the word "Lord" (kurios and dominus, respectively).

When Christians, unaware of the Jewish tradition, started to read the Hebrew Bible, they read יְהֹוָה‎ with the vowels together with the consonants as written, and obtained 'Jehovah'.

Early Christian literature written in Greek used spellings like Iαουε and Ιαβε that can be transcribed by 'Yahweh'.

In the early 19th century the Hebrew scholar Gesenius [1] proposed the vocalization יַהְוֶה‎, that is, 'Yahweh'. Today many scholars accept this proposal.

Answer 4

I haven't read it yet, but check out "Praying the names of God" by Ann Spangler. I heard about it from a lady I went on a trip to Israel with who writes Bible Study curriculum. Also, "Praying the Names of Jesus" also by Spangler.

And of course there's no W in the hebrew alphabet because they don't use an alphabet, it's different characters. YHWH (or is it YWHW? I'm not sure) is the closest english translation because there are no vowels in Hebrew. That's why we say it's Yahweh.

Answer 5

>For this reason one never finds the name Yahweh
>in the New Testament -

And the reason one does not find that name in the New Testament is because the tetragrammaton is a Hebraic word and the N.T. is written in Greek.

The N.T., when quoting from O.T. portions with the tetragrammaton, translate it into the Greek word "kurios" which has the dual meaning and so can only know by the context or by looking in the O.T (Hebrew and Septaugint) to know whether it is THE Name.

Answer 6

I think your line of argument is like setting up a straw man. I would wonder how many missionaries use the argument you mention. Christians usually talk about Jesus. To go into the semantics about the divine name for God (uh, any name for God is "divine" I guess) is a waste of time. He was called many things in the old Testament. The name "Jesus" means YHVH - SAVES. The argument about whether the God Muslims worship is the same as the God Christians worship would have to centre around the character of God more than the name we attribute to Him.

Answer 7

Yahweh is the Hebrew version of the name Jehova, the God that is worshipped by Christians, Jews and Muslims the world over.

Answer 8

Hi, no it is not God`s name, when Moses asked God His name,God replied ` Tell them I Am Who Am` sent you.
God`s own personal name is known only to God Himself and may not or can not be spoken by man.
the prefixes EL,Elohim,etc are human expressions to describe God just as your majesty describes a King but the Kings name is not majesty but a term.
in Hebrew the answer God gave Moses(I am Who Am) translates as YHWH, and by adding the vowels A&E changes this to Yahweh, which has become as a name,but is still Gods statement and not His unknowable name.
interestingly many various mystics and dark cults work at trying to discover the sacred name of God to use to control Demons, and the Cabbala is one of these.

Answer 9

Elohim is a word that means "be strong." It is the plural of eloh'ah (god). Sometimes it refers to a number of gods (Ge 31:30, 32; 35:2), but more often it is used as a plural of majesty, dignity or excellence. Elo-him is used in the scriptures with reference to Jehovah himself, to angels, to idol gods (singular and plural) and to men.

When applying to Jehovah, Elo-him is used as a plural of majesty, dignity, or excellence.

Thus it is a title, and not a name, much like Lord or God are titles, when Jesus said my god my god, in refernce to your quote, he was saying MY GOD, not using his father's name. He could haved said, Jehovah, Jehovah, why have you forsaken me. But he didn't.

Now this I'm not absolutely sure of, but I seem to recall, in high school, many years ago, learning that Allah, means Lord. So that is a title too, not a name. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this point.

Answer 10

Lectio Divina is Latin for “spiritual reading” and represents an early monastic technique of prayer which continues in practice though less widely, intended to achieve communion with God as well as providing special spiritual insights and peace from that experience. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray from God's Word.

History
Lectio Divina was first expressed in the year 220 AD. It was found that to read the Bible profitably it is necessary to do so with attention, consistency and prayer. The systematization of “spiritual reading” into four steps dates back to the 12th century. Around 1150, Guigo II, a Carthusian monk, wrote a book entitled “The Monk’s Ladder” (Scala Claustralium) wherein he set out the theory of the four rungs: reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation. In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI stated, “This is the ladder by which the monks ascend from earth to heaven.”

Method
Lectio is typically practiced daily for one continuous hour. A selection from the Holy Scriptures is chosen ahead of time, often as a daily progression through a particular book of the Bible.

Time
Selecting a time for lectio divina is important. Typical methods are to pray for one hour in the morning, or to divide it into two half-hour periods, one in the morning and one in the evening. The key is to pre-select the time that will be devoted to the prayer, and to keep it. Using the same time every day leads to a daily habit of prayer that becomes highly effective.

Place
The place for prayer is to be free from distractions. This means it should be isolated from other people, telephones, visual distractions, etc. Some find a religious icon to be helpful. The same place should be used for lectio if possible, especially as one first begins to practice it. Familiarity with a location reduces the possibility of distraction away from the prayer. Some practitioners conduct other devotions, such as praying before the Catholic Eucharist, as a preparation for Lectio Divina.

Preparation
Prior to reading, it is important to engage in a transitional activity that takes one from the normal state of mind to a more contemplative and prayerful state. A few moments of deep, regular breathing and a short prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to guide the prayer time helps to set the tone and improve the effectiveness of the lectio.

Once the stage is set it is time to begin the prayer. There are four phases of the prayer, which do not necessarily progress in an ordered fashion. One may move between different phases of the prayer very freely as the Spirit guides.

The Four Moments
Lectio
Read the passage several times.

Meditatio
Reflect on the text of the passage, thinking about how to apply to one's own life. Gravitate to any particular phrase or word that seems to be of particular import. This should not be confused with exegesis, but is a very personal reading of the Scripture and application to one's own life.

Oratio
Respond to the passage by opening the heart to God. This is not primarily an intellectual exercise, but more of the beginning of a conversation with God.

Contemplatio
Listen to God. This is a freeing oneself from one's own thoughts, both mundane and holy. It is about hearing God talk to us. Opening our mind, heart and soul to the influence of God. Any conversation must allow for both sides to communicate, and this most unfamiliar act is allowing oneself to be open to hearing God speak.