The Jews dare not call out God as I am that I am. YHWH was created to call Him. Is I am that I am God's name?

Question

Tetragrammaton YHWH was created to call God. Perhaps Adonai and Elohim including Jehovah are used to name God yet God's name should remain as I am that I am. Maybe I AM is too hard to be pronounced in reading the Bible and that's why Jehovah or YHWH or Adonai were substituted by the Jews. This is done to prevent the reader of the Bible (Jew) from committing the blasphemous sin in mentioning God as I AM. In fact, I think because God's name being rendered as I AM, it is very difficult for anyone to defile or disecrate God's name. You may try to scold I AM as much as you can and you will end up in scolding yourself. So, God's name is never Jehovah but I AM. Any faith that comes with Jehovah may not be true.

Answer 1

The increasingly popular "I AM" as a reference to the Judeo-Christian God is not entirely incorrect, but it is an oversimplification. An expression which more accurately approximates the flavor of the original Hebrew is "I Shall Prove To Be What I Shall Prove To Be"; the Almighty is more than a 'snapshot' in time, but an ongoing manifestation of His own ability to do and be anything.

(Exodus 3:13-14) Moses said to the true God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to you.’”

Leeser, “I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE”
Rotherham, “I Will Become whatsoever I please.”


That Exodus 3:14 expression is rich in meaning, but the Scriptures themselves actually include the Divine Name itself nearly 7000 times. The name "Jehovah" is an English translation of the Hebrew name pronounced as or similar to "Yahweh" or "Yehowah"; the exact original pronunciation is unknown. The four Hebrew characters corresponding to the letters "YHWH" are well-recognized as the biblical personal name of Almighty God, and are universally designated as "the Tetragrammaton" or "the Tetragram".

For centuries, most Jews have superstitiously refrained from pronouncing aloud any form of the divine Name. They base that superstition on the third of the Ten Commandments given to Moses:
(Exodus 20:7) You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way
http://watchtower.org/e/bible/ex/chapter_020.htm?bk=Ex;chp=20;vs=7;citation#bk7

Over the centuries, that Jewish superstition has expanded to also forbid writing or engraving any form of "YHWH", even when simply copying from one of the nearly 7000 occurences in the Hebrew Scriptures. In recent centuries, some superstitious Jews have even forbade unabbreviated EUPHEMISMS for "YHWH"; capitalized terms such as "Tetragrammaton" and (amazingly) even "the Name" are forbidden by such superstitions.

More recently, the Jewish superstition has ballooned out of all reasonableness by also forbidding respectful impersonal TERMS referring to the Almighty; thus many Jews insist upon writing "G-d" or "G~d" rather than "God". They may even refrain from capitalizing impersonal terms such as "Creator" and "Almighty".

Naturally, the religious and superstitious practices of a person are between him and his Creator. However, in recent decades these superstitious Jews have worked to impose their superstitious sensibilities beyond their religious communities, and onto the entire populace. Thus, although "YHWH' is unanimously recognized as the personal name of God, few today use any form of it in their writings and conversation.

Interestingly, Christendom has largely joined with superstitious Jews in suppressing the use of "Yahweh" and "Jehovah". However, it seems that Christiandom's anti-YHWH bias largely devolves from their hatred of Jehovah's Witnesses, the religion almost single-handedly responsible for the growing public recognition that the Almighty God of Judaism and Christianity actually does a personal name.

It seems that too many are more interested in coddling superstition than in allowing intellectual honesty and respect for the Almighty.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20040122/


Interestingly, Encyclopaedia Judaica says that “the avoidance of pronouncing the name YHWH ... was caused by a misunderstanding of the Third Commandment.”
http://www.jehovantodistajat.fi/e/20040122/article_02.htm

(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

Answer 2

the jews were God's chosen people and knew His name, as they were commanded to use it in worship. however, they stopped using it, convincing themselves it was too holy to be spoken. so the true pronunciation has been lost. all we have left is the consonants (as written hebrew has no vowels as such) and yhwh is the best we can do with that. many bible translations just replace it with titles such as Lord or God rather than a name, but that is an extremely bad idea as it confuses jesus with God. apart from being against his direction to use his name. there are some organisations who will use yahweh as God's name. another popular pronunciation is Jehovah. that is derived using the same translation methods for translation hebrew names such as jesus, joseph, jeremiah etc. so when people get angry about pronouncing it Jehovah, they really should question the pronunciation of other bible names too. but to put it simply, the true pronunciation of God's name has been lost by the jews. God wants us to use his name and the best attempt at it we have is Jehovah

Answer 3

The King James Version calls the true God Jehovah in several places. Does this mean that version of the Bible is totally wrong? No--they got the divine name rendered as it should be in modern English.

Answer 4

Well, as I see it you're almost right... very close... I am that I am is Gods Name.. YHVH is the Tetragrammaton (English-Jehovah) which means "self existant" ( I am that I Am) sounds like self existant to me) however originally there were now vowells in the Hebrew language so YHVH didnt get any vows, later, its believed they did not add them so that no-one would know how the Name is pronounced and couldn't blaspheme it. But in my personal opinion, God doesnt need us to prevent blaspheme, He can handle it Himself :)

Answer 5

Actually it was a jew,Moses ,who first used the name "I am that I am"(ehieh asher ehieh )to describe God supposedly,they used adonai or elohim in rituals to keep the name of God (YHVH) from profanation,but it was probably to keep the people in submission.

Answer 6

That is the answer given by God to Moses in the burning bush.
Jesus was asked how he could know David when he was called son of David.
Jesus's reply: Before David was I am.

Answer 7

You can call out the name Cheerios at any restaurant or breakfast table in the world, and you will receive the oaty goodness. Praise be.

Answer 8

It is said that God has many names...

Answer 9

Except it's actually "I will be that/who I will be". And in Hebrew, it's actually easier.

Answer 10

You are partially correct...JW is a cult....I am is one of Gods names...also Mighty God and Immanuel