If God is also known as I AM, is it a name or nameless God so that Jehovah or Yahweh or ...means nothing?

Question

If I AM is a name for God as He told Moses (English translation of His Name), can this be a name? In fact, I would like God just be known as God and is nameless. With this understanding, I dare say God has also revealed Himself to the Chinese through the Chinese characters, Chinese custom of worship, and in the interpretation of the old name of China as the God's Land. There are two writings which could have contained remarks regarding the revelation of God: Shanhaijing and Daodejing. Chinese characters were formed or coined from abstract pictures. The current forms of characters were developed or evolved through several centuries and in their original forms they seem to have captured the picture of God and humans and how He related to His people at that time through the pictures captured in those characters. The importance is not what I said above, but if God is nameless, any religions or faith that insist Jehovah or Yahweh as the only names of God will have to make a rethink.

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/

Answer 2

It has often been wondered why the biblical God of the Hebrews led them through trials and tribulations, floods and disaster when, from time to time, he appears to have performed with a quite contrary and merciful personality. The answer is that, although now seemingly embraced as the One God by the Jewish and Christian faiths, there was originally a distinct difference between the figures of Jehovah and the Lord. They were, in fact, quite separate deities. The god referred to as Jehovah was traditionally a storm god - a god of wrath and vengeance - whereas the god referred to as the Lord, was a god of fertility and wisdom.


The name given to the Lord in the early writings was Adon - the prevailing Semitic word for Lord. As for the apparent personal name of Jehovah, this was not used in the early days, and the Vulgate Bible explains that the God of Abraham was called El Shaddai, which relates to a Great One of the Mountain.


The identity of Jehovah (Yahweh) came from the an original Hebrew stem (YHWH) which, according to Exodus, meant 'I am that I am'. This was said to be a statement made by God, to Moses, on Mount Sinai hundreds of years after the time of Abraham. Jehovah was, therefore, not a name at all, and early texts refer simply to El Shaddai, with his opposing counterpart being the Adon. To the Canaanites, these gods were respectively called El Elyon and Baal.


In modern Bibles, the definitions God and Lord are used and intermixed throughout, as if they were one and the same character - but originally they were not. One was a vengeful god (a people suppressor); the other was a social god (a people supporter), and they each had wives, sons and daughters.

Answer 3

The name “I AM” is from the same Hebrew root word as Jehovah. Other renderings of the full phrase are “I am because I am”; “I am who am”; “I will be that I will be.” Every living creature, visible or invisible is or exists by reason of some provision made by Jehovah, but ‘He is because he is’. In this sense no one else is. These definitions clearly show the idea of independent existence, uncontrolled will and action. He always is and is the same always, never ceases to be, cannot change, and is eternal.

Answer 4

1. I am not sure if that thing about gods name meaning I AM is really in the bible - i can't find it. And i came to israel and talked to people who know the old testament really well in the original hebrew and they've never heard of it, and also in hebrew there is no word for "am" so how can it say "i am" in hebrew? Maybe it is just "I" or "I exist" or something???

2. Have you read the "Tao Te Ching" ancient chinese text about spirituality. If you haven't you should. It starts:

"The name that can be named is not the true name"

Answer 5

You're right, the individual in relation to All That Is...this is one of the 'truths' mankind must understand. At the core of Being, You and God are beyond names.------I still think it's OK to assign a name to yourself and God, be it Ptuan or Jehovah.

Answer 6

In the old testament Psalms 83:18 he calls himself Jehovah.

Answer 7

I think the point of God saying his name means I AM (that I am) is to let people know that firstly, He always was, and that it's not WHAT people call him (thus any of the names you mentioned) that matters but that they simply come to know him.

God must have known that people would be divided and come to know him in different ways because of man's corruption of the truth of the pathway leading to him...so He let you know up front it's not the religion that leads to him...He just is...and all you have to do is believe that He is.

Answer 8

Completely poor judgement.

YVHV = yehovah, yahweh, etc...

YVHV is a praise... a glorifying of the 'diety'.

THis deity has no name, no title, no descript function... merely IS, hence I AM.

Ultimate Simplicity, Ultimate Unity... anyother is fruitless... hence: sin = not a path to the 'Lord'... perceived as evil... BUT!

To get from one point to another, if their are obtacles, shouldn't one manuver AROUND the obstacle? to go through, even with the 'glory' of 'god' giving strength... could mean ultimate destruction...

My argument is getting weak... there are no names, no limits.

Answer 9

God has many names. It's false pride that makes some think thier name is more respected by God than others.
"God is not a respecter of persons! God judges the
HEART!"

Answer 10

God is eternal having neither beginning of days or end of life, a Spirit fire or light called life. The Word begins with thought from conscious awareness I am, acquiring wisdom to reason thought to self with the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was God. This wisdom of thought with words is not any substance or matter but Spirit, the Holy Spirit. God is One, by Himself or alone with His Words the Holy Spirit. This timeless existence of reasoning wanted company and God’s thoughts turn to creating company or sons. Sons to behold, abide with, and communion with. God discovered love, not of the thought, but of the sons He envisioned. God felt this love, the magnificence of it and wanted His sons to love Him. God realized He could not create true love or forced it upon a being, but true love would only manifest in sons of freewill. The wisdom of God also knew it would be necessary to govern sons of freewill by laws that are fair and righteous, to hold them accountable. God was willing to risk rejection and rebellion against the law. Sons of freewill could choose not to love Him but must obey the law. The sons would need a place to abide, explore, and grow. God created the heavens and the earth, His kingdom.

Then, God the Father created all souls with intellect within a spirit body and with freewill. The law/s of this kingdom is unknown, but God is King and this was His dominion. One of God’s sons with freewill named Satan rebelled against God and the law. One third of God’s children followed Satan. God sentenced Satan to perish. The soul that sins shall die. Satan accused his followers of his same sin. Satan has the power or legal right, to accuse one third of the sons of God. God loved His children and could not destroy the one third. Instead, God destroyed that earth age. The earth became waste and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.