Comments for YAHWEH:

It is still considered blasphemous to utter the name of G-d. I have never heard of the pronunciation being lost. It indeed comes from "to be", which is now so holy that in Hebrew this verb is never used. You say "Miriam beautiful", not "Miriam *is* beautiful".

-- Miss Claire  4/1/2005

It was or maybe it is still considered bad in certain places to say or use God's name so YHWH as used, but if Jesus, his diciples and others mentioned in the bible used it, it wouldn't make sense why God wouldn't allow us to use it. It's even in the bible at Psalms 83:18 and at many other scriptures.

-- Anonymous User  7/31/2005

Jews don't pronounce the name of God, Christians do, Muslims always add a "comment" of respect. It's about different religions, not about right or wrong.

-- Caprice  8/27/2005

If I'm not mistaken, I remember once reading somewhere that only on one day of the year, in one specific mountain in Israel, in one specific synagog, by the most holy rabbi, can this name ever be spoken. Unfortunately, I was a bit distracted at the time and don't remember where, when, or who. Sorry. :%

-- echo_of_the_past  9/27/2005

If using the name of God is entirely inappropriate, why does it appear almost 7,000 times in the original Hebrew text? Remember, it was the Pharisees, the preservers of orthodox Jewish tradition, who rejected Jesus and were told by him: "You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition."-(Matthew 15:6). Missionary Paul: "EVERYONE who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved."-(Romans 10:13). "Let them praise the name of Jehovah, For his name alone is unreachably high. His dignity is above earth and heaven"-(Psalm 148:13). God to Moses: "'Jehovah...' This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation."—(Exodus 3:15). Jesus highlighted the importance of God's name to Christians. After saying to his Father: "I have made your name known to them and will make it known," he goes on to explain, "in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in union with them."-(John 17:26). In an article in the Anglican Theological Review (October 1959), Dr. Walter Lowrie highlighted the need to know God's name. He wrote: "In human relationships it is highly important to know the proper name, the personal name, of one we love, to whom we are speaking, or even about whom we speak. Precisely so it is in man's relation to God. A man who does not know God by name does not really know him as a person, has no speaking acquaintance with him (which is what is meant by prayer), and he cannot love him, if he knows him only as an impersonal force." I could go on for ever. Hallelujah! Amen.

-- Agny  10/17/2005

I think some people on this comment page need to understand that there are different religious opinions in this world, and that they should be respected for their historical and societal aspect. The name of "Yahweh" would fall under that manner of respect. No doubt religious debate will go on for centuries - but if we face it with an open mind and respect, we will find truth.

-- Anonymous User  11/20/2005

Amen to that. Let people keep their belief.

-- Caprice  3/28/2006

It's pronounced "YAH-veh" not "YAH-weh." Waw in my opinion should be called vav since there's no "w" sound in Hebrew. Some people refer to it as such since that's how it's pronounced.

-- arrowhead909  4/30/2006

As in any language, there have been changes in the pronunciation of Hebrew. Modern Hebrew doesn't have the w sound, but Ancient Hebrew is believed to have had it. See "Reconstructing the Pronunciation of Biblical Hebrew, A simplified Guide to the Main Points" by David Steinberg
(http://www.houseofdavid.ca/anc_heb.htm).

-- Kosta  6/1/2006

The Jews (and hopefully Christians) consider/ed God too holy to look upon, speak His name, ect. Isaiah says, "Woe is me, for I am a person with unclean lips and live with people that have unclean lips, and I have seen the LORD." The Jews came up with a substitute for "Y----h" (I will speak the name if I think it beneficial, but prefer to respect our Lord). They came up with "Jehovah", or "LORD", which is different from "Lord". You will see it all through both Testaments. God is refered to as "Lord", then as "LORD" for some extra-special or important verse/passage. "LORD" (all capitalized) meant "Y----h", just as Jehovah does.

-- Adr90  5/10/2006

It is very uncommon, so if you want your child's name to be unique then go for it! If you don't want to have them made fun of in school then stick with Joshua! But otherwise I really, really, really do not like it! Sorry it's just my opinion.

-- Anonymous User  6/12/2006

This name should NOT be used for a person!

-- Anonymous User  7/25/2006

No one will name their children Yahweh (I hope.)

-- Anonymous User  8/1/2006

Anyone who used this name for a child would have God to answer to.

-- Anonymous User  8/30/2006

No one uses Yahweh as a name, just as children aren't named God or Allah. This is a site about the history of names, not about appropriate names to give a child.

-- Caprice  11/7/2006

I would not name my child this - not because of its meaning, because I'm not religious in that context, I would not name my child this because I don't like it. If I liked this name, I would consider naming my child this. I don't think that it meaning God or whatever should stop people from using it. :)

-- Surreal  12/31/2006

The first time we know of that YHWH is used in the Old Testament in dialogue is when God Himself gives the name to Moses to use as a response to the question, "Who sent you?". Before that point, there is only one other shred of evidence that God's name (for Himself, BTW) was known at one time (see the name Jochebed). YHWH had "translations" in other languages. In Caanan, He was El Elyon (God Most High; distinctly different from Ba'al or Molech) and Elohim (a plural form of "god," used as a singular name; evidence of the fact that the Caananites were aware of God's triune nature). In China, His name was Shang Ti. In Korea, Hananim. In the Congo it is Koro. In Bangladesh it is Y'wa. In the ancient Incan culture it was Viracochi. But in only one language, Hebrew, a marriage of Chaldean and ancient Phonecian, did God reveal the name by which He calls Himself. That is why YHWH is so holy, and why the original pronunciation has been intentionally forgotten. If God had done the same thing in another language--say, Spanish--then that term, too, would probably fall out of use (it would be considered blasphemy to say, "Yo soy").

-- Atarah Derek  10/24/2007

I would NOT name ANYTHING this name, I personally would not name anything after GOD, but if you're going to call someone this then at least take into consideration the tradition, just as was mentioned by others here, use Jehovah NOT YHWH because that's (essentially) the Christian version, and they're the ones who seem to be comfortable throwing it around so much. I say this as a Christian who took modern and biblical Hebrew classes from a Jew from Israel and a published Judaic scholar, respectively.

-- adruery  1/1/2008

Orthodox Jews do speak the name(s) of G-d in prayer and formal readings of the Torah, as well as when reciting blessings and during other serious occasions. The names are simply not for everyday use and so most of the time we say Hashem (literally "The name" from the Hebrew word shem, a name). We also cannot write any name of G-d (again, we write Hashem, which is abbreviated as the Hebrew letter hay with an apostrophe) except on a Torah or in a prayer-book or something of that nature. Any piece of paper with a name of G-d on it cannot be thrown out or destroyed, it must be buried in a place called "shemos" and allowed disintegrate on its own. I have never heard that the pronunciation for this being lost. When it appears we substitute a different name of G-d, Ado.
Anyhow, no Orthodox Jew would ever give this name to their child. The child would be forbidden to say his/her name, couldn't write his/her name on a test paper.

-- Luanna  3/5/2008

Wasn't there a song by U2 called "Yahweh"? Yeah, there was. Man I didn't know this was a name, nor anything really.

-- Carriebear_Nocare  3/11/2008

I speak Hebrew and it is NOT "Yod Heh Waw Heh" it's "Yod Heh Vav Heh".

-- talrosie  3/23/2008

Anyone naming their son this will invoke the wrath of God.

-- bananarama  9/9/2008

The pronunciation today is probably much different than it was way back then, but the translation today is Jehovah. YHWH is in the front of The New World Translation Of The Holy Scriptures, published by Jehovah's Witnesses, and it is one of the most acurate bibles in print today.

-- Anonymous User  9/18/2008

"To be" is the infinitive form of "I am". Christians are taught that Yahweh translates to "I am".

-- Anonymous User  10/23/2008

Key: Meaning/History Usage Pronunciation Famous Bearer Personal Impression Other

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