This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
“… For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Malachi 1:11
“The Lord” is not a name…
As we move forward, it’s necessary to untangle some of the more prominent issues which serve to cause confusion and, ultimately, obfuscate the name. Please note that the subjects covered within this article do not represent a comprehensive listing or analysis – I am merely addressing those issues which have gained the most visibility within the context of the debate regarding the name of God.
There are two in particular I’d like to discuss…
Vav or Waw
Did you know that the Hebrew language never died? Honestly, it didn’t. While it certainly went on “life-support” for a long time, it never actually “died” – that is, it never fell into complete disuse. At a minimum, the Hebrew language has been read aloud in synagogues and observant households every Sabbath for generations.
Now, don’t misunderstand; I’m not claiming that the Hebrew spoken throughout the land of Israel, or elsewhere in the world today is the same as that spoken throughout ancient times, it isn’t. There are examples in scripture where we see that the language had already changed or partially amalgamated with other languages and dialects over time.
This amalgamation is the cause for considerable debate and confusion today, particularly with regards to the pronunciation of the Hebrew letter “Vav”. Today this letter is clearly pronounced as we would the English letter ‘V’ or, in certain cases, ‘U’. The debate centers on whether the primary pronunciation of this letter was ‘V’ or a ‘W’ in antiquity.
I’m sure I don’t have to explain how this significantly impacts the pronunciation of the name.
While we cannot go back in time to ascertain the actual pronunciation, though that would certainly end the debate, we can look to ancient manuscripts and sources. Critical analysis of said documents can and often does shed significant light. In this video excerpt, Nehemia Gordon explains why we can be reasonably certain that it’s ‘Vav’. I encourage you watch or listen all the way through and to pay particular attention to the last 50 seconds.
Since this marks the second direct citation of Nehemia Gordon in this series, I feel it pertinent to clarify that I do not accept what anyone, including Nehemia Gordon or any Biblical scholar, puts forth on the basis of their credentials. It is not now, nor will it ever be the credentials of the speaker that interest me, but the veracity of their claims.
Additionally, in the spirit of full-disclosure, the statements within that excerpt have been disputed. Not refuted, not debunked, disputed. The problem is that they are not disputed well. If you have a reasonable awareness of the debate, you may want to listen to the linked video a few times to really get to grips with what it is being put forth. The ‘V’ sound, whether assigned to the letter Vav or not, exists in Hebrew through one of two uses of the letter Bet; ב as opposed to בּ.
In the example he cites, the poet (Ibn Ezra) is criticizing an older work because the writer rhymed “Lewi” (לוי – Leh-wee; a Levite) with “Navi” (נביא – Nah-vee; a prophet). Clearly this Hebrew speaker used a soft Vav (‘W’ or Waw), but a hard Bet (‘V’ or Vet). The result would not be that of a rhyme, but an alliteration… I told you this would get technical. The result indicates that the pronunciation of the Vav had changed over time, however, it evidences that the ‘V’ or Vav is not the amalgamated sound, the ‘W’ or Waw is.
Furthermore, the issue involving the interchangeable spelling of “gav” (גב / גו) lends significant credibility to the claim that in biblical Hebrew, the letter is a Vav.
Undoubtedly, there will still be those who disagree and, honestly, it’s not my purpose to debate this issue. I’m clearly a ‘Vav’ guy and in testing the information I’ve encountered (including Vav, Waw and even ‘Uau’) I find the academic support of ‘Vav’ to be the most cogent.
Remember, Hebrew never died…
Jots & Tittles
Hebrew can be a complex language. For what I have personally encountered, it can be as nuanced a language to the newcomer as English – and that’s saying something. For starters, most of the Hebrew script we encounter in modernity lacks any form of vowel pointing. Words are typically comprised of the (primarily consonant) characters which form the basis of the word and these typically stem from three letter roots, but that’s another matter.
There does exist a system of vowel pointings called “niqqud” (plural: niqqudot), and there are examples to be had of scripts which employ them to inform the reader of proper enunciation. It is generally accepted that this system was originally developed by the Tiberian Masoretes in the latter half of the first millennium.
Understand that, despite the late period in which the niqqud was purportedly developed, one would have to know the proper pronunciation of a word in order to ascribe vowels within a language comprised primarily of consonants.
Still with me?
There exists a tradition that has been passed down through the ages – namely that the vowel pointings associated with the name YHVH in the Hebrew scriptures, are actually the vowels of Adonai (Ad-oh-nai), which translates Lord.
Consider the following:
אֲדֹנָי
The Hebrew word presented above is the word Adonai, complete with vowel pointings. Understand that Hebrew reads from right to left, making the first letter of this word an aleph (א), which in this case is silent.
Underneath, we find two dots and a dash. This is a vowel marking called a chateph patach. Don’t worry, there won’t be a test… what you actually need to know is that this niqqud indicates an “ah” sound. The second character is our “D”, or dalet (ד), followed by a cholem which indicates a long “O” (oh) sound. The third character is a Nun (נ), or “N”. Underneath, we find a qamets indicating another “ah” sound and the final character is a yud, or “Y”. Putting this all together, we have Ah-doh-nah-y, or Adonai.
יְהוָה
Compare this with our subject name; YHVH, or Yud Hey Vav Hey. This is the very name that we are told contains the vowel pointings of Adonai, yet right off the mark we see a significant difference…
Our first character is a yud, but the vowel under it is not a cholem patach as in Adonai, it is actually a sh’va. This niqqud indicates an “eh” sound (and appears nowhere in the word Adonai). The second letter is hey, or “H”. The third letter is vav, and as discussed previously, is a “V”. Underneath the vav is a qamets indicating an “ah”, followed by our final hey.
Notice anything missing? There is no vowel point connecting the first hey with the vav, leaving one to wonder how exactly to pronounce this name. This is intentional in that it precludes a proper knowledge or pronunciation of the name.
I’ll leave it to interested readers to research the origins of the practice of omitting a vowel from the name… but I’d ask you this question; if the vowel pointings of YHVH are indeed the vowels of Adonai, why would this omission be necessary and what would it accomplish?
The next logical question to be asked is, what is the missing vowel?
Turns out, there is an academic researcher who has dedicated nearly two decades of his life to both discover and prove what this missing vowel is and, thereby restore the knowledge of the name of God.
Did you guess I was going to say Nehemia Gordon?
It’s Nehemia Gordon.
What started with an incidental observation on September 11, 2001, grew to become a veritable obsession for this man. Over the course of the next seventeen years, Nehemia would undertake a massive search, combing through ancient Hebrew manuscripts looking for further evidence to corroborate his findings.
Spoiler alert: he did! On January 25, 2018 Nehemia published an announcement that he and his team had officially located 1,000 Hebrew manuscripts containing the name with full vowel pointings.
If you didn’t follow the links, listen to the excerpts or are otherwise unclear, the missing vowel is a cholem, indicating a long “O”, or “oh”. This, in conjunction with the understanding that the sixth letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet is a “Vav”, we arrive at the proper pronunciation of the name…
YeHoVaH
יהוה spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
Exodus 6:22 – 27
“יהוה bless you and protect you;
יהוה make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
יהוה lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”’
So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
“The Lord” is not a name.
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You