His Name – YaHWeH

Presented By Dan Baxley

www.yahshuaservantl.com

servant@yahshuaservant.com

In past articles I have referred to the letters of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, as “consonants” and in modern language this is true but this is not true of ancient Hebrew.  I say Ancient Hebrew because Modern Hebrew is different and the rules different.  For one, Modern Hebrew supplies “vowel” points like the English language uses vowels a-e-i-o-u.  The ancient Hebrew, and from what can be determined, used not vowels and the letters we call “consonants” were vowels themselves, and thus were self pronouncing.  Below I am presenting an article explaining some of this and giving a pronunciation of the name of the God of Israel, the God, YHWH, which is to be pronounced just as you see it, which comes out as YaHWeH.  You will see the proper pronunciation and the explanation of how the original Hebrew used vowel letters that actually comprised the very letters of His Holy Name.  It was not until later the so called “vowel points” were added and eventually began the process of changing the pronunciation of His Holy Name.  Remember, there is not an “a” nor an “e” in His Name, those are vowels provided to help with pronunciation.  There is some confusion concerning the last two letters of the Holy Name of the God of Israel.  Many misguided students and even some biblical scholars present a case for the “W” being a “V”, similar to the way the Jehovah’s Witnesses apply this letter. 

What needs to be understood, however, is that the letter “V” was not pronounced as it is today and this lead to a mispronunciation.  The letter “U” and “V” were very similar in pronunciation as transliterations from one language to another.  The letter “V” took on a character of its own and is pronounced today differently than from its beginning.  The “U” maintained its pronunciation for the most part but was not adequate in creating the proper transliteration, or sound, for the required Hebrew lettering representation, but this was solved by the Germans in creating the letter “W”.  Ever wonder why the “W” is called a “double U”?  That’s right, the “W” is just that, a double U and with this long U the correct sound representing the transliteration from the Hebrew to another language, like German, was achieved.  It is a bit deceptive when we find this out and then looking at the appearance of the “W” and see it looking like two “V”, not “U”, but the name of the letter reveals its true character.  It is the Waw, not the Vah sound.  There are many supporting the “V”, but we must remember, we are dealing with the last part of the Name, which is the descriptive side, meaning “to be” or “cause to be” – Creator.  The first part of the Name, the first two letters, YH, are indefinable and apply only to the Creator God of all the Universe, of everything you see and don’t see, it is this part of the Name (HaShem) that is His Name.  As an example, and I know some will be upset at this, but here it goes – We have DaN, a cabinet maker or, DN The Cabinet Maker, just like YaH-Shua, or, YaH the Savior, or even YaH-is Salvation.  Do you see?  I hope you do.

  The following article is from www.yahstruth.org and is part of a longer article.  I have no connection with this group but found this explanation to be very good and felt it would benefit the reader in coming to a better understanding of our Savior’s true Identity.  If you can pronounce, and understand the Name of the God of Israel, then you will be able to understand the birth name of our Savior and understand how to pronounce it.  It is not all that difficult, it only seems strange to the new convert for about two minutes and much longer to those having accepted the false name, JESUS.  It is hard to acknowledge you have been fooled, that for most of your Christian life you have been deceived and lied to (on purpose of in ignorance) by all of your teachers and mentors, family and friends.  When you come to the knowledge you have been fooled then it is up to you to decide, to admit it and then correct it, it is your life, not theirs.  Please consider the following article and the discussion that follows. 

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The Correct Pronunciation (yahstruth.org):

When looking at the various pronunciations offered in the Lexicons, bear in mind that they are based upon the vowel points that were added by the Masoretes several hundred years after the Messiah’s death. The Hebrew texts were originally written without vowel points. The vowel points were added by the Masoretes to help preserve the Hebrew pronunciations.

In Marks and Rogers “Handbook to Biblical Hebrew”, page 7, we have the following quote: “Originally Hebrew had no written vowels; the following consonants, however, were often used to indicate long vowels: a, h, w, y. When the Masoretes introduced their vowel signs, they added their signs to these consonants.” Notice that all of the letters which comprise Yahweh’s name are listed here.

As was pointed out previously, the Masoretes took certain liberties with the Sacred Name because of their belief that it was too holy to pronounce. For those who are fluent in Hebrew, the vowel points are not necessary for reading or understanding the text. It should be noted that the same “liberties” that were taken with Yahweh’s name were also applied to the Savior’s name in Hebrew. Because of these corrupted traditions it is necessary to disregard the vowel points when translating these names. Let’s take a look at these names as they appear in the Hebrew text.

We will first consider the name Yahweh. In the Hebrew it is written hwhy. Hebrew is written from right to left.The English transliteration is YHWH. These are four vowel letters. It is not necessary to have vowel points to pronounce this name. The first letter — yoth, is pronounced as a long Y sound, like the Y in heavy (an ee sound). The second letter— hay, is pronounced as a short A sound, like the A in father (an ah sound). The third letter— waw, is pronounced as a long U sound, like the OO in food (oo sound). The forth letter— hay, is pronounced as a short E sound, like the E in met (an eh sound). When we put these sounds together we get the correct pronunciation of the Heavenly Father’s Name, ee-ah-oo-eh, or as written in English, Yahweh.

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YaHShua or YeShua?

Those insisting our Savior’s Name is YESHUA (Yesuah, Yessua) pronounce the Name of the God of Israel as YaHWeH are in error and it should be obvious as in one instant the “H” is part of His Holy Name and in the other, as in Yeshua, the “H” is dropped without explanation.  How can you justify saying YaH, (Strong’s H3050) is the contracted form of YHWH (YH) and, then insist His name is Yeshua?  The angel Gabriel was sent as a special messenger to give the Name He was to be Named, first to Mary, then to Joseph (Mat 1:21-25) and that is the Name they Named Him, not some Latin/English lowbred name that never existed until around 400 years ago.  The name Yeshua, with the missing “H”  cannot be supported, either, how can it?  In this name, Yeshua, the “H”, recognized as a “vowel” and a “consonant” in ancient Hebrew, has been dropped. – what we is the modern vowel “e” replacing the “H” so the pronunciation of this cannot be correct when applied to the God of Israel anymore than it would be when applied to the Name for our Messiah and Savior, YaH-shua.  Don’t forget, our Savior said He came in His Father’s Name and this make all the more sense seeing He was Named by His Father through and angelic messenger (John 5:43). 

  In a debate with an Ultra Orthodox Pharisee I was informed that this name, Yeshua, is a short form of the name of Joshua (Old English transliteration), or YaHshua.  Do you see the faulty thinking?   Looking at the Name “Joshua”, in the Hebrew, we find, YeHoshua, so, Yeshua is the short form?  This was his final answer as he could not get me to understand how they had devised this as a name.  In the Hebrew dictionary, and as this gentleman also pointed out, this name, Yeshua, is seen as the Aramaic form of the Hebrew, YeHoshua, but he did not pursue that line of thinking for long.  In the series of words and terms, presented in the Word Study Hebrew Dictionary, associated with “Yeshua” as a name, we see in that this is  supposed to be Aramaic (H3443) – Yesua.  There is a slight difference and does not suggest this is a short form for YeHoshua.

 Here is the thing, those of the Messianic Jewish converts, and those Ultra Orthodox Jews, and the also the Modern Pharisees dance around this “word” as a name, avoiding having to admit they are trying to avoid using the Name of the God of Israel in its pure form – in this they have misdirected not only them selves but their students and other Messianic Jews.   As Jew come to Messiah they bring them some of the false teachings of the Rabbis with them.  These Rabbis, old and new,  purposely keep some this kind of truth away from their students.  Many Messianic Jews have the incorrect name, Yeshua, ingrained into their thinking just as the name JESUS is embedded into the minds of the Christians.  Taken by itself, Yeshua, is not a name but an expression, meaning, “salvation” and if you restore the missing “H” it then becomes a name because YH is a name and it would then be, YHshua, and mean, YaH is Salvation.  The “H” has to be restored for it to be a NAME.  Those among the Jewish Scribes and scholars all know this and in the few discussions, debates, I have had with them on this subject they begin to run in circles, ultimately saying, “This is the short form”.   Truly, however, when a teacher is using the name Yeshua, it is so close that many times it sounds like the teacher is saying, YaHshua.  I do not have too big a problem with this and say it is much better than the bogus name, Jesus, at least is sounds like His Name, but when you have certain teachers defending the name Yeshua, as a name, refusing to acknowledge the better choice of YaHshua, and continuing to insist the dropped “H” does not matter, then you have the same argument those supporting the false name, JESUS, use. 

  By learning to pronounce the Name of the God of Israel, and our God, YHWH, and knowing you do not need vowels to pronounce it (This Name can stand on its own) you can see and hear the simple sound of this Holy Name calling on the Creator of all things and understand His Gloryas Creator is found in the expression of His Name, YH Causes to Be (Ps 148:5, Rom 4:17, Heb 11:3, Isa 66:2), His Name claims He, YH is the Creator and this is expressed in the name, YHWH (YaHWeH).  How can we not understand the Name of our Savior, our Messiah, when we grasp the Creator’s Name, a Name the Jews do not deny, YHWH, they merely try to hide it, knowingly and unknowingly.  Accept the pronunciation YHWH and you will begin to see how His Name, a Name given to Him by His Heavenly Father would also have the components of His Father’s Name, how can this be denied? 

  There is another name associated with the name Yeshua (as a “word” meaning “salvation”, not truly a name) and this other name, or term is,  Yesah, in the masculine form and it is not a nice term or name.  As a word, or expression, this word, y esah, means “dung” the lowest form of “corruption”.  The two expressions are so close, “salvation” to “dung”, in pronunciation as well as spelling we might wonder about those of the Pharisees so strongly sponsoring a term so closely related in appearance and sound as to be easily misunderstood by accident of perhaps on purpose, and many of the more radical Ultra Orthodox Jews do just that when pronouncing the word, Yeshua, as a name.   When you hear, as I have, some of the denials of the Rabbis and modern Pharisees concerning our Savior, you soon come to see why the name, in their own Bible, transliterated as YeHoshua and YaHshua is ignored or replaced for this so called short form, but in the back rooms and secret chambers these slanderers lapse easily into the other term, “Yesah”, the all too close expression meaning “total corruption”  when they speak of our Savior.  What is ironic is this term, this masculine form, is actually used, in the Scriptures, against the Jews themselves, as and expression of their moral and ethical failure.  This can all be substantiated on page 481, under H3445, of The Word Study Dictionary Old Testament, AMG Publishers, it is not hidden information.

 (Tit 1:10-12)  For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:  Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

(Tit 1:12-14)  One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.  This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;  Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

(Tit 1:15-16)  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

It is not my purpose to appear as a Jew hater, I am not.  I am against the false teachers whether Jew or Gentile.  At times it seems I am against the whole world, and I guess I am.  We need our Savior, YaHshua, to come and save us before all is lost, and He has promised to do just that, saving us from ourselves.  I see the Jews and the people of Israel as our Creator’s people, stiff-necked as they are, blind as they are, a day is coming when they will be reversed and they will face Yahshua with broken hearts and repentant minds and then they will experience what the “saints” have experienced in the “calling” -- the reversal of the mind, the creation of the new man, the new woman, and a heart of desire for the coming of our Hope, our Savior, YaHshua.  Israel is partially blinded for our benefit, and it would be good to read the message from Paul to the Romans in Chapter 11.  Israel has a wonderful future ahead of them, both dead and alive, for YaHshua has proven the doctrine of the Resurrection is true and valid and coming – some to eternal life and others to judgment. 

We have some time to go and we need to stay on the ball, keep our nose in His Words, protect our mental state being ready with a reliable and good answer to anyone with a question.  We should speak the truth always and stand firm against those that do not.  The Kingdom draws near but to the believer and followers of YaHshua, He is with us, we have been marked with our true citizenship and away our King to establish the government of the Living God on Earth.  It is our job to believe, and to walk with Him and our Heavenly Father and in this we hope to share with the seekers of truth, to the believers in YaHshua as Messiah, they are not alone in this upside down world filled with the Churches of confusion.  We are few and not all that strong, as the world measures strength, but we have the Creator and Savior of all things on our side.  Our Heavenly Father can call things into being – spontaneous creation?  Our Father raised our Savior from the dead and this is the hope and the proof He can and will do the same for us.  HalleluYaH!

www.yahshuaservant.com

servant@yahshuaservant.com