The Names of God: Part 2 - YHWH

TBC Glassboro Sermons and More · The Names Of God: YHWH

The name YHWH (yhwh) is the Tetragrammaton or the four-letter name of God and is translated into English as  Lord 5,321 times.

• This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord (yhwh) God (ʾĕlōhîm) made earth and heaven. - Genesis 2:4

  
It is derived from the Hebrew verb haya (hāyâ) meaning to be or exist.  It identifies God as being self-existent and not bound by time.  Thus, YHWH means the One Who is or the One Who exists.  God revealed Himself to Moses as the I AM or YWHW (Exodus 34:14).  

• God said to Moses, I AM (hāyâ) WHO I AM (hāyâ); and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM (hāyâ) has sent me to you. - Exodus 34:14

The declaration I AM WHO I AM ties to the I AM claims of Jesus.

• I am the bread of life… - John 6:35
• I am the Light of the world… - John 8:12
• I am the door… - John 10:9
• I am the good shepherd… - John 10:11
• I am the resurrection and the life… - John 11:25
• I am the way, and the truth, and the life… - John 14:6
• I am the true vine… - John 15:1

When Jesus refers to Himself as I AM, He is claiming to be YHWH.

God identifies Himself, personally as YHWH (yhwh), to those in a relationship with Him.  

• Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord (yhwh) and called upon the name of the Lord (yhwh). - Genesis 12:8  

Together, Lord God (YHWH ʾĕlōhîm) translates as the One Who is the Mighty Ones or the One Who Exists, is the Mighty Ones.