I have been sharing some of my notes and printables from the Sunday School study we have been doing based on Kay Arthur’s book, Lord I Want to Know You.
I have used several books when I have studied to teach the class, but the other ladies just have the book Lord I Want to Know You. If you wanted to see a list of the books I used for my study purposed, you can see this Names of God post.
Here are all of the names of God we have studied so far:
- Elohim, The Creator God (free printables)
- El Elyon, The God Most High (free printables)
- El-Roi, The God Who Sees (free printables)
- El Shaddai, The All-Sufficient One (free printables)
- Adonai, The Lord (free printables)
The name of Jehovah has more history than the other names of God.
As this is one of the most used names of God in the Bible, we must know what it means! I love this quote by Catherine Martin.
Trusting in God as Yahweh leads you to the most sacred, holy place in your relationship with Him, for Yahweh is the most personal, intimate name of God.”
Even though I condensed my notes down to only two single-spaced pages, it is still a lot of information. Therefore, I am going to take two weeks to share my notes on this very important name of God. I may not get all my information completely correct, but here is what I found in my studies about the name Jehovah:
- The rabbis would not speak the name for fear of blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16), but instead would refer to this name as “the Name,” or the “extraordinary name,” “the unutterable name,” and “the holy name.” “the distinguished name,” or the “quadilateral name” (or Tetragrammaton), for the four letters YHWH.
- The high priest would mention the name Jehovah on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, 10 times, so that its pronunciation would not be lost. Also, older teachers repeated this name to their disciples once during every sabbatical year.
- However, the true pronunciation of the name YHWH was lost because Judaism in the postexilic period (fifth century b.c. and later) prohibited the pronunciation of the name due to the commandment in Exodus 20:7.
- Why do we say the name Jehovah?
- Between the 7th-11th centuries A. D., the Maorete scribes substituted the vowel marks for Adonai under the letters YHWH. This reminded the reader to say adonai instead of Yahweh (Exodus 20:7)
- In the 16th century A. D., a German translator took these manuscripts and wrote the name YHVH (YHWH) putting the vowels of Adonai into the word. By doing this, he incorrectly came up with the name Jehovah (YaHoVaH).
- The Hebrew word translated “I AM” is YHWH, transliterated in English, Yahweh, which in our English Bible is translated LORD*.
What does Jehovah mean?
- The word Jehovah comes from the Hebrew verb hayah, which signifies “to be”” or “to become.
- When translated in the first person, it becomes “I AM,” said twice.
- This name expresses His self-existence and the unchangeableness of His character. He transcends the past, the present, and the future.
What are the key manifestations of the name Jehovah (LORD*, Yahweh, I AM)?
- Genesis 2:4–1st time used in Scripture
- Exodus 3:14—we see the name, I AM THAT I AM. This is the covenantal name of God
And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
- Exodus 6:2-4—Jehovah is finally understood to be the covenant-keeping God
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD*: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
- Exodus 34:1-14—God uses this name when He makes His covenant with Israel.
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD*, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
*In the words LORD above, the L in LORD should be a bigger capital letter than the letters ORD, but I cannot figure out how to do that in my blogging platform.
Is God still our Jehovah God today?
Yes! We have the following promises!
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
When you need assurance that God is there, that He will keep His promises without changing—even though you have wavered in you promises to Him—you need to run to your Jehovah—your covenant keeping God. Trust in His name. It can’t change because He can’t change.
How should we apply this name to our lives today?
We are not to enter into a covenant with this world, just like the Israelites were not to enter into a covenant with the other inhabitants of the land. We are not to love this world or the things of this world, because our Jehovah is a jealous God.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Next week, I will share the message of the name Jehovah and how Jesus in the New Testament reveals Himself as Jehovah God.
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