Hebrew Voices #47 – A Disastrous Misunderstanding of the Name Yehovah
In Hebrew Voices, A Disastrous Understanding of the Name Yehovah, Nehemia Gordon explains the meaning of Yehovah, the mistake people make thinking it has to do with “destruction”, and how Yahweh in Gnostic sources is the god of chaos. Listen … Continue reading →
In Hebrew Voices, A Disastrous Understanding of the Name Yehovah, Nehemia Gordon explains the meaning of Yehovah, the mistake people make thinking it has to do with “destruction”, and how Yahweh in Gnostic sources is the god of chaos. Listen to the short podcast, and then check out the detailed grammatical explanation below, of how we know Yehovah has nothing to do with the Hebrew word for “destruction”. Suzette wrote: "Forgive me, I was one of those people who knew just enough Hebrew to be dangerous… Thanks for the article!"
I look forward to reading your comments!
Podcast Version: Transcript
Hebrew Voices #47 - A Disastrous Misunderstanding of the Name Yehovah
You are listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.
Nehemia: Shalom, this is Nehemia Gordon. I'm coming to you today from San Antonio, Texas. I'm sitting here with Deborah Arndt, director of Makor Hebrew Foundation.
Deborah: Shalom, y'all. Howdy from Texas. I get lots of emails from people just learning the name of Yehovah. It's huge to them, and it was to me and Tim. In the very beginning when we heard the name, and we heard it out of your mouth, it totally changed our lives that night.
Nehemia: It changed my life, too.
Deborah: Yeah. Gosh, that was 12, 13 years ago.
Nehemia: But you told me a lot of the emails you get are people who say, “I read Nehemia’s stuff and I watched the videos and I see it's Yehovah. But the people told me ‘hovah’ means destruction.”
Deborah: Oh, “hovah.” Yeah, we've got a study on that.
Nehemia: Yeah, I did a little thing years ago. It's called "A Disastrous Understanding of the Name Yehovah.” I just want to quickly talk about that. So, if you look in the Strong's Concordance - and let's be honest, the people who are proposing this idea, that's the extent of their Hebrew knowledge - they'll look in the Strong's Concordance and find out there's a word "hovah.” And they'll say that means “destruction,” and therefore Yehovah means, “Oh, hail destruction.”
That's not how Hebrew works. I'm not even sure it's how English works. I've shared this before, that my first job I ever had, I had a guy I was working under and he asked me something. And I said, “Well, I assume…” He said, “Whoa, whoa, stop. Do you know what assume is?” I said, “No, what's assume?” He said, “Assume is made up of three words, ass, you, me. If you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.” And he meant that literally. He believed that assume actually came from the word ass, which is just stupid. And I actually looked it up, out of curiosity, because this is what I do. And I found that it comes from the Latin word “assumere,” so it has nothing to do with the word "ass.” It only sounds like it.
Similar Content
Comments
But still, the word hovah is in the name Yehovah and means “she is” and means disaster and destruction
Those letters and sounds exist in hebrew except J, w and I, where did you learn hebrew? From gentiles who dont know hebrew? Yahuah and yahusha is not hebrew either, any jew who was raised in hebrew will tell you this
There is absolutely Hebrew with E, O, F, V, and Z like Elohim, Ovadyah, . There is no jewish or gentile historian that will say yahuah or yahusha is hebrew. Where did you learn a gentile half hebrew from gentiles called the black hebrew israelites or gentiles who want their version of hebrew?
What is strange about this is not even Jewish recon this name. They stand by the norm that there is no specific way to name it. Tough to be honest I feel more right the Yahua/Yahue and Yahusha/Yeshua than the Yehova, it just seems wrong. No matter how much I tried for years even in the Spanish language… Mm but looking at the paleo Hebrew, it seems a bit off too Yahua considering the romanization/grammar is YodHeyVavYod :-/
If “e” is not in the Hebrew alphabet, then what is the real name of the book of “Esther” in the Bible?
Hi Daniel, What is the name of this Catholic monk? What year is he supposed to have created the pronunciation “Yehovah”? Please educate me.
Please, stop naming our Lord as “Jehovah.” That is a mistranslation produced by a Catholic monk in the Middle Ages. IS INCORRECT. That is not the nam of our Lord and Father of our Lord Jesus. Accept the fact that we lost the correct translation. Is lost. So, we say Adonai, or Hashem as a form of deep respect. Obey the Third Commandment. No Jehovah or Yahweh. No. Hashem Adonai Eloheinu.
I think he said when God said his name it was first person and then when he said YHWH it was like you said third person. First person I am or I will be(how god says his name) and third person(how we say his name) he that is, was and will be and always be.
At least that is how u understood what nehemia was saying. That God first said “i am that I am”(God saying his name) and then said this is how you will say it YHWH he is, was and will be(how we are to say it)
Are you breaking your own rules using the name Yahcanon?
Also alleluia which is the same as HalleluYah. If your bible version doesn’t say HalleluYah.
Also Nehemia is talking about where God Almighty says I am alpha and omega he that was is and will be.. as Yehovah Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh mean he that was, is, and will be(something like that). So it said in revelations 1 and 5 just in different forms, I guess.
Very Confused. You’re defending the name “Yehovah” as if that is the widely accepted pronunciation for “YHVH” amongst the Jewish/Hebrew population. Is that the pronunciation that you personally accept? If so, why? If not, then why produce an entire podcast defending it?
God’s Virgin Daughter is named Jehanne Sybille Darc, which I interpret to mean: a prophetess, highly favored of Almighty God, who comes from the place of the rainbow [in heaven]. She is “as terrible as an army with banners” — Song of Solomon. Don’t mess with the kid! in other words.
> “there’s no, “i, e, o, f, v, w, z, or j” in the Hebrew Alphabet”
You need to explain this further. Of course, those English letters are not in Hebrew. They also are not in Russian or Greek, for that matter. But the sounds are, for the most part.
His name can’t be Yehova because there’s no ,” i ,e , o , f , v , w , z or j ,” in the Hebrew Alphabet meaning that his name is YHUH-YAHUAH { father } and his son’s Name is YAHUSHA because Yahcanon (5:43 }
States that he came in the father’s name meaning that the Father’s name is embedded in The Son’s Name
Everytime HalleluYAH is spoken: Praise YAH
Mr. Nehemia I’ve followed you for a while , i find your podcast very informative especially finding the NT
Fragments under The Vatican to me it is The Hand of YAHUAH exposing The treacherous
Deception of The { RCC}
However I’m not in Accordance with you on the Name of The Father & his Son’s Name
As you very well know in Biblical Hebrew there’s no
i , e , o , f , v , w , z or j
For this reason it’s impossible for the Father’s Name to be Yehova , Yahweh , Yeshua , these are names for people to speak as not to speak his Real Name it’s also Called “, The Ineffable Name Doctrine,”
YOD-HAY-UAH-HAY-YHUH
YAHUAH { Father’s}name
Yahcanon 5:43, he came in his Father’s name meaning that the Father’s name is Embedded in his name , YAHUSHA our Messiah ( HA’Mashiac )
Nearly all The Prophets came in The Father’s Name YAHU – until the Catholic Church expunged The Father’s Name nearly 7,000 times replacing YHUH-YAHUAH
with Lord which in Hebrew means { BA’AL }
God {Deity of Fortune }
I’m interested in your Truthful opinion
Yah
Hallelujah! It means “Praise Jah”!
Rev. 19:1-6
Rev 1:4, 1:8, 4:8
Dr. Gordon how about the translation of Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh:
“I Will Become What I Choose to Become”
or
“I Will Prove to Be What I Will Prove to Be”?
(Job 23:13; Isa 14:27; Joh 12:28
Ex 6:3; Ex 6:7; Ro 9:17)
Where in revelations does it use God’s name
LOL. Nehemia you often speak of Hebrew word puns. Assume and ass u me is a word pun meaning “do not assume or just the facts” Because if later our assumption is wrong we will look like asses. Keep up the FANTASTIC work and may Yehovah bless you abundantly daily. Amen
Only the “Heavenly” Jerusalem is Free! Galatians 4:24-27! There is only 1 seed and 1 Chief Cornerstone! Those truly called out by Grace know.
Hey Nehemiah…I’m confused…Why would the Samaritan pronounce it “Abba Ebby Yebi” if there are no “Vav’s” in “היה, ויהיה” to make the B sound instead of V. On top of that, Ashem would make sense as Hashem “The name” if they pronounce their ’ה’ almost like and Aleph as you said with the words”Abba Ebby Yebi, and not “HAbba Hebby YeHebi” so I wouldn’t claim it to be a Samaritan God, sounds more like a misunderstanding.
From what I’ve read about Biblical Hebrew, it does not carry just 2 tenses. You state it as a fact, but I don’t think that’s true. Maybe you should get a different ‘source’ to study from. If you heard it at church, ask another source.
Thank you Nehemia. Now Im getting much more confident on the name of Jehová in my Reyna Valera version in Spanish. Your teachings are bringing light to the nations. Blessings from the Dominican Republic.
If I may ask. So in this article you say Hayah means “He Was” Doesn’t HaYaH just mean “To Be” or “To Exist” ? Since Biblical Hebrew only carries 2 tenses. Perfect & Imperfect tense, Honest question from an honest heart. Thanks !
Copied from the 12.03.2020 weekly email update from Nehemia’s Wall:
——————————
In this provocative music video [ https://youtu.be/QD4PNyQDD2s ] , from the popular Israeli satire show HaYehudim Ba’im, the lead singer, talking from the perspective of God, says that instead of using my four-letter name, people sadly refer to me with various epithets, and goes on to list many of them. He says, “people took it too serious when I said don’t take my name in vain”, “don’t act like I don’t have a name”, “calling me instead various epithets like ‘Hashem’ (The Name)”, “That’s Not My Name!”, “How about calling me Yeho…”, and that’s where the video ends. The producer wasn’t audacious enough to finish saying The Name, but what a great video reminding people that they should be calling God by His Name, Yehovah. Let’s make this video go viral!
——————————
The multi-level joke at the end is absolutely hilarious! We don’t need to know Hebrew to understand the joke, but it would be really great if someone could translate the video and either post it here or as an option on the YouTube video itself. Thanks in advance to anyone helpful and industrious enough to do this.
And thanks to you, Nehemia, for including that video. It made my day!
Brilliant ?
So being that ancient egyptian was before Judaism how is the name Yehovah pronounced in ancient egyptian
Wonderful – thank you so much for this explanation!!! May Yehovah bless you. Carol Jones
when I was in a coma for a month and in hospital, I saw Jesus talking to God and they were looking at a parchment between them. Jesus often called God by his first name that was Yehova. I cant of known this before I was run over by a car and made unconscious.
Sorry for my confusion, below that he also said “the meaning of YHVH as “he that was, he that is, and he that will be””
I note that this meaning is in the 3rd person.
Hi, so what does Nehemia say Yehovah means? The closest I came to answering my question is his explanation:
Yehovah comes from the same root as Ehyeh: the hollow root HYH. Yehovah is actually a combination of three verb-forms: Hayah “he was”, Hoveh “he is”, and Yih’yeh “he is now and will continue to be in the future”. Together Hayah, Hoveh, and Yih’yeh combine into the name Yehovah.
[end quote]
So does this mean Yehovah means “he was, he is, he will be” or “the one who was, is, will be”?
Thanks Neville. I was unaware of another thread. Ill look the other one up.
As I said, when reading Gesenius himself, I don’t think one gets the same level of strenuousness as one gets from Tregelles’ opinion of Gesenius’ opinion. But others may feel differently. Personally, I think that Tregelles missed a key point, which is that if Gesenius’ derived-from-Jove theory is correct then that pronounciation/name is actually not the one that Yehovah himself revealed to the people via Moses.
I think this thread might more properly belong in the comments for “Have You Been Praying to Jupiter?”.
Hi Neville – thanks for the reply. Yes this is from Tregelles – see below….
To give my own opinion [This opinion Gesenius
afterwards THOROUGHLY retracted; see’ Thes. and Amer • .
trans. in voc.: he calls such comparisons and derivations,
“waste of time and labour;” would that he had I
learned how irreverent a mode this was of treating
such subjects!], I suppose this word to be one of the
most remote antiquity, perhaps of the same origin as
Jovis, Jupiter, and transferred from the Egyptians to
the Hebrews [What an ideal God himself revealed ‘
this as his own name; the Israelites could never have ‘
received it from the Egyptians];
Brian, just for the record, to what source do you refer? Tregelles ? MacWhorter ?
The wording you quote seems straight out of Tregelles. Gesenius own words are not nearly so clear as what Tregelles represents (at least, not to me).
Hi Nehemiah.
I see that many ask a question but do not receive answers. However let me try –
Your comments on the name of God have illuminated me as I have been pondering these things, and the true name of Jesus or Yashua for a long time. I have bought your books and have been educated so thankyou.
However in one of your videos on the use of Yahweh, you make mention of the quote from Gesenius. However what is recorded in the copy I have and what you said in the video appear to differ.
In the copy I have, page cccxxxvii, it (the translator) says, that Gesenius thoroughly recanted on his earlier premise of the word YAHWEH coming from Jupiter.
Hopefully you can comment on this.
Brian
Greetings, I loved this teaching. Where are all the scholars on this? I have never heard this. Praise Yehovah for His wonderful, holy language. Thank you so very much. I just discovered your wall a week ago. Just wish I could catch up. May have to do a marathon. May Yehovah bless you with all good things and His Spirit rest on your house.
Shalom, Marta
Hi, Doctor Gordon. Do you know the stone in Egypt, called column of Soleb? What do you think about it? And what about the studies of Gérard Gertoux (Professor of National Education in France, President of the Association Biblique de Recherche d’Anciens Manuscrits, Hebrew scholar, specialist of the Tetragram) ? Thank you in advance. Best regards, Luca Pietrangeli
We should keep in mind that Hebrew language existed even before Latin language. What we should ask is the “J” PRONUNCIATION, not the modern letter “J” itself.
Hi Nehemiah. Just have a question regarding the pronunciation of God’s name “Yehovah”.
Was “Yehovah” pronunciation from Sephardic phonetic system, or is it Ashkenazi phonetic system?
When did the letter “J” come into existence, after ther printing of KJV 1611? Before this, Yahsua and/or Yah……?
Yehovas Witnesses are preaching about his name since many years. ☺️
Shalom from Alaska! I am so happy to have found your works from listening to Michael Roods ministry. I am blessed to have a new understanding of our creators name from your knowledge obtained since childhood.
Toda raba Nehemia!
I’m grateful for your teaching! Thank you.
Although a serious topic, I found a little humor in Nehemia’s discussion of the word “assume.” As I understood the phrase, it is that whenever we “assume,” we really do not know, thus, we are guessing, jumping to conclusions that may, or may not, be accurate. Indicating that we may quite probably be wrong. So, when we assume, we are apt to make a jackass out of you AND Me with our “assumption.”. The phrase is simply a play on words, and as you noted, has nothing to do with literal definitions.
I think Keith brings the best out in Nehemia…when those 2 get going I see aspects of truth I never would see on my own or ever in church. I love them all and all the work they are doing to being the truth to us.
People need to realize that all the prophets names at the beginning have Yeho and at the ending Yah or Yahu, this is also the case for the Greek texts we have, so did they all get it wrong? I think we all know the answer here. Yehovah & Yeshua which became Jesus.
After reading this, the idiom “A little learning/knowledge is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring” came to mind. It’s a perfect example of how a little bit of knowledge can lead one to become falsely overconfident about their expertise in a certain subject (admittedly, been there myself in life). It is better to use caution and exercise humility, and research a topic extensively (i.e., drink deep) before proclaiming oneself an expert. In the meantime, I listen and learn. Nehemiah, thank you for going deep and helping us learn/know what is true.
thanks for that nechemiyah
So glad to see this. Have had so many tell me that Yehovah means destruction. Thanks for this teaching. Sharing.
Thank you for this, Nehemiah. I appreciate you putting out this disaster.
Outstanding! There is power in His name. Let us proclaim it from here to eternity!
One of my all time favorite quotes “when you ass-u-me you make an ass of you and me” spoken by Tony Randal in The Odd Couple.
Nehemia, I remember when I heard you say His Name, “Yehovah” it caused me to have a deep respect for His Name. I no longer threw the word “God” around. Knowing His Name has made me stop and think about how I am talking about Him. I love Him and want to honor Yehovah. I have met many Christians who view and have been taught that “God” is a judgemental punishing “God”. Yehovah made Himself known to me through Yeshua as complete love and acceptance, only pure light, no darkness, indescribable. I thought that this was how everyone who said they are a Christian knew Yehovah, but I found by going to church that this is not how they see Him. If they would only stop following the these people that start these stupid teachings and read the whole bible in truth. I always go to our Father for truth. I have been so deceived by lies in this world. I am glued permanently to Yehovah. I pursue Yehovah with my whole heart and every bit of marrow in my bones. Thank you, Nehemia for your all the work you do. Blessings and peace.
Nehemia, you are awesome ! Have been listening to you for years. Thank You for your diligence. When you team up with Michael, the combination is untouchable. Love what you do brother !
Stay Connected
Subscribe to receive new teachings, event updates, and special announcements.