JEHOVAH YAHWEH

JEHOVAH, and OTHER NAMES OF GOD
SERMON # 451; BY JOE McClure; DATE: 5/20/2007

In thousands of the Hebrew Scriptures, the word ‘Jehovah’ is used to refer to God.
Today, many men have written books regarding the various names of God, and much is made of them as doctrinal issues. For instance, some say that it is imperative that we address God in prayer as Jehovah.
Let me preface our study by saying that I may have missed some of the designations by which God is referred to in the Scriptures, but by the end of this study, I hope that you might see the importance given to the name of God in the Holy Scriptures.
To begin with, I want to just read you a couple of passages, just to set the tone of our study, found in Deuteronomy 28.58 and Daniel 2.19-23.
Deuteronomy 28:58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
The general idea was to give God and His name the utmost respect in obedience; to reverence and stand in awe of God.
To give you an idea of the complexity of the study of the name of God, bear with in looking at just these two passages of scriptures.
In Deuteronomy 28.58, the name of God, which is printed in the English language translation as ‘THE Lord THY GOD’ has as its original Hebrew the following:
The Lord---Hebrew word [Yehovah, pronounced as yeh-ho-vaw] is found in 6,519 times in the Scriptures. {Strong’s No. 03068}
Thy God—Plural Hebrew word [Elohiym, pronounced as el-o-heem] is used in reference to God 2, 346 times in the Scriptures. {Strong’s No. 0430}
In those times, there were many names used by the heathen nations to identify their false idol gods, such as the name of Baal.
So, we might easily understand the importance placed on a separate identity of the true God, and an understanding of His power, and a consideration of past great deeds that God had accomplished.
Next, we look at the passage from Daniel 2.19-23.
Daniel 2:19-23 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known unto us the king's matter.

In Daniel 2.19, we find ‘the God of heaven’ used, in V.20, ‘the name of God’ and then in V.23 ‘God of my fathers’. The same word from the Aramaic is translated as God in all of these verses.
The God—Aramaic word [elahh, pronounced as el-aw’] is used in reference to God 79 times in the Scriptures. {Strongs No. 0426}
In many of the Hebrew passages, the word ‘el’ is used 213 times by itself to indicate the word ‘God, and 16 times to indicate the word ‘god’; such as when referring to the strange or false god; [Strong’s #410].
At times ‘el’ is used with various endings, such as ‘elohiym, and elowahh’ are plural and singular of God in some Scriptures.
Elohiym is the Hebrew word that is translated as ‘God’ in Genesis 1.1.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
It is interesting to notice that the plural of the word ‘elowahh’ (el-o’-ah). El-o’-ah is used 52 times in the Scriptures in reference to God.
In a couple of Scriptures we find the word ‘El’ put at the end of another word, such as with the word ‘Immanuel’, which means ‘with us is God’ [Isaiah 7.14; 8.8].
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This word ‘el-aw’, used by Daniel to refer to God, is credited as the same word used by Jesus on the cross, but translated and written in Greek as ‘el-o-ee’.
Mark 15:34-- And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
El-o-ee’ in the Greek simply means ‘My God’. The Greek word translated as God in Mark 15.34 is ‘theos’ [theh’-os] and is the common word found in the NT Greek Scriptures, and is used by its writers 1,320 times.
· As you can begin to see; while various English words have been used to simplify various Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words into the idea of God or Lord; the subject is more complex than this.
The question for me today is whether I can do a good enough job on explaining this topic so that anyone could understand, or at least good enough so that you might be prompted in the right direction, in your home studies.
Lets start with the story of Moses, as he is being called by God to deliver the children of Israel from their bondage.
Exodus 3:13-14 And Moses said unto God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What [is] his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 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.
God’s name “I AM” seems to indicate the eternal existence of God, that he was, and is, and will be.
This passage in Exodus 3.14 reminds me of what Jesus said to the 7 churches of Asia.
Rev. 1:8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Another familiar way that God is referred to is as the God of somebody.
Exodus 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this [is] my name for ever, and this [is] my memorial unto all generations.
Next in our study of the name of God, look to Exodus 6.3, shortly before God dealt with Pharoah.
Exodus 6:2-3 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I [am] the LORD: 3 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.
God told Moses that His name is Jehovah, but when he appeared to the patriarchal fathers of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He was known to them by another designation.
To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God was known as ‘God Almighty’, or in the Hebrew language as el-shadday [ale’-shad-dah-ee’] {Genesis 14.22; 17.1}. [Strong’s No. 7706 + 430]
Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
While the patriarchs made reference to Jehovah Elohiym in many places, they knew God by the designation of Almighty God, or El-Shaddai.
God was also known to Abraham as El-yone, or the most high God.
El-Shaddai expresses the MIGHT of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Elyon, [05945 ‘elyown, pronounced as el-yone’] identified God (el) as the highest of all authorities or rulers, or ‘the most high God’.
Genesis 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
{Lord, most high, God=Jehovah, Elyon El}
ADONAI: [ad-o-nay’]
Abraham also addressed God as Adonai, as a proper name for God.
Genesis 15:1-2 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward. 2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?
Adonay (Strong’s No. 136); found 431 times in the Scriptures, seems to have been a word used to show servitude to God as master. Adonay is a form of Adown [aw-done], which is translated most of the time as ‘master’ and is itself also used in a few cases to refer to God {31 times}.
ADOWN:
Adown is used when referring to the ark of the Lord, and in another occasion as ‘Lord of lords’.
Moses used ‘Adown’ in the following Scripture:
Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God [is] God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
Later, in the wilderness, Moses entered into the Tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp, and there spoke with the Lord. This was on the occasion after they had built the golden calf, and Moses had come down off the mountain.
The Lord said the following to Moses:
Exodus 33:19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
In other words, God told Moses that He would tell him the name of Jehovah [Hebrew words—‘shame’=name + Yeh-ho-vah’ or the Lord]
Then in the next chapter, Moses went back up on the mount Horeb, to receive the 2nd writing of the commandments.
God spoke with Moses, and we notice that he identified Himself.
Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:
God told Moses that His name is the Lord [Yehovah], whose name is Jealous {qanna’ , pronounced as kan-naw’ }, or Jehovah Jealous.
Coupled with God’s desire to keep Israel faithful to Him only, in His possessiveness, with a desire for Israel to not be led away after false gods, God also revealed that He is a consuming fire.
Joshua 24:19-21 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he [is] an holy God; he [is] a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.
Here in Joshua 24.19, Jehovah is an Holy Elohiym (plural); Jehovah is a jealous El [ale’](singular).
Lord God of Hosts:
Another designation which is used about 100 times in the Scriptures is that of Lord or God of Hosts.
1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
For Israel, El-Yeh-ho-vah was their Jehovah God of war against their enemies. In most of the places in which this phrase is used, it was written as ‘Lord God of Hosts’.
In such passages, we find other words for our study, that of JAH [Strong’s No. 3050, used 49 times].
Psalms 89:5-8 And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. 6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? [who] among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? 7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all [them that are] about him. 8 O LORD God of hosts, who [is] a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?
Here in V.8, when it says ‘who is a strong Lord’, the word ‘Lord’ came from the Hebrew word JAH (yaw), another name for God.
In one occasion, we see this actually has been translated as JAH.
Psalm 68:4
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
In Isaiah 26.4, JAH JEHOVAH is found together in reference to the Lord.
Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH [is] everlasting strength:
You might already know this, but the name of God is found at the end of the word ‘Hallelujah’, which means, ‘praise ye God’.
Throughout the Scriptures, it is common to find several words for God combined together, as we have seen above.
In Amos 5.16, you can find Jehovah Elohim Adonay all used together for an example, as well as God of Hosts.
Amos 5:16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing [shall be] in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
Amos 5:16 Therefore the LORD <03068--Jehovah>, the God <0430--Elohyim> of hosts <06635>, the Lord <0136--Adonay>,
There are some less used words used to refer to God, such as the Rock of salvation. [Strong’s No. 6697, ‘tsur’, 2 times]
Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered [with fatness]; then he forsook God [which] made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Before we leave the OT, I want to examine briefly some phrases we see as combination words with the name Jehovah.
JEHOVAH-JIREH:
As we know the account of the time that the Lord told Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac on an altar as a sacrifice to God, and that it was a test of Abraham’s faith, and that God in the end provided a ram as the sacrificial offering. In this context, we find the word Jehovahjireh [Strong’s No. 3070].
Genesis 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
While Mt. Moriah was called Jehovahjireh by Abraham, he did so because it meant that it shall be seen by the Lord in that place. The word ‘Jehovahjireh’ actually means ‘Jehovah sees’.
Some have used Jehovahjireh to mean that God will see our needs and provide, seeing that God did provide a sacrifice for Abraham.
If we are looking for a parallel, we might consider that those who go up to the mountain of the Lord’s house will be provided salvation and spiritual blessings promised by God.
Isaiah 2:2-3 And it shall come to pass in the last days, [that] the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
JEHOVAH-NISSI:
Exodus 17:15-16 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi: 16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn [that] the LORD [will have] war with Amalek from generation to generation.
The saying ‘Jehovah-nissi’ means ‘Jehovah ,my banner’.
Obviously this altar was a sign of the promise God to Moses regarding the conflict with the Amaleks.
JEHOVAH-SHALOM:
Judges 6:22-24 And when Gideon perceived that he [was] an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. 23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace [be] unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. 24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
The word ‘Jehovahshalom’ means that Jehovah is peace. Again, we see that it is used to name an altar to the Lord, as Jehovahjireh, and Jehovahnissi were names for places of altars.
Jehovah-shammah: Jehovah is in it.
Jehovah is there, the symbolical title given by Ezekiel to Jerusalem, which was seen by him in vision #Eze 48:35
We might rightly say that Jehovah is in the church of Christ, as God dwells in our hearts.
Ezekiel 48:35 [It was] round about eighteen thousand [measures]: and the name of the city from [that] day [shall be], The LORD [is] there.
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU:
Jehovah our rightousness, rendered in the Authorized Version, "The LORD our righteousness," a title given to the Messiah #Jer 23.6.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
As we turn our minds to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, we would not want to ignore the prophecy of Isaiah regarding His name.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
We see this prophecy fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, and the definition of the word ‘Immanuel’ in the NT.
Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Another Messianic prophecy is found in Isaiah 9.6, and the names of the Messiah are given.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
In the NT, we find far less words being used to name God in those texts.
The Greek word ‘theos’ is used to indicate the supreme deity in most cases.
John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.
Jesus: The word Jesus is a form of the OT word ‘Joshua’ and means Yahweh is salvation.
However, the Most High God is referred to as distinct from the Son and the Spirit in:
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
In this message from the angel, we see the work of the Holy Ghost, the Most High God, and the Son of God.
Here the ‘Highest’ is from the Greek word hupsistos, [pronounced hoop’-sis-tos] {Strong’s No. 5310}, meaning simply the Most High God. {used 13 times in NT}.
While the same word is used in the Greek for the word ‘God’ throughout the NT Scriptures, there are several qualifying words used with His name, such as God of glory [Acts 7.2]; God of peace [Romans 15.33]; God of love and peace [2 Cor. 13.11]; God of patience and comfort [Romans 15.5]; God of hope [Romans 15.13]; and God of all grace [I Peter 5.10].
Despotes—G 1203—Master, translated as Lord 5 times in NT.
Acts 4:21-25 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all [men] glorified God for that which was done. 22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou [art] God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
While I know that this was a lot of information to take in today, I hope that I have at least planted some seeds in your minds for some future study.
I hope that you will no longer take the word God and Lord for granted when you read the Scriptures, but will hunt for more information when you study.
I also know that in regard to the titles of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the NT that I did not deal with them much, but to do so would take a couple of hours more to speak with you on them, as there are many descriptive words and phrases which apply to our Lord Jesus in the NT.
I might teach on them in a later sermon.
INVITATION: