What is the meaning of Yahweh? What does Jehovah mean?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Moses asked God who was sending him to rescue the Israelites. God replied that Moses should tell the Israelites, “I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). He then gave His name as “YHWH.” The word for “I AM” is the root of the word YHWH, meaning that God’s personal name also identifies Him as the eternal God. YHWH is generally understood to be pronounced “Yahweh.”

By calling Himself “I AM,” YHWH was declaring that He is. He was saying that He never changes, has always existed, and is self-existent. This set Him apart from, and above, every false god. This was because He was claiming to exist before anything and, therefore, to have dominion over everything. YHWH told Moses this name to show him that He had the authority to take the Israelites out of Egypt because everything was His domain.

In the first English Bibles, the Old Testament was a translation of the Latin Bible, not the original Hebrew. Because of how letters and sounds change as they move between languages, YHWH was originally translated as JHVH. “Jehovah” comes from JHVH. So, when people say “Jehovah,” they are referring to YHWH.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• God told Moses His name in Exodus 3:15. The phrase, “the LORD” (with “Lord” in all capital letters) is how many English translations translate God’s name. However, in some Bibles, as well as in extra-biblical works, YHWH, often pronounced “Yahweh,” is used. The four consonants, “YHWH,” correspond to the four consonants in the original Hebrew.
• The reason the name looks odd in English is because Hebrew does not have written vowel letters. A couple thousand years after Moses wrote Exodus, Hebrew scholars began adding vowel markers to help readers know how to pronounce Hebrew words. However, for various reasons, they decided not to give the correct vowel letters for God’s name. Scholars consider “Yahweh” (“Yah-way”) the best educated guess of how YHWH would have been pronounced. Note that, because of how modern Hebrew pronounces the “W” consonant, YHWH is also regularly found as YHVH, pronounced “Yahveh” (“Yah-vey”).
• Long before being translated directly into English, the Old Testament was translated into Latin. When the first English translations were made, they came from the Latin, not Hebrew, Bible. Because of the differences in letters in Latin, the four English letters used were JHVH instead of YHWH. The pronunciation “Jehovah” comes from those letters. Thus, “Jehovah” is a Latin-influenced pronunciation of “Yahweh.” This also means that “Yahweh” and “Jehovah” mean the same thing.
• In the same passage where God tells His name to Moses, we learn what it means (Exodus 3:13–14). God declared that He is “I AM WHO I AM.” The verb translated as “I AM” is a state of being verb. For example, in English we might say, “I am tired.” The “am” is a state of being verb and describes how we currently feel—we currently feel tired. However, God only said “I AM.” He did not give a current state. By doing that, He was saying that He always is.
• By always being, God was saying that He existed before all things (Psalm 90:2), was distinct from all things (Isaiah 40:18, 25), and is unchanging (Malachi 3:6).
• What is the connection between “I AM” and YHWH? The verb used for “AM” is related to, and perhaps even the root, of the word YHWH. So, God’s declaration of “I AM” was not distinct from Him saying He was YHWH. Instead, YHWH means that God is eternal.
• After referring to Himself as YHWH, He continues, saying, “This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:15b). God’s name is to be an ongoing reminder that God is the only eternal God.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The New Testament does not directly use God’s personal name. However, Jesus identified Himself as YHWH. In John 8:58, He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Like in Exodus, Jesus used the Greek being verb without any description. Jesus was saying, “I am,” with the same eternal, self-existent, unchanging meaning that God had meant in Exodus 3:14.
• The Jews understood Jesus. In the next verse, we read, “So they picked up stones to throw at him” (John 8:59a). To claim to be God while not being God, was blasphemy. They did not believe Jesus was God, so they prepared to stone Him to death. Though He escaped (John 8:59b), their attempted murder proved that they understood the significance of Jesus’s “I am” statement.
• Because Jesus is fully God, it was not blasphemy for Him to claim the name I AM. As God, He is self-existent (Colossians 1:17). He is eternal, existing before Abraham and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father for eternity (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 8:1). He is self-sufficient, needing nothing, and self-directed, doing His will as He sees fit (John 5:26). He is also unchanging, “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

Because Jesus is YHWH, He is eternal and before anything else. In fact, He created everything that is (John 1:1–3). That means that He, alone, deserves all glory and honor (Revelation 4:11).

As YHWH, He is self-existent, needing nothing outside of Himself to continue to exist. That means that there is nothing in creation that He needs. He was perfectly satisfied within Himself for all eternity. We do not add to God or complete Him. This means that the fact that He created us, placed us over the rest of His creation, and personally cares for us is an unfathomable display of love on His part (Psalm 8). Further, because Jesus is YHWH, His state never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Revelation 1:8). This means that we can trust His promises and character. Because He is perfect and eternal, He will not change. Instead, He is the same holy, gracious, merciful, just, and good God that He was in eternity past. He will also be the same in eternity future. God is. Therefore, let us humbly worship Him, fully trust Him, and live in awe of His eternal power, unchanging character, and relentless love (Psalm 30:4; Hebrews 12:28).

UNDERSTAND

• Yahweh (YHWH) is God’s personal name, meaning “I AM.”
• YHWH indicates God’s eternal, self-existent, and unchanging nature.
• Jehovah is a Latinized form of Yahweh, developed through early English translations from Latin, but both names refer to the same one true God.

REFLECT

• How does knowing that God's name means “I AM” shape your relationship with Him?
• How are you tempted to treat God like someone who changes or needs something, rather than trusting His self-sufficiency?
• When you consider that Jesus is Yahweh, how does that deepen your trust in His promises and His love for you?

ENGAGE

• What does God’s use of the name “I AM” in Exodus 3 reveal about His relationship to time, creation, and His people?
• How does understanding the connection between “Yahweh” and “Jehovah” shape our view of God’s unchanging nature throughout Scripture, and how can we graciously explain this to those who emphasize one name over the other?
• How can recognizing Jesus as Yahweh transform how we worship, trust, and obey Him today?