The tetragrammaton refers to the name of God in Hebrew, YHWH. This name is Holy to the Jews and is not spoken aloud by them.
The Word tetragrammaton means four letters. To remember tetra, think about Tetris. For grammaton, think about grammar. The word refers to the name of God, YHWH.
The four letters are the Hebrew letters Yodh (Y), He (H), Waw (W), and He (H). In Hebrew, like Arabic and other Semitic languages, vowels were not included in the writing until modern times. This proved an issue when Jews stopped saying YHWH out loud because they held God’s name in such high regard. Instead, they would say hashem, which means “The Name.”
The tetragrammaton was translated from Latin into English and became Jehovah. This kind of thing often happens with words being translated from one language to another—which shows why it is critical to return to the original language when looking at a translation.
The name YHWH comes from Exodus 3:14, where God speaks to Moses in the burning bush. The name “YHWH” means “I Am who I Am,” highlighting that God does not change and will be faithful to his promises and covenants to his people. God’s unchanging nature would have been relevant to Moses, who felt woefully inadequate to be God’s representative.
YHWH is found in every book of the Bible except Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. YHWH denotes God’s Covenant name with His people. YHWH also features prominently in the names of many characters in the Bible. Virtually all Hebrew names in the Bible begin with Jo or Jeh. For example, Joshua means “YHWH is salvation,” Jehoshaphat means “YHWH is judge,” and Joel means “YHWH is God.” These names are ways of telling God’s power to the surrounding nations.
There is evidence that neighboring nations also knew the name YHWH. A stone commemorating a Moabite victory over Israel in the ninth century BC mentions YHWH—the first time YHWH was named in an extra-biblical source.
In about the third century BC, the use of YHWH was replaced with the Hebrew word Adonai, which means “Lord,” except in certain ritual cases. The Septuagint (The Greek Translation of the Hebrew Bible) followed this pattern. The Septuagint translated the word YHWH as Kurios. This word is later applied to Jesus by the Apostles Paul and John.
Later, in about the third Century AD, Jews stopped speaking the name of YHWH in every case because it was seen as so holy. This shows the reverence they placed upon the name of God. As a result, we no longer know exactly which vowels are used within the name. Hebrew was first written with vowel markings around the sixth century AD. Hence, we assume the Jewish pronunciation of Yahweh contains the correct vowels, as opposed to the Latinized Jehovah. Remember that neither Hebrew nor Greek pronounced the letter “J” as we do today.
Remember that Jesus spoke Aramaic, which is closely related to ancient Hebrew. The fact he spoke Aramaic gives his words in John 8:58 even more power. When he said, “Before Abraham was I am,” his audience would have heard him invoking the name of YHWH—therefore claiming to be God. This helps to explain their reaction—why the people picked up stones to stone him.
Jesus did this again in Mark 14:62. Asked whether he was the Messiah, he replied, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the Right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of Heaven.” From The priests’ reaction, we can see the significance of Jesus simultaneously invoking the name of the LORD and claiming to be the Messiah.
One powerful example of someone else recognizing Jesus’ divinity appears in John 20:21. Thomas’ reaction to seeing Jesus is to call him my Lord (Kurios) and my God (Theos). In Greek, his words are similar to the shema, a vital part of Jewish worship and life. Now the words are being attributed to Jesus. Thomas is no longer doubting. He is now giving one of the strongest affirmations of Jesus’ deity found in the New Testament.
English Bibles have historically followed the translation tradition that was started in the Septuagint and continued with the Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. The Vulgate was a translation of the Septuagint, and it established the pattern throughout the Church that was followed for centuries to come. This also coincided with the Jewish people stopping using YHWH in their speech.
In the seventeenth century, translators like Martin Luther and William Tyndale returned to the original Hebrew and Greek to translate the Bible into English. The return to original languages had only become possible a couple of decades before, with the original languages becoming accessible to everyone. Factors like Johannes Gutenberg’s press enabling people to produce and share many documents widely aided this change. The new generation of translators chose to translate the word YHWH as “LORD” because it conveyed the specialness of the divine name yet made it more intelligible to English speakers.
The fact that some English translations don’t return to the original languages creates several problems. One key problem that affects the tetragrammaton is it means the New World Translation of the Bible, the one used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, is questionable. It assumes English as a starting point and works backward, rather than starting with the original language and helping it make sense in English.
One way the tetragrammaton is helpful for us as Christians today is to refute the claims made by Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Jehovah” is a transliteration of the Tetragrammaton from Hebrew into Latin. Latin Doesn’t have the letter “Y,” so Latin Scholars transliterated the name YHWH into Jehovah. Jehovah’s Witnesses base their faith on the fact that the original name of God, which they claim is Jehovah, was lost.
Because Jehovah’s Witnesses emphasize the name Jehovah so much, many believers don’t know how to respond to their claims. Understanding that Jesus used the tetragrammaton shows that Jesus always claimed he was God—something Jehovah’s Witnesses reject. Therefore it’s important to understand the origin of the tetragrammaton and explain how language changes over time. Going to the original languages will help counteract the false teachings that Jehovah’s Witnesses bring up about the tetragrammaton. Today it is easier than ever to look at the original languages of scripturse and compare how they are translated.
Another reason the tetragrammaton is relevant to us today is it shows God’s unchanging nature—what theologians call his immutability. Remembering that whenever we read the word “LORD,” we are reading the fact that God is the “I AM,” the one who does not change. We can have faith that his heart for us will not change. He showed his unchanging love for us by sending his son to die for us. He had this plan in mind since humans fell into sin in the Garden of Eden.
The Bible Project has some great videos and podcasts about the Name of God.
Here is a list of many examples of YHWH throughout the Bible.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Oddworldly
Ben Reichert works with college students in New Zealand. He graduated from Iowa State in 2019 with degrees in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and agronomy. He is passionate about church history, theology, and having people walk with Jesus. When not working or writing you can find him running or hiking in the beautiful New Zealand Bush.
