10/16/2024
f you regularly read Bible History Daily posts, Biblical Archaeology Review articles, or are a fan of biblical history in general, you’ve probably come across the name Yahweh once or twice when referring to the God of Israel. Someone new to the world of biblical scholarship, however, might be left a bit confused about the name, since it isn’t found anywhere in the most common Bible translations. Even the most famous translation of the Bible—the King James Version—uses the name Jehovah for the God of Israel in the Old Testament. Many, then, might ask where the name Yahweh originated.
In the original Hebrew, the name of God is given as four letters, YHWH, known as the Tetragrammaton; these letters are the root of both Jehovah and Yahweh. In “Parsing the Divine Name” in the Fall 2024 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, biblical scholar Ronald Hendel explains how scholars and archaeologists came to the conclusion that Yahweh was the most likely pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton. As Hendel argues, “The vocalization of the first syllable is actually preserved, mostly in liturgical expressions and personal names. ‘Halleluyah,’ a frequent refrain in the Psalms, means ‘Praise Yah.’” Likewise, Hendel explains, the names of many individuals in the Hebrew Bible contain the name “Yah,” such as Obadiah, Isaiah, Hezekiah, Josiah, and Nehemiah. Therefore, Hendel concludes, “this is obvious evidence for the ancient pronunciation of the first syllable of the name YHWH as Yah.”