What's the Name of God and Why Must We Know It?

Published on 04/28/24 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.

"Yahweh" is one popular rendering of God's own personal name. God is not nameless! Like you and me, He has a name. "God" is not His name; it simply identifies who He is, just as "humans" identifies what we are. "Lord" is God's title, not a personal name.

In the original Hebrew manuscripts of the Tanakh (the Old Testament), God's name is written as "YHWH," which we call "the Tetragrammaton." Biblical Hebrew does not have vowels; everything is written in consonants. For example, my name without vowels would be "Shrly," which is nearly unpronounceable. We cannot pronounce "YHWH," either. To make it pronounceable, scholars add the vowels, and come out with "Yahweh."

Unfortunately, today, we do not know exactly how God's name should be pronounced. In the beginning, when the Old Testament was written, everyone knew how to pronounce God's name. But around the time of Jesus' day, the Jews stopped pronouncing God's name for fear of defiling it and for fear of disrespecting God. Hence, the pronunciation of God's name has sadly been lost to us.

"Yahweh" in Hebrew is widely accepted by scholars, though there are other renderings. "Jehovah" is the English rendering of God's name. "Yahweh" is believed to mean “He chooses to become,” or “He who causes to be,” meaning that He has the power to do anything He chooses. Hence, God's personal name describes His nature and essence.

In the original Hebrew Scriptures, God's personal name appears almost 7,000 times. However, modern translations of the English Bible have removed God's name, and replaced it with the title "Lord." So wherever you see "Lord" in the Old Testament, know that 99% of the time, it originally was God's name.

For my Bible class and all my articles, I use the World English Bible because it rightly refers to God by His personal name. Think about it: if you wrote a book and your publisher removed every instance of your name from your book, would you think it is right? If not, then how much more wrong is it to remove God's name from His book the Bible! It is a great audacity! If translators don't feel comfortable rendering His name, then they should just retain "YHWH" in the Old Testament.

Since His name appears so frequently in the Tanakh, then Yahweh God must want us to know His name and call Him by His name.

In actuality, Yahweh God specifically said regarding His name, "This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations." (Exodus 3:15) Indeed, God indicated that His name is a memorial to all generations. Yes, Yahweh definitely wants us to know and remember His name! There's no better reason to know His name than this.

To know God's name is to know God's essence, for His name is not just a label, but it describes who He is: as the most supreme Being who can be whatever He wants to be, and do whatever He wants to do. Only God can be called "Yahweh." No one deserves that name but He alone.

Other reasons why it's important to know--and to use--Yahweh's name are:

a) To show Yahweh respect. We name all people, places, events, and even our pets and the cars we drive. Certainly, to leave God's name out of all our names would show great disrespect to God, whose name should be revered above all names. In general, to show respect to other people, we address them by their names. For example, if you meet the president of the United States, you wouldn't say, "Hi president" or call him simply "president" every time you speak with him, since "president" is only a title, just as "lord" is a title. Instead, you'd respectfully call him "President Trump."

b) To start an intimate relationship with Yahweh. All relationships begin with the question, "What's your name?" A relationship cannot be intimate when we do not know or use other people's names. Imagine never knowing your best friend's name or your lover's name!

c) To differentiate the true God from all false gods. In Biblical times, idolaters call their gods "lord" ("Baal" and "Bel"). This was why Moses and other worshippers of God had to know God's personal name, so they could introduce the true God to others, and so that idolaters would not think they were referring to their false gods. Also, "lord" was (and is) the title that means "master" or "sir." People call heads of family, noblemen, officials, and false gods "lord."

d) To be saved by Yahweh God. During the future Great Tribulation, "whoever will call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved." (Joel 2:32) However, this calling of God's name has to be more than a simple call; this call has to be accompanied by a repentant heart--a heart that has accepted Yahweh as their God and Yeshua (Jesus) as their Lord and Savior.