YHWH is the Central Hebrew Name of the One God

Judaism has different names given to God at various times, which are considered sacred YHWH: יהוה and שַׁדַּי (Shaddai), some also include I Am that I Am. Early authorities considered other Hebrew names mere epithets or descriptions of God, and wrote that they and names in other languages may be written and erased freely. Most Orthodox Jews have adopted the way of writing “G-d” instead of “God” in English.

The names of God that, once written, cannot be erased because of their holiness are (YHWH), Adonai, El, Elohim, Shaddai, Tzevaot; some also include I Am that I Am, from which “YHWH” is derived. The YHWH in Paleo-Hebrew (fl. 1100 BCE – 500 CE) and Aramaic (fl. 1100 BCE – 200 CE) or modern Hebrew scripts. The most common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is יהוה. The YHWH is sometimes rendered with vowels, though it is not known which vowels were used originally. Modern Rabbinical Jewish culture forbids pronunciation of this name. In prayers YHWH is replaced by saying the word אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, Hebrew: (taken as singular), and in discussion, by HaShem ‘The Name’.

YHWH occurs 6,828 times in total in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia edition of the Masoretic Text. It is thought to be an archaic third-person singular of the imperfective aspect of the verb “to be” (i.e., “[He] is/was/will be”). This agrees with the passage in Exodus where God names himself as “I Will Be What I Will Be” using the first-person singular imperfective aspect, open to interpretation as present tense (“I am what I am”), or future (“I shall be what I shall be”).

Most modern Jews never pronounce YHWH but instead read אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, Hebrew [adoˈnaj], taken as singular) during prayer and while reading the Torah as HaShem ‘The Name’ at other times. Most English translations of the Bible write “the Lord” for YHWH. As with Elohim, Adonai’s grammatical form is usually explained as a form akin to the “royal we”.

In the Hebrew Bible, the word is nearly always used to refer to God (approximately 450 occurrences). As the pronunciation of the YHWH came to be avoided in the Hellenistic period, Jews may have begun to drop YHWH when presented alongside Adonai and subsequently to expand it to cover for the YHWH in the forms of spoken prayer and written scripture.

A common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is Elohim (אלהים, ʾĕlōhīm), the plural of אֱלוֹהַּ (Eloha). When Elohim refers to God in the Hebrew Bible, singular verbs are used. The word is identical to elohim meaning gods and is cognate to the ‘lhm found in Ugaritic, where it is used for the pantheon of Canaanite gods, the children of El and conventionally vocalized as “Elohim” although the original Ugaritic vowels are unknown.

El Shaddai (אל שדי,) is one of the names of God in Judaism, with its etymology coming from the influence of the Ugaritic religion on modern Judaism. El Shaddai is conventionally translated as “God Almighty”. While the translation of El as ‘god’ in Ugaritic/Canaanite languages is clear, the literal meaning of Shaddai is the subject of debate.

Ehyeh asher ehyeh (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) is the first of three responses given to Moses when he asks for God’s name in the Book of Exodus. Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh can be rendered in English not only as “I am that I am” but better as “I will be who I will be”, or “I shall prove to be whatsoever I shall prove to be” or even “I will be because I will be”. Other renderings include: Leeser, “I Will Be that I Will Be”; Rotherham, “I Will Become whatsoever I please”, Greek, “I am Being/the Existing One” in the Septuagint, and Philo, and Revelation; Latin, ego sum qui sum, “I am Who I am.”

Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle tell us about their ideas of what God is. God’s Prophets tell us about what God wants us to become. Allah’s 99 names describe the varies personality aspects of the One God; and Torah’s 70 aspects describe the varied relationships between the One God and the varied multitude of religious believers. Without Prophets there are no Divine revelations; and without Divine revelations there are no Prophets. In the Middle Age Jewish Mystic Kabbalists added at least two dozen more names for the Holy One: 9 male and 15 female.

The best known female names for God are Shekhina, and Matronit; while the clearest is Supernal Woman (Raphael Patai, Gates to the Old City Page 422)

In the days of Abraham, the religions of Europe, the Near East and India had hundreds of different gods, with hundreds of names for their different gods, but for those religions that trace their prophets back to Prophet Abraham, and his two sons Ishmael and Isaac, the many names of God simply describe different appellations, aspects and attributes of the one God’s multifaceted personality.

As Ibn Al-Qayyim writes: The attribute of generosity is an attribute of God who gives and does not take, feeds and is not fed. The most beloved creatures to Allah are those who take on his characteristics. Indeed, Allah is noble and loves nobility from his servants, he is knowledgeable and loves the scholars, he is powerful and loves courage, and he is beautiful and loves beauty. (al-Wābil al-Ṣayyib 1/34)

But humans only know the One God’s attributes though God’s monotheistic revelations; and there are many ways of understanding each one of God’s monotheistic revelations. And this is how God wants it to be. As the Qur’an states: “For every one of you did We appoint a law and a way. If Allah had pleased He would have made you one people, but (He didn’t) that He might test you in what He gave you. Therefore compete with one another to hasten to (do) virtuous deeds; for all return to Allah, so He will let you know that in which you differed.” (5:48)

“Had your Lord willed, all the people on earth would have believed. So can you [Prophet Muhammad] compel people to believe? (Qur’an 10:99) And “If your Lord had pleased, He would have made all people a single community, but they continue to have their differences. (Qur’an 11:118–19) I also agree with the Qur’anic religious principle of pluralism: lana dinuna walaka dinuka, (in Hebrew lanu dinu valakha dinkha) for us is our religion and for you is your religion (Qur’an 109:6)

I am a Reform Rabbi who has studied the Hebrew Bible in its original Hebrew language for sixty seven years. I have always found that the advice that Prophet Muhammad gave his adherents in the following hadîth narrated by Abu Huraira, to be the best guide to understanding all of God’s monotheistic Sacred Scriptures:

“The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allah’s Apostle said (to the Muslims). “Do not believe the people of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, ‘We believe in Allah, and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you.’ ” (Bukhari book 92 #460 and book 93 #632)

“So remember Me; I will remember you. Be thankful to Me, and never ungrateful.” (Quran 1:6)
And Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call Him, to all who call Him with sincerity.”

Islam is the youngest of the Abrahamic religions and Judaism is the oldest. There are 70 different Jewish names for God in general; and fifteen specific names of God are found in the Hebrew Bible. YHWH is the name first made known at the burning bush of Moses (Exodus 3:13-16; 6:2-8). It means, “I WILL BE WHATEVER I WANT TO BE-BECOME” i.e. I am a Dynamic God of potentials. It is the name most distinctive of God as the God of Israel (יהוה , a combination of the four letters (YHWH) with the vowels of ‘Ǎdhōnāy , transliterated as Yehōwāh but read aloud by Jews as ‘ădhōnāy). “

YHVH makes the Jewish People an ongoing life as a dynamic, multi-faceted experience, balancing ancient traditions with modern challenges, characterized by commitments to Torah study, and the rhythm of Shabbat and Holy Holidays. It spans a wide spectrum from ritual-driven observance (Halakhah) to cultural and secular engagement. It thrives through community-centered milestones, and for many, is deeply connected to the State of Israel, which holds nearly half of the world’s Jewish population.

A reference to the pre-scripture, prehistoric period when spiritual evolution was unaided by God appears in the book of Geneses (4:26) where it states, “At that time humans began to invoke YHVH by name.” Most of the rabbinic commentators translate the verb hukhal to mean ‘profane’ taking this as a negative statement. But ‘began’ is the more normal meaning of the verb.

The Torah asserts that prior to Enosh humans did not practice religion based on the divine insight of revelation “invoke YHVH by name” as they were able to do later. Mystical and spiritual experiences were interpreted by human intelligence without the benefit of prophetic revelation. In the spirit of this Torah insight I offer the following account of the evolution of pre-historic human spirituality.

The personal name of God, is represented by the Hebrew (יהוה—YHWH/Yahweh), and is mentioned roughly 6,900 times in the Hebrew scriptures. It is the most frequently occurring name in the Bible.

Regarding the commandment “You shall love YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 6:5), Rabbi Maimonides explains in:his book Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 2:2 “And what is the way that leads to love of Him and awe of Him? When a person contemplates His great and wondrous works and (living) creatures and from them obtains a glimpse of His wisdom which is incomparable and infinite, he will straightway love Him, praise Him, glorify Him, and long with an exceeding longing to know His great Name; even as David said (Psalms 42:3) “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

The Qur’an contains 99 Arabic names (attributes or character traits) for the multifaceted essence of the one God, but not one of them connects the one God with one people, while one of the dozens of Biblical names for God is ‘The God of the Hebrews’. “But they (Aaron and Moses) said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us,”. “So let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness so we can offer sacrifices to the LORD our God. “ (Exodus 3:18 and 5 other verses in the Book of Exodus in the Torah).

The Hebrew Prophet Malachi (2:5 New International translation) states: “My covenant was with him (Messengers Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David), a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them (the commandments) to him (Banu Israel); this called for reverence and he (Banu Israel) revered me and stood in awe of my name (YHVH for Jews and Allah for Muslims).”

Awe and reverence for the one God are basic for all monotheistic religions. As the Qur’an says: “Hold firmly to what We have given (the Torah) you (Banu Israel) and remember what is in it (the commandments).” (2:63).

In 1956, Shelomo Dov Goitein (1900-1985), a scholar of both Jewish and Arabic studies, wrote that the special name of YHVH derives from the Arabic root h.w.y (هوى), and the word hawaya (هوايا), which means “love, affection, passion, and desire.” Goitein pointed to the passage in Exodus 34:14 which forbids Israel to worship other gods: “For you must not worship any other god, because YHWH, whose name is Impassioned, is an impassioned God.”

Goitein thinks that “YHWH whose name is Impassioned” refers to the deity’s personal name YHWH, which means “the Impassioned One,” and that this name derives from a proto- Arabic term for passion. This reflects the idea that YHWH’s bond with his worshipers is interactive ongoing passionate love, and YHWH is upset if some of his worshipers “cheat” by worshipping other gods.