The Meaning of Yahweh

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Question
What does the word Yahweh mean?
Answer
The word YHWH in the Hebrew is a four letter word that in the eyes of the Jews was the most holy, and because of that they wouldn't actually say it and so would usually either say the name or would use the word Adonai. And so we don't actually know how to pronounce that word correctly, and so we use the word Yahweh. In terms of its meaning, Yahweh is related to Exodus chapter 3 where God and Moses where Moses meets God in the form of a burning bush and God tells him that he is the I AM, he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that he is the God that's going to lead the Israelites out of captivity. And so, when Jesus in John chapter 8 says that before Abraham was born I am, he uses the same Greek word that corresponds with the Hebrew word, and he is saying that I am that God, that Yahweh God, the second person of the Trinity.

Answer by Rev. Timothy Mountfort

Rev. Timothy Mountfort is Academic Dean at Western China Covenant Theological Seminary.