Tetragrammaton

July 2, 2009

[teh’-truh-gram‘-uh-tawn’]

(Greek tetra-, “four” + Greek gramma, “letter”)

Refers to the four Hebrew letters that make up the personal name of God (Yod-Hay-Vav-Hay, equivalent to English Y-H-W-H) as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14-15. It is found nearly 7,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is often rendered, “I AM WHO I AM“ or ” I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE,“ and comes from the Hebrew verb which means “to be.” It is from these four letters that the name of God has been transliterated “Jehovah” or “Yahweh.” Through the years the Jewish people, to whom the name of God was first revealed, developed the tradition of not pronouncing the tetragrammaton out of their awe and respect for God, and in order to honor the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain. Often pronounced in its place are “Adonai” or “HaShem.” When the tetragrammaton is translated in our English Bibles, it usually appears as “LORD.”

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