Tetragrammaton

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The Tetragrammaton (Greek: τετραγράμματον word with four letters) is the Hebrew name for God, which is spelled (in Hebrew); י (yod) ה (heh) ו (waw) ה (heh) or יהוה (YHWH), it is the distinctive personal name of the God of Israel.

Of all the names of God in the Old Testament, that which occurs most frequently is the Tetragrammaton, appearing 6,823 times according to the JewishEncyclopedia.com (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=52&letter=N). According to Biblica Hebraica and Biblica Hebraica Stuttgartensia, the original texts of the Hebrew Scriptures, written in both Hebrew and Aramaic, contain the Tetragrammaton 6,828 times. It is evident that the Tetragrammaton was used very extensively in original language, ancient Hebrew and Aramaic texts. This indicates a much more personal reference to the special identity of the Almighty (as opposed to impersonal titles such as "God" or "Lord"), on the part of the Bible writers. Many Bible scholars view this as evidence that the Bible writers (and indeed, likely the ancient Hebrew and Israelite people) viewed the Name represented by the Tetragrammaton as very important, and commonly used it in their everyday speech and prayers. And, for those that believe the Bible was inspired by God, it shows how he felt about his own personal name.

In Judaism, the Tetragrammaton is the ineffable name of God, and is not pronounced. In reading aloud of the scripture or in prayer, it is replaced with "Adonai" ("my Lord").

One theory regarding the Tetragammaton is that the Jewish taboo on its pronunciation was so strong that the original pronunciation may have been lost somewhere in the first millennium. Since then, many scholars (particularly Christians) have sought to reconstruct its original pronunciation.

Table of contents

1 Meaning

2 Jewish use of the word

3 External links

4 References

Meaning

According to one Jewish tradition, the Tetragrammaton is related to the causative form, the imperfect state, of the Hebrew verb הוה (ha·wah; become); meaning "He will cause to become" usually understood as "He causes to become". Compare the many Hebrew and Arabic personal names which are 3rd person singular imperfective verb forms starting with "y", e.g. Hebrew Yôsêph = Arabic Yazîd = "He [who] adds"; Arabic Yahyâ = "He [who] lives".

Another tradition regards the name as coming from three different verb forms sharing the same root YWH, the words HYH haya [היה]: "He was"; HWH howê [הוה]: "He is"; and YHYH w'yihiyê [יהיה]: "He will be". This is supposed to show that God is timeless. Other interpretations includes the name as meaning "I am the One Who Is." This can be seen in the traditional Jewish account of the "burning bush" commanding Moses to tell the sons of Israel that "I AM has sent you." (Exodus 3:13-14) Some suggest: "I AM the One I AM." This may also fit the interpretation as "He Causes to Become." Many scholars believe that the most proper meaning may be "He Brings Into Existence Whatever Exists."

Jewish use of the word

In Judaism, pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton is a taboo; it is widely considered forbidden to utter it and the pronunciation of the name is generally avoided. As noted above, "Adonai" is used as a substitute in prayers or readings from the Hebrew Bible.

According to Rabbinic tradition, the name was pronounced by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, the only day when the Holy of Holies of the Temple would be entered. With the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 EV, this use also vanished, also explaining the "loss" of the correct pronunciation.

The name Adonai (The Lord) has come to be so connected with the Tetragrammaton that even this word has restrictions among pious Jews. It is only used in prayer and Bible readings, or instructions of those subjects. When many religious Jews refer to the name of God in conversation or in a non-textual context such as in a book, newspaper or letter, they call the name Hashem which means simply "The Name".

Thus, except for a small number of Kabbalists and Karaite Jews, no one claims to know with absolute certainty just how it was pronounced — the only generally accepted fact is that the last Heh in YHWH is silent. In the end, it is impossible to state definitively how it was pronounced.

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08329a.htm)
Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies (http://www.riifs.org)
Easton's Bible Dictionary (http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/easton/east2017.htm)
Nazarenes and the Name of YHWH (http://www.nazarene.net/_halacha/Nazarenes_and_the_name.html), an article by James Trimm
The Rise of God (http://www.eblaforum.org/library/bcah/intbibarch05.html)

References

Wikipedia. (2005) Tetragrammaton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton). Retrieved Feb. 26, 2005.

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