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The lexicon
All 32 entries in order of section: the name itself, the ten compound names, the name in Scripture, its history in English, and the common questions.
What the four Hebrew letters mean, how they became Jehovah, Yahweh and LORD in English, and how the name is said.
- JehovahExodus 3:13
- What does the name Jehovah mean?
The name is built on the Hebrew verb ‘to be’, given to Moses at the burning bush and printed as Jehovah throughout the ASV. What the name says about who God is. - 8 refs
- Four forms of the Name (YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah, LORD)Psalm 83:18
- YHWH, Yahweh, Jehovah, LORD: the four forms explained
Four spellings, one name. What the consonants YHWH are, where Yahweh and Jehovah come from, and why most English Bibles print LORD in small capitals instead. - 4 refs
- Exodus 3:14 and 6:3Exodus 3:14
- Exodus 3:14 and Exodus 6:3: how the name was revealed
At the bush God said I AM and gave his name; in Exodus 6 he said the patriarchs had not known it. How the two passages fit, and what the exodus added to the name. - 8 refs
- Pronunciation of the NameExodus 3:15
- How to pronounce Jehovah, and why no one is certain
Jehovah is said jih-HOH-vuh and Yahweh YAH-weh, but the ancient sound of the four letters was never recorded. How the vowels were lost, and what we know. - 4 refs
- LORD (small capitals)Psalm 110:1
- Why most English Bibles print LORD in small capitals
LORD in small capitals stands for the name YHWH; Lord in ordinary type is the title Adonai. Where the convention came from, and why the ASV broke with it. - 4 refs
- Saying the NameExodus 20:7
- Is it wrong to say Jehovah?
No. The third commandment forbids misusing the name, not using it, and the Psalms call us to praise it. Why Jewish custom kept silence, and how to say it well. - 6 refs
The ten phrases in which the name is joined to a word for what God does: provides, heals, sanctifies, is present.
- Jehovah-JirehGenesis 22:8
- Jehovah-Jireh: the Lord will provide (Genesis 22)
Jehovah-Jireh is the name Abraham gave Mount Moriah after God provided the ram. What jireh means, why it is a place name, and how it points to Christ. - 6 refs
- Jehovah-RaphaExodus 15:23
- Jehovah-Rapha: the Lord who heals (Exodus 15)
Jehovah-Rapha comes from Exodus 15:26, “I am Jehovah that healeth thee”. What rapha means, what God promised at Marah, and why prayer and medicine go together. - 9 refs
- Jehovah-NissiExodus 17:11
- Jehovah-Nissi: the Lord is my banner (Exodus 17)
Jehovah-Nissi is the name Moses gave his altar after the victory over Amalek at Rephidim. What nes, a banner, meant and how the ensign points to Christ. - 7 refs
- Jehovah-ShalomJudges 6:12
- Jehovah-Shalom: the Lord is peace (Judges 6)
Jehovah-Shalom is the name Gideon gave his altar at Ophrah after the angel of Jehovah said “Peace be unto thee”. What shalom means and the peace Christ gives. - 9 refs
- Jehovah-TsidkenuJeremiah 23:5
- Jehovah-Tsidkenu: the Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu is Jeremiah’s name for the righteous Branch of David. What tsedeq means, why Jerusalem shares the name, and how Christ bears it. - 7 refs
- Jehovah-ShammahEzekiel 48:35
- Jehovah-Shammah: the Lord is there (Ezekiel 48)
Jehovah-Shammah, “the Lord is there”, is the name Ezekiel gives the city in his final vision. What it meant to exiles, and how it points to God with us. - 6 refs
- Jehovah-RohiPsalm 23:1
- Jehovah-Rohi: the Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23)
Jehovah-Rohi comes from the opening words of Psalm 23, “Jehovah is my shepherd”. What the Hebrew says, how Ezekiel and Jesus take it up, and how to live by it. - 8 refs
- Jehovah-Sabaoth1 Samuel 1:3
- Jehovah-Sabaoth: the Lord of hosts (1 Samuel 1)
Jehovah-Sabaoth, “the Lord of hosts”, first appears in the story of Hannah. What the hosts are, why the prophets loved it, and why Paul and James kept it. - 7 refs
- Jehovah-MekoddishkemExodus 31:12
- Jehovah-Mekoddishkem: the Lord who sanctifies you (Exodus 31)
Jehovah-Mekoddishkem, “the Lord who sanctifies you”, comes from Exodus 31 and Leviticus. What sanctify means, the sabbath as its sign, and holiness in Christ. - 8 refs
- Jehovah-ElyonPsalm 7:17
- Jehovah-Elyon: the Lord Most High (Psalm 7)
Jehovah-Elyon, “the Lord Most High”, closes Psalm 7 and echoes Melchizedek’s blessing of Abram. What Elyon means, and why Jesus is called Son of the Most High. - 8 refs
The seven places the King James prints it, the Psalms in the American Standard Version, and what the New Testament does with the name.
- Seven KJV occurrencesGenesis 22:14
- The seven places where the King James Version prints Jehovah
The KJV usually prints LORD, but in seven verses it prints the name itself. The seven places, what each says, and why the translators let the name stand there. - 7 refs
- Psalm 83:18Psalm 83:18
- Psalm 83:18: 'whose name alone is Jehovah'
Psalm 83:18 closes Asaph’s prayer in a time of danger. What the verse says in three translations, what it asks for the nations, and why it is so often quoted. - 8 refs
- Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4Isaiah 12:1
- Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4: the doubled name
In Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4 the Hebrew sets the short name Yah beside the full name. How KJV and ASV render the doubled name, and why both are songs of trust. - 8 refs
- Psalms (ASV)Psalm 8:1
- The name Jehovah in the Psalms (American Standard Version)
The ASV prints Jehovah wherever the Hebrew has the name, so its Psalter reads unlike the KJV. How the name sounds in the Psalms, with a reading guide. - 10 refs
- I AM (John 8:58)John 8:58
- Jesus and the divine name: 'before Abraham was born, I am'
In John 8:58 Jesus said “before Abraham was born, I am”. How the words echo the name given at the bush, why the crowd took up stones, and what the church holds. - 8 refs
- Kyrios (New Testament)Joel 2:32
- The name in the New Testament: what Kyrios carries
The New Testament writes Kyrios, Lord, where the Old Testament has the name, then applies Jehovah texts to Jesus. What that shows about who he is. - 11 refs
How the name was guarded in Jewish tradition, how the English word was formed, and how it entered hymns and the 1901 revision.
- Jehovah in English (history)Exodus 6:3
- How the word Jehovah entered English
Jehovah entered English through Tyndale’s 1530 Pentateuch, from a medieval reading of YHWH with Adonai’s vowels. How it spread and why LORD returned. - 3 refs
- TetragrammatonExodus 3:15
- The Tetragrammaton in Jewish tradition
The four Hebrew letters of God’s name and why Jewish readers say Adonai or HaShem: the Temple, the high priest, the Septuagint and the Masoretes. - 6 refs
- HymnsColossians 3:16
- The name Jehovah in the hymns of the church
Why hymn writers loved the name Jehovah, from Watts and Williams to Olivers, Cowper and M’Cheyne, and the Scripture behind the hymns that carry it. - 6 refs
- American Standard Version (1901)Genesis 2:4
- The name in the American Standard Version of 1901
The American Standard Version of 1901 prints Jehovah wherever the Hebrew has the name. Why its revisers chose it, how it differed from 1885, and what followed. - 5 refs
The questions people bring when they search this name, answered from Scripture and from a mainstream Christian position.
- Jesus and JehovahDeuteronomy 6:4
- Is Jehovah the same as Jesus? The Trinity explained plainly
Jesus is not the Father, yet he is fully God and shares the one divine name. How the Trinity answers the question, with the Scriptures that shape it. - 7 refs
- Jehovah's Witnesses (relation to this site)Isaiah 44:6
- Is this site connected to Jehovah's Witnesses?
No. This lexicon is independent of the Watch Tower Society. Who the Witnesses are, what they teach about the name, and where mainstream Christians differ. - 6 refs
- New Testament and the NameIsaiah 40:3
- Did the New Testament originally contain the name Jehovah?
No surviving Greek manuscript of the New Testament contains the divine name. What the evidence shows, why Kyrios was used, and what the apostles did with it. - 6 refs
- Jehovah or YahwehExodus 3:15
- Is God's name Jehovah or Yahweh?
Both are English attempts at the four Hebrew letters YHWH. Why Yahweh is the likelier ancient sound, why Jehovah endures, and why neither is wrong to use. - 5 refs
- Why God has a nameExodus 3:15
- Why does God have a name at all?
A name makes it possible to know, trust and call upon someone. Why the God of the Bible gave his name, what it reveals, and how Jesus made it known. - 6 refs
- Praying with the NamePsalm 116:1-4
- Can I pray using the name Jehovah?
Yes. The Psalms pray by the name, and Jesus taught us to call God Father. How Jehovah, Yahweh, LORD and Father all fit, and why reverence matters most. - 6 refs