There is, strictly speaking, only one True Name of Elohim (God), as represented by the Tetragrammaton (see picture above in ancient Paleo- and modern square Hebrew) corresponding to the English letters YHWH. The almost universal concensus is that its proper pronunciation is YAHWEH or YAH^uWEH (YAH'WEH) [1]. All other 'names' are, in fact, titles. The Name Yahweh is third person singular imperfect of the verb 'to be', signifying that HE IS. This is the most common form to be found throughout the Bible. However, Yahweh also represents Himself in the first person as Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh or simply EHYEH:

"Then Moses said to Elohim (God), 'Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The Elohim (God) of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His Name?' what shall I say to them?" And Elohim (God) said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM' (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [2]). And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM (EHYEH) has sent me to you''" (Ex.3:13-14, NKJV).

But then He goes on to say:

"Moreover Elohim (God) said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'YAHWEH-ELOHIM (the LORD God) of your fathers, Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak and Elohei Ya`aqov (the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob), has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations'" (v.15, NKJV).

Some mistakenly believe that the verb hayah ('to be') is a name of Elohim (God) and so refer to Him but nowhere does Elohim (God) say He is to be known by this impersonal undeclined verb - He is to be known as the the first- or third-person of it only. You don't name people after verbs, and the Creator is no exception. Indeed, this is more reminiscent of Shakespeare's famous soliloquy in Hamlet, 'To be, or not to be!' meaning 'Do I commit suicide or don't I?' In Yah'shua's (Jesus') 13 famous "I am" statements about Himself it clear makes no sense to use the infinitive:

"To be the Way, the Truth and the Life" as opposed to "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (Jn.15:5)

Elohim (God) is therefore completely independent or any force, power or entity in the Creation.

The corrupting influence of the Masoretes, whose transmission of the Tanakh (Old Testament) forms the basis of nearly every single English translation, not only changed 'Yahweh' numerous times into a Greek loan word Adonai (Lord, Master - it was used of the Phoenician god Tammuz and derives from the pagan god 'Adonis' much as our English word 'god' comes from the pagan deity Gawhd, Ghohd or Gad, like 'lord', a Roman house deity also used of kings who were viewed as divine) but when they pointed the Tetragrammaton so mutilated it by combining it with the vowels of Adonai that it became not only the bastard , but also blasphemous and obscene, word 'Yehovah' ('Jehovah' in Anglicised from) which literally mens 'Y*h is PERVERSE'.

To be fair to the Masoretes, however, it has been plausibly suggested that the vowel-pointing from Adonai added to the consonants YHWH was simply to remind the reader to say 'Adonai', the intent never being to combine the two words together, the combination being therefore unfortunate. Either way, Yahweh's Name should never have been changed nor the vocalisation added, yielding such an abominable name. It is for these reasons that this ministry adamantly refuses to recognise this vile name as having anything to do with the Most High. If anything, its origin is from the pit, whether deliberate or 'accidental'.

Because we are commanded in Scripture not to use the names of demons it therefore behoves us to stick with the True Names. To use demonic names in prayer is to risk invoking demons, even though Yahweh is merciful and shows grace in the days of our ignorance. It is our responsibility, therefore, to make the effort to use the Names that He Himself has authorised in Exodus 3:13-15:

To use these is to obey the Third Commandment and to use other names is to transgress it:

"You shall not take the name of Yahweh your Elohim (God) in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain" (Ex.20:7, NKJV).

Non-messianic Bibles render Yahweh as 'Lord' and Jewish (and one or two Messianic) ones as 'Adonai' but neither of these are proper names - they are titles, and pagan-demonic ones at that. Yah'shua (Jesus) said, quoting the Tanakh (Old Testament):

"Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship Yahweh your Elohim (God), and Him only you shall serve'" (Matt.4:10, NKJV).

Finally, I want you to note that in the Hebrew parchment from about 50 BC (above) that while the main text uses the modern block letters (invented by the Pharisees and others) that the Divine Name YHWH is written in the older paleo-Hebrew script [3] (underlined red) and not the modern one. We should therefore view the square Hebrew letters, pretty though they are, in much the same way as we view the Roman or Cyrillic script as later human inventions but lacking in any peculiar 'inspiration'. Their shapes reveal nothing of use to us.

There are nine combinations of the Tetragrammaton with titles in Scripture:

• 1. YHWH-Elohim — 'Yahweh-God' (over 500 times)
• 2. YHWH-Yireh — 'Yahweh will provide' (Gen.22:13–14);
• 3. YHWH-Rapha — 'Yahweh who heals' (Ex.5:26);
• 4. YHWH-Nissi — 'Yahweh our Banner' (Ex.17:8–15);
• 5. YHWH-Shalom — 'Yahweh our Peace' (Judg.6:24);
• 6. YHWH-Ro'i — 'Yahweh my Shepherd';
• 7. YHWH-Tsidkenu — 'Yahweh our Righteousness' (Jer.23:6);
• 8. YHWH-Shammah — 'Yahweh is present' (Ezek.48:35); and
• 9. YHWH-Tzevaot — 'Yahweh of Hosts/Armies' [4].

There are four principle forms:

• 1. Elohim — 'God(s)' or 'Powers' [5], the most commonly used form, also used in conjunction with famous names:
  • a. Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak and Elohei Ya`aqov — 'God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob';
  • b. Elohei Sara, Elohei Rivka, Elohei Leah and Elohei Rakhel — 'God of Sarah, God of Rebecca, God of Leah, and God of Rachel'
  and the plural of
• 2. El - God (or human Israelite magistrate, as also of malakim/angels), rarely appearing alone but in conjunction with other names and titles, e.g.
  • a. El Elohe Yisrael - 'El the god of Israel' (Gen.33:20); and
  • b. ha'El Elohe abika, 'El the god of your father' (Gen.46:3)
  and in other conjunctions:
  • c. El Elyon - 'Most High El';
  • d. El Shaddai - 'El of Shaddai = Almighty, Mighty, Sufficient' [6];
  • e. El `Olam - 'Everlasting El';
  • f. El Chai - 'Living El';
  • g. El Ro'i - 'El my Shepherd'; and
  • h. El Gibbor - 'El of Strength'
• 3. Elah, Aramaic for 'awesome' (plural Elim), found in Ezra, Daniel, and Jeremiah and used of both the true Elohim and of pagan ones:
  • a. Elah-avahati - 'God of my fathers' (Dan.2:23);
  • b. Elah Elahin - 'God of gods' (Dan.2:47);
  • c. Elah Yerushelem - 'God of Jerusalem' (Ezra 7:19);
  • d. Elah Yisrael - 'God of Israel' (Ezra 5:1); and
  • e. Elah Shemaya - 'God of Heaven' (Ezra 7:23)
• 4. Eloah, the singular feminine of Elohim, found only in biblical poetry (41 times in Job) but also used of heathen deities (2 Chron.32:15; Dan.11:37-38)

A great many titles are used in Judaism and are to be found in the Talmud but not in the Bible and so do not merit examination save to mention a few in passing. These include:

• 1. Shekhinah - supposedly the presence or manifestation of El amongst humanity;
• 2. E'in Sof - a kabbalistic/occultic term meaning 'endness', 'void' or 'infinite;
• 3. Avinu Malkeinu — 'Our Father, our King';
• 4. Magen Avraham — 'Shield of Abraham';
• 5. HaMakom - 'The Omnipresent' (literally, 'The Place')

I have taken what is a very large subject and tried to condense it into a size that gives the reader an overview. I have written other more detailed articles on this subject should the reader wish to take this further. Every ancient Hebrew knew the Divine Name YAHWEH and used it, respectfully, as part of the common vernacular. Only later did those who had turned away from Yahweh start changing Yahweh into 'Adonai' (for worship) and then to 'haShem' [7] (for ordinary conversation) in a display of false piety nowhere called for in the Scriptures. You see the same tendency by both contemporary Jews and Messianics in using the pagan names or titles for Deity with the vowels removed, viz. 'L-rd' (Lord) and 'G-d' (God). By the time of the last days of Temple worship usage of the Name Yahweh had all but disappeared except on Yom Kippur at which time the current Cohen Gadol (High Priest) alone was allowed to use it in the services of that day. Every time the people heard the Name they would prostrate themselves.

Why was all of this so hollow? Because as righteous Stephen reminds us, ever since Sinai, Yahweh's people had served "the host of heaven" - the stars and the planets - and took along with them the "Tabernacle of Moloch" and their star-god "Remphan" (Acts 7:42-43). They had served Yahweh and these demonic entities in an act of forbidden and blasphemous religious syncretism [8]. Right the way throughout their history they have been plagued by three major spirits which Jude (Judah), the brother of Yah'shua (Jesus), summarised in his amazing though very short epistle:

• 1. The Way of Cain;
• 2. The Error of Balaam; and
• 3. The Rebellion of Korah (Jude v.10)

Endnotes

[1] There are those who dispute this and offer different renderings of the Tetragrammaton as Yehovah (modern Hebrew), Yahowah (Tiberian vocalisation), Jehovah (English), Yehweh, Yahveh (modern Hebrew), Yahuwah, and so on, offering complex reasons for their beliefs. This ministry has always accepted the majority position and has yet to find convincing evidence that the pronunciation is otherwise.

[2] The Aramaic Targum Onkelos leaves the Hebrew phrase untranslated, showing that it was regarded as a proper name and not simply a title.

[3] This was the script that the original Tanakh (Old Testament) was written in. Later copies rendered the older script into block letters (created with an occultic agenda in mind), the earliest retaining the Paleo-Hebrew until they, too, were later altered. Those interested in the studying characters or ever earlier pictograms themselves should bear this mind and not look for anything 'divine' in the shape of these letters - see, for example, Hidden Hebrew Alphabet? Exposing a Modern Fanciful Myth. Only the occult-minded kabbalists view the square script as sacred.

[4] Of the ninth, this is the only one that does not appear in the Pentateuch (Torah-proper) but only in the nevi'im or prophetic literature.

[5] See The Elohim Principle

[6] The word has a double meaning, in actual fact, having both a male/father component ('conquerer of shaddim/demons) and a female/mother one (the 'breasted one' or nourisher)

[7] Literally meaning 'The Name'

[8] See Deadly Star: The Mystery of Solomon's Seal Revealed

Further Reading

[1] See the collection of articles, Yahweh: The Name of the True God