The nations shall know that I am . . . יְהוָֹה Yehovah
And I make My holy name known among My people Israel, and no longer pollute My holy name. The nations will know that I, Yehovah, the Holy One, am in Israel.
YEHEZQĔL (EZEKIEL) 39:7
“And I shall make My set-apart Name known in the midst of My people Yisra’ĕl, and not let My set-apart Name be profaned any more. And the nations shall know that I am יהוה, the Set-apart One in Yisra’ĕl.
YHVH. How do we pronounce it to obey God’s command to use His name?
Evidence:
The four Hebrew consonants, Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey, known as the tetragrammaton, appear in ancient manuscripts without vowels, as ancient Hebrew used only consonants.
Vowel sounds, essential for pronunciation, were added later through markings.
The key question is: which vowels should be used to pronounce the Name?
All names for the Father are proposed. Since no one alive today was there when YHVH told Moshe His name, we didn't hear the vowel sounds. Exodus 3:14. But we can be assured that Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey is His name. Mentioned 6825 times in the Tanakh.
Options include:
Yehovah - Proposed name with thousands of Hebrew documents to back it. Research by Bible Scholar Dr. Nehemia Gordon.
Yehowah differs by consonant sound, not a vowel point. That’s a separate discussion.
Yehuah - Used by some, this name is proposed to come from the similar name Yehuda.
Yahuah - This proposed name is used and created by the Christian Hebrew Roots movement, and the writers of the Cepher Bible, but this name is not supported by any ancient Hebrew texts.
Yahweh - This proposed name was used and created by Gilbert Genebrard, a Christian author, in 1699. In modern times, the name is used by the Assemblies of Yahweh Christian Church.
Some believe the vowels from “Adonai” were inserted into the tetragrammaton, but these do not match any commonly proposed pronunciation of His name.
Some History:
Galatanus, a Christian author in 1518, introduced “Yehovah.” He knew Jewish sources read the tetragrammaton as “Adonai,” a substitution made due to a ban on speaking the name, not because of vowel substitution.
On January 21, 2018, Bible Scholar Dr. Nehemia Gordon and his team of researchers discovered the 1,000th Hebrew Bible manuscript containing the original name of God in Hebrew with vowels. For two hundred years, scholars have believed based on Greek sources and conjecture that the Hebrew name of God was originally pronounced “Yahweh.” In late 2016, Gordon found never-translated traditional Jewish sources that explicitly identified the vowels of God’s name in Hebrew as “Yehovah.”
The idea that vowels from Adonai explain YHVH’s pronunciation is unsupported by historical evidence.
Gilbert Genebrard, a Christian author in 1699, introduced the pronunciation as “Yahweh.” Jews didn’t pronounce the name, but the Samaritans (non-Jewish people) pronounced it as “Yahweh.” Genebrard decided that the name of YHVH should mean “creator.” Based on theology (his beliefs), he chose the pronunciation of “Yahveh” (or Yahweh in English) simply because of Theodorus, and it fit his own desire to call YHVH/god the creator. Yahveh means “he that causes to be,” which does mean YHVH creates. However, notice this is not an unbiased look at evidence in ancient sources. It is almost more of a biased opinion that went looking for validation and found it in an early church father’s writings.
Despite this consensus, there is no Bible manuscript or ancient source that offers “Yahveh” or “Yahweh” as a supported pronunciation by the actual vowels found in the texts.
Many rabbinical sources indicate that the vowels sheva, holam, and kamatz (short e, long o, short a) are used for God’s name, resulting in the pronunciation “Yehovah,” accented on the third syllable. These sources often point to the same vowel pattern as the Hebrew word “leolam” (“forever”) in Exodus 3:15, building on ancient Jewish linguistic analysis rather than modern Christian theories.
The Hebrew word “leolam,” found in Exodus 3:15 and meaning “forever,” shares the same vowels—sheva, holam, kamatz (e, o, a)—as those found in over 1000 ancient manuscripts containing YHVH vowel markings, all pronounced “Yehovah.”In the Leningrad Codex, the oldest complete Hebrew Scriptures, YHVH (יהוה) first appears with all three vowels (e, o, a) in Genesis 3:14.
The Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete Hebrew Bible manuscript (Masoretic Text, Tiberian vocalization), made in Cairo in 1008 CE.
Examining both sides over the years, I find that all uncontested theophoric names in the Bible start with “Yeho” (e.g., Yehoshua, Yehoshophat, Yehochanon), and scholars universally agree on this pronunciation for these names. This observed consistency strengthens the case for “Yeho-” as the best-supported vocalization for the divine name prefix.
Without a Hebrew degree, I question: who is the 'theo' in those theophoric names? It's the “Yeho” part, and there should be no disagreement. Yet, when I ask scholars this, I get no response.
This preserved evidence in the Bible is accessible to everyone. No PhD or exhaustive research is required. Relying on agreed vowel sounds in theophoric names and logical reasoning suffices. Isn’t "easy" what was promised to us? (“My yoke is easy, my burden is light,” Matt 11:30.) Our Elohim has preserved His name and its pronunciation for us so we can obey His instruction to use it. He did so in a way that all scholars could accept if they abandoned their agendas.
By Rabbi HaTzair M. Francisco Arbas