In the Hebrew Bible, God’s personal name is four Hebrew letters, written YHWH in English letters. It stands in the Hebrew Bible about 6,800 times. The King James Version and the 1917 Jewish Publication Society Tanakh print LORD or GOD in its place. The American Standard Version prints Jehovah. The Bible also uses many titles for God.
Pick a part below, or start at Part I.
YHWH is a personal name. Psalm 83:18: “thou alone, whose name is Jehovah”.
God, Lord, King, Rock and Shepherd are titles. Part VI shows 55 titles and related terms, each with its cards.
LORD and GOD in capitals in the King James mean the Hebrew has the name. Part IV shows how to read them.
Source: Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah (Yesodei haTorah) 6:2.
A title can be used of many. Psalm 83:18 speaks of the name this way.
That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth.
“thou alone, whose name is Jehovah”. Card 5 is the name. Card 6 is “alone.” Card 7 is Elyon, “Most High,” a title.
Open Psalm 83:18Moses asks God his name. God answers about himself first.
And God said unto Moses, I am that I am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you.
Cards 5, 6 and 7 are “I am that I am”. Card 13 is “I am” again.
Open Exodus 3:14God gives the name, and says it is his name for ever.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Card 11 is the name. Card 23 is “is my name”. Card 24 is “for ever”.
Open Exodus 3:15God sets a title beside the name.
and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them.
Cards 8 and 9 are the title “God Almighty”. Card 11 is “my name Jehovah”.
Open Exodus 6:3God comes down in the cloud and proclaims his name.
And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.
Verse 5: “proclaimed the name of Jehovah”. Card 9 is the name.
Open Exodus 34:5And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth;
Verse 6: cards 2, 6 and 7 are the name. Card 8 is El, “God,” a title. The King James reads “goodness” where the ASV reads “lovingkindness.”
Open Exodus 34:6keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
Verse 7 goes on: “keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin”.
Open Exodus 34:7The Hebrew has God’s name, YHWH. It also has the title Adonai, “Lord.” They are two different words, spelled differently.
Where the name is written, readers said Adonai. Where Adonai and the name stand side by side, they said Elohim, “God,” for the name.
It follows what readers said. The name is printed LORD, in capitals. Next to Adonai, the name is printed GOD, in capitals. Adonai is printed Lord.
Jehovah for the name, every time. Lord for Adonai. So the capitals are not needed.
| The Hebrew has | Readers said | King James prints | ASV prints | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God’s name | Adonai | LORD | Jehovah | Genesis 2:4, card 8 |
| God’s name, next to Adonai | Elohim | GOD | Jehovah | Genesis 15:2, card 4 |
| Adonai, a title of God | Adonai | Lord | Lord | Isaiah 6:1, card 7 |
| Adon, “lord,” said of a man | as written | lord | lord | Genesis 18:12, card 10 |
Capitals all the way through mean the Hebrew has the name. A capital L only means the title.
A Psalm of David. Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
“Jehovah saith unto my Lord”. Card 4 is the name. Card 5 is “my lord.” King James: “The LORD said unto my Lord.”
Open Psalm 110:1O Jehovah, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth, Who hast set thy glory upon the heavens!
“O Jehovah, our Lord”. Card 1 is the name. Card 2 is “our Lord.” King James: “O LORD our Lord.”
Open Psalm 8:1And Abram said, O Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?
“O Lord Jehovah”. Card 3 is Adonai. Card 4 is the name. King James: “Lord GOD.”
Open Genesis 15:2In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
“I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne”. Card 7 is Adonai with no name beside it. King James: “the Lord.”
Open Isaiah 6:1Sources: The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), “Adonai”; Catholic Encyclopedia (1910), “Jehovah (Yahweh)”; Preface to the American Standard Version (1901).
And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, Jehovah be with you. And they answered him, Jehovah bless thee.
Boaz greets the reapers with the name, and they answer with it. Cards 8 and 13.
Open Ruth 2:4The Mishnah says that in the Temple the priests blessed the people with the name as it is written. Outside the Temple they used a substitute word.
The Mishnah says that when the priests and the people in the Temple court heard the high priest say the name, they knelt, bowed down and fell on their faces.
The Romans destroy the Temple.
The Mishnah is written down. In it, Abba Shaul says that anyone who says the name by its letters has no share in the world to come.
The Babylonian Talmud says: “Not as I am written am I read.” It also gives a reason from Exodus 3:15. There, “for ever” is le’olam. Written without one letter, the same word can be read le’alem, “to hide.” The Talmud reads this as a reason to keep the name hidden.
Sources: Mishnah, Sotah 7:6, Yoma 6:2 and Sanhedrin 10:1; Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 50a.
Sources: Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, edited by E. Kautzsch, translated by A. E. Cowley (1910), section 17c; The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906), “Adonai.”
The words for God and Lord on almost every page.
“God,” with one word after it. Each pair is two cards side by side.
In each verse the words stand with “is his name” or “whose name is”, or the verse says “shall he be called”.
Each verse gives a place, an altar or a city a name with God in it.
Each verse gives a name to a child who is born, a king, or a man called the Branch. Read each verse and the verses around it.
Each verse gives Jesus a name, or says what he shall be called.
Titles that name an action. In each verse, God says it of himself, or someone says it of him.
The same words are also used of people and things. Each verse below uses the word of God.
The Greek usually has kurios, “Lord.” Not always.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.
Card 6 is the name.
Open Joel 2:32for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Paul quotes Joel 2:32. Card 8 is kurios, “Lord.”
Open Romans 10:13And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.
Card 2 is the name, with the small word “in.”
Open Genesis 15:6For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
Paul quotes Genesis 15:6. Card 10 is theos, “God,” not kurios. Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23 quote the same verse.
Open Romans 4:3After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God:
Card 13 is “Hallelujah”. Its last part is Yah, a short form of the name. It appears in Revelation 19:1, 3, 4 and 6. See Hebrew & Aramaic in the New Testament.
Open Revelation 19:1Tap card 3. It is Elohim, “God,” a title.
Open Genesis 1:1Elohim is in Genesis 1 thirty-two times. No card in the chapter shows YHWH.
Open Genesis 1Tap card 8. It shows YHWH and Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh. Card 9 is Elohim.
Open Genesis 2:4The ASV reads “Jehovah God.” The King James reads “the LORD God.” Genesis 2 has 11 cards for the name.
Open Genesis 2