What is the meaning of YHWH, Elohim, and Jehovah?

[AgnosticBoy]

This is more of a reference thread than a debate one, although debate is welcomed!

I often hear different denominations of Christians and Jews refer to God as YHWH, Elohim, or even Jehovah. I'm curious about any special meaning behind these words as I'm sure they help shed some light on how the biblical writers understood God.


For Discussion:
1. What does YHWH mean? Any special significance to it? (Been reading up on the tetragrammaton).
2. What does Elohim mean? Any special significance to it other than being another name for God?
3. What does Jehovah mean? Anything special about it?

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Don’t call God ‘Yahweh’

John McClean explains why he no longer calls God ‘Yahweh’.

matthiasmedia.com.au

" . . I don’t hear Christians talking about ‘Yahweh’ in their everyday conversations or calling him that in prayer. It isn’t the way Christians actually address God. It never has been. . "

" . . . just say ‘the Lord’: “The Lord loves his people and rescues them”, “The Lord wants his people to worship him with all they are”, etc. Instead of reinforcing the feeling that ‘the Lord’ is a title, which is a bit distant and formal, reclaim it as a term of intimacy—as the name the one true and living God gave his people. This will help to keep the connection between how we speak and pray and what we hear in preaching . . "

— — —

He's kind of arguing, go with the flow. Accept the way people actually do things, even embrace it.

 

[bbyrd009]

Don’t call God ‘Yahweh’

John McClean explains why he no longer calls God ‘Yahweh’.

matthiasmedia.com.au

" . . I don’t hear Christians talking about ‘Yahweh’ in their everyday conversations or calling him that in prayer. It isn’t the way Christians actually address God. It never has been. . "

" . . . just say ‘the Lord’: “The Lord loves his people and rescues them”, “The Lord wants his people to worship him with all they are”, etc. Instead of reinforcing the feeling that ‘the Lord’ is a title, which is a bit distant and formal, reclaim it as a term of intimacy—as the name the one true and living God gave his people. This will help to keep the connection between how we speak and pray and what we hear in preaching . . "

— — —

He's kind of arguing, go with the flow. Accept the way people actually do things, even embrace it.

my personal prob with that is that lord is an english title…does fit tho i guess

 

[AgnosticBoy]

" . . I don’t hear Christians talking about ‘Yahweh’ in their everyday conversations or calling him that in prayer. It isn’t the way Christians actually address God. It never has been. . "

That's true. I didn't even hear about those names (exception of Jehovah) until I started talking about Christianity in forums. Usually people who were into word studies, especially of words in the Old Testament would bring up those labels. Also, plenty of atheists and even believers of Judaism would also bring up those words. Now that I remember, a lot of Jews I encountered refer to Jesus as his Hebrew name, Yeshua. Only one academic I heard speak on the topic kept referring to Jesus as Joshua ben Joseph. Maybe he was trying to show off a bit.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

1. What does YHWH mean?

Based on my research, YHWH is the Hebrew transliteration (no vowels in ancient Hebrew language) for the English words Yahweh or Jehovah. The words mean "I am" which is the name or description that God gave to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

Any special significance to it? (Been reading up on the tetragrammaton).

Found this:

Based on such readings, Yahweh has commonly been interpreted as a statement of God’s self-existence or aseity, terms theologians use to indicate that God had no beginning and does not depend for continued existence on anything other than his own self. The Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck represents this widespread understanding when he states, “God is independent, all-sufficient in himself, and the only
source of all existence and life. Yhwh is the name that describes this essence and identity most clearly. . . . His name is ‘being.'”[1]

Source: https://hebraicthought.org/meaning-...e “The Early History of,to his people in love.

At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered; it was thus replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai (“My Lord”), which was translated as Kyrios (“Lord”) in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yahweh

Personally, I think this is really interesting that a God would name himself as such. I also see some parallels with Buddhism and Hinduism type religions where God is also talked about as the basis for existence or some just say fundamental reality. This "I am" label just makes me think of God as just some unimaginably great being and perhaps that was the reason the ancient Jews used it, or if the story is real, then it just reflects the reality of God.