The Name of Elohim
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“This is My Name Forever, and this is My Memorial to all
Generations.” Shemot - Exodus 3:15. (JPS).
“I am יָהוָה, that is My Name; and My glory will I not give to another”. Yeshayahu – Isaiah 42:8.
(JPS).
Throughout this site I may use any of the following
three versions of the TaNaKh: 1. “Jewish Publication Society” (JPS), 2. “Sefaria.org” (SEF), 3. “Mechon-Mamre.org” (MEC).
Colour coded details of the - TaNaKh: 1. Torah = History &
Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all
other Writings).
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song
of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and
Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Chronicles I & II.
Some
minor alterations have been made relating to Names and Attributes having been
corrected.
YYYYYYY
“The Name of Elohim”
“HaShem” simply means “The Name”.
With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben
Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
“This is My Name Forever, and this is My Memorial to all
Generations.” Shemot - Exodus 3:15. (JPS).
“I am יְהוָה, that is My Name; and My glory will I not give to another”. Yeshayahu – Isaiah 42:8.
(JPS).
Please
Note
1…This page contains the most Holy Name
of the Almighty (YaH).
3…If you print this page, we ask that
you treat the Sanctified Name with the appropriate respect.
“Thus you shall say to the Children of Israel: יְהוָה (Y-H-V-H) Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of Ya’akov, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever, and this is My Memorial to all generations’”.
(1)
… The Significance of Names:
This is not as strange concept as it may seem at first. In English, we often refer to a person’s reputation as his “good name.” When a company is sold, one thing that may be sold is the company’s “good will.” That is, the purchaser will have the right to use the company’s name. The Hebrew concept of a name relates to that thought. An example of this usage occurs in Shemot (Exodus) 3:13-22 Moshe asks the Almighty, what His “name” is. Moshe did not ask, “What should I call you,” rather he was asking, “who are you, what are you like and what have you done.” This is clear from the Almighty’s response. The Almighty replies that He is eternal, that He is the Elohim of our ancestors, that He has seen our affliction and will redeem us from bondage.
Another example of this usage is the concepts of “Chillul Ha SHEM” and “Kiddush Ha SHEM.” An act that causes the us to come into disrespect, or a commandment to be disobeyed, which is referred to as “Chillul Ha-SHEM,” meaning, “Profanation of the Name.” Clearly, we are not talking about a harm done to a word; we are talking about harm to the reputation. Likewise, any deed that increases the respect accorded to Elohim, or the Children of Israel is referred to as “Kiddush Ha-SHEM,” meaning “Sanctification of The Name.”
Because a name represents the reputation of
that which is named, a name should be treated with the same respect as its
reputation. For this reason, Elohim’s Name, in all of their forms, are to
be treated with enormous respect and reverence by all
(2)
… What does the word
“Elohim” really Mean?
2… Then what does the word God and the blessed word Elohim mean? The fact is that the Hebrew word “Elohim” clearly tells us what and who our beloved Creator is, thus it is a word and it is not a name. The truth is that the word “Elohim” is an Attribute of יְהוָה (Y-H-V-H) Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name!
3… Thus “Elohim” is this the correct word to use as the Attribute, for the Almighty? And certainly not that evil pagan word ‘god’.
For those who really know the Tanakh will know
that there were countless pagan gods around in ancient times, including one who
was known as “Gad” also pronounced as “Gaad,”
“Gawd” or “God.” We can read
about this pagan god in Yeshayahu - Isaiah chapter 65, where Elohim warns His
people
“But you are
those who forsake יְהוָה,
who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad
(the Syrio-Babylonian god of fortune), and who furnish a drink offering for Meni
(the god of destiny)” Yeshayahu -
Isaiah 65:11.
Strangely enough the JPS version of the Tanakh translates it more simply.
“But ye that forsake
יְהוָה, that
forget My holy mountain, that prepare a table for Fortune
(in Ivrit - Hebrew it is written as: Gad), and that offer mingled wine in full
measure unto Destiny (again in Ivrit: Meni)” Yeshayahu - Isaiah 65:11 (
But
it is very strange that the name “Gad” or “Fortune” is
suddenly spelled with a capital ‘F’
and “Meni” or “Destiny” with a capital ‘D’.
The words of the prophet Yeshayahu - Isaiah
demonstrate the widespread worship of this false deity whose name was “Gad,” which
The evil name of “Baal-gad” is also mentioned in Yahushua - Joshua 11:17
“Christendom” in
The question arises, why do we Jews as well as christians for that matter use this hideous pagan word “god”, for it is the name of a pagan god? In the Tanakh, the attribute of our Heavenly Father, blessed be He, is mostly “El” or “Elohim,” thus, we should ONLY use this word, being the attribute that distinguishes our Elohim, the Creator of the Heaven and the Earth from all those pagan gawd’s and gods of the world!
However, for some strange reason priests and rabbis of old who sadly had lost the plot, just like in the days of Yirmyahu - Jeremiah decided that “Gad” would be a name and indeed it was, but it was just not the name of our Elohim, the Almighty, and because of their error all of Judaism is using a pagan name along with every other faith, and that is evil. These evil ones feel that we should be showing respect for our Elohim, and thus they revere this pagan god thus they even have forced most of us write it as G-d, but I am sorry it still remains the name of a filthy pagan god!
It is said that no one knows the true
pronunciation of Elohim’s blessed Name, and I AM SORRY THAT IS COMPLETLY UNTRUE, this rabbi knows it, for His Memorial Name, blessed be His
Sanctified Name, was never meant to be difficult! Many of our Nevi’im were named with part of Elohim’s blessed Name, for
example Yeshayahu - Isaiah translates as “Yah is salvation”.
Yirmyahu - Jeremiah translates as
“My Uplift is יְהוָה - Yah”,
and the list just goes on! We know that “Yah” is the Name of Elohim
as it is used countless times in the Tanakh. We know that it is the first part
of the Sanctified Name, and that is very simple indeed, and it is glorious and
so beautiful, making the Name of יְהוָה Elohim blessed be His Sanctified Name, so special and
very beautiful!
(3)
… The Name of Elohim
“And Elohim said moreover unto Moshe: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: יְהוָה, the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of Ya’akov, hath sent me unto you; this is My Name forever - יְהוָה, and this is My memorial unto all generations” Shemot - Exodus 3:15.
The Ivrit word לְעֹלָם - “Le’olam” is “Forever”
The rabbis have said that the Name had to be
concealed on the basis that the word “forever,” which in Ivrit
(Hebrew) is “le’olam” they say is
written defective, for they claim that it is written without the letter
“Vav” - 
.
Does this argument stand up against the other writings in the Tanakh? No
it certainly does not. The following verses are just a few examples, where the
word לְעֹלָם - “le’olam” does not have the letter
“Vav,” between the letter ayin 
and the lamed - 
yet it
clearly means “forever” - “eternal”.
“Remember Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yisroel, Thy servants, to whom Thou didst swear by thine own self, and saidst unto them: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever - (Heb: Le’olam - לְעֹלָם)” Shemot - Exodus 32:13 (JPS).
“For I lift My hand to heaven, and say, ‘As I live forever - (Heb: Le’olam - לְעֹלָם)’” Davarim - Deuteronomy 32:40 (JPS).
“He shall build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (Heb: le’olam).” 2 Shmuel - 2 Samuel 7:13.
“But Thou, O יְהוָה (Y-H-V-H), art on high for evermore - (Heb: Le’olam - לְעֹלָם)” Tehillim - Psalms 92:8
“This
is My Name forever” (Shemot - Exodus 3:15), means exactly what it
says “FOREVER - Eternally!” How do we know this?
Check the next statement by the Almighty, “this is My
remembrance (Heb: zichri/zecher) from generation
to generation.” As the Torah says that we are to “remember (the Name) … from generation to generation.”
“Ye shall observe to do therefore as יְהוָה your Elohim hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the way which יְהוָה your Elohim hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess” Davarim - Deuteronomy 5:28-29 - JPS. (verses 32-33 in other non Jewish editions).
It could well be asked, due to men, be they priests or rabbis. having made massive changes to the most sacred word of Elohim, His Torah, and it did not go well with us, in addition we were scattered to the four corners of the earth due to them changing His Torah, and later by almost hiding the genuine Torah Mitzvah’s with thousands of man-made laws which have no value whatsoever, just the folly of overzealous men.
The most important of Elohim’s Names is the four-letter Name יְהוָה represented by the Hebrew letters Yod - Heh - Vav - Heh (Y-H-V-H). It is often referred to as the ineffable Name, the unutterable Name, or the distinctive Name. Linguistically, it is related to the Hebrew root Heh-Yod-Heh (to be), and reflects the fact that Elohim’s existence is eternal.
In the Tanakh, this Name is used when discussing Elohim’s relation with human beings, and when emphasizing His qualities of loving-kindness and mercy. It is frequently shortened to “Yah” יָה, or “Yahu”, etc, especially when used in combination with names or phrases, as in “Yahoshua”, being the Hebrew for “Joshua”. His name means. “YaH - יָה is my Salvation,” Eliyahu, Elijah, means “my Elohim is YaH - יָה, and HalleluYah is “praise YaH - יָה.”
Interestingly the Hebrew number 15, which in
Hebrew is based on the Alphabet and Aleph = 1. Beth = 2, etc, but 15 is written
officially as “Yud-Heh” (being 10 and 5 =
15), however ultra orthodox Jews write it as “Tet-Vav” (9 + 6 =
15), because Yud-Heh is part of the Holy
Name of Elohim (Yah - 
), blessed be His Sanctified Name.
The first title (attribute) used for the Almighty in the Torah is “Elohim.” In form, the word is a masculine plural of a word that looks feminine in the singular “Eloha.” The same word is used to refer to princes, judges, other gods, and powerful beings. This title is used in Scripture when emphasizing Elohim’s might, His creative power, and His attributes of justice, and rule. Variations on this attribute includes El, Eloha, Elochai (my Elohim) and Elohenu (our Elohim).
Elohim is also known as “
Another significant title of Elohim is “יְהוָה - Y-H-V-H Tzva’ot.”
This Name and title is normally translated as “LORD of Hosts.” The
word “
Writing
the Name of Elohim
We should understand the priests and the rabbis of old never prohibited the writing or using the Name of יְהוָה Elohim per se; it prohibits the erasing or defacing the Name of Elohim. However, observant Jews avoid writing any Name of Elohim casually because of the risk that the written Name might later be defaced, obliterated, or destroyed accidentally, or by one who does not know better.
The commandment not to erase or deface the
name of Elohim comes from Davarim - Deuteronomy
12:3. In that passage, the people are commanded that when they enter the
“Promised Land,” they must destroy all things related to the
idolatrous religions of that region, and should utterly destroy the names of
the local deities. Immediately afterwards,
It is worth noting that this prohibition against erasing or defacing Names of Elohim applies only to Names that are written in some kind of permanent form, and recent rabbinical decisions have held that writing on a computer is not a permanent form, thus it is not a violation to type Elohim’s Name into a computer, and then backspace over it, or cut and paste it, or copy and delete files with Elohim’s Name in them. However, once you print the document out, it becomes a permanent form. This is why we avoid writing a Name of Elohim on web sites, but on this case it is being used on this site to teach fellow Jews that Elohim, blessed be He has a Name and we should know what it is! For other purposes it should not be used as there is a risk that someone else will print it out and deface it.
Thus please do not print out this precious page, even though the full Name of Elohim has not been disclosed as yet!
We normally avoid writing the Name in full, and Jews have tended to not write “God” instead we have been writing is as “G-d”, but as we have now learned this was really the name of an evil pagan god that was introduced into our beloved sacred language, which was a sinful to do, and by forcing us to even honour that filthy name was evil!! Our beloved Creator’s attribute is of course “Elohim” and we also use Elohenu in our prayers and Berachot (Blessings), etc!
Pronouncing
the Name of Elohim
Yet many common Hebrew names contain
“Yah” or “Yahu” both being a
part of Elohim’s four-letter Name. The Name יְהוָה was pronounced during the
daily services in the
Rabbis teaching for centuries confirm that there was no prohibition against pronouncing the Name in ancient times. In fact, the priests in ancient times recommended the use of Elohim’s Name as a routine when greeting a fellow Jew. However, by the time of that man-made book the “Talmud” came about, it became a custom to use substitute Names for Elohim and some Rabbis asserted that a person who pronounces יְהוָה - Y-H-V-H according to its letters (instead of using a substitute) had no place in the World to Come, and should be put to death. Instead of pronouncing the four-letter Name, we Jews substituted the Name with “Adonai” (being “LORD”) or “Ha-SHEM” (which means “the Name”). Thus if we are asked, “Who is your God?” And what will be our reply? “It is the LORD, or we call Him the Name. They will think that there is something dramatically wrong with us, for we do not even know who our precious Elohim is!
With the
Some people render the four-letter Name as “
The “Memorial Name - יְהוָה (Y-H-V-H) the
Tetragrammaton, is shown further below. But only
continue if you wish to do so, and remember when we read or say His blessed
Name, always say, blessed be His
Sanctified Name, etc. Never use it for any other reason than for sacred
reasons!
יְהוָה - YHVH is a verbal form of the root “hvh,” which is an older variant of the root “hava” which means, “to be, shall be, to exist.” As this is in the future tense, it therefore means “He that causes to be, He brings into existence.”
If we choose the vowels of “hava” - “to be” and transpose them on YaH-VH, you will find that the Sanctified Name of Elohim actually becomes “YaH’VaH“ (being the Eastern European Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation). Although, the letter “V” may also be pronounced as a soft “W” thus the precious Name may also be said as “YaH’WaH“ (the Middle Eastern Sephardic Hebrew pronunciation).
Thus the pronunciation of the Elohim’s Name can either be “YaHVaH” or “YaHWaH”, blessed be His most Sanctified Name! And I know that both will be pleasing to our Elohim, blessed be He!
The above was made and written by the
senior Rabbi of my Yeshiva in Israel.
Related Scriptures.
“Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My Name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and bring him to honour. With long life will I satisfy him, and make him to behold My salvation” Tehillim - Psalms 91:14-16 - JPS.
“Therefore thus saith 
,
who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be
ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale; When he seeth
his children, the work of My hands, in the midst of him, that they sanctify My
name; yea, they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall stand in awe of
the Elohim of Israel” Yeshayahu - Isaiah 29:22-23 - JPS.
“… think to cause My people to forget My Name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers forgot My Name for Baal” Yeshayahu - Isaiah 52:6 - JPS.
“In that day will I raise up the
tabernacle of Dovid - David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and
I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of that doeth this. Behold,
the days come, saith ,
that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth
seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall
melt. And I will turn the captivity of My
people thy Elohim” Amnos - Amos) 9:11-15 - JPS.
“They shall call on My Name, and
I will answer them; I will say: 'It is My people', and
they shall say: ‘ “YaH’VaH) is my Elohim” Zecharyah - Zechariah
13:9 - JPS.
“‘My Name will be great among the
nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and
pure offerings will be brought to My Name, because My Name will be great among
the nations,’ says Almighty.” Malochi -
Malachi 1:11
“My Name is great among the nations;
and in every place offerings are presented unto My Name, even pure oblations;
for My Name is great among the nations, saith of hosts” Malochi - Malachi
1:11 -JPS.
“Therefore My people shall know My Name; therefore they shall know in that day that I, even He that spoke, behold, here I am” Yeshayahu - Isaiah 52:6 - JPS.
I know that this study has contained a great deal, but it is a very important subject. I am not telling you that you should commence using the name on a regular basis, but it is beautiful when used correctly in prayers and during the various blessings, and in teaching our faith, etc, for it honours our beloved Elohim! Be honest, “Adonai”, or “HaShem” really does not speak of our Elohim, and I know that He would prefer you to do as He has commanded, remember and use His Sanctified Name, but correctly only in prayer, etc! Let those who have fallen away from the Torah do what they do, but sadly they are really lost in what they consider the far more valuable “Talmud”. I mean even our children go to what, the “Talmud - Torah”, and I have always asked the question, why is that huge work completely written by man come first, and it is given a higher place in Judaism that even the Torah, which we know came to our Fathers directly from Elohim, blessed be He!
“Thus you shall say to the Children of
Israel: (Y-H-V-H) Elohim of
your fathers, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of
Ya’akov, has sent me to you. This is My Name forever (Le’Olam), and this is My Memorial to
all generations’”.
Elohenu, blessed be
His Sanctified Name, fill you, your family and your home!
Rabbi,
Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
- Y-H-V-H, which we usually pronounce as “Adonai” or “HaShem”.
*“This is My Name forever,
and this is My memorial to all generations.”
Shemot - Exodus 3:15.
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