Did Our Lord Jesus or the Apostles Use the Name Yahweh?

Given to us, by the example of our Lord Jesus and the apostles, the use and the pronunciation of the Hebrew name YHWH is not only unimportant, but is also unnecessary.

I see it frequently in many of the posts on Facebook. Yahweh ── sometimes spelled Yahvah ── claiming in no uncertain terms that this is the official and principal name of God. Now, certainly, God is jealous over His glorious name (especially the great and awesome significance of His names and titles), one could wonder if this “jealousy” also extends to the use or the pronunciation of YHWH.

Surely, all of us brethren who want to live as begotten children of our heavenly Father, we have a divine and official Arbitrator who can settle any dispute or question for us ── our Lord, Savior, and Atonement, Jesus Christ. So, if we can see within God’s living word that He used the name YHWH, then that certainly puts to rest any misgivings or second-guessing.

Now, what if our Lord Jesus NEVER used or pronounced the name YHWH? What if He avoided using it altogether? Then what?

It can be proved absolutely that our Lord Jesus NEVER used the name YHWH, or Yahweh, or Yahvah, or even Jehovah, even when He spoke the languages of Hebrew or Aramaic.

No One Was Permitted to Pronounce or Utter the Divine Name of God in First Century Jerusalem 

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, taught and preached to the Jews throughout Galilee and Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. And, He taught publicly for 3½ years. Certainly, thousands of Jewish people heard Him teach and preach in the name of God. So, if He had used the divine name YHWH in the midst of that Jewish society, He would have been accused of blasphemy, and not one Jewish person would have even stood around long enough to listen. Why? Because it was forbidden to speak or pronounce the divine name during the time of our Lord. And that can be proved beyond any shadow of doubt.

Even today, most Jews write out God’s name as G_d.

Why was there ── and still is even to this day ── a fear of saying or pronouncing the name YHWH among the Jews? Because there is ── according to Jewish interpretation ── a clear and direct command from God that forbids them to say, pronounce, or express the divine name of God. 

 Why Jews Avoid YHWH

There are two verses in the Old Testament that they interpret as a prohibition against phonetically expressing the name YHWH. Notice ──  

“The son of the Israelite woman pronounced the Name and blasphemed ── … 16) and one who pronounces blasphemously the Name of HASHEM shall be put to death, …” – Leviticus 24:11, 16, The Torah, the Stone Edition.

“And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD [YHWH], and cursed. … 16) And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD [YHWH], he shall surely be put to death, …” – Leviticus 24:11, 16, King James Version. 

I have boldened the words “blasphemed” and “blasphemeth” because in Hebrew these two words come from “nāqab.” The word has different meanings.

“בַקָנ (nāqab) pierce, bore; blaspheme; appoint.

The basic physical sense of the verb nāqab is demonstrated in the context of Joash’s temple repair project. The priest Jehoida bored a hole in the lid of a chest for contributions. Elsewhere, Haggai (1:6) speaks figuratively of the futility of work which fails to honor the Lord, …” 1

As my Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament shows us, the verb nāqab can signify “bore” or “appoint.”

The King James Version translates the verb nāqab as “bored” in 2 Kings 12:9, and “pierce” in 2 Kings 18:21. And “strike” in Habakkuk 3:14. So, by extension, this word can mean “to pierce” as in speech, or to give a “piercing remark.” Truly, this is tantamount to cursing or blaspheming. 

“ … The ingenuity of modern lexicographers is indeed taxed. … But this verb also translates curse, blaspheme. Is this so because one is thereby distinguishing another as bad (so Koehler), or is there not a closer tie with piercing, striking through? Some lexicographers (BDB) consider this last sense of nāqab to be a different root naqab II, a by-form of the root nābab “curse,” found only in Num 22and 23, but the reverse relationship could as likely be the case.” 2 

So, it becomes clearer that the word nāqab can mean either “to blaspheme” or “to pierce through.”

Even in the time of the Prophet Nehemiah, the Jews were wondering just how the verb nāqab in Leviticus 24:11 and 16 was to be interpreted. The traditional way (and certainly the correct way) was that it was to say that it meant “to blaspheme.”

Taking all this into consideration, the correct rendering of nāqab, Leviticus 24, would read, “And the son of the woman of Israel blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. … 16) And he that blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. …” – Leviticus 24:11, 16, NET.

“Scholars have arrived at a number of interpretations for Deuteronomy 6:4, and there has been much debate over the meaning of the text. Because there is no other verse in the Old Testament that resembles this passage, scholars are unable to verify that any interpretation of this verse is completely accurate. In An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, Bruce K. Waltke explains the complex grammatical factors involved in translating a verbless clause (the term YHWH or Yhwh is the same as Jehovah).” 3 

The Jews soon decided that they would be safer not to even say or pronounce the divine name YHWH. And, soon after the Prophet Nehemiah, they began to play it safe in regards to the name of YHWH. They came to interpret that Leviticus 24:11, 16 commanded them NOT to even pronounce the name because it was so holy ── which is the same reasoning behind why most Jews won’t even write out the name God ── instead it’s G_d. Yet, they are sorely mistaken.

From the time of the Prophet Moses to the period of Jeremiah, the name YHWH was used without any fear of repercussions. The Lachish Letters ── a series of letters written in carbon ink containing ancient Israelite inscriptions in Ancient Hebrew on clay ostraca, that was discovered by British archaeologist James Leslie Starkey in January–February 1935, written around the time of Jeremiah, use the name Hoshacyahu (Jehovah). Showing us that it was commonly used even in their everyday speech. However, around the time of the Prophet Nehemiah, this changed.

“ b) Pronunciation and usage. The pronunciation of the divine name as ‘Yahweh’ rests upon Samaritan tradition given by Theodoret (Iaβέ with β vocalized softly; cf. Δaβίδ), also upon evidence given by Clement of Alexandria (Ιaovέ), by the Elephantine papyri which have yhw and yhh, by ancient inscriptions which render the name Achaz with Yauhazi, the abbreviated form of the divine name Yah, lastly names like Abiyahu. Alongside the name Yahweh which was used not only in literature but also in common ordinary life, as is proven by the Lachish ostraca from the time of Jeremias, Yahu is found as a name in its own right. Most often however, this form appears in nominal compounds. The form Iaω, found in later writers, shows that it was also vocalized Yaho. From Yahweh too was derived Ya-u which the Masoretes pointed as Yo. In postexilic times the use of the divine name Yahweh became less frequent. This may be seen by comparing Chronicles with Samuel and Kings. Nehemias almost wholly shuns its use.” 4

So, about the time of the Prophet Nehemiah, there was a movement to be careful in the use of the divine name YHWH. The Jewish people were told to not even utter the name. As time went on, the use of the name became even more prohibited. And its use was finally confined to only the high priest and only on the holy day of the Day of Atonement. Note ── 

“JEHOVAH, an erroneous pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton of the four-lettered name of God, made up of the Hebrew letters Yod He Vav He (הוהי). According to Bible scholars, the proper pronunciation of this name was Jahveh. As early as Bible times, however, in obedience to the provision of the Third Commandment that forbids taking the name of God in vain, this name was never pronounced except once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement in the Temple at Jerusalem. The people, however, never spoke the name at any time; …” 5 

Even more historical facts are expressed in the Jewish Encyclopedia ── 

“After the death of the high priest, Simon the Righteous, forty years prior to the destruction of the Temple, the priests ceased to pronounce the Name (Yoma). From that time the pronunciation of the Name was prohibited. ‘Whoever pronounces the Name forfeits his portion in the future world’ (Sanh, XI. 1). … It appears that a majority of the priests in the last days of the Temple [the Second Temple; during the time of our Lord Jesus and the apostles] were unworthy to pronounce the Name.” 6          

So there we have it ── from the death of Simeon the Righteous or Simeon the Just, a Jewish High Priest during the Second Temple period. Around 300–273 B.C., the overall majority of the priests in the Temple were not permitted to even pronounce the name of YHWH.

What Are We To Make Of It All… Then? 

A lot.

Had our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, used the sacred Name in public ── even once ── He would have been reviled by everyone in the whole of the Jewish community. The Jewish people would have NEVER given Him a hearing. They would have considered Him utterly blasphemous. Neither the Scribes, Pharisees, nor Sadducees considered Him or His followers in disobedience or in violation of the Jewish law of the biblical prohibition of uttering or pronouncing the name YHWH in the first century. There is no hint of this within God’s living word. 

There is no proof that our Lord Jesus ever used the name YHWH. 

What our righteous Savior obviously did, as did the others, was to substitute the word Adonai (which is “Lord” ── Kurios in Greek) when He spoke of the Eternal God of the Old Testament, or He used the term “Father” when referring to the other member of the divine family of God. This was a common term that even the Jews utilized as a substitute for YHWH. 

It's important to note that our Lord Jesus told us how to pray. He tells us to pray, “’ Our Father in heaven, …’” Whenever He prayed, He used the term “Father” throughout. So, even though He certainly didn’t approve of the self-righteous scruples of the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, concerning the prohibition of the pronunciation of the name YHWH, nevertheless, He was prudent in not offending them too much. He worshiped God our Father in spirit and in truth ── not in pronunciations or Tetragrammaton’s!

“’ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” – John 4:24.

Is “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” even the Correct pronunciation?

Certainly, a question can be asked ── Is Yahweh (Yah: Pronounced like “Ya” in “Yamaha” and weh: Pronounced like “way” in “wayward”) or Jehovah (a Latinization of the Hebrew הָוֹהְי Yəhōwā) truly the right pronunciation? 

Well… in truth, the Jews, after the time of Simon the Righteous (around 273 B.C),  lost the understanding of just how to pronounce the vowels that were to be used. And, they even admitted that they didn’t really know. So then, where did scholars and the ingenuity of modern lexicographers for YHWH get their modern interpretation? Surely, if all these sincere people who absolutely insist that we must use and pronounce God’s Name YaHWeH, or JeHoVaH, from whence did it come?

Here is information that I have found. Those pronunciations themselves come from the Samaritans. The Samaritans never had the prohibitions as the Jews did over such matters. They continued using the Name Jabai (IaBar) in their own dialect. Indeed! Even the modern pronunciations, which scholars believe may closely resemble the ancient pronunciation, came from the Samaritans and by “accident” ── not the Jews!

“Biblical Hebrew, often referred to as Classical Hebrew, is the ancient language in which much of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was originally written … Biblical Hebrew evolved from the Paleo-Hebrew script, an early writing system closely related to Phoenician. Over time, this script gave way to the “square” Aramaic script, which remains the basis for modern Hebrew writing.” 7 

“It was certain Christian groups who began pronouncing the name as “Jehovah.” In his commentary on Genesis, R.R. Reno says this happened because in the Middle Ages, Jewish scholars inserted indications of vowel sounds — the “points” … — into the Hebrew Bible, indicating the Tetragrammaton should be pronounced “Adonai.” By then, the Jewish practice was never to pronounce the name of Yahweh, substituting “Adonai” or another word in its place. However, non-Jews then mistakenly combined the vowels of “Adonai” with the consonants of the Tetragrammaton, accidentally inventing the name “Jehovah.” 8 

So, since the Jews “officially” decided to forego their guessed pronunciation of YHWH after the death of Simon the Righteous, it is in the direction of the Samaritans for the supposed pronunciation.

However, the truth of the matter is thus ── the pronunciation of YHWH should be of little consequence to us. It is abundantly evident that our Lord Jesus Christ (along with the apostles) never uttered it. Instead, He told us to use the Name “Father” for YHWH.

In this glorious present age, we now have access to the great Ancient of Days ── YHWH or God the Father ── the God Most High (Genesis 14:18; Luke 1:32, 35; 8:28). It is God our Father’s holy Name, but what is more important is it is He who is now “Father” to all who have become His begotten children, and that we NEVER blaspheme His holy and rightoue name!  □        

Bibliography:

1) Harris L. R., Archer, L. Gleason, Jr., and Waltke K. Bruce. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980, #1409, pg. 595.

2) Ibid. 

3) Coulter R. F., The Holy Bible In Its Original Order A New English Translation, Does Deuteronomy 6:4 Support a Singular Godhead? York Publishing Co., © 2009, pg. 1361.

4) Heinisch, P., Theology of the Old Testament, The Liturgical Press, 1950, pg. 51.

5) The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., New York, 1969, pgs. 54, 55. 6) Umair Mirza, The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol IX, Funk and Wagnalls Co., New York and London, pages 162, 163.

7) Biblical History.org, History of Classical Hebrew, 19 Jan. 2025. 

8) Schachterle, J., Ph.D., Bart Ehrman, YHWH: Meaning and Etymology of the Tetragrammaton, 27th July 2024.