Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEB WMB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE MOF JPS ASV DRA YLT DBY RV WBS KJB BB GNV CB TNT WYC SR-GNT UHB Related Parallel Interlinear Dictionary Search
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XY Z
TETRAGRAMMATON*
Term referring to the four consonants of one of the primary Hebrew names, for God (from Greek tetra, “four,” and gramma, “a letter of the alphabet”). These letters are the Hebrew equivalents of English Y (or J), H, W, and H. The most widely accepted meaning of the name is “the one who is, that is, the absolute and unchangeable one.” This is the name the Lord revealed to Moses (Ex 3:15; cf. vv 13-14; Jn 8:56-58). According to the Ten Commandments, the Jews were not to take this name in vain (Ex 20:2, 7). The Jews, therefore, regarded the name as so holy that they would not pronounce it but said instead Adonai, “Lord.” Originally the text was written only with consonants, but when the scholars called Masoretes added the vowel points, they inserted the vowels for Adonai as a reminder not to read the sacred name. Non-Hebraists combined the vowels of Adonai with the consonants of JHWH, producing a new form, “Jehovah,” which does not exist in the Hebrew language. The correct pronunciation of the name must have been Yahweh, but most translations render it Lord, using capital letters to distinguish it from other uses of the English word “Lord.”
See also God, Names of.