While researching my book about God’ name, I discovered a fascinating verse in Exodus. Did you know that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not know the covenant name of God? He appeared to them and spoke with them but did not reveal His name. He was know by them as “God Almighty.”
And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am Yehovah. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty (El Shaddai), but by My name, Yehovah, I was not known to them. Exodus 6:2-3
Remember that most English translations do not translate His name into English, but rather conform to the Jewish rabbinic tradition of not using His name. However, there is a simple code so you can know when His name, Yehovah, should be used. Every time you see LORD in all capital letters in English versions, the real word in the Hebrew text is Yehovah, His covenant name. How many times is this mistaken translation used (substituting LORD for Yehovah)? In the Old Testament alone His name actually is used 6,828 times. Wow! When you start using His name, a whole new level opens up. Look at the third chapter of Exodus.
Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
15 – Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Yehovah God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” Exodus 3:13-15
In Exodus 3, Moses first learned Yehovah’s name at the burning bush, when God called Moses to go back to Egypt and bring Israel out of slavery. Many are confused because they only read verse 14 which mentions “I Am,” which is a descriptive phrase that means “the Eternally Existent One.” But, the next verse goes on to reveal the name, Yehovah, that appears 6,828 times, but is miss-translated as LORD. This comes from the tradition that Jews substitute “Adonai” which means Lord. Whenever the Hebrew text uses Adonai it is translated as “Lord” with only a the first letter capitalized. Now you know the code. All caps is His real name, and lower case Lord is Adonai. I cannot defend why modern Bible publishers persist in obscuring His literal name, Yehovah. By the way, some say it is Jehovah or Yahweh, but the pronunciation is secondary. Use His name!
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for rain. A small rain shower fell in southern Israel this week.
Les Lawrence, a voice of Christian Zionists, (Read more)
Why do I use God’s literal covenant Name: Yehovah? Here is a link to the explanation in my book: The Hebrew God Who Has No Name. And here is a link to a great visual from my friend Keith Johnson.
interesting
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