WE MUST PRONOUNCE THE NAME OF GOD, YAHVEH

 

The proper name of God has the consonants yod, he, vav, he, and its correct vocalization was registered by two old Christian writers, that transliterated the Sacred Name to the Greek as “IAOUE” or “IABE”, and in Greek “OU” has the sound of “U” (the pronunciation is as “OO”) and “B” has the sound of “V”. 

 

The Hebrew letter “vav” originally had sound of “w” , but nowadays it is pronounced with the sound of “v”. 

 

The letter “he” in the end of the word is mute, except when it is marked with a point (“mapiq”), to indicate that it must be pronounced. 

 

Therefore, the proper name of God is written in Hebrew in the following way:  

 

yod” vocalized with “patach”, that has sound of “a”;  

 

“he” vocalized with “schwa”, that indicates absence of vowel, but can also be pronounced with sound of “e”, when it is impossible to pronounce the consonant without any vowel, or when one is pronouncing in a slower way;  

 

vav” vocalized with “segol”, that has sound of “e”;  

 

he” without vowel and without point (“mappiq”), which is mute. 

 

Therefore, the true pronunciation of the proper name of God is Yahveh, or Yaheveh, and the final H is not pronounced.

 

The proper name of God, written in Hebrew letters, is יַהְוֶה .

 

The name of God must be pronounced, because in Psalms 105:1 it is written: “PRAISE YAHVEH, CALL HIS NAME”.  

 

In Exodus 23:13 it is written: 

 

ÊX 23.13 AND IN ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE SAID TO YOU TAKE YE HEED: AND MAKE NO MENTION OF THE NAME OF OTHER GODS, NEITHER LET IT BE HEARD OUT OF THY MOUTH.

    

Therefore, we see that God commanded that we do not pronounce the names of the other gods, that are the false gods, the demons. 

 

This shows that God established that not to pronounce a the name of a god means that we are rejecting and detesting him. 

 

Therefore, when the Jews had the unhappy idea of ceasing to pronounce the name of Yahveh, the blessed Creator God, they made a very wrong thing. 

 

In Jeremiah 23:26-27, it is written: 

 

26 HOW LONG SHALL THIS BE IN THE HEART OF THE PROPHETS THAT PROPHESY LIES, EVEN THE PROPHETS OF THE DECEIT OF THEIR OWN HEART?

 

27 THAT THINK TO CAUSE MY PEOPLE TO FORGET MY NAME BY THEIR DREAMS WHICH THEY TELL EVERY MAN TO HIS NEIGHBOR, AS THEIR FATHERS FORGAT MY NAME FOR BAAL.

 

And in Psalms 44:21-22 (in some Bibles it is 20-21) it is written: 

 

21 IF WE HAVE FORGOTTEN THE NAME OF OUR GOD, OR SPREAD FORTH OUR HANDS TO A STRANGE GOD;

 

22 WILL NOT GOD SEARCH THIS OUT? FOR HE KNOWETH THE SECRETS OF THE HEART.

 

Therefore, we see that we must not to forget the name of Yahveh. 

 

However, this practice of not to pronounce the name of Yahveh caused that the manner of vocalizing the Sacred Name of God almost was forgotten forever, because as in Hebrew only the consonants were written, and when they placed the vocalic signs in the text of the Tanach they did not place the correct vowels of the name of God, then the people stayed without knowing how to pronounce the tetragrammaton, the four consonants that form the name of God. 

 

If it was not the fact that two old Christian writers, Clement of Alexandria and Theodoret, have registered the name of God in Greek letters, the true pronunciation of the name of God would have fallen in the forgetfulness. 

 

Therefore, we must pronounce the name of Yahveh. 

 

In Joel 3:5 (in some Bibles is Joel 2:32) it is written: “AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT ALL THAT CALL THE NAME OF YAHVEH SHALL BE SAVED”.  

 

Therefore, it is really very important that we call the name of Yahveh, because we need to call the name of Yahveh to be saved. 

 

The name of God, when is pronounced more slowly, is Yaheveh. 

 

It also appears in the Bible an abbreviated form of the name of God, that is Yah, that is formed by the letter “yod” vocalized with qamats gadol, that has sound of “a”, and by the letter “he” marked with a point (“mapiq”), that indicates that the “he” is pronounced.

 

God wants that everybody invoke him as God, whenever have some problem.  

 

Many people, when have some problem, cry out: “Jesus!” or “Our Lady!” But this is wrong, because so they are invoking other gods, and God said for us not to invoke other gods (Exodus 23:13).

 

It is necessary that the people, when they have some problem, cry out: Yahveh!, because so they will be invoking the true God. 

 

Yahveh bless you.

 

João Paulo Fernandes Pontes.

 

Published in May 25, 2008.

 

Updated in May 25, 2014.

 

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