God’s Personal Name – Yahweh

In our lifetimes, we are all likely to be called many different things, but we only have one name filed on our birth certificates. Whether people call us “Son,” “Mom,” “Sweetheart,” or “Amigo,” that does not change our personal name. Did you know that God has a name, too? His name is Yahweh.

The first time we see this name in the Bible is in Genesis 2:4. Most modern English translations use the phrase “Lord God” in the translation there, but in Hebrew, the word translated as “Lord” there is Yahweh. So we can think of it as “Yahweh God.” From that point, Yahweh appears over 7,000 additional times in the Bible. It is by far the most common way the biblical writers referred to God, and that makes sense because it’s His name. But why is that His name? Do we have any idea where it came from? Thankfully, God did let us behind the metaphorical curtain in Exodus to hear a type of origin story for this name, if it is even possible to say there is an origin for the name of someone who was not created, but just is. And actually, that gives us a clue as to what we find out in this story, so let’s get into it.

“Whatever else we can know about God, at the center of it all is the fact that he is.“

In Exodus Chapter 3, a wandering Moses finds himself in the presence of the almighty God. From a burning bush, God speaks to Moses, detailing the commission God has for him. But Moses is skeptical and wants to know where this commission is coming from. He asks, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13). God’s reply to Moses is, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The transliteration of that Hebrew phrase is YHWH. Add some vowels, and we have Yahweh. “I am who I am.” As the four living creatures around the throne in Revelation phrased it, He is the one “who was, who is, and who is to come” (Revelation 4:8). Whatever else we can know about God, at the center of it all is the fact that he is.

One other important thing to note about this name is that Jesus identified Himself with it while here on the earth on more than one occasion. One of the most impactful times is recorded in John 8. Abraham was, and still is, an important figure to the Jewish people as their ultimate forefather. In questioning Jesus’ teaching, the Jewish leaders challenged His respect for Abraham and were aghast when Jesus talked as if He knew Abraham, a man who had lived thousands of years earlier. They mockingly asked Jesus, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?”(John 8:57). Jesus’ simple, yet weighty, reply was, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). What a bombshell. The Jews knew exactly what He meant: that He was claiming to be God. What better way to get the point of your identity across? Jesus essentially said, “The Lord’s name is my name.” Because it was…and still is.

Take some time to meditate today on Yahweh, the one who just is. That isn’t something we can say about ourselves, so we won’t be able to fully grasp what that means. But we should give it the opportunity to sink as deeply as possible.

If you have any questions about how to grow in a relationship with God, feel free to reach out to us on our website at experiencecc.com.