This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations-Exodus 3:15 (ESV)

So, what is this name that we are supposed to remember throughout all generations? Well, that question is not as easy to answer as it should be. In English versions of the Bible we learn in Exodus 3:14 that God’s name is I AM, or I AM WHO I AM. However, after Exodus 3:14 we hardly see the name of the LORD again. There are a few instances in some versions of the English translations that use either the name or a shortened version of it, but even there there are differences between translations.

Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2, and Isaiah 26:4 in the KJV translate the name as “JEHOVAH.” There are a few other places where the name is used as part of a larger name, such as “Jehovah-shalom”¹ and there is at least one instance of the shorter “JAH” being used.²

The NLT translates God’s name as “Yahwey” in Exodus 6:3, Exodus 15:3, and a few other places in Exodus.

The LSB, on the other hand, has recently restored God’s name throughout the Old Testament, using “Yahwey.” But most other versions simply translate the name as “LORD.”

So, why the discrepancy in the pronunciation of the name, and why is the name not even used in most English translations if God told Moses His name should be remembered through the generations?

The Hebrew word for God’s name is יהוה, YHWH in English, but in ancient times the Hebrew writings did not contain vowels, so the people relied on oral repetition to learn the name of God.

Old Testament Jewish leaders had a habit of adding laws to God’s laws in an attempt to protect themselves from violating God’s law. The most notable example is probably the laws surrounding the observance of the Sabbath. And this is what eventually led to the loss of the name.

Somewhere between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE the divine name of God, יהוה, came to be considered so sacred that the Jewish people stopped uttering the name out loud. When reading from scripture they would replace יהוה with Adonai (Lord) or Elohim (God), both of which we still use to this day.

When the Bible was translated into English, most interpreters followed this tradition and rendered the Holy Name as LORD. Both Adonai and Elohim are not names, they are more or less titles and they have become, for lack of a better word, placeholders for the true name of God.

Eventually vowel sounds were added to YHWH by taking the vowels from Adonai and inserting them into the Tetragrammaton³ and this is where “JEHOVAH” came from. Most scholars today however believe that pronunciation is incorrect and the proper way to pronounce God’s name is “Yahwey” but the truth is nobody knows for sure. The exact pronunciation will never be known, it can only be speculated.

So in the interest of showing great reverence to God’s name have we inadvertently done a disservice to God by not making His name known to all generations? Or worse? Have we violated God’s will in an effort to protect ourselves?

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1. Judges 6:24 ↩︎
2. Psalm 68:4 ↩︎
3. The Power of God’s Names by Tony Evans ↩︎