Page 10 - May 2026 - Truth & Tidings

or many, a God without a name While it is found in Genesis, the key pas-
is safer. They believe in a vague sage for understanding its significance is
Fhigher power without being too Exodus 3, where God appeared to Moses
concerned with what He has said to them as the angel of the LORD (Yahweh) in the
or who exactly He is. But the living God burning bush. When God commissioned
of the Bible has a name. He has many Moses to go to Pharaoh, Moses was hesi-
names, of course, but there is one majes- tant and asked, “Who am I?” But Moses
tic name by which the God of Abraham, learned what we all must also learn: the
Isaac and Jacob has especially chosen to key issue is not “Who am I, that God would
reveal Himself – YHWH. Hebrew was send me?” but “Who is God?” And when
originally written without vowels so we Moses asked for God’s name, “God replied
cannot be certain of its pronunciation. to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what
For many years it has been customary to you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has
pronounce the name as Jehovah, and this sent me to you …. The LORD, the God of
usage has become well established in the your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the
vocabulary of many. However, linguists God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent
have concluded that this pronunciation is me to you. This is my name forever’” (Exo
2
highly unlikely to reflect the original form, 3:14-15). In the Bible, names not only serve
with Yahweh regarded as the more prob- to identify but they also reveal something
able pronunciation. However, you won’t about the person’s character. Yahweh is a
1
commonly see Jehovah or Yahweh in proper noun built upon the verbal phrase
English Bibles. Instead, this name is usu- “I AM,” and it unfolds precious truth con-
ally translated as “the LORD” (note the cerning the character of our God.
capital letters). But there is something lost Yahweh Is Self-Existent
if we fail to see “the LORD” as a personal
name. The people of Israel lived among Moses is sent to a man perceived as the
nations who worshiped other gods (as do most powerful being on the whole earth.
we), with real names like Molech, Dagon But he is sent by the I AM, the One who
and Nebo. The God of Israel has identified actually possesses the power of being.
Himself with this name, Yahweh. This divine attribute is seen in the fire that
There are more than 6,800 occurrences burns but does not consume the bush. The
of Yahweh in the Hebrew Old Testament. fire, a divine manifestation, does not need
the bush for fuel, because our God is self-
sufficient, independent and self-existent.
1 Yahuah, Yahoh and Yahveh are also sometimes We are who we are because of our birth,
proposed. For a quick summary of how the
pronunciation Jehovah developed and why The our influences and our circumstances,
LORD is its common translation, search “Wes
Huff – Is God's name Jehovah or Yahweh?” on 2 Bible quotations in this article are from the
YouTube. CSB.

138 TRUTH kTidings May 2026