{{Short description|Four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible}} {{Other uses}} {{Redirect|YHWH|the ancient Semitic deity|Yahweh|the modern Jewish and Christian conception of Yahweh|God in Judaism|and|God in Christianity|the episode of the television series Person of Interest|YHWH (Person of Interest)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{EngvarB|date=December 2016}} [[File:YHWH.svg|thumb|class=skin-invert-image|The Tetragrammaton in Hebrew letters {{lang|he|י}} (yod/Y) {{lang|he|ה}} (he/H) {{lang|he|ו}} (vav/W) {{lang|he|ה}} (he/H)]] The '''Tetragrammaton'''<ref group="note">Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|t|ɛ|t|r|ə|ˈ|ɡ|r|æ|m|ə|t|ɒ|n}}; {{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|τετραγράμματον}}'' ({{grc-transl|τετραγράμματον}})|[consisting of] four letters}}; also known as the '''Tetragram'''.</ref> is the four-letter Hebrew-language [[theonym]] {{script|Hebr|{{lang|he|יהוה}}}} ([[transliteration|transliterated]] as '''YHWH'''<ref group=note>Sometimes also transliterated as '''YHVH''', though this is less common.</ref>), the name of [[God]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. The four Hebrew letters, written and read [[Writing system#Directionality and orientation|from right to left]], are ''[[yodh|yod]]'', ''[[he (letter)|he]]'', ''[[waw (letter)|vav]]'', and ''he''.<ref group="note">The word "tetragrammaton" originates from Greek {{tlit|grc|tetra}} 'four' and {{tlit|grc|gramma}} ({{gcl|GEN}} {{tlit|grc|grammatos}}) 'letter'.</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=tetragrammaton |title=tetragrammaton |dictionary =Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=23 December 2007 |archive-date=12 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012141410/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=tetragrammaton |url-status=live }}</ref> The name may be derived from a verb that means 'to be', 'to exist', 'to cause to become', or 'to come to pass'.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Verb *yahway |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |url=https://doi.org/10.15699/jbl.1381.2019.508716 |last=Kitz |first=Anne Marie |issue=1 |volume=138 |pages=39–62 |doi=10.15699/jbl.1381.2019.508716 |year=2019|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
While there is no consensus about the structure and etymology of the name, the form ''[[Yahweh]]'' (with [[niqqud]]: {{lang|he|יַהוֶה}}) is now almost universally accepted among Biblical and Semitic linguistics scholars,<ref group="note">The form ''Yahweh'' is also dominant in Christianity, but is not used in Islam or Judaism.</ref> though the vocalization ''[[Jehovah]]'' continues to have wide usage, especially in Christian traditions.<ref>{{Cite book | editor1-first=G. Johannes | editor1-last=Botterweck | editor2-last=Ringgren | editor2-first=Helmer | translator-first=David E. | translator-last=Green | title=Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament | volume=5 | page=500 | year=1986 | publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] | isbn=0-8028-2329-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcAkKMECPKIC&pg=PA500 | access-date=19 May 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123023945/https://books.google.com/books?id=pcAkKMECPKIC&pg=PA500 | archive-date=23 January 2021}}</ref>{{r|TEOC}}<ref name="Valentin2015">{{cite book | first=Benjamin | last=Valentin |title=Theological Cartographies: Mapping the Encounter with God, Humanity, and Christ | page=16 | year=2015 | publisher=Westminster John Knox Press | isbn=978-1-61164-553-8}}</ref> In modernity, Christianity is the only Abrahamic religion in which the Tetragrammaton is freely and openly pronounced.
The books of the [[Torah]] and the rest of the [[Hebrew Bible]] except [[Book of Esther|Esther]], [[Ecclesiastes]], and (with [[#Texts with similar theonyms|a possible instance]] of {{script|Hebr|{{lang|he|יה}}}} (''[[Jah]]'') in verse 8:6) the [[Song of Songs]] contain this [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name.{{r|TEOC}}
Observant [[Jews]] and those who follow [[Talmud]]ic Jewish traditions do not pronounce {{script|Hebr|{{lang|he|יהוה}}}} nor do they read aloud proposed transcription forms such as ''Yahweh'' or ''[[Yehovah]]''; instead they replace it with a different term, whether in addressing or referring to the [[God in Judaism|God of Israel]]. Common substitutions in Hebrew are {{script|Hebr|{{lang|he|אֲדֹנָי}}}} ([[Names of God in Judaism#Adonai|{{tlit|he|Adonai}}]], {{translation|'My Lords'|literal=yes}}, [[pluralis majestatis]] taken as singular) or {{script|Hebr|{{lang|he|אֱלֹהִים}}}} (''[[Elohim]]'', literally 'gods' but treated as singular when meaning "God") in prayer, or {{script|Hebr|{{lang|he|הַשֵּׁם}}}} (''[[Names of God in Judaism#HaShem|HaShem]]'', 'The Name') in everyday speech.
== Four letters == The letters, properly written and read from right to left (in [[Biblical Hebrew]]), are: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Hebrew !! Letter name !! Pronunciation |- | {{Script|Hebr|י}} | [[Yodh|Yod]] | {{IPA|he|j|}} |- | {{Script|Hebr|ה}} | [[He (letter)|He]] |{{IPA|he|h|}} |- | {{Script|Hebr|ו}} | [[Waw (letter)|Waw]] | {{IPA|he|w|}}, or placeholder for "O"/"U" vowel (see [[mater lectionis]]) |- | {{Script|Hebr|ה}} | [[He (letter)|He]] | {{IPA|he|h|}} (or often a [[silent letter]] at the end of a word) |}
==Etymology== [[File:Tetragrammaton scripts.svg|thumb|class=skin-invert-image|The Tetragrammaton in [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] (12th century BCE to 150 BCE), [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]] (10th century BCE to 135 CE), and square [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] (3rd century BCE to present) scripts]] The Hebrew Bible explains it by the formula {{lang|He|אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה|rtl=yes}} ({{Transliteration|he|'ehye 'ăšer 'ehye}} {{IPA|he|ʔehˈje ʔaˈʃer ʔehˈje|pron}} {{translation|[[I Am that I Am]]}}), the name of God revealed to Moses in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 3:14.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|3:14|HE}}</ref> This would frame Y-H-W-H as an [[imperfective aspect]] of the [[Semitic root|Hebrew triconsonantal root]] {{script|Hebr|היה}} (''h-y-h''), "to be, become, come to pass", with a third person masculine {{Script|Hebr|י}} ({{Transliteration|he|y-}}) [[Prefixes in Hebrew|prefix]], equivalent to English "he",<ref>Translation notes for {{cite web | url=http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1961 | title=Genesis Chapter 1 (KJV)}}</ref><ref name="The New 1907">It thus probably means "he causes to be, to become, etc." It has {{script|Hebr|הוה}} (''h-w-h'') as a variant form. ''The New [[Brown–Driver–Briggs]]-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon With an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic'' by Frances Brown, with the cooperation of S. R. Driver and Charles Briggs (1907), p. 217ff (entry {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} listed under root {{script|Hebr|הוה}}).</ref> in place of the first person {{Script|Hebr|א}} ('-), thereby affording translations as "he who causes to exist",{{r|JewishEncycloName}}<ref>{{Cite book | first=William Foxwell | last=Albright | title=From the Stone Age to Christianity: Monotheism and the Historical Process | page=259 | date=September 12, 2003 |orig-year=1957 | publisher=Doubleday | location=New York | isbn=9781592443390}}</ref> "[[Divine simplicity|he who is]]",{{r|The New 1907}} etc.; although this would elicit the form Y-H-Y-H ({{script|Hebr|יהיה}}), rather than Y-H-W-H. To rectify this, some scholars propose that the Tetragrammaton derived instead from the triconsonantal root {{script|Hebr|הוה}} (''h-w-h'')<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3068.htm | title=NAS Exhaustive Concordance: 3068. Yhvh}}</ref>—itself an archaic doublet of {{script|Hebr|היה}}—with the final form eliciting translations similar to those derived from the same.
As such, the consensus among modern scholars considers that YHWH represents a [[verb|verbal form]]. In this, the ''y-'' prefix represents the third masculine verbal prefix of the verb ''hyh'' or ''hwh'', "to be", as indicated in the Hebrew Bible.<ref name="lewis">{{Cite book | first=Theodore J. | last=Lewis | title=The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity | page=214 | year=2020 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford | isbn=978-0-19-007254-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-erqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA214}}</ref>
==Vocalisation== ===YHWH and Hebrew script=== {{Main|Mater lectionis}} {{See also|Biblical Hebrew orthography|Hebrew diacritics|Tiberian vocalization|Niqqud}} [[File:4Q120 frg20 with Divine Name.jpg|thumb|Transcription of the divine name as ΙΑΩ in the 1st-century BCE [[Septuagint manuscripts|Septuagint manuscript]] [[4Q120]] ]] Like all letters in the Hebrew script, the letters in YHWH originally indicated consonants. In unpointed Biblical Hebrew, most vowels are not written, but some are indicated ambiguously, as certain letters came to have a secondary function indicating vowels (similar to the [[Latin]] use of I and V to indicate either the consonants /j, w/ or the vowels /i, u/). Hebrew letters used to indicate vowels are known as {{script|Hebr|אִמּוֹת קְרִיאָה}} ''(imot kri'a)'' or ''[[Mater lectionis|matres lectionis]]'' ("mothers of reading"). Therefore, it can be difficult to deduce how a word is pronounced from its spelling, and each of the four letters in the Tetragrammaton can individually serve as a ''mater lectionis''.
Several centuries later, some time in the 5th through 10th centuries CE, the original [[abjad|consonantal text]] of the Hebrew Bible was provided with vowel marks by the [[Masoretes]] to assist reading. In places where the word to be read (the [[Qere and Ketiv|''qere'']]) differed from that indicated by the consonants of the written text (the [[Qere and Ketiv|''ketiv'']]), they wrote the ''qere'' in the margin as a note showing what was to be read. In such a case the vowel marks of the ''qere'' were written on the ''ketiv''. For a few frequent words, the marginal note was omitted: these are called [[Qere and Ketiv#Qere perpetuum|qere perpetuum]].
One of the frequent cases was the Tetragrammaton, which according to later [[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbinite Jewish]] practices should not be pronounced but read as {{script|Hebr|אֲדֹנָי}} ([[Names of God in Judaism#Adonai|{{Transliteration|he|Adonai}}]], {{translation|My Lords|literal=yes}}, [[Pluralis majestatis]] taken as singular), or, if the previous or next word already was [[Adonai]], as "[[Elohim]]" ({{script|Hebr|אֱלֹהִים}}/"God"). Writing the vowel diacritics of these two words on the consonants YHVH produces {{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}} and {{script|Hebr|יֱהֹוִה}} respectively, [[ghost word|ghost-words]] that would spell "Yehovah" and "Yehovih" respectively.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBUH0Znxbb8C&pg=PA112 |title=Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Volume 3 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-8028-2327-4 |editor=Botterweck |editor-first=G. Johannes |access-date=29 October 2016 |editor2=Ringgren |editor-first2=Helmer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224231656/https://books.google.com/books?id=lBUH0Znxbb8C&pg=PA112 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Norbert | last=Samuelson | title=Jewish Philosophy: An Historical Introduction | page=42 | year=2006 | publisher=A&C Black | isbn=978-0-8264-9244-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrW3du_y0gEC&pg=PA42 | url-status=live | access-date=29 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130122/https://books.google.com/books?id=VrW3du_y0gEC&pg=PA42 | archive-date=26 February 2022}}</ref>
The oldest complete or nearly complete manuscripts of the [[Masoretic Text]] with [[Tiberian vocalisation]], such as the ''[[Aleppo Codex]]'' and the ''[[Leningrad Codex]]'', both of the 10th or 11th century, mostly write {{script|Hebr|יְהוָה}} (''yəhwā{{sup|h}}''), with no pointing on the first ''h''. It could be because the ''o'' diacritic point plays no useful role in distinguishing between ''Adonai'' and ''[[Elohim]]'' and so is redundant, or it could point to the ''qere'' being {{script|Hebr|שְׁמָא}} (''š{{sup|ə}}mâ''), which is [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] for "the Name".
===Yahweh=== {{see also|Yahweh|Jehovah}} The scholarly consensus is that the original pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was ''Yahweh'' ({{script|Hebr|יַהְוֶה}}).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S75SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT240|title=The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary|first=Robert|last=Alter| year=2018|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=9780393292503|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-date=24 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124023144/https://books.google.com/books?id=S75SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT240|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLRzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|title=Genesis|first=R. R.|last=Reno| year=2010|publisher=Brazos Press|isbn=9781587430916|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225215137/https://books.google.com/books?id=xLRzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|url-status=live}}</ref> [[R. R. Reno]] agrees that, when in the late first millennium Jewish scholars inserted indications of vowels into the Hebrew Bible, they [[Qere and Ketiv|signalled]] that what was pronounced was "Adonai" (Lord); non-Jews later combined the vowels of Adonai with the consonants of the Tetragrammaton and invented the name "Jehovah".<ref>{{Cite book | first=R. R. | last=Reno | title=Genesis | year=2010 | publisher=Brazos Press | isbn=9781587430916 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLRzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=25 February 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225215137/https://books.google.com/books?id=xLRzBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Paul Joüon]] and [[Takamitsu Muraoka]] state: "The [[Qere and Ketiv|Qere]] is {{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}} ''the Lord'', whilst the [[Qere and Ketiv|Ktiv]] is probably {{script|Hebr|יַהְוֶה}} (according to ancient witnesses)", and they add: "Note 1: In our translations, we have used ''Yahweh'', a form widely accepted by scholars, instead of the traditional ''Jehovah.''"<ref name="Jouon">{{Cite book | first1=Paul | last1=Joüon | first2=Takamitsu | last2=Muraoka | title=A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Subsidia Biblica) - Part One: Orthography and Phonetics | year=1996 | publisher=Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblio | location=Rome | isbn=978-8876535956}}.</ref> In 1869, ''[[Smith's Bible Dictionary]]'', a collaborative work of noted scholars of the time, declared: "Whatever, therefore, be the true pronunciation of the word, there can be little doubt that it is not ''Jehovah''."<ref>{{cite book | last=Smith | first=William | title=Dictionary of the Bible | volume=2 | page=1239 | year=1872 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a5YHeIOJGP4C&pg=PA1239 | access-date=4 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124023143/https://books.google.com/books?id=a5YHeIOJGP4C&pg=PA1239 | archive-date=24 November 2021 | url-status=live}}</ref> Mark P. Arnold remarks that certain conclusions drawn from the pronunciation of {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} as "Yahweh" would be valid even if the scholarly consensus were not correct.<ref>{{cite thesis | first=Mark P. | last=Arnold | title=Revealing the Name: An Investigation of the Divine Character through a Conversation Analysis of the Dialogues between God and Moses in the Book of Exodus | page=28 | year=2015 | publisher=University of Gloucestershire | location=Gloucestershire | degree=PhD | url=http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/3787/ | access-date=8 February 2020 | archive-date=30 January 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130061443/http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/3787/ | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Thomas Römer]] holds that "the original pronunciation of Yhwh was 'Yahô' or 'Yahû{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite book | first=Thomas | last=Römer | translator-last=Geuss | translator-first=Raymond | title=The Invention of God | pages=32–33 | year=2015 | publisher=Harvard University Press | isbn=9780674504974 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z59XCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 | access-date=27 July 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812162610/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z59XCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 | archive-date=12 August 2020 | url-status=live}}</ref> [[Max Reisel]], in ''The Mysterious Name of YHWH'', says that the "vocalisation of the Tetragrammaton must originally have been YeHūàH or YaHūàH".<ref>{{Cite book | first=M. | last=Reisel | title=The Mysterious Name of YHWH | page=74 | year=2018 | publisher=Brill | location=Netherlands | isbn=9789004354876}}</ref>
The element ''yahwi-'' (''ia-wi'') is found in [[Amorites|Amorite]] personal names (e.g. ''yahwi-dagan''), commonly denoted as the semantic equivalent of the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''ibašši-''DN. The latter refers to one existing which, in the context of deities, can also refer to one's eternal existence, which aligns with Bible verses such as {{Bibleverse|Exodus|3:15}} and views that ''[[I Am that I Am|ehye 'ăšer 'ehye]]'' can mean "I am the Existing One".<ref>{{cite book | first=Robert E. II | last=Stone | chapter=I Am Who I Am | editor1-first=David Noel | editor1-last=Freedman | editor2-first=Allen C. | editor2-last=Myers | title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible | year=2000 | page=624 | publisher=Eerdmans | location=Grand Rapids, MI | isbn=9789053565032 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&q=i+am}}</ref> It also explains the ease of Israelites applying the Olam (or 'everlasting') epithet from [[El (deity)|El]]{{sfn|Cross|1997|p=19}} to Yahweh.{{r|lewis|p=209–286}} But J. Philip Hyatt believes it is more likely that ''yahwi-'' refers to a god creating and sustaining the life of a newborn child rather than the universe. This conception of God was more popular among ancient Near Easterners but eventually, the Israelites removed the association of ''yahwi-'' to any human ancestor and combined it with other elements (e.g. ''Yahweh ṣəḇāʾōṯ'').<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal | first=J. Philip | last=Hyatt | title=Was Yahweh Originally a Creator Deity? | journal=Journal of Biblical Literature | volume=86 | year=1967 | issue=4 | pages=369–377 | doi=10.2307/3262791 | jstor=3262791 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3262791| url-access=subscription }}</ref> Hillel Ben-Sasson states there is insufficient evidence for Amorites using ''yahwi-'' to refer to a god. But he argues that it mirrors other theophoric names and that ''yahwi-'', or more accurately ''yawi'', derives from the root ''hwy'' in ''pa 'al'', which means "he will be".<ref>{{Cite book | first=Hillel | last=Ben-Sasson | title=Understanding YHWH: The Name of God in Biblical, Rabbinic, and Medieval Jewish Thought | pages=25–65 | year=2019 | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan | location=Chamden | doi=10.1007/978-3-030-32312-7_2 | isbn=978-3-030-32312-7 | url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-32312-7_2}}</ref> [[Frank Moore Cross]] says: "It must be emphasized that the Amorite verbal form is of interest only in attempting to reconstruct the proto-Hebrew or South Canaanite verbal form used in the name Yahweh. We should argue vigorously against attempts to take Amorite yahwi and yahu as divine epithets."{{sfn|Cross|1997|pp=61–63}}
The adoption at the time of the [[Protestant Reformation]] of "Jehovah" in place of the traditional "Lord" in some new translations, vernacular or Latin, of the biblical Tetragrammaton stirred up dispute about its correctness. In 1711, [[Adriaan Reland]] published a book containing the text of 17th-century writings, five attacking and five defending it.<ref name="Reeland">{{cite book | first=Adrian | last=Reeland | author-link=Adrian Reland | title=Decas exercitationum philologicarum de vera pronuntiatione nominis Jehova, quarum quinque priores lectionem Jehova impugnant, posteriores tuentur. Cum praefatione Adriani Relandi | publisher=Johannis Coster | year=1707 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDqyxbtzTIsC | access-date=10 November 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126105808/https://books.google.com/books?id=pDqyxbtzTIsC | archive-date=26 January 2021}}</ref> As critical of the use of "Jehovah" it incorporated writings by [[Johannes van den Driesche]] (1550–1616), known as Drusius; [[Sixtinus Amama]] (1593–1629); [[Louis Cappel]] (1585–1658); [[Johannes Buxtorf]] (1564–1629); [[Jacob Alting]] (1618–1679). Defending "Jehovah" were writings by [[Nicholas Fuller]] (1557–1626) and [[Thomas Gataker]] (1574–1654) and three essays by [[Johann Leusden]] (1624–1699). The opponents of "Jehovah" said that the Tetragrammaton should be pronounced as "Adonai" and in general do not speculate on what may have been the original pronunciation, although mention is made of the fact that some held that ''Jahve'' was that pronunciation.{{r|Reeland|p=392}} [[Thomas Worthington (Douai)|Thomas Worthington]], likely author of the annotations to the Catholic [[Douay–Rheims Bible|Douay Old Testament]] (1609–1610), expressing the general Catholic view, wrote, "''Iehouah'' is not the right name of God" and "Only certaine late writers haue framed a new word, by putting the points of ''Adonai'', to the proper letters of this vnknowen name, which are ''Iod'', ''He'', ''Vau'', ''He'', and ſo ſound it ''Iehouah'': which was ſcarſe heard of before an hundred yeares."<ref>{{cite book | first=Thomas | last=Worthington | author-link=Thomas Worthington (Douai) | title=The Holie Bible Faithfvlly translated into English, ovt of the avthentical Latin | publisher=Laurence Kellam | year=1609 | url=https://archive.org/details/holiebiblefaithf01engl/page/168/mode/2up | page=168}} Annotation on Exodus 6:3.</ref>
Almost two centuries after the 17th-century works reprinted by Reland, 19th-century [[Wilhelm Gesenius]] reported in his ''Thesaurus Philologicus'' on the main reasoning of those who argued either for {{script|Hebr|יַהְוֹה}}/''Yah[w]oh'' or {{script|Hebr|יַהְוֶה}}/''Yahweh'' as the original pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, as opposed to {{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}}/''Yehovah''. He explicitly cited the 17th-century writers mentioned by Reland as supporters of {{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}}, as well as implicitly citing [[Johann David Michaelis]] (1717–1791) and [[Johann Friedrich von Meyer]] (1772–1849),<ref>{{Cite book | first=Wilhelm | last=Gesenius | title=Thesaurus Philologicus Criticus Linguae Hebraeae et Chaldaeae veteris testamenti | volume=2 | pages=575–577 | year=1839 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LewNAQAAMAAJ | access-date=17 November 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=2 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102222202/https://books.google.com/books?id=LewNAQAAMAAJ }}</ref> the latter of whom Johann Heinrich Kurtz described as the last of those "who have maintained with great pertinacity that {{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}} was the correct and original pointing".<ref>{{cite book |first=Johann Heinrich |last=Kurtz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKoGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA214 |title=History of the Old Covenant |translator-first=A. |translator-last=Edersheim |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119150939/https://books.google.com/books?id=PKoGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA214 |archive-date=19 November 2020 | year=1859 | page=214}}</ref> Edward Robinson's translation of a work by Gesenius, gives Gesenius' personal view as: "My own view coincides with that of those who regard this name as anciently pronounced [{{script|Hebr|יַהְוֶה}}/Yahweh] like the Samaritans."<ref>{{cite book |first=Wilhelm |last=Gesenius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxCBQLh9-9kC |title=A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament: Including the Biblical Chaldee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130123/https://books.google.com/books?id=dxCBQLh9-9kC |archive-date=26 February 2022 |publisher=Crocker and Brewster | year=1844 | page=389}}</ref>
== Non-biblical texts == === Texts with Tetragrammaton ===
Current overviews begin with the [[Egypt]]ian [[epigraphy]].<ref>{{cite book | first=Daniel E. | last=Fleming | title=Yahweh before Israel | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge; New York; Melbourne; New Delhi; Singapore | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-108-83507-7 | page=}}</ref> A [[hieroglyph]]ic inscription of the [[Pharaoh]] [[Amenhotep III]] (1402–1363 BCE) at [[Soleb#tꜣ šꜣsw Yhwꜣ|Soleb]] mentions a group of [[Shasu]] whom it calls "the Shasu of Yhwꜣ" (read as: ''ja-h-wi'' or ''ja-h-wa''). [[James D. G. Dunn]] and [[John W. Rogerson]] suggested that the Amenhotep III inscription may indicate that worship of Yahweh originated in an area to the southeast of Israel.<ref>{{cite book | first1=James D. G. | last1=Dunn | first2=John William | last2=Rogerson | title=Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible | page=3 | year=2003 | publisher=Eerdmans | isbn=9780802837110 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA3 | url-status=live | access-date=27 July 2020 | archive-date=12 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812162715/https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&pg=PA3}}</ref> A later inscription from the time of [[Ramesses II]] (1279–1213 BCE) in [[Amara, Nubia|West Amara]] associates the Shasu nomads with ''S-rr'', interpreted as [[Mount Seir]], spoken of in some texts as where Yahweh comes from.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Michael David | last=Coogan | title=The Oxford History of the Biblical World | page=107 | year=2001 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford | isbn=9780195139372 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVHJRFW3mYC&pg=PA107 | url-status=live | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=26 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130123/https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVHJRFW3mYC&pg=PA107}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first=Mark S. | last=Smith | title=The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts | page=201 | year=2001 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford | isbn=9780199881178 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YWEAR1lNEwC&pg=PT2011 | url-status=live | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=26 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130124/https://books.google.com/books?id=6YWEAR1lNEwC&pg=PT20}}</ref> Egyptologist [[Thomas Schneider (Egyptologist)|Thomas Schneider]] argued for the existence of a theophoric name in a [[Book of the Dead]] papyrus dating to the late 18th or early 19th dynasty which he translated as ''{{`}}adōnī-rō'ē-yāh'', meaning "My lord is the shepherd of Yah".<ref>{{cite journal | first=Thomas | last=Schneider | author-link=Thomas Schneider (Egyptologist) | title=The First Documented {{as written|Occu|rrence [sic]}} of the God Yahweh? (Book of the Dead Princeton 'Roll 5') | journal=Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions | volume=7 | issue=2 | pages=113–120 | year=2007 | doi=10.1163/156921207783876422}}</ref>
[[File:YHWH on Mesha Stele.jpg|thumb|The [[Mesha Stele]] bears a reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite god [[Yahweh]].<ref name="Lemaire">{{Cite journal | first=André | last=Lemaire | author-link=André Lemaire | title="House of David" Restored in Moabite Inscription | journal=[[Biblical Archaeology Review]] | volume=20 | number=3 | year=1994 | publisher=[[Biblical Archaeology Society]] | location=[[Washington, D.C.]] | issn=0098-9444 | url=http://www.cojs.org/pdf/house_of_david.pdf | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331134523/http://www.cojs.org/pdf/house_of_david.pdf | archive-date=31 March 2012 | df=dmy-all}}</ref>]]
The [[Mesha Stele]], dated to 840 BCE, mentions the Israelite god ''[[Yahweh]]''.{{r|Lemaire}} Roughly contemporary pottery sherds and plaster [[Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions|inscriptions]] found at [[Kuntillet Ajrud]] mention "Yahweh of [[Samaria]] and his [[Asherah]]" and "Yahweh of [[Teman (Edom)|Teman]] and his Asherah".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uuKfXsvfr2YC|title=Archaeology and Fertility Cult in the Ancient Mediterranean: Papers Presented at the First International Conference on Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean, University of Malta, 2–5 September 1985|first=Anthony|last=Bonanno| year=1986 | publisher=John Benjamins | isbn=9060322886 | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=18 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118214135/https://books.google.com/books?id=uuKfXsvfr2YC | url-status=live}}</ref> A tomb inscription at [[Khirbet el-Qom]] also mentions Yahweh.<ref>{{Cite book|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=NjYAWXO-jdAC | title =Gods, Goddesses, And Images of God|first1 =Othmar|last1 =Keel|first2 =Christoph|last2 =Uehlinger|date =1998|publisher =Bloomsbury Academic|isbn =9780567085917|access-date =19 May 2020|archive-date =15 June 2021|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20210615143655/https://books.google.com/books?id=NjYAWXO-jdAC | url-status =live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z72KmReV-bIC | title=Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah|first=Bob|last=Becking| year=2001 | publisher=A&C Black | isbn=9781841271996 | access-date=19 May 2020 | archive-date=21 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421123929/https://books.google.com/books?id=z72KmReV-bIC | url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Cross|1997|p=61}} Dated slightly later (7th century BCE) there are an ostracon from the collections of Shlomo Moussaieff,<ref>{{cite book | first=James M. | last=Lindenberger | title=Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew Letters | edition=2nd | pages=110, 111 | year=2003 | publisher=Society of Biblical Literature | location=Atlanta}}</ref>{{Full citation needed| date=January 2023}} and [[Ketef Hinnom scrolls|two tiny silver amulet scrolls]] found at [[Ketef Hinnom]] that mention Yahweh.<ref name="Knight,2011">{{Cite book | first1=Douglas A. | last1=Knight | first2=Amy-Jill | last2=Levine | title=The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us | edition=1st | year=2011 | publisher=HarperOne | location=New York | isbn=978-0062098597}}</ref> Also a wall inscription, dated to the late 6th century BCE, with mention of Yahweh had been found in a tomb at [[Khirbet Beit Lei]].<ref>{{cite journal | first=Joseph | last=Naveh | title=Old Hebrew Inscriptions in a Burial Cave | journal=Israel Exploration Journal | volume=13 | number=2 | pages=74–92 | year=1963}}</ref>
[[File:YHWH on Lakis Letters (no. 2).jpg|thumb|class=skin-invert-image|right|YHWH in one of the [[Lachish letters]].]] Yahweh is mentioned also in the [[Lachish letters]] (587 BCE) and the slightly earlier [[Tel Arad]] ostraca, and on a stone from [[Mount Gerizim]] (3rd or the beginning of the 2nd century BCE).<ref>{{cite book | first=G. | last=Davis | title=Ancient Hebrew inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance | volume=2 | page=18 | year=2004 | publisher=Cambridge}}</ref>
==== Texts with similar theonyms ====
The [[theonym]]s YHW and YHH are found in the [[Elephantine papyri]] of about 500 BCE.<ref>{{cite book | first=A. | last=Vincent | title=La religion des judéo-araméens d'Éléphantine | year=1937 | publisher=Geuthner | location=Paris | language=fr}}</ref> One ostracon with YH is thought to have lost the final letter of an original YHW.<ref>{{cite book|first=B. |last=Porten|title=Archives from Elephantine, The Life of an Ancient Jewish Military Colony|location=Berkeley & Los Angeles|publisher=University of California Press|year=1968|pages=105–106}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=D. N. Freedman | title=Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament | chapter=YHWH | volume=5 | page=504 | year=1974 | publisher=Eerdmans | isbn=0802823297}}</ref> These texts are in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], not the language of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (YHWH) and, unlike the Tetragrammaton, are of three letters, not four. However, because they were written by Jews, they are assumed to refer to the same deity and to be either an abbreviated form of the Tetragrammaton or the original name from which the name YHWH developed.
[[Kristin De Troyer]] says that YHW or YHH, and also YH, are attested in the fifth and fourth-century BCE papyri from Elephantine and [[Wadi Daliyeh]]: "In both collections one can read the name of God as Yaho (or Yahu) and Ya".<ref name="Troyer">{{cite journal | first=Kristin | last=De Troyer | title=The Names of God. Their Pronunciation and Their Translation: A Digital Tour of Some of the Main Witnesses | journal=Lectio Difficilior: European Electronic Journal for Feminist Exegesis | issue=2 | year=2005 | publisher=Theological Facility of Bern University | issn=1661-3317 | oclc=174649029 | url=http://www.lectio.unibe.ch/05_2/troyer_names_of_god.htm | access-date=9 December 2009 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711150129/http://www.lectio.unibe.ch/05_2/troyer_names_of_god.htm | archive-date=11 July 2020}}</ref> The name YH (Yah/Jah), the first syllable of "Yahweh", appears 50 times in the Old Testament, 26 times alone (Exodus 15:2; 17:16; and 24 times in the Psalms), 24 times in the expression "[[Hallelujah]]".<ref>{{Cite book | first1=Bruno | last1=Becchio | first2=Johannes | last2=Schadé | title=Encyclopedia of World Religions | page=463 | year=2006 | publisher=Foreign Media Group | location=Amsterdam | isbn=978-1-60136-000-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRkfKdho-5cC&pg=PP463 | access-date=29 July 2020 | archive-date=25 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125211518/https://books.google.com/books?id=XRkfKdho-5cC&pg=PP463 | url-status=live}}</ref>
According to De Troyer, the short names, instead of being ineffable like "Yahweh", seem to have been in spoken use not only as elements of personal names but also in reference to God: "The Samaritans thus seem to have pronounced the Name of God as Jaho or Ja." She cites [[Theodoret]] ({{Circa|393|460}}) as that the shorter names of God were pronounced by the Samaritans as "Iabe" and by the Jews as "Ia". She adds that the Bible also indicates that the short form "Yah" was spoken, as in the phrase "[[Halleluyah]]".{{r|Troyer}}
The ''[[Patrologia Graeca]]'' texts of Theodoret differ slightly from what De Troyer says. In ''Quaestiones in Exodum'' 15 he says that Samaritans pronounced the name Ἰαβέ and Jews the name Άϊά.<ref>{{cite book | first=Jacques-Paul | last=Migne | title=Patrologiae cursus completus, series graeca | volume=80 | page=col. 244 | year=1860 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxkRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP5 | access-date=28 July 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=13 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813165857/https://books.google.com/books?id=AxkRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP5}} English translation: {{Cite book | first=Walter Woodburn | last=Hyde | title=Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire | page=80 | year=2008 | publisher=Wipf and Stock | location=Eugene, OR | isbn=978-1-60608-349-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_VLAwAAQBAJ&dq=yabe+yave+aia&pg=PA80| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813165229/https://books.google.com/books?id=H_VLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=yabe+yave+aia&source=bl&ots=uHswxUAFXM&sig=ACfU3U0VZSYVc9sVakBdFaFRdHfAju_l-A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjg-uX1stnnAhX6VBUIHToIDPoQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=yabe%20yave%20aia&f=false | archive-date=13 August 2020 }}</ref> (The Greek term Άϊά is a transcription of the Exodus 3:14 phrase אֶהְיֶה (''ehyeh''), "I am".)<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia | first1=Crawford Howell | last1=Toy | first2=Ludwig | last2=Blau | title=Tetragrammaton | encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia | url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14346-tetragrammaton | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226113047/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14346-tetragrammaton | archive-date=2020-02-26}}</ref> In ''Haereticarum Fabularum Compendium'' 5.3, he uses the spelling Ἰαβαί.<ref>{{cite book | first=Jacques-Paul | last=Migne | title=Patrologiae cursus completus, series graeca | volume=83 | page=col. 460 | year=1864 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmDGmXJHWjsC | access-date=3 March 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417191745/http://books.google.com/books?id=JmDGmXJHWjsC | archive-date=17 April 2015}}</ref>
==== Magical papyri ==== Among the Jews in the [[Second Temple Period]] magical amulets became very popular. Representations of the Tetragrammaton name or combinations inspired by it in languages such as Greek and Coptic, giving some indication of its pronunciation, occur as names of powerful agents in [[Jewish magical papyri]] found in Egypt.<ref>B. Alfrink, {{lang|fr|La prononciation 'Jehova' du tétragramme}}, O.T.S. V (1948) 43–62.</ref> {{lang|grc|Iαβε}} ''Iave'' and {{lang|grc|Iαβα}} ''Yaba'' occurs frequently,<ref name="Moore">{{Cite EB1911 | first1=George Foot | last1=Moore | wstitle=Jehovah | volume=15 | pages=311–314 | author-link=George Foot Moore}}</ref> "apparently the Samaritan enunciation of the tetragrammaton YHWH (Yahweh)".<ref>{{Cite book | editor-first=Hans Dieter | editor-last=Betz | title=The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation | page=335 | year=1986 | publisher=University of Chicago Press | location=Chicago | url=https://fewarethemystaidotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/hans_dieter_betz__greek_magical_papyri_in_translabookos-org.pdf | access-date=11 October 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=20 September 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920083335/https://fewarethemystaidotcom.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/hans_dieter_betz__greek_magical_papyri_in_translabookos-org.pdf}}</ref>
The most commonly invoked god is Ιαω (''Iaō''), another vocalization of the tetragrammaton YHWH.<ref>{{Cite book | first1=Luke | last1=Evans | first2=Ralph | last2=Aaron | title=Recipes for Love: A Semiotic Analysis of the Tools in the Erotic Magical Papyri | page=26 | year=2015 | publisher=Durham University | location=Durham | url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11454/1/10.02.16.pdf?DDD3+ |access-date=11 October 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203173525/http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11454/1/10.02.16.pdf?DDD3+ | archive-date=3 December 2020}}</ref> There is a single instance of the heptagram {{lang|grc|ιαωουηε}} (''iaōouēe'').<ref>K. Preisendanz, ''Papyri Graecae Magicae'', Leipzig-Berlin, I, 1928 and II, 1931.</ref>
''Yāwē'' is found in an [[Christianity in Ethiopia|Ethiopian Christian]] list of magical names of Jesus, purporting to have been taught by him to his disciples.{{r|Moore}}
==== Vernacular evidence ====
Also relevant is the use of the name in [[theophoric names]]; there is a common Hebrew prefix form, Yeho or "Y{{sup|e}}hō-", and a common suffix form, "Yahū" or "-Y{{sup|e}}hū". These provide some corroborating evidence of how YHWH was pronounced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.fortunecity.com/yahuwthah/Resource-577/AnsonLetter.htm |title=AnsonLetter.htm |publisher=Members.fortunecity.com |access-date=18 November 2011 |archive-date=2 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202034811/http://members.fortunecity.com/yahuwthah/Resource-577/AnsonLetter.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{self-published inline|year=July 2022|date=August 2024}}
== Hebrew Bible == === Masoretic Text === According to the [[Jewish Encyclopedia]] it occurs 5,410 times in the Hebrew scriptures.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14346-tetragrammaton |title=Tetragrammaton |first1=Crawford Howell |last1=Toy |first2=Ludwig |last2=Blau |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=16 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216023710/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14346-tetragrammaton |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the Tetragrammaton occurs 6828 times,{{r|Knight,2011|p=142}} as can be seen in [[Biblia Hebraica (Kittel)|Kittel's ''Biblia Hebraica'']] and the ''[[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]]''. In addition, the marginal notes or ''masorah''<ref group="note">''masora parva'' (small) or ''masora marginalis'': notes to the Masoretic Text, written in the margins of the left, right and between the columns and the comments on the top and bottom margins to ''masora magna'' (large).</ref> indicate that in another 134 places, where the received text has the word ''Adonai'', an earlier text had the Tetragrammaton.<ref>{{cite book|author=C. D. Ginsburg|title=''The Massorah. Translated into English with a critical and exegetical commentary''|volume=IV|page=28,§115|url=https://archive.org/stream/MassorahMassorethMassoretic/04.Massorah.TranslEngCritCom.Ginsburg.1905.#page/n29/mode/2up |author-link=C. D. Ginsburg}}</ref><ref group="note">C. D. Ginsburg in ''The Massorah. Compiled from manuscripts'', London 1880, [https://archive.org/stream/MassorahMassorethMassoretic/01.p1.MassoraCompMSS.ALA..Alef.Yod.Ginsburg.1880.#page/n29/mode/2up vol I, p. 25, 26, § 115] lists the 134 places where this practice is observed, and likewise in 8 places where the received text has ''Elohim'' (C. D. Ginsburg, ''Introduction to the Massoretico – Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible'', London 1897, [https://archive.org/stream/introductionofma00ginsuoft#page/368/mode/2up s. 368, 369]). These places are listed in: C.D. Ginsburg, ''The Massorah. Compiled from manuscripts'', vol I, p. 26, [https://archive.org/stream/MassorahMassorethMassoretic/01.p1.MassoraCompMSS.ALA..Alef.Yod.Ginsburg.1880.#page/n29/mode/2up § 116].</ref> which would add up to 142 additional occurrences. Even in the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] practice varied with regard to use of the Tetragrammaton.<ref>{{cite book|title=Pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton: A Historico-Linguistic Approach|author=Steven Ortlepp|page=60|year=2010|publisher=Lulu.com |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k9JEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|isbn=978-1-4452-7220-7|access-date=29 November 2016|archive-date=26 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130124/https://books.google.com/books?id=k9JEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[Brown–Driver–Briggs]]'', {{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}} ([[Qere and Ketiv|''qere'']] {{script|Hebr|אֲדֹנָי}}) occurs 6,518 times, and {{script|Hebr|יֱהֹוִה}} (qere {{script|Hebr|אֱלֹהִים}}) 305 times in the Masoretic Text.
The first appearance of the Tetragrammaton is in the [[Book of Genesis]] 2:4.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bible translator |volume=56 |page=71 |publisher=United Bible Societies |year=2005}}; {{cite book |title=Nelson's expository dictionary of the Old Testament |page=229 |publisher=Merrill Frederick Unger, William White |year=1980}}</ref> The only books it does not appear in are [[Ecclesiastes]], the [[Book of Esther]], and [[Song of Songs]].{{r|Knight,2011}}<ref name="TEOC">{{cite encyclopedia | editor1=[[Geoffrey William Bromiley]] | editor2=[[Erwin Fahlbusch]] | editor3=[[Jan Milic Lochman]] | editor4=[[John Mbiti]] | editor5=[[Jaroslav Pelikan]] | editor6=[[Lukas Vischer (theologian)|Lukas Vischer]] | translator=Geoffrey William Bromiley | title=Yahweh | encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Christianity]] | volume=5 | pages=823–824 | year=2008 | publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing]] ; [[Brill Publishers|Brill]] | isbn=978-90-04-14596-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZUBZlth2qgC&pg=PA823 | access-date=24 February 2020 | archive-date=6 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806142021/https://books.google.com/books?id=lZUBZlth2qgC | url-status=live}}</ref>
In the Book of Esther the Tetragrammaton does not appear, but it has been distinguished [[acrostic]]-wise in the initial or last letters of four consecutive words,<ref group="note">These are Est 1:20; 5:4, 13 and 7:7. The same acrostic has been seen in Exodus 3:14 and in the first four words of [[Psalm 96]]:11 ({{cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: 96:11 תהילים – The Westminster Leningrad Codex |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2096:11&version=WLC |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220014751/https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2096:11&version=WLC |archive-date=20 February 2015 |access-date=25 February 2015}}).</ref> as indicated in Est 7:5 by writing the four letters in red in at least three ancient Hebrew manuscripts.<ref>[http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app60.html The Name of Jehovah in the Book of Esther.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224342/http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app60.html | year=2016}}, appendix 60, ''Companion Bible''.</ref>{{Original research inline| year=2021|date=August 2024}}
The short form {{script|Hebr|יָהּ}}/[[Jah|Yah]] (a digrammaton) occurs 50 times if the phrase [[hallelujah|hallellu-Yah]] is included":<ref>{{cite book|title=Yahweh: The Divine Name in the Bible|author=G.H. Parke-Taylor|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press|year=2006|isbn=9780889206526|location=Waterloo, Ontario|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZhkDQAAQBAJ|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108195744/https://books.google.com/books?id=XZhkDQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>G. Lisowsky, ''Konkordanz zum hebräischen Alten Testament'', Stuttgart 1958, p. 1612. Basic information about the form ''Jāh'', see L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, J.J. Stamm, ''Wielki słownik hebrajsko-polski i aramejsko-polski Starego Testamentu'' (Great Dictionary of the Hebrew-Aramaic-Polish and Polish Old Testament), Warszawa 2008, vol 1, p. 327, code No. 3514.</ref> 43 times in the Psalms, once in Exodus 15:2; 17:16; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4, and twice in Isaiah 38:11. It also appears in the Greek phrase {{lang|grc|Ἁλληλουϊά}} (Alleluia, Hallelujah) in {{bibleverse|Revelation|19:1, 3, 4, 6}}.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = George | first1 = Abbot-Smith | title = Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament | publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons | location = New York | year = 1922 | page = 21 | url = https://archive.org/details/manualgreeklexic00abborich/page/20/mode/2up}}</ref>
Other short forms are found as a component of theophoric Hebrew names in the Bible: jô- or jehô- (29 names) and -jāhû or -jāh (127 jnames). A form of jāhû/jehô appears in the name Elioenai (Elj(eh)oenai) in 1Ch 3:23–24; 4:36; 7:8; Ezr 22:22, 27; Neh 12:41.
The following graph shows the absolute number of occurrences of the Tetragrammaton (6828 in all) in the books in the Masoretic Text,<ref>E. Jenni, C. Westermann, ''Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament'', Hendrickson Publishers 1997, page 685.</ref> without relation to the length of the books.
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:1000 height:330 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late
Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6)
DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:800 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2
PlotData = color:cobar width:17 align:left bar:Ge from:0 till: 165 bar:Ex from:0 till: 398 bar:Le from:0 till:311 bar:Nu from:0 till:396 bar:De from:0 till:550 bar:Jos from:0 till:224 bar:Jg from:0 till: 175 bar:Ru from:0 till: 18 bar:1Sa from:0 till: 320 bar:2Sa from:0 till: 153 bar:1Ki from:0 till: 257 bar:2Ki from:0 till:277 bar:1Ch from:0 till:175 bar:2Ch from:0 till:384 bar:Ezr from:0 till:37 bar:Ne from:0 till:7 bar:Es from:0 till:0 bar:Job from:0 till:32 bar:Ps from:0 till:695 bar:Pr from:0 till:87 bar:Ec from:0 till:0 bar:Ca from:0 till:0 bar:Isa from:0 till:450 bar:Jer from:0 till:726 bar:La from:0 till:32 bar:Eze from:0 till:434 bar:Da from:0 till:8 bar:Ho from:0 till:46 bar:Joe from:0 till:33 bar:Am from:0 till:82 bar:Ob from:0 till:7 bar:Jon from:0 till:26 bar:Mic from:0 till:40 bar:Na from:0 till:13 bar:Hab from:0 till:13 bar:Zep from:0 till:34 bar:Hag from:0 till:35 bar:Zec from:0 till:133 bar:Mal from:0 till:46
PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:Ge at: 165 text: 165 shift:(-9,5) bar:Ex at: 398 text: 398 shift:(-8,5) bar:Le at: 311 text: 311 shift:(-8,5) bar:Nu at: 396 text: 396 shift:(-8,5) bar:De at: 550 text: 550 shift:(-8,5) bar:Jos at: 224 text: 224 shift:(-8,5) bar:Jg at: 175 text: 175 shift:(-9,5) bar:Ru at: 18 text: 18 shift:(-6,5) bar:1Sa at: 320 text: 320 shift:(-8,5) bar:2Sa at: 153 text: 153 shift:(-9,5) bar:1Ki at: 257 text: 257 shift:(-8,5) bar:2Ki at: 277 text: 277 shift:(-8,5) bar:1Ch at: 175 text: 175 shift:(-9,5) bar:2Ch at: 384 text: 384 shift:(-8,5) bar:Ezr at: 37 text: 37 shift:(-5,5) bar:Ne at: 17 text: 17 shift:(-6,5) bar:Es at: 0 text: 0 shift:(-2,5) bar:Job at: 32 text: 32 shift:(-5,5) bar:Ps at: 695 text: 695 shift:(-8,5) bar:Pr at: 87 text: 87 shift:(-5,5) bar:Ec at: 0 text: 0 shift:(-2,5) bar:Ca at: 0 text: 0 shift:(-2,5) bar:Isa at: 450 text: 450 shift:(-8,5) bar:Jer at: 726 text: 726 shift:(-8,5) bar:La at: 32 text: 32 shift:(-5,5) bar:Eze at: 434 text: 434 shift:(-8,5) bar:Da at: 8 text: 8 shift:(-2,5) bar:Ho at: 46 text: 46 shift:(-5,5) bar:Joe at: 33 text: 33 shift:(-5,5) bar:Am at: 81 text: 81 shift:(-5,5) bar:Ob at: 7 text: 7 shift:(-2,5) bar:Jon at: 26 text: 26 shift:(-5,5) bar:Mic at: 40 text: 40 shift:(-5,5) bar:Na at: 13 text: 13 shift:(-6,5) bar:Hab at: 13 text: 13 shift:(-6,5) bar:Zep at: 34 text: 34 shift:(-5,5) bar:Hag at: 35 text: 35 shift:(-5,5) bar:Zec at: 133 text: 133 shift:(-9,5) bar:Mal at: 46 text: 46 shift:(-5,5)
TextData= fontsize:S pos:(190,300) text: The occurrence of the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew Bible
</timeline>
=== Leningrad Codex === Six presentations of the Tetragrammaton with some or all of the vowel points of {{script|Hebr|אֲדֹנָי}} (Adonai) or {{script|Hebr|אֱלֹהִים}} (Elohim) are found in the [[Leningrad Codex]] of 1008–1010, as shown below. The close transcriptions do not indicate that the Masoretes intended the name to be pronounced in that way (see ''[[Qere and Ketiv#Qere perpetuum|qere perpetuum]]'').
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |- ! Chapter and verse||Masoretic Text display||Close transcription of the display||Ref.||Explanation |- | Genesis 2:4||{{script|Hebr|יְהוָה}}||Yǝhwāh||<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Gen2:4-2:4|title=Genesis 2:4 in the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex|publisher=Tanach.us|access-date=18 November 2011|archive-date=14 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914022210/http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Gen2:4-2:4|url-status=live}}</ref>|| style="text-align: left" | This is the first occurrence of the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew Bible and shows the most common set of vowels used in the Masoretic Text. It is the same as the form used in Genesis 3:14 below, but with the dot (holam) on the first he left out, because it is a little redundant. |- | Genesis 3:14||{{script|Hebr|יְהֹוָה}}||Yǝhōwāh||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Gen3:14-3:14 |title=Genesis 3:14 in the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex |publisher=Tanach.us |access-date=30 March 2024 |archive-date=30 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330233055/https://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Gen3:14-3:14 |url-status=live }}</ref>|| style="text-align: left" | This is a set of vowels used rarely in the Masoretic Text, and are essentially the vowels from Adonai (with the hataf patakh reverting to its natural state as a shewa). |- | Judges 16:28||{{script|Hebr|יֱהֹוִה}}||Yĕhōwih||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Judg16:28-16:28 |title=Judges 16:28 in the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex |publisher=Tanach.us |access-date=18 November 2011 |archive-date=14 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914023750/http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Judg16:28-16:28 |url-status=live }}</ref>|| style="text-align: left" | When the Tetragrammaton is preceded by Adonai, it receives the vowels from the name Elohim instead. The hataf segol does not revert to a shewa because doing so could lead to confusion with the vowels in Adonai. |- | Genesis 15:2||{{script|Hebr|יֱהוִה}}||Yĕhwih||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Gen15:2-15:2 |title=Genesis 15:2 in the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex |publisher=Tanach.us |access-date=18 November 2011 |archive-date=14 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914044005/http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Gen15:2-15:2 |url-status=live }}</ref>|| style="text-align: left" | Just as above, this uses the vowels from Elohim, but like the second version, the dot (holam) on the first he is omitted as redundant. |- | 1 Kings 2:26||{{script|Hebr|יְהֹוִה}}||Yǝhōwih||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?1Kings2:26-2:26 |title=1 Kings 2:26 in the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex |publisher=Tanach.us |access-date=18 November 2011 |archive-date=14 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914025158/http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?1Kings2:26-2:26 |url-status=live }}</ref>|| style="text-align: left" | Here, the dot (holam) on the first he is present, but the hataf segol does get reverted to a shewa. |- | Ezekiel 24:24||{{script|Hebr|יְהוִה}}||Yǝhwih||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Ezek24:24-24:24 |title=Ezekiel 24:24 in the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex |publisher=Tanach.us |access-date=18 November 2011 |archive-date=14 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914023318/http://www.tanach.us/Tanach.xml?Ezek24:24-24:24 |url-status=live }}</ref>|| style="text-align: left" | Here, the dot (holam) on the first he is omitted, and the hataf segol gets reverted to a shewa. |} '''ĕ''' is ''hataf [[segol]]''; '''ǝ''' is the pronounced form of plain [[shva]].
=== Dead Sea Scrolls === In the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] and other Hebrew and Aramaic texts the Tetragrammaton and some other [[names of God in Judaism]] (such as El or Elohim) were sometimes written in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|paleo-Hebrew script]], showing that they were treated specially. Most of God's names were pronounced until about the 2nd century BCE. Then, as a tradition of non-pronunciation of the names developed, alternatives for the Tetragrammaton appeared, such as Adonai, Kurios and Theos.{{r|Troyer}} The [[4Q120]], a Greek fragment of Leviticus (26:2–16) discovered in the Dead Sea scrolls (Qumran) has ιαω ("Iao"), the Greek form of the Hebrew trigrammaton YHW.<ref>Bezalel Porten, ''Archives from Elephantine: The life of an ancient Jewish military colony'', 1968, University of California Press, pp. 105, 106.</ref> The historian [[John the Lydian]] (6th century) wrote: "The Roman [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]] [116–27 BCE] defining him [that is the Jewish God] says that he is called Iao in the Chaldean mysteries" (De Mensibus IV 53). Van Cooten mentions that Iao is one of the "specifically Jewish designations for God" and "the Aramaic papyri from the Jews at Elephantine show that 'Iao' is an original Jewish term".<ref>Stern M., ''Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism'' (1974–84) 1:172; Schafer P., ''Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World'' (1997) 232; Cowley A., ''Aramaic Papyri of the 5th century'' (1923); Kraeling E.G., ''The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri: New Documents of the 5th century BCE from the Jewish Colony at Elephantine'' (1953)</ref><ref>Sufficient examination of the subject is available at Sean McDonough's ''YHWH at Patmos'' (1999), pp. 116 to 122 and George van Kooten's ''The Revelation of the Name YHWH to Moses'' (2006), pp. 114, 115, 126–136. It is worth mentioning a fundamental, though aged, source about the subject: Adolf Deissmann's ''[https://archive.org/details/biblestudiescont00deisrich Bible studies: Contributions chiefly from papyri and inscriptions to the history of the language, the literature, and the religion of Hellenistic Judaism and primitive Christianity]'' (1909), at chapter "Greek transcriptions of the Tetragrammaton".</ref>
The preserved manuscripts from Qumran show the inconsistent practice of writing the Tetragrammaton, mainly in biblical quotations: in some manuscripts is written in paleo-Hebrew script, square scripts or replaced with four dots or dashes (''tetrapuncta'').
The members of the Qumran community were aware of the existence of the Tetragrammaton, but this was not tantamount to granting consent for its existing use and speaking. This is evidenced not only by special treatment of the Tetragrammaton in the text, but by the recommendation recorded in the 'Rule of Association' (VI, 27): "Who will remember the most glorious name, which is above all [...]".<ref>Translated by: P. Muchowski, ''Rękopisy znad Morza Martwego. Qumran – Wadi Murabba'at – Masada,'' Kraków 1996, pp. 31.</ref>
The table below presents all the manuscripts in which the Tetragrammaton is written in paleo-Hebrew script,<ref group="note">In some manuscripts the Tetragrammaton was replaced by the word ''{{`}}El'' or ''{{`}}Elohim'' written in Paleo-Hebrew script, they are: 1QpMic (1Q14) 12 3; 1QMyst (1Q27) II 11; 1QHa I (Suk. = Puech IX) 26; II (X) 34; VII (XV) 5; XV (VII) 25; 1QH{{sup|b}} (1Q35) 1 5; 3QUnclassified fragments (3Q14) 18 2; 4QpPs{{sup|b}} (4Q173) 5 4; 4QAges of Creation A (4Q180) 1 1; 4QMidrEschate?(4Q183) 2 1; 3 1; fr. 1 kol. II 3; 4QS{{sup|d}} (4Q258) IX 8; 4QD{{sup|b}} (4Q267) fr. 9 kol. i 2; kol. iv 4; kol. v 4; 4QD{{sup|c}} (4Q268) 1 9; 4QComposition Concerning Divine Providence (4Q413) fr. 1–2 2, 4; 6QD (6Q15) 3 5; 6QpapHymn (6Q18) 6 5; 8 5; 10 3. W 4QShirShabbg (4Q406) 1 2; 3 2 występuje ''{{`}}Elohim''.</ref> in square scripts, and all the manuscripts in which the copyists have used tetrapuncta.
Copyists used the 'tetrapuncta' apparently to warn against pronouncing the name of God.<ref name="Tov">{{cite book | first=Emanuel | last=Tov | author-link=Emanuel Tov | title=Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert | year=2018 | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden | isbn=978-90-474-1434-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqWODwAAQBAJ | access-date=6 August 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=16 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816023341/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqWODwAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{rp|206}} In the manuscript number 4Q248 is in the form of bars.
{| class="wikitable" ! PALEO-HEBREW !! SQUARE !! TETRAPUNCTA |- | 1Q11 (1QPs{{sup|b}}) 2–5 3 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-277262]) || 2Q13 (2QJer) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-278363]) || 1QS VIII 14 (link: [http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/community]) |- | 1Q14 (1QpMic) 1–5 1, 2 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-277254]) || 4Q27 (4QNum{{sup|b}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-298706]) || [[1QIsaa|1QIsa{{sup|a}}]] XXXIII 7, XXXV 15 (link: [http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah]) |- | [[1QpHab]] VI 14; X 7, 14; XI 10 (link: [http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/habakkuk]) || 4Q37 (4QDeut{{sup|j}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-278426]) || 4Q53 (4QSam{{sup|c}}) 13 III 7, 7 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-288404]) |- | 1Q15 (1QpZeph) 3, 4 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-277302]) || 4Q78 (4QXII{{sup|c}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-280209]) || 4Q175 (4QTest) 1, 19 |- | 2Q3 (2QExod{{sup|b}}) 2 2; 7 1; 8 3 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284856] [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-278362]) || 4Q96 (4QPs{{sup|o}} (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-299918]) || 4Q176 (4QTanḥ) 1–2 i 6, 7, 9; 1–2 ii 3; 8–10 6, 8, 10 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q176-1]) |- | 3Q3 (3QLam) 1 2 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284853]) || 4Q158 (4QRP{{sup|a}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q158-1]) || 4Q196 (4QpapToba ar) 17 i 5; 18 15 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q196-1]) |- | 4Q20 (4QExod{{sup|j}}) 1–2 3 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284014]) || 4Q163 (4Qpap pIsa{{sup|c}}) I 19; II 6; 15–16 1; 21 9; III 3, 9; 25 7 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q163-1]) || 4Q248 (history of the kings of Greece) 5 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284694]) |- | 4Q26b (4QLev{{sup|g}}) linia 8 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284277]) || 4QpNah (4Q169) II 10 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-299230]) || 4Q306 (4QMen of People Who Err) 3 5 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-295766]) |- | 4Q38a (4QDeut{{sup|k2}}) 5 6 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284297]) || 4Q173 (4QpPs{{sup|b}}) 4 2 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q173-1]) || 4Q382 (4QparaKings et al.) 9+11 5; 78 2 |- | 4Q57 (4QIsa{{sup|c}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-300013]) || 4Q177 (4QCatena A) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q177-1]) || 4Q391 (4Qpap Pseudo-Ezechiel) 36, 52, 55, 58, 65 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q391-1]) |- | 4Q161 (4QpIsa{{sup|a}}) 8–10 13 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q55-1]) || 4Q215a (4QTime of Righteousness) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q215-1]) || 4Q462 (4QNarrative C) 7; 12 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-288554]) |- | 4Q165 (4QpIsa{{sup|e}}) 6 4 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q59-1]) || 4Q222 (4QJub{{sup|g}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q222-1]) || 4Q524 (4QT{{sup|b}})) 6–13 4, 5 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q524-1]) |- | 4Q171 (4QpPs{{sup|a}}) II 4, 12, 24; III 14, 15; IV 7, 10, 19 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q171-1]) || 4Q225 (4QPsJub{{sup|a}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q225-1]) || XḤev/SeEschat Hymn (XḤev/Se 6) 2 7 |- | 11Q2 (11QLev{{sup|b}}) 2 2, 6, 7 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-285319]) || 4Q365 (4QRP{{sup|c}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q365-1]) || |- | [[11Q5]] (11QPs{{sup|a}})<ref>A complete list: A. Sanders, ''The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11'' (11QPsa), serie ''Discoveries of the Judaean Desert of Jordan'' IV, pp. 9.</ref> (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/11Q5-1]) || 4Q377 (4QApocryphal Pentateuch B) 2 ii 3, 5 (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q377-1]) || |- | || 4Q382 (4Qpap paraKings) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q382-1]) || |- | || 11Q6 (11QPs{{sup|b}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/2Q13-1]) || |- | || 11Q7 (11QPs{{sup|c}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-285346]) || |- | || [[Temple Scroll|11Q19]] (11QT{{sup|a}}) || |- | || 11Q20 (11QT{{sup|b}}) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/11Q20-1]) || |- | || 11Q11 (11QapocrPs) (link: [http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-285324]) || |}
== Septuagint == [[File:Lxx Minorprophets.gif|thumb|upright=1.2|Tetragrammaton written in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|paleo-Hebrew]] script on [[Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever]]]] Editions of the Septuagint Old Testament are based on the complete or almost complete fourth-century manuscripts [[Codex Vaticanus]], [[Codex Sinaiticus]] and [[Codex Alexandrinus]] and consistently use Κ[ύριο]ς, "[[Lord]]", where the [[Masoretic Text]] has the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew. This corresponds with the Jewish practice of replacing the Tetragrammaton with "[[Names of God in Judaism#Adonai|Adonai]]" when reading the Hebrew word.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Takamitsu | last=Muraoka | title=A Greek-Hebrew/Aramaic Two-way Index to the Septuagint | pages=56, 72 | year=2010 | publisher=Peeters Publishers | location=Leuven | isbn=978-9042923560}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first1=Edwin | last1=Hatch | first2=Henry A. | last2=Redpath | title=A Concordance to the Septuagint: And the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testament (Including the Apocryphal Books) | volume=I | pages=630–648 | year=1975 | publisher=Clarendon Press | location=Oxford | url=https://archive.org/details/HatchRedpath2}}</ref>
However, five of the oldest manuscripts now extant (in fragmentary form) render the Tetragrammaton into Greek in a different way.<ref>H. Bietenhard, "Lord", in ''the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology'', C. Brown (gen. ed.), Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1986, Vol. 2, p. 512, {{ISBN|0310256208}}</ref>
Two of these are of the first century BCE: [[Papyrus Fouad 266]] uses {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} in the normal [[Hebrew alphabet]] in the midst of its Greek text, and [[4Q120]] uses the Greek transcription of the name, ΙΑΩ. Three later manuscripts use {{script|Phnx|𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄}}, the name {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew script]]: the [[Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever]], [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3522]] and [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5101]].<ref>{{Cite book | first=Bruce Manning | last=Metzger | title=Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Palaeography | year=1981 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=9780195365320 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z35H7PQDQ1oC&pg=PA33 | access-date=19 May 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=26 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130124/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z35H7PQDQ1oC&pg=PA33}}</ref>
Other extant ancient fragments of Septuagint or Old Greek manuscripts provide no evidence on the use of the Tetragrammaton, Κύριος, or ΙΑΩ in correspondence with the Hebrew-text Tetragrammaton. They include the oldest known example, [[Papyrus Rylands 458]].<ref>{{cite book | first1=Robert J.V. | last1=Hiebert | first2=Claude E. | last2=Cox | first3=Peter J. | last3=Gentry | title=The Old Greek Psalter: Studies in Honour of Albert Pietersma | page=125 | year=2001 | publisher=Bloomsbury | location=London | isbn=978-0-567-37628-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TWIZaRpnn0C&pg=PA125 | access-date=6 August 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009073734/https://books.google.com/books?id=1TWIZaRpnn0C&pg=PA125 | archive-date=9 October 2021}}</ref>{{r|Tov|p=304}}
Scholars differ on whether in the original Septuagint translations the Tetragrammaton was represented by Κύριος,{{sfn|Pietersma|1984|p=90}}{{r|Rösel|p=411}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Perkins |first=Larry |title="ΚΥΡΙΟΣ – Articulation and Non-articulation in Greek Exodus" in ''Bulletin of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies'', volume 41 (2008), p. 23 |url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/journal/volumes/bioscs41.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802095052/http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ioscs/journal/volumes/bioscs41.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2020 |access-date=6 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nbseminary.ca/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Perkins_KURIOS2_BIOSCS_February_2008.pdf |title=Larry Perkins, "ΚΥΡΙΟΣ – Proper Name or Title in Greek Exodus", p. 6 |access-date=6 August 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129223009/https://nbseminary.ca/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Perkins_KURIOS2_BIOSCS_February_2008.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> by ΙΑΩ,<ref>{{Cite journal | first=Patrick W. | last=Skehan | title=The Qumran Manuscripts and Textual Criticism | journal=Vetus Testamentum | issue=supp. 4 | pages=148–160 | year=1957 | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden | isbn=978-90-04-02327-7}}, reprinted in {{Cite book | first1=Frank Moore | last1=Cross | first2=Šěmaryahū | last2=Ṭalmōn | title=Qumran and the History of the Biblical Text | page=221 | year=1975 | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=Cambridge | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SAre1FPqZ5IC&pg=PA221 | isbn=978-0-674-74362-5 | access-date=6 August 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811171315/https://books.google.com/books?id=SAre1FPqZ5IC&pg=PA221 | archive-date=11 August 2020}}</ref> by the Tetragrammaton in either normal or Paleo-Hebrew form, or whether different translators used different forms in different books.{{r|JHS}}
Frank Shaw argues that the Tetragrammaton continued to be articulated until the second or third century CE and that the use of Ιαω was by no means limited to magical or mystical formulas, but was still normal in more elevated contexts such as that exemplified by Papyrus [[4Q120]]. Shaw considers all theories that posit in the Septuagint a single original form of the divine name as merely based on ''a priori'' assumptions.{{r|JHS}} Accordingly, he declares: "The matter of any (especially single) 'original' form of the divine name in the LXX is too complex, the evidence is too scattered and indefinite, and the various approaches offered for the issue are too simplistic" to account for the actual scribal practices (p. 158). He holds that the earliest stages of the LXX's translation were marked by diversity (p. 262), with the choice of certain divine names depending on the context in which they appear (cf. Gen 4:26; Exod 3:15; 8:22; 28:32; 32:5; and 33:19). He treats of the related blank spaces in some Septuagint manuscripts and the setting of spaces around the divine name in 4Q120 and [[Papyrus Fouad 266]]b (p. 265), and repeats that "there was no one 'original' form but different translators had different feelings, theological beliefs, motivations, and practices when it came to their handling of the name" (p. 271).{{r|JHS}} His view has won the support of Anthony R. Meyer,<ref name="JHS">{{Cite web | first=F. | last=Shaw | title=The Earliest Non-Mystical Jewish Use of Ιαω | url=http://www.jhsonline.org/reviews/reviews_new/review763.htm | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155148/http://www.jhsonline.org/reviews/reviews_new/review763.htm | archive-date=2 December 2018 | access-date=2 December 2018 | website=www.jhsonline.org}}</ref> Bob Becking,<ref>[http://www.thlz.com/artikel/19214/?inhalt=heft%3D2016%23r548 ThLZ – 2016 Nr. 11 / Shaw, Frank / The Earliest Non-Mystical Jewish Use of IAO. / Bob Becking] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202162933/http://www.thlz.com/artikel/19214/?inhalt=heft%3D2016%23r548| year=2018}} ''Theologische Literaturzeitung, 241 (2016), pp. 1203–1205.''</ref> and (commenting on Shaw's 2011 dissertation on the subject) D.T. Runia.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrhbwyQawYQC&pg=PA229|title=Philo of Alexandria: An Annotated Bibliography 1997-2006|first=D. T.|last=Runia|pages=229–230| year=2011 | publisher=Brill | isbn=978-9004210806|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-date=26 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130126/https://books.google.com/books?id=WrhbwyQawYQC&pg=PA229|url-status=live}}; [https://www.oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=401999 David T. Runia, ''Philo of Alexandria: An Annotated Bibliography 1997–2006'' (Brill 2012), pp. 229–230] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719161844/http://oapen.org/download?type=document&docid=401999 | year=2018}}</ref>
Mogens Müller says that, while no clearly Jewish manuscript of the Septuagint has been found with Κύριος representing the Tetragrammaton, other Jewish writings of the time show that Jews did use the term Κύριος for God, and it was because Christians found it in the Septuagint that they were able to apply it to Christ.<ref>{{cite journal | first=Mogens | last=Müller | title=The First Bible of the Church: A Plea for the Septuagint | page=118 | year=1996 | journal=Journal for the Study of the Old Testament | volume=1 | issue=206 | publisher=A&C Black | isbn=978-1-85075571-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E4CtAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118 | url-status=live | access-date=3 March 2016 | archive-date=26 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130124/https://books.google.com/books?id=E4CtAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118}}</ref> In fact, the [[deuterocanonical books]] of the Septuagint, written originally in Greek (e.g., Wisdom, 2 and 3 Maccabees), do speak of God as Κύριος and thus show that "the use of κύριος as a representation of {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} must be pre-Christian in origin".<ref name="Rösel">{{Cite journal | first=Martin | last=Rösel | title=The Reading and Translation of the Divine Name in the Masoretic Tradition and the Greek Pentateuch | journal=Journal for the Study of the Old Testament | volume=31 | issue=4 | year=2007 | page=425 | doi=10.1177/0309089207080558 | s2cid=170886081 | issn=0309-0892 | url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0309089207080558 | access-date=25 August 2020 |url-status=live | archive-date=27 December 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227225920/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0309089207080558| url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Similarly, while consistent use of ''Κύριος'' to represent the Tetragrammaton has been called "a distinguishing mark for any Christian LXX manuscript", [[Eugen J. Pentiuc]] says: "No definitive conclusion has been reached thus far."<ref>{{cite book |author=Pentiuc |first=Eugen J. |author-link=Eugen J. Pentiuc|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNZBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 |title=Septuagint Manuscripts and Printed Editions | chapter=The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] USA |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19533123-3 |pages=77–78 |access-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130125/https://books.google.com/books?id=cNZBAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> And Sean McDonough denounces as implausible the idea that Κύριος did not appear in the Septuagint before the Christian era.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0ZG4P8J1roC&pg=PA60|author=Sean M. McDonough| title=YHWH at Patmos: Rev. 1:4 in Its Hellenistic and Early Jewish Setting, Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|year=1999|isbn=978-31-6147055-4|page=60|chapter=2: The Use of the Name YHWH|access-date=3 March 2016|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126105811/https://books.google.com/books?id=c0ZG4P8J1roC&pg=PA60|url-status=live}}</ref>
Speaking of the [[Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever]], which is a [[kaige recension]] of the Septuagint, "a revision of the Old Greek text to bring it closer to the Hebrew text of the Bible as it existed in ca. 2nd–1st century BCE" (and thus not necessarily the original text), Kristin De Troyer remarks: "The problem with a recension is that one does not know what is the original form and what the recension. Hence, is the paleo-Hebrew Tetragrammaton secondary – a part of the recension – or proof of the Old Greek text? This debate has not yet been solved."
While some interpret the presence of the Tetragrammaton in [[Papyrus Fouad 266]], the oldest Septuagint manuscript in which it appears, as an indication of what was in the original text, others see this manuscript as "an archaizing and hebraizing revision of the earlier translation κύριος".<ref>{{Cite book | first1=Ernst | last1=Wurthwein | first2=Alexander Achilles | last2=Fischer | title=The Text of the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica | page=264 | year=2014 | publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans | location=Grand Rapids, MI | isbn=978-0-8028-6680-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T2w9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA264 | access-date=6 August 2020 | archive-date=9 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009073725/https://books.google.com/books?id=T2w9AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA264 | url-status=live}}</ref> Of this papyrus, De Troyer asks: "Is it a recension or not?" In this regard she says that Emanuel Tov notes that in this manuscript a second scribe inserted the four-letter Tetragrammaton where the first scribe left spaces large enough for the six-letter word Κύριος, and that Pietersma and Hanhart say the papyrus "already contains some pre-[[hexapla]]ric corrections towards a Hebrew text (which would have had the Tetragrammaton). She also mentions Septuagint manuscripts that have Θεός and one that has παντοκράτωρ where the Hebrew text has the Tetragrammaton. She concludes: "It suffices to say that in old Hebrew and Greek witnesses, God has many names. Most if not all were pronounced till about the second century BCE. As slowly onwards there developed a tradition of non-pronunciation, alternatives for the Tetragrammaton appeared. The reading ''Adonai'' was one of them. Finally, before ''Kurios'' became a standard rendering ''Adonai'', the Name of God was rendered with ''Theos''."{{r|Troyer}} In the Book of Exodus alone, Θεός represents the Tetragrammaton 41 times.{{sfn|Pietersma|Wright|2007|p=46}}
Robert J. Wilkinson says that the [[Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever]] is also a [[kaige recension]] and thus not strictly a Septuagint text.<ref name="Wilkinson">{{cite book | first=Robert J. | last=Wilkinson | title=Tetragrammaton: Western Christians and the Hebrew Name of God – From the Beginnings to the Seventeenth Century | year=2015 | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden | isbn=978-90-04-28817-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xyoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 | access-date=6 August 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=9 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009073731/https://books.google.com/books?id=1xyoBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA55}}</ref>{{rp|55}}
[[Origen]] (''Commentary on Psalms'' 2.2) said that in the most accurate manuscripts the name was written in an older form of the Hebrew characters, the paleo-Hebrew letters, not the square: "In the more accurate exemplars the (divine) name is written in Hebrew characters; not, however, in the current script, but in the most ancient." While Pietersma interprets this statement as referring to the Septuagint,{{sfn|Pietersma|1984|p=90}} Wilkinson says one might assume that Origen refers specifically to the version of [[Aquila of Sinope]], which follows the Hebrew text very closely, but he may perhaps refer to Greek versions in general.{{r|Wilkinson|p=70}}<ref name="OE">{{Cite web | first=Andrew | last=Phillips | title=The Septuagint | publisher=Orthodox England (journal) | url=http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/septuag.htm | access-date=13 September 2014 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926224517/http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/septuag.htm | archive-date=26 September 2014}}</ref>
=== Manuscripts of the Septuagint and later Greek renderings ===
The great majority of extant manuscripts of the Old Testament in Greek, complete or fragmentary, dated to the ninth century CE or earlier, employ Κύριος to represent the Tetragrammaton of the Hebrew text. The following do not. They include the oldest now extant.
# Manuscripts of the Septuagint or recensions thereof #* 1st century BCE #** [[4Q120|4QpapLXXLev{{sup|b}}]] – fragments of the Book of Leviticus, chapters 1 to 5. In two verses: 3:12; 4:27 the Tetragrammaton of the Hebrew Bible is represented by Greek ΙΑΩ. #** [[Papyrus Fouad 266]]b (848) – fragments of Deuteronomy, chapters 10 to 33.<ref>Z. Aly, L. Koenen, ''Three Rolls of the Early Septuagint: Genesis and Deuteronomy'', Bonn 1980, s. 5, 6.</ref> The Tetragrammaton appears in square Hebrew/Aramaic script. According to a disputed view, the first copyist left a blank space marked with a dot, and another inscribed the letters. #* 1st century CE #** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 3522]] – contains parts of two verses of chapter 42 of the Book of Job and has the Tetragrammaton in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|paleo-Hebrew letters]]. #** [[Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Nahal Hever]] – in three fragments whose contents were published separately. #*** [[Se2grXII|Se2grXII (LXX{{sup|IEJ 12}})]] has the Tetragrammaton in 1 place. #*** [[8HevXII a|8HevXII a (LXX{{sup|VTS 10a}})]] in 24 places, in whole or part. #*** [[8HevXII b|8HevXII b (LXX{{sup|VTS 10b}})]] in 4 places. #* 1st to 2nd century #** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5101]] – contains fragments of the Book of Psalms. It has YHWH in Paleo-Hebrew script.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sources and Interpretation in Ancient Judaism: Studies for Tal Ilan at Sixty|editor1=Meron Piotrkowski|editor2=Geoffrey Herman|editor3=Saskia Doenitz|publisher=Brill|year=2018|isbn=9789004366985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U-t5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149|page=149|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-date=26 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130125/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Sources_and_Interpretation_in_Ancient_Ju/U-t5DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA149&printsec=frontcover|url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|Tov|p=231}}<ref>Michael P. Theophilos. [http://www.mst.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Theophilos-Michael-P.-Recently-Discovered-Papyri-and-Parchment-of-the-Psalter.pdf ''Recently Discovered Greek Papyri and Parchment of the Psalter from the Oxford Oxyrhynchus Manuscripts: Implications for Scribal Practice and Textual Transmission''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190314125308/http://www.mst.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Theophilos-Michael-P.-Recently-Discovered-Papyri-and-Parchment-of-the-Psalter.pdf | year=14 March 2019 }}. Australian Catholic University.</ref> #* 3rd century CE #** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1007]] – contains Genesis 2 and 3. The divine name is written with a double [[yodh]]. #** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 656]] – fragments of the Book of Genesis, chapters 14 to 27. Has Κύριος where the first copyist left blank spaces #** [[Papyrus Berlin 17213]] – fragments of the Book of Genesis, chapter 19. One space is left blank. Emanuel Tov thinks it indicated the end of a paragraph.{{r|Tov|p=231}} It has been dated to 3rd century CE. # Manuscripts of Greek translations made by [[Symmachus (translator)|Symmachus]] and [[Aquila of Sinope]] (2nd century CE) #* 3rd century CE #** [[Papyrus Vindobonensis Greek 39777]]. Has the Tetragrammaton in archaic Hebrew script.<ref>{{cite book | first=Thomas J. | last=Kraus | title=Ad Fontes: Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity: Selected Essays | series=Texts and Editions for New Testament Study | volume=3 | page=3 | year=2007 | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden | isbn=9789004161825 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bnAHcPYN34YC&pg=PA3 | access-date=19 May 2020 | url-status=live | archive-date=26 February 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130130/https://books.google.com/books?id=bnAHcPYN34YC&pg=PA3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Larry W. | last=Hurtado | title=The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins | page=214 | year=2006 | publisher=Eerdmans | location=Grand Rapids, MI | isbn=9780802828958 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5FpP9ZxqlYC&pg=PA214 | access-date=19 May 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130132/https://books.google.com/books?id=w5FpP9ZxqlYC&pg=PA214 | archive-date=26 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Carl | last=Wessely | title=Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde | volume=XI | page=171 | year=1911 | publisher=H. Hassel-Verlag | location=Leipzig}}</ref> #* 5th century CE #** [[AqTaylor]], this manuscript of the Aquila version is dated after the middle of the 5th century, but not later than the beginning of the 6th century. #** [[AqBurkitt]] – a [[palimpsest]] manuscript of the Aquila version dated late 5th century or early 6th century. # Manuscripts with Hexaplaric elements #* 6th century CE #** [[Codex Marchalianus]] – In addition to the Septuagint text of the prophets (with {{overline|κς}}), the manuscript contains marginal notes from a hand "not much later than the original scribe" indicating [[Hexapla]]ric variations, each identified as from Aquila, Symmachus or Theodotion. Marginal notes on some of the prophets contain πιπι to indicate that {{overline|κς}} in the text corresponds to the Tetragrammaton. Two marginal notes at Ezekiel 1:2 and 11:1 use the form {{lang|grc|ιαω}} with reference to the Tetragrammaton.<ref>Bruce M. Metzger. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z35H7PQDQ1oC Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Palaeography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812193007/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z35H7PQDQ1oC | year=12 August 2020 }}''. Oxford University Press; 17 September 1981. {{ISBN|978-0-19-536532-0}}. pp. 94–95 (commentary on p. 94, image of a page from the manuscript on p. 95), cited also on p. 35 fn. 66.</ref> #* 7th century CE #** [[Taylor-Schechter 12.182]] – a Hexapla manuscript with Tetragrammaton in Greek letters ΠΙΠΙ. It has Hebrew text transliterated into Greek, Aquila, Symmachus and the Septuagint. #* 9th century CE #** [[Ambrosiano O 39 sup.]] – the latest Greek manuscript containing the name of God is [[Origen|Origen's]]'' [[Hexapla]]'', transmitting among other translations the text of the Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, and in three other unidentified Greek translations (Quinta, Sextus and Septima). This codex, copied from a much earlier original, comes from the late 9th century, and is stored in the [[Biblioteca Ambrosiana]].
== Patristic writings == [[File:Tetragrammaton-Trinity-diagram-12thC.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|[[Petrus Alphonsi]]'s early 12th-century Tetragrammaton-Trinity diagram, rendering the name as "IEVE", which in contemporary letters is "IEUE"]] [[File:Tetragrammaton at 5th Chapel of the Palace of Versailles France.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Tetragrammaton at the Fifth Chapel of the [[Palace of Versailles]], France]]
According to the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1910) and B. D. Eerdmans:{{sfn|Eerdmans|1948|pp=1–29}}{{sfn|Maas|1910}} * [[Diodorus Siculus]] (1st century BCE) writes<ref>"Among the Jews Moses referred his laws to the god who is invoked as Iao (Gr. Ιαώ)." (Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica'' I, 94:2)</ref> {{lang|grc|Ἰαῶ}} (Iao); * [[Irenaeus]] (d. c. 202) reports<ref>Irenaeus, "[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Against Heresies]]"<!-- "Adv. Haer." -->, II, xxxv, 3, in P. G., VII, col. 840.</ref> that the [[Gnosticism|Gnostics]] formed a compound {{lang|grc|Ἰαωθ}} (Iaoth) with the last syllable of [[Sabaoth]]. He also reports<ref>Irenaeus, "[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Against Heresies]]"<!-- "Adv. Haer." -->, I, iv, 1, in P.G., VII, col. 481.</ref> that the [[Valentinianism|Valentinian gnostics]] use {{lang|grc|Ἰαῶ}} (Iao); * [[Clement of Alexandria]] (d. c. 215) reports: "the mystic name of four letters which was affixed to those alone to whom the [[adytum]] was accessible, is called {{lang|grc|Ἰαοὺ}}" (Iaoú); printed variants made in the 1800s say {{lang|grc|ἰαοῦε}} (Iaoúe) and {{lang|grc|ἰὰ οὐὲ}}.<ref>''Stromata'' v,6,34; see {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/operacle03clem/page/26/mode/2up |page=27 |quote=ἀτὰρ καὶ τὸ τετράγραμμον ὄνομα τὸ μυστικόν, ὃ περιέκειντο οἷς μόνοις τὸ ἄδυτον βάσιμον ἦν· λέγεται δὲ Ἰαοὺ [Ftn] 25. Ἰαοὺ] ἰαοῦε ΜS. Seguer. 308. Paris. 1825. ἰὰ οὐὲ ΜS. Paris. 1888. POTT. |language=el |title=Clementis Alexandrini Opera |year=1869 |volume=III |editor=Karl Wilhelm Dindorf |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Clement of Alexandria |date=1001–1100 |title=ΣΤΡΩΜΑΤΑ |url=https://cdm21059.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/plutei/id/250748 |trans-title=MISCELLANEOUS |format=PDF |language=Greek |location=Florence |publisher=Laurentian Library |page=203r |quote=[Line 6] δὲ Ἰαοὺ,}}</ref> * [[Origen]] (d. c. 254), {{lang|grc|Ἰαώ}} (Iao);<ref>Origen, "In Joh.", II, 1, in [https://books.google.com/books?id=gfsUAAAAQAAJ P.G., XIV, col. 105] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116055601/https://books.google.com/books?id=gfsUAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb | year=16 January 2017 }}, where a footnote says that the last part of the name of Jeremiah refers to what the Samaritans expressed as Ἰαβαί, Eusebius as Ἰευώ, Theodoretus as Ἀϊά and the ancient Greeks as Ἰαώ.</ref> * [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] (d. c. 305) according to [[Eusebius]] (died 339),<ref>[[Eusebius]], ''[[Praeparatio evangelica]]'' I, ix, in P.G., XXI, col. 72 A; and also ibid. X, ix, in P.G., XXI, col. 808 B.</ref> {{lang|grc|Ἰευώ}} (Ieuo); * [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] (died 404), who was born in Palestine and spent a considerable part of his life there, gives {{lang|grc|Ἰά}} (Ia) and {{lang|grc|Ἰάβε}} (pronounced at that time /ja'vε/) and explains Ἰάβε as meaning He who was and is and always exists.<ref>Epiphanius, ''[[Panarion]]'', I, iii, 40, in [https://archive.org/details/patrologiaecurs30hopfgoog P.G., XLI, col. 685]</ref> * [[Jerome]] (died 420)<ref>Jerome, "Ep. xxv ad Marcell.", in P. L., XXII, col. 429.</ref> speaks of certain Greek writers who misunderstood the Hebrew letters {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} (read right-to-left) as the Greek letters {{lang|grc|ΠΙΠΙ}} (read left-to-right), thus changing YHWH to ''pipi''. * [[Theodoret]] (d. c. 457) writes {{lang|grc|Ἰαώ}} (Iao);<ref>"the word Nethinim means in Hebrew 'gift of Iao', that is of the God who is" (Theodoret, "Quaest. in I Paral.", cap. ix, in [https://archive.org/details/patrologiaecurs143unkngoog P. G., LXXX, col. 805 C])</ref> he also reports<ref>Theodoret, "Ex. quaest.", xv, in P. G., LXXX, col. 244 and "Haeret. Fab.", V, iii, in [https://books.google.com/books?id=JmDGmXJHWjsC&pg=PP8 P. G., LXXXIII, col. 460] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211013126/https://books.google.com/books?id=JmDGmXJHWjsC&pg=PP8 | year=11 December 2021 }}</ref> that the [[Samaritans]] say {{lang|grc|Ἰαβέ}} or {{lang|grc|Ἰαβαί}} (both pronounced at that time /ja'vε/), while the Jews say {{lang|grc|Ἀϊά}} (Aia).{{r|Moore}} (The latter is probably not {{script|Hebr|יהוה}} but {{script|Hebr|אהיה}} ''Ehyeh'' = "I am " or "I will be", {{Bibleverse|Exod.|3:14}} which the Jews counted among the names of God.){{r|Moore}} * (Pseudo-)Jerome (4th/5th or 9th century),:<ref>"nomen Domini apud Hebraeos quatuor litterarum est, ''jod, he, vau, he'': quod proprie Dei vocabulum sonat: et legi potest JAHO, et Hebraei {{lang|grc|ἄῤῥητον}}, id est, ineffabile opinatur." ("Breviarium in Psalmos. Psalm. viii.", in P.L., XXVI, col. 838 A)</ref> ''IAHO''. This work was traditionally attributed to [[Jerome]] and, in spite of the view of one modern writer who in 1936 said it is "now believed to be genuine and to be dated before CE 392"<ref>[[Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft|ZATW]] (W. de Gruyter, 1936. p. 266)</ref> is still generally attributed to the 9th century<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Royal_MS_2_E_XIV |title=British Library |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130212/http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Royal_MS_2_E_XIV |url-status=live }}</ref> and to be non-authentic.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Martin J. | last=McNamara | title=The Psalms in the Early Irish Church | page=49 | year=2000 | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | isbn=978-0-567-54034-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0mOvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://patrimoine.bm-dijon.fr/pleade/ead.html?id=FR212316101_citeaux&c=FR212316101_citeaux_D11010061#!{%22content%22:%5B%22FR212316101_citeaux_D11010061%22,false,%22%22%5D} | title=Manuscrits de Cîteaux | access-date=23 September 2020 | archive-date=27 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127023837/http://patrimoine.bm-dijon.fr/pleade/ead.html?id=FR212316101_citeaux&c=FR212316101_citeaux_D11010061#!{%22content%22:%5B%22FR212316101_citeaux_D11010061%22,false,%22%22%5D} |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Peshitta == The [[Peshitta]] ([[Syriac language|Syriac]] translation), probably in the second century,<ref>Sebastian P. Brock [https://archive.org/details/TheBibleInTheSyriacTradition The Bible in the Syriac Tradition] St. Ephrem Ecumenical Research Institute, 1988. Quote Page 17: "The Peshitta Old Testament was translated directly from the original Hebrew text, and most Biblical scholars believe that the Peshitta New Testament directly from the original Greek. The so-called "[[deuterocanonical books|"deuterocanonical" books]], or "[[Apocrypha]]" were all translated from Greek, with ..."</ref> uses the word "Lord" ({{lang|syr|ܡܳܪܝܳܐ}}, pronounced ''māryā'' or ''moryo'' (Western pronunciation) for the Tetragrammaton.<ref name="Bloch">{{Cite journal | first=Joshua | last=Bloch | title=The Authorship of the Peshitta | journal=The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures | volume=35 | issue=4 | pages=215–222 | year=1919 | doi=10.1086/369885 | jstor=528619 | s2cid=170883669 | issn=1062-0516}}</ref>
== Vulgate == The [[Vulgate]] (Latin translation) made from the Hebrew in the 4th century CE,<ref>Adam Kamesar. Jerome, Greek Scholarship, and the Hebrew Bible: A Study of the Quaestiones Hebraicae in Genesim. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993. {{ISBN|9780198147275}}. page 97.</ref> uses the word {{wikt-lang|la|Dominus}} ("Lord"), a translation of the Hebrew word ''Adonai'', for the Tetragrammaton.{{r|Bloch}}
The Vulgate translation, though made not from the Septuagint but from the Hebrew text, did not depart from the practice used in the Septuagint. Thus, for most of its history, Christianity's translations of the Scriptures have used equivalents of ''Adonai'' to represent the Tetragrammaton. Only at about the beginning of the 16th century did Christian translations of the Bible appear combining the vowels of ''Adonai'' with the four (consonantal) letters of the Tetragrammaton.<ref name="Driver">In the 7th paragraph of ''Introduction to the Old Testament of the New English Bible'', [http://www.bible-researcher.com/driver1.html Sir Godfry Driver wrote] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060426194841/http://www.bible-researcher.com/driver1.html | year=26 April 2006 }}, "The early translators generally substituted 'Lord' for [YHWH]. [...] The Reformers preferred Jehovah, which first appeared as ''Iehouah'' in 1530 A.D., in Tyndale's translation of the Pentateuch (Exodus 6.3), from which it passed into other Protestant Bibles."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jbq.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/421/JBQ_421_4_Yah.pdf |title=Clifford Hubert Durousseau, "Yah: A Name of God" in ''Jewish Bible Quarterly'', Vol. 42, No. 1, January–March 2014 |access-date=13 September 2014 |archive-date=12 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912211542/http://jbq.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/421/JBQ_421_4_Yah.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Usage in religious traditions== ===Judaism===
Especially due to the existence of the [[Mesha Stele]], the [[Jahwist]] tradition found in Exodus 3:15,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|3:15|HE}}</ref> and ancient Hebrew and Greek texts, biblical scholars widely hold that the Tetragrammaton and other names of God were spoken by the ancient [[Israelites]] and their neighbours.<ref name="JewishEncycloName">{{cite web | title=Names Of God | url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11305-names-of-god | publisher=JewishEncyclopedia.com | access-date=18 November 2011 | url-status=live | archive-date=14 November 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114234306/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11305-names-of-god}}</ref>{{r|Troyer}}<ref name="Miller2000">{{Cite book | first=Patrick D. | last=Miller | author-link=Patrick D. Miller | title=The Religion of Ancient Israel | year=2000 | publisher=Westminster John Knox Press | location=London | isbn=978-0664221454 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JBhY9BQ7hIQC | access-date=3 March 2016 | url-status=live | archive-date=1 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501170817/https://books.google.com/books?id=JBhY9BQ7hIQC}}</ref>{{rp|40}}
By at least the 3rd century BCE, the name was not pronounced in normal speech,<ref>{{citation |last=Harris |first=Stephen L. |title=Understanding the Bible: A Reader's Introduction | year=1985 |page=21 |edition=2nd |location=Palo Alto, California |publisher=Mayfield |author-link=Stephen L. Harris}}</ref> but only in certain ritual contexts. The Talmud relays this change occurred after the death of [[Simeon the Just]] (either [[Simon I (High Priest)|Simon I]] or his great-great-grandson [[Simon II (High Priest)|Simon II]]).<ref>Yoma; [[Tosefta]] Sotah, 13</ref> [[Philo]] calls the name [[ineffability|ineffable]], and says that it is lawful only for those "whose ears and tongues are purified by wisdom to hear and utter it in a holy place", that is, the priests in the Temple. In another passage, commenting on Leviticus 24:15,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Leviticus|24:15|HE}}</ref> Philo writes, "If any one{{nbsp}}[...] should even dare to utter his name unseasonably, let him expect the penalty of death."{{r|Moore}} Some time after the destruction of the [[Second Temple]], the spoken use of God's name as it was written ceased altogether, though knowledge of the pronunciation was perpetuated in rabbinic schools.{{r|Moore}}
Rabbinic sources suggest that the name of God was pronounced only once a year, by the high priest, on the [[Yom Kippur|Day of Atonement]].<ref>{{Cite book | first1=William David | last1=Davies | first2=Louis | last2=Finkelstein | first3=Steven T. | last3=Katz | title=The Cambridge History of Judaism: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period | page=779 | year=2006 }}: "The text clearly testifies that the pronunciation of the Ineffable Name was one of the climaxes of the Sacred Service: it was entrusted exclusively to the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement in the Holy of Holies."</ref> Others, including [[Maimonides]], claim that the name was pronounced daily in the [[liturgy]] of the [[Temple]] in the [[priestly blessing]] of worshippers, after the daily sacrifice; in [[synagogue]]s, though, a substitute (probably "Adonai") was used.{{r|Moore}} According to the [[Talmud]], in the last generations before the fall of [[Jerusalem]], the name was pronounced in a low tone so that the sounds were lost in the chant of the priests.{{r|Moore}} Since the destruction of [[Second Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 CE, the Tetragrammaton has no longer been pronounced in the liturgy. However the pronunciation was still known in [[Babylonia]] in the latter part of the 4th century.{{r|Moore}}
====Spoken prohibitions==== The vehemence with which the utterance of the name is denounced in the [[Mishnah]] suggests that use of the name Yahweh was unacceptable in rabbinical Judaism. "He who pronounces the Name with its own letters has no part in the world to come!"{{r|Moore}} Such is the prohibition of pronouncing the Name as written that it is sometimes called the "Ineffable", "Unutterable", or "Distinctive Name", or "Explicit Name" ({{transliteration|he|[[Shem HaMephorash]]}} in Hebrew).<ref>For example, see {{cite book | first1=Saul | last1=Weiss | first2=Joseph Dov | last2=Soloveitchik | title=Insights of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik | page=9 | year=2005 | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | isbn=978-0-7425-4469-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rmmRRNYXb7kC&pg=PA9 | access-date=19 May 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126105807/https://books.google.com/books?id=rmmRRNYXb7kC&pg=PA9 | archive-date=26 January 2021}} and {{cite book |author=Rozen |first=Minna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pt50fMlgKuMC&pg=PA67 |title=Jewish Identity and Society in the 17th century |publisher=J. C. B. Mohr |year=1992 |isbn=978-3-16-145770-8 |page=67 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226130217/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pt50fMlgKuMC&pg=PA67 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|Rösel|p=418|q=It is in this book that we find the strictest prohibition against pronouncing the name of the Lord. The Hebrew of 24.16, which may be translated as 'And he that blasphemes/curses (3B?) the name of the Lord (9H9J), he shall surely be put to death', in the LXX is subjected to a ...|}}
[[Halakha]] prescribes that although the Name is written {{langx|he|יהוה|yodh he waw he}}, if not preceded by ({{langx|he|אֲדֹנָי|rtl=yes|label=none}}, {{transliteration|he|Adonai}}) then it is only to be pronounced "Adonai" and if preceded by "Adonai" then it is only to be pronounced as "Our God" ({{langx|he|אֱלֹהֵינוּ|rtl=yes|label=none}}, {{transliteration|he|Eloheinu}}), or, in rare cases, as a repetition of Adonai, e.g., the [[Thirteen Attributes of Mercy]] ({{langx|he|שְׁלוֹשׁ־עֶשְׂרֵה|rtl=yes|label=none}}, {{transliteration|he|Shelosh-'Esreh}}) in Exodus 34:6–7; the latter names too are regarded as holy names, and are only to be pronounced in prayer.<ref name="rambamprayer14">"They [the Priests, when reciting the Priestly Blessing, when the Temple stood] recite [God's] name – i.e., the name ''yod-hei-vav-hei'', as it is written. This is what is referred to as the 'explicit name' in all sources. In the country [that is, outside the Temple], it is read [using another one of God's names], א-ד-נ-י ('Adonai'), for only in the Temple is this name [of God] recited as it is written." – ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' [[Maimonides]], Laws of Prayer and Priestly Blessings, 14:10</ref><ref>''Kiddushin'' 71a states, "I am not referred to as [My name] is written. My name is written ''yod-hei-vav-hei'' and it is pronounced 'Adonai'."</ref> Thus when someone wants to refer in third person to either the written or spoken Name, the term {{transliteration|he|HaShem}} ('the Name') is used;<ref name="Seidner">Stanley S. Seidner, "HaShem: Uses through the Ages", Unpublished paper, Rabbinical Society Seminar, Los Angeles, California, 1987.</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=Unpublished generally means [[WP:V|unverifiable]]| year=July 2022|date=August 2024}}<ref>For example, two common prayer books are titled "Tehillat Hashem" and "Avodat Hashem". Or, a person may tell a friend, "Hashem helped me to perform a great [[mitzvah]] today."</ref> and this handle itself can also be used in prayer.<ref group="note">For example, in the common utterance and praise, "Barukh Hashem" (Blessed [i.e. the source of all] is Hashem), or "Hashem yishmor" (God protect [us])</ref> The [[Masoretes]] added vowel points ([[niqqud]]) and [[Hebrew cantillation|cantillation]] marks to the manuscripts to indicate vowel usage and for use in ritual chanting of readings from the [[Bible]] in [[Jewish prayer]] in [[synagogue]]s. To {{lang|he|יהוה}} they added the vowels for {{lang|he|אֲדֹנָי}} ({{Transliteration|he|Adonai}}, {{translation|My Lords|literal=yes}}, [[Pluralis majestatis]] taken as singular), the word to use when the text was read. While "HaShem" is the most common way to reference "the Name", the terms "HaMaqom" ({{lit|The Place}}, i.e. "The Omnipresent") and "Raḥmana" (Aramaic, "Merciful") are used in the mishna and [[gemara]], still used in the phrases {{transliteration|he|HaMaqom y'naḥem ethḥem}} ("may The Omnipresent console you"), the traditional phrase used in sitting [[Shiva (Judaism)|Shiva]] and {{transliteration|he|Raḥmana l'tzlan}} ("may the Merciful save us" i.e. "God forbid").
====Written prohibitions==== {{Main|Genizah|Names of God in Judaism#Erasing the name of God|:de:G'tt{{!}}G'tt <small>[de]</small>}} The written Tetragrammaton,<ref>See Deuteronomy 12:2–4: "You must destroy all the sites at which the nations you are to dispossess worshiped their gods...tear down their altars...and cut down the images of their gods, obliterating their name from that site. Do not do the same thing to Hashem (YHWH) your God."</ref> as well as six other names of God, must be treated with special sanctity. They cannot be disposed of regularly, lest they be desecrated, but are usually put in [[Genizah|long-term storage]] or buried in Jewish cemeteries in order to retire them from use.<ref>"Based on the Talmud (Shavuot 35a-b), Maimonides (Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah, Chapter 6), and the [[Shulchan Aruch|Shulchan Arukh]] (Yoreh Deah 276:9) it is prohibited to erase or obliterate the seven Hebrew names for God found in the Torah (in addition to the above, there is E-l, E-loha, Tzeva-ot, Sha-dai,...).</ref> Similarly, writing the Tetragrammaton (or these other names) unnecessarily is prohibited, so as to avoid having them treated disrespectfully, an action that is forbidden. To guard the sanctity of the Name, sometimes a letter is substituted by a different letter in writing (e.g. [[יקוק]]), or the letters are separated by one or more hyphens, a practice applied also to the English name "God", which some Jews write as "G-d". Most Jewish authorities say that this practice is not obligatory for the English name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/why-do-some-jews-write-g-d-instead-god | title=Why do some Jews write "G-d" instead of "God"?| year=2014 | website=ReformJudaism.org | access-date=9 December 2018 | archive-date=9 December 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209170839/https://reformjudaism.org/practice/ask-rabbi/why-do-some-jews-write-g-d-instead-god | url-status=live}}</ref>
====Kabbalah==== {{See also|Kabbalah|Hasidic philosophy}} [[Kabbalistic]] tradition holds that the correct pronunciation is known to a select few people in each generation, it is not generally known what this pronunciation is. There are two main schools of Kabbalah arising in 13th century Spain. These are called Theosophic Kabbalah represented by Rabbi Moshe De Leon and the Zohar, and the Kabbalah of Names or Prophetic Kabbalah whose main representative is Rabbi Abraham Abulafia of Saragossa. Rabbi Abulafia wrote many wisdom books and prophetic books where the name is used for meditation purposes from 1271 onwards. Abulafia put a lot of attention on Exodus 15 and the Songs of Moses. In this song it says "Yehovah is a Man of War, Yehovah is his name". For Abulafia the goal of prophecy was for a man to come to the level of prophecy and be called "Yehovah a man of war". Abulafia also used the tetragrammaton in a spiritual war against his spiritual enemies. For example, he prophesied in his book "The Sign", "Therefore, thus said YHWH, the God of Israel: Have no fear of the enemy" (See Hylton, A The Prophetic Jew Abraham Abulafia, 2015).
[[Moshe Chaim Luzzatto]],<ref name="ramchal31">In קל"ח פתחי חכמה by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato, Opening #31; English translation in book "138 Openings of Wisdom" by Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum, 2008, also viewable at http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/spirituality_and_faith/kabbalah_and_mysticism/the_name_of_havayah.aspx?id=10847&language=english {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106134959/http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/spirituality_and_faith/kabbalah_and_mysticism/the_name_of_havayah.aspx?id=10847&language=english | year=6 November 2011 }}, accessed 12 March 2012</ref> says that the tree of the Tetragrammaton "unfolds" in accordance with the intrinsic nature of its letters, "in the same order in which they appear in the Name, in the mystery of ten and the mystery of four." Namely, the upper cusp of the ''Yod'' is [[Arich Anpin]] and the main body of ''Yod'' is and [[Partzufim|Abba]]; the first ''Hei'' is [[Partzufim|Imma]]; the ''Vav'' is [[Zeir Anpin|Ze`ir Anpin]] and the second ''Hei'' is [[Partzufim|Nukvah]]. It unfolds in this aforementioned order and "in the mystery of the four expansions" that are constituted by the following various spellings of the letters:
:'''ע"ב/''`AV''''' : יו"ד ה"י וי"ו ה"י, so called "`AV" according to its [[gematria]] value ע"ב=70+2=72.
:'''ס"ג/''SaG''''': יו"ד ה"י וא"ו ה"י, gematria 63.
:'''מ"ה/''MaH''''': יו"ד ה"א וא"ו ה"א, gematria 45.
:'''ב"ן/''BaN''''': יו"ד ה"ה ו"ו ה"ה, gematria 52.
Luzzatto summarises, "In sum, all that exists is founded on the mystery of this Name and upon the mystery of these letters of which it consists. This means that all the different orders and laws are all drawn after and come under the order of these four letters. This is not one particular pathway but rather the general path, which includes everything that exists in the [[Sefirot]] in all their details and which brings everything under its order."{{r|ramchal31}}
Another parallel is drawn{{by whom| date=June 2014}} between the four letters of the Tetragrammaton and the [[Four Worlds]]: the '''<big>י</big>''' is associated with [[Atziluth]], the first '''<big>ה</big>''' with [[Beri'ah]], the '''<big>ו</big>''' with [[Yetzirah]], and final '''<big>ה</big>''' with [[Assiah]].
[[File:Tetragrammaton-Tetractys.png|thumb|class=skin-invert|A tetractys of the letters of the Tetragrammaton adds up to 72 by [[gematria]].]] There are some{{who| year=June 2014|date=August 2024}} who believe that the [[tetractys]] and its mysteries influenced the early [[Kabballah|kabbalists]]. A Hebrew tetractys in a similar way has the letters of the Tetragrammaton (the four lettered name of God in Hebrew scripture) inscribed on the ten positions of the tetractys, from right to left. It has been argued that the Kabbalistic [[Tree of life (Kabbalah)|Tree of Life]], with its ten spheres of emanation, is in some way connected to the tetractys, but its form is not that of a triangle. The occult writer [[Dion Fortune]] says:
{{blockquote|<poem>The [[Point (geometry)|point]] is assigned to Kether; the [[Line (geometry)|line]] to Chokmah; the two-dimensional [[plane (geometry)|plane]] to Binah; consequently the three-dimensional [[Solid geometry|solid]] naturally falls to Chesed.<ref>The Mystical Qabalah, Dion Fortune, Chapter XVIII, 25</ref></poem>}}
(The first two-dimensional figure is the [[triangle]], and the first three-dimensional solid is the [[tetrahedron]].)
The relationship between geometrical shapes and the first four [[Sephirot]] is analogous to the geometrical correlations in the tetractys, and unveils the relevance of the Tree of Life with the tetractys.
===Samaritans=== The [[Samaritans]] shared the taboo of the Jews about the utterance of the name, and there is no evidence that its pronunciation was common Samaritan practice.{{r|Moore}}<ref>The Talmud Yerushalmi and Graeco-Roman culture: Volume 3 – Page 152 [[Peter Schäfer]], Catherine Hezser – 2002 " In fact, there is no proof in any other rabbinic writing that Samaritans used to pronounce the Divine Name when they took an oath. The only evidence for Sarmaritans uttering the Tetragrammaton at that ..."</ref> However [[Sanhedrin (tractate)#Summary of Sanhedrin|Sanhedrin 10:1]] includes the comment of [[Rabbi Mana II]], "for example those Kutim who take an oath" would also have no share in the [[world to come]], which suggests that Mana thought some Samaritans used the name in making oaths. (Their priests have preserved a liturgical pronunciation "Yahwe" or "Yahwa" to the present day.){{r|Moore}} As with Jews, ''Shema'' ({{Lang|sam|שמא}}, "the Name") remains the everyday usage of the name among Samaritans, paralleling the Jewish use of ''HaShem'' ({{Lang|he|השם}}, "the Name") in Hebrew.{{r|Seidner}} This reading of the tetragrammaton by Samaritans dates back to at least the 4th century CE, as evidenced in two poems by the Samaritan author [[Marqah]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Gordon |first=Nehemia |title=Samaritans Through the Ages |chapter=Yahweh and the Samaritan Pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton |date=2024-08-06 |page=247 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111435732-012/html |access-date=2024-11-03 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783111435732-012 |isbn=978-3-11-143573-2}}</ref>
===Christianity=== [[File:YHWH Goya.jpg|thumb|Tetragrammaton by [[Francisco Goya]]: "The Name of God", YHWH in triangle, detail from fresco ''[[Adoration of the Name of God]]'', 1772]] [[File:Tetragrammaton a.jpg|thumb|The Tetragrammaton as represented in stained glass in an 1868 Episcopal Church in Iowa]] It is assumed that early [[Jewish Christians]] inherited from Jews the practice of reading "Lord" where the Tetragrammaton appears in the Hebrew text (and where a few Greek manuscripts use it in the midst of their Greek translation). Gentile Christians, primarily non-Hebrew speaking and using Greek Scripture texts, may have read Κύριος ("Lord"), as in the Greek text of the [[New Testament]] and in their copies of the [[Greek Old Testament]]. This practice continued into the Latin [[Vulgate]] where ''Dominus'' ("Lord") represented the Tetragrammaton in the Latin text. At the Reformation, the [[Luther Bible]] used all-caps ''HERR'' ("LORD") in the German text of the Old Testament to represent the Tetragrammaton.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Euan | last=Cameron | title=The Annotated Luther, Volume 6: The Interpretation of Scripture | pages=62–63 | year=2019 | publisher=Fortress Press | isbn=978-1-5064-6043-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WuiHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62}}</ref>
In Christianity, when the Tetragrammaton is vocalized, the forms ''[[Yahweh]]'' or ''[[Jehovah]]'' are used.{{r|Valentin2015}}<ref>{{cite web | title=The Name of God in the Liturgy | url=http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/the-name-of-god-in-the-liturgy.cfm | publisher=[[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] | year=2008 | quote=...pronouncing the God of Israel's proper name," known as the holy or divine tetragrammaton, written with four consonants, YHWH, in the Hebrew alphabet. In order to vocalize it, it is necessary to introduce vowels that alter the written and spoken forms of the name (i.e. "Yahweh" or "Jehovah").}}</ref> [[Jah]] or Yah is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh, and often sees usage by Christians in the interjection "[[Hallelujah]]", meaning "Praise Jah", which is used to give God glory.<ref>{{cite book | first1=Jacob A. | last1=Loewen | title=The Bible in Cross Cultural Perspective | edition=Revised | page=182 | year=2020 | publisher=William Carey Publishing | isbn=978-1-64508-304-7 | quote=Shorter forms of Yahweh: The name Yahweh also appears in a shortened form, transliterated Jah (pronounced Yah) in the Revised Version and the American Standard Version, either in the text or footnote: "my song is Jah" (Ex 15:2); "by Jah, his name" (Ps 68:4); "I shall not see Jah in Jah's land (Is 38:11). It is common also in such often untranslated compounds as hallelujah 'praise Jah' (Ps 135:3; 146:10, 148:14), and in proper names like Elijah, 'my God is Jah,' Adonijah, 'my Lord is Jah,' Isaiah, 'Jah has saved.'}}</ref>
====Christian translations==== The [[Septuagint]] (Greek translation), the [[Vulgate]] (Latin translation), and the [[Peshitta]] ([[Syriac language|Syriac]] translation){{r|Bloch}} use the word "Lord" ({{lang|el|κύριος}}, ''kyrios'', {{lang|la|dominus}}, and {{lang|syr|ܡܳܪܝܳܐ}}, ''moryo'' respectively).
Use of the Septuagint by Christians in polemics with Jews led to its abandonment by the latter, making it a specifically Christian text. From it Christians made translations into [[Coptic language|Coptic]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Church Slavonic language|Slavonic]] and other languages used in [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]],{{r|OE}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/septuagint.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504054157/http://www.bibliahebraica.com/the_texts/septuagint.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-05-04|title=BibliaHebraica.org, "The Septuagint"}}</ref> whose liturgies and doctrinal declarations are largely a cento of texts from the Septuagint, which they consider to be inspired at least as much as the Masoretic Text.{{r|OE}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/nrsv.html|title=HTC: An Orthodox Critique of Bible Translations|access-date=15 September 2014|archive-date=7 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007083322/http://www.holy-trinity.org/liturgics/nrsv.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Within the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Greek text remains the norm for texts in all languages, with particular reference to the wording used in prayers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/liturgics/peter_archbishop_remarks_translations.htm|title=orthodoxresearchinstitute.org|access-date=15 September 2014|archive-date=16 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516154211/http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/liturgics/peter_archbishop_remarks_translations.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKYM6FVxYKIC&pg=PA34 |first=Donald |last=Fairbarn |title=Eastern Orthodoxy through Western Eyes |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-66422497-4 |page=34 |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225071606/https://books.google.com/books?id=eKYM6FVxYKIC&pg=PA34 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Septuagint, with its use of Κύριος to represent the Tetragrammaton, was the basis also for Christian translations associated with the West, in particular the [[Vetus Itala]], which survives in some parts of the liturgy of the [[Latin Church]], and the [[Gothic Bible]].
Christian translations of the Bible into English commonly use "{{LORD}}" in place of the Tetragrammaton in most passages, often in all caps to refer to Jehovah God. This distinguishes the Tetragrammaton LORD from references to Jesus Christ as "Lord". The distinction is necessary to understand King James Psalm 110:1 "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."
====Eastern Orthodoxy==== The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] considers the Septuagint text, which uses Κύριος (Lord), to be the authoritative text of the Old Testament,{{r|OE}} and in its liturgical books and prayers it uses Κύριος in place of the Tetragrammaton in texts derived from the Bible.<ref>{{Cite book | first=Eugen J. | last=Pentiuc | author-link=Eugen J. Pentiuc | title=The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition | page=77 | year=2014 | publisher=Oxford University Press USA | isbn=978-0-19-533123-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNZBAgAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first=John Anthony | last=McGuckin | title=The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity | year=2010 | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | isbn=978-1-4443-9254-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmFetR5Wqd8C}}</ref>{{rp|247–248}}
====Catholicism==== [[File:BASILICA OF ST LOUIS KING OF FRANCE MISSOURI USA Near the Gateway Arch TETRAGRAMMATON.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|The Tetragrammaton on the [[Tympanum (architecture)|Tympanum]] of the Roman Catholic [[Basilica of St. Louis, King of France]] in Missouri]] In the [[Catholic Church]], the first edition of the official Vatican ''[[Nova Vulgata]] Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio, editio typica'', published in 1979, used the traditional ''Dominus'' when rendering the Tetragrammaton in the overwhelming majority of places where it appears; however, it also used the form ''Iahveh'' for rendering the Tetragrammaton in three known places: * Exodus 3:15<ref>"Dixítque íterum Deus ad Móysen: «Hæc dices fíliis Israel: Iahveh (Qui est), Deus patrum vestrórum, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac et Deus Iacob misit me ad vos; hoc nomen mihi est in ætérnum, et hoc memoriále meum in generatiónem et generatiónem." (Exodus 3:15).</ref> * Exodus 15:3<ref>"Dominus quasi vir pugnator; Iahveh nomen eius!" (Exodus 15:3).</ref> * Exodus 17:15<ref>"Aedificavitque Moyses altare et vocavit nomen eius Iahveh Nissi (Dominus vexillum meum)" (Exodus 17:15).</ref>
In the second edition of the ''[[Nova Vulgata]] Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio, editio typica altera'', published in 1986, these few occurrences of the form ''Iahveh'' were replaced with ''Dominus'',<ref>"Exodus 3:15: Dixítque íterum Deus ad Móysen: «Hæc dices fíliis Israel: Dominus, Deus patrum vestrórum, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac et Deus Iacob misit me ad vos; hoc nomen mihi est in ætérnum, et hoc memoriále meum in generatiónem et generatiónem."</ref><ref>"Exodus 15:3: Dominus quasi vir pugnator; Dominus nomen eius!"</ref><ref>"Exodus 17:15: Aedificavitque Moyses altare et vocavit nomen eius Dominus Nissi (Dominus vexillum meum)"</ref> in keeping with the long-standing Catholic tradition of avoiding direct usage of the Ineffable Name.
On 29 June 2008, the [[Holy See]] reacted to the then still recent practice of pronouncing, within Catholic [[liturgy]], the name of God represented by the Tetragrammaton. As examples of such vocalisation it mentioned "Yahweh" and "Yehovah". The early Christians, it said, followed the example of the Septuagint in replacing the name of God with "the Lord", a practice with important theological implications for their use of "the Lord" in reference to Jesus, as in {{Bibleverse||Philippians|2:9–11|ESV}} and other New Testament texts. It therefore directed that, "in liturgical celebrations, in songs and prayers the name of God in the form of the ''Tetragrammaton'' YHWH is neither to be used or pronounced"; and that translations of Biblical texts for liturgical use are to follow the practice of the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, replacing the divine name with "the Lord" or, in some contexts, "God".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Scripture/Name_CDW.pdf|title=Letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (PDF)|access-date=17 May 2016|archive-date=8 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808142908/http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Scripture/Name_CDW.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]] welcomed this instruction, adding that it "provides also an opportunity to offer catechesis for the faithful as an encouragement to show reverence for the Name of God in daily life, emphasizing the power of language as an act of devotion and worship".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/cdwtetragram.pdf |title=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Divine Worship (PDF) |access-date=15 May 2014 |archive-date=25 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141125032003/http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/cdwtetragram.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
====Lutheranism and Anglicanism==== In the [[Lutheran]] and [[Anglican]] psalters, the word {{LORD}} in [[small capital letters]] is used to represent the personal name of the deity. However, the Psalter of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer used by the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America uses ''[[Yahweh]]'' in two places, Psalms 68:4 and Psalms 83:18. Also the Hymnal 1982 as used by the Episcopal Church uses the hymn, "Guide me, O thou great ''[[Jehovah]]''", Hymn 690 The Christian Life. Aside from those instances, {{LORD}} is typically used in the Liturgy of the Episcopal Church.<ref>{{cite book | first1=Philip H. | last1=Pfatteicher | title=Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context | page=384 | year=1990 | publisher=Augsburg Fortress | isbn=978-0-8006-0392-2}}</ref>
====Translations preserving Hebraic form of Tetragrammaton==== Since 1950, there are a number of [[Sacred Name Bible]]s that have been translated with the conviction that Hebraic forms for the Tetragrammaton and other divine names should be preserved in translating both Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. They have done this by transliteration or the use of Hebrew letters in the text. At least one even uses [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew letters]] to write these names, such as ''The Besorah''.<ref>Unseth, Peter. 2019. "Sacred Name Bibles" p. 721, in Noss, Philip A., and Charles S. Houser, eds. ''A Guide to Bible Translation: People, Languages, and Topics.'' Maitland, FL: Xulon Press; and Swindon, UK: United Bible Societies</ref><ref>Unseth, Peter. 2010. Sacred Name Bible Translations in English: A Fast-Growing Phenomenon. ''The Bible Translator'' 6.3: 185–194</ref>
===Islam=== While the [[Quran|Qur'an]] does not explicitly mention the tetragrammaton, it appears to be well-aware of the name reflecting knowledge of its meaning, paralleling interpretations from early rabbinic traditions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Galadari |first=Abdulla |date=2024-03-04 |title=Qur'anic Understandings of the Divine Name Yhwh |journal=Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations |volume=35 |issue=2 |language=en |pages=137–168 |doi=10.1080/09596410.2024.2321044 |issn=0959-6410|doi-access=free }}</ref> The absence of the tetragrammaton may point to the Qur'an's oral transmission, especially since it sometimes replaces the tetragrammaton with "[[Rabb|Lord]]" when it re-articulates passages in the Hebrew Bible that contain the tetragrammaton. Thus, the Qur'an appears to also avoid the vocalization of the tetragrammaton no differently than the Jewish communities with whom it was in conversation during Late Antiquity.<ref name=":0" />
==Usage in art== Since the 16th century, artists have been using the tetragrammaton as a symbol for God,<ref>{{cite book |last=Keller |first=Bettina |author-link= | year=2009 |title=Barocke Sakristeien in Süddeutschland |url= |location=Chicago and London |publisher=Imhof |page=155 |isbn=9783865683304}}</ref> or for divine illumination.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cosgrove |first=Denis |title=Geography and Enlightenment | year=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=0226487210 |location=Chicago and London |pages=53–54 |language=en |chapter=Global Illumination and Enlightenment in the Geographies of Vincenzo Coronelli and Athansius Kircher |author-link=}}</ref> Protestant artists avoided to allegorize God in human form, but rather wrote the Hebrew name of God. This was done in book illustrations since 1530, then on coins and medals as well.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rodov |first=Ilia |author-link= | year=2017 |chapter=Capturing the Ineffable: the Tetragrammaton in Synagogue Art of Romanian Moldavia |title=The Paths of Daniel. Studies in Judaism and Jewish Culture in Honor of Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber |url= |location=Ramat Gan |publisher=Bar-Ilan University Press |page=202 |isbn=9789652264015}}</ref> Since the 17th century, both Protestant and Catholic artists have used the tetragrammaton in church decoration, on top of altars, or in center of frescos, often in rays of light or in a triangle.<ref>{{cite book | first1=Theodore | last1=Brieger | first2=Bernard | last2=Bess | title=Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte (vol. 67) | page=149 | year=1955 | publisher=University of Michigan | location=Michigan}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Allah]] (the common [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for [[God]]) * [[I Am that I Am]] * [[Muqattaʿat]] * [[Names of God]] * [[Names and titles of God in the New Testament]] * [[List of Tetragrammatons in art in Austria]]
== References == ===Notes=== {{Notelist}} {{reflist|group=note}}
=== Citations === {{reflist}}
===Sources=== {{refbegin|2|indent=yes}} * {{Cite encyclopedia | first=John | last=Barton | editor-first=Andrew | editor-last=Louth | title=Tetragrammaton | encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | edition=4 | date=2022-05-17 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=9780199642465}} * {{Cite book | first=Frank Moore | last=Cross | author-link=Frank Moore Cross | title=Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic | pages=61–63 | year=1997 | publisher=Harvard University Press | location=London | isbn=0674091760 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eOycxXAoHMC | access-date=19 May 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819061523/https://books.google.com/books?id=-eOycxXAoHMC | archive-date=19 August 2020}} * {{Cite book | first=Bernardus D. | last=Eerdmans | title=[The Name Jahu ] ; (The Name Jahu) | year=1948 | publisher=Brill | location=Leiden | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h0QNywEACAAJ | url-status=live | access-date=11 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511115708/https://books.google.com/books?id=h0QNywEACAAJ | archive-date=11 May 2021}} * {{Cite CE1913 | first=Anthony John | last=Maas | wstitle=Jehovah | volume=8}} * {{Citation | first=Albert | last=Pietersma |author-link=Albert Pietersma | editor1=Albert Pietersma | editor2=Claude Cox | chapter=Kyrios or Tetragram: A Renewed Quest for the Original LXX | title=De Septuaginta: Studies in Honour of John William Wevers on his sixty-fifth birthday | publisher=Benben | location=Mississauga | year=1984 | url=http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~pietersm/KyriosorTetragram(1984).pdf | url-status=live | access-date=6 August 2020 | archive-date=7 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507013415/http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~pietersm/KyriosorTetragram(1984).pdf}} * {{Cite book | first1=Albert | last1=Pietersma | first2=Benjamin G. | last2=Wright | title=A New English Translation of the Septuagint | year=2007 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=Oxford | isbn=978-0-19-972394-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=--LQCwAAQBAJ | access-date=6 August 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009073733/https://books.google.com/books?id=--LQCwAAQBAJ | archive-date=9 October 2021}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{EB1911 poster|Tetragrammaton}} * {{Commons category-inline|Tetragrammaton}} * {{Wikiquote-inline}}
{{Names of God}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Tetragrammaton| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard--> [[Category:Kabbalistic words and phrases]] [[Category:Magic words]] [[Category:Yahweh]] [[Category:Sacred Name Movement]]