Reading Hebrew has been such a blessing for me. As a result, I find that I am able to read the word, and in many cases translate the text for myself, as opposed to relying on the translations of those who translated the Bible. Not to imply they are always wrong, but oftentimes I find issue with how things are translated. It doesn't stop there tho, I often find myself checking my own understanding frequently when it comes to certain things. One of the issues I find myself re-evaluating on a regular is the name of the Creator.
There are so many names and titles used for Him. Of the many, there are 2 names that stand out most, Yahweh, being the prevalent and then Yehovah. Personally, I have been partial to the latter, even thought I am in the minority in this. My personal studies, and understanding of the language has me reasonably sure that I have this right, although so many of my friends and acquaintances who have been on this journey longer than I disagree. For me, the difference of opinion is based on the Masoretic Hebrew, which is the name for the version of Hebrew with the vowel markers used to help those who are not native to the language, learn how to vocalize the words.
In any case, based off of this method, reading the language becomes so much easier than learning modern Hebrew, which does not have any of those vowel markers. One of the biggest issues comes down to the understanding of the alefbet, which is the Hebrew word for alphabet, and yes, we get the word alphabet from the Hebrew. Anyway, one letter in particular is responsible in part for most of the confusion. First of all, you have to understand that there are six Hebrew letters that have alternate forms of pronunciation. In Masoretic Hebrew, they can be identified by the presence of what is called a "Daghesh Lene". A Daghesh Lene is basically a small "dot" sometimes found within the letter.
For example, the second letter of the Hebrew alefbet is the Beit", which makes the "b" sound. The letter beit is pronounced with a "ba" sound, when the Daghesh Lene is present. However, in it's absence, it makes the "va" sound. The "va" sound is basically whats called a "soft b" sound. Anyway, keep in mind that the Daghesh Lene will always let you know whether the letter that has it will be a hard sound or a soft sound. I bring this up because in addition to the six letters I mentioned, there is one more, called a "Sheen". For some reason, it is not listed with the other six, yet, it also has a Daghesh Lene, and when it is present to the left, it is called a "seen" and makes the "s" sound, and when its on the right side, it is called a "sheen" and yes, it makes the "sh" sound.
The reason I wanted to point that out was because I want it to be clearly understood that outside of these seven letters, there are no other letters that have a Daghesh Lene, meaning that no other letters have the ability to alter it's pronunciation. This brings me to the letter that sparks all the debate. There are two letters that make the "v" sound. One is called "vet" and the other is "vav". The letter "vav" is the letter in question. It is quite a remarkable letter in that in can actually be used in three different ways. One of the most common uses for the "vav" is when it has a dot above it. When there is a dot above out, rather than making the "va" sound, it doubles as a vowel and makes the "oh" sound. Other times, it has a dot on the left side in the center. When you see this one, it now doubles as a different vowel making the "oo" sound. Finally, you can see it in its main form where it makes the "va" sound.
Of all three variations, note that nowhere have I described a "w" sound. I bring this up because there are quite a few that would argue that the "vav" is actually a "waw" and makes a "w" sound. To my knowledge, there is no real evidence to support this theory, and as I have stated previously, there are no instances where this letter doubles between a "vav' and a "waw". One scholar that I tend to find as credible is Dr Nehemia Gordon, who happens to be a Hebrew speaking Kariate Jew with amazing accolades and accomplishments. According to him, during his research, he found that there are actually Hebrew speaking Jews who believe that vav is actually a waw, whereas a majority of Hebrew speaking Jews accept it as a vav as opposed to the waw. Where the two differ in opinion is that those who call it a waw happen to be Jews who reside in Arab speaking communities. What is interesting about this is that in Arab communities, there is no "v" sound in their alefbet, but there is a "w" sound.
According to Dr Nehemia Gordon, this is why these Jews in Arab communities use this letter as a "waw" rather than a "vav", whereas Jews in Jewish communities use this letter as "vav". Although many would still argue for this letter being a "waw" rather than "vav", I find myself more partial to the "vav". As I was learning Hebrew, the teacher I learned from was a Jew, that taught it as a "vav". However, my next teacher taught from a Hebrew book that taught it as a "waw". I was truly at odds as to which was true. I found that the more I studied and researched this matter, I found more learning resources that taught that it was indeed a "vav". I still needed more proof though because as I said earlier, many of my acquaintances use this letter as a "waw". Nonetheless, I stood my ground. I was sure but I still didn't mind having more proof seeing that in church, everyone uses it as a "waw", and I always felt like the oddball.
Anyway, I was at work today, and this topic hit me again. I felt led to look at some of the orthodox Jewish sites and to look up some of their liturgy. As I did this, I noticed that some of these same sites that use the "vav" as a "waw", when looking at the transliteration for the various liturgies, guess what? The all use the "v" as a "vav" not a "waw". I begin to look at a few other sites of that type, and guess what, they all pronounce the "v" as a "vav in all of their liturgy. So what doe that tell me? Well, it further convinces me that the "v" really is a "vav" not a "waw", and anyone that says different, the task is to listen to them pronounce the Hebrew words in some of the liturgy and check out how the pronounce the "v" whether it be "vav" or "waw". One thing for sure, without a universally recognizable way to switch between the two alleged sounds, only one can be right, and that's "vav".
The sum of the whole matter comes down to this, the pronunciation of the tetragrammaton is without a doubt, "Yehovah". Again, this is not a heaven or hell issue as I always say, but if indeed pronunciation is important to you, then sayin the name right should be equally important. It's like being a relationship with your significant other. I am quite sure that while in the dating phase, once you learned the persons name, you made it your place to say the name correctly. The same rule applies here. You are in an intimate relationship with the Creator of all that is, and He has a name. Using it correctly should matter in the same manner you would want your significant other to call your name correctly.
Although I have blogged about this topic a few times in the past, and have even discussed it on several podcast episodes, my intention is not about convincing you to believe how I believe. In fact, I would be the first to tell you, if I believed something to be right and later found it to be wrong, I would be the first to come back and correct my mistake. However, when it come to this topic, I find myself coming across more and more evidence convincing me that I have this right. Perhaps being around so many people who are partial to the name Yahweh, whereas I am the only one partial towards Yehovah, maybe I need constant confirmation so that I don't start doubting myself. All in all, as I always say, don't trust what I say, or anyone else for that matter. Study for yourself and then decide for yourself.
I have also done blogs on my conclusions concerning the name Yahweh. I would definitely encourage you to check those out, and then check out my resources and study it for yourself and make a decision based on how you understand it. As for me, I am sure in my belief even the more. My advice to you though is that, however you believe the name of God to be, study, and make sure that your belief is based on facts you have seen and verified rather than things you have been told and then make it a point to call on the name of God not the title. Contrary to many, the name of Gos was used over 5000 times in the Tanakh, clearly He wanted us to know it and intends for us to use it, honorably and with reverence. With that being said, blessings to you, and I will see in the next blog.
