By Dennis Pollock
When you become a child of God by putting your faith in Jesus Christ, it is normal to begin a lifelong practice of reading the Bible. It is enlightening to discover how many words and phrases come straight from the Scriptures, such as “once and for all,” “escaping by the skin of my teeth,” and “you reap what you sow.” One peculiarity of the Scriptures usually escapes your notice for a while. I think in my case, it was a couple of years before I started seeing this.
I am referring to the practice of writing the word “Lord” in the Bible. Sometimes it is written with a capital L, sometimes with a lowercase l, and many times it is written in all capital letters – LORD. What’s going on?
Christians frequently refer to God or Jesus as “The Lord,” precisely because that is what we read in the Bible. We often say, “Praise the Lord,” and sometimes, if we are inquiring about someone’s relationship with Christ, we may ask, “Do you know the Lord?” or perhaps, “Has the Lord come into your life?” Most Americans realize that when we say this, it refers specifically to the God we discover in the holy Scriptures.
But why is the word “LORD” so often written in capital letters, especially in the Old Testament, but not always? The answer lies in the fact that when these Old Testament writers referred to God in this case, the phrase “the LORD” was not the word they used. When you see the word LORD in capitals, what the writer actually wrote was the mysterious Hebrew name for God, which is written with consonants, YHWH, and which we normally pronounce Yahweh, but in the past, it was often pronounced: “Jehovah.” So why didn’t the Bible translators simply write in YHWH when they came to this word; why did they feel it necessary to translate it as “the LORD?”
“My Name, YHWH”
Before I answer that, let’s get a little into the history of this special name of God, the Creator of all things. Most people see the beginning of this name at the point where God is talking with Moses, after sending him back to Egypt to liberate the Hebrew people. He tells Moses:
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name “LORD” I was not known to them. (Exodus 6:3)
At least that’s how the New King James version reads, and that is pretty much how every other version reads. But that is not what Moses heard, and it is not what Moses wrote. What God said was: “By My name YHWH I was not known to them.” And this is true of all the thousands of times in the Old Testament that we read the phrase “the LORD” with all capital letters. When we read “the LORD” in our Bibles, it is a mistranslation. It should be translated “YHWH,” which doesn’t even mean “the LORD.” It is simply four consonants put together, which we typically pronounce Yahweh. Some have called this name “Jehovah,” but YHWH is probably closer to the Hebrew pronunciation. If it has a meaning at all, it would be the phrase: “He is,” or “I AM.”
But this verse is problematic because God is saying that He never revealed His name to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But when you go back and read the lives of these three patriarchs of Israel, you frequently find this name, sometimes used to describe the God who spoke to them, and occasionally coming from their own mouths as they spoke to God. When God called Abraham to separate from his home and his family, we read:
Now the LORD (literally YHWH) had said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, from your kindred, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1)
“YHWH is in This Place!”
Later, when Abraham was complaining to God that he had no heir, he said: “LORD God (literally YHWH God) what will you give me, seeing I go childless.” (Genesis 15:2). Two generations later, Jacob had a dream of a ladder with angels ascending and descending on it, and upon waking, declared: “Surely the LORD (literally YHWH) is in this place and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16)
So how is it that God told Moses “…by My name (YHWH) I was not known to them?” It seems to me that there are two major possibilities. It may be that Moses was so keenly aware that God’s name was YHWH, when he wrote the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the book we call Genesis, he used YHWH frequently, substituting it for God Almighty, which would have been the patriarchs’ common title for God.
Another possibility is that the words by God to Moses may have been said in a different order, and should more properly be translated: “by My Name YHWH was I not known to them?” Whichever the case, from this point on in the Biblical writings, YHWH is the name of choice for God, and it is found nearly 7,000 times in the Old Testament. It saturates the Psalms, being used on average 6 times per psalm, 867 times in all. David wrote:
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
At least that is how it is translated. But it actually says:
YHWH said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
The prophets used this name for God continually, and one of their favorite expressions was: “Thus says YHWH…”
“They shall know that I am YHWH”
Ezekiel made many prophecies concerning Israel and her enemies, and after pronouncing judgment, he loved to end his prophecies with these words: “Then they shall know that I am YHWH.” He wrote this repeatedly: “They shall know that I am YHWH.” I love to read the Bible aloud, and often when I am reading Ezekiel, I will read it the way Ezekiel wrote it, rather than the more generic way it is always translated: “They shall know that I am YHWH.” But somewhere between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament, the Jews came to believe that the name YHWH was too holy, too transcendent, to ever be spoken or even written. Thus, the substitute term “the LORD” came into being.
Is this a big deal, or am I haggling over a minor issue of Biblical translation? I think it is a big deal. There are many religions that refer to the Creator as God, and often people may refer to God as “The LORD” and not really know of whom they speak. But when we read Moses, David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah referring to YHWH, we know they are speaking of the God of the Bible, the God who spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God who led David and inspired all the prophets and used Moses to liberate the Hebrews. This is YHWH, this is the God of the Bible, and who belongs to no other religion or philosophy.
And YHWH is the God who predicted that out of the small town of Bethlehem, a Ruler would arise to lead and shepherd the people of God. It turns out that YHWH, the great and mysterious God of the Scriptures, has a Son, One who was born of a virgin, and who went around YHWH’s nation, Israel, healing the sick, casting out demons, and setting the captives free. This YHWH, this God of the Holy Scriptures, so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
When the angel appeared to Joseph to assure him that the baby inside the womb of his fiancée, Mary, was the work of the Holy Spirit, he told the astonished young man what his name must be. He was to be called Yeshua, which means “YHWH saves.” Jesus is YHWH’s designated Savior of the world. And those who put their trust in Him will be forgiven, accepted, and given the gift of eternal life. All praise to YHWH and to His Son, Yeshua.
