Does the name YHWH have an inner meaning related to arm/behold/nail/behold?

rakow · February 2, 2017

I. Jewish traditions and mystics have over the centuries tried to find inner meanings in the sacred name of the Lord using its letters. The name of the Lord itself is called the Tetragramaton, meaning the "Four Letters". For reference, a fictional movie was made on the topic called "Pi", which related the Name to the Fibonacci sequence.

Reverence for the name was shown in the Old Testament period by sometimes replacing YHWH in the Biblical text with Adonai, meaning Lord. Numerous names included references to YHWH, including perhaps the Hebrew name for Jesus, Yeshua, and others like Yehoshua, Yeshayahu. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshua) In the New Testament, we find numerous references to the Lord, rather than the name YHWH being explicit.

The Lord's name is important in the New Testament, and that name is Jesus, and it is also Yahweh.

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Matthew 21:9
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

Acts 2:21
And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’

Acts 8:16
For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Note also how Jesus' name is said to come from the Lord in some NT manuscripts:

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John 17:11-12

11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me,[a] that they may be one as We are.

¹²While I was with them in the world,^[b]I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept;

Footnotes:

John 17:11 NU-Text and M-Text read keep them through Your name which You have given Me.

^ My guess is that the original read like the footnote says, because otherwise this underlined phrasing becomes redundant: "While I was with them in the world,^[b]I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept".

This passage seems to be suggesting that Jesus ("Yeshua") received Yahweh's name.

In looking for an inner meaning in the name YHWH, I am not looking for the plain linguistic meaning (PSHAT), discussed in Moses' talk with the Lord in Exodus 3:

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the Almighty made the stunning revelation, “eh’yeh asher eh’hey…. Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “eh’yeh has sent me to you.” (v. 14—keep in mind there are no capitals in Hebrew) Now, the Hebrew phrase, “eh’yeh asher eh’ye,” is difficult to translate, and has been rendered in most translations as, “I AM THAT I AM,” although that is probably not the most accurate translation (Gerald L Schroeder, God According to God, p. 85). I will definitely explore that possibility more fully in a future article. For our present purposes, it is most interesting to note that in the very next verse in the Torah, God tells Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘yod-heh-vav-heh, the God of your fathers…, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations” (v. 15). One might ask why the revealed name changed within the space of two verses from “eh’yeh asher eh’yeh” or simply “eh’yeh” to “yod-hehvav- heh”?

... the vast majority of names used in the Hebrew Bible do convey some type of meaning in their translation. Take for example my Hebrew name, Dani’el, “God is my judge.” There is a minority scholarship opinion which favors the pronunciation, “Yehovah,” for the Divine Name, a pronunciation which does convey meaning. At least one scholar (James D. Tabor, Restoring Abrahamic Faith, p. 20) has posited in this pronunciation of the name the contraction of three Hebrew verbs that have been preserved in the ancient Hebrew hymn “Adon Olam.” In the seventh line of that hymn we chant regarding the Most High, “v’hu hayah, v’hu hoveh, v’hu yihyeh b’tifarah—roughly, the One who was, the One who is, and the One who will be.” (Gates of Prayer, p. 729) Hayah translates as “was,” hoveh-“is,” and yihyeh-“will be.” If one were to place these verbs in this order, YIYEH, HOVEH, HAYAH, and then to contract the emboldened letters, one would have YEHOVAH, a contraction meaning quite literally “the One who will be, is, and was.” What strikes me most is not only how this correlation imparts such rich meaning to the pronunciation of the Divine Name, but also how it seems to reconcile an apparent discrepancy between verses 14 and 15 in chapter 3 of Exodus. Both verses would contain only slightly alternate renderings of Hebrew verbs for “to be.”

...

an understanding of the name does seem to figure quite prominently in the message of the Hebrew Prophets, particularly in their predictions of a future time of peace and prosperity for all humankind. One of the more well-known references is in Joel (ch. 3, v. 5-Hebrew), where the prophet states, “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name yod-heh-vav-heh shall be delivered.” Another is the one we chant in every Jewish service as a part of our Aleinu prayer. It is a quote from Zechariah 14:9, “b’yom hahu yihyeh yod-heh-vav-heh echad u’shemo echad—in that day, Yehovah will be one and God’s name one.” These are just two of the many references to the Divine Name and its importance, particularly in a time period referred to by the Prophets as “the latter days.”

http://hickoryjewishcenter.com/messages.html

By the way, I do not understand what the author means in the underlined bold part above.

II. One rare way to interpret the inner meaning of words in Jewish tradition and mysticism has been to use the pictoral meanings and names of the words' letters.

This would have actually been the normal way to read the letters had Hebrew been a pictoral language like Chinese, or to some extent Egyptian or Sumerian. However, while retaining traces of development out of pictoral script, ancient Hebrew was not itself relying on a pictoral-based alphabet.

The Chabad website has an article deciphering the words for Passover and Pharaoh in Hebrew using the words' original letters' pictoral meanings:

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In the Book of Exodus,2 Pharaoh, whose name also begins with a pei, said, “Let us [confine the Jews to slavery] lest they multiply.” The word for “lest” in Hebrew is פן, pen: pei-nun. G‑d was displeased with Pharaoh’s declaration, so He “knocked out his tooth” by knocking out the tooth of the pei in Pharaoh’s “pen,” which made it a kaf. Now the word was no longer pen (“lest”) but כן, ken: kaf-nun, meaning “surely.” Surely the Jews will multiply.3
...
The letter pei actually means “mouth”—peh. A mouth is something we use to speak, and the entire purpose of speaking is to communicate with another individual. That ability to communicate is the essential aspect of eighty’s special strength.

Speech has tremendous power. A king rules with his words. An ordinary person also has great power in his mouth. With words of praise he can raise a person to great heights, and with a bit of gossip he can destroy a person’s reputation.
...
Everyone has the ability to communicate and inspire others. One should not shy away from that responsibility claiming, “I have an impediment.” Moses had an impediment, yet he revealed the ability to lead a nation of several million people for forty years. All of us have impediments in one area or another. Yet those external weaknesses should never incapacitate us or stymie our desire to bestow goodness and communicate words of inspiration to others.
G‑d told Moses, “Anochi eheyeh im picha10—I will be your mouthpiece.” The word anochi has the gematria of 81: alef=1, nun=50, kaf=20, yud=10. If a person is humble and relies upon G‑d to be his mouthpiece, his power of speech will transcend its natural limits and be a source of strength for others.
There is a famous teaching of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev11 which explains the meaning of the Passover holiday (Pesach). “Pesach” literally means peh-sach, “the mouth (peh) talks (sach).”On Pesach, the mouth talks about the wonders and miracles of G‑d. Pesach represents the antithesis of Pharaoh, who, as the Megaleh Amukos12 explains, signifies peh-ra, a “bad mouth.” Pharaoh was someone who denied G‑d’s providence in every act of nature. Our mouths were not given to us to slander or denigrate others, but to speak of G‑d’s greatness and wonders.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137089/jewish/Pei-Communication.htm

This book below gives a long discussion on this inner meaning of Passover. Below is an excerpt:

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Wrestling with God: Jewish Theological Responses
https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0195300149
Steven T. Katz, ‎Shlomo Biderman, ‎Gershon Greenberg - 2007
the wise son asks, "What are the testimonies, etc." "...And you also tell him about the laws of Passover." That is, according to the order and according to the matter of the PeSaH. Just as when the mouth speaks, the hidden is greater than what is revealed...
...
Let this be understood.

Here is another explanation:

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The word "pesach" itself has a mystical jump within it. Pesach is formed with three letters: Peh, Samech, and Chet. The kabbalists say pesach can be read as two words, revealing a deeper meaning: Peh Sach which means "the mouth speaks." These two words are spelled with four letters: Peh, Heh, Samech, and Chet. Therefore, the Oral Tradition uncovers that the letter Heh was skipped over.
Conceptually, the "mouth speaking" is what happens during the Seder when we retell the going out of Egypt. Haggadah means "speech." Kabbalah teaches that each month of the calendar has a strong link to a different human quality. This month, Nisan, is connected to the quality of speech. What is speech? It is bringing ideas into reality. From potential to actuality. Nisan is the month in which the world came into reality. It's also the month when the Jewish people went from a nation in potential to actuality.
This transformation from potential to actual required a supernatural jump provided by God. That's the essence of Pesach. We all want more meaning. We'd like to have a transcendent experience. But it's a struggle to work on spiritual growth. It's hard. It requires change. During Pesach we have the rare opportunity of using God's jumper cables -- the ultimate "pass-over." Take the opportunity that's there and ask God to give you the boost you've been waiting for.

http://www.aish.com/h/pes/t/g/48932882.html

III. Using this method with YHWH, the concepts of arm, behold, nail, behold seem to appear.

Hebrew letters in the time of David and, before him, the Torah, used an alphabet wherein the letters looked more like the objects they were named after. Hence, the Hebrew letter called "yod" looked more like a "hand" than it does today.

According to Jewish Encyclopedia, the letter ' , pronounced y and called "yod" refers to arm/hand. (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15114-yod)

Also, according to the same encyclopedia, the letter l , pronounced w and called "waw" refers to nail/hook.

My first problem is the question: What does the original pictogram for Heh/Hey mean? It looked like a man with his arms upraised. Below you can see the Hebrew Letter in its early form:

Next here is how the letter looked like in Phoenician and in Middle Hebrew, the script in which David wrote his Psalms. This was before the current Assyrian or "Ashurite" script was adopted.

Some possible explanations for the meaning of the letter Heh:

A. Creating or taking/giving oneself

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The letter HEY signifies the creation. The Hebrew word ‘behibaram’ means ‘when they were created’. When divided, this word becomes bah baram (He created them with the letter HEY).

HEY means ‘take’ in Hebrew, specifically referring to the taking or giving of oneself. As it is said: “Take for yourselves seed.”

http://bje.org.au/course/jewish-languages/hebrew-alphabet/heh-hebrew-letter/

B. Behold

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When standing alone, it is also a word meaning “Behold.” When we read this epithet in our English translations we see that the action following originates from YHVH. ... ; “Heh” translated in English as “Behold” or “lo” is a symbol of divine action.

http://www.rabdavis.org/the-heh-v-in-abrahams-and-sarahs-names/

Do you agree with what I underlined in the quote above?

C. (The meaning is unknown)

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The Hebrew article (letter heh), is untranslatable

http://www.theomatics.com/examp3.html

D. Behold, breath, or creative breath

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The pictograph for Hey looks like a man with his arms raised, whereas the classical Hebrew script (ketav Ashurit) is constructed of two Vavs (of the Dalet) with an unattached and inverted Yod that functions as the "foot" of the letter. The meaning of the name "Hey" is "look," or "behold!"

The Mystery of Hey
According to the Jewish mystics, Hey represents the divine breath, revelation, and light (the word "light" is mentioned five times on the first day of creation (Gen. 1:3-4), which is said to correspond to the letter Hey).

Hey represents God's Creative Power
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6). In the Talmud (Menachot 29b) it is said that the "breath of His mouth" refers to the sound of the letter Hey - the outbreathing of Spirit.

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Hey/hey.html

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The Modern Hebrew, and original name for this letter, is hey, a Hebrew word meaning "behold," as when looking at a great sight. This word can also mean "breath" or "sigh," as one does when looking at a great sight. The meaning of the letter is behold, look, breath, sigh, reveal and revelation from the idea of revealing a great sight by pointing it out.

http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/alphabet_letters_hey.html

E. Jubilation, window

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In Proto-Northwest Semitic there were still three voiceless fricatives: uvular ḫ, glottal h, and pharyngeal ḥ. In the Wadi el-Hol script, [glottal h] appear{s} to be expressed by derivatives of the following Egyptian [hieroglyph]

hillul "jubilation", compare South Arabian h, ḥ, ḫ, Ge'ez ሀ, ሐ, ኀ

In the Phoenician alphabet, hillul is replaced by He "window".

Hebrew He

Attached to words, He may have three possible meanings:

A preposition meaning the definite article "the", or the relative pronouns "that", or "who" (as in "a boy who reads"). For example, yeled, a boy; hayeled, the boy.

A prefix indicating that the sentence is a question. (For example, Yadata, You knew; Hayadata?, Did you know?)

A suffix after place names indicating movement towards the given noun. (For example, Yerushalayim, Jerusalem; Yerushalaymah, towards Jerusalem.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_(letter)

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Phoenician alphabet

The original word was translated from Egyptian into its equivalent form in the Semitic language, and then the initial sound of the translated word became the letter's value.

However, according to a 1904 theory by Theodor Nöldeke, some of the letter names were changed in Phoenician from the Proto-Canaanite script. This includes:

hll "jubilation" to he "window"

hē window h [h] ה ܗ ه ሀ Ε ε Ee Ее, Єє, Ээ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenician_alphabet

Edited February 2, 2017 by rakow

rakow · February 2, 2017

The result for some has been that YHWH deciphers as Arm Behold Nail Behold, and they see this as a reference to Christ showing his arms/hands pierced by nails to Thomas in John 20, whereupon Thomas says "My Lord and My God". This whole pattern strongly brings to mind Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and Zechariah 11-13 that describe Messiah as pierced and talk about his wounded or pierced arm(s).

rakow · February 2, 2017

These three sites also tend to suggest "behold" as a central meaning:

http://www.biblelandstudies.com/Hey.html

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/137077/jewish/Hei-The-Deed.htm

http://www.hebrewtoday.com/content/hebrew-alphabet-letter-hei-ה

The basic image is a person with his hands up. It could be praise, beholding, or showing his hands, bringing to mind Jesus showing his hands.

The Chabad website cites Isaiah 25 where it uses the word "Behold" with "Hi-"

One could check Strong's dictionary for more information on Behold as "Hi-"

Also, I am not the only person to notice this connection. I found out about this topic when researching the discussion on the piercing of the hands in Psalm 22, finding the claim that YHWH desciphers as ARM BEHOLD NAIL BEHOLD. One can look at the websites discussing this for more details. And one can also check the three passages of Isaiah 52-53, Psalm 22, and Zechariah 11-13 to see how these concepts repeat in each.

RevelationWriter · February 21, 2017

- I don't know if I shared this here so if I did sorry for the repeat.

A few years ago we had gone to a Renaissance Village when we got back to our travel trailer I was exhausted

so I lay down with a little book I bought the day before about The Dead Sea Scrolls.

As I began to read a part about the name of God YHWH I put the book down and started prayed about my heavy breathing as I have asthma.

As I lay quietly still

I heard the sound of my breath through my lips being exhaled and the sound was YH then the Inhaling breath of my mouth was the sound WH.

Then it occurred to me this is why some consider they shouldn't or can't pronounce God's name as YHWH.

Because really instead, YHWH it not a word to heard but the sound of The Breath Of God as it goes forth and returns to us.

As then it came to me that the sound of YH, as God's breath coming forth is first

is because first when God breathed into Adam's nostrils, Adam had to Exhale God's breath through his mouth first

the sound of YH, then the sound of inhaling WH comes second which completes the breath of life from God.

Therefore the sounding of Wh-Yh is not a word to be spoken but the sounding of the breath of God in us.

Try it yourself. In a heavy enough breath to hear the sounding of your breath through your mouth

the Exhaling sound is YH and the sound of you Inhaling through your mouth is WH.

So now, the the other day I read someone's post on another site teaching about "God's name YHWH"

and they said the two H's carry the understanding of "a puff of breath". -

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Does the name YHWH have an inner meaning related to arm/behold/nail/behold?