What Reference Books say About God's Name

This subject of God's name may be new to you. To help you study this subject on your own, we've included some reference book definitions of God's and Jesus' names.

Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary explains:

Yahweh. One of the most important names for God in the Old Testament is Yahweh, or Jehovah, from the verb to be, meaning simply but profoundly, "I am who I am," and "I will be who I will be." The four-letter Hebrew word YHWH was the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 3:14). This bush was a vivid symbol of the inexhaustible dynamism of God who burns like a fire with love and righteousness, yet remains the same and never diminishes. Some English translations of the Bible translate the word as Jehovah, while others use Yahweh.

A popular custom of Bible times was to compose names by using the shortened forms of the divine name El or Ya (Je) as the beginning or ending syllable. Examples of this practice are Elisha, which means "God is salvation; Daniel, "God is my judge; Jehoiakim, the Lord has established; and Isaiah, the Lord is salvation."

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words explains:

Yahweh "Lord.ÿ The Tetragrammaton YHWH appears without its own vowels, and its exact pronunciation is debated (Jehovah, Yehovah, Jahweh, Yahweh). The Hebrew text does insert the vowels for "adonay",ÿ and Jewish students and scholars read "adonay" whenever they see the Tetragrammaton. This use of the word occurs 6,828 times. The word appears in every period of biblical Hebrew.

The divine name YHWH appears only in the Bible. Its precise meaning is much debated. God chose it as His personal name by which He related specifically to His chosen or covenant people. Its first appearance in the biblical record is (Gen. 2:4): these are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.ÿ Apparently Adam knew Him by this personal or covenantal name from the beginning, since Seth both called his son Enosh (i. e., man as a weak and dependent creature) and began (along with all other pious persons) to call upon (formally worship) the name of YHWH, the Lord (Gen. 4:26). The covenant found a fuller expression and application when God revealed Himself to Abraham (Gen. 12:8), promising redemption in the form of national existence. This promise became reality through Moses, to whom God explained that He was not only the God who exists but the God who effects His will: Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord [YHWH] God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord [YHWH] God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites...ÿ (Exod. 3:15-17). So God explained the meaning of "I am who I am (Exod. 3:14). He spoke to the fathers as YHWH, but the promised deliverance and, therefore, the fuller significance or experienced meaning of His name were unknown to them (Exod. 6:2-8).

Original Greek or Hebrew Translation:

The definition for the original Greek or Hebrew version of the current word or phrase, based on its corresponding Strong's number. A Greek-Hebrew definition includes the following elements: 1.) the Strong's number. 2.) the original Greek or Hebrew word, with pronunciation guides. 3.) a definition of the word or phrase. 4.) an indication of the word(s) from which this word or phrase was derived, or to which it is related. 5.) examples of the different ways this word or phrase has been translated in the King James Version:

About 100 years ago, Dr. Strong keyed the English text of the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible to the Hebrew and Greek language using numbers. The resulting numerical index from the King James English to the Greek and Hebrew is called the Strong's Concordance, and the numbers which are used are called the Strong's Numbers.

Strong's Definitions of God's Name

# 3050 Yahh (yaw); contraction for 3068, and meaning the same; Jah, the sacred name: KJVÿ Jah, the Lord, most vehement. Compare names in ÿ-iah,ÿ ÿ-jah.ÿ

# 3068 Yehovah (yeh-ho-vawÿ); from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: KJVÿ Jehovah, the Lord.

# 3069 Yehovih (yeh-ho-veeÿ); a variation of 3068 [used after 136, and pronounced by Jews as 430, in order to prevent the repetition of the same sound, since they elsewhere pronounce 3068 as 136]: KJVÿ God.

Brown Drivers Briggs Thayers' Definitions of God's Name:

# 3050 Yah-Jah (Jehovah (Yahweh) in the shortened form) a) the proper name of the one true God b) used in many compounds: 1) names beginning with the English letters `Je-ÿ 2) names ending with `-iahÿ or `-jahÿ

# 3068 Yehovah (yeh-ho-vawÿ); from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God: KJVÿ Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

# 3069 Yehovih-Jehovah (Yahweh), used primarily in the combination `Lord Jehovah (Yahweh)ÿ equal to 3068 but pointed with the vowels of 0430.

Encarta Encyclopedia definition of Jesus' Name:

Jesus Christ the name Jesus is derived from a Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Joshua, or in full Yehoshuah (ÿJehovah is deliverance). The title Christ is derived from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh (anointed one), or Messiah. Christ was used by Jesus' early followers, who regarded him as the promised deliverer of Israel and later was made part of Jesus' proper name by the church, which regards him as the redeemer of all humanity.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words definition of Jesus' Name:

Iesous ÿ is a transliteration of the Heb. Joshua,ÿ meaning ÿJehovah is salvation,ÿ i. e., is the Savior,ÿ ÿa common name among the Jews, e. g., (Ex. 17:9; Luke 3:29) (RV); (Col. 4:11). It was given to the Son of God in Incarnation as His personal name, in obedience to the command of an angel to Joseph, the husband of His Mother, Mary, shortly before He was born, (Matt. 1:21). By it He is spoken of throughout the Gospel narratives generally, but not without exception, as in (Mark 16:19,20; Luke 7:13), and a dozen other places in that Gospel, and a few in John.

Strong's Definition of Jesus' Name:

Hebrew# 3091 Yehowshuwa` (yeh-ho-shooÿ-ah); or Yehowshu` a (yeh-ho-shooÿ-ah); from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader: -Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Strong's #3442 Yeshuwa` (yay-shooÿ-ah); for 3091; he will save. This name in Greek is interpreted as 2424 Iesous (ee-ay-sooceÿ) then translated into English as Jesus.

Greek #2424 Iesous (ee-ay-sooceÿ); of Hebrew origin [3091]; Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites: KJVÿ Jesus.

Brown Drivers Briggs Thayers' Definition of Jesus' Name:

2424 Iesous-Jesus = Jehovah (Yahweh) is salvation 1) Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses' successor 2) Jesus, son of Eliezer, one of the ancestors of Christ 3) Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, God incarnate 4) Jesus Barabbas was the captive robber whom the Jews asked Pilate to release instead of Jesus Christ 5) Jesus, surnamed Justus, a Jewish Christian, an associate with Paul in the preaching of the gospel.

From A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays