Tetragrammaton

Tetragrammaton
Hebrew name
Hebrew	יְהֹוָה
Romanization	Yĕhovah
Strong number	H3068

The tetragrammaton is a sequence of four Hebrew consonants that represent a personal name of God. In English, it is usually represented as YHWH. In the modern Hebrew text, the tetragrammaton is given with the vowel points of Adonai, as Yĕhovah. This word appears 6,519 times in scripture. In the King James Version, it is usually indicated with an all-caps "GOD" or "LORD." In four cases, the KJV transliterates the tetragrammaton as "JEHOVAH."

In ancient Hebrew, there were no vowels but only consonants. In the Dead Sea scrolls, the tetragrammaton is given without vowels. In Middle Ages, a group of Jewish scholars called the Masorites vowelized the Hebrew scripture. In the case of the tetragrammaton, the Masoretic text intentionally misrepresents pronunciation so as to prevent the Lord's name from being used sacrilegiously. Modern scholars have reconstructed the original pronunciation as "Yahweh."

The word "tetragrammaton" is from a Greek word meaning "consisting of four letters." The four letters are yod (י), he (ה), vav (ו), and he (ה). Hebrew is read from right to left.

In Hebrew, the tetragrammaton is generally read in prayer as Adonai, and in regular conversation as Hashem (השם).

External links[edit]

• Hebrew 4 Christians, "Vav."
• Hebrew Alphabet (Just the letters), from Judaism 101 http://www.jewfaq.org (youtube.com)e — audio instruction.