Yahweh is the English pronunciation of the Hebrew YHWH or Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh. Ehyeh meaning I Am. It is translated into LORD, all caps throughout the Old Testament and with Adonai (Lord) in Jewish texts. Researching the meaning brought me to a YouTube video that was very enlightening. Check out part one here. And part two here.

Then Moses replied to Elohim, “Suppose I go to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The Elohim of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” Elohim answered Moses, “ Ehyeh Who Ehyeh. This is what you must say to the people of Israel: ‘ Ehyeh has sent me to you.’” Again Elohim said to Moses, “This is what you must say to the people of Israel: Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors, the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever. This is my title throughout every generation.

Exodus 3:13-15 (NOG)

Moshe said to God, “Look, when I appear before the people of Isra’el and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God said to Moshe, “ Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh [I am/will be what I am/will be],” and added, “Here is what to say to the people of Isra’el: ‘ Ehyeh [I Am or I Will Be] has sent me to you.’” God said further to Moshe, “Say this to the people of Isra’el: ‘ Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ Adonai ], the God of your fathers, the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered generation after generation.

Exodus 3:13-15 (CJB)

Then Moses said to God, “But if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me,’ then the people will ask, ‘What is his name?’ What should I tell them?” Then God said to Moses, “Tell them, ‘ I Am Who I Am.’ When you go to the Israelites, tell them, ‘ I Am ’ sent me to you.” And God said, “Tell the Israelites that you were sent by Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. This will always be my name. It is how I want the people to remember me from now on.

Exodus 3:13-15 (ERV)

I included these three translations because read together, they gives us a more complete understanding of this name. In case you aren’t familiar with these translations, as I hadn’t been, the NOG is Names Of God Bible; the CJB is Complete Jewish Bible; and the ERV is Easy-to-Read Version.

Thinking about this name brings a New Testament verse to mind that describes the nature of Jesus:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

This is the scripture visible in every Foursquare church. This is the foundation of my faith. The God of our forefathers, Yahweh, I Am Who I Am, revealed in Jesus Christ, who always exists the same. One God, revealed in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Ehyeh asher Ehyeh: I exist because I exist is another way of translating I am who I am. The conclusion we draw from this name, that God revealed to us, is that he always exists, Yahweh is eternal.

So as you read through the Bible in its various translations you will find these names: LORD, Adonai, Yahweh, Jehovah, YHWH, YHVH, Ehyeh, I Am, Ehyeh asher Ehyeh, and I Am Who I Am. There is no other like him. He is the only one who always is.

Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

Revelation 4:8 (NLT)

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