Names of God

[Whyyyyy]

Do you know how God called himself on the Bible, I've heard it's "Yaveh", but do you know where it came from or what does it mean?

 

[Akivah]

Do you know how God called himself on the Bible, I've heard it's "Yaveh", but do you know where it came from or what does it mean?

It comes from the Hebrew letters for G-d, Yud (Y sound) and Vav (V sound).

 

[Shrew]

I'm not a Christian, but I read somewhere He named Himself "I am who I am".

 

[Father Heathen]

Omnicakes.

 

[fallingblood]

In the Bible, we have a variety of names for G-d. El, Elohim, Yahweh, etc. When Moses asked what G-d's name was, G-d responded, Ehyeh asher ehyeh, which translates to something like "I am who I am." Basically, G-d was saying, don't you mind who I am.

Even Yahweh is a guess, as the Hebrew gives us YHWH.

So what was the name of G-d, or the name G-d used? It really depended on what G-d's followers decided on.

 

[Akivah]

I'm not a Christian, but I read somewhere He named Himself "I am who I am".

The correct wording is actually "I will be who I will be".

 

[Akivah]

Even Yahweh is a guess, as the Hebrew gives us YHWH.

So what was the name of G-d, or the name G-d used? It really depended on what G-d's followers decided on.

I've never understood where non-Jews get the W in YHWH. Hebrew doesn't have a W sound in its language.

 

[RabbiO]

I've never understood where non-Jews get the W in YHWH. Hebrew doesn't have a W sound in its language.

The scholarly consensus is that the letter "vav" originally was pronounced "waw".

 

[fallingblood]

The correct wording is actually "I will be who I will be".

I would say it depends on how you translate it. Translations change, often, from person to person, as we decide which words best suit the language.

Also, I am a Jew. No longer practicing, but a Jew nonetheless. I got the W in YHWH (which is a transliteration) from the many scholars, Jewish and non-Jewish, who also use the same spelling.

 

[Jedster]

I would say it depends on how you translate it. Translations change, often, from person to person, as we decide which words best suit the language.

Also, I am a Jew. No longer practicing, but a Jew nonetheless. I got the W in YHWH (which is a transliteration) from the many scholars, Jewish and non-Jewish, who also use the same spelling.

Akiva is correct .The words are אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (ehyeh ahser ehyeh). Eyeh is the future tense.

 

[fallingblood]

Akiva is correct .The words are אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (ehyeh ahser ehyeh). Eyeh is the future tense.

It's not quite as simple as that. There is some debate as to whether ancient Hebrew, that is recorded in Exodus, even has a future tense. That and the tense system of biblical Hebrew doesn't necessarily correspond to that of modern English, so the whole situation gets murky.

So both translations are fine. One could even translate it to I am he who endures. Or even, I am that which endures (or what endures), since the term asher is subjective to debate as well.

There are even some who refuse to fully translate the reading as they say it is unintelligible. Either way, the translations are fine and the meaning really doesn't change.

 

[Jedster]

It's not quite as simple as that. There is some debate as to whether ancient Hebrew, that is recorded in Exodus, even has a future tense. That and the tense system of biblical Hebrew doesn't necessarily correspond to that of modern English, so the whole situation gets murky.

So both translations are fine. One could even translate it to I am he who endures. Or even, I am that which endures (or what endures), since the term asher is subjective to debate as well.

There are even some who refuse to fully translate the reading as they say it is unintelligible. Either way, the translations are fine and the meaning really doesn't change.

Like you, I am a "nonetheless Jew"( :>)) and have been happily using ehyeh as the future tense since I learnt Hebrew and use it happily when speaking Hebrew with someone.

Edited to add: But I do agree that the meaning is the same.

 

[fallingblood]

Like you, I am a "nonetheless Jew"( :>)) and have been happily using ehyeh as the future tense since I learnt Hebrew and use it happily when speaking Hebrew with someone.

Edited to add: But I do agree that the meaning is the same.

I think it may have something to do with how we learned Hebrew. I learned Biblical Hebrew in a Lutheran based College. But to each their own.

 

[Tumah]

Like you, I am a "nonetheless Jew"( :>)) and have been happily using ehyeh as the future tense since I learnt Hebrew and use it happily when speaking Hebrew with someone.

Edited to add: But I do agree that the meaning is the same.

I think it may have something to do with how we learned Hebrew. I learned Biblical Hebrew in a Lutheran based College. But to each their own.

The reason why you are coming up with different translations is because Biblical Hebrew is different from Modern Hebrew. Modern Hebrew uses past, present and future. Biblical Hebrew uses the perfective and imperfective aspects and relies on contextual clues to determine whether it was past present or future. So this phrase can be interpreted in a number of ways many of which are found in various Jewish texts.

One of the Targums actually uses both past and future here and translates it as "He that said to the world 'be' and it was, and in the future will say to it 'be' and it will be."

The Pseudo-Jonathan translates the phrase "Ehy-h sent me to you" using both present and future, "I am He who is and will be, sent me to you."

 

[savagewind]

I think God's name means different things to each person. To some people it is nothing. To other people it is everything. I think that the name God told Moses (I am what I am) means the regard each person is willing to assert that God is and then endure in it.

It is as though God is the road AND the end of the road. What anyone sees at the end of searching is the Name of God. God will have as many names as there are people who care to know.

I think that it does not mean there are many gods. There is just ONE imo.

 

[fallingblood]

The reason why you are coming up with different translations is because Biblical Hebrew is different from Modern Hebrew. Modern Hebrew uses past, present and future. Biblical Hebrew uses the perfective and imperfective aspects and relies on contextual clues to determine whether it was past present or future. So this phrase can be interpreted in a number of ways many of which are found in various Jewish texts.

I only know Biblical Hebrew. I'm a religious studies student, so Biblical Hebrew was one of the courses that I was suggested to take. My interpretation is based on Biblical Hebrew, as well as the interpretations of others who are more adapt to the language, such as Robert Alter.

 

[savagewind]

Does anyone know that what Moses knew about God has very little to do with YOU?

 

[Akivah]

Either way, the translations are fine and the meaning really doesn't change.

Are you kidding? Any differences in translation can cause huge differences in interpretation. I've seen Christian authorities make stands on "I am" and Judaism authorities make stands on "I will be". Since these two religions are so different, there is obviously a large difference in meaning.

 

[Desert Snake]

Does anyone know that what Moses knew about God has very little to do with YOU?

Are you kidding? Any differences in translation can cause huge differences in interpretation. I've seen Christian authorities make stands on "I am" and Judaism authorities make stands on "I will be". Since these two religions are so different, there is obviously a large difference in meaning.

John 8:58

for some context in the New Testament

 

[savagewind]

John 8:58

for some context in the New Testament

Can you be more specific, please?