Hebrew · H3068

יְהֹוָה

(The) self- Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah , Jewish national name of God

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יְהֹוָהH3068
PronunciationYHWH

What does יְהֹוָה (YHWH) mean in the Bible?

The Hebrew name יהוה identifies the God of Israel throughout the Old Testament. The Berean Standard Bible, like many English translations, represents the name as “LORD” in capital letters.

Reader summary

Full entry for יְהֹוָה (H3068) · Open the biblical lexicon

Questions this entry answers

What does יְהֹוָה (YHWH) mean in the Bible?

The Hebrew name יהוה identifies the God of Israel throughout the Old Testament. The Berean Standard Bible, like many English translations, represents the name as “LORD” in capital letters.

How does the BSB render H3068?

The BSB source-word alignment has 6,522 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the LORD (2,870), of the LORD (1,384), to the LORD (451), O LORD (343), And the LORD (181).

Where does יְהֹוָה (YHWH) appear in Scripture?

The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 2:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (712), Psalms (687), Deuteronomy (548), Isaiah (425).

What This Word Actually Means

The Hebrew name יהוה identifies the God of Israel throughout the Old Testament. The Berean Standard Bible, like many English translations, represents the name as “Lord” in capital letters. That convention signals a personal name in the Hebrew text; it should not be confused with every ordinary occurrence of the title “lord.” The Masoretic pointing reflects a received reading practice and does not by itself settle the name’s ancient pronunciation. Teachers should therefore acknowledge that pronunciation remains debated instead of presenting one reconstruction as certain.

Exodus 3:15 places the name within God’s commission of Moses: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sends him and declares how He is to be remembered. The nearby statement “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14 is important for reading the scene, but the relationship between the forms should be handled with lexical care. A proposed derivation cannot carry a complete doctrine of God by itself. Exodus 6:6 and 34:6 show the name in promises and self-declaration: the Lord redeems Israel and makes His compassion, grace, patience, loving devotion, and faithfulness known.

Genesis 2:4 joins “the Lord God” to the making of heaven and earth, while Deuteronomy 6:4 confesses that the Lord is Israel’s God and is one. Joel 2:32 promises deliverance to those who call on the name of the Lord. These passages support worship, trust, obedience, and covenant remembrance, but the name must not be reduced to a slogan that guarantees a preferred outcome.

The New Testament often uses the Greek title kyrios when quoting Old Testament passages that contain יהוה. Romans 10 draws Joel 2:32 into a Christ-centered confession, which is a weighty canonical connection. Even so, teachers should establish such links passage by passage. The divine name does not license speculative pronunciation claims, secret-name spirituality, or the assertion that every New Testament use of “Lord” directly represents H3068.

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