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Hebrew word · Strong H3068

What does Yahweh (YHWH) mean?

Yahweh (YHWH) is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible. It is tied to the verb “to be” (hayah, H1961) and speaks of the God who exists by himself and is present with his people — the meaning God gave Moses at the burning bush: “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The King James, like most English Bibles, prints it as LORD in capital letters, and a few times as JEHOVAH.

יְהֹוָה

Yᵉhôvâh · transliteration · yeh-ho-vaw' · pronunciation

In Strong’s lexicon
Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
In the King James
  • LORD5450
Appears in
5,521 verses

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The meaning of Yahweh (YHWH) in the Bible

Ancient Hebrew was written with consonants only, and out of reverence Jewish readers stopped pronouncing the name, reading “Adonai” (Lord) in its place. That is where the two familiar English forms come from: Yahweh, a scholarly reconstruction of the ancient pronunciation, and Jehovah, which combines the consonants of YHWH with the vowels of Adonai. The capital letters of LORD in your Bible are the sign that the divine name stands there.

It is the covenant name. God gives it to Moses as “my name for ever” (Exodus 3:15), and it appears in more than 5,500 verses of the Old Testament. Many compound names start from it — Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Shalom — and each one says something about who this God is for his people.

Where Yahweh (YHWH) appears

Genesis 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,
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Exodus 3:15

And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD 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.
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Exodus 6:3

And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Yahweh and Jehovah?
Both come from the same four letters, YHWH. Yahweh is a reconstruction of the ancient pronunciation; Jehovah is a later form that joins the consonants of the name to the vowels of Adonai (Lord). Most English Bibles use neither and print LORD instead.
Why is LORD in capital letters in the Bible?
To show where the Hebrew has the name YHWH. “Lord” with only a capital L usually translates a different word, Adonai.

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