LORD: The English As Translated From The Hebrew

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LORD … The English As Translated From The Hebrew

“The second name of God revealed in scriptures is the name “YHVH,” which translates “LORD.” This translation is found in the King James Version and many other translations. The Hebrew name Yahweh is translated LORD in capitals to distinguish it from another word, Adonai, also translated Lord, but in lower case letters. The name Adonai translates to Lord or master. It tells us of a relationship answering to that of a servant. One who is supreme and to whom is owed accountability.

LORD is the name by far the most frequently employed in the Old Testament, occurring 6,823 times. It appears first in Genesis 2:4, here together with Elohim as Jehovah/Elohim and through the second and third chapters, except in the story of temptation, where only the name Elohim appears. After this we find the name Jehovah alone or as Jehovah-Elohim together. For instance, Jacob in his dream at Beth-El hears God saying: “I am Jehovah (LORD) the Elohim (The Mighty One) of Abraham your father and the Elohim (Mighty One, in covenant) of Isaac… (Genesis 28:13).

LORD, this name identifies the one true uncreated – creating sustaining God of everything that has existence. The name Elohim/God, as used in the context of Genesis 28:13 is not referring to two Gods, who are in some way separated but united. By the name LORD, God here shows Himself as the singular ever-living God with no beginning. He then clarifies His relationship to man by identifying Himself as the superior El (God), the mighty one and covenant giver of Elohim.

Genesis 28:13 – 13 “And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.”

YHVH which we translate LORD, shows us qualities though contained in the name Elohim do not adequately or cannot be said to express the fullness of God. Elohim the name by its plural form, speaks of one whose very being involved a covenant relationship which cannot be broken. As previously discussed and will be further developed, this covenant relationship expressed in the name Elohim in the first verse of Genesis chapter one and throughout this chapter is a covenant agreement with the one we know as Jesus Christ, the word of God at the new creation and the renewing of what was a ruin.

Jehovah shows one who, being love, is also righteous and just and must, therefore judge evil wherever it exists and at whatever cost. God is the same God, whether seen as Jehovah or Elohim, this name, Elohim, gives us only one view. We must also know Him as LORD. Let us carry this thought further to see the difference between the two names.

Moses Maimonides, a noted Jewish scholar of the middle ages, said in regard to the name Yahweh: “All the names of God which occur in scripture are derived from His works except one, and that is Yahweh; and this is called the plain name because it teaches plainly and unequivocally of the substance of God.”

Another said: “The name Jehovah is everywhere a proper name denoting the person of God and Him only. Elohim usually denotes the supreme or the mighty one. The Hebrew may say The Elohim; the true God, in opposition to all false gods, but he (the writer) never says the Jehovah. For Jehovah is the name of the true God only. He says again and again, my God or my Elohim, but never my Jehovah, for when he says my God, he means Jehovah. He speaks of the God (Elohim) of Israel, but never the Jehovah of Israel. He speaks of the living God, but never of the living Jehovah, for he does not perceive of Jehovah as other than living.”

There is one unchanging God who in Himself is perfect love; still, we are able to understand Him to appear in different aspects, either as love (as Elohim) or as truth (Jehovah). But often these two names are found as one – LORD, Elohim. The apostle John tells us “God is love.” Still, in the expression of love we see that love must be righteous and just. Elohim shows the being of God is love. Jehovah reveals Him as truth, the expression of His being. We thus see that love must show itself in truth and righteousness.

A parent’s love is unchanging love, A love which cannot change despite faults and failings in the loved one. This is love in its being. The expression of this love varies in certain qualities towards the loved one. If a child rebels, a friend deceives or there is some kind of breach, at some point it must be dealt with. For righteousness and true judging are part of love.

The name Jehovah is the expression of God’s being. Because He is true being He must be just and holy also, for evil is not true being, but the negative, opposite or privation of it. “I am that I am” involves all this. The angel’s continuous praise is holy, holy, holy Lord (Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 9:8). He says of Himself, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2). Jehovah, therefore, is one who, “being what he is,” loves righteousness and hates iniquity. (Psalm 45:7). He finds in all evil, if it exists, something antagonistic to his nature, which because it is not true, must be opposed and judged.

Jehovah is a name that exacts quality and looks for righteousness. Because He Himself is holy, He gives commandments which are holy, just and good. From the beginning He set forth “the tree of life” and “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” making clear the difference in them. Man even at this time comes under law, saying both “you shall” and “you shall not.” Jehovah gives a warning and threat that disobedience will bring judgment. Man disobeys, He pronounces judgment sending them out from Eden to labor and gain his living from the ground. In all this, even at this very earliest of times, God gives hope. For Adam and Eve and for all mankind, even in judgment there is a promise – “The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head.” (Genesis 3:15). This is a reference to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ work and our true repentance and acceptance of His blood sacrifice gives one access to God and sets him in good standing.

From the very beginning Jehovah displays His righteousness; He must judge sin for He loves truth. If sin comes into His relationship with men, it fractures the relationship and therefore must be judged at whatever time and circumstance God deems appropriate.

Jehovah The God Of Israel

Jehovah always speaks as one who loves righteousness and requires this, His own likeness in His people. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 – 4 “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.” He is saying we must be like the LORD our God. Everything is a requirement for a love like Jehovah’s own and testifies of a requirement of righteousness and love in the beloved – His people Israel. This theme is found all throughout the law, in its threats and promises as much as in its commandments.

Again we read in Deuteronomy 11:13 – 13 “If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul, and if you worship him, with all your heart and all your soul.”

Continuing in I Samuel 12:15, “But if you rebel against the LORD’S commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.”

The great offense of ancient Israel, after being redeemed by Jehovah, “to be a nation of priests and a holy nation to Yahweh,” (Exodus 19:6) is that they could not maintain themselves as a holy people, they did not walk as the people of Jehovah, “The truth requiring God.” (Amos 3:2). So, it is today the nations of America (Ephraim) and Britain (Manasseh) have utterly failed to maintain themselves in even the basic truth and righteousness of God and now are into the shadow of His righteous judgment. We do not walk as the people of Jehovah, the truth requiring God.

As we come to better grasp the meaning of the name LORD we come to better understand what God (Elohim) said to Moses. Exodus 6:2-6 – 2 “God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. 4 “I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned.5 “Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. 6 “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” God has always been Yahweh, but He at the beginning revealed himself as the covenant God (Elohim) and El Shaddai, that is God Almighty, not until the Exodus out of Egypt when He formally gave the law and said, “Be you holy, for I am holy,” Was the full import of the name Jehovah revealed to Israel. Thus, recorded throughout scripture for benefit and edification of those who humble themselves and strive to be as Yahweh – lovers of truth and righteousness. Adam and Eve and Noah had known God by the name Yahweh because of his righteous judgment.

The origin and meaning of the name YHVH/LORD is especially brought out at the burning bush incident. Exodus 3:13-15 -13 “But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they won’t believe me. They will ask, ‘Which god are you talking about? What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied, “I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS. Just tell them, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said, “Tell them, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.’ This will be my name forever; it has always been my name, and it will be used throughout all generations.” God said to Moses, “I am that I am.” These words can also be rendered, “I will be that I will be.” The origin of the name LORD carries the sense of meaning of being and existence – denotes the one who will always be: Personal, continuous, absolute existence.

The understanding is that when God wishes to make a special revelation of Himself as LORD as in Exodus 6:2-4, God identifies Himself as LORD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Exodus 6:5-8 Jehovah makes specific comments concerning Israel.

5 “You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. I have remembered my covenant with them. 6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with mighty power and great acts of judgment. 7 I will make you my own special people, and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the LORD your God who has rescued you from your slavery in Egypt. 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It will be your very own property. I am the LORD!”‘

These verses bring forth several important understandings. 1) Though the name LORD is frequently used as the name of the Elohim of the patriarchs, its full significance was not revealed to them; 2) it was now revealed in connection with God’s covenant and promise to a people; 3) Now, after several hundred years, the true significance of the name was to be unfolded by the manifestation of God as a personal, living being, fulfilling to the people of Israel the promise made to their fathers. Here the ever-living God reveals Himself to His covenant people as the unchanging God who remains faithful to His word through many generations. As one man wrote,”God’s personal eternal existence, the continuity of His dealings with man, the unchangeableness of His promises, and the whole revelation of His redeeming mercy gathers round the name YHVH/LORD.”

Repeatedly when Israel sinned the anger of Yahweh was kindled against His peoples and He gave them over to their enemies. In all this it is good to remember, “And His (Jehovah’s) being was grieved for the misery of Israel.” (Judges 10:16). Also again in the psalms it is written, “Forty long years was I grieved with this generation in the wilderness.” (Psalms 95:10). Jehovah is grieved and pained by the destruction and ruin that is a part of sin. It compromises the covenant agreement.

What we first come to see in Jehovah is law and that because he is righteous and must condemn evil. The completion and comfort in this matter can be found in these words; ” This is the covenant I will make after those days.” (“Those days” is the 6000 years that God has given to man, in this period of time the law did its work of condemnation, that is man was condemned because of sin – his unwillingness and inability to submit himself to the righteous law of God.) With 6000 years of experience Yahweh will within the next few years do this: “I will put my law into their mind, and will write it in their hearts, and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people.”

Righteousness is not complete if it only judges and condemns. God’s righteousness, while it judges sin, will not be satisfied until also the sinner is made righteous. Romans 5:21 – 2 I “So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Yahweh is not content to be righteous Himself. His idea and plan is that man should become as He is. He wants us to partake and share in His righteousness. He offers it to us, but it comes with a condition: A steadfast willingness no matter what the difficulties; we will never disavow the covenant relationship and agreement we committed to. We may make mistakes and we will sin, but we will not turn to give our back. The intent and constant desire of our heart is to always go forward. The goal and vision are always before us. This is how we make progress – this is the road to godly righteousness. Yahweh’s righteousness reflected in us is the reason He gives us the gift of free moral agency.

Our destiny is to reflect in our character and personality the righteousness of The Eternal and our example for this endeavor is our savior Jesus Christ. Each is an unique individual accountable directly to God. His primary purpose is that He wants in each and every one of his created beings the righteousness that is manifested in His own very being. Everything else falls into place after this one supreme overriding factor. It is through the experiences of life and the acquiring of knowledge, understanding and wisdom we come to more and more appreciate and desire God’s righteousness.

Helpful Verses

Romans 3:23-26 – 23 “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. 25 For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times. 26 And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus.”

Psalms 23:3 “…He leads me in the path of righteousness for His namesake.”

Jeremiah 23:6 – 6 “And this is his name: ‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.” This prophecy is for our peoples after their punishment, repentance and restoration. They will know and acknowledge God and by this name he will be called.

Psalm 11:7 – “For the LORD is righteous, and he loves justice. Those who do what is right will see his face.”

Daniel 9:14 – 14 “The LORD has brought against us the disaster he prepared, for we did not obey him, and the LORD our God is just in everything he does.”

Leviticus 19:2 “You shall be holy: For I the LORD (Yahweh) your God (Elohim) am holy.”

Psalm 89:15 and 16 – 15 “Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD. 16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness.”

Reflection And Additional Comments

As we have seen, the name Elohim is love in virtue of relationship, while the name LORD expresses the true being. This name reveals one who, because He is truth, must condemn all evil and unrighteousness. However, we see in His judgments His purpose to make man like Himself.

The name LORD signifies to us God as a god of moral and spiritual attributes. Whereas the title Elohim assumes a love toward all creation, in particular man as the work of his hands. The name Yahweh reveals His love to man as conditioned upon moral and spiritual qualities. When LORD is introduced in Genesis 2:4 and for the rest of chapters 2 and 3, His name Elohim is always added, except where the woman or the serpent speak and then they speak only of Elohim. Every act and the words of Yahweh/Elohim shows that though He is LORD, one who is righteous and must judge sin, He never ceases to be Elohim, who loves unconditional because he loves on virtues of a relationship.

Consider what God says of and for Himself. “For man there is hope for him in God.” Who also says, “There is no Elohim besides me: Look unto me and be saved, all ends of the Earth, for I am God and there is none else.” He continues with, “I am YHVH/LORD, a just God (Elohim) and a savior.” And again, “Surely shall one say, in Yahweh have I righteousness and strength…in Yahweh shall all the children of Israel be justified and shall glory.” The names are often combined to bring out something distinctive concerning our God. It is knowledge that gives understanding, strength and hope.

The love of Yahweh does not forsake man, even as man is at his most arrogant and contemptuous of behavior. It is LORD who manifests Himself in covenants and acts of deliverance and redemption. To the children of Israel in hard bondage He says, “I am Jehovah, I will bring you out.” (Exodus 6:6)

At the time of Moses and the Exodus, God is always LORD to Israel for His great redemption and deliverance of them. At the end time when Yahweh once again brings His people out of captivity and restores them, He will be seen as the God of covenants and righteousness in truth. His people will know Yahweh-Elohim as their LORD and God. They will obey and serve Him and keep the covenant agreement they once agreed to do.

One writer said, “Wherever the name Jehovah appears after man has fallen (the sin of Adam and Eve) from righteousness, what see we – but God seeking the restoration of man. He teaches man how to approach Him by means of sacrifices, a substitute. That is the clear implication of Abel’s approach to God through the sacrifice of life and the rejection of Cain for the lack of it.”

The sacrificial system, both in the patriarchal and levitical dispensations pointed to Yahweh as distinct from Elohim. In the first seven chapters of Leviticus, which sets forth the whole system of sacrifices, Elohim occurs once alone and once together with LORD; LORD occurs 86 times. In the sixteenth chapter of this book which speaks of the day of atonement, here only the name Yahweh occurs and at that twelve times. It is Elohim that commands Noah to bring two of every kind of creature into the ark. The mighty Elohim who has created is also the covenant Elohim who preserves His creation. However, the name LORD is used in connection with the command to bring into the ark seven pairs of every clean beast. This is not for only preservation, but also for sacrifice upon which forgiveness, remembrance and fellowship with Yahweh have a base. Some of these animals Noah offered to Yahweh after the flood. Please read Genesis 6:12 through Genesis 7:5 for the story flow and context.

Speaking of the great day of redemption, Zechariah says, “I will say it is my peoples and they shall say LORD is my God.” (Zech 13:9). Isaiah 45:21 – “A just God and Savior; there is none beside me.” Isaiah 45:22, “Look to me (Yahweh) and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God and there is none beside me.” Isaiah 45:24, “He (mankind) shall say, surely in you LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him all men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who were incensed against him.”

Psalm 89:15 and 16 – “Blessed are the people (any peoples and nations) who know the festive (joyful) shout (given as a part of worship), who walk O LORD in the light of your face (guided in their lifestyle of conformity to God’s standards). Who exalt (praise, always have good things to say) in (about) your name LORD all the day and in your righteousness are exalted.”

The Old and New Covenants

The covenant agreement as given first to the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then to the nation of Israel and individually to each citizen of this commonwealth all agreed to the conditional terms set forth by the LORD. God set the standards, the requirements, Israel said “Yes LORD we accept and claim this offer to enter into a covenant relationship with you and be your special and chosen people for a purpose.”

The basic provisory conditions to keep this relationship in good standing are:

  • No other gods (false gods in place of the one true God).
  • The commandments and law and all that pertains to them to be kept with diligence and zeal. No compromises – no changes.
  • As God’s chosen people for purpose, among their responsibilities, they were to be God’s witness to all other nations and offer the same opportunity they received.

What all nations and peoples beginning from Adam and Eve to the some six billion people on this Earth today did not and do not understand is that in the LORD God alone is to be found everlasting love, truth and righteousness which He greatly desires to share with all mankind.

For the peoples of the Old Testament this covenant relationship offered only physical peace, prosperity and protection from enemies. Certain men and women of those times chosen for purposes, such as the prophets, were given God’s holy spirit. These servants understood God’s purpose and much of His plan for mankind. They understood the sacrificial system. They kept the Passover with purpose, knowing who these things pointed to. They received the inspired writings that state there would come a savior for all mankind; His blood for our sins and redemption, and His life as our high priest before God for our salvation.

The people of Israel did not have the heart to keep this covenant relationship ongoing and productive. They came to worship false gods and broke all of God’s instructions of the law. Eventually they were broken down and dispersed among the gentile lands, their identity lost to history. Even so, today there are some few who understand and believe biblical prophecies and know who and where the modern descendants of ancient Israel can be found.

This failure to obey God and teach the nations has produced only the spirit of bitterness and hatred against Israel’s modern day descendants.

Is there a New Testament covenant agreement? Are the terms and conditions different than was given to Jacob (Israel) and his descendants?

The covenant arrangement with ancient Israel and the covenant agreement as offered to those chosen and called by Yahweh since the time of Jesus Christ are exactly the same. The fact is upon the LORD’S coming and Christ’s return to Earth, this same covenant relationship will be offered to all nations. The descendants of ancient Israel (America, Britain and others) will be a faithful witness to the world and will bring many into union with Yahweh.

It was for unbelief and hardness of heart they failed. With Jesus Christ and his works came the opportunity not to only enter a covenant relationship with the LORD God, but also given was the means to successfully maintain it for all times. God made available His holy spirit for those who earnestly desire it. This is the absolute and necessary power to stay the course for all eternity.

The requirements are straightforward. What is required to enter into a covenant with God are these things:

  • A calling from God.
  • Believe his written word.
  • Humility.
  • Understanding.
  • Reverence for God and His Son.
  • Repentance.
  • Baptism – demonstrates one’s belief in Jesus and His blood sacrifice for our sins. Also, it is the token sign of our continuous willingness to do our part to keep the deal always active.
  • The one ceremony that gives us our new beginning and assurance of success – the laying on of hands to receive an essence of God’s holy spirit. For 2000 years God has allowed precious few into this special relationship with Him. Soon all will be offered an opportunity and will rush to embrace their LORD and God.

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