God
(Jewish names for). The Jewish people believe in only one God; however, because
of the sacredness they attach to the direct use of God’s name, many Hebrews
substitute names have been developed. Most Jews believe that the original
Hebrew name for God consists of the four basic Hebrew letters YHVH.
Although the vowel sounds used in
the Hebrew language were traditional in everyday ancient speech, they were not
part of the written alphabet. So even today, the Jews are not sure of the
correct pronunciation of YHVH. In about 700 C.E., to preserve the language
(especially with regard to the Holy Scriptures), a group of Jewish scribes,
called Masorites, introduced a series of small dots, dashes, and other symbolic
marks to be used over, under, and between the letters of words. These little
marks did not become new letters in the alphabet, but represented the vowel
sounds to be used in pronunciation. Because of its sacredness, the name YHVH
anciently could be spoken only by the high priest in the Jerusalem Temple
during very solemn religious services. Perhaps due to reverence of infrequent
usage, the Masorites did not attempt to provide vowel sounds for YHVH.
In English, YHVH is pronounced
“Yahweh,” or “Yahveh.” The pronunciation “Jehovah” first appeared in 1516 in
Christian bibles. It is believed to be of German origin and was arrived at by
arbitrarily taking the vowel sounds from “Adonai” and inserting them between
the letters YHVH. The Jews believe this pronunciation to be incorrect. The King
James translators usually interpreted YHVH as “Lord.”
The Jews do not associate YHVH
with the name of the Messiah.
The Jews believe that many of the
scriptural names used to designate God identify him by referring to his divine
attributes rather than his actual person. Jewish tradition also indicates that
using the plural form of these names for God magnifies his majesty. (They do
not conceive of a Godhead or council of the Gods as do the Latter-day Saints.)
Some of the attribute names Jews use when referring to God are as follows:
Adonai (ah-doe-noy): “My Lords,”
refers to God’s greatness and power.
Adoshem (ah-do-shem) from “the
Name”: The term “the Name” refers to the sacredness of God’s name.
Elohim (El-o-heem): “the Gods,”
refers to God’s infinite justice and mercy.
YHVH. Some Jews believe that this
extremely sacred word is not necessarily the literal name of God, but actually
means “the essence of God’s Being,” which cannot be comprehended by ordinary
man.
There are other terms the Jews use
to refer to God. Some of the more common of these are:
Bore Olam (bor-oh-lahm) The
Creator of the World
Kedosh Yisrael (Keh-dosh
yis-rah-ale): Holy One of Israel
Ha-makom (hah-mah0kohm): The
Omnipresent Place
En Sof (ayn-sohf): Infinite one
Due to the great reverence the
Jewish people feel when referring to God, they will often write the word
without using the middle letter: G-d. This spelling is somewhat symbolic of the
word YHVH without the vowel sounds.
Before we consider it strange for
people to have more than one way to refer to their God, we should remember the
following various ways in which we practice a similar custom:
God
Elohim
God the Father
Our Eternal Heavenly Father
Our Heavenly Father
Our father who art in heaven
Father (Missionary Training
Manual For Use in Jewish Proselyting Program [Salt Lake City: The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1978, 1979], 21-22)