Bible Questions and Answers

God is the creator and sustainer of all life.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The Hebrew word translated God is ‘Elohim’ which is a generic term for ruler or judge – one with judicial authority.

In the beginning of Genesis chapter 2 we read:

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,

The words translated Lord God are YHWH Elohim.

Hebrew was written without vowels.

YHWH is understood to be the name of God.

From here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yahweh

Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, whose name was revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the tetragrammaton.

After the Babylonian Exile (6th century bce), and especially from the 3rd century bce on, Jews ceased to use the name Yahweh for two reasons. As Judaism became a universal rather than merely local religion, the more common noun Elohim, meaning “God,” tended to replace Yahweh to demonstrate the universal sovereignty of Israel’s God over all others. At the same time, the divine name was increasingly regarded as too sacred to be uttered; it was thus replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai (“My Lord”), which was translated as Kyrios (“Lord”) in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Masoretes, who from about the 6th to the 10th century worked to reproduce the original text of the Hebrew Bible, replaced the vowels of the name YHWH with the vowel signs of the Hebrew words Adonai or Elohim. Latin-speaking Christian scholars substituted the Y (which does not exist in Latin) with an I or a J (the latter of which exists in Latin as a variant form of I). Thus, the tetragrammaton became the artificial Latinized name Jehovah (JeHoWaH). As the use of the name spread throughout medieval Europe, the initial letter J was pronounced according to the local vernacular language rather than Latin. Although Christian scholars after the Renaissance and Reformation periods used the term Jehovah for YHWH, in the 19th and 20th centuries biblical scholars again began to use the form Yahweh. Early Christian writers, such as St. Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used a form like Yahweh, and this pronunciation of the tetragrammaton was never really lost. Many Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh.

The meaning of the personal name of the Israelite God has been variously interpreted. Many scholars believe that the most proper meaning may be “He Brings into Existence Whatever Exists” (Yahweh-Asher-Yahweh). In I Samuel, God is known by the name Yahweh Teva-Ê¿ot, or “He Brings the Hosts into Existence,” the hosts possibly referring to the heavenly court or to Israel.

The personal name of God probably was known long before the time of Moses. The name of Moses’ mother was Jochebed (Yokheved), a word based on the name Yahweh. Thus, the tribe of Levi, to which Moses belonged, probably knew the name Yahweh, which originally may have been (in its short form Yo, Yah, or Yahu) a religious invocation of no precise meaning evoked by the mysterious and awesome splendour of the manifestation of the holy.

The name of God is given to Moses

Exodus 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 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.

I AM THAT I AM also means I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE

The name given here is understood to describe God’s purpose in creation. He intends to fill the earth with his glory in the form of men and women raised to the divine nature in whom and with whom he will live forever.

Isaiah 45:18  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Numbers 14:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

From this we see that God intends to manifest himself in a great multitude of people to whom he will give eternal life.

Paul writes of the time when God will be ‘all in all’.

1 Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him (Jesus Christ), then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

2 Corinthians 6:16… for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

God is referred to by other names as below:

In the New Testament, which was written in Greek, titles are used for God rather than names.

‘Lord’ Luke 1:32 Kurios – Lord or Master

‘God’ Luke 1:32 Theos – God

‘Almighty’ 2 Corinthians 6:18 – pantokrator – Ruler

‘Father’ Matthew 6:9 – pater - father

Those who believe the gospel and are baptised into Jesus Christ become adopted sons of God and have the privilege to address him as ‘our Father’.

May I suggest that you read: ‘Your Share in God’s Promises’ here:

https://www.thisisyourbible.com/library/show/181

I hope you find this helpful.

God bless,
Glenn