Strictly speaking, the only personal name of God belonging to Him alone, and the most significant name of God found in the Old Testament (over 5000 times). Yahweh is the approximate (and likely) pronunciation of the tetragrammaton, the four-letter word YHWH. When Moses asked what His name was to take back to the Hebrews in Egypt, God replied, “I AM THAT I AM (אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑הehyeh esher ehyeh): and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM (אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה, ehyeh, 1st person singular, giving God's declaration of His name) has sent me to you” (Exod 3:14). Thus God revealed to Moses the very essential meaning of His name as Yahweh (יְהוָ֞ה, Yahweh, 3rd person singular, the response of the people of God, He is). There is a strong indication that Jesus (or Yeshua, Yahweh is salvation) used this name and its divine implication to apply to himself when he said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (ἐγὼ εἰμί, egō eimi) (John 8:58). Thus, the very Person who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush was the very same Person who addressed the startled Jews in the Gospel of John.
For a more complete discussion of the personal name of God, see the passage in Exodus in which He reveals His name to Moses, Exodus 3:14, 15.
A Name of God (אֱלֹהִים; 'elohim)
Word Study
| Hershel Wayne House
אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym·Strong's H430
This is a generic name for the divine being. In the Hebrew Bible, the word is regularly used in the plural in reference to the God of Israel but in regard to His majesty or intensity. The plural has a third person singular with the God of Israel, but a third plural with foreign deities.
Abba, Father
Word Study
| Hershel Wayne House • Steve Stanley
ἈββᾶAbbâ·Strong's G5
This Aramaic term is used only three times in the NT and approximately 80 times in the writings of the early church fathers when quoting or paraphrasing Jesus’ words. It is translated by the very next word in this verse as ὁ πατήρ (ho pater) “the Father,” as it is in all three NT uses. Jesus spoke in Aramaic, and Hebrew, both languages being used in Israel. In Jesus’ day, abba was used for the father in the family, and was a customary title for God in prayer among the Jews. It was eventually taken over by Greek-speaking Christians as a liturgical formula. Some posit that abba is equivalent to “daddy,” an American English term for “father.” This assumes that the American informality expressed by children toward their father would have an analogy in Jesus’ culture, an assumption difficult to sustain. It is, therefore, not appropriate to refer to God as “daddy.” Linguistically, then, abba means "father" in Hebrew, Greek and English. It must be noted, however, that while “father” is a term of respect in biblical literature, it is also a term of affection, very deep and abiding affection. With His use of “Abba,” Jesus expresses His respectful and intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father in prayer, a wonderful example for all believers.
1Yahweh’s ark was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with Yahweh’s ark? Show us how we should send it to its place.”
3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, don’t send it empty; but by all means return a trespass offering to him. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.”
4Then they said, “What should the trespass offering be which we shall return to him?”
They said, “Five golden tumors and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land. 6Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When he had worked wonderfully among them, didn’t they let the people go, and they departed?
7“Now therefore take and prepare yourselves a new cart and two milk cows on which there has come no yoke; and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them; 8and take Yahweh’s ark and lay it on the cart. Put the jewels of gold, which you return him for a trespass offering, in a box by its side; and send it away, that it may go. 9Behold, if it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great evil; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us. It was a chance that happened to us.”
10The men did so, and took two milk cows and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11They put Yahweh’s ark on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. 12The cows took the straight way by the way to Beth Shemesh. They went along the highway, lowing as they went, and didn’t turn away to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh. 13The people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they split the wood of the cart and offered up the cows for a burnt offering to Yahweh. 15The Levites took down Yahweh’s ark and the box that was with it, in which the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone; and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to Yahweh. 16When the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering to Yahweh: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages, even to the great stone on which they set down Yahweh’s ark. That stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh. 19He struck of the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into Yahweh’s ark, he struck fifty thousand seventy of the men. Then the people mourned, because Yahweh had struck the people with a great slaughter. 20The men of Beth Shemesh said, “Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? To whom shall he go up from us?”
21They sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back Yahweh’s ark. Come down and bring it up to yourselves.”