The Sacred Name: YHVH Yehovah (Yea-ho-vah)

We are commanded in Scripture to praise the Name of the Almighty One.

Read more about the Sacred Name

The titles of the Almighty as He is addressed in the Bible include “God” or “the Lord.” Neither are His proper name. Using either is the equivalent of calling a person by their gender or species such as human or woman verses their proper name of Jane or John. The word God in the Old Testament Hebrew as found in the KJV is Elohim. El-ohim is a plural form so Christians use the word to help justify the belief in a triune godhead or that there are three beings, while Jews state it shows the many attributes of Adonai. There is no denying that the name itself is borrowed from or includes the name of the pagan Canaanite god known as “El”. El was the father god or the most powerful god among the many worshiped. The name “Lord” originated from the worship of Baal, and was what the pagan god was called or known as. It has crept in language down through the ages and is a title for rulers, kings, and noblemen in the English traditions, and many refer to Jesus as their Lord and savior. Typically it is defined as “Master” the Lord or LORD capitalized is supposed to make it better. Why did the translators of the recent past change it? Years ago the name Jehovah was used in English language Bibles. Somewhere along the way we were taught that that is the wrong spelling after all… Or was it a means to stop using it that the Jews were so persistent about in nor using the sacred name?

It is the policy of NCAY to abstain from the use of such pagan names, references, concepts, and impersonal titles when addressing the Almighty above or in everyday language. From Scripture we read in Exo. 23:13, “And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” NCAY uses Yah, the Eternal or Almighty one, or His proper name which in Hebrew is designated by the English equivalent four letters: YHVH or YHWH, the four letter Tetragrammaton. (Image above read backwards in Hebrew forms His name without vowels.) Yehovah (Ya-ho-vah) (or similar such as Yahvaeh) is our understanding of the correct name and leads to a very similar pronunciation depending on regional annunciation. Watch the video by Nehemia Gordon below for great information which confirms most of our research.

Nehemia Gordon on the Name

Nehemia found the correct word to be YEHOVAH not Yahweh (Yah-way).

In Hebrew, the vowels used in Yahweh and YAH are different. Yehovah and HalleluYAH are consistent with Yah.

NCAY prefers the shortened version “Yah” for praise, prayer, and worship of our Almighty Yehovah. It is the name used by David in the Psalms and other books of the Bible approximately 50 times or more as confirmed by multiple sources. Some NKJV translations do correctly print the name Yah as translated. Psalm 68:4 is a prime example, “Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.” Psalm 68:4 (NKJV, Nelson, 2013.)