Definitions

  • n. A name for God used by Christians.

Example Sentences

  • "Yahweh, Jah, Jehovah, Yehovah, YHWH. He has lots of names but those are the name ones you may hear from people who actually use God's name. I use Jah or Jehovah." (source)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • English

Etymology

  • derived from the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton

    • Who Uses This

      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).

      Alternative Spellings

      Jehova, Yahweh, Yawe, Yahwe, Yaweh

Notes

  • This has never been a Jewish way of referring to God. "Traditionally, God’s name is so sacred it is not spoken, so Jews generally use Adonai, Elohim, or ha-Shem instead." (JPS)

    See also Tetragrammaton.

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