Yah

Yah

Nancy Cupp

9x12 inch 

Colored Pencil

Part of the “Word In One Word” series

© Nancy Cupp. All rights reserved.

 

Psalm 68:4 “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.”

 

“Yah” is not found in the King James Bible, however, it’s counterpart, “Jah” is in Psalm 68:4. The use of God’s name is so holy that it should never be taken lightly, disrespectfully, or in vain. The Tetragrammaton is the four consonants of the ancient Hebrew name of God variously transliterated as YHVH, YHWH, JHVH, JHWH, or IHVH, which are considered too sacred to be spoken. Yah is the shortened form of the divine name YHVH using four Hebrew letters Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey.  The high priest was the only one allowed to say YHVH once a year on the Day of Atonement, (Yom Kippur) in the Holy of Holies. Adonai (Lord), Elohim (God), or Hashem (the Name) are substituted instead. There were no vowels in the ancient Hebrew 22 letter aleph-bet. The vowels from Adonai and Elohim are inserted into Hebrew texts so that the modern reconstructions are Jehovah, or Yahweh. 

 

YHVH is the personal name of God given to Moses, when God told Moses his name was “I am that I am” or "ehyeh-asher-ehyeh" in Hebrew. YHVH is the name expressing the mercy and love of Almighty God with a close, personal relationship with mankind. Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) is YHVH "come in the flesh."  Indeed, to say "Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil 2:11; Romans 10:9) is to confess Him as Adonai -- or YHVH -- Himself.  Every knee will bow to the name above all names. Phil 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.

 

Yah first occurs in Exodus 15:2 in a celebration song after Moses and the Hebrew people safely make it to the other side of the Red Sea after being chased by Pharaoh’s horsemen. Yah is seen over fifty times in the Tanakh (Hebrew Old Testament) and several times in the modern Complete Jewish Bible. Yah is not in the KJV Bible except in the form of Jah in Psalm 68:4. Yah is also found in other words and proper names in various forms, either spelled with yah, jah, iah, yahu, or vah. A few examples include: Halleluyah or Hallelujah “(You) praise the Lord”, Isaiah (Yeshayah and Yeshayahu) “Salvation of Yah”, Elijah (Eliyahu) “Yah(u) is my God”, Adonijah “Yah is my Lord”, and Abijah “Yah is my father”.

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