2.

The Personal Name Yahweh The most common designation for God in the Pentateuch, and in fact the most common Hebrew noun in the Bible, is Yahweh. It is made up of the Hebrew consonants yhwh, called the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter word par excellence. The precise pronunciation is uncertain, since during the Second Temple period the name dropped from active use and was replaced by other forms (for a discussion, see 3 below). It is a proper noun comprised of a third-person masculine singular prefix verb from the root hwh/hyh, be, happen, become (HALOT 2.502, 51140). Depending on the stem of the verb, which is uncertain due to the lack of original vocalization, the name could be understood as he is/becomes/will be (come) (Qal) or he causes to be/become (Hiphil; BDB, 218; cf. detailed discussions of the several meaning options in van der Toorn, 171723). The latter seems preferable based on its rendition in Greek (e.g., Iaouai/e [Clement of Alexandria,

Strom. 5.6.34]; Iabe [Hexapla on Ex 6:3; HALOT; van der Toorn, 1711]; Iaw [Baudissin, 2.193215]) and
Akkadian (Tallqvist, 9092; Murtonen, 44) and in some biblical names in which forms of it occur (e.g.,

yayh, Isaiah [Yahweh saves]), though problems remain in the explanation of the name in Exodus 3:13
15 (see below). The earliest extant occurrence of the name is in the Moabite Stone (ninth century; COS 2.23.138; van der Toorn, 1713), and it also occurs in controversial eighth-century texts from Kuntillet Ajrud (COS 2.47.17172) and Khirbet el-Qom (COS 2.52.180), on seventh-century potsherds from Arad (Aharoni, 30, 35, 42) and in sixth-century texts from Khirbet Beit Lei (COS 2.53.180) and Lachish (ANET, 322; for the use of the name in early Israel, see further Miller, 4143; for inscriptional use, Davies, 36667). The name occurs also in several shortened forms. Yhw occurs in names from Hebrew inscriptions from the eighth century on (Davies, 26970, 273, 36569 and passim) and is the form of choice in the fifthcentury papyri from Elephantine (e.g., Porten and Yardeni, 1.30, 58, 71; on an ostracon, 4.114), while the ostraca from there generally use yhh (Porten and Yardeni, 4.168, 170, 172, 180). Yhh and yh also occur outside the Bible (Jenni 1997c, 2.522; Davies, 269, 333, 364 and passim). The name yh occurs twice in Exodus (Ex 15:2; 17:16). Names with possible shortened forms include yha (*Joshua [Yahweh is salvation], e.g., Ex 17:9; HALOT) and ykebed (Jochebed [Yahweh is glory], Ex 6:20; Num 26:59). Much more doubtful are ozn (Yahweh has heard, Num 26:16, possibly a shortened form of zany, Neh 10:9 [mt 10:10]; HALOT), ayy (Where is Yahweh; DCH 4.149), buqq (proven of Yahweh, Num 34:22, possibly a shortened form of buqqiyyh, 1 Chron 25:4), gmall (Yahweh has rewarded, Num 13:12, perhaps a shortened form of gmalyh, DCH 2.365) and zikr (Yahweh remembers, Ex 6:21, possibly a shortened form of zkary, 2 Kings 14:29, itself a bi-form of zkaryh, Zechariah; for discussions of Yahweh used in personal names, see Tigay 1986, 1987; Fowler). In earlier Ugaritic literature, the name yw in a fragmentary text (KTU 1.1.4.14) has been suggested as being related but probably is not (van der Toorn, 1713). Other shortened forms from Ebla and Mesopotamia have also been suggested (Houtman, 96, 99), though the matter is still under discussion (van der Toorn, 171214). The personal name Yahweh seems to be native to Hebrew, since there are no certain occurrences of it outside of Israel prior to the time of Moses (cf. the Egyptian Shasu-land of Yhw from the fourteenthcentury text of Amenophis III [Giveon, 2628]; if this is an earlier use of Yahweh, it would be the selfdesignation of the peoples in the area settled by Israel and later associated directly with Yahweh [cf. de Moor, 11113]; the occurrence of the name in Genesis, a pre-Mosaic context, will be discussed in 5 below). Its origin is unclear, though ties with Sinai and Midian have suggested that it arose in the south (e.g. Ex 3, 6; Mettinger, 2428, 39; cf. de Moor). The biblical text gives the name divine recognition, if not divine origin (Ex 6:3). Its sole explanation occurs in Exodus 3:1315, where God reveals his name to Moses. He is the one who exists (Ex 3:14); he is with the people (Ex 3:12) and wants to be known by them (Ex 3:15). Continued,

active presence and relationship, not some existential concept of being, is the message here (de Vaux, 7172). This passage does not seem to involve a concept of causing being, an argument against a Hiphil (causative) stem of the verb, which does not occur elsewhere in Hebrew (DCH 2.51140; contra Albright 1957, 259). A full exploration of the nature of the God identified as Yahweh is beyond the scope of this article, but important elements of his character can be derived from Exodus 20:2, the introductory verse to the *Decalogue: I am the Lord [Yahweh] your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Yahweh has a personal relationship with his people, as shown by the personal pronouns employed. This is in an I-thou relationship of person with person; Yahweh is not some impersonal, cosmic force. Israel is particularly mentioned as having this relationship with him (e.g. Ex 3:18; 5:1; 6:7; Deut 1:6) Second, Second Yahweh is a God of *grace (cf. Ex 33:19; 34:6), starting Exodus 20 with a promise of his relationship even before giving any of the expected responses. His commitment (I am ) precedes his commandment. This gracious commitment also exists in spite of the peoples condition. The Bible presents the scene of Moses meeting with Yahweh on Sinai while at the same time the people worship a *golden calf at the foot of the mountain (Ex 32), in effect already breaking the first covenant stipulation (Ex 20:3). Third, Third the Hebrew grammar of Exodus 20:2 suggests that the commitment is fixed and immutable, at least from the side of Yahweh. A verbless clause indicating identification (I = Yahweh; cf. IBHS 8.4.1) is used rather than a conditional clause (e.g., I might be Yahweh, your God, if you would only ). Fourth, Fourth Yahweh is also shown as a jealous God (Ex 20:5; 34:14), claiming a unique, monogamous relationship with his people: I, and no other, am your God (e.g., Deut 4:24; 5:9). This desire for exclusivity between Yahweh and other persons leaves him open to suffering, not only along with those whom he created (Ex 3:78) but also because of them (Gen 6:58). One author has suggested that Yahwehs decision to allow a world damaged by corruption to continue rather than to destroy it completely (Gen 9:817) necessitates his suffering (Fretheim 1984, 112). Opening himself to his creatures in this way, allowing a creation to continue after it has shown itself rebellious, makes Yahweh vulnerable, exposed to abuse (e.g., Ex 20:7; Deut 5:11) and grief (Gen 6:6; 18:20). Another has poignantly put it that God is love. That is why he suffers. The tears of God are the meaning of history (Wolterstorff, 90). This close relationship is portrayed elsewhere through the metaphors of lover (cf. Deut 7:79) or parent, including both father (Ex 4:22; Deut 32:6) and mother (implied in Num 11:1112; cf. Deut 32:1819, where Yahweh occurs in conjunction with Rock and l). Other Other attributes and aspects of Yahweh can, of course, be derived from other passages. In analogy to a human king, he is said to reign, establishing, protecting and uniting his people (Ex 15:18; Num 23:21; Deut 33:5). Related to this role, he also is portrayed as a divine warrior (Ex 15, especially v. 3; cf. Judg 5:11, 31). Having authority to command without explicit motivation other than his own will (e.g., Gen 2:17), he is also pictured as pondering or deliberating over decisions (e.g., Gen 3:22; 8:2122; 11:67) and at times even discussing these decisions with his creatures (e.g., Gen 18:2232; Ex 32:714; Num 14:1120; Fretheim 1984, 4951). Although he, as creator, has power and authority beyond that of any human ruler, he is willing to share elements of that authoritative rule with his human creatures (e.g., Gen 1:28; see also 9:2 with its rewording making more explicit a connotation of military conquest [cf. Deut 11:25] in which placing someone in ones hand indicates power of life and death [cf. Deut 20:13]), giving them not only authority but also procreative ability along with all living creatures. Rather than destroying those liable to hurt him, Yahweh shows compassion (e.g., Ex 33:1819; 34:67; Deut 13:17 [mt 13:18]; 30:3) and provides the means of redemption (e.g., Ex 6:6; 15:13; Deut 9:26; 15:15) and forgiveness (e.g., Ex 32:32; Lev 45; Num 15:2528; Deut 21:8; 30:23). There is a clear identification of Yahweh with El/Elohim (e.g., Gen 21:33, where Yahweh is identified through apposition with el lm; Ex 3:1516; later names such as Elijah [my God is Yahweh]; Davies [279]

lists five nonbiblical inscriptions of Yahweh your God). It should therefore not be surprising that there are many characteristics and actions shared by them. Examples are many, but Deuteronomy 32:67 provides a number of these when it speaks of Yahweh in terms also used of Elohim as Father (see 4.1 below), the creator of humanity (qnh, Gen 14:19, 22; h, Gen 1:26) and as ancient/eternal (Gen 21:33). Another element that is characteristic of Yahweh Gods being is *holiness, complete separation from sin and all things unclean (e.g., Lev 19:2; 20:26; 21:8). In light of this evidence, and more besides, it is apparent that for those of the period of the Pentateuch, there was no problem identifying one God using several different terms.