Tetragrammaton
| Tetragrammaton | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew name | |
| Hebrew | יהוה |
| Romanization | YHVH |
| Strong number | H3068 (Yĕhovah) |
The tetragrammaton is a sequence of four Hebrew letters that represents the personal name of God. The four letters are yod י, he ה, vav ו, and he ה. They are read from right to left: יהוה . These letters are all consonants, so the sequence is unpronounceable. The missing vowels must be assumed. In English, the name is usually given as "Jehovah" (JHVH) or "Yahweh." (YHWH).
In the Masoretic text, the standard Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the tetragrammaton is given as Yĕhovah. It is used 6,519 times.
This text was vowelized in the Middle Ages. Attempting to give the original pronunciation was considered sacrilegious by this time, so this pronunciation is an artifice. Jews believe that the Lord's true name is unspeakable until the arrival of the messiah and the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem.
The word "tetragrammaton" is from a Greek word meaning "consisting of four letters."
External link
Hebrew Alphabet (Just the letters), from Judaism 101 http://www.jewfaq.org (youtube.com) — audio instruction.