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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation

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  • From: Stephen Segall <segall AT umich.edu>
  • To: "Read, James C" <K0434995 AT kingston.ac.uk>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] YHWH pronunciation
  • Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 12:03:45 -0400 (EDT)

The Cherokees did not have an alphabet or writing until one was invented in the 19th century. All information was transmitted orally from generation to generation including the pronunciation of the name of their god.

The earliest written pronunciation comes from a diary written in English by John Adair, a trader who lived with the Cherokee, learned their language and described their religion and way of life in his diary. This was in the 18th century before the American revolutionary war.

Cherokee Indians today who are familiar with their tribe's legends and traditions pronounce the name of their ancient god the same way today as it was written down by Adair over two hundred years ago.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005, Read, James C wrote:


What alphabet are these pronunciations based on? Can you
provide images?

-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Segall [mailto:segall AT umich.edu]
Sent: Wed 7/27/2005 9:51 PM
To: Read, James C
Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: RE: YHWH pronunciation

The pronunciation was based on diaries kept by traders who lived with the
Cherokees for decades and detailed their customs and religion.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005, Read, James C wrote:


This is very interesting indeed. On what primary sources is
this pronunciation based?

-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Segall [mailto:segall AT umich.edu]
Sent: Wed 7/27/2005 9:00 PM
To: Read, James C
Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: YHWH pronunciation


While many ancient sources have been used to try to understand the
pronunciation of YHWH, there is one source that no one seems to be aware
of in which an actual pronunciation has been preserved.

After the Bar Kochba rebellion was crushed by the Romans in 135 CE many
Jews fled the land of Israel to places that were not under Roman rule,
such as the Arabian Penninsula and the lands of the Persian Empire. One
group of Jewish refugees appears to have fled by boat as far as North
America. Evidence for this includes Bar Kochba era coins discovered along
the Ohio River and a Canaanite Hebrew inscription on a headstone in an
undisturbed burial mound found in a controlled archeological dig conducted
by the Simthsonian Bureau of Ethnology in the late nineteenth century.

This might be considered nothing more than an interesting historical
footnote except for the fact that the religion of the Cherokee Indians
before the arrival of European settlers was very similar in beliefs to
Phariseeic Judaism. Cherokee legends included the story of Adam and Eve,
the Great Flood, the tower of Babel, Abraham, Moses and wandering in the
wilderness. The number 7 had special meaning for the Cherokees who
observed a sabbath every seventh day. They believed in a single spirit
god, life after death and heaven and hell.

One of the most interesting things about the Cherokee religion was the
belief that the name of God was sacred and was only to be spoken by the
high priest on special religious occasions. The name of the Cherokee god
was Ye ho waah. To the extent that this name and its pronunciation have
been accurately preserved by the Cherokees, we have evidence that the name
YHWH had three syllables and was pronounced Ye ho waah at the time of the
Bar Kochba rebellion. If this is the case, there is no obvious reason to
believe that it was pronounced differently at earlier times.

A chapter describing the Cherokee religion is included in the book
"Understanding the Exodus and Other Mysteries of Jewish History" that can
be obtained from the website www.etzhaimpress.com. A number of references
are included in this chapter.

Stephen Segall


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