Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Yaacov Yeretz" <ierets AT yahoo.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 11:46 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Questions about YHWH


> Shalom to everybody on this list!
>
> Excuse me if I'm not exactly on track with this groups
> exact topic with my
> questions. They are related to the fact that in
> several postings I read the
> assumption, that the Tetragrammaton's public use
> (always?) was more or less
> banned:
>
> I tend to believe that there once was a time, when the
> name YHVH was
> proclaimed publicly, for example during Yom Kippur
> services in the first and
> second Temple period. Am I wrong with this? Even to
> Yeshua the name was
> known according to what he says in John 17:6 and
> 17:26, or have I got it
> wrong?
>
> And if I'm right: Could anybody tell me, when the
> pronunciation of the
> Tetragrammaton became banned? Could it be that it
> happened in the lifetime
> of Yeshua?

No.  The pronounciation of the Shem haMeforash became banned in the 
beginning of the 2nd temple period.  By the way, that was YHWH...no vav. 
TheYahwist theophoric may give us a clue.
Other than Yehoshua which I believe is a "back naming" I cannot help but 
notice that all of the Judges; Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, 
Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Samuel..and the monarchs 
until the mid 9th century BCE; Saul, David, Solomon, Jeroboam (which is also 
a helluva lotta champagne), Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri Omri, Ahab...not a 
Yaho/Yeho to be found. Suddenly after Ahab we begin to see the Yahwist 
theophoric in 853 BCE Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Zechariah, 
Pekahiah..and at the same mid 9th century in Judah Jehoshaphhat,
Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah..everybody is on the Yaho 
bandwagon. So suddenly mid 9th century BCE the Yahwist theophoric comes into 
use.

Does 850ish BCE coincide with the Yahwist author?  What happens around 850 
BCE that brings the theophoric into use?  The first person that seems to 
kick off the yahu theophoric is Eliyahu (Elijah)..."Yahweh is God."

Jack