Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Gene Gardner <g_gardner1234 AT yahoo.com>]

There are many different versions out there about how
the name “Yahweh” came into existance. In one
discussion that I read, it was said the the Samaritans
had inadvertently played a part in the rendering that
ended up as Iabe in the Greek. It was reported that
there were two groups of Samaritans that were divided
on usage of the name. One group used the name, while
the other group supposedly substituted the word
"yapheh" in place of the name. It is my understanding
that yapheh translates as beautiful in a few of the
semitic languages. This pronunciation was heard by
some of the early writers, and was transliterated into
Greek as Iabe.  From there it is believed that it
morphed its way into Yahveh/Yahweh.

H03303
hpy from (03302)
Transliterated Word
Yapheh 
fair, beautiful, handsome

 I am not sure if there is any scholarship behind this
idea, as Yahweh existed in cuneiform from other
cultures, so I will just throw it out there for
discussion among the list members.


                
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