Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Harold Holmyard" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
To: <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 2:18 PM
Subject: [b-hebrew] Theophoric Name: Y:HOWYFQIYM


> God's personal name--YHVH--can be "defined" etymologically or
> grammatically. Hebrew linguists believe yhvh is a form of the verb
> havah, meaning to be or become.   Specifically, many linguists say yhvh
> is a Qal imperfect third masculine singular. Following normal Hebrew
> grammar patterns, the vowels "a" and "e" would be added to these
> consonants, giving us the word "YaHVeH." This pronunciation is supported
> by early Greek biblical texts that spell the name "Iaoue" (Ya-oo-eh) and
> "Iabe" (Yabe; there is no "v" sound in Greek).
> What does "Yahveh" mean?


The problem here is that there was no VAV in Biblical Hebrew, only a WAW. 
VAV was a medieval construct from Ashkenaz and Yiddish. The "v" sound in 
both ancient Hebrew and Greek was supplied by a soft Beyt and Beta.  In 
short, YHWH was not YHVH.  The verb "to be" was hawah and not "havah."  The 
imperfect would have been YeHAWAH.

Jack Kilmon
San Marcos, Texas