God has a personal name. It appears more than 6000 times in the Old Testament, and yet you often don’t see it. That’s because it is typically replaced by the word “Lord” written in all capital letters. The personal name of God, which was given to Moses in Exodus 3:14-15, consists of four Hebrew consonants that in English are YHWH and pronounced as “Yah-Weh” or “Ye-ho-Vah,” depending on who you’re talking to. But what does this name mean, and what does it tell us about God?

Lesson Resources:

Rick Atchley. “Yahweh (I Am).” Sermon presented at the Richland Hills Church of Christ, North Richland Hills, TX, 1995.

Peter Enns. The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000.

Tony Evans, The Power of God’s Names. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2014.

Henry O. Thompson. “Yahweh” in Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000.

Warren W. Wiersbe. Jesus in the Present Tense. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2011.