Correct Pronunciation of YHWH

[cgaviria]

Is there someone knowledgeable here that knows how to pronounce the name of God correctly? I've been researching this topic for hours, and have come to find that the correct pronunciation should be a 4 vowel name, which also leads me to conclude 4 syllables, as mentioned in some very old Jewish books, and also by Josephus, describing how to pronounce the holy name, but would like to hear anyone else's thoughts on the correct pronunciation.

 

[DamianWarS]

Is there someone knowledgeable here that knows how to pronounce the name of God correctly? I've been researching this topic for hours, and have come to find that the correct pronunciation should be a 4 vowel name, which also leads me to conclude 4 syllables, as mentioned in some very old Jewish books, and also by Josephus, describing how to pronounce the holy name, but would like to hear anyone else's thoughts on the correct pronunciation.

I'm not that person but this might help, I've enjoyed the material from this guy and find him quite thorough.

 

[cgaviria]

I'm not that person but this might help, I've enjoyed the material from this guy and find him quite thorough.

Yup I believe he is right as well, except he adds a "d".

 

[HebrewVaquero]

Is there someone knowledgeable here that knows how to pronounce the name of God correctly? I've been researching this topic for hours, and have come to find that the correct pronunciation should be a 4 vowel name, which also leads me to conclude 4 syllables, as mentioned in some very old Jewish books, and also by Josephus, describing how to pronounce the holy name, but would like to hear anyone else's thoughts on the correct pronunciation.

Hashem is found in Aleppo Codex twice with vowels, I think Nehemia Gordon and Keith Johnson have done a few pieces on this, in fact I think they have ia YouTube video about it.

 

[DamianWarS]

Yup I believe he is right as well, except he adds a "d".

not sure what you mean. He does not add a "d" sound. In fact he never settles on a specific pronunciation rather he shows the possibilities it can be (but none of them have a "d" sound). He appears to hint toward a like--pronunciation close to "YiH-YeH" as seen at 8:58 but in the end does not settle on a specific way to pronounce it. He does repeatedly say the names of the letters of the tetragram "Yod-He-Wa-He" but this only is the hebrew name of the letters rather than the pronunciation of the word and would be how a native Hebrew speaker would speak the letters (not the spelling of the letters put together). I'm not sure if you interpreted it this way but I don't think that is his intentions.

For further research on what Jeff Benner's thoughts (the youtube poster) on the subject he has a two part series discussing the Ex 3:14,15 (each about 8 min long)

The first video discusses verse 14 and second verse 15 (where the tetragram appears) and he does in fact give his opinion on what the pronunciation is in the second video (and it does not have a 'd' sound) at 2:08 as "Yih'weh". He has a few reasons on why he settles on this but what I believe to be his main point is that in ancient Hebrew all Hebrew names were also Hebrew words with meaning. He shows that words like Jehovah, Yahweh, Yahueh, Yehovah, etc... mean nothing in Hebrew; they are not words and they have no meaning. He concludes from this that these common transliterations must be erroneous and this leads him settling on "Yih'weh" as the pronunciation as a more practical and self-evident pronunciation based on how the language works.

 

[Dkh587]

י = Y
ה= AH
ו = U
ה = AH

YAHUAH

People pronounce this a few different ways:

Ya-HOO-ah
Yahoo-AH
Yah-OO-ah
Yah-oo-AH

 

[cgaviria]

not sure what you mean. He does not add a "d" sound. In fact he never settles on a specific pronunciation rather he shows the possibilities it can be (but none of them have a "d" sound). He appears to hint toward a like--pronunciation close to "YiH-YeH" as seen at 8:58 but in the end does not settle on a specific way to pronounce it. He does repeatedly say the names of the letters of the tetragram "Yod-He-Wa-He" but this only is the hebrew name of the letters rather than the pronunciation of the word and would be how a native Hebrew speaker would speak the letters (not the spelling of the letters put together). I'm not sure if you interpreted it this way but I don't think that is his intentions.

For further research on what Jeff Benner's thoughts (the youtube poster) on the subject he has a two part series discussing the Ex 3:14,15 (each about 8 min long)

The first video discusses verse 14 and second verse 15 (where the tetragram appears) and he does in fact give his opinion on what the pronunciation is in the second video (and it does not have a 'd' sound) at 2:08 as "Yih'weh". He has a few reasons on why he settles on this but what I believe to be his main point is that in ancient Hebrew all Hebrew names were also Hebrew words with meaning. He shows that words like Jehovah, Yahweh, Yahueh, Yehovah, etc... mean nothing in Hebrew; they are not words and they have no meaning. He concludes from this that these common transliterations must be erroneous and this leads him settling on "Yih'weh" as the pronunciation as a more practical and self-evident pronunciation based on how the language works.

His second pronunciation was "yod-he-wa-he", which is what he thinks it is, as it is the pronunciation he later repeats towards the end of the video, listen to the video at 25 seconds and you'll hear the "d". In accordance with the Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, it should be "yo-he-wa-he", and also coincides with Josephus account of it having 4 vowels... so that renders yahweh, jehovah, yahuweh, and all the different variations incorrect.

 

[DamianWarS]

His second pronunciation was "yod-he-wa-he", which is what he thinks it is, as it is the pronunciation he later repeats towards the end of the video, listen to the video at 25 seconds and you'll hear the "d". In accordance with the Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, it should be "yo-he-wa-he", and also coincides with Josephus account of it having 4 vowels... so that renders yahweh, jehovah, yahuweh, and all the different variations incorrect.

It sounds like you didn't listen to the video at all as the pronunciation of "yod-he-wa-he” would actually disagree with what Jeff Benner points out with the rules of Hebrew. He states that a hebrew word like this cannot end in a vowel so it most definitely is not pronounced "yod-he-wa-he"

As is stated earlier he leans toward a like pronunciation with "Yih'yeh" but in the original video I posted he actually never settles on what he thinks it is. In the later videos I posted from the same guy he tells us what his opinion is and it is "Yih'weh".

The Tetragram is made up from 4 letters and those letters are:
1. Yod
2. He
3. Wa
4. He

So at about 25 seconds in and repeated times in the video when you hear Jeff Benner say "yod-he-wa-he" he is not suggesting a pronunciation but actually trying to avoid pronouncing it and simply spelling out the word using the hebrew names for the letters.

Your lack of attention to the main point of the video and ability to only hear what you want to hear to me calls in to question what your research actually is saying. I suspect that your accounts from the "Sayings of the Jewish Fathers" or from Josephus were actually them spelling out the word, similar to what Jeff Benner is doing, and you have misinterpreted this to the pronunciation of the word.

To be clear again Jeff Benner thinks the word is pronounced "Yih'weh". My suggestion for you is to watch the videos again and listen to what Jeff Benner is saying in its entirety before you make your comments.

 

[HebrewVaquero]

I don't understand the confusion. The vowel points for Hashem are in the Aleppo Codex.
Unless....
one mistrusts the Maserotic Text?

 

[Shempster]

You have to say it without any vowels.
That's the reason they were not there in the first place, silly.

 

[HebrewVaquero]

You have to say it without any vowels.
That's the reason they were not there in the first place, silly.

Yes, I've heard this at synagogue, saying Hashem sounds like a inhale and a exhale, meaning He is your very breath, your very life source.

It sounds good and I liked it, but the reality is Hashem is written with vowels in two places in the Aleppo Codex; the oldest and on display is Israel.

 

[cgaviria]

It sounds like you didn't listen to the video at all as the pronunciation of "yod-he-wa-he” would actually disagree with what Jeff Benner points out with the rules of Hebrew. He states that a hebrew word like this cannot end in a vowel so it most definitely is not pronounced "yod-he-wa-he"

As is stated earlier he leans toward a like pronunciation with "Yih'yeh" but in the original video I posted he actually never settles on what he thinks it is. In the later videos I posted from the same guy he tells us what his opinion is and it is "Yih'weh".

The Tetragram is made up from 4 letters and those letters are:
1. Yod
2. He
3. Wa
4. He

So at about 25 seconds in and repeated times in the video when you hear Jeff Benner say "yod-he-wa-he" he is not suggesting a pronunciation but actually trying to avoid pronouncing it and simply spelling out the word using the hebrew names for the letters.

Your lack of attention to the main point of the video and ability to only hear what you want to hear to me calls in to question what your research actually is saying. I suspect that your accounts from the "Sayings of the Jewish Fathers" or from Josephus were actually them spelling out the word, similar to what Jeff Benner is doing, and you have misinterpreted this to the pronunciation of the word.

To be clear again Jeff Benner thinks the word is pronounced "Yih'weh". My suggestion for you is to watch the videos again and listen to what Jeff Benner is saying in its entirety before you make your comments.

lol you're speaking to me as if i have an agenda in favor of this pronunciation, it makes no difference to me what it is as it is a name that is passing away since a new name has been revealed, "Jesus", however, since i am a studious person and like to know things, i would like to educate myself as to how it actually is pronounced. Passed on this video's one pronunciation he utters, and based on the passages I did read from Josephus and the Sayings of the Jewish Fathers it does seem to me that the pronunciation should at least be a 4 vowel, or 4 syllable word.

 

[DamianWarS]

lol you're speaking to me as if i have an agenda in favor of this pronunciation, it makes no difference to me what it is as it is a name that is passing away since a new name has been revealed, "Jesus", however, since i am a studious person and like to know things, i would like to educate myself as to how it actually is pronounced. Passed on this video's one pronunciation he utters, and based on the passages I did read from Josephus and the Sayings of the Jewish Fathers it does seem to me that the pronunciation should at least be a 4 vowel, or 4 syllable word.

Regardless if you have a 4-vowel agenda or not the videos I posted do not support a 4-vowel pronunciation and actually shows quite specifically how it cannot be. Yet you still look to the video to support this position. If you disagree with the video that's fine but don't look for things that aren't there to agree with what you seem to have already concluded.