Grafted-In Ministries
Yehovah Elohim
by Greg Deuble
Everybody has a name. Every individual man, woman, boy and girl has a name. My personal name is Gregory. Gregory happens to mean ‘watchful’. I don’t mind if you call me Greg … in fact, the only person who ever called me Gregory was my mother and then I knew I was in trouble because it was always said in a firm tone with an exclamation mark after it! Your name represents you, the real person, your ‘self’. I have known many people get quite upset when their rightful personal name is forgotten, altered, not spelled right, etc.
In the Bible Elohim has gone to a lot of trouble to reveal His Personal Name to us. Some 6,828 times the one and only Elohim of the Bible is called Yehovah. This number does not include the 49 occurrences of “Yah” (a shortened version, much like Greg is short for Gregory) nor the many expressions of “Hallelujah” (or Hallelu-Yah) meaning ‘praise Yah’.
In the original Hebrew Bible Yehovah is written using the four consonants YHWH. There are no vowels written in the Hebrew text. These four consonants are called the Tetragrammaton meaning ‘four letters’. Because there are no vowels in the text, and because the Jews stopped pronouncing the Name for fear they might inadvertently blaspheme it, today there is some debate as to how to pronounce YHWH.
However, the authoritative Encyclopedia Judaica states the original pronunciation was Yehovah and has never been lost. In any case, there is no prohibition in Scripture for us to stop using, or not to continue to use Elohim’s Name. On the contrary, His people are told to ”Give thanks to Yehovah; proclaim His name! Celebrate His works among the peoples. Declare that his name is exalted” (Is. 12:4 HCSB).
So, Yehovah’s Name on average appears over 6 times per page in the Old Testament! The preponderance of the Name of Elohim is a powerful testimony as to the identity of the Elohim of the Bible. Yehovah is the central and most important Person in the Bible.
There are places in the Bible where Elohim actually calls Himself a “Soul”, which is the equivalent of ‘Self’. In Isaiah 42:1 Elohim speaks of “My Soul”. The Hebrew nephesh here translated ‘soul’ is used consistently to mean an individual, that is, a single self, whether animal, human or Elohim Himself. Yehovah describes himself as a Single Individual Soul, a “Self”. This fact is verified thousands of times throughout the Bible, not only by the use of His Personal Name, but also by personal pronouns.
Whenever Elohim speaks of Himself or is addressed or referred to by others, singular personal pronouns are used. When referring to Himself Elohim says, ‘I’, ‘Me’, ‘My’, ‘Mine’ in the first person. When He is prayed to He is addressed in the second person singular, ‘Thou’, ‘Thee’, ‘Thy’ or ‘Thine’, but this is old English, and not so obvious today because our ‘you’ can be either singular or plural in meaning depending on context and whether the attending verbs and pronouns are singular or plural. Then, when someone refers to Elohim indirectly, the third person singular ‘He’, ‘Him’, ‘His’, ‘Himself’ are invariably used.
Language has no stronger way of conveying that the Elohim of the Bible is a Single Personal Self when it uses thousands and thousands of singular personal pronouns with singular verbs in conjunction with His Personal Name! (There are only four exceptions to this overwhelming rule. In those four exceptions Elohim uses what Bible scholars call the royal courtly language, “Let us …” These four are not exceptions that prove Elohim is after all a plurality of Persons. They are easily explained in their particular contexts.) The fact is, in the Old Testament, Yehovah never refers to more than one Individual Elohim and certainly not a trinity of Persons.
Yehovah Himself explains what His Name means in Exodus 3:14. Our English Bibles translate Yehovah there in a static way as, I AM THAT I AM. This is an unfortunate translation of what is a singular, genderless verb projecting into the future, and any Hebrew Lexicon will verify that the accurate translation should read, “I WILL BE THAT WHICH I WILL BE.”
The Septuagint (the Greek translation from Hebrew commenced in 250 BC by Hebrew scholars) translates Elohim’s Name as, “I AM THE ONE WHO IS BEING”. The Existing One. In other words, Yehovah, the Elohim of the Bible is the Living Elohim, Who is eternal and uncaused. The New Testament puts it like this, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says Yehovah Elohim, Who is and Who was and Who is to come” (Rev. 1:8).
Elohim’s Personal name is meant to be a real joy and comfort and strength to His people. It conveys that He is in covenant relationship with His redeemed people and will be whatever they may need at any time. No wonder we are called upon to love Him with all our hearts and with all our minds and with all our strength and to put no other idols or man-made gods before Him. We are to love “Him” — not an impersonal essence or substance!
These revealed truths stand in stark contrast to the Elohim Christendom worships today … a Trinitarian Elohim who has no name! Today Christianity worships the “Godhead” in Three Persons. Elohim is no longer an Individual Self with a Name. Such a Elohim is more than an Individual Self for He is three Persons in ‘One Essence’. How has this sleight of theological hand come about?
The story of the Big Switch starts as far back as when the Jews were carried by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, into exile in 586 BC. They knew they had offended Him big time. When they returned to their homeland they never again wanted to blaspheme the Name Yehovah, so they began a new practice of referring to Yehovah as “the Lord” (Hebrew Adonai) . Yehovah is now “the Lord”.
A personal name is now a title! It’s important to again note that Elohim Himself had not commanded this non-pronunciation of His Personal Name. Critically, this practice soon became embedded in what we know today as the Septuagint (you may have seen the Roman numerals LXX that are used as shorthand for this Greek translation).
The Septuagint became a vital source for quoting the Old Testament when the apostles were writing the New Testament, because by now Greek was the common language of the Roman world, much like English is today. In fact, it’s estimated that 75% of all Old Testament quotes in the New Testament are from the LXX and not from the Hebrew. Indeed, one NT book, Hebrews, contains 100% Septuagint Scripture quotes.
So, wherever Yehovah’s Name appeared in the original Hebrew, the Greek now gave Him the title, “the Lord” (some English translations try to preserve where this switch has occurred by rendering Yehovah with all capital letters as ‘LORD’).
This is highly significant for our discussion. Let’s not rush over it. When Elohim’s Name was translated into the Septuagint, it became a title and was no longer a personal name! Yehovah has now become ‘the Lord’. So why is this a problem?
The answer is not far to find. Jews understood that whenever they read “The LORD” it was referring to the Individual Elohim of Israel, Whose Name was Yehovah. The equivalence of Yehovah with “the Lord” was not hard for them. The Jews knew that the Greek title ‘Lord’ (kyrios) was generic and depending on context could refer to anybody with rank or authority other than Yehovah. However, in the Hebrew Bible the Jews had one word for ‘the LORD’ (Adonai and pronounced ‘Adonay’) and another word for any lesser lord, whether human or an angelic superior, (adoni and pronounced ‘adonee’). But Greeks and Gentiles with no such Jewish background knowledge were very open to confusion since in their world there were “many gods and many lords” (to quote Paul’s precise words to the Corinthians who came from that very surrounding culture, I Cor. 8: 5).
The big question therefore is this: When the apostles began confessing “Yeshua is Lord” did they mean Yeshua was Yehovah, the Elohim of the Old Testament (Adonai), or did they understand Yeshua was Lord in the other sense (adoni)?
When Peter, for example, preached the first ‘Christian’ sermon on the Day of Pentecost that, “Elohim has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Yeshua whom you crucified”, was Peter suddenly being an ignorant Gentile and conflating the title “Lord” by applying it indiscriminately to two persons who are both Elohim (Acts 2:36)? Is Yeshua, the crucified but now glorified Messiah, Lord in the same sense as Elohim is LORD? The answer frankly is not on your Biblical life!
We already know that the title “Lord” is a broad term that may refer to persons other than Yehovah. And you can be absolutely sure that on the Day of Pentecost when Peter said “Elohim has made Yeshua the Lord Messiah” the Jewish audience did not suddenly think, “We have a Second Member of the Godhead after all. Fancy that, all along there really were two Yehovahs.” No way. They knew that Yeshua was the Messianic Lord and not the LORD Elohim Himself. They knew that when the Scriptures call somebody Lord it does not automatically mean they are “very Elohim of very Elohim”, to borrow the words of one of the creeds.
In various passages the apostles use the formula, “The Elohim and Father of our Lord Yeshua Messiah”. Notice how Elohim is not just the Elohim of Messiah but that He is “the Elohim of our Lord Yeshua Messiah”. As the Lord Messiah, Yeshua acknowledges Elohim not only as his Father, but also as his Elohim! The Lord Messiah acknowledges One Who is his LORD Elohim.
Thus it is plainly evident that the title Lord Messiah is not to be conflated with the title for Lord Elohim. Nowhere in Scripture is Yeshua called ‘the Lord Elohim’. Nowhere! So, Yeshua is not being identified as Elohim but is being distinguished from Elohim when the Scriptures call him “Lord Yeshua Messiah”.
On this formula alone the Lord Yeshua cannot be Yehovah Elohim. Yeshua is the LORD Elohim’s Messiah, or the Lord’s anointed. Elohim is the LORD of our Lord Yeshua. There are two Lords in the Bible, but only one is Yehovah Elohim and the Father of our Messianic Lord Yeshua.
Yeshua IS FUNCTIONALLY AS Elohim TO AND FOR US.
This does not mean that for us Yeshua does not function as though he is Elohim. Not at all. For in him “dwells all the fullness of the Deity bodily” and when we see Yeshua we see Elohim, when we hear Yeshua we hear Elohim (Col. 2:9; 2 Cor. 4: 6, etc.).
To see Yeshua and to hear Yeshua is to see and to hear the Father as Yeshua himself said. To obey Yeshua is to obey Elohim. To fail to hear Yeshua is to fail to believe Elohim. Absolutely. This is because Yeshua perfectly represents and is perfectly authorised by Elohim his Father to be His agent and to act fully on His behalf.
The New Testament does not attribute Yeshua’ miracles and mighty wonders and signs to his alleged Deity. Yeshua himself testified that his words and his works were not his but Elohim’s through him. The apostles understood this clearly. Yeshua of Nazareth was “a man attested to you by Elohim with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that Elohim did through him among you…” (Acts 2:22). And, “Elohim anointed Yeshua of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and with power; and he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for Elohim was with him” (Acts 10:38).
Yes, Yeshua’ miracles and signs were in a class of their own. No man ever spoke like this man and no man ever did what this man did. But all is attributed to the power and anointing of Elohim his Father, not to the fact Yeshua is Elohim.
In the same way, nobody argues that because Moses or Elijah worked great miracles and signs they must therefore be Deity. When we read, “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles” nobody argues the apostles must be Elohim (Acts 2: 43). The source of Yeshua’ miracles and signs and wonders is attributed to the anointing of Elohim upon him.
Back to the main point: Given that Elohim’s Name Yehovah does not appear in the NT texts, where does it go in the pages of the NT? How do we identify Him now? The stubborn fact is that when we come to the NT the word “Elohim” —in Greek ho theos nearly always with the definite article — is used to refer to the Father alone. Some 1325 times in the NT “Elohim” is the Father. (Yeshua is definitely called ‘god’ in two texts for sure and these must be looked at in their own contexts to once again see if the exception breaks the rule.) Here is a massive difference in NT use of ‘Elohim’ from today’s Christian thinking where Elohim is actually Three Persons. I repeat: In the NT 1325 times Elohim is the Father … alone.
Another striking fact is that Yeshua himself confirmed the unitary monotheism of his Jewish heritage. Yeshua endorsed the prophetic confession that his Father is “the one Who alone is Elohim” ( John 5:44) and his Father “is the only true Elohim” (John 17:3). Throughout all of his recorded sayings and discourses Yeshua only referred the word ‘Elohim’ to his Father alone … never to himself. Yeshua knew there is only one Individual Elohim Whose Name is Yehovah.
The apostles themselves agreed with Yeshua’ unitary monotheistic belief. Paul for example says, “there is one Elohim, the Father from Whom are all things and for Whom we exist” and then he goes on to say there is “one Lord Yeshua the Messiah” through whom that one Elohim the Father works to bless us (I Cor. 8:6). Paul says, “There is one Elohim and Father of all, who is above all and through all” (Eph. 4:6). Unless Yeshua is the Father of all, according to Paul, Yeshua is not Elohim!
ONLY ONE PERSON IS Yehovah Elohim.
An easy and simple question we should ask ourselves is, how many Yehovah’s are there? The foundational bedrock of Israel’s confession is Deuteronomy 6:4. Yeshua Himself believed this classical statement of Jewish monotheism (Mark 12:29ff). He called this “the first and the great commandment”. It reads, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our Elohim, the LORD is one.”
The capitalized LORD means the original Hebrew text reads, YHWH. Here is the Personal Name of Elohim. Yehovah is “our Elohim” and there is only one Yehovah who is LORD in this sense! This was the central creed or confession of Yeshua’ own faith. Why is it not the central confession of the Church that claims to be following him today? How can we continue to ignore the first and greatest of all commandments? Worse still, how can we any longer continue to not listen to Yeshua’ theology as to the identity of Elohim?
Observe carefully. There are not two or three Yehovahs. Some Christian theologians insist that the word “one” in Deuteronomy 6:4 carries a “complex unity”. They reason, that just as one bunch of grapes does not mean you only have one grape but many, and just as one flock of birds does not mean there is only one bird in the flock, why can’t “one Elohim” mean there can’t be more than one Person in the “Godhead”?
Did you get the sleight of hand trick perpetrated on us here? For starters, the idea of there being a plurality of grapes in one bunch comes not from the numeral adjective ‘one’ but from the group- word ‘bunch’. The truth is ‘one bunch’ of grapes is just that, ‘one bunch’, not two bunches, nor three bunches. And the idea of there being a plurality of birds in a flock does not come from the numeral adjective one, but from the plural word it modifies, flock.
Any first grader in any school around the world knows that ‘one’ is not two, nor three, nor any other number. So, the idea of complexity or plurality does not come from the word ‘one’ but from the collective noun it modifies. If I showed you a centipede and said, “See how complex one is. One can mean one hundred because one centipede has a hundred legs!” you would immediately spot the ruse. If I said, “See, one really means three because that tripod has 3 legs!” again you would spot the trick.
Therefore … and here is a devastating fact … the numeral adjective “one” (the Hebrew word is echad) is not applied to the (alleged) ‘group’ word “Elohim”. In the Hebrew Bible Elohim is YHWH. He is a Single Person with a Name. Even Trinitarians warn us we must not confuse the Persons! If we take the English verse as it stands this fact becomes obvious. The English translation reads, “The LORD is our Elohim, the LORD is one.”
Observe the adjective ‘one’ applies not to the word ‘Elohim’ but to the word ‘Lord’. There is only one Lord, not two or three Lords, who is the LORD Elohim.. This is the first principle of all Old Testament teaching about Elohim. There is one Yehovah who is Elohim.
So, where is Yehovah Elohim in the New Testament? Has He suddenly dropped off the scene altogether? Or has He suddenly morphed into Three Persons in One Essence?
Most Christians today are unaware that Trinitarian doctrine has changed the meaning and content of Elohim’s Name. When Trinitarians speak of “Elohim” they do not mean Yehovah Elohim. For them, “Elohim” consists of Three Persons who share one Being or one ‘Substance’. This concept originated in pagan religions and not the Hebrew faith.
The “orthodox” tri-partite Elohim does not exist in the Scriptures, indeed their ‘Elohim’ has no name at all! And the rare Christian who does equate
Yehovah with Elohim the Father, confesses that this “Elohim the Father” is only one of Three Persons in the “Godhead”. This is not Yeshua’ own confession of who Elohim is.
We have some serious repenting to do. And by repenting I mean some serious re-thinking to do, for to repent is to change one’s mind. There is no shame in that. As if siding with Yeshua and listening to his confession would bring shame anyway! In fact, it just may be for our blessing and glory.
It is not by coincidence that the Bible puts the doctrine of unitary monotheism often in the context of avoiding idolatry (Ex. 20: 1-5; I Cor. 8: 1-6; I John 5: 19-21, etc.). Yes, the Elohim of the Bible is a single Individual “Self” who has a personal name. Yeshua loved Him. And with my Lord Messiah Yeshua I will love Him with Elohim’s help with all my heart and mind and strength. May we all!