God’s name is a highly contentious topic among some religious adherents.
It’s understandable, I guess, since some have built their faith on one specific view, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Similarly, Hebrew scholars like Nehemia Gordon claim they have discovered the divine name in ancient manuscripts and travel the world promoting their discovery.
I realized the intense interest in this topic when I posted a short YouTube video about it a couple years ago. The video has received a variety of comments—some positive, others bizarre, and still others, strongly negative. For example,
- “This is the most useless video I’ve ever come across! There is a proper way to pronounce it!”
- “There’s so much wrong with this video”
- “Any explanation of the Tetragrammaton with Nikkud that never read the name together with the vowel sounds (Nikkud symbols) is misleading and lying.”
While I usually ignore the comments, the last one about the nikud system (Hebrew vowels), caused me to revisit the topic. After further research, I’m happy to say that I don’t think I need to revise the video. I have, however, added more details to my blog post. If you’re interested in this topic, here’s the video:
And here’s my updated blog post.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.