Jehovah is the first personal name of God recorded in the Scriptures, and there are several points of interest from the commencement of its use.
In the first chapter of Genesis, God is not revealed to man by a personal name. There He is known only by the title “God” (Elohim) as the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the giving of life. Not until the second chapter, wherein is recorded the creation of Adam as the fountainhead of the line of the Messiah (see genealogy, Luke 3), did God enter into personal relationship with man by the use of the personal name “Jehovah.” In this connection it is of interest to note that this sacred name is never applicable to any but the chosen people of Israel. (See Numbers 6:27; Deuteronomy 28:10; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 43:7; 63:19.)
Just here it may be well to consider a difficulty arising in the minds of many students of the Word. In Exodus 6:2, 3, we read: “I am the LORD [JEHOVAH, marg.], and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of [italics, A.V.] God Almighty [Hebrew, El Shaddai] , but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” Passages such as Genesis 24:3, and others, seem to contradict this statement. What, then, is the explanation?
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: R. H. Judd
Keywords: Jehovah, YHWH, Yahweh, Adonai, Adon, God, deity, godhead, El Shaddai, characteristics of God, names of God, El, Elohim
Bible reference(s): Gen. 14:22, Gen 17:1, Gen. 22:14, Genesis 24:3, Exodus 6:2-3, Ex. 15:11, Ex. 15:26, Ex. 17:15, Exodus 20:7, Ex. 31:13, Ex. 33:19, Ezekiel 48:35, Num. 6:27, Deuteronomy 5:11, Deut. 28:10, Deut. 32:4, Judges 6:24, 2 Sam. 6:2, 2 Chron. 7:14, Psa. 11:7, Psa. 19:7-8, Psalm 23:1, Psa. 36:9, Isa. 43:7, Isa. 6:3, Isa 63:19, Nahum 1:7, Rom. 3:26, 1 Cor. 1:9, 1 John 1:5
Source: One God: God of the Ages (Oregon, IL: Restitution Herald, 1949).
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.