# What is God's name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036 "2003-03-17T17:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThoughtPolice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@ThoughtPolice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThoughtPolice)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/1 "2003-03-17T17:07:39Z")
“God” is a title, not a name. So is “Lord.” Just what is God’s name? Anyone even know?😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/2 "2003-03-17T17:08:50Z")
We’re not supposed to say. ---
**Author:** ![psicological](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psicological](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psicological)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/3 "2003-03-17T17:10:44Z")
It’s Trevor. ---
**Author:** ![ThoughtPolice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@ThoughtPolice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThoughtPolice)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/4 "2003-03-17T17:11:09Z")
Who says you are not supposed to say? ---
**Author:** ![psicological](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@psicological](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psicological)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/5 "2003-03-17T17:12:47Z")
But don’t tell him I told you. It’s a secret.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/6 "2003-03-17T17:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ThoughtPolice \* > \*\*Who says you are not supposed to say? \*\* **Ethilrist** did. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/7 "2003-03-17T17:16:49Z")
Exod.3 [14] And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. this is the only biblical reference that i know of. i’ve heard that His name is the tetragrammaton. Y’know, yod he vau he, YHWH, Yaweh, Jehova etc Her real name is Eris though. ---
**Author:** ![Tarantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@Tarantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantara)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/8 "2003-03-17T17:41:51Z")
True. “God” is just her screenname. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/9 "2003-03-17T17:42:22Z")
Which God? Allah? Krishna? Thor? Isis? Yahweh? Baal? Nergal? Athena? Coyote? Quetzacoatl? Mammon? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/10 "2003-03-17T18:16:57Z")
What is the name of our Universe? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/11 "2003-03-17T18:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Thudlow Boink \* > \*\*What is the name of our Universe? \*\* “The.” ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/12 "2003-03-17T18:22:06Z")
“He who knows the name of God will undo creation.” …think I saw that in a movie… ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/13 "2003-03-17T20:03:50Z")
And wasn’t there an Arthur C. Clarke short story about what happens when you know all nine billion names of God? ---
**Author:** ![ThoughtPolice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@ThoughtPolice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThoughtPolice)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/14 "2003-03-17T20:56:54Z")
It is pronounced “yah-weh.” It comes from the paleo-Hebrew: YHWH. Isaish 42:8, "I am ‘the LORD,’ that is my name… Except “the LORD” is a substitution for YHWH. YHWH appears almost 7,000 times in the Bible. “the LORD” is a substitution, based on Jewish tradition (which I respect, but disagree with). “Allah” is not a name. It is merely “God” in Arabic. The God of the Koran doesn’t have a name.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/15 "2003-03-17T21:12:32Z")
In the Bible, God had a name before YHVH was mentioned: Abraham worshipped “El-Shaddai,” which I think means “The God of the Rock.” The Book of Genesis also uses the name “Elohim,” which is merely a plural form of “El,” a generic term for “god.” The plural form suggests the ancient Hebrews did not ALWAYS have a monotheistic faith, even in Abraham’s time. But a much better known name, of course, is the holy and unspeakable Tetragrammaton, YHVH, or Yahweh, or Yahuwah, or Jehovah, or, as we truly saved SubGenii like to call him, “Jehovah-1, that evil space god from some corporate sin galaxy”! We don’t exactly worship Him, but we’re pretty sure He’s on our side, ever since our risen saviour J.R. “Bob” Dobbs worked out a deal with Him, sometime in the 1950’s. We’ve also got Jesus on our side – well, most of the Jesii, including the Fightin’ Jesus and our business manager, Jesus Bevilacqua. The Nice Jesus won’t return our phone calls. You can get the whole story at [www.subgenius.com](http://www.subgenius.com). Praise “Bob”! And beware the STARK FIST of JEHOVAH-1! ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/16 "2003-03-17T21:15:33Z")
It is actually unpronouncible. In the hebrew bible his name is marked by two yuds which doesn’t sound like “yah-weh”. With the vowels it is more like “yih-yuh”.“Yahweh”, “Jahovah”, etc. are all incorrect translations. When saying his name (which looks like two apostrophes- ’ ') you say “Adonai” instead, which means lord in hebrew. You don’t say his name both because it is unpronouncible and would be inapropriate. ---
**Author:** ![ThoughtPolice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@ThoughtPolice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThoughtPolice)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/17 "2003-03-17T21:43:50Z")
The pronounciation is very clear. It is said “yah-weh.” Hundred of scholars agree on this. Why would God tell us His name if He didn’t want us to use it (Isaiah 42:8)? “el shaddiah” mean God Almighty. That’s another title. “el elyon” is another title. It means God Most High. I have a Jewish friend that tells me the 10 commandments forbids her to use God’s name. She won’t even say “God.” Instead, she says HaShem (“the Name”). I don’t get it.😕 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/18 "2003-03-17T21:54:57Z")
Mr Police: Since you know all the answeres, why bother with a debate? ---
**Author:** ![Splanky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@Splanky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Splanky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/19 "2003-03-17T22:07:24Z")
**ThoughtPolice** , when was the last time you read the Old Testament in Hebrew. I thought so. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036/20 "2003-03-17T22:07:34Z")
PS: Sorry, I didn’t see how new you were. You might want to try one of the other forums (IMHO or GQ) for this kind of stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-gods-name/162036.md?page=2)