The Name

The one thing we know for sure is that just when you think you've got it figured out, YHWH will show you something new. Well, THIS thing is not "new" exactly--but it is something we need to change. In our lives, in our curriculum PDFs, on this website.

We have come to the conclusion that YHWH's name is actually spelled and pronounced "Yehovah" (yeh-ho-VAH). We have therefore searched through the website for places where we put "Yahweh" so we can correct that. I'm happy to report there is only one paragraph that needed fixing; it's on pages v & vi of the Introduction. It now reads:

The same is true for His Father's name. There are several ways to spell and pronounce the tetragrammaton "YHWH" but we prefer "Yehovah" (yeh-ho-VAH), although we have used "Yahweh" (YAW-way) for years. We use "YHWH" instead of "Yehovah" throughout the curriculum whenever we refer to the Father so that everyone can "hear" what they want.

Fortunately there were no places on the website in the curriculum itself that needed correction, so no worries for you there. (I did make a couple of changes in the material that I have written for the first three parashahs of Exodus, but they're not online yet.)

If you want to explore the reason we made this change, google Janice F. Baca. She is a biblical linguist who is currently translating the Cochin manuscript. Shalom!