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Yocephus (Flavius Josephus) on the Sacred Name

 

In this text, we make mention herein of the name described in the tetragrammaton: YAHUAH (pronounced ĒĂŪĂ) (יהוה‎). The name יהוה‎ is a name that went unmentioned for over two millennia. Titus Flavius Yocephus, a true Leviyiy living at the time of the destruction of the last temple in Yerushalayim, in his book Wars of the Yahudiym (Jews), Book Five, Chapter Five, Section Seven, had this to say about the garments of the Leviyiy (Levite) priests and the tetragrammaton:

A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied by a blue ribbon, about which there was another golden crown, in which was engraven the sacred name [of God]: it consists of four vowels.

We construct those four vowels as YAHUAH, pronounced ĒĂŪĂ. The construct of these four letters is one that is common in modern Hebrew, consistent with all usage in ancient Hebrew, where the yod is pronounced with the a long “Ē” and the hey is pronounced as a short “Ă” creating ĒĂ (יה). This name (יה) stands alone as ĒĂ 45 times in the Tanakh, Ex 15:2; Ex 17:16; Ps 68:4; Ps 68:18; Ps 77:11; Ps 89:8; Ps 94:7; Ps 94:12; Ps 102:18; Ps 104:35; Ps 105:45; Ps 106:1; Ps 106:48; Ps 111:1; Ps 112:1; Ps 113:1; Ps 113:9; Ps 115:17; Ps 115:18; Ps 116:19; Ps 117:2; Ps 118:5; Ps 118:14; Ps 118:17; Ps 118:18; Ps 118:19; Ps 122:4; Ps 130:3; Ps 135:1; Ps 135:3; Ps 135:4; Ps 135:21; Ps 146:1; Ps 146:10; Ps 147:1; Ps 147:20; Ps 148:1; Ps 148:14; Ps 149:1; Ps 149:9; Ps 150:1; Ps 150:6; Isa 12:2; Isa 26:4; Isa 38:11. 

In Shemoth (Exodus) 3:14, ELOHIYM gives his name as אהיה אשׁר אהיה (EHAYAH ASHER EHAYAH), translated most basically as "I AM that I AM" (or "I will be that I will be"). יהוה then establishes the vocalization ĒĂŪĂ where the vav is used in its vowel form as an “u” (oo), rather than declaring the vowel as a jot beside the consonant heh. So the yod is pronounced “Ē”; and the hey is pronounced with the vowel “Ă”, because the “h” is silent (similar to the hey at the end of Torah, Sarah, Shalomah, etc); the vav is pronounced with the vowel “Ū” (oo); [Examples of this usage, where the vav sounds as “oo” are plentiful: Uriym (אוּרִים); bushah (בּוּשָׁה); gub (גּוּב); dub (דּוּב); hûwʼ (הוּא); zûw (זוּ); chûwg (חוּג); ṭûach (טוּחַ); יְהֻד Yahud (יְהֻד); koob (כּוּב); loot (לוּט); mooth (מוּת); nood (נוּד); sooth (סוּת); oob (עוּב); poot (פּוּט); tsood (צוּד); koot (קוּט); rood (רוּד); shoob (שׁוּב); and Tûbal (תּוּבַל)]; and again, the hey is pronounced with the vowel “Ă”.  The easiest way to pronounce this is ĒĂŪĂ (YAHUAH).

We know by the words of Yocephus that some pronunciations did not exist at the time of the destruction of the second temple; namely, YEHOVAH (three consonants [Y, H, V] and three vowels [e, o, a]; JEHOVAH [for the same reason]; and YAHWEH (two consonants [Y, W], and two vowels [a, e].

 

For further reading...

Is the word magnified above the name? Psalm 138:2

Glorify your name

Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahuah (with video).

What is in the name of YAHUAH?

And his name shall be called . . .

I come in the name of the Father

On the name יהוה

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