Yahweh: The Divine Name and English Edition Choices
Yahweh is a common English rendering of the Hebrew divine name represented by YHWH.
Last updated October 15, 2026
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Yahweh is a common English rendering of the Hebrew divine name represented by YHWH. The selected editions handle that name differently: WEB Classic uses Yahweh, the KJV often prints LORD, and ASV uses Jehovah. These are translation and reading conventions, rather than names for three separate gods.
Exodus 3 relates the name to Moses' commission and the God of the ancestors. Exodus 6 and Psalm 83 provide further naming language. Keep the Hebrew consonants, an English vocalized form and an edition's replacement convention distinct. The historical Strong entry records Jehovah; its spelling is source evidence, not a final ruling on every pronunciation question.
Yahweh: source entries
| Term | Entry ID | Historical entry wording | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| YHWH / Yahweh, historical entry Yhovah | 3068 | […] (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord. […] | Strong original Hebrew |
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Exodus 3: a name within a commission
Moses asks what he should say when asked the name of the God who sent him. The reply includes I AM language and then the name associated with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The dialogue concerns authority for a mission. It is more than an isolated vocabulary quiz.
The relation between the I AM wording and the divine name has been discussed in language and theology. This page does not claim that an English phrase fully reproduces every feature of the Hebrew. The text itself makes the connection within the dialogue, and the panels preserve what the selected editions say.
A name can identify the speaker through relation and history. The ancestor names matter in this passage. Removing them leaves a thinner account than the source gives. Moses is not being handed a syllable with which to control events; he receives a commission and a message for a people.
LORD is an edition convention
Many KJV Old Testament occurrences print LORD in capitals. In these passages, WEB Classic and ASV often make the divine name explicit as Yahweh or Jehovah. Compare the same verse before treating Lord as a different referent. A difference on the page may come from translation policy.
Capitalization is useful evidence in a printed edition, but it should be checked. Not every English use of lord is the same Hebrew expression. A title for a human master, a title for God and a substitution for the name need not all represent the same source word.
This page does not silently replace LORD in quoted KJV text with Yahweh. It explains the relation beside the quotation. Keeping both visible is a more honest comparison. It also lets a reader follow a link and find the exact words that were cited.
Exodus 6: a statement that needs context
Exodus 6 recalls the ancestors and makes a claim about the name in relation to them. The wording has prompted questions about how the narrative presents knowledge of God's name. The selected sentence should be read with the covenant and deliverance language around it.
A brief name entry cannot settle every discussion of the chapter's literary history. It can identify the wording that gives rise to the question. If two sources explain that wording differently, the difference belongs in attributed interpretation, rather than being hidden behind a confident gloss.
The immediate speech also concerns the situation of the Israelites and the promise of deliverance. That setting gives the naming language a purpose. A reader should not turn it into a detached claim about the future of any person who happens to encounter the spelling Yahweh.
Psalm 83: naming within a poem
Psalm 83 asks that the named God be known as Most High over the earth. Its language belongs to a prayer amid conflict. The name identifies the addressee and the one whose status the poem proclaims. The English editions display different name conventions in that same line.
The poem's claim should be reported as the poem's claim. Describing it does not require pretending the page is a neutral survey of every religious account of God. Equally, a reference page should not add a universal scholarly agreement that the cited texts do not establish.
When comparing the verse, read the prayer leading into it. The final naming statement has a literary setting. A word study that begins and ends with the final noun misses the petition and the conflict that make the statement part of a poem.
Consonants, vocalization and historical spelling
YHWH represents the four consonants in a common Latin transcription. Yahweh is a widely used English vocalized form. Jehovah is familiar from older English works and ASV. These labels serve different reference purposes. Keep them distinct instead of claiming that the English letters reproduce a sound recording from antiquity.
The retained Strong entry has its own historical spelling and pronunciation notation. That is what the source prints. It should not be misrepresented as a contemporary consensus about every detail. A dictionary from its own period remains a useful historical reference when its limits are stated.
No pronunciation guide here is a condition for understanding the passage. Readers from traditions with different reading practices can still compare the source sentences. A respectful reference identifies the edition choice and avoids making unsupported claims about how every community speaks or avoids the name.
Wording and context in three editions
Exodus 3:13-15
King James Version (eng-kjv2006, standard 1769 text)
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
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.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
World English Bible Classic (eng-web, US spelling)
13 Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
15 God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
American Standard Version (eng-asv)
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?
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.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
Before (WEB Classic): 11 Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
After (WEB Classic): 16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt. 17 I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
Exodus 6:2-3
King James Version (eng-kjv2006, standard 1769 text)
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
World English Bible Classic (eng-web, US spelling)
2 God spoke to Moses, and said to him, “I am Yahweh.
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.
American Standard Version (eng-asv)
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah:
3 and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah I was not known to them.
Before (WEB Classic): 1 Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.”
After (WEB Classic): 4 I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their travels, in which they lived as aliens. 5 Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
Psalm 83:18
King James Version (eng-kjv2006, standard 1769 text)
18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
World English Bible Classic (eng-web, US spelling)
18 that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
American Standard Version (eng-asv)
18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth.
Before (WEB Classic): 16 Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh. 17 Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish;
FAQ
Are Yahweh and Elohim interchangeable words?
They can refer to God in a passage, but they are distinct terms. YHWH is the divine name; elohim has a wider range of uses. Check the sentence before replacing one with the other.
Related meanings
Continue this study
- Bible Meanings: names, words, numbers, symbols and verses
- Ecclesiastes 3:11 meaning in context
- Genesis 1 meaning in context
- Ruach Elohim: Bible meaning and source context
- Shema meaning: hear, text and context
- Use concordances and lexicons in context
Verdict: Yahweh
Yahweh is an English divine-name form; LORD and Jehovah reflect other edition conventions. Keep each quotation intact in spelling while explaining the relation. The Exodus dialogue and Psalm prayer give the name its textual settings.