In the Old Testament, God's name is written 6828[1] times but in English translations, His Name has been written as LORD and Nepali translations have परमप्रभू.
Many times we sing songs about God's name, such as 'Lord we lift Your Name on high...' and in Gurung 'परमेश्वरए मीं क्वेदो...' (Lift up God's name!), but His name is not mentioned.
How can God's name be glorified if we don't know what it is? The translation committee has therefore decided to write the generally accepted name, and way of saying the name, Yahweh (याह्वेह), which is derived from the four Hebrew letters, YHWH, that are used in the Hebrew text.
God's name carries the meaning of eternal existance so that when we use it, Yahweh means 'He is' and when God uses it for Himself,
it becomes Ehyeh meaning 'I am' (Exodus 3:14).
In a country that is full of man made gods, which are also referred to as lord this or lord that, it is important to clearly distinguish the one true, living God from the man made ones and just using Lord could be confusing.
In the Old Testament, it is very clear that God intended His Name to be used:
- I am Yahweh your God (Exodus 20:2).
- God said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, '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 for ever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation." (Exodus 3:15)
- I am Yahweh, that is my name! (Isaiah 42:8)
Often, God's name is used without realising it when people say or sing 'Hallelu Yah' meaning Praise Yahweh.
Why has this name not been used and why are we unsure of how to say it? Since this is God's name, it is very holy and not wanting to misuse it, early writers left out the vowels. An old translation from Hebrew to Greek changed the name into 'the Lord' and many following translations have kept this.
- "You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (Exodus 20:7)
And what about the name of Jesus? It means 'Yahweh Saves'. (Because God saved us from our sins.)
What is written here is mainly for use with the Old Testament but thanks to Jesus, we may also call Yahweh, our Father:
- "This then, is how you should pray:
'Our Father in Heaven, (Matthew 6:9)
[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton