n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 6
The Hebrew for “I AM” here is Eh-yeh, with four consonants: Aleph, He,
Yodh, He. The form for “HE IS” resembles the Divine Name even more closely:
Yih-yeh, with the four consonants: Yodh, He, Yodh, He.
So on the assumption that the Lord’s nam e was derived from the Hebrew
verb “to be” (and based on a few other hints) scholars have concluded that
the ancient Israelites would have pronounced the name “Yahweh,” the two
syllables of the name corresponding to the two syllables of the eHebrew verb
“to be.”
But the Heavenly Doctrine explains that the Lord was known even in the
Most Ancient Church as “Jehovah.” (Arcana Coelestia 1343, 6846; Heavenly
Doctrine 247; Last Judgment 46:3; True Christian Religion 19)
The Hebrew language does, indeed, resemble that of the Most Ancient in
some respects, but it would clearly make more sense, especially in light of New
Church teachings, to say that the Hebrew verb “to be” is actually derived from
the pre-existing Divine name, and not the reverse.
The Meanings of Hebrew Letters
The passage from the Arcana Coelestia quoted earlier states that the letter he “is
the only one” in the name “Jehovah” that involves the Divine. If one ignores the
vowel points, which were not written as actual letters in the original language,
the two other letters in the name are yodh and waw. Why would the letter
He involve the Divine in a way that yodh and waw would not? An additional
clue is given in the discussion, in the Apocalypse Revealed, about the spiritual
significance of the letters alpha and omega, and their sounds:
On this account, too, Abram was called ‘Abraham,’ and Sarai was called ‘Sarah;’
which was done in order that in heaven by Abraham and Sarah, not they themselves
should be understood, but the Divine, which, in fact, is what is understood; for the
‘H’ involves infinity, because it is only breathing. (Apocalypse Revealed 38)
So the sound of the letter “H,” or the Hebrew He, involves the Divine
because it involves infinity. And it involves infinity because it is purely
breathing. Why this should reflect infinity becomes more obvious when one
considers how the sounds of speech are produced.
In an earlier article on the spiritual meaning of individual letters, The
Sound of Truth (New Church Life, September/October 2012), I noted that the
Word sometimes puts creation in terms of the Lord speaking the universe into
existence: “By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and by the breath
of His mouth all their army.” (Psalm 33:6) I also noted the parallel between the
Lord putting finite bounds on infinity and the process of articulating breath
into vocal sounds.
Most consonants involve the constriction or even the brief but total
cutting off of the flow of air from the lungs. The breath is constrained, shaped
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