So, today I thought I'd give "teaching" a try and share a little Hebrew with you. Bear with me. I'm doing this entirely by type without being able to sound any of it out to you. It would be much easier if I had a way to record myself saying it, but I don't.
I thought I'd take a break from memorizing in Ephesians today and memorize a verse from Psalms in Hebrew and in English. I'd love for you to try this with me! I think it is important to memorize a verse in English BEFORE learning it in Hebrew. Otherwise, what's the point? You need to know what you're saying. So, I thought we'd try an easy one to start. I typically memorize Scripture out of the 1984 NIV (I strongly dislike the 2011 NIV, don't go there with me unless you want a dissertation comparable to the one my Uncle Anthony gives when you ask about his rock collection). I'm actually going to memorize this one in the KJV because I'm sure I'll be saying this one for the Rabbi at Hebrew and they use the KJV. I'm going to type it in both, you decide which you prefer.
Psalm 106:1 (NIV 1984) "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."
Psalm 106:1 (KJV) "Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever."
Alright, here comes the Hebrew. YAY!
הַֽלְלוּיׇהּ ׀ הוֹדוּ לַיהוׇה כּׅי־טוֹב כּי לְעוֹלׇם חַסְדּוֹ׃
do -suh-chah lam -oh -lay kee tov kee vah-ho-Yah la du -Ho yah -lu-lay-Ha
Now, Hebrew is read from right to left. So, you start here
←↓
הַֽלְלוּיׇהּ ׀ הוֹדוּ לַיהוׇה כּׅי־טוֹב כּי לְעוֹלׇם חַסְדּוֹ׃
do -suh-chah lam -oh -lay kee tov kee vah-ho-Yah la du -Ho yah -lu-lay-Ha
Now for the easy pronunciation guide. (Please note that I tried to spell out the transliteration not spelled correctly, but how it should be sounded out. Also, when I type "ch" it is not pronounced "ch" as in "cheese" but rather "ch" as in the composer "Bach." Imagine saying a hard "k" sound like "khaki" but add some phlegm in there. HAHA! Or imagine the sound of a possum hissing.)
Hallelujah! Ho-du lah Yah-ho-vah kee tov kee lay-oh-lam Chah-suh-do.
"Hallelujah" is a Hebrew word that literally means, "Praise ye the LORD." Remember the song we used to sing as children?
Yeah, kid. The "Hallelujah" is my favorite part of the song, too!
Alright, let me take a moment to talk about the "Yah." This is the name of the LORD. Whenever you see "LORD" written in all capital letters in the Bible, it is the tetragrammaton. Where do I even begin? The Hebrew language is not written with vowels. No vowels. Do we say the vowels? Yes, of course. You can't say a word without vowels. It would look like this in English:
"Fr Gd s lvd th wrld tht H gv Hs nly bgttn Sn tht whsvr blvth n Hm shld nt prsh, bt hv vrlstng lf."
Now, I'm guessing that you understood that verse completely. We are all so familiar with it that our minds automatically fill in the missing vowels. It was that way with ancient Hebrew. The priests and scribes knew the writings well. Through tradition passed down, it was still pronounced correctly even without the written vowels. Around 400 A.D. some Jewish scholars decided (thankfully) to add markings around the letters to indicate which vowel sound is traditionally associated with that word. This is why you see dots and dashes around the Hebrew letters. They are vowel markings.
All of that said, the tetragrammaton is the unpronounceable name of God. It is traditionally said as either "Yahweh" or "Jehovah." Written in Hebrew it would be either YHWH or YHVH.
I'm no expert scholar, but I don't agree that the name is "Yahweh." So far in my studies I have seen no evidence that there is a "w" sound in the Hebrew language. So, my personal opinion is that the correct pronunciation would be closer to "Yahovah" or Jehovah. If there is a scholar out there reading my blog, please feel free to correct me if I'm entirely mistaken in my thinking. I would appreciate correction! It's how I learn!
You should also know that the Jewish people highly REVERE the name of the LORD. So much so, that they dare not pronounce it. If the tetragrammaton appears in the Bible, they substitute the word "Adonai" or "Hashem" for the Holy Name when reading aloud. "Adonai" means "Lord" and if you see the word "Lord" with a lowercase "o-r-d" then the Hebrew word usually is "Adonai." Sometimes they say "Hashem" which literally means "THE NAME." The name above all names.
I believe that when Jesus died for our sins and the Bible says that the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom that it means we can now come before the throne of God with freedom gained through the blood of Christ and we can call upon the name of the LORD. In Hebrews we are told that Jesus IS our high priest and in Hebrews 4:16 Paul says, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence..." But, out of reverence for a people who revere the name of the LORD, I'm choosing to replace the "Yahovah" with the traditional "Adonai" when I memorize this verse. I will, after all, be saying the verse for a Christian Rabbi whom I respect.
So, I'll be memorizing the verse like this:
"Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever."
"Hallelujah! Ho-du lah Ah-do-nai kee tov kee lay-oh-lam Chah-suh-do."
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