Is the Name Yah, the Yod, or the Tetragrammaton found in the most Ancient Hebrew Texts?

Was Hebrew a dead language in Jesus’ day?

Did ancient Hebrew have a yod (“Y”), and was the yod a legitimate Hebrew letter?

Was the Tetragrammaton (יְ הוָה the four Hebrew letters, yod hey vav hey) found in ancient Hebrew texts?

This article will prove the following statements to be error.

• Ancient Hebrew was a dead language in Jesus’ day 
• Ancient Hebrew did not have a “Y” (yod) 
• The yod is not a legitimate Hebrew letter 
• The Tetragrammaton (yod hey vav hey) did not exist in the most ancient Hebrew

Whether made in error or deliberately, all three above statements are FALSE.

Acknowledging the many successful efforts of the enemy of our souls in perverting the Word of God, and without going into convoluted historical accounts of the Masons and Masoretes, the scriptures are all we need to get clear and simple answers to questions about the ancient Hebrew language, the yod, and the Tetragrammaton.  

1.

Hebrew was not a dead language in Jesus’ day, and it was not exclusive to the clergy, as Latin was in the Middle Ages. A large enough number of the Jewish population understood and even spoke Hebrew that a sign was placed on our Savior's cross written in the three prominent and living languages of the day...one of which was HEBREW. 

If Hebrew was a dead language at that time, why bother, why include it?  

  

The yod is not a made-up, illegitimate, Hebrew letter. Jesus validated the YOD when he said not one jot or tittle (*acknowledging the yod) would pass from the law till all be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). So, according to Jesus, our highest authority, the yod [“Y”) is a valid ancient Hebrew letter. 

* The original texts of the Old Covenant were written in Hebrew without punctuation or vowel points. Added punctuation and vowel points are no more than commentary, and as such, are not sacred. Jesus would never have referred to them as such. 

The Tetragrammaton יְ הוָה (YHWH [yod hey vav hey]) that forms the name of God, is often pronounced as Yahweh. Kaufmann Kohler (in Jewish Theology page 61) wrote that the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton has never been lost and is pronounced Yahveh. 

The Tetragrammaton is found in the most ancient texts in existence today. It is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are 1000 years older than any other extant Hebrew text. It is written there, in Paleo Hebrew. The name Yahweh is found in Jerusalem in one of the oldest copies of scripture ever found. There is also an engraving of the name Yahweh found in Sudan dated at 1500 years before Christ.

Psalm 68:4 proclaims God's name as “YAH.” That verse [containing the yod] is preserved in the most ancient extant texts.

God himself, promised that he would preserve his Word to every generation, and he has. The Hebrew texts that underlie the King James Bible, and the Hebrew that the Septuagint [LXX] was translated from, agree that Psalm 100:5 states that God’s “TRUTH” endures to all generations (minority, Alexandrian texts corrupt this promise). Regarding Psalm 100:5, both the Hebrew of the King James Bible and the Greek of LXX agree. The translations match as well. Our Creator has been faithful to his promise that from generation to generation, we would always have his WORD.

This writer honors true history. The scriptures have been proven again and again to be true history. In truth, historical discoveries and even deliberate historical obfuscations [by archeologists, academics, the powers that be, etc.,] can be interpreted accurately and even exposed using the sacred writings of the people of Yahweh, the Hebrew speaking ones as well as the Greek speaking ones.

Three false statements concerning the Hebrew language, the Hebrew letter YOD, and the Tetragrammaton composed of the four Hebrew letters, yod hey vav hey, are making inroads into the Christian community and causing confusion, even lack of faith in the Word of God. But, as we have shown, the scriptures themselves are all we need to know the truth about the Hebrew language, the yod, and the Tetragrammaton. Today, we have extensive texts of the ancient Hebrew of the Bible. The yod and the Tetragrammaton are legitimately in it.  

Notes/References: According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus mentioned it (the yod) during the Antithesis of the Law, when he says: "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Jot, or iota, refers to the letter Yod; it was often overlooked by scribes because of its size and position as a mater lectionis.

Arabic: ي‎[note]

Phonemic representation: j, i, e

Position in alphabet: 10

Syriac: ܝ