On this Bible Prophecy Decoded post I explain why I use the name Yah for the Heavenly Father in my Bible prophecy explanations.
The answer is that Psalms 68:4 specifically tells us to praise and extol his name. The King James says,
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
The Hebrew word 3050 for JAH is YAH.
The New King James Version says, “Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.”
The World English Bible says, “Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him!”
So the real question is, why didn’t most Bible translators use the name YAH in Psalms 68:4?
The Hebrew word YAH is in 44 other Bible verses, but the translators rendered His name as LORD.
Why did they do that? Why would they not simply use the underlying Hebrew name?
In the King James, Exodus 15:2 says,
“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”
The word LORD is YAH in the Hebrew.
It should read “YAH is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation.”
Verses like Psalms 106:1 are really interesting, as they use the title LORD twice, but the underlying Hebrew words are different.
“Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
It should read “Praise ye Yah.”
Praise is halal in Hebrew, so it’s saying HalleluYAH.
HalleluYah means Praise Yah!
The second LORD in the verse is Hebrew Y@hovah.
So it’s saying “Praise YAH. O give thanks unto the Yahovah; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalms 106:48 in the KJV reads,
“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.”
Applying the Hebrew names, it should read,
“Blessed be Yahovah Elohim of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. HalleluYAH.”
Psalms 111:1 in the KJV reads,
“Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”
Applying the Hebrew names, it should read,
“Praise ye YAH. I will praise Yahovah with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”
Psalms 135:1 in the KJV reads,
“Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.”
Applying the Hebrew names, it should read,
“Praise ye YAH. Praise ye the name of Yahovah; praise him, O ye servants of Yahovah.”
Do you see what’s been hidden from our eyes?
So it’s ironic that some people call me a Hebrew Roots person because I use the Hebrew name Yah.
But I’m a Scriptural Roots person who uses the Hebrew name that our Heavenly Father gave us. And the enemy has hidden His name.
The truth is that names in Scripture have meaning.
The name Elijah is based on the Hebrew name Eliyahu, which means “My Elohim is Yah.”
The name Matthew is based on the Hebrew name Mattityahu which means “The gift of Yah.”
The name John in Hebrew is Yohanan/Yahanan which means “Yah Is Gracious.”
I hope this helps you see the truth about the meaning of names in Scripture.
When reading or singing a praise song, instead of using the generic title of God, I use His name, Yah.
HalleluYah that He opens our eyes to see Scriptural truth!
In another video, I’ll talk about why I use the title Messiah.
