Based on the lexicon of William Gesenius, as translated by Edward Robinson, and edited with constant reference to the thesauraus of Gesenius as completed by E. Rödiger, and with authorized use of the German editions of Gesenius’ Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament
FRANCIS BROWN, D.D., D. LITT.
S.R. DRIVER, D.D., LITT.D. and
CHARLES A. BRIGGS, D.D., D. LITT.
2314 hwhy (Hebrew) (page 217) (Strong 3068-69,1961,430,589,2022,6635)
hwhy:c. 6823 i.e. hw<h.y: n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT hA'hy>:C518 (Qr yn"doa]), or hAihy/:305 (Qr ~yhil{a/), in the combinations hwhy ynda & ynda hwhy (vid. yn<doa]), and with prep. hA'hyB;, hA'hyl;, hA'hyme (Qr yn"doaB;, yn"doal;, yn"doame), do not give the original form. LXX and other Vrss follow the Qr. On the basis of Ex 20:7, Lv 24:11 hwhy was regarded as a nomen ineffabile (vid. Philo:de Vita Mosis iii. 519, 529), called by the Jews ~Veh; and by the Samaritans amyv. The pronunciation Jehovah was unknown until 1520, when it was introduced by Galatinus; but it was contested by Le Mercier, J. Drusius, and L. Capellus, as against grammatical and historical propriety (cf. Bö:§ 88). The traditional VIabe, of Theodoret and Epiphanius, the Why"-, -Ahy> of compound n.pr. and the contracted form Hy" all favour %w<h.y: (cf. !Wm+l{h]y: Psalm 74:6; Wrh]T; Is 33:11), v.Lag:Sym i.14 Baudissin:Studien i.179 ff.; Dr:Stud.Bib.i.1 ff. For Jeve v. Sta:ZAW 1881, 346 De:ib.1882, 173 f. & Gn. Excurs. ii. 2. on liter. of interpret. v. Nes:Eg.67 Dr:l.c.—Many recent scholars explain hw<h.y: as Hiph. of hyh (= hyh) the one bringing into being, life-giver (cf. hW"x; Gn 3:20) Schr HSch; giver of existence, creator, Kue Tiele; he who brings to pass (so already Le Clerc),performer of his promises, Lag, Nes:Eg.88 (but Nes:Eg.91 inclines to Qal as RS:Brit. & For. Ev. Rev v. infr.); or from hyh he who causes to fall, rain or lightning RS:OTJC.ed.1, 423; om.ed.2, 245, cf. We:Skizzen iii.175; ‘Fäller,’ destroying foes, Sta:G.i.429 (dubiously). But most take it as Qal of hwh (= hyh); the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, Ri ; the existing, ever living, as self-consistent and unchangeable, Di; or the one ever coming into manifestation as the God of redemption, De Oehl; cf. also RS:Brit. & For. Ev. Rev. 1876, he will be it, i.e all that his servants look for (cf. Ew:infr), he will approve himself (give evidence of being, assert his being Dr:l.c.17)).
I. hwhy is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb, and is explained thus : %M+"[i hy<h.a, I shall be with thee (v:12), which is then implied in hy<h.a, rv,a] hy<h.a, I shall be the one who will be it v:14a (i.e: with thee v:12) and then compressed into hy<h.a, v:14b (i.e. with thee v:12), which then is given in the nominal form hwhy He who will be it v:15 (i.e. with thee v:12). Cf. Ew:BTh ii. 337, 338 RS:l.c., Proph. 385 ff. Other interpretations are : I am he who I am, i.e. it is no concern of yours (Le Clerc Lag:Psalt.Hieron.156); I am (this is my name), inasmuch as I am (rv,a] = yKi; AE JD Mich We:JD Th xxi, 540 = Comp.Hex.72); Di al. I am who I am, he who is essentially unnameable, inexplicable,—E uses hwhy sparingly by the side of ~yhla and ~yhlah in his subsequent narrative. The Ephraimitic writers in Ju S K use it in similar proportions. P abstains from the use of hwhy until he gives an account of its revelation to Moses Ex 6:3 ; but subsequently uses it freely. He gives no explanation of its meaning. He represents that yD;v; lae was the God of the patriarchs. J uses hwhy from the beginning of his narrative, possibly explaining it, Gn 21:83 by la ~lw[, the evergreen tamarisk being a symbol of the ever-living God; cf. De Gn 21:33. Elsewhere hwhy is the common divine name in pre-exilic writers, but in post-exilic writers gradually falls into disuse, and is supplanted by ~yhla and ynda. In Job it is used 31 t. in prose parts, and 12:9 (a proverb); not elsewhere in the poem. Chr apart from his sources prefers ~yhla and ~yhlah. Dn uses hwhy only in chap. 9 (7 t.); Ec not at all. In the Elohistic group of Psalm 42-83 it is used 39t. (see ~yhla) . It occurs as the name of Israel's God MI:18. It is doubtful whether it was used by other branches of the Shemitic family, cf. COT Gn 2:4b Dl:Pa 158 ff. Dr:Stud. Bib. i. 7 ff.
II. 1. hwhy is used with ~yhla and suffixes, especially in D; a. with ^yh,l{a/ in the Ten Words Ex 20:2-12 (5 t.) = Dt 5:6-16; in the law of worship of JE, Ex 23:19, 34:24, 34:26; in D 234 t.; Jos 1:9, 1:17, 9:9, 9:24 (D:2); elsewhere Gn 27:20, Ex 15:26 (JE), Ju 6:26; S & K 20 t. 1 Ch 11:2, 22:11, 22:12, 2 Ch 9:8, 9:8, 16:7, Is 7:11, 37:4, 37:4, 41:13, 43:3, 51:15, 55:5, Je 40:2 + (3t.) Ho 12:10, 13:4, 14:2, Am 9:15, Psalm 81:11. b. with ~k,yhel{a/ in D 46 t.; D:2 28 t.; H 15 t.; P 15 t.; elsewhere Ex 23:25 (E); 8:24, 10:8, 10:16, 10:17 (JE); Ju 6:10, 1 S 12:12, 12:14, 2 K 17:39, 23:21, 1 Ch 22:18 + (10 t. Chr) Psalm 76:12, Je 13:16 + (5 t.) Ez 20:5, 20:7, 20:19, 20:20, Jo 2:13 + (6t.) Zc 6:15. c. with Wnyhel{a/ in D 23 t.; in D:2 5 t.; Ex 8:6 (JE) Ex 3:18, 5:3, 8:22, 8:23, 10:25, 10:26 (E) Ju 11:24, 1 S 7:8, 1 K 8:57, 8:59, 8:61, 8:65, 2 K 18:22, 19:10 = Is 36:7, 37:20, 1 Ch 13:2 + (15 t. Chr) Mi 4:5, 7:17, Is 26:13, Je 3:22 + (17 t.) Psalm 20:8, 90:17 (?; Baer ynO'da]); 94:23, 99:5, 99:8, 99:9, 99:9, 105:7, 106:47, 113:5, 122:9, 123:2, Dn 9:10, 9:13, 9:14. d. c. ~h,yhel{a/ Ex 10:7 (J) Ex 29:46, 29:46, Lv 26:44 (P) Ju 3:7, 8:34, 1 S 12:9; 1 K 9:9 , 2 K 17:7, 17:9, 17:14, 17:16, 17:19, 18:12, 2 Ch 31:6, 33:17, 34:33, Ne 9:3, 9:3, 9:4, Je 3:21, 22:9, 30:9, 43:1, 43:1, 50:4, Ez 28:26, 34:30, 39:22, 39:28, Ho 1:7, 3:5, 7:10, Zp 2:7, Hag 1:12, 1:12, Zc 9:16, 10:6. e. with wyh'l{a/ Nu 23:21 (E) Ex 32:11 (J) Lv 4:22 (P) Dt 17:19, 18:7, 1 S 30:6, 1 K 5:17, 11:4, 15:3, 15:4, 2 K 5:11, 16:2, 2 Ch 1:1 + 13 t. Chr; Mi 5:3, Je 7:28, Psalm 33:12, 144:15, 146:5, Jon 2:2. f. with yh;l{a/ Nu 22:18 (JE) Dt 4:5, 18:16, 26:14, Jos 14:8, 14:9, 2 S 24:24, 1 K 3:7, 5:18, 5:19, 8:28, 17:20, 17:21, 1 Ch 21:17, 22:7, 2 Ch 2:3, 6:19, Ezr 7:28, 9:5, Psalm 7:2, 7:4, 13:4, 18:29, 30:3, 30:13, 35:24, 40:6, 104:1, 109:26, Is 25:1, Je 31:18, Dn 9:4, 9:20, Jon 2:7, Hab 1:12, Zc 11:4, 13:9, 14:5. g. with %yIh;~a/ Is 60:9, Je 2:17, 2:19, 3:13, Mi 7:10, Zp 3:17. h. with ~yhla, probably always due to later editors, or to a Qr which has crept into the text Gn 2:4b—3:23 (J, 20 t. either ~yhla inserted by R:P as Di De; or hwhy inserted by J in an older source); Ex 9:30 (J, but not in LXX Sam.; Sam. hwhy ynda; possibly MT from earlier Qr, & Sam. from later Qr); 2 S 7:22, 7:25, (LXX hwhy ynda and 1 Ch 17:20 -23 only hwhy); 1 Ch 17:16, 17:17 (but 2 S 7:18, 7:19 hwhy ynda) 1 Ch 28:20, 29:1, 2 Ch 1:9, 6:41, 6:41, 6:42, 26:18 (but in the original Psalm 132:8 stood hwhy (so Hebrew (consonantal text)), or else no divine name); Psalm 72:18 (the late doxology) 84:12 (but it makes the line too long); Jon 4:6. For the combinations with other divine names see those names. 2. the phrase † hwhy ynIa] is noteworthy:—a. after rma either alone Ex 6:2; 6:29 (P) or before relative and other clauses: Gn 28:13 (J) 15:7 (R) Ex 6:6 (P) with ~kyhla Ju 6:10, Ez 20:5. b. after yk [dy (a) Ex 7:17, 8:18, 10:2 (J); Ex 7:5, 14:4, 14:18 (P); 1 K 20:13, 20:28, Je 24:7, Ez 6:7 + 48 t. Ez; (b) with ~kyhla Ex 6:7, 16:12, Dt 29:5 (P) Ex 20:20, Jo 4:17; (g) with ~hyhla Ex 29:46, (P) Ez 28:26, 34:30, 39:22, 39:28, (d) before relative and other clauses Is 45:3, 49:23, 49:26, 60:16, Ez 7:9, 17:24, 21:10, 22:22, 35:12, 36:36; (e) with various forms of vdq Ex 31:13 (P) Ez 20:12, 37:28, 39:7; (z) with ytrbd Ez 5:13, 17:21, cf. Œy yna rva W[d>yE Ez 20:26. c. after yKi in various combinations Lv 11:44, 11:45, Nu 35:34 (P), Lv 20:7, 20:26, 21:8, 21:15, 21:23, 22:16, 24:22, 25:17, 26:1, 26:44 (all H); Ex 15:26 (R) Is 41:13, 43:3, 61:8, Je 9:23, Ez 12:25, 21:4, Zc 10:6, Mal 3:6. d. emphatic Ex 6:8, 12:12, Lv 26:2, 26:45, Nu 3:13, 3:41, 3:45 (all P); Lv 18:5, 18:6, 18:21, 19:12, 19:14, 19:16, 19:18, 19:28, 19:30, 19:32, 19:37, 21:12, 22:2, 22:3, 22:8, 22:30, 22:31, 22:33 (all H) Is 43:15; with ~hyhla Ex 29:46; with ^yhla Is 48:17; with ~kyhla Lv 23:43, 25:38, 25:55, Nu 10:10, 15:41, 15:41 (P) Lv 18:2, 18:4, 18:30, 19:2, 19:3, 19:4, 19:10, 19:25, 19:31, 19:34, 19:36, 20:24, 23:22, 26:13 (all H) Ez 20:7, 20:19, Jo 2:27; with vDeq;m. Lv 20:8, 22:9, 22:32 (H), with yhrbd Nu 14:35 (P) Ez 5:15 + (11 t. Ez); with clauses Is 27:3, 41:4, 41:17, 42:6, 42:8, 45:5, 45:6, 45:7, 45:8, 45:18, 45:19, 45:21, 60:22, Je 17:10, 32:27, Ez 14:4, 14:7, 14:9, 34:24; † hwhy ykinOa' is used in the Ten Words Ex 20:2, 20:5 = Dt 5:6, 5:9 cited Psalm 81:11, Ho 12:10, 13:4; elsewhere only Ex 4:11 (J) Is 43:11, 44:24, 51:15. 3. hwhy is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh ~wlv hwhy Gn 22:14 (J); y~n hwhy Ex 17:15 (E) ~ylv hwhy Ju 6:24 wnqdc hwhy Je 33:16 (cf. 23:6 where it is applied to the Messiah); hM'v+" hwhy Ez 48:35.—On combinations such as Œy rh;, tAab'c. Œy etc., v. rh;, ab'c', etc. p. 249, 838
Note.—Bonk:ZAW 1891, 126 ff. seems to shew that as prefix, in comp. n.pr., Ahy> is the oldest and the latest form and that Ay is intermediate, belonging to the earlier post-exilic period until the time of Chr; occasional copyists’ mistakes being taken into the account.