Yahweh is the Jewish god. Jesus tells us this in John 8:44
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
And again in Luke 11:11 speaking to the hebrews. YHWH gave them stones and snakes.
“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?”
But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.
Thank you so much for engaging so thoughtfully with my post—I appreciate your comment.
Please allow me to clarify a couple things regarding the names and identity of Yeshua (Jesus) and YHWH.
After years of studying this topic, I am a trinitarian--so I believe in the monotheistic concept of the Triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
With that said, I freely admit the Trinity is a mystery and a contradiction, because the triune YHWH is 'echad.' I assume you're familiar with the Hebrew Shema prayer of Dt 6:4, which says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." For those who aren't familiar with the Shema, the word 'one' in Dt 6:4 is echad. The late Dr. Michael Heiser, a trinitarian, explained how the Father and Son are 'echad' in his article entitled "Two Powers in Heaven."
Interestingly, until the Second Century AD, this concept agreed with rabbinical Jewish theology.
Here's an excerpt from Heiser's article:
"Twenty-five years ago, rabbinical scholar Alan Segal produced what is still the major work on the idea of two powers in heaven in Jewish thought. Segal argued that the two powers idea was not deemed heretical in Jewish theology until the second century C.E. ..."
"The ancient Israelite knew two Yahwehs—one invisible, a spirit, the other visible, often in human form. The two Yahwehs at times appear together in the text, at times being distinguished, at other times not.
Early Judaism understood this portrayal and its rationale. There was no sense of a violation of monotheism since either figure was indeed Yahweh. There was no second distinct god running the affairs of the cosmos. During the Second Temple period, Jewish theologians and writers speculated on an identity for the second Yahweh. Guesses ranged from divinized humans from the stories of the Hebrew Bible to exalted angels. These speculations were not considered unorthodox. That acceptance changed when certain Jews, the early Christians, connected Jesus with this orthodox Jewish idea. This explains why these Jews, the first converts to following Jesus the Christ, could simultaneously worship the God of Israel and Jesus, and yet refuse to acknowledge any other god. Jesus was the incarnate second Yahweh. In response, as Segal’s work demonstrated, Judaism pronounced the two powers teaching a heresy sometime in the second century A.D."
Between the times of Moses and Malachi, Jewish believers obeyed God by speaking His name in their prayers and blessings, etc. But, sometime afterward, in direct contradiction to many commands to speak His name, Jewish rabbis forbade people to speak (or write) God's name. Instead, they substituted words like "ha shem," which means 'the name,' or "adonai," which means 'lord.' Today, their religiosity has gone so far as to forbid writing the word 'God.' Instead, they write the word as 'G-d.'
Every time our English Bible translations of the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible/Old Testament use the word “LORD” in all caps, the word should have been translated "YHWH" (commonly pronounced Yahweh, or Yahovah). But the translators ignorantly (or fearfully) submitted to the rabbinical prohibition.
The Hebrew word "YHWH" doesn't appear anywhere in the Greek New Testament (NT). However, many NT verses directly quote Tanakh verses, substituting the Greek word "kurios," or Lord, for the Hebrew YHWH. Here are some examples:
- Lk 4:18 quoting Isaiah 61:1
- Acts 2:17-21 quoting Joel 2:28-32
- Acts 3:22-23 quoting Dt 18:15
- Rom 10:13 quoting Joel 2:32
You mentioned John 8:44 and Luke 11:11. In these passages Jesus used metaphor and contrast to teach spiritual truths. In John, He was confronting people who rejected Him--not identifying His Father with the devil. And in Luke, He was showing that God—unlike flawed human parents—gives truly good gifts, not stones or serpents. These are rhetorical devices, not redefinitions of God's identity.
As a man, Yeshua temporarily 'laid aside' His divinity. Heb 2:7 says, "You made him for a little while lower than the angels." So, as a man, when Yeshua prayed to the Father, He prayed to YHWH. That connection runs deep and is affirmed throughout Scripture.
Excellent!
Thanks Justine. I hope you and Pat are doing well.
Yahweh is the Jewish god. Jesus tells us this in John 8:44
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
And again in Luke 11:11 speaking to the hebrews. YHWH gave them stones and snakes.
“If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?”
Yeshua’s (Jesus) Father is my father. Not YHWH.
2 Corinthians 3:14
But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.
Hi Te,
Thank you so much for engaging so thoughtfully with my post—I appreciate your comment.
Please allow me to clarify a couple things regarding the names and identity of Yeshua (Jesus) and YHWH.
After years of studying this topic, I am a trinitarian--so I believe in the monotheistic concept of the Triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
With that said, I freely admit the Trinity is a mystery and a contradiction, because the triune YHWH is 'echad.' I assume you're familiar with the Hebrew Shema prayer of Dt 6:4, which says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." For those who aren't familiar with the Shema, the word 'one' in Dt 6:4 is echad. The late Dr. Michael Heiser, a trinitarian, explained how the Father and Son are 'echad' in his article entitled "Two Powers in Heaven."
Interestingly, until the Second Century AD, this concept agreed with rabbinical Jewish theology.
Here's an excerpt from Heiser's article:
"Twenty-five years ago, rabbinical scholar Alan Segal produced what is still the major work on the idea of two powers in heaven in Jewish thought. Segal argued that the two powers idea was not deemed heretical in Jewish theology until the second century C.E. ..."
"The ancient Israelite knew two Yahwehs—one invisible, a spirit, the other visible, often in human form. The two Yahwehs at times appear together in the text, at times being distinguished, at other times not.
Early Judaism understood this portrayal and its rationale. There was no sense of a violation of monotheism since either figure was indeed Yahweh. There was no second distinct god running the affairs of the cosmos. During the Second Temple period, Jewish theologians and writers speculated on an identity for the second Yahweh. Guesses ranged from divinized humans from the stories of the Hebrew Bible to exalted angels. These speculations were not considered unorthodox. That acceptance changed when certain Jews, the early Christians, connected Jesus with this orthodox Jewish idea. This explains why these Jews, the first converts to following Jesus the Christ, could simultaneously worship the God of Israel and Jesus, and yet refuse to acknowledge any other god. Jesus was the incarnate second Yahweh. In response, as Segal’s work demonstrated, Judaism pronounced the two powers teaching a heresy sometime in the second century A.D."
Quoted from "Two Powers in Heaven" at https://twopowersinheaven.com
Here's Heiser's video presentation on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTSRmeCYuxY
THE RABBIS STILL PROHIBIT GOD'S NAME
Between the times of Moses and Malachi, Jewish believers obeyed God by speaking His name in their prayers and blessings, etc. But, sometime afterward, in direct contradiction to many commands to speak His name, Jewish rabbis forbade people to speak (or write) God's name. Instead, they substituted words like "ha shem," which means 'the name,' or "adonai," which means 'lord.' Today, their religiosity has gone so far as to forbid writing the word 'God.' Instead, they write the word as 'G-d.'
Every time our English Bible translations of the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible/Old Testament use the word “LORD” in all caps, the word should have been translated "YHWH" (commonly pronounced Yahweh, or Yahovah). But the translators ignorantly (or fearfully) submitted to the rabbinical prohibition.
The Hebrew word "YHWH" doesn't appear anywhere in the Greek New Testament (NT). However, many NT verses directly quote Tanakh verses, substituting the Greek word "kurios," or Lord, for the Hebrew YHWH. Here are some examples:
- Lk 4:18 quoting Isaiah 61:1
- Acts 2:17-21 quoting Joel 2:28-32
- Acts 3:22-23 quoting Dt 18:15
- Rom 10:13 quoting Joel 2:32
You mentioned John 8:44 and Luke 11:11. In these passages Jesus used metaphor and contrast to teach spiritual truths. In John, He was confronting people who rejected Him--not identifying His Father with the devil. And in Luke, He was showing that God—unlike flawed human parents—gives truly good gifts, not stones or serpents. These are rhetorical devices, not redefinitions of God's identity.
As a man, Yeshua temporarily 'laid aside' His divinity. Heb 2:7 says, "You made him for a little while lower than the angels." So, as a man, when Yeshua prayed to the Father, He prayed to YHWH. That connection runs deep and is affirmed throughout Scripture.
Finally, here's an article I wrote in 2017 about "How and Why to Say God's Name." https://standinfaith.org/how-and-why-to-say-gods-name
Again, I really value your thoughts and hope this adds clarity. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to dig into the Word together.
Blessings,
Tom