יהוה
LORD
‘LORD’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H3068 appears in the Book of Hosea — 39 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Hosea
- Hosea 1:1 יְהוָ֣ה n Proper The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
- Hosea 1:2 יְהוָ֖ה יְהוָ֜ה יְהוָֽה n Proper n Proper n Proper When Yahweh spoke at the first by Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, "Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and children of unfaithfulness; for the land commits great adultery against from Yahweh."
- Hosea 1:4 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Yahweh said to him, "Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.
- Hosea 1:7 בַּ/יהוָ֣ה prep + n Proper But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen."
- Hosea 2:13 יְהוָֽה n Proper I will visit on her the days of the Baals, To which she burned incense, When she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, And went after her lovers, And forgot me," says Yahweh.
- Hosea 2:16 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper It will be in that day," says Yahweh, "That you will call me 'my husband,' And no longer call me 'my master.'
- Hosea 2:20 יְהוָֽה n Proper I will even betroth you to me in faithfulness; And you shall know Yahweh.
- Hosea 2:21 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper It will happen in that day, I will respond," says Yahweh, I will respond to the heavens, And they will respond to the earth;
- Hosea 3:1 יְהוָ֜ה יְהוָה֙ n Proper n Proper Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins."
- Hosea 3:5 יְהוָ֣ה יְהוָ֛ה n Proper n Proper Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to Yahweh and to his blessings in the last days.
- Hosea 4:1 יְהוָ֖ה לַֽ/יהוָה֙ n Proper prep + n Proper Hear the word of Yahweh, you children of Israel; For Yahweh has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "Indeed there is no truth, Nor goodness, Nor knowledge of God in the land.
- Hosea 4:10 יְהוָ֥ה n Proper They will eat, and not have enough. They will play the prostitute, and will not increase; Because they have abandoned giving to Yahweh.
- Hosea 4:15 יְהוָֽה n Proper "Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Yet don't let Judah offend; And don't come to Gilgal, Neither go up to Beth Aven, Nor swear, 'As Yahweh lives.'
- Hosea 4:16 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper For Israel has behaved extremely stubbornly, like a stubborn heifer. Then how will Yahweh feed them like a lamb in a meadow.
- Hosea 5:4 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper Their deeds won't allow them to turn to their God; For the spirit of prostitution is within them, And they don't know Yahweh.
- Hosea 5:6 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; But they won't find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.
- Hosea 5:7 בַּ/יהוָ֣ה prep + n Proper They are unfaithful to Yahweh; For they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
- Hosea 6:1 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper "Come, and let us return to Yahweh; For he has torn us to pieces, And he will heal us; He has injured us, And he will bind up our wounds.
- Hosea 6:3 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain that waters the earth."
- Hosea 7:10 יְהוָ֣ה n Proper The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Yet they haven't returned to Yahweh their God, Nor sought him, for all this.
- Hosea 8:1 יְהוָ֑ה n Proper "Put the trumpet to your lips! Something like an eagle is over Yahweh's house, Because they have broken my covenant, And rebelled against my law.
- Hosea 8:13 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper As for the sacrifices of my offerings, they sacrifice flesh and eat it; But Yahweh doesn't accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, And punish their sins. They will return to Egypt.
- Hosea 9:3 יְהוָ֑ה n Proper They won't dwell in Yahweh's land; But Ephraim will return to Egypt, And they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
- Hosea 9:4 לַ/יהוָ֥ה יְהוָֽה prep + n Proper n Proper They won't pour out wine offerings to Yahweh, Neither will they be pleasing to him. Their sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners; All who eat of it will be polluted; For their bread will be for their appetite. It will not come into the house of Yahweh.
- Hosea 9:5 יְהוָֽה n Proper What will you do in the day of solemn assembly, And in the day of the feast of Yahweh?
- Hosea 9:14 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper Give them--Yahweh what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.
- Hosea 10:3 יְהֹוָ֔ה n Proper Surely now they will say, "We have no king; for we don't fear Yahweh; And the king, what can he do for us?"
- Hosea 10:12 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to kindness. Break up your fallow ground; For it is time to seek Yahweh, Until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
- Hosea 11:10 יְהוָ֛ה n Proper They will walk after Yahweh, Who will roar like a lion; For he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west.
- Hosea 11:11 יְהוָֽה n Proper They will come trembling like a bird out of Egypt, And like a dove out of the land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses," says Yahweh.
- Hosea 12:2 לַֽ/יהוָ֖ה prep + n Proper Yahweh also has a controversy with Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his deeds he will repay him.
- Hosea 12:5 וַֽ/יהוָ֖ה יְהוָ֖ה conj + n Proper n Proper Even Yahweh, the God of hosts; Yahweh is his name of renown!
- Hosea 12:9 יְהוָ֥ה n Proper "But I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt. I will yet again make you to dwell in tents, As in the days of the solemn feast.
- Hosea 12:13 יְהוָ֛ה n Proper By a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up out of Egypt, And by a prophet he was preserved.
- Hosea 13:4 יְהוָ֥ה n Proper "Yet I am Yahweh your God from the land of Egypt; And you will know no god but me, And besides me there is no savior.
- Hosea 13:15 יְהוָ֜ה n Proper Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, The breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; And his spring will become dry, And his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
- Hosea 14:1 יְהוָ֣ה n Proper Israel, return to Yahweh your God; For you have fallen because of your sin.
- Hosea 14:2 יְהוָ֑ה n Proper Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, "Forgive all our sins, And accept that which is good: So we offer like bulls our lips.
- Hosea 14:9 יְהוָ֗ה n Proper Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of Yahweh are right, And the righteous walk in them; But the rebellious stumble in them.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
יהוה (Yᵉhôvâh) is a Hebrew name most often rendered “LORD.” Scripture first uses it in Genesis 2:4. Spanning 5,518 verses in 36 books, it ranks among the most common words of the Hebrew Bible. The sections below give every occurrence and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3068 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 5,518
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 5,518 distinct verses.
- 36 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 36 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #2
- by frequency
- Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 2 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 5,518 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Psalms 624 verses 11%
- Jeremiah 614 verses 11%
- Deuteronomy 438 verses 8%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 5,518 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 2,686 verses · 49%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1,550 verses · 28%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1,282 verses · 23%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Lord 5,517×, I am the lord 145×, Lord's 73×
- American Standard Version†: Jehovah 5,068×, Saith jehovah 131×, I am jehovah 115×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Lord 5,806×, Am the lord 156×, Lord’s 110×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Yahweh 5,807×, Yahweh of 117×, Am yahweh 82×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3068 across 6,518† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 231 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3068 across 6,514† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 398 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3068 across 6,460† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 49 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 62 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3068 across 6,226† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 35 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
17 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 17 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
יהוה I 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel
- I. יהוה 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: אֶהְיֶה עִמָּ֑ךְ I shall be with thee (v 12), which is then implied in אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה I shall be the one who will be it v 14a (i.e. with thee v 12) and then compressed into אֶהְיֶה v 14b (i.e. with thee v 12), which then is given in the nominal form יהוה He who will be it v 15 (i.e. with thee v 12). Cf. EwBTh ii. 337, 338 RSl. c., Proph. 385 ff. Other interpretations are: I am he who I am, i.e. it is no concern of yours (Le Clerc LagPsalt. Hieron. 156); I am, (this is my name), inasmuch as I am (אֲשֶׁר = כִּי; AE JDMich WeJD Th xxi, 540 = Comp. Hex. 72); Di al. I am who I am, he who is essentially unnameable, inexplicable.—E uses יהוה sparingly by the side of אלהים and האלהים in his subsequent narrative. The Ephraimitic writers in Ju S K use it in similar proportions. P abstains from the use of יהוה 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 אֵל שַׁדַּי was the God of the patriarchs. J uses יהוה from the beginning of his narrative, possibly explaining it, Gn 21:33 by אל עולם, the evergreen tamarisk being a symbol of the ever-living God; cf. De Gn 21:33. Elsewhere יהוה is the common divine name in pre-exilic writers, but in post-exilic writers gradually falls into disuse, and is supplanted by אלהים and אדני. In Job it is used 31 times in prose parts, and 12:9 (a proverb); not elsewhere in the poem. Chr apart from his sources prefers אלהים and האלהים. Dn uses יהוה only in chap. 9 (7 times); Ec not at all. In the Elohistic group of ψ 42–83 it is used 39 times (see אלהים). 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 DlPa 158 ff. DrStud. Bib. i. 7 ff. e.g. Exodus 3:12
- II.
- 1. יהוה is used with אלהים with or without suffs., especially in D;
- a. with אֱלֹהֶיךָ in the Ten Words Ex 20:2–12 (5 times) = Dt 5:6–16; in the law of worship of JE, Ex 23:19; 34:24, 26; in D 234 times; Jos 1:9, 17; 9:9, 24 (D2); elsewhere Gn 27:20 Ex 15:26 (JE), Ju 6:26; S & K 20 times 1 Ch 11:2; 22:11, 12 2 Ch 9:8(×2); 16:7; Is 7:11; 37:4(×2); 41:13; 43:3; 51:15; 55:5; Je 40:2 + (3 times) Ho 12:10; 13:4; 14:2; Am 9:15; ψ 81:11. e.g. Exodus 20:12
- b. with אֱלֹהֵיכֶם in D 46 times; D2 28 times; H 15 times; P 15 times; elsewhere Ex 23:25 (E); 8:24; 10:8, 16, 17 (JE); Ju 6:10; 1 S 12:12, 14; 2 K 17:39; 23:21; 1 Ch 22:18 + (10 times Chr) ψ 76:12; Je 13:16; + (5 times) Ez 20:5, 7, 19, 20; Jo 2:13 + (6 times) Zc 6:15. e.g. Exodus 23:25
- c. with אֱלֹהֵינוּ in D 23 times; in D2 5 times; Ex 8:6 (JE) Ex 3:18; 5:3; 8:22, 23; 10:25, 26 (E) Ju 11:24; 1 S 7:8; 1 K 8:57, 59, 61, 65 2 K 18:22; 19:19 = Is 36:7; 37:20, 1 Ch 13:2 + (15 times Chr) Mi 4:5; 7:17; Is 26:13; Je 3:22 + (17 times) ψ 20:8; 90:17 (?; Baer אֲדֹנָי) 94:23; 99:5, 8, 9(×2); 105:7; 106:47; 113:5; 122:9; 123:2 Dn 9:10, 13, 14. e.g. Exodus 8:6
- d. c. אֱלֹהֵיהֶם Ex 10:7 (J) Ex 29:46(×2) Lv 26:44 (P) Ju 3:7; 8:34; 1 S 12:9; 1 K 9:9; 2 K 17:7, 9, 14, 16, 19; 18:12 2 Ch 31:6; 33:17; 34:33; Ne 9:3(×2), 4; Je 3:21; 22:9; 30:9; 43:1(×2) 50:4; Ez 28:26; 34:30; 39:22, 28 Ho 1:7; 3:5; 7:10; Zp 2:7; Hag 1:12(×2) Zc 9:16; 10:6. e.g. Exodus 10:7
- e. with אֱלֹהָיו 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, 4; 2 K 5:11; 16:2; 2 Ch 1:1; + 13 times Chr; Mi 5:3; Je 7:28; ψ 33:12; 144:15; 146:5; Jon 2:2. e.g. Numbers 23:21
- f. with אֱלֹהַי Nu 22:18 (JE) Dt 4:5; 18:16; 26:14; Jos 14:8, 9; 2 S 24:24; 1 K 3:7; 5:18, 19; 8:28; 17:20, 21; 1 Ch 21:17; 22:7; 2 Ch 2:3; 6:19; Ezr 7:28; 9:5; ψ 7:2, 4; 13:4; 18:29; 30:3, 13; 35:24; 40:6; 104:1; 109:26; Is 25:1; Je 31:18; Dn 9:4, 20; Jon 2:7; Hab 1:12; Zc 11:4; 13:9; 14:5. e.g. Numbers 22:18
- g. with אֱלֹהַיִךְ Is 60:9 Je 2:17, 19; 3:13; Mi 7:10; Zp 3:17. e.g. Isaiah 60:9
- h. with אלהים, probably always due to later editors, or to a Qr which has crept into the text Gn 2:4b—3:23 (J, 20 times either אלהים inserted by RP as Di De; or יהוה inserted by J in an older source); Ex 9:30 (J, but not in 𝔊 Sam.; Sam. אדני יהוה; possibly MT from earlier Qr, & Sam. from later Qr); 2 S 7:22, 25 (𝔊 אדני יהוה and 1 Ch 17:20–23 only יהוה); 1 Ch 17:16, 17 (but 2 S 7:18, 19 אדני יהוה) 1 Ch 28:20; 29:1; 2 Ch 1:9; 6:41(×2), 42; 26:18 (but in the original ψ 132:8 stood יהוה (so ℌ), or else no divine name); ψ 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. e.g. Exodus 9:30
- 2. the phrase †אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy:—
- a. after אמר either alone Ex 6:2, 29 (P) or before relative and other clauses: Gn 28:13 (J) 15:7 (R) Ex 6:6 (P) with אלהיכם Ju 6:10; Ez 20:5. e.g. Exodus 6:2
- b. after ידע כי (α) Ex 7:17; 8:18; 10:2 (J); Ex 7:5; 14:4, 18 (P); 1 K 20:13, 28; Je 24:7 Ez 6:7 + 4:8 times Ez; (β) with אלהיכם Ex 6:7; 16:12; Dt 29:5 (P) Ez 20:20; Jo 4:17; (γ) with אלהיהם Ex 29:46 (P) Ez 28:26; 34:30; 39:22, 28; (δ) before relative and other clauses Is 45:3; 49:23, 26; 60:16 Ez 7:9; 17:24; 21:10; 22:22; 35:12; 36:36; (ε) with various forms of קדשׁ Ex 31:13 (P) Ez 20:12; 37:28; 39:7; (ζ) with דברתי Ez 5:13; 17:21, cf. יֵדְעוּ אשׁר אני י׳ Ez 20:26. e.g. Exodus 7:17
- c. after כִּי in various combinations Lv 11:44, 45; Nu 35:34 (P), Lv 20:7, 26; 21:8, 15, 23; 22:16; 24:22; 25:17; 26:1, 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. e.g. Leviticus 11:44
- d. emphatic Ex 6:8; 12:12 Lv 26:2, 45; Nu 3:13, 41, 45 (all P); Lv 18:5, 6, 21; 19:12, 14, 16, 18, 28, 30, 32, 37; 21:12; 22:2, 3, 8, 30, 31, 33 (all H) Is 43:15; with אלהיהם Ex 29:46; with אלהיךָ Is 48:17; with אלהיכם Lv 23:43; 25:38, 55; Nu 10:10; 15:41(×2) (P) Lv 18:2, 4, 30; 19:2, 3, 4, 10, 25, 31, 34, 36; 20:24; 23:22; 26:13 (all H) Ez 20:7, 19 Jo 2:27; with מְקַדֵּשׁ Lv 20:8; 22:9, 32 (H), with דברתי Nu 14:35 (P) Ez 5:15 + (11 times Ez); with clauses Is 27:3; 41:4, 17; 42:6, 8; 45:5, 6, 7, 8, 18, 19, 21; 60:22 Je 17:10; 32:27; Ez 14:4, 7, 9; 34:24; †אָנֹכִי יהוה is used in the Ten Words Ex 20:2, 5 = Dt 5:6, 9 cited ψ 81:11 Ho 12:10; 13:4; elsewhere only Ex 4:11 (J) Is 43:11; 44:24; 51:15. e.g. Exodus 6:8
- 3. יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh יהוה יראה Gn 22:14 (J); יהוה נסי Ex 17:15 (E) יהוה שׁלום Ju 6:24 יהוה צדקנו Je 33:16 (cf. 23:6 where it is applied to the Messiah); יהוה שָׁ֑מָּה Ez 48:35.—On combinations such as הַר י׳, י׳ צְבָאוֹת etc., v. הַר, צָבָא, etc. e.g. Genesis 22:14
- 1. יהוה is used with אלהים with or without suffs., especially in D;
- —BonkZAW 1891, 126 ff. seems to shew that as prefix, in comp. n.pr., יְהוֹ is the oldest and the latest form and that יוֹ is intermediate, belonging to the earlier post-exilic period until the time of Chr; occasional copyists’ mistakes being taken into the account.
יהוה II dei, v. sub הוה p. 217 ff.
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהוָֹה6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהוִֹה305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים), in the combinations אדני יהוה & יהוה אדני (vid. אֲדֹנָי), and with prep. בַּיהוָֹה, לַיהוָֹה, מֵיהוָֹה (Qr בַּאדֹנָי, לַאדֹנָי, מֵאדֹנָי), do not give the original form. 𝔊 and other Vrss follow the Qr. On the basis of Ex 20:7; Lv 24:11 יהוה was regarded as a nomen ineffabile (vid. Philo de Vita Mosis iii, 519, 529), called by the Jews הַשֵּׁם and by the Samaritans שׁימא. 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 Ἰαβέ of Theodoret and Epiphanius, the ־יָהוּ, יְהוֹ־ of compound n.pr. and the contracted form יָהּ, all favour יַהְוֶה (cf. יַהֲלֹמ֑וּן ψ 74:6; תַּהֲרוּ Is 33:11), v. LagSym. i. 14 BaudissinStudien i. 179 ff.; DrStud. Bib. i. 1 ff. For Jeve v. StaZAW 1881, 346 De ib. 1882, 173 f. & Gn. Excurs. ii. 2. on liter. of interpret. v. NesEg 67 Drl.c..—Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver (cf. הַוָּה 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 NesEg. 91 inclines to Qal as RSBrit. & For. Ev. Rev. v. infr.); or from הוה he who causes to fall, rain or lightning RSOTJC ed. 1, 423; om. ed. 2, 245, cf. WeSkizzen iii. 175; ‘Fäller,’ destroying foes, StaG. i. 429 (dubiously). But most take it as Qal of היה (= היה); 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 RSBrit. & For. Ev. Rev. 1876, he will be it, i.e. all that his servants look for (cf. Ewinfr.), he will approve himself (give evidence of being, assert his being Drl. c. 17)). theories of non-Heb. or non-Sem. origin. opposed (in their older forms) by BauRel i. 181 ff. (v. especially 230); DlPa 162 ff. claimed Bab. origin for יהו, against this KueNational religions, etc., Note iv (Eng. Trans. 329 ff.) JastrJBL xiii (1894), 103 f. cf. HptBAS i. 170 N; Dl Babel u. Bibel, 46 f., 73 f. makes same claim for יהוה, agst. this v. especially HirschZAW xxiii (1903), 355 ff. ZimKAT 3, 465 ff.; SpiegelbergZMG liii (1899), 633 ff. proposes (improb.) Egyptian etymol. for יהוה; further discussions see in KöEB Names, § 112 and n. 3. ‘Jehovah’ found in Jacob (? Johann.) Wessel († 1480), according to SchwallyThLZ, 1905, col. 612.
II. n.pr.dei, v. sub הוה p. 217 ff.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from היה (hâyâh) (H1961) — to be.
Forms in the corpus
The 179 distinct written forms H3068 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 5:4 | 870 |
| יְהוָ֔ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 1:3 | 731 |
| יְהוָֽה | Noun, Proper | Amos 1:5 | 598 |
| יְהוָה֙ | Noun, Proper | Amos 1:2 | 568 |
| יְהוָ֑ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 3:10 | 552 |
| יְהוָ֣ה | Noun, Proper | Daniel 9:10 | 484 |
| יְהוָ֥ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 4:13 | 358 |
| יְהוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 2:4 | 289 |
| יְהוָ֛ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 3:1 | 252 |
| יְהוָ֤ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:30 | 180 |
| יְהוָ֜ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 5:16 | 172 |
| יְ֭הוָה | Noun, Proper | Proverbs 1:7 | 139 |
| יְהוָ֨ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 2:7 | 112 |
| לַ/יהוָֽה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 8:8 | 73 |
| יְהוָ֧ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 5:14 | 69 |
| יְ֝הוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Proverbs 3:7 | 67 |
| לַ/יהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 7:6 | 66 |
| לַֽ/יהוָ֔ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 12:42 | 61 |
| לַ/יהוָ֑ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 16:25 | 59 |
| יְהוָה֮ | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 9:26 | 50 |
| לַ/יהוָ֣ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 5:14 | 42 |
| לַֽ/יהוָה֙ | Noun, Proper | Exodus 15:21 | 39 |
| לַֽ/יהוָ֑ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 12:14 | 32 |
| לַֽ/יהוָֽה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 12:11 | 32 |
| יְֽהוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Proverbs 3:19 | 28 |
| לַֽ/יהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 14:1 | 27 |
| יְהוָ֞ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:11 | 25 |
| לַ/יהוָ֔ה | Noun, Proper | Ezra 8:28 | 24 |
| יְהוָה֒ | Noun, Proper | Amos 3:12 | 23 |
| יְהוָ֡ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 6:22 | 20 |
| בַּֽ/יהוָ֔ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 33:29 | 18 |
| לַ/יהוָ֥ה | Noun, Proper | Daniel 9:4 | 17 |
| יְ֠הוָה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:8 | 14 |
| וַֽ/יהוָה֙ | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 17:16 | 13 |
| וַ/יהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Amos 3:6 | 12 |
| וַֽ/יהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 32:30 | 12 |
| יְהוָ֕ה | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 17:19 | 12 |
| יְהוָה֩ | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 9:4 | 12 |
| בַּ/יהוָ֑ה | Noun, Proper | 2 Chronicles 28:22 | 10 |
| יְהֹוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 32:9 | 9 |
| לַ/יהוָה֙ | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 16:34 | 9 |
| לַ֭/יהוָה | Noun, Proper | Psalms 9:11 | 9 |
| בַּ/יהוָ֣ה | Noun, Proper | Habakkuk 3:18 | 8 |
| בַּ/יהוָֽה | Noun, Proper | 2 Chronicles 12:2 | 8 |
| בַּֽ/יהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 10:14 | 8 |
| וַ/יהוָ֣ה | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 9:17 | 8 |
| לַֽ/יהוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 12:27 | 8 |
| לַֽ֭/יהוָה | Noun, Proper | Psalms 16:2 | 8 |
| יְה֘וָ֤ה | Noun, Proper | Psalms 80:19 | 7 |
| לַ/יהוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 22:5 | 7 |
| בַּ/יהוָ֖ה | Noun, Proper | Deuteronomy 1:32 | 6 |
| בַּֽ/יהוָ֑ה | Noun, Proper | 1 Samuel 2:1 | 6 |
| יְה֫וָ֥ה | Noun, Proper | Proverbs 30:9 | 6 |
| יְהֹוָ֑ה | Noun, Proper | Jeremiah 5:9 | 6 |
| יְהֹוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 14:8 | 6 |
| לַ֝/יהוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Psalms 29:1 | 6 |
| וַֽ/יהוָ֔ה | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 19:13 | 5 |
| וַֽ/יהוָ֗ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 9:23 | 5 |
| יְ֝הוָה | Noun, Proper | Job 12:9 | 5 |
| לַֽ/יהוָ֥ה | Noun, Proper | Exodus 3:18 | 5 |
The 60 most common forms are shown; 119 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3068, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- הושמע Hôwshâmâʻ H1953 Hoshama
- יה Yâhh H3050 Jah
- יהוא Yêhûwʼ H3058 Jehu
- יהואחז Yᵉhôwʼâchâz H3059 Jehoahaz
- יהואש Yᵉhôwʼâsh H3060 Jehoash
- יהוה Yᵉhôvih H3069 LORD
- יהוה יראה Yᵉhôvâh yirʼeh H3070 Jehovah-jireh
- יהוה נסי Yᵉhôvâh niççîy H3071 Jehovah-nissi
- יהוה צדקנו Yᵉhôvâh tsidqênûw H3072 a sacred name symbolically applied to
- יהוה שלום Yᵉhôvâh shâlôwm H3073 Jehovah-shalom
- יהוה שמה Yᵉhôvâh shâmmâh H3074 Jehovahshammah
- יהוזבד Yᵉhôwzâbâd H3075 Jehozabad
- יהוחנן Yᵉhôwchânân H3076 Jehohanan
- יהוידע Yᵉhôwyâdâʻ H3077 Jehoiada
- יהויכין Yᵉhôwyâkîyn H3078 Jehoiachin
- יהויקים Yᵉhôwyâqîym H3079 Jehoiakim
- יהויריב Yᵉhôwyârîyb H3080 Jehoiarib
- יהונדב Yᵉhôwnâdâb H3082 Jehonadab
- יהונתן Yᵉhôwnâthân H3083 Jonathan
- יהועדה Yᵉhôwʻaddâh H3085 Jehoadah
- יהועדין Yᵉhôwʻaddîyn H3086 Jehoaddan
- יהוצדק Yᵉhôwtsâdâq H3087 Jehozadak
- יהורם Yᵉhôwrâm H3088 Jehoram
- יהושבע Yᵉhôwshebaʻ H3089 Jehosheba
+12 more proper names from this root (not shown).
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 38 — not the complete family. 36 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (LORD). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered.
(1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The form "Jehovah" is retained only in Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; 26:4, both in the Authorized and the Revised Version.
(2.) Heb. adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It denotes a master, as of slaves (Gen. 24:14, 27), or a ruler of his subjects (45:8), or a husband, as lord of his wife (18:12).
The old plural form of this Hebrew word is 'adonai. From a superstitious reverence for the name "Jehovah," the Jews, in reading their Scriptures, whenever that name occurred, always pronounced it 'Adonai.
(3.) Greek kurios, a supreme master, etc. In the LXX. this is invariably used for "Jehovah" and "Adonai."
(4.) Heb. ba'al, a master, as having domination. This word is applied to human relations, as that of husband, to persons skilled in some art or profession, and to heathen deities. "The men of Shechem," literally "the baals of Shechem" (Judg. 9:2, 3). These were the Israelite inhabitants who had reduced the Canaanites to a condition of vassalage (Josh. 16:10; 17:13).
(5.) Heb. seren, applied exclusively to the "lords of the Philistines" (Judg. 3:3). The LXX. render it by satrapies. At this period the Philistines were not, as at a later period (1 Sam. 21:10), under a kingly government. (See Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 6:18.) There were five such lordships, viz., Gath, Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron.
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
[God]
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
Most of the 5,518 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:4
- Exodus 3:2
- Leviticus 1:1
- Numbers 1:1
- Deuteronomy 1:3
- Joshua 1:1
- Judges 1:1
- Ruth 1:6
- 1 Samuel 1:3
- 2 Samuel 1:12
- 1 Kings 1:17
- 2 Kings 1:3
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
