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 Lamentations — 32 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.
Lamentations
- Lamentations 1:5 יְהוָ֥ה n Proper Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies prosper; For Yahweh has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: Her young children are gone into captivity before the adversary.
- Lamentations 1:9 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Her filthiness was in her skirts; she didn't remember her latter end; Therefore is she come down wonderfully; she has no comforter: See, Yahweh, my affliction; for the enemy has magnified himself.
- Lamentations 1:11 יְהוָה֙ n Proper All her people sigh, they seek bread; They have given their pleasant things for food to refresh the soul: Look, Yahweh, and see; for I am become abject.
- Lamentations 1:12 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look, and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow, which is brought on me, With which Yahweh has afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.
- Lamentations 1:17 יְהוָ֛ה n Proper Zion spreads forth her hands; there is none to comfort her; Yahweh has commanded concerning Jacob, that those who are round about him should be his adversaries: Jerusalem is among them as an unclean thing.
- Lamentations 1:18 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper Yahweh is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: Please hear all you peoples, and see my sorrow: My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
- Lamentations 1:20 יְהוָ֤ה n Proper See, Yahweh; for I am in distress; my heart is troubled; My heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: Abroad the sword bereaves, at home there is as death.
- Lamentations 2:6 יְהוָ֤ה n Proper He has violently taken away his tent, as if it were of a garden; he has destroyed his place of assembly: Yahweh has caused solemn assembly and Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, Has despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
- Lamentations 2:7 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper The Lord has cast off his altar, he has abhorred his sanctuary; He has given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces: They have made a noise in the house of Yahweh, as in the day of a solemn assembly.
- Lamentations 2:8 יְהוָ֤ה n Proper Yahweh has purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; He has stretched out the line, he has not withdrawn his hand from destroying; He has made the rampart and wall to lament; they languish together.
- Lamentations 2:9 מֵ/יְהוָֽה prep + n Proper Her gates are sunk into the ground; he has destroyed and broken her bars: Her king and her princes are among the nations where the law is not; Yes, her prophets find no vision from Yahweh.
- Lamentations 2:17 יְהוָ֜ה n Proper Yahweh has done that which he purposed; he has fulfilled his word that he commanded in the days of old; He has thrown down, and has not pitied: He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; he has exalted the horn of your adversaries.
- Lamentations 2:20 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Look, Yahweh, and see to whom you have done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
- Lamentations 2:22 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper You have called, as in the day of a solemn assembly, my terrors on every side; There was none that escaped or remained in the day of Yahweh's anger: Those that I have dandled and brought up has my enemy consumed.
- Lamentations 3:18 מֵ/יְהוָֽה prep + n Proper I said, My strength is perished, and my expectation from Yahweh.
- Lamentations 3:22 יְהוָה֙ n Proper [It is of] Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn't fail.
- Lamentations 3:24 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Yahweh is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
- Lamentations 3:25 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
- Lamentations 3:26 יְהוָֽה n Proper It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.
- Lamentations 3:40 יְהוָֽה n Proper Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Yahweh.
- Lamentations 3:50 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper Until Yahweh look down, and see from heaven.
- Lamentations 3:55 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper I called on your name, Yahweh, out of the lowest dungeon.
- Lamentations 3:59 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Yahweh, you have seen my wrong; judge you my cause.
- Lamentations 3:61 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper You have heard their reproach, Yahweh, and all their devices against me,
- Lamentations 3:64 יְהוָ֖ה n Proper You will render to them a recompense, Yahweh, according to the work of their hands.
- Lamentations 3:66 יְהוָֽה n Proper You will pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Yahweh.
- Lamentations 4:11 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Yahweh has accomplished his wrath, he has poured out his fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, which has devoured the foundations of it.
- Lamentations 4:16 יְהוָה֙ n Proper The anger of Yahweh has scattered them; he will no more regard them: They didn't respect the persons of the priests, they didn't favor the elders.
- Lamentations 4:20 יְהוָ֔ה n Proper The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Yahweh, was taken in their pits; Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.
- Lamentations 5:1 יְהוָה֙ n Proper Remember, Yahweh, what has come on us: Look, and see our reproach.
- Lamentations 5:19 יְהוָה֙ n Proper You, Yahweh, abide forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.
- Lamentations 5:21 יְהוָ֤ה n Proper Turn you us to you, Yahweh, and we shall be turned; Renew our days as of old.
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.
