In “vain” is the Hebrew word “shav” and literally means “nothingness!”

O Yahweh, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.” Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know Mine
hand and My might; and they shall know that My Name is YHWH.
(Jeremiah 16:19-21)

For a quick look at how to pronounce the Name of YHWH click on this button:  

A PARTIAL LIST OF SCRIPTURE DRAWING ATTENTION TO THE NAME OF YAHWEH
HIS NAME: YHWH:
Psalm 83:18 And let them know that You, Whose Name is YHWH, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 68:4 Sing to Elohim, sing praises to His Name. Raise up a highway for Him Who rides through the deserts, By His Name Yah, And exult before Him.
Jeremiah 16:21 “Therefore see, I am causing them to know, this time I cause them to know My hand and My might. And they shall know that My Name is YHWH!”
Jeremiah 33:2 “Thus said YHWH who made it, YHWH who formed it to establish it, YHWH is His Name,
Isaiah 47:4 Our Redeemer, YHWH of hosts is His Name, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl.
Isaiah 51:15 “But I am YHWH your Elohim, stirring up the sea, and its waves roar. YHWH of hosts is His Name.

COMMON EXCUSES ANSWERED

If a person told you his name, would you argue with him about it? Would you tell him, "No, I don’t think so. I’ll call you something else instead"? Of course not, that would be absurd! You have no right to do such a thing and you would certainly not make him too pleased if you did.

Yet when it comes to the personal Name of the Father in Heaven, many believe that they have the prerogative to decide what they will call the One they worship. They will go to great lengths to avoid using the revealed Name of the Heavenly Father - YAHWEH. The most creative mental gymnastics are performed in an effort to justify the continued use of common titles over the personal Name Yahweh, which Scripture says is a Name above every name.

In an effort to quiet their consciences, some will argue, "He has many names." Many will rationalize, "He knows who I mean no matter what I call Him," while others will postulate, "His ‘name’ just means His authority." Anyone looking into this important matter from the Scriptures, however, soon discovers that Yahweh Himself rejects all of these arguments, as well as other common assumptions about His Name.

Examining the Scriptures above shows that the issue of Yahweh’s Name is of paramount importance to Him - just as your name is important to you. He thunders:
“I am YAHWEH, that is My Name, and My esteem I do not give to another, nor My praise to idols.” (Isaiah 42:8)

The Hebrew original of this passage contains the Tetragrammaton YHWH, or Yahweh.

Yahweh is resolute about His Name. He is adamant that His people call on Him by the only Name that ensures salvation. The New Covenant Book of Acts tells us:
“And there is no deliverance in anyone else, for there is no other Name under the heaven given among men by which we need to be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

He even wrote the Third Commandment specifically to address the neglect of His Name:
Deuteronomy 5:11 “You do not bring the Name of YHWH your Elohim to naught, for YHWH does not leave him unpunished who brings His Name to naught.”

The Hebrew behind that commandment says "bring to deso-lation and ruin," which is exactly what will happen if you substitute other names and titles for the one true Name.

Following are the most familiar arguments given to justify the use of substitute titles like "GOD" and "LORD" in place of the true Name Yahweh. We will examine each in light of the Bible to see whether they have any validity.

• HE HAS MANY NAMES
This is one of the most popular justifications advanced to avoid using the Name Yahweh. If He has many names then it is implied that no single name stands out as His one, special, personal Name. Or in other words, He has many names but no name. The problem with this argument is the failure to recognize that generic titles are not names.

Take "Mr. Sam Jones," for instance. "Mister" is not the name of "Sam Jones." Mister is only a title for him. Sam Jones cannot sign a document with only the word "Mister" and expect anyone to accept it as his authentic endorsement. One is a generic term that applies to any man, the other is his real name.

The same goes for the various descriptive titles for Yahweh that some erroneously think are names, like eloah ("mighty one"), el shaddai ("the all-powerful") and adon/adonai ("sovereign"). Others are confused by attributions that are sometimes used in connection with His Name, like Yahweh-Yireh ("Yahweh provides"), Yahweh-Zidkenu ("Yahweh our righteousness") and Yahweh-Rapha ("Yahweh our healer").

Regardless of certain titles and attributions, He still has only one Name - Yahweh. He inspired the prophet Isaiah in 42:8 to write:
“I am YAHWEH, that is My Name, and My esteem I do not give to another, nor My praise to idols.”

Psalm 83:18 confirms that He has but one Name:
“And let them know that You, Whose Name is YHWH, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”

Nowhere in the pages of Scripture can we find a statement saying He has many names. But we can find many passages attesting to His one true Name.

• HE KNOWS WHO I MEAN NO MATTER WHAT I CHOOSE TO CALL HIM.
You cannot find such a statement expressed or implied anywhere in Scripture! Nowhere are we given the right to rename our Heavenly Father. To bestow a name is the sole prerogative of a superior, as when a parent names his child and as when Adam named the animals under his dominion. Since when does the one created have the right to address his Creator by any name he pleases?

To use this argument for the One who made us is the height of insolence and is utterly offensive to Yahweh. Notice His warning about such obstinacy:
“If you do not hear, and if you do not take it to heart, to give esteem to My Name,” said YHWH of hosts, “I shall send a curse upon you, and I shall curse your blessings. And indeed, I have cursed them, because you do not take it to heart.” (Malachi 2:2)

Yahweh’s Name is bound up in proper worship and in Psalm 68:4 He commands His people to praise Him by His Name. John 4:24 reminds us:
“Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth.”

To deliberately ignore the Truth of His Name in favor of what pleases us as His worshipers is nothing less than vain arrogance deserving of rebuke. We cannot reverse the flow of authority - Yahweh our Creator tells us how to worship Him, not the other way around. Even beyond this, His knowing "who you mean" makes no difference to Him if you refuse to honor and glorify Him as He demands, which includes using the right Name. His Name represents Him and His Truths, something no other name does.

• THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE NAME HAS BEEN LOST AND WE DON’T KNOW HOW HIS NAME WAS SPOKEN.
Besides being false, this argument amounts to no more than an excuse - that because of supposed uncertainty we should not even try to pronounce His Name. The fact is, the Name is given us in the Hebrew in the form of the Tetragrammaton or "four letters," which is YHWH (Yod, Hay, Waw, Hay). Jewish scribes went to great lengths to ensure the accuracy of this Name in the Hebrew, while the Masoretes or text guardians vowel-pointed the Hebrew letters to preserve the pronunciation.

It is not true that the pronunciation of the Hebrew Name was lost. If it were then the pronunciation of the entire Hebrew First Covenant was lost as well. It would also mean that in the passing-down process of the Hebrew tongue from one generation to another, that at some point all Yehudim (Jews) suddenly woke up and forgot how to speak their own language! If we can read the Old Covenant out loud in the Hebrew, then we can also read the Name Yahweh accurately in the same Hebrew. Today the Jews read Hebrew every Sabbath in their synagogues. They have no problem pronouncing it.

Here is what the noted Encyclopaedia Judaica says about this issue: "The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced ‘Yahweh.’ This is confirmed, at least for the vowels of the first syllable of the name, by the shorter form Yah, which is sometimes used in poetry (e.g., Ex. 15:2) and the –yahu or –yah that serves as the final syllable in very many Hebrew names," Vol. 7, p. 680.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica comments: "Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, had used the form Yahweh, thus this pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was never really lost. Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH should be pronounced Yahweh," 15th Edition, Vol. X, p. 786.

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes: "The saying of God, ‘I am who I am,’ is surely connected with His name that is written in the Hebrew consonantal text as Yhwh, the original pronunciation of which is well attested as Yahweh," 1967, Vol. 5, p. 743.

• BUT THERE ARE NO VOWELS IN THE HEBREW SO HOW CAN WE KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE FOUR LETTERS OF YHWH CORRECTLY?
Vowels do exist in Hebrew, as in all languages, or else it would be impossible to speak Hebrew. Vowels are spoken via the open mouth, while consonants are spoken by closure of the lips or by tongue contact on teeth or palate. Old Testament Hebrew is composed of words written in consonants with the vowels understood.

As noted, the Masoretes in the seventh century inserted vowel points or marks in and around the Hebrew letters to preserve the correct pronunciation. Just as with our letter "Y," there are some Hebrew letters that serve as both consonants and vowels. Amazingly, all four letters of Yahweh’s Name are such consonant-vowels. This fact can be verified in most Hebrew grammars, including A Beginner’s Handbook to Biblical Hebrew (Horowitz), p. 7 under "Vowel Letters"; The Berlitz Self-Teacher, p. 73 under "The Vanishing Dots"; Hebrew Primer and Grammar (Fagnani and Davidson) p. 10, under "The Quiescents and Mappiq," and How the Hebrew Language Grew (Horowitz), p. 28.

First-century priest and historian Falvius Josephus writes about the sacred Name that was engraved on the headpiece of the high priest (Ex. 28:36-38): "A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied by a blue riband, about which there was another golden crown, in which was engraven the sacred name [of Yahweh]; it consists of four vowels," Wars of the Jews, Book 5, chapter 5, p. 556.

• WHEN THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF HIS NAME IT JUST MEANS HIS AUTHORITY, NOT HIS LITERAL NAME.
It is true that to do or say something in someone’s name can mean by the authority of that person. But that is only a small part of the meaning of Yahweh’s name in His Word. Through the Hebrew verb of existence, haYah, the Name Yahweh defines the very nature, character, and essence of Yahweh. His Name means to cause to be. To claim that references to His name refer only to His authority is incongruous in many important passages. To drive home the point, we have changed the word "name" to "authority" in the following verses. See whether each still makes proper sense:

Proverbs 30:4 “Who has gone up to the heavens and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who established all the ends of the earth? What is His [authority], And what is His Son’s [authority], If you know it?”

Psalm 83:18 “And let them know that You, Whose [authority] is YHWH, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”

Psalm 68:4 “Sing to Elohim, sing praises to His [authority]. Raise up a highway for Him Who rides through the deserts, By His [authority] Yah, And exult before Him.”

Amos 5:8 “He who made Kimah and Kesil, and who turns the shadow of death into morning and darkened day into night, who is calling for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth – YHWH is His [authority]”

Matthew 1:21 “And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His [authority] Yahushua for He shall save His people from their sins.”

Once we realize that Yahweh has a personal, life-giving, healing, covenant Name only through which we can find salvation, to continue calling on an inanimate, generic title to provide the same blessings that His Name gives is an affront to Him and His character.

• I SPEAK ENGLISH, NOT HEBREW, SO I USE THE ENGLISH ‘GOD’ AND ‘LORD.’
One problem here is that these are not names but common titles that can apply to any number of mighty ones or even less than mighty ones. Another problem with this statement is that "God" is not English at all but Germanic from the word gott. A "lord" is someone subordinate to a king. "Lord" derives from Old English hlafweard meaning "loaf keeper," a person who headed a feudal estate under a king.Yahweh is King of the universe, and so to address Him with a diminutive title like “Lord” is a dishonor.

“Lord” is also related etymologically to Bel, a pagan deity. As one source notes, "In late Babylonian times the title Bel, ‘Lord,’ became synonymous with Marduk, who like Ishtar assimilated to himself various aspects of other gods," Babylon, by Joan Oates, p. 172. The Companion Bible note on Isaiah 46:1 says, "Bel. Abbreviation of Ba'al=Lord. Here=Zeus, or Jupiter of the Greek and Roman mythology."

Neither is the term "god" free of heathen trappings. Paul wrote that there are "gods many and lords many," (KJV) 1Corinthians 8:5. One root of "god" means to pour as in a molten image (Oxford English Dictionary). No wonder idols are known as gods.

How can we justify using such terms when calling on the only true Father in Heaven, and His Son, Yahshua the Messiah? The language you speak has nothing to do with the Name of the one you worship, because His Name doesn’t change from language to language (Consider that there is no English form for the French name Napoleon and neither is there a German or Russian version for the English name Churchill. Specific names transcend language. They are transliterated, not translated).

• I HAVE HAD PRAYERS ANSWERED USING ‘GOD’ AND ‘LORD’ SO IT MUST BE OKAY TO USE THOSE TITLES.
Yahshua said that even an evil person won’t give his son a stone when he cries out for bread (Matt. 7:9). Each one who seeks the Truth of Yahweh first does so with a certain lack of understanding. If Yahweh let our ignorance get in the way of our heart’s desire to seek Him, then we would soon become discouraged and give up our quest.

After more truth is revealed to us, however, then we become accountable to make the proper changes in our lives and toward True Worship.
Acts 17:30 “Truly, then, having overlooked these times of ignorance, Elohim now commands all men everywhere to repent.”

Our true walk must start somewhere, and if calling on Him through common titles is all we know, then Yahweh will show compassion and toleration.

But as He gives us more knowledge and Truth, He expects us to walk in all the light we are given. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:8:
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Master. Walk as children of light.”

Yahshua said in Matthew 7:21:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens.”

The truth of His Name has been revealed to you and it is now your responsibility to use that knowledge to begin to honor Him by calling on His revealed, personal Name. See Psalm 34:3, 68:4 and 1 Kings 8:35. He reminds us repeatedly that His people are called by His Name, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Daniel 9:19 and Ephesians 3:14-15.

His Name is central to True Worship. We cannot say we truly know Him and have a personal relationship if we don’t know and call on His Name.

Scriptures quoted are taken from “The Scriptures – 1998” (International Scripture Research) available through www.isr-messianic.org