@Duran
Let’s answer your question
clearly and directly, without being distracted by the abuse you included, which
only reveals your inability to engage civilly with theological dialogue.
1. What is the
Hebrew name (3068) יהוה in English, and who does it
represent in Exodus 3:15?
The Tetragrammaton יהוה is traditionally rendered in
English as Yahweh or, in its older English form, Jehovah. It
represents the one true God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
as the text explicitly states. It is the divine name by which God identifies
Himself to Moses at the burning bush. So yes, this name
clearly refers to the eternal God.
2. What is the
Hebrew name (3091) יהושע in English, which corresponds
to the Greek name (2424) Ἰησοῦς, and who does it represent in Luke 1:31?
The name יהושע (Yehoshua) is the
original Hebrew form of the name rendered in Greek as Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous),
and in English as Jesus. The name means “Yahweh is salvation”
or “Yahweh saves.” In the context of Luke 1:31, this name is given by divine
command: “You shall name him Jesus.” The one it refers to is Jesus
Christ, the incarnate Son of God—the second Person of the
Trinity, who became man for the salvation of mankind.
Now, while you were simply
“asking questions,” your implication was clear: that these are two distinct
individuals with distinct identities and names—Yahweh and Jesus
(the Son), and thus they must be separate gods or beings. But here’s the
theological problem with that suggestion.
The Christian faith, grounded
in Scripture, teaches that the one God of Israel, YHWH, reveals Himself
fully in Jesus Christ. The New Testament does not present Jesus as
separate from YHWH—but as the very incarnation of the same
divine being revealed in the Old Testament. This is why the apostle Paul, in
Philippians 2:9–11, says that Jesus is given the name above every name,
and that “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord.” This is a direct quotation of Isaiah 45:23, where YHWH
says that every knee will bow to Him. In other words, Paul is
identifying Jesus with YHWH—not merely giving him a high
title, but ascribing to him the worship and identity that belong to YHWH alone.
Moreover, Hebrews 1:10
applies Psalm 102—a psalm addressed to YHWH—directly to the Son,
calling Him the one who “laid the foundations of the earth.” John 1:1 likewise
affirms that the Word (who becomes flesh in verse 14) was God
and was “in the beginning with God.” And in John 8:58, Jesus says plainly,
“Before Abraham was, I AM,” using the very divine identifier God used
in Exodus 3:14.
So while יהוה in Exodus refers to God—whom
we call the Father—we must not pretend that this name excludes
the Son. Jesus bears the very name of God because He
is God. That’s why the name “Yehoshua” (Yahweh saves) is not a name in
contrast to Yahweh, but a name that reveals Yahweh’s saving action in the
person of Jesus. In Isaiah 43:11, God says, “I, even I, am YHWH, and
beside me there is no savior.” Yet in Luke 2:11, Jesus is announced as the
Savior—again, this is not a contradiction unless one denies that Jesus
shares in the divine identity.
You asked who these names
refer to. I’ve told you plainly:
- YHWH (Jehovah/Yahweh) refers to the one true God,
revealed in the Old Testament—especially to Israel—and in the New Testament,
fully revealed in the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Yehoshua (Jesus) refers to the incarnate
Word, the Son of God, who is Yahweh in the flesh. His name
means “Yahweh saves,” and He is the very embodiment of that truth.
You cannot pit the name Yahweh
against the name Jesus, because Scripture shows they belong to the
same divine reality. To divide them is to misunderstand the very unity of God’s
revelation. The Father is Yahweh. The Son is Yahweh. The Holy Spirit is Yahweh.
One God, three Persons—not confusion, not separation, but the mystery of the
Trinity revealed in Jesus Christ.
