Yeshua as YHWH in the New Testament

The Divine Name of YHWH is used almost 7,000 times in the Tanakh (Old Testament). So if the New Testament is a continuation of The Divine Revelation to man, we should expect it to appear in the Gospels/letters as well?

We know that the original New Testament contained the Divine Name of "YHWH", but none of the various existing Greek versions of the New Testament preserve that Name. Both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds (t.Shab 13:5, b.Shab 116a, j.Shab 15c) contain a debate among Rabbinical Jewish leaders on whether New Testament writings could be destroyed, because they contained the Divine Name of YHWH, and Jewish tradition did not allow for the destruction of writings that contained the Name of YHWH in them. They concluded that the New Testament could not be destroyed, because it contained the Divine Name. Otherwise, they would have ruled that it could be destroyed.

The Name of "YHWH" is found in the Hebrew versions of Matthew and Hebrews, as well as being preserved by a special designation in the Aramaic version of the New Testament as well.

Now this presents a serious problem for those who propose that the Aramaic and Hebrew versions of the New Testament are a translation from the Greek. Jews were not in the habit of ADDING the Divine Name to a text. In fact, they were in the habit of removing it and replacing it with a euphemism (replacing "YHWH" with "YY" or "God"/"Elohim" or "Lord"/"Adonai"). But adding it where it wasn't, was virtually unthinkable to Jewish tradition. It is understandable why the Greek text would NOT have it if it was in the original Hebrew/Aramaic versions, because Jews were in the habit of replacing "YHWH" with a euphemism, but marking it such that one could reconstruct where the Divine Name belonged. This allowed them to destroy manuscripts, but still retain knowledge of where the Divine Name belonged in that text.

In the Aramaic mss, "YHWH" was often replaced by "MarYaH" or "Lord YaH". "Yah" is the short form of "YHWH" and was considered an acceptable substitute. "MarYaH" was used to let the reader know the original text did not say "YaH", but "YHWH". We know this from Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Tanakh.

Aramaic/Hebrew New Testament of "YHWH"

Acts 9:27 in the Peshitta (Aramaic version) calls Yeshua "YHWH", saying Paul/Shaul met YHWH on the road to Damascus. On the road to Damascus, it says Shaul saw "Yeshua, whom you persecute" and then in Acts 9:27 it says... "on the road he had seen YHWH..." (Acts 9:27, HRV).

The HRV translates from the Peshitta here, from the Aramaic "Maryah", which is understood to represent "YHWH".

James 3:9 says... "With it we bless YHWH and the Father" (Ya'acov/James 3:9, HRV) Here, Ya'acov gives us a list of two people whom we bless, one being "YHWH" and the other being the "Father". This is a very literal translation of what it says. James 5:7 "Be patient until the coming of YHWH" James 5:7, HRV) and Jude, verse 14 "YHWH comes with ten thousands of his set-apart-ones" Jude, verse 14, HRV, quoting the book of Enoch) Now who is "coming" to earth? Yeshua is. But there's nothing suggesting the Father will "come" to earth, except in the form of His Son.

Of course, this agrees with Tanakh which teaches.... "YHWH will go out...On that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:3..4)

So here, we're told YHWH's feet will touch the mount of Olives. In Acts 1, we're told the disciples watched Yeshua ascend to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12) and they were told... "This Yeshua who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same manner." (Acts 1:11, HRV)

So Acts 1 tells us that Yeshua ascended from the Mount of Olives, and will return the same way, so we conclude He will return on the Mount of Olives.

1 Peter 3:15 "Sanctify YHWH, the Messiah, in your hearts" (1 Kefah 3:15, HRV)

Isa 45:23 says "As surely as I live, says YHWH, every knee shall bow and tongue confess me." But Paul/Shaul quotes this verse to say that "every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is YHWH..." (Phil 2:11, HRV)

Now even in the Greek, where the "YHWH"/"MarYaH" does not come through, the fact that Paul/Shaul quotes Isa/Yesh and applies it to Yeshua is enough to equate Yeshua to YHWH.

1 Corinthians 8:6 "...to ourselves [there] is one Eloah, the Father, from whom [are] all [things] and by whom we are, and one YHWH" (1 Corinthians 8:6, HRV)

So here we get another list of two beings, one called "Eloah" and "Father" and the other called "YHWH".

• 1 Cor.11:29, HRV "...he is indebted to the blood of YHWH..." - This could only refer to the Son.
• Colossians 3:22 "...in fear of YHWH "
• Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alef and the Tau, says Adon YHWH" (Yeshua speaking in Rev 1:8, HRV) [Compare this to the KJV which reads "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord" (Rev 1:8, KJV, translated from Greek version of Revelation)]
• Romans 10:10 "If you will confess with your mouth Adon Yeshua....for all who call upon the Name of YHWH will be saved." (Romans 10, as it appears in the Peshitta)

So here he equates calling upon the Name of Yeshua/Yehoshua (which means "YHWH Saves") with calling upon the Name of YHWH.

The New Testament call Yeshua "YHWH" over, and over again. In fact, reading the Aramaic New Testament (which the HRV was translated from), one might wonder if it's improper to call the Father "YHWH" because we see several places where the Name "YHWH" is contrasted with the Father (Ya'acov/James 3:9, 1 Cor 8:6). But since the writings of the Tanakh give us several places where the Name of "YHWH" is indeed applied to the Father as well as to the Father & Son collectively, then clearly, it is proper to call the Father "YHWH", and it is proper to call the Son "YHWH", and it is proper to call the Father and Son collectively as "YHWH", since "YHWH Elohaynu, YHWH is one"

Yeshua once said, "before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58) Since YHWH is understood to mean "He who is", or more correctly, "he who was, is, and is to come", this too, could be considered a verse that associates Him with the Divine Name.

Exo 20:10-11 says YHWH rested on the Seventh day and sanctified it. Mat_12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. Mar_2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. Luk_6:5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Reconstructing from the Greek NT

There's even a few places where the association of Yeshua with the Name "YHWH" even comes through in the Greek. Among these are:

• Phil 2:11 - The fact that the letter of Paul/Shaul replaced the Name of "YHWH" with "Yeshua" or "Jesus" (IhsouV) is enough to associate Him with the Name of YHWH.
• Acts 1 combined with Zechariah 14, Identifying Yeshua as the one who will descend on the Mount of Olives whereas Zechariah 14 identifies this as "YHWH" descending on the Mount of Olives.
• The quote from Jude/Yehudah verse 14 is taken from the Book of Enoch, which was originally written in Hebrew, and also associates "YHWH" with Yeshua.
• Romans 10, where calling upon the Name of "Adon Yeshua" is equated with calling upon the Name of "YHWH".
• John/Yochanan 8:58

So while the Aramaic Peshitta offers us a substantial amount of evidence concerning where the Name "YHWH" belongs in the New Testament, and linking that Name to Yeshua personally, it is not the only source for linking the Name to Him. Without the Peshitta, we still have a few Greek sources linking Yeshua to the Name of YHWH. We also have independent Aramaic witnesses from the Old Syriac on parts and from the Crawford Revelation.

The Divine Name also appears in the various Hebrew versions of Matthew, as well as the Hebrew version of Hebrews. So no single source links Yeshua to the Name YHWH in the New Testament, and in numerous places in the Tanak the Name of "YHWH" is linked to the Son before His incarnation.

Further evidence

Further evidence that YHWH was in the original manuscripts is how some Greek versions disagree on whether to say "Theos" or "Kurios" where the Aramaic or Hebrew suggests "YHWH" belongs. For example, we already saw:

• "Sanctify YHWH, the Messiah, in your hearts" (1 Kefah 3:15, HRV)

The Greek texts disagree here, saying 1 Kefah 3:15, Alexandrian manuscripts, as recorded in WH .. "but sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts" 1 Kefah 3:15, Byzantine mss of TR, Greek Orthodox version.

• " ..but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts"

Why do they disagree? Probably because two different translators chose two different euphemisms for "YHWH".

Col 3:22 is another place we see "YHWH" or "MarYah" in the Aramaic, but disagreement in the Greek text. Let's compare:

Col 3:22, Alexandrian WH "fear of the Lord" Col 3:22, Byzantine Majority, TR, Greek Orthodox "fear of God"

Again, why do the Greek texts disagree? Probably because their source was "YHWH"/"Maryah", and two different translators interpreted this differently.

Or let's examine Rev 1:8 in the various texts:

• Crawford Rev 1:8 I AM the Alef and the Tau, says YHWH (or Adon Yah) G-d
• Alexandrian mss, in WH and Byzantine Majority I am the Alfa and the Omega, says the Lord God.
• Textus Receptus - I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord (LORD)
• Greek Orthodox version - I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God.

   So they can't agree on if it should be "Lord" or "Lord God" here.

מריא this is an Aramaic word that many individuals who have no understanding of Hebrew nor Aramaic have really misused to their disadvantage. These persons have claimed that marya means Yahweh or Lord Yahweh. Actually this word is strongs# 4806, which means a fattened animal which is ready for sacrifice. This was a title given to our Messiah because he was the marya prophesied of. This is a title used for Yeshua (Jesus) in the Aramaic Peshitta translation in Philippians 2:11. If this is the true translation of this scripture then It would have read: "And that every tongue should confess that Yeshua(Jesus) was the anointed marya, to the glory of Yahweh the Father". In other words he is the anointed sacrifice as written in the Law of Yahweh. The list of scriptures where you can find this word used is below:

מריא (8) noun, construct מְרִיאֵי

Ezek 39:18     

noun, normal מְרִיא , מְרִיאִים

2 Sam 6:13    
1 Kings 1:9    
1 Kings 1:19    
1 Kings 1:25    
Isa 1:11    
Isa 11:6    

noun, suffixed מְרִיאֵי

Amos 5:22

((Berean Talmid)) 'מריא Merya in Eze 39:18 is unlike הַמֹּרִיָּ֑ה Moriah in Gen 22:2 Strongs #H4179 mo-ree-yaw', mo-ree-yaw' From H7200 and H3050; seen of Yah; MoriYah or chosen of Yah. It could also be "shepherd (moreh) + Yah" Notice Yah in the ending of H4179 and how it is absent in H4806. Here is the Aramaic English Standard Version (AESV) Torah for Gen_22:14 Abraham called the name of that place Mar-Yah Will Provide. As it is said to this day, "On Mar-Yah's mountain, it will be provided."