Jehovah, Life, Breathing, and the Lord's Prayer

  1. H1961 hei yod hei "haya" "Become", "there was", "I am", "I will be", "Let there be" 3576 occurrences in scripture.
  2. H3068 yod hei vav hei "Jehovah" — the hiphil (causative) form of the "haya" verb.
    In Hebrew, Jehovah is always spoken as "Adonai", meaning "Master".
    It is referred to as "Ha Shem" meaning "The name", according it due honour.

     

  3. H2416 cheit yod "khah-ee" "living" or "life" 503 occurrences (both an adjective and a noun)
  4. H2421 cheit yod hei "khaw-yaw" "live" 265 occurrences (verb)

 

Note that in Biblical Hebrew, verbs do not have strictly defined past, present, or future tenses, but merely

  1. Perfect - an action in the past which is complete e.g. "he has sung the song" (and then gone on to something else).
  2. Imperfect - a past or ongoing or planned action (or state) which is incomplete e.g. "he sang the song" with past, present, or future connotation depending on context.

Later the perfective and imperfective aspects were explicitly refashioned to be past and future tenses respectively with the present participle as an adjective, e.g. "singing" becoming the present tense.

Let's now look at four other words in Hebrew related to the word Jehovah

  1. H1933 Hei Vav Hei, written as "Havah", a verb that literally means "to breathe".
    Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 For what has (H1933) man of all his toil and of the striving (vexation) of his heart wherein he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail (affliction) grief, yes his heart takes not rest in the night. This is also vanity (emptiness).

    Seen in Isaac's blessing to Jacob
    Genesis 27:29 Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you, be (H1933) lord (ruler) over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you, cursed be every one that curses you, and blessed be he that blesses you.

  2. H183 Aleph Vav Hei, written as "Avah", a word that means desiring, can be either good or bad, see the Psalms for good desiring in the Lord's yearning over Zion
    Psalm 132:13-14 For the LORD (Jehovah) has chosen Zion, he has desired (H183) it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever, here will I dwell, for I have desired (H183) it.
  3. H1943 Hei Vav Hei written as "Hovah" in Isaiah 47:11 and Ezekiel 7:26. As a feminine noun it signifies unwanted, unexpected mischief (ruin and disaster).
  4. Finally, in modern Hebrew הוֹוֶה Hei Vav Vav Hei, written as "Hove", a somewhat detached masculine noun meaning "Present time" or Present tense in grammar.

Further examples in Biblical Hebrew
Genesis 1:3 Let there be light and there was light. The first "be" is issued as an indirect, causative command. The second "be" is in the Imperfect tense.

Genesis 2:2-3 And God completed, rested, blessed, sanctified the seventh day. All 4 verbs are Imperfect. The verbs in v3 "He rested", "He had created" are Perfect.

In the New Testament (translated from Greek)
Luke 18:29-30 And he said to them, Truly I say to you, There is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this "present time" (in Greek the word is "season"), and in the world to come life everlasting.

Lord's Prayer in Hebrew

Avee-noo (Our Father) H1

She-ba-Sha-mai-yeem (In 7th Heaven) H8064

Yeet-kadesh (May it be Sanctified-set apart) H6942
Sheem-kha (Your name) H8034

Ve-yeet-barekh (May it be Blessed) H1288
Mal-khoot-kha (Your kingdom) H4438

Re-tson-kha (Your will) H7522
Yee-hee-ye (shall) H1961
A-soo-ee (be done) H6213
Ba-sha-mai-yeem (in Heaven) H8064
Oo-va-a-rets (and on earth) H776

Ve-tee-ten (And give) H5414
Lakh-me-noo (our bread) H3899
te-mee-deet (continually/daily) H8548

Oo-ma-khorl (And forgive the debt) H2550
La-noo (on us) H589
Kha-to-tay-noo (of our sins) H2398

Ka-a-sher (As) H834
A-nakh-noo (we) H595
Mo-kha-leem (forgive the debt) H2550
La-khot-teem (of those who sin) H2398
La-noo (against us) H589

Vee-al (And do not) H408
Te-vee-ay-noo (bring us) H935
Lee-day (into the hands of) H3027
Nees-sa-yon (a test) H5254

Ve-shom-ray-noo (And protect us) H8104
Mee-kol (from all) H3632
Rah (evil) H7451

A-men (So be it) H543.

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