"'I AM THAT I AM'. In essence, this is a very literal translation of the name Yahweh"
THis is completely in error. The divine name, YHWH, if it is derived from the Hebrew verb "to be" would result in a third person form, i.e., "he is". When the deity says "I am who I am" he is NOT making a literal translation of YHWH. He is making a word play, repeating the verb "to be" but in the first person. The author has the deity making a word play, anticipating the revelation of the name YHWH a little later in the story.
The fact that the name seems to be based on the word "to be" says little of the ACTUAL existence of the deity so named.
The pronunciation of YHWH as 'yahweh" is widely accepted by scholars as the closest approximation of the original sound of the name. "LORD" in English bibles is NOT a mistranslation at all. Rather, it reflects the Jewish tradition of not pronouncing the name YHWH. When reading aloud Jews traditionally replace the name with the word adonai which means "the Lord".
"Jehovah" is actually right out of the question as an approximation of the original reading for YHWH. The J comes from the German in which it is pronounced like an English Y, but even Yehovah is nonsense. These vowels are taken from the vowels of Hebrew "Adonai". They were added during the medieval process of vocalizing and punctuating the traditional Jewish text. The Masorete added these vowels to the divine name to create a reminder to say "adonai" when YHWH was encountered.
"'I AM THAT I AM'. In
"'I AM THAT I AM'. In essence, this is a very literal translation of the name Yahweh"
THis is completely in error. The divine name, YHWH, if it is derived from the Hebrew verb "to be" would result in a third person form, i.e., "he is". When the deity says "I am who I am" he is NOT making a literal translation of YHWH. He is making a word play, repeating the verb "to be" but in the first person. The author has the deity making a word play, anticipating the revelation of the name YHWH a little later in the story.
The fact that the name seems to be based on the word "to be" says little of the ACTUAL existence of the deity so named.
The pronunciation of YHWH as 'yahweh" is widely accepted by scholars as the closest approximation of the original sound of the name. "LORD" in English bibles is NOT a mistranslation at all. Rather, it reflects the Jewish tradition of not pronouncing the name YHWH. When reading aloud Jews traditionally replace the name with the word adonai which means "the Lord".
"Jehovah" is actually right out of the question as an approximation of the original reading for YHWH. The J comes from the German in which it is pronounced like an English Y, but even Yehovah is nonsense. These vowels are taken from the vowels of Hebrew "Adonai". They were added during the medieval process of vocalizing and punctuating the traditional Jewish text. The Masorete added these vowels to the divine name to create a reminder to say "adonai" when YHWH was encountered.