This blog is in two parts. The first part explains the importance of the Hebrew word JEHOVAH (Seen Left) The second part discusses the importance of this Hebrew word Yahweh (God) in the St Paul Chapel in New York City, which was the location of the 9-11 attacks against our country.
“The evidences for Jesus Christ as the Pale Prophet” are to be found in many legends and traditions among the native races, throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Why were the apparent teachings of Christ already familiar to North American Aboriginals before their first contact with modern Europeans in the 16th Century? For Native Americans, their God of the four Winds may have been another name for Jesus Christ. He was also known as The Healer, East Star Man, The Dawn Star, The Pale One, Chee-zoos, Waicomah, Wakana Tanka, Yowa, Yod Hey Vah, Yahud, Ye-Sos, etc. Henceforth, the bearded white visitor could have been none other that Jesus Christ of the Christian books namely the Stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph (Ezekiel 37:16).” Wayne May and Joshua M. Bennett in Ancient American Magazine issue #36 page no. 36
“We are frequently told that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament (see Bible Dictionary, “Jehovah,” 710–11). But when we open our Bibles, we find little evidence that this is so. What is missing in the translations is clear in the original Hebrew text, where Jehovah, the Savior’s Old Testament name, appears over 5,000 times!
Why then is Jehovah missing from our Bible translations? The answer can be found in the way His name has been treated by Jews since the days of Malachi and Zechariah. Jehovah is the name of God, and devout Jews, out of reverence for Him, never say His name. Instead they substitute Adonai, a Hebrew title meaning “Lord.” So whenever they speak of Him or read aloud His name from scripture, they substitute Adonai (Lord).
LORD (in small capital letters)
King James translators of the Hebrew Bible followed Jewish practice. Instead of printing Jehovah, the name of God, they substituted the English title LORD, printed in small capitals, every time the name Jehovah appeared in the Hebrew text.
Lord (in lowercase letters)
Lord is also printed in lowercase letters (as Lord and lord) in the King James Version of the Bible. Lord is a title that refers to rulers of various kinds—heavenly and earthly—such as God, king, husband, governor, prince, prophet, father, captain, and angel. The heavenly ruler is designated by Lord, the earthly ruler by lord. Neither of these titles, printed in lowercase letters, is a substitution for the name Jehovah. Simply put, LORD equals Jehovah, while Lord or lord refers to an earthly or heavenly ruler.
Knowing the distinction between LORD and Lord helps us understand the story of Hannah and Eli in 1 Samuel 1:1–28. In verse 11, Hannah makes a vow with the LORD for a child. Then when Eli, the high priest, accuses her of being drunk (v. 14), Hannah says, “No, my lord.” Her use of lord shows her reverence for the high priest. Her calling upon the LORD shows her pleading with Jehovah. When we understand the distinctions between LORD, Lord, and lord, we can see what publishers have done. We can find Jesus Christ in the Old Testament by substituting Jehovah for LORD whenever it appears. Then something wonderful happens. Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ, appears from beginning to end of this great book as the God of the Old Testament.
The Savior’s ministry on earth did not begin with His birth. He is “the eternal I AM,” the Lord God Omnipotent who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets of old, who delivered Israel from Egypt, who gave the law on Sinai, and who guided and inspired the righteous prophets, priests, seers, judges, and kings of the Old Testament.”
Keith H. Meservy is an emeritus professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University and a member of the Pleasant View Third Ward, Provo Utah Sharon East Stake.
This FIVE book series below by Wayne May contains valuable information about Book of Mormon archaeology, Native American oral history, and Church History relating to this subject material. He explains in detail about the word “Yod Hey Vah” or Jehovah and the Mystic Symbol. (Picture Left)
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “To the Lord’s covenant people, names—particularly proper names—have always been very important. Adam and Eve themselves bore names that suggested their roles here in mortality (see Moses 1:34; 4:26) and, when important covenants were made, men like Abram and Jacob took on new names that signaled a new life as well as a new identity. (See Gen. 17:5; 32:28). Because of this reverence for titles and the meanings they conveyed, the name Jehovah, sometimes transliterated as Yahweh, was virtually unspoken among that people. This was the unutterable name of Deity, that power by which oaths were sealed, battles won, miracles witnessed. Traditionally, he was identified only through a tetragrammaton, four Hebrew letters variously represented in our alphabet as IHVH, JHVH, JHWH, YHVH, YHWH…
Repentance and faith, service and compassion—now is always the right time for these. The past is to be learned from, not lived in, and the future is to be planned for, not paralyzed by. God has declared himself in the present tense. I am the Great I AM.
The prescribed method for coming to knowledge (and subsequent freedom) is to “give diligent heed to the words of eternal life” (D&C 84:43), yet many of us spend precious little time with those words.” Whom Say Ye That I Am? Jeffrey R. Holland Ensign Sept. 1974.
Written in Paleo-Hebrew and used from 1000 BC – 400 AD, represents the name “Jehovah”, or the tetragrammaton. All throughout the Old Testament, the word ‘LORD’ (all small caps), replaced the sacred name “Yahweh” as described above. “I Am” in Hebrew is “Yahweh” and “Adonai” is the Hebrew word for LORD.
See additional information on by blog here:
“The Tetragrammaton, referred to in rabbinic literature as HaShem (The Name) or Shem Hameforash (The Special Name), is the word used to refer to the four-letter word, yud-hey-vav-hey (יהוה), that is the name for God used in the Hebrew Bible.
The name, which some people pronounce as Yahweh and others (mostly Christians) as Jehovah, appears 5,410 times in the Bible (1,419 of those in the Torah).
It is unclear what the original pronunciation of the word was, due to the longstanding Jewish prohibition on speaking God’s name aloud. Instead, a variety of pseudonyms are used, such as Adonai (Lord), Elohim (God) and HaShem (The Name).
The four letters of the Tetragrammaton form the root meaning “to be,” and some have understood the original meaning to be “He-Who-Is,” or “He who brings being into being.” https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-tetragrammaton/
My good friend Bob Goodwin brought to my attention the Hebrew word for Jehovah (Yod Hey Vau Hey) on the altar in the St Paul Chapel. I want to thank him for sharing this information with me.
Saint Paul’s Chapel: A place of miracles in lower Manhattan
written by Stephen Z. Nemo
NEW YORK, June 21, 2016 — It was an event so improbable many considered it a miracle. No one more so than the first American president who that day swore an oath to defend the new U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.
And so, the first U.S. government under the Constitution marched a few blocks north of New York City’s Federal Hall on Wall Street to St. Paul’s Chapel on Broadway.
“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the affairs of men more than the People of the United States,” said George Washington in his 1789 inaugural address to Congress. “Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.”
And no one was more aware of providential intervention than Washington.
“I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectation,” he wrote in a letter to his brother, “for I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions on every side of me.”
Having concluded his inaugural address, Washington’s first act as president was to fulfill the terms of a Congressional resolution stating that he and they “proceed to St. Paul’s Chapel to hear divine service.”
Like the soldier/statesman that sat under its roof, St. Paul’s was a beneficiary of providential protection. Built in 1766, the structure came under threat ten years later, the same year Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. But the “chapel of ease” somehow escaped the ravages of fire that consumed one-third of the city.
225 years later, this modest place of worship survived the collapse of the World Trade Center towers one short block away, its stained glass windows withstanding the rush of 150-mile-an-hour winds generated by the falling structures.
George Eacker also rests here, famous (or infamous) for killing Philip Hamilton in a duel in 1801. Three years later, Philip’s father, Founding Father and current hit Broadway musical sensation Alexander Hamilton, suffered the same fate at the hands of Vice President Aaron Burr.
Approaching the Georgian Classic-Revival building from Church Street, one confronts its ancient churchyard. Among the cemetery’s nearly 1,000 internees rests John Bailey – the man who forged General Washington’s jade-handle battle sword now on display at the National Museum of American History in the nation’s capital.
Just in passing, a Revolutionary War citizen’s militia, Hearts of Oak, trained on these very church grounds – led by Alexander Hamilton.
Before entering the sanctuary, its steeple towering above, you see the Bell of Hope; a gift from the Lord Mayor of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury, presented in 2002. The bell – “forged in adversity” – commemorates the tragic events of 9/11 and was cast at the Whitechapel Foundry, which long ago fashioned Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell.
On entering the rectangular structure, your eyes immediately focus ahead to three windows illuminating the neo-baroque altar designed by architect and civil engineer Pierre L’Enfant, who designed the federal district of Washington, D.C.
The Glory Altarpiece, as it is known, has two stone tablets at its base that are inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Carved white clouds surround these dark slabs as a representation of Mount Sinai rises above them, crowned by a translucent golden sun inscribed with the Hebrew word Yahweh (God). To its immediate left stands the tall pulpit.
As you face the altar, turn left to see a replica of the box where George Washington sat and worshiped, his chair and hymnal stand inside. Directly opposite sits the Governors box.
Looking up, you see the original 14 cut-glass chandeliers, modernized to receive lightbulbs in 1925.
Along the walls at St. Paul’s are various displays, like the “Healing Hearts and Minds,” which contains a policeman’s uniform covered by police and firefighter’s patches from around the world.
Right of the altar, is another. The “Pilgrimage Alter,” which contains small tokens and notes left by the families of loved ones who perished on 9/11.
A plaque reads:
“After 9/11, this alter was filled spontaneously with mementos by those remembering their lost loved ones. To this day, all pilgrims to St. Paul’s Chapel bring something precious with them: a hope, a question, a memory, a wound. This is a sacred place to name and offer what is in your heart.”
And this simple, unbroken sacrament of providential acknowledgment connects us to the venerable George Washington.
Part-museum and public gathering place but still an active part of Trinity Church Parish, St. Paul’s Chapel is opened Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In his 2-hour DVD presentation Rod Meldrum discusses the 4 Sacred Covenants that George Washington invoked at St. Paul’s Chapel during his inauguration – the same sacred ground the New York Twin Towers collapsed on during 911. Take a trip through current news headlines and see why America’s promised blessings are now being revoked, leaving her in grave peril and judgment from God. With this warning will the people living in our nation, foretold by ancient prophets in the Book of Mormon still serve Jesus Christ, the God of this sacred covenant land?
Symbols of Freedom – St. Paul’s Chapel
Symbols of Freedom in Early NYC
A walk through the historic streets of Lower Manhattan uncovers many symbols illustrating the early history of the city and the celebration of freedom after the Revolutionary War. Some are in plain sight and others a little harder to find. Some are right in front of us but we usually don’t know what they mean. Let’s see what we can find in St. Paul’s Chapel artwork.
St. Paul’s Chapel
Every tour I lead visits St. Paul’s Chapel. Standing intact since 1766 it’s been a constant presence since before the Revolutionary War. The chapel is filled with symbols of hope, justice, freedom and the promise of a better life after the American Revolution.
Montgomery Monument
On the outside of the church, facing Broadway, is the Montgomery Monument. It was commissioned in 1776 by the Continental Congress, at the request of Benjamin Franklin, to honor Major General Richard Montgomery. Montgomery was killed in the Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775.
The monument was made in Paris by Jean Jacques Caffiéri in 1777. It was installed in the church in 1787. On the left is a group of palms, symbolizing martyrdom, with a phrygian cap, a symbol of freedom, and a club with a ribbon inscribed with “libertas”. On the right are traditional military emblems: a knight’s helmet and arrows. In the center is a column with an urn.
Beneath the monument is an inscription dedicated to Montgomery.
“Glory” Altar
Walking into the church you immediately notice the altar, designed by Pierre L’Enfant and installed in 1787. L’Enfant was from Paris. He was an artist, engineer and officer in the American Army during the Revolutionary War.
The design is called “Glory” and represents Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God atop Mount Sinai. The rays of light, known as a “glory”, symbolize God’s power. In the center of the glory is a triangle and within the triangle are the Hebrew letters YHVY, the unspoken name of God.
It’s likely that L’Enfant was inspired by European Christian iconography of the time. The picture below is from the book, Iconologia by Cesare Ripa, printed in 1620. (A wonderful book filled with religious depictions.) You can see the same symbol in the sky above St. Augustine, representing God.
L’Enfant would have been familiar with this book from his schooling in Paris and would have seen altars in France that incorporated the same symbols.
What Does It Mean?
YHVH represents the Hebrew name of God and is also known as the tetragrammaton. (Greek for 4 letters). It’s placed inside of a pythagoras tetractys, a triangle that also represents God. Those are placed within the glory, also a symbol of God.
Interestingly, we see the same symbol on this Freemason banner from early NYC. Freemasonry incorporated many of these old religious symbols.
New York State Arms
On the Southern facing wall is a painting, commissioned by the church in 1784, of the Arms of the State of New York.
At the very top of the painting are rays of light, a glory, breaking through the dark clouds. Beneath them, the American eagle, strong and capable. Beneath the eagle is a frame and within it the sun is rising over the Atlantic Ocean. This symbolizes the importance of maritime trade to the state. Today’s version of the NY State flag shows two ships sailing on the Hudson River in tribute the importance of that river in our financial success.
On the left side of the painting is a woman representing freedom. In her right hand is a spear with the point down, in the passive position, and a phrygian cap sits atop the end of the spear. The cap is an ancient symbol of freedom from slavery or oppression. Beneath her feet is a dagger and at the end of the dagger is the King’s crown, on its side. The cap of freedom is above her head and the crown of oppression is beneath her feet. The battle is over and liberty has won!
On the right side is a woman representing justice. Her sword us unsheathed and pointed upwards, in the aggressive position, ready for battle. The scales she carries are balanced and she is blindfolded. Justice in the new land will apply equally to all and we are prepared to fight for it.
At the bottom of the painting is the word “Excelsior”, our New York State motto: “Ever Upward”.
The Great Seal
Directly across from the New York State arms, on the Northern facing wall, is a painting of the Great Seal of the United States of America. It was also commissioned in 1784.
Right away the giant glory jumps out at us! Within it are thirteen stars, representing the thirteen colonies: the colonies have been brought into existence by God’s will. In front of the glory is an eagle with a banner in its beak bearing the motto “E Pluribus Unum” our national motto: Out of Many, One. On the eagle’s right side the eagle carries an olive branch, the symbol of peace. On it’s left side are thirteen arrows, symbols of war. This tells us the new nation looks toward the path of peace but reserves the right to war, if necessary. On the eagle’s chest is a crest, representing the new American republic. Thirteen stripes are the thirteen states and blue above them is the congress. Meaning: the congress exists according to the will of the states, which are united into one republic.
Over the years the Great Seal has changed and below is the current version, designed by Tiffany & Co., NYC, in 1885.
Post War NYC
In St. Paul’s Chapel we see all of these symbols of hope, justice and freedom. The ideals of the generation that fought the American Revolution and came together to write and ratify the Constitution are commemorated in these beautiful works of art. There are many more in the neighborhood and I will be discussing them in future posts.
If you’d like to read more about the imagery found at St. Paul’s, see “By the Light of Providence: The Glory Altarpiece at St. Paul’s Chapel, New York City” by Michael Paul Driskel.
Until then, thank-you for reading! Karen Q
Pierre-Charles L’Enfant and the Iconography of Independence by Sally Webster
The result of L’Enfant’s work was the carving of the great Shekinah, or Glory which focuses all eyes on the altar. The design is inspired by Old Testament symbolism, Mount Sinai and the Tables of the Law, Jehovah (in Hebrew), in a Triangle surrounded by rays, representing the Deity, and a background of clouds and lightning, suggesting the power and majesty of God. There are several such “Glories” in French churches….It fulfills the purpose indicated in Didron’s “Christian Iconography,” emphasizing the supreme holiness of the altar, the Throne of God’s Presence in the Great Sacrifice…. It is a symbol of the Church of the Ancient Law, leading to the Altar of the Incarnate Christ, the Church of the New Dispensation, the Law of Love.75 75. Margaret Elliman Henry, “L’Enfant and St. Paul’s Chapel,” Trinity Parish Herald, October/November 1947. Reprinted in Caemmerer, The Life of Pierre Charles L’Enfant, 464. http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/spring08/109–pierre-charles-lenfant-and-the-iconography-of-independence
