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The traditional name for the god of the Hebrews is often pronounced Yahweh. This simple name however is a subject of profound significance. To many orthodox and Hasidic Jews the meaning of this name is a constant subject of prayer and meditation. This is not only because it is the most commonly used name for G-d in all of the Tanakh but because it is the most mystical and meaningful of all His names found therein.

The Name first appears in the book of Exodus. While Moses is tending his sheep he encounters G-d in the burning bush which essentially begins his career as a prophet. Moses is ordered to go into Egypt and demand that Pharaoh free the Israelites from bondage. Moses then asked "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" G-d gives him this most peculiar answer. He tells Moses to inform the Israelites that "YHWH sent you."

In most translations the name YHWH is rendered as "Lord." In ancient Judaism it was forbidden to speak the name YHWH aloud so when reading the scripture the old Priests and Rabbis would substitute the word Adonai, "my Lord" in its place. This tradition carried over into Christianity so that in a majority of English Biblical translations the name is replaced with the word "Lord." This name is also referred to as the Tetragrammaton, Greek for the "word of four letters." But in many English version Bibles this verse; Exodus 3:14, the first time the Name is revealed is the only time there is an attempt made at a literal translation. Often the translation is rendered "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel , 'I AM has sent me to you.'".

This name of G-d has a much deeper and more profound significance than can be encapsulated in such a human title of devotions such as "My Lord." It is a word which biblical scholars have struggled to properly translate for the reader unfamiliar with the original Hebrew. Perhaps if it was properly understood today by a majority of the faithful it could potentially unravel all the misunderstandings of the nature of the god of Abraham and Moses.

Rabbi Arthur Green describes this name as a verb artificially rested in motion serving as a noun. Green goes on to explain that a more proper translation for this Name should be "Is-Was-Will-Be." The implication of this translation suggests that God the Almighty Creator is in fact the very essence of existence

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