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[Existing] The Tetragrammaton (/ˌtɛtrəˈɡræmətɒn/; from Greek Τετραγράμματον, meaning "[consisting of] four letters"), יהוה in Hebrew and YHWH in Latin script, is the four-letter biblical name of the God of Israel.[1][2] [Edit] YHWH derives from the exact same Hebrew root as "I am". YHWH is a combination of three Hebrew roots: Hayah - "He was", Hoveb - "He is", and Yihyeh - "He will be". Over 99% of the time the name appears, the middle vowel marker is missing, but a handful of times, intentionally or not, it was left in the name with all vowels and was vocalized in the Aleppo and Leningrad Codex as “Yehovah” with emphasis on the last syllable. [Existing] The books of the Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible (with the exception of Esther and Song of Songs) contain this Hebrew name. Religiously observant Jews and those who follow Talmudic Jewish traditions do not pronounce יהוה, nor do they read aloud transliterated forms such as Yahweh; instead the word is substituted with a different term, whether used to address or to refer to the God of Israel. Common substitutions for Hebrew forms are hakadosh baruch hu ("The Holy One, Blessed Be He"), Adonai ("My Lord") or HaShem ("The Name"). [Edit] Translations and traditions have developed several ways to represent YHWH in the text of the Bible. English translations of the Old Testament have typically replaced the Tetragrammaton with the word LORD in all capital letters. For example, in the KJV version, every time where the word LORD appears, behind it there is four letter name of God (Tetragrammaton) in Hebrew text. The Jewish tradition not to pronounce YHWH has been translated into the English version of the Old Testament of the Bible and Christians adopted Jewish tradition to not pronounce the Tetragrammaton and replaced it with LORD. [Existing] The letters YHWH are consonants. In unpointed Biblical Hebrew, most vowels are not written and the rest is written only ambiguously, as certain consonants can double as vowel markers (similar to the Latin use of V to indicate both U and V). These are referred to as matres lectionis ("mothers of reading"). [Edit] During the time Hebrew was a spoken language, vowels were not used since a native speaker would be able to read and understand the manuscripts without vowels.

There are two explanations of why the Hebrew language does not contain vowels. The first one is scientific: the root of a word consists of three letters in Hebrew, there is no need for vowels because the native speaker will understand it. The second one is religious: God gave the Jewish people a language in which each word carries many meanings, depending on context, culture, and history. [Existing] Therefore, in general, it is difficult to deduce how a word is pronounced only from its spelling, and the Tetragrammaton is a particular example: two of its letters can serve as vowels, and two are vocalic place-holders, which are not pronounced. Thus the first-century Jewish historian and philosopher Josephus said that the sacred name of God consists of "four vowels".[3] [Existing] Rabbinic sources suggest that the name of God was pronounced only once a year, by the high priest, on the Day of Atonement.[113] [Edit] He pronounced the name ten times during the service on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). [Existing] Others, including Maimonides,[114] claim that the name was pronounced daily in the liturgy of the Temple in the priestly benediction of worshippers (Num. vi. 27), after the daily sacrifice. [Edit] When the high priests were performing the Priestly Blessing in the days of the Second Temple, they pronounced the name as it was written three times, once in each line of the Priestly Blessing. Later it was forbidden to pronounce this name in worship services. [Existing] In the synagogues, though, a substitute (probably "Adonai") was used.[12]

Spoken prohibitions [Edit] The prohibition of pronouncing God’s name started between 130 and 138 CE when Romans issued anti-Jewish decrees. “The Greeks made decrees to eradicate Israel, ordering them to deny the kingdom of heavens, to declare that they have no portion with the God of Israel, and not to mention the heavenly name on their lips.” The Talmud says the pronunciation of the name was prohibited after the death of Haninah ben Teradion. He was executed by the Romans for spreading the Torah and pronouncing the name of God (יהוה) publicly. He was burned wrapped in the Torah scroll from which he taught. To prolong his sufferings, the Romans put soaked fleece between his body and the Torah scroll he was wrapped in. After this the rabbis were afraid the Romans would kill them all and there would be no one left to teach the Torah to the people. Shortly after his death, the rabbis decided to ban the use of the name of God in order to preserve the Jewish people during the millennia of persecution. [Existing] While "HaShem" is the most common way to reference "the Name", the terms "HaMaqom" (lit. "The Place", i.e. "The Omnipresent") and "Raḥmana" (Aramaic, "Merciful") are used in the mishna and gemara, still used in the phrases "HaMaqom y'naḥem ethḥem" ("may The Omnipresent console you"), the traditional phrase used in sitting Shiva and "Raḥmana l'tzlan" ("may the Merciful save us" i.e. "God forbid"). [Edit] Even though the name of God was prohibited to pronounce, Jews believed that when Messiah will come, they will be again allowed to pronounce God’s name יהוה.