The Meaning of God’s Name

God’s name in Hebrew, from right to left.

Whenever you see the words The LORD in the English bible, it is actually a substitute for the actual name of God, YVHV, sometimes pronounced as Yahweh.

The ancient Hebrew alphabet has meanings attached to each of its 22 letters (see a chart of Hebrew letters and their meanings here if you like). The letters used in the name of God, YVHV, are the Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey, corresponding to:

Yod – picture (Arm and closed hand) – meaning (work, throw, worship)

Hey – picture (Man with arms raised) – meaning (look, reveal, breath)

Vav – picture (Tent peg (or nail)) – meaning (add, secure, hook)

So we could say that going from right to left (as Hebrew is read), the meaning of God’s name is The Hand Revealed, The Nail Revealed. Here is a site that goes into more detail on this.