יְהוָה

The origin of the name is traditionally connect to Exodus 3:14, where the divinity who spoke with Moses responds to a question about his name by declaring: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Ehyeh asher ehyeh).

In Jewish practice (since at least the first century), the four consonants that make up the divine name have been considered sacred and were never pronounced.

To keep the reader from pronouncing and thus profaning the sacred name of God, the Masoretes put the vowel pointing for אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay) under the consonants of the divine name יְהוָה (yhwh) to prompt the reader to pronounce אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay) in place of the divine name wherever it appears in the text.

Modern scholars generally agree that יהוה is derived from the Hebrew triconsonantal root היה (hyh), “to be, become, come to pass”, an archaic form of הוה (hwh).