In the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

, Jehovah-jireh or Yahweh Yireh was the location of the

binding of Isaac The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isaa ...

, where

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

told

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

to offer his son

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

as a

burnt offering A holocaust is a religious animal sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire. The word derives from the Ancient Greek ''holokaustos'' which is used solely for one of the major forms of sacrifice, also known as a burnt offering. Etymology and ...

. Abraham named the place after God provided a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

to sacrifice in place of Isaac.

Translations

In the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, the name is (''yhwh yirʾeh''). The first word of the phrase is the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...

(), ''YHWH'', the most common name of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

in the Hebrew Bible, which is usually given the pronunciation

in scholarly works.

Jehovah Jehovah () is a Latinization of the Hebrew , one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton is considered one of the seven names of God in Judais ...

is a Christian anglicized vocalization of this name using the

vowels A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...

Adonai Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, Adonai, El ("God"), Elohim ("God," a plural noun), Shaddai ("Almighty"), and Tzevaot (" fHosts"); some also include Ehyeh ("I Will Be").This is th ...

. Following a Jewish tradition of not pronouncing God's proper name, YHWH is generally translated in English bibles as "the " or "" in capital letters, just as in Jewish worship it is traditionally not pronounced but the word ''

'' or ''

Elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...

'' ("God") is used instead. The early

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

translation into Greek gives the meaning as "The Lord hath seen." One Latin version of the Christian Bible rendered the name in Latin as ''Dominus videt'' ("The sees"). The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

follows this meaning, as quoted above. Jewish translations of the verse into English include, However, some modern translations, including the

NIV Niv may refer to: * Niv, a personal name; for people with the name, see * Niv Art Movies, a film production company of India * Niv Art Centre, in New Delhi, India NIV may refer to: * The New International Version, a translation of the Bible into E ...

, render it "the will provide", amplifying the literal meaning along the lines of "the will see to it", and referring to Abraham's earlier words in , "God himself will provide the lamb".

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition ...

Commentary on Genesis 22:11–14
(online at

CCEL The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pro ...

)

Interpretation

Some Jewish commentators see the name as alluding to the future importance of the place as the site of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

. The

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

im do not regard "Jehovah-jireh" as a proper name. Considering the passive construction of Abraham's words in verse 14, "In the mount of the it shall be seen",

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvi ...

comments that it teaches "that God not only looks upon those who are his, but also makes his help manifest to them..."

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

Commentary on Genesis 22:14
(online at CCEL)

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

and

go further, suggesting that "perhaps it may refer to God manifest in the flesh."

Other modern usage

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

translates "Jehovah-jireh" as "The Lord will provide" in his hymn, "When Troubles Assail." It is also the title of a

William Cowper William Cowper ( ; 26 November 1731 – 25 April 1800) was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scen ...

hymn. ''Jehovah Jireh'' is the title of an 1867 book by

William Plumer William Plumer (June 25, 1759December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician from Epping, New Hampshire. He is most notable for his service as a Federalist in the United States Senate (1802–1807), and the sevent ...

. "Jehovah Jireh" is the title of several modern songs, including one by

Don Moen Donald James Moen (born June 29, 1950) is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter of Christian worship music. Early and personal life Moen grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he attended high school in 1968. Moen attended Oral Rob ...

included on his 1986 debut album ''Give Thanks''; various others have covered it, including

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapted ...

on their 1989 self-titled debut album. Chandra Currelley performed another song with the same title in the 2006 play ''

What's Done in the Dark ''What's Done in the Dark (Will Come to the Light)'' is an 2007 American stage play written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry. The show first opened in September 2006. The play focuses on two nurses, one of whom is a single mother and the othe ...

''. R&B singer

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

also uses the name "Jehovah Jireh" in his debut album/mixtape

Nostalgia, Ultra ''Nostalgia, Ultra'' (stylized as ''nostalgia,ULTRA.'' and occasionally ''nostalgia/ultra'') is the debut mixtape by American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean. It was released on February 16, 2011. Ocean was inspired to make the mixtape after Hurri ...

in the song is titled 'We All Try". Organizations bearing the name include Jehovah Jireh Children's Homes in Kenya, founded by

Manasses Kuria Manasses Kuria (29 July 1929, in Nairobi – 19 September 2005, in Nairobi) was a Kenyan Anglican archbishop. He was the second African archbishop and bishop of Nairobi in the Anglican Church of Kenya. Early life Kuria was brought up by his par ...

, and

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

es such as Jehovah Jireh Samoan Assembly of God in

Victorville Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cro ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Maverick City Music Maverick City Music is an American contemporary worship music collective founded by Tony Brown and Jonathan Jay originating from Atlanta. The collective made its debut in 2019 with the release of two extended plays, ''Maverick City, Vol. 1'' and ...

and

Elevation Worship Elevation Worship is a contemporary worship music collective from Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The collective leads worship in weekend church services at Elevation Church, as well as performing concerts and tours around the Uni ...

released a song called " Jireh" in 2021.

Notable people

* Jireh Swift Billings, son of Franklin S. Billings, Jr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jehovah-Jireh Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible Torah places

Translations

Interpretation

Other modern usage

See also

Notable people

References