Yahweh Meaning: What the Name Means in the Bible
Updated October 22, 2026. Counts from the full KJV and World English Bible text.
Yahweh (Hebrew יהוה) means the self-existent, eternal one. Strong's Hebrew dictionary lists it as H3068 (Yhwh) and H3050 (Yahh). In the World English Bible text, Yahweh appears 6,829 times in 5,791 verses.
The first verse in the World English Bible text that matches is Genesis 2:4.
What Yahweh means
Yahweh is the modern scholarly way of saying YHWH, the name God gives Moses at the burning bush. The World English Bible uses it every time the Hebrew text has the name, where the KJV prints LORD. It is the same name as Jehovah, which has its own page.
| Hebrew | יהוה |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Yahweh (YHWH) |
| Literal meaning | the self-existent, eternal one |
| English Bibles print it as | Yahweh |
| Strong's | H3068 יְהֹוָה (Yhwh): (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God H3050 יָהּ (Yahh): Jah, the sacred name |
Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew dictionary, public domain. Every Hebrew form, transliteration and definition on these pages was read against the matching Strong's entry on Biblehub on 2026-10-22. Verse text is the King James Version and the World English Bible, both public domain.
Where Yahweh appears in the Bible
Because the World English Bible writes the name out, the word Yahweh can be counted directly. The shortened form Yah, found in Hallelujah (praise Yah), is counted separately.
| English text searched | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| Yahweh | not searched | 6,8295,791 verses |
| Yah | not searched | 4743 verses |
| LORD in capitals (KJV rendering) | 6,5775,554 verses (6,573 OT, 4 NT) | not searched |
Books with the most matches (WEB: Yahweh)
Found in 37 books in all.
First 40 of 5,791 verses (WEB, Yahweh): Genesis 2:4, Genesis 2:5, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:8, Genesis 2:9, Genesis 2:15, Genesis 2:16, Genesis 2:18, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 2:21, Genesis 2:22, Genesis 3:1, Genesis 3:8, Genesis 3:9, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 3:14, Genesis 3:21, Genesis 3:22, Genesis 3:23, Genesis 4:1, Genesis 4:3, Genesis 4:4, Genesis 4:6, Genesis 4:9, Genesis 4:10, Genesis 4:13, Genesis 4:15, Genesis 4:16, Genesis 4:26, Genesis 5:29, Genesis 6:3, Genesis 6:5, Genesis 6:6, Genesis 6:7, Genesis 6:8, Genesis 7:1, Genesis 7:5, Genesis 7:16, Genesis 8:20, Genesis 8:21.
First use of Yahweh
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
Names related to Yahweh
- Jehovahיְהוָה: LORD, the personal name of God
- Adonaiאֲדֹנָי: my Lord, a title of respect and rule
- Elohimאֱלֹהִים: God, the general Hebrew word for deity
- Jehovah Sabaothיְהוָה צְבָאוֹת: the LORD of hosts
See all names: the names of God and their meanings.
Common questions
What does Yahweh mean?
Yahweh means "he is" or "the self-existent one". Strong's glosses the name as the self-existent or eternal.
Where does the Bible first say Yahweh?
The first verse where the World English Bible uses Yahweh is Genesis 2:4, in the phrase "Yahweh God".
How many times is Yahweh in the Bible?
Searching the full World English Bible text for Yahweh finds 6,829 times in 5,791 verses. English Bibles translate Hebrew names, so a count in English counts the translation, not the Hebrew word.
Sources
Source: H3068, H3050 via biblehub.com/hebrew, read 2026-10-22. Hebrew meanings: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew dictionary, public domain. Verse text: King James Version and World English Bible, public domain. Counts: Bible Says About, 2026-10-22.
Verses on our topic pages: Bible verses about worship, Bible verses about faithfulness, Bible verses about trust. Word counts: God, Lord and Bible names and their meanings.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-22.