Behold: The Mystery in the Name of God

Moses stood before a bush that burned but was not consumed. Sand clung to his feet as he obeyed the voice that told him to remove his shoes, for the ground was holy ground. In that desert silence, Moses asked the question every heart eventually asks: Who are You?

The answer came like fire wrapped in words: “I AM THAT I AM.” Tell them, He said, “I AM hath sent me unto you.” And then again: “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” (Exodus 3:14–15, KJV).

From that day onward, Israel carried this name: YHVH. Four letters. Simple strokes of ink, yet too holy to be spoken aloud. A name that seemed less like a label and more like a door into eternity itself.

The Name That Means “He Is”

Those four letters — Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh — rise from the Hebrew verb 'to be'. God is the One who simply is. He has no origin, no end, no decline, no rival. When He names Himself, He does not say, “I was” or “I will be,” but just... I AM.

Israel would not speak this name in common speech. When the scroll was read, they would say instead Adonai — “LORD.” But beneath their reverent silence, those letters remained, shimmering with meaning, a signature of the Eternal. A covenant with all.

Shapes That Tell a Story

Long before the familiar square script of modern Hebrew was used, these letters were written in an older pictorial form, what we call Paleo-Hebrew. Each letter carried not only a sound but of a picture filled with meaning.

• The Yod (?) was shaped like an arm and hand — the symbol of work and power.
• The Heh (?) looked like a figure with arms raised — the cry, “Behold!”
• The Vav (?) was drawn like a nail or peg — something that fastens and secures.
• The final Heh (?) repeated the call — “Behold!”

When you read each one, the letters tell their own story:

“Behold the hand. Behold the nail.”

There, in the covenant name revealed to Moses, the Cross of Calvary casts its shadow back in time, across the desert sand. Long before Rome built its crosses, long before iron pierced the flesh of Christ, the eternal plan was already inscribed in the very letters of the divine name. The Lamb was, as John would later write, “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Gods plan was 'alive' before he even stretched out the heavens.

The Name That Saves

Centuries later, another name would be spoken by angelic lips. To Joseph, troubled at the mystery of Mary’s child, the message came: “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, KJV).

In Hebrew, the name was יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshua), a shortened form of Yehoshua. Its meaning was clear: “YHWH saves.” The covenant name of God joined with the promise of salvation. The Eternal I AM had come near, not only to be, but to save.

The Name of Yeshua

If the letters of YHWH pointed toward pierced hands, the letters of Yeshua in their ancient form whispered the same story.

• Yod (?) — the hand.
• Shin (?) — teeth, the image of consuming or destroying.
• Vav (?) — the nail.
• Ayin (?) — the eye, to see, to know and understand.

Put together: the hand that destroys (sin) is nailed, that the eyes may see and know (God).

Once again, the shapes themselves seem to tell what the prophets foretold: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities… and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, KJV).

The name of God the Father - Behold the hand, behold the nail.

The name of God the Son - YHWH saves.

Two names, one story: the eternal plan of redemption.

The Covenant Thread

The Lord who spoke from the bush bound Himself to His people by covenant. Each new moment of Israel’s story unfolded new facets of that name: The LORD will provide. The LORD is peace. The LORD is my shepherd. Yet all these promises found their yes and amen in one Person.

When Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58, KJV), He did more than claim eternity. He lifted the veil. The same voice that thundered in Sinai now spoke in Galilee. The same I AM who revealed His covenant name revealed His pierced hands.

Why This Matters for Us

The mystery of God’s name is not meant for scholars alone. It give us a deep insight into the character and nature of our Father. We can learn his qualities and it steadies us in our own wildernesses.

• When we fear, we remember: His very name says, I AM. He is present, unchanging, dependable.
• When we doubt, we remember: His covenant love was written before time, His pierced hands are inscribed in His own name.
• When we wonder if He can love us still, we hear it again: Yeshua — “YHWH saves.” Not might save, not hopes to save, but saves.

Beholding the Name

The burning bush has long since withered away, and yet the name endures. Its letters still preach: behold the hand, behold the nail. And above them all shines the name given among men whereby we must be saved: Yeshua/Jesus.

Friend, the God who revealed His name to Moses, the God who wrote Calvary into His covenant from the beginning, now calls you by name. He is not only the I AM; He is the one who saves.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9, KJV).

Behold the hand. Behold the nail. Behold your Savior - your LORD, Jesus Christ.