What is God’s name if using only the Bible?

There has been a long debate over whether the divine name in the Bible should be pronounced Jehovah, Yahweh, or something else. Many explanations claim that “Jehovah” was formed later by combining the consonants YHWH with the vowels from Adonai (Lord). But this explanation is clearly impossible when we look at the Bible itself.

The Hebrew scriptures (Tanakh) already contain personal names built from the divine name long before the Babylonian exile. For example:

• Yehoshua (Joshua)
• Yehonatan (Jonathan)
• Yehoshaphat (Jehoshaphat)

All of these contain the form Yeho- as a prefix. Yet we also find expressions and names that end with -yahu or -yah:

• Eliyahu (Elijah)
• Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah)
• Hallelujah (Praise Yah)

Both forms appear together in the same historical period, long before the time of the Masoretes or the practice of saying Adonai instead of pronouncing God’s name. That means the Yeho- and -yahu patterns existed naturally in Hebrew speech and cannot be explained as a later invention.

Hallelujah is especially significant because it preserves the shortened form Yah (יה), which clearly shows that the divine name begins with Yah. In Hebrew, Hallelu-Yah means “Praise Yah,” where Yah is the object of the verb, appearing at the end of the phrase but revealing the first syllable of the name itself. This confirms that the divine name started with Yah- long before any later traditions influenced pronunciation.

So why do we have both forms?
In Hebrew, when part of a name appears at the beginning (a prefix), vowels often reduce in strength because the first syllable is unstressed. When the same element appears at the end (a suffix), it keeps its full sound. This is how Hebrew phonology works.

That means the divine name must have been pronounceable in a way that both Yeho- and -yahu could come from the same original form. Linguistically, that points to something like Yahowah (YAH-HUH-WAH).

From that original form:
• As a prefix, Yahow- naturally weakens to Yeho-.
• As a suffix, -yahuw shortens to -yahu.

Both forms match what we find in the Tanakh, so they must reflect the true ancient pronunciation, not a later replacement.

This also disproves the claim that “Jehovah” arose from the vowels of Adonai. That Masoretic practice appeared more than a thousand years after these names were already in use. The Bible itself shows that Yeho-, -yahu, and Yah are authentic, ancient parts of the same name—clear evidence that the divine name was originally spoken as Yahowah.

Therefore, when we take all the biblical and linguistic evidence together, the divine name most likely sounded like Yahowah (YAH-HOH-WAH), which perfectly explains both the prefix and suffix forms preserved throughout the inspired Hebrew text and is confirmed by the Yah in Hallelujah.