Tetragrammaton



The term tetragrammaton (, that means "four letters"), also known as the "quadriliteral name" or Shem Ha-Meforash (“the indescribable Name”) refers to the Hebrew theonym YHWH. It is considered in Judaism to be a proper name of the God of Israel as indicated in the Hebrew Bible. The correct pronunciation of the name of the L ORD S ENHOR s currently ignored.

Jews are forbidden to utter or write the Tetragrammaton in full. When reading the Torah, they use the term Adonai. Some Jews avoid even to use the term Adonai, when outside the context of prayer or the public reading of the biblical text, using instead HaShem (The name). In some Christian translations of the Bible, L ORD is used in place of the Tetragrammaton, written with small capitals (or all caps) to distinguish it from other words translated "Lord". According to traditional interpretation, the Tetragrammaton typifies the divine quality of mercy.