YHVH: Difference between revisions

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YHVH is a Demon in the Megami Tensei franchise.

Profile

Origin

YHVH in the Megami Tensei franchise represents the God of the Abrahamic religions. In these religions, YHVH is the supreme creator of the universe and all that is in it, and is considered to be the only god: the existence of all other gods is rejected. Most Christian denominations consider God to be a trinity of one God in three persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), but this doctrine is rejected in Judaism, Islam, and Unitarian Christianity.

The name YHVH^[a] (also rendered as YHWH or JHVH), referred to as the Tetragrammaton (Greek for "[name of] four letters"), is used in the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament as the personal name of God. The name is derived from the Hebrew verb meaning "to be,"^[b]^[1] which is alluded to in Exodus 3:14 with God telling Moses "I am who I am."^[c]^[1]

Over time, the name YHVH became considered too sacred to say aloud, and so in speaking began to be replaced with Adonai (the Lord);^[d] as such, in English versions of the Bible, it is conventionally translated as "the Lord," with the small capitals distinguishing uses of YHVH in the original Hebrew from uses of Adonai. Another traditional way of rendering the name YHVH in English is "Jehovah"; this spelling originates from Jewish scribes putting the vowel marks for Adonai onto the Tetragrammaton in the Masoretic text^[e] in order to indicate that it is pronounced Adonai, after which the Tetragrammaton was transcribed into the Latin alphabet with those vowels.^[2] The scholarly consensus for the original pronunciation of the name is "Yahweh."^[f]^[3]

Design

YHVH is usually depicted as a floating human head whose color varies depending on game. The head is blue in Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II and Kyūyaku Megami Tensei, and the head is yellow in Shin Megami Tensei II and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. His eyes have black sclera and white irises in Megami Tensei II and Kyūyaku Megami Tensei, black sclera and red irises in Shin Megami Tensei II, and white sclera and no irises or pupils in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. He has long, pointed ears in Shin Megami Tensei II. In Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, the head has a pattern of triangles on it.

YHVH receives a second form in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. This is not a true form, but rather a demonized form forced upon him to deprive him of his true power.^[4] In this form he appears as a four winged serpent with various animals emerging from flames and surrounding a demonic head at the center that represent various biblical stories.^[5] Notably, the insect represents the plague of locusts in the book of Exodus,^[6] the serpent from Genesis that tempted Adam and Eve with knowledge, and the goat references the sacrifices performed in His name. When attacking a humanoid specter emerges from the flames writhing in fury.

Gameplay

Compendium

Compendium Entries

Audio Drama Appearances

Novel Appearances

Anime Appearances

Manga Appearances

Other Appearances

Trivia

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	Y・H・V・HDigital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II Kyūyaku Megami Tensei YHVHShin Megami Tensei II Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse	Transliteration of יהוה

Gallery

Sprite of the false YHVH from Shin Megami Tensei II
Sprite of the true YHVH from Shin Megami Tensei II
Artwork of YHVH from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Concept artwork of YHVH from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Concept artwork of YHVH from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Artwork of YHVH's demonized from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Concept art 1 of YHVH's demonized form from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Concept art 2 of YHVH's demonized form from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Notes

↑ Hebrew: יהוה yhwh
↑ Hebrew: הָיָה hāyâ
↑ Hebrew: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה‎‎ ʾehyê ʾăšer ʾehyê
↑ Hebrew: אֲדֹנָי ʾăḏōnāy
↑ Hebrew: יְהֹוָה‎ *yŏhōwâ; actually pronounced ʾăḏōnāy
↑ Hebrew: *‎יַהְוֶה‎ *yahwê

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "Rather, the consensus of scholarship is certainly correct that yhwh represents a verbal form, with the y- representing the third masculine singular verbal prefix of the verb hyh 'to be.' The foundation for this consensus is the revelation of the divine name in Exodus 3:14, a notoriously difficult passage where God declares 'I am who I am' (ʾehyeh ʾăšer ʾehyeh)." The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity (2020), Theodore J. Lewis. Published by ‎Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN-13: 978-0190072544.
↑ Strong's Hebrew: 3068. יְהֹוָה (Yhvh) -- the proper name of the God of Israel. Retrieved December 25, 2023. Bible Hub.
↑ "The strong consensus of biblical scholarship is that the original pronunciation of the name YHWH that God goes on to use in verse 15 was 'Yahweh.'" The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (2018), Robert Alter. Published by W. W. Norton & Company. Vol. 3 p. 240. ISBN-13: 978-0393292503.
↑ "The corrupted figure that appears depending on the player’s choices; it is, therefore, not the true god’s form. Depending on the way Christianity was propagated, the inconvenient local gods were slandered and degraded. These gods were given the extreme forms of demons, the animals and reptiles they disliked, but in this game irony has it that YHVH’s second form is degraded by the very entities he hated." - Masayuki Doi https://dijehtranslations.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/970/
↑ "The first form was the head of the first man, Adam, created in his own image. However, the second form turns into a strange chimera that resembles a demon. The goat wanted by god in the Scriptures, the snake that tempted Eve in Eden or the swarm of locusts that appeared in the Exodus, threatening the Pharaoh if he refused to free the Jews, all can be seen in this form. Each part of the chimera is connected to the other." - Masayuki Doi https://dijehtranslations.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/970/
↑ “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won’t be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field. Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” - Exodus 10:3–6 (WEB)

[1] Hebrew: יהוה yhwh

[2] Hebrew: הָיָה hāyâ

[4] Hebrew: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה‎‎ ʾehyê ʾăšer ʾehyê

[5] Hebrew: אֲדֹנָי ʾăḏōnāy

[6] Hebrew: יְהֹוָה‎ *yŏhōwâ; actually pronounced ʾăḏōnāy

[8] Hebrew: *‎יַהְוֶה‎ *yahwê

[lewis-3] 1.0 ^1.1 "Rather, the consensus of scholarship is certainly correct that yhwh represents a verbal form, with the y- representing the third masculine singular verbal prefix of the verb hyh 'to be.' The foundation for this consensus is the revelation of the divine name in Exodus 3:14, a notoriously difficult passage where God declares 'I am who I am' (ʾehyeh ʾăšer ʾehyeh)." The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of Divinity (2020), Theodore J. Lewis. Published by ‎Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN-13: 978-0190072544.

[7] Strong's Hebrew: 3068. יְהֹוָה (Yhvh) -- the proper name of the God of Israel. Retrieved December 25, 2023. Bible Hub.

[9] "The strong consensus of biblical scholarship is that the original pronunciation of the name YHWH that God goes on to use in verse 15 was 'Yahweh.'" The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary (2018), Robert Alter. Published by W. W. Norton & Company. Vol. 3 p. 240. ISBN-13: 978-0393292503.

[10] "The corrupted figure that appears depending on the player’s choices; it is, therefore, not the true god’s form. Depending on the way Christianity was propagated, the inconvenient local gods were slandered and degraded. These gods were given the extreme forms of demons, the animals and reptiles they disliked, but in this game irony has it that YHVH’s second form is degraded by the very entities he hated." - Masayuki Doi https://dijehtranslations.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/970/

[11] "The first form was the head of the first man, Adam, created in his own image. However, the second form turns into a strange chimera that resembles a demon. The goat wanted by god in the Scriptures, the snake that tempted Eve in Eden or the swarm of locusts that appeared in the Exodus, threatening the Pharaoh if he refused to free the Jews, all can be seen in this form. Each part of the chimera is connected to the other." - Masayuki Doi https://dijehtranslations.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/970/

[12] “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country, and they shall cover the surface of the earth, so that one won’t be able to see the earth. They shall eat the residue of that which has escaped, which remains to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which grows for you out of the field. Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” - Exodus 10:3–6 (WEB)

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