Yam or YaHWeH
Q: I have a question about your article "Yam or I am". I the WIKI article it states that YAM is a sea god amongst other gods. If this is the case then was Moses talking to a different deity than we thought? If I understand you correctly you are trying to show the name YHWH, but it seems to show that YHWH is the god YAM. I could be way of base here, but after reading the article it shows that we might not know who Moses was talking to. Just a little confused.
Adam
A: Hi Adam, good to hear from you. I know I can be a little scattered brained at times when trying to make a point. Most, well, all of the articles I write are pretty much as they come out of my head. I add Scriptural references and sometimes add documentation but for the most part I am writing about something I have been looking at for years. With that said --- you are actually correct in what you think I am saying but your assumption is off base when it comes to your question, if I am reading you right, "YHWH is the god YAM". Not that I am saying the pagan idea of the water god is YHWH. What I mean is that the heathens, and the pagans (anyone other than those who worship YHWH) recognized a god of the flood waters/surf/oceans and called him Yam (Iam), unknowingly referring to the God that identified Himself to Moses as YHWH. My point is that while the translators had no idea what they were translating and inadvertently used a term "IAM" that just happed to be connected with the god of the waters, of the surf. The Word, IAM, that they used to translate from "hayah" (some want to argue over the "a" and use "e", fine), but "hayah" means, The YaH, not "I am".
So, the answer to this question is Yes, and No. Yes, YaHWeH is and was the God YAM, by this name He was recognized as the God of the Waters by the pagan worshipers. No, it was by the Name YaHWeH that He was the God to the fathers of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. YaHWeH did not take the name IAM or YAM, that was a name the pagans had given Him -- with Moses He was correcting this.
With the understanding that the word IAM or I AM, in Ex 3:14, is actually declaring that the God talking to Moses is YaHWeH (HaYaH -- translated IAM), then my speculation is all wrong, save one thing -- this study uncovers the connection between YaHWeH and the waters of the Earth.
First it is understood the Israelite had lost the identity of their God, YHWH while living under the Egyptian system, but they had not lost their identity and connection with their forefathers – the Egyptians saw to that, being prejudiced against them. They had no idea who He was, having been well versed, however, in all of the gods of Egypt.
Put yourself back in that time, you are one of the Israelites, you know all about the Egyptian way and their worship of the Bull (Bel, Baal god) and the child of the Bull, the Calf god. But, among all of the gods, and there were many, one for every event, there was one that was recognized as the God of the Surf, god of the Oceans and of all the Waters. This was an Identity the Pagans had given to the Creator God, the God of the Flood. So, to mention YAM was to mention the God of the Flood and this God we, you and I know as our Creator and the God Named YHWH or YaHWeH.
YAM is a name given the Creator by men, YHWH is the Name revealed by Him as His own personal Identity. This explains why YHWH went to the trouble to explain He had been recognized but not as the God of Abraham.
Stil, this is all conjecture on my part as the revealed truth comes from the Hebrew Dictionary for the word the translators translated into English for IAM -- the real and final answer is, IAM is Hayah -- the YaH. By itself this is a declaration of His Name YH (YaH) and in a later reveal, YH WH, which is to say, YaH will be or causes to be -- YaH is the Creator. Notice, there is not definition until the last part WH (VH) is added to His indefinable Name, YH. The reveal to Moses is a revelation not only to Israel but to the world.
I hope this clears it up. I will go back over that article and see if I can unscramble it. Maybe you could help me with that. Which part of the article seems confusing? Thank you for your input.
Article in question: IAM or YAM as YHWH?