Jehovah

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In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the name of God, revealed to Moses; in Hebrew texts it is represented by the letters YHVH (without the vowels ‘a o a’) because it was regarded as too sacred to be pronounced; other religions say the letters as Yahweh.

Naming something is a way of encompassing and understanding it, so Jews believe that because God is beyond human understanding, he cannot be named. Before the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in AD 70, part of the high priest's role would be to enter the inner sanctum of the Temple on Yom Kippur and utter his name. The terms Adonai (‘Lord’), Hashem (‘the Name’), Elohim (‘the God of Life’), and Melech (‘King’) were also used in order to avoid directly mentioning God; in English, Jewish texts use the form ‘G–d’, omitting the ‘o’.

The star, which was added to the flag in 1793, initially had more than five points. The star may represent the Morning Star mentioned in the Koran. Effective date: 5 June 1936. >>