PictographicName

THE CREATOR’S NAME IN ANCIENT PICTOGRAPHS
THEIR MEANING AND WHY IT MATTERS
Introduction
When humanity first began putting chisel to rock (or however
they first wrote down their thoughts, values, etc.), each stroke
resonated with meaning for every reader. The pictographs
represented the various components of their families, livelihoods,
homes, joys, and struggles. Every viewer of their writings was
able to “land on the same page” as every other viewer. This
mattered a great deal in all sorts of dangerous environments where
surviving required a high level of clarity and efficiency of
communication, as well as everyday, ordinary life. In many ways,
that situation still exists. In communicating spiritual truth, which
ultimately includes all of life, we need the same clarity. The ‘why’
of this is brought out in the following statement as well as many
others.
If I shut up the heavens and there is no rain, or if I command
the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among
my people, and my people upon whom my name is called,
shall humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and
turn from their evil ways, then I shall hear from the heavens,
and forgive their sin, and heal their land. (Dibre ha yamim
bet, aka II Chronicles 7:14) (Italics and emphasis mine)
How, or why, does this explain the need for communication
clarity? How many disasters, catastrophes, and abuses, and
casualties result from spiritual confusion? Too many to count? From
group suicides and persecution of people of other beliefs,
countless miseries flow from spiritual deception. Deceivers twist
spiritual truths into false narratives that deceive and destroy lives
over which they succeed in gaining influence. One of the greatest
deceptions has been the falsifying of the creator’s name, character,
and words. As we will see, according to some of those very words,

this deception remains among the most treacherous and
devastating of all time.
The censoring of the creator’s name began several millennia
ago. Various theories describe why, when, and how it occurred.
Certain of those entrusted with transmitting scripture failed at that
task, and the damage has been felt down through history. By
concealing the creator’s name and replacing it with false names
and false titles, they in effect hid from readers something of
incalculable value. This act has harmed previous generations and
continues to harm sincere seekers today. Perhaps the greatest
question for these transmitters of lies is, why hide the one name
that, according to the scriptures, is able to deliver and save? Even
so, we have many of the creator’s words, translated into our
various languages, to teach and guide us through the darkness of a
world currently steeped in wickedness and dominated by
rebellion. And yet, we need the authority and promises given, that
regard his true name, according to his own words. In this writing,
we will let the creator’s words bring out those promises made in
his name. I sincerely hope that these bless you as much as they
continue to bless me.
Letters, Words, and Meaning
Human writing at first was made with what now is known as
pictographs. The pictographs at the top of this page represent the
first of the written languages, which are identified by linguists as
proto-Semitic or proto-Sinaitic. This language, like many other
ancient languages, was written from right to left. Each pictograph
represents one or more meanings, dependent on the context, and
also a number. The first letter on the right, for example,
corresponds to our ‘A’ in English, and is prounounced “al’ef” (like
‘olive’ but with the sound of an ‘f’ instead of a ‘v’. The alef
pictograph represents an ox head and denotes strength and the
number 1. (https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/learn/how-to-typein-hebrew.htm)
Let’s look at each of the pictographs briefly, to get
a handle on their meaning, before looking at them together in a
name or other word.

‘alef’ ‘a’ an ox head; meaning: power, authority, strength
‘bet’ ‘b’
floor plan of a tent; meaning: family, house, in
‘gimel’ ‘g’ a foot; meaning: gather, walk
‘dalet’ ‘d’ a door; meaning: move, hang, entrance
‘hey’ ‘h’ or ‘eh’ human being with arms raised; meaning: look,
reveal, breath
‘waw’ ‘w’ a peg; meaning: add, secure, or hook
‘zayin’ ‘z’ mattock, hoe, plow; meaning: food, cut, or nourish
‘Hhet’ ‘Hh’ wall; meaning: outside, divide, or half
‘Thet’ ‘th’ basket; meaning: surround, contain, or mud
‘yud’ ‘y’ or ‘iy’ arm and hand; meaning: work, throw, make,
or praise
‘kaph’ ‘k’ open palm; meaning: bend, open, allow, or tame
‘lamed’ ‘L’ shepherd staff; meaning: teach, yoke, or bind,
toward
‘mem’ ‘m’ water; meaning: chaos, mighty, or blood
‘nun’ ’n’ sprouting seed; meaning: continue, heir, son,
or perpetuation
‘resh’ ‘r’ head of a human; meaning: head, first, top,
beginning

‘samehh’ ’s’ thorn; meaning: grab, hate, or protect
‘Ayin’ silent; eye; meanings: watch, know, or shade
‘Pey’ ‘P’ mouth; meanings: open, blow, scatter, or edge
‘Tsad’, ‘Tsade’ ‘ts’ trail; meanings: journey, chase, or hunt
‘Quph’ ‘Q’ sun at the horizon; meanings: circle, revolution,
condense, or time
‘Shin’ ‘Sh’ two front teeth; meanings: sharp, press, eat, or
two
signal
‘Tav’ or ‘Taw’ ’T’ crossed sticks; meanings: mark, sign, or
Words made with the Pictographs
A word made with the first two pictographs, now aka letters,
forms the word ‘ab’ and looks like this:
The first letter, ‘alef’, corresponds with the English letter,
‘a’, and refers to power, authority, and strength. It is
represented by an ox head, a common symbol of strength. The
other letter, ‘bet’, refers to a ‘family’ or ‘house’ or ‘tent’. When put
together into a word, we get ‘strong family’, although similar
phrases might also apply, such as ‘authority house’ or ‘power

house’ or ‘strong tent’. The word is pronounced ‘ab’ or ‘awb’ and in
English means ‘father’. From this, we see that the term, ’father’,
holds the original meaning of a ‘strong family’ or ‘strong house’,
etc. The very word denotes the importance of the role of a father.
In the Hebrew dictionary of the Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance, the very first word is ‘ab’, referenced in that volume
as ‘H1’. Scripture often refers to the creator as ‘father’, or ‘ab’. Now
that we have the meaning of these letters, and the meaning of the
two pictographs together, let’s look at the whole meaning of the
word. Referring again to Strong’s H1, we find that meaning.
We see that the word, ‘father’, first appears in Genesis
(Bereshith) 2:24, which states, “For this cause a man shall leave his
father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become
one flesh.” The formal definition of ‘ab’ or ‘father’ includes ’source’
or ‘originator’. Putting these meanings of the letters and word
together, we see that ‘ab’ or ‘father’ is the ‘source of a strong house
or family.’ In other words, the father of a family is its source and its
strength. In modern, feminist thought, this truth often is lost, with
fathers devalued and disparaged as unessential. Nevertheless,
according to the very meaning of ‘father’, he is both the source and
the strength of a family. Such statements are perhaps “politically
incorrect,” but yet they are linguistically correct.
Many children today live their lives without the presence of
an earthly father in the home, their mothers struggling to be both
mother and father. Certain of today’s social “leaders” and theorists
give the message that this is as desirable as a two-parent family
with both a father and mother. The father’s role as a family’s source
and strength is undermined. Others dispense with the idea of
families altogether, preferring any other combination at all, of
children and adults, except for the nuclear father and mother
headed family. Wherever that idea succeeds, children, mothers,
and societies suffer and are weakened, or even destroyed. We see
some of the devasting results of this today, such as abandoned
children, human trafficking, roving gangs, violence, disrespect for
authority, and on and on.

For all of those deprived of a strong family with a father as its
source and strength, please understand that the creator is the
ultimate source of all of us, of life, and of everything necessary for
life. He is our source, our ab, our father…our strong family.
Perhaps that is why scripture prohibits us from attributing that term
to anyone else, other than our earthly father. “And do not call
anyone on earth your father, for one is your father, he who is in the
heavens” (Mattityah aka Matthew 23:9).
There is no mere human, other than our earthly father, who
can claim to be our source and our strength. For all of the children
who, in whatever situation, find themselves without an earthly
father, the creator, our father, our ab, is our source, the strong
family we all need.
(A note on capitalization practice here, the language of hebrew
has no capitalization. So, I tend not to use any when referring to
hebrew words. My Spellcheck has other ideas (programmed in),
though, so it changes the letters to conform with standard English
writing practices. Please excuse this inconsistency.)
Names
Before going into the meaning of the creator’s name and of
the pictographs that originally represented it, let’s talk a little
about names, their importance, and their function in the world.
Examining the original Hebrew words and their meanings
enhances understanding, both of the words and of the contexts in
which we find them. Some names, such as the following names of
Noah’s sons, you most likely will recognize. Here are one word
meanings from Strong’s Concordance, following the name, in
parentheses.
shem (Name)
ham (Hot)
yapheth (Expansion)

According to scripture, we all descended from Noah and his
spouse and these three men and their spouses. Scientific findings
support this assertion. Here is one with an example from DNA
studies: https://prophecyinthenews.com/world_news/dna-studyof-mummies-indicates-ancient-egyptians-descended-frombiblical-ham/.
Shem (pronounced ‘shame’ with a long ‘a’) actually means
‘name’. The word meaning ‘name’ appears for the first time in
scripture in Genesis 2:11 (Genesis, by the way, is really ‘Bereshith’,
when translated directly from the Hebrew to English). ‘Bereshith’
means ‘In the beginning’, which is how the book begins and a
more appropriate name for the book. The word, ‘name’, refers to a
specific identity, reputation, memorial, a definite, conspicuous
position, or, “…by implication honor, authority,
character” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).
The original usage of ‘name’ meant much more than a simple
sound or collection of sounds, or a label to put with a face. Most of
us share our name with others. However, this does not diminish
our individual identity and how our name uniquely applies to us.
For those who find themselves with a name that fails to identify you
and your character accurately, in most cases you can change it to
one that does. But before you do, you might carefully examine your
name’s meaning. One way to do that is to begin with tracing it back
to the pictographs, and to the original name. There is some help
online with this, but some sources seem less helpful. Here is one of
the source I used for this writing: https://www.ancienthebrew.org/learn/learn-the-ancient-pictographic-hebrewscript.htm#yud
Words and Names in Scripture
A problem we face with Bibles that have come down to us
through different languages, nations, translations, interpretations,
etc., concerns the replacement or changing of names, and other
important words. The replacements include some incoherent
combinations of names, or titles, or other words and resulted in the

loss of their meaning, authority, and character. This matters
particularly with the most important of names, most notably of the
creator and of his messiah. Here is one reason:
Because he cleaves to me in love, therefore I deliver him; I
set him on high because he has known my name. When he
calls on me, I answer him; I am with him in distress; I deliver
him and esteem him. With long life I satisfy him and show
him my deliverance. (tehillim aka psalms 91:14-16)
A scripture source that restores the original names is
published by the Institute for Scripture Research and is titled
simply The Scriptures. It restores not only the names but also those
of each “book” and other words, clarifying the meaning and
purpose of each book. For example, the title of the second book,
‘shemoth’, which means ‘names’, at some point got changed to
‘Exodus’, which of course refers to the deliverance of Israel from
slavery in Mizraim (or, Egypt, as it was changed to). Mizraim was
one of Ham’s sons, along with Kush, Put, and Kena’an. (Bereshith
9:6) These names all were restored in the direct translation of
scripture from Hebrew to English, The Scriptures. That book
informs of the importance of the name.
The Creator’s Name
The question, “What is his name, and what is his son’s name,
if you know it?” is found in Proverbs 30:4 (or Mishle’ in Hebrew).
Debates abound on the pronunciation of the name. The aim of this
writing is to gain a right understanding of the meaning and
purpose of the name and how it relates to us. The Strong’s
Concordance, an authoritative and exhaustive reference on
scriptural Hebrew, gives the pronunciation as ‘ye-ho-vah’, to which
many Hebrew scholars concur. Some pronounce the name with a
softer ‘ye-ho-wah’ sound; others with different sounds altogether.
Because of wide agreement on Strong’s authority as a reference, I’ll
use that pronunciation. What matters more than pronunciation,
though, I believe, is understanding the meaning of the name and of

whom we are speaking when we say his name. And with that, let’s
look at how the name originally was communicated in writing.
And for this reason I have raised you up, in order to
show you my power, and in order to declare my name in all
the earth. (Shemoth 9:16)
As touched on previously, the ‘alef-bet’ (from which we
derived ‘alphabet’) originally was written in picture form, each
pictograph holding one or more meanings, sometimes a story, and
a number. The four pictographs of the creator’s name were later
changed into much less graphic letters, with a resultant loss of
much of the understanding and impact present in the originals.
In the book of Shemoth (which means ‘names’) aka Exodus,
chapter 3, verses 13-15, the almighty gives Moses the name, so he
can give it to the chldren of Israel. The first one given was hyh in
English letters, hyh, which means ‘to exist’. The KJV and others
translated this as ‘I am’. After enslavement in a pagan nation for
more than 400 years, Israel needed this simple reminder, “Be still
and know that hyh elohim (or, that ‘I am the mighty one’).
In ancient times, people called those they worshiped ‘mighty
ones’. The Hebrew word for ‘mighty one’ or ‘mighty ones’ or ‘the
almighty’ is ‘el’ or ‘elohim’, with ‘el’ the singular term and ‘elohim’
the plural. English translators, depending on the manuscripts
used, translated ‘elohim’ as ‘God’, but that is inaccurate. It is an
erroneous translation of ‘elohim’, and is definitely not the name of
the creator. Many sources trace the term to pagan belief systems
and idolatrous worship and trusting in money or fortune. After
seeing those, I made the decision just to steer clear of that term,
and also of LORD (which is associated with the idol, ’Ba’al’, in the
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance) and is used in replacement of
the creator’s name.
I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy
falsehood in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have

dreamed!’ Till when shall it be in the heart of the prophets? -
the prophets of falsehood and prophets of the deceit of their
own heart, who try to make my people forget my name by
their dreams which everyone relates to his neighbor, as their
fathers forgot my name for baal (Lord, Adonay). (Jeremiah -
yirmeyah 23:25-27)
The meaning of the name, according to the Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance, is ‘the self-existent’ and ‘the eternal’. Although it
might be difficult for us to grasp the meaning of an eternal, selfexistent
person, it is the name given to Moses for the people of
Israel and, by extension, to all of us.
The individual letters hold significant meaning of their own.
The first, the y, pictures an arm with an open hand. It has the
sound of a ‘y’, as in ‘yard’ and originally was called ‘yad’, and is
now called ‘yud’. This pictograph refers to ‘work’, throw’, make’,
praise’, or ‘worship’. Changes to the letter, down through the
millennia have rendered it’s meaning practically unintelligible.
Now the letter looks like a mere apostrophy. The next letter of the
name, h pictures a human with arms raised, is pronounced ‘hey’
and means ‘look’, ‘reveal’, ‘breath’, ‘sigh’, ‘revelation’. The
third letter is a tent peg with the pictograph appearing as a
It was pronounced ‘wah’ and then later on as ‘vav’. This
letter means to add or to secure. The final letter is a h an
additional letter with the meanings: work, throw, make, praise, or
worship.
Since so much controversy surrounds the pronunciation of the
father’s name, I decided to use that of the Strong’s Concordance.
Strong’s Hebrew dictionary has the pronunciation as ‘ye-ho-vah’,
with the emphasis on the last syllable. Inputting the name into a
current Hebrew pronunciation source in Israel returns the same
pronunciation. Here is the page that provides this: https://
forvo.com/languages/he/ ; here is the name to input in Forvo, in
modern Hebrew letters obtained from a Strong’s Concordance

online: יְהֹוָה for you to copy and paste into the Forvo Pronunciation
Dictionary.
Following are some verses about the name of the most high,
with the father’s name written in English letters as shown in the
Strong’s Concordance:
And elohim (the almighty) said to Mosheh, “Thus you
are to say to the children of yisrael, ‘yehovah, elohim of your
fathers, the elohim of abraham, the elohim of yitshaq, and
the elohim of ya’aqob, has sent me to you. This is my name
forever, and this is my remembrance to all
generations.’” (Shemoth 3:15 aka “Exodus”) (italics mine)
And I appeared to abraham, to yitshaq, and to ya’aqob,
as el shaddai. And by my name yehovah was I not known to
them? (Shemoth 6:3)
I am yehovah, that is my name, and my esteem I do not
give to another, nor my praise to idols. (yeshayah aka Isaiah
42:8)
You do not bring the name of yehovah your elohim
(mighty one) to naught, for yehovah does not leave the one
unpunished who brings his name to naught. (Shemoth 20: 7)
And yehovah spoke to mosheh, saying, “Speak to
aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is how you bless the
children of israel. Say to them, “yehovah bless you and
guard you; Yehovah make his face shine upon you, and
show favor to you; Yehovah lift up his face upon you, and
give you peace. Thus they shall put my name on the children
of israel, and I myself shall bless them.” (Bemidbar, aka
Numbers 6:22-27) (Italics mine)
The name of yehovah is a strong tower; the righteous
run into it and are safe. (Proverbs - Mishle 18:10)

Do not fear, for I am with you. I shall bring your seed
from the east, and gather you from the west. I shall say to the
north, “Give them up!” And to the south, “Do not keep them
back!” Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the
ends of the earth—all those who are called by my name,
whom I have created, formed, even made for my
esteem” (yeshayah 43:5-7).
Therefore my people shall know my name, in that day, for
I am the one who is speaking. See, it is I. (yeshayah 52:6)
And do not give any of your offspring to pass through
(the fire) to Molok, and do not profane the name of your
elohim (mighty one). I am yehovah. (Leviticus 18:21)
Oh, yehovah, my strength and my stronghold and my
refuge, in the day of distress the nations shall come to you
from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have
inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in
them. Would a man make mighty ones for himself, which are
not mighty ones? Therefore see, I am causing them to know,
this time I cause them to know my hand and my might. And
they shall know that my name is yehovah” (yirmeyah aka
Jeremiah 16:19-21).
And I shall bring the third into fire, and refine them as
silver is refined, and try them as gold is tried. They shall call
on my name, and I shall answer them. I shall say, “This is my
people,” while they say, “yehovah is my elohim (my mighty
one)” (Zekaryah aka Zehariah 13:9) (Italics mine)
For where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there I am in their midst. (Matithyah aka Matthew
18:20)
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit
should remain, so that whatever you ask the father in my

name he might give you. (yohanan aka John 15:16) (Note
that the messiah is speaking here to his taught ones, as in
most of these chapters.)
And I have made your name known to them, and shall
make it known, so that the love with which you loved me
might be in them, and I in them. (yohanan aka John 17:26)
The Messiah
This is the name of moshiach aka messiah: yud
hey waw shin waw ayin - yehoshua, which
means yehovah saved (Strong’s H3091). The
name, yehoshua includes the father’s name, yehovah (remember
no capital letters in hebrew).
Poetic writings, such as psalms, use the lyrical form, ‘yah’ for
the father’s name. Evidence for the original sound of the father’s
name is within the messiah’s name, which contains the sound of a
‘w’ for the ‘vav’ or ‘waw’ letter, instead of the sound of a ‘v’.
Therefore it seems uncertain whether it accurately should be
pronounced with a ‘v’. Some ancient tribal people groups, some
indigenous tribes in the U.S., use the form, ‘ye-ho-wah’, which
provides a clue to the possible original pronunciation.
Yehoshua taught that he had come into the world in his father’s
name. It seems then, that the name of the messiah includes both
the father and the son in one name and that acknowledging the son
acknowledges the father also. (I yohanan - John 2:23, 5:12 - The
Scriptures)
No one denying the son has the father. The one confessing
the son has the father as well. (yohanan aleph aka I John 2:23)

Blessed are the people whose mighty one is h hy.
(Tehillim aka Psalms 144:15)