U, V or W?

    Was the sixth Hebrew letter developed from two uu's put together?  Of course not.  It it true that our English W developed from two uu's or vv's put together, this is why it is called double u.  But we English speaking people have to use this letter W to convey the ancient sound of   in Hebrew and   in Arabic etc..

   The  Oxford English Dictionary lists two columns worth of information about the English W explaining how it developed from two uu's put together, then a statement towards the end, "1869 ELLIS E. E. Pron. I. iii. 187 In Europe (w) is thought to be peculiar to England . . In Arabic however (w) is quite at home."

   ". . . the sound of  a long time ago wasn't  'vav' at all but  'w' and  'w' is weak. . . The Yemenite Jews of Arabia who retain an ancient, correct and pure pronunciation of Hebrew still pronounce the  as  'w' --as does Arabic, the close sister language of Hebrew." How the Hebrew Language Grew p. 29, 30

   So why do many Jews today contend that the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is a V?  According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament and other reference materials it is because of German influence.

   "The German (Ashkenazic) influence arose within the last 1800 years, after the Jews were dispersion in 135 A.D.  As Jewish communities gradually developed in Eastern, Central and Western Europe, German influence eventually made its mark on the Hebrew language." The Sixth Letter is Waw by Voy Wilks 3/3/96

   "There are, generally speaking, two main pronunciations: the Ashkenazi, or German, originated by Central and Eastern European Jews and carried to all countries to which those Jews have emigrated (Western Europe, America, etc.): and the Sephardi, or Spanish, used by the Jews of Spanish or Portuguese stock in Europe and America and also by Jews from Oriental countries.  In all universities and throughout Israel, the Sephardi pronunciation has been adopted, since it is generally believed that this is the pronunciation nearest to the original . . ." Biblical Hebrew  p. 33 by Menahem Mansoor

   So when did the "V" come into use?  Consider the following argument!

The original sacred name was Yahuwah (in a nut shell proven from YAH in Psalm 68:4, extended form in the name "Eliyahu" I Kings 17:1 margin, and the translation I AM THAT I AM, notice  "I AM" is repeated, thus in the name Yah is repeated with wah.  According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance "Dodavah" means "love of Yah".)  Now Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215) transliterated from the true sacred name into Greek as (Iaoue), the Greeks had a tendency to put an  "e" on the end of names, as seen in the New Testament which only the KVJ points out.

Names like Noe (Mt 24:37), Osee (Rom 9:25), Jude (NT book), Core (Jude 11) etc

Which according to the Old Testament were  Noah, Hosea, Juda, and Korah.  But obviously Clement was transliterating from the Hebrew at a time when the   was a W.  Later on Theodoret (c.390-455) and Epiphanius (c.315-404) transliterated the sacred name as Iabe (Iabe), obviously a couple of hundred years had passed and they were transliterating from a  V not a W. 

Original Hebrew name	Y A H U W A H
Clement transliterates into Greek
Later Theodoret & Epiphanius
Probably transliterating from Hebrew  that had adopted the "v" sound.	Y A H     V A H

       "From Latin v, which was at first bilabial (voiced like a 'b' using the lips), but became labiodental (using the bottom lip to the teeth) in the 2d century A.D.." Funk & Wagnall New Standard Encyclopedia (1934)

   So from the quote above we learn that even in Latin the V did not come into use until the second century, and also comparing Clement with Theodoret & Epiphanius using  and we can see when this change of V came in.

   But the question we must ask is, What pronunciation did    have when the Creator spoke the ten commandments upon Mount Sinai?  What about the Hebrew language that Abraham spoke?, Or, Noah? Or, Adam, which He had learned from YHWH Himself?  Obviously it was the more ancient pronunciation of our modern W sound, which even the American Indians retained in their language from the original, as at one time  "the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." Genesis 11:1.  As place names bare this out such as, Waxahachie Tx, Nowata Ok, Hiawassee Ga, Wewoka Ok,  Iowa etc.

   ". . . The Hebrew letter waw   can function as a consonant or a vowel.  When the waw is a consonant it sounds like w, as in water, and usually has a vowel sign under it. . . When the waw functions as a vowel it has the sound of o as in row.  With a dot above it, the waw sounds like o as in row:.  With a dot in its center, the waw sounds like oo as in pool  .  Note: This dot in the center of the waw is not a daghesh (a dot in the center that indicates that the letter is doubled, in such a case a vowel mark is also beneath the letter) . . . When a waw functions as a vowel, sounded o or oo, it does not have the sound of w as in water.  The, like the waw, can be both vowel and consonant." A Simple Approach To Old Testament Hebrew p. 9  

   "The Semetic  and  are certainly by usage consonants, although by nature they are vowels, viz. u and i  and consequently are consonantal vowels." Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar p. 26

   There is structural system in Hebrew, depending on the arrangement whether it was a vowel or consonant, which existed before vowel points were used and in the time when the paleo-waw   was used.

   The point to be made is this, Was the Creator influenced by the German (Ashkenazi) speech when He delivered His name on Mount Sinai?  Of course not!

Man is the one notorious for altering that which has gone out of the Creator's lips, (Review Psalm 89:34), He made it plain, "I change not." Malachi 3:6, thus we understand that the Creator was not the one who changed the to a vav.  In the Father of lights there  "is no variblness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

Likewise with His Son  "YAHUSHUA the Messiah the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Hebrew 13:8

    Not only did the Jews change the W to V, but in modern times have changed

(Hebrew B)to V also.  Therefore Abraham beomes Avraham, and Yacob becomes Yacov, Tel Abib becomes Tel Aviv, and everyone gets confused.  Why do we need two v's in modern Hebrew?  Where will the J and V  sickness stop?  (In the lake of fire?)

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