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FOUR VOWELS Josephus the Jewish historian wrote that the sacred name consists of four vowels (Jewish Wars, 5.5.7.). Why did Josephus write this? Please consider the following: Remember Josephus was writing to a Greek audience! He first wrote his history [at least his notes] in Hebrew (Antiquities 12 S. 1~footnotes; Against Apion 1.9) But after the Jewish Roman war he had time, and with long perseverance, he mastered the Greek language, and compiled his history in Koine Greek, which was the international language at that time. Though it was the international language, do not think it was the every day language in Palestine, for it was not! Josephus frequently altered Hebrew names, spelling them after the fashion of the Greeks, "to please [his Greek] readers" (Antiquities 1.5.1.). Josephus describes the head-gear worn by the Levitical priest: "Of this was a crown made, as far from the hinder part of the head to each of the temples; but this ...did not cover the forehead, but it was covered by a golden plate, which had inscribed upon it the Name of (E[ohim) in SACRED CHARACTERS." (Antiquities 3. Z 6, ~Sacred Title restored and emphasis added).
The
term SACRED CHARACTERS, means not just Hebrew letters, but the ancient Hebrew,
known as Paleo-Hebrew, used in the time of Moses, and David Anciently even the
Greek language was written backwards (according to modem English thinking], and
the ancient Greek letters were very similar to paleo Hebrew. Therefore the
ancient Greek would have written the sacred name
It is true that the
letters
'The
The waw
Sometimes the
Therefore the letters yod, he, and waw can be vowel letters, they can also be consonants, depending on the usage.
Concerning the Sacred Name, the structure of the letters
tell us that the yod is a consonant as in the word
YAH~68:4&lsish12:2;26:4;38:11NKJV). Also the
Also the waw
The final
Conclusion: When Josephus said "four vowels", he was
talking to his Greek audience expressing the Tetragrammaton in a way they would
comprehend, trans-letter-ating from PaleoHebrew
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The modem Greek
equivalent would be written
,
and understood as IEUE. But do not think that this in any wise proves the
pronunciation. He was writing to the Greeks the equivalent of YHWH. And it was
from this that the heathen formed their Jeue, Jove9 and Jeve (see Adaan
Clarks Commentary on Exodus 3:14)
can
function as vowel letters. Let us see a few examples, the yod acts as a vowel in
the words "Eli" (Mt 27:46) also #430 Elohim, #4899 Mashiach, Ish (Gen
2:23 margin KJV) etc.. Yet it also functions as a consonant in other words like
#3050 Yah, #2968 ya ab etc. Sometimes it acts like a vowel and a consonant all
in the same letter, as in "Eliyah", where it is a double yod
is stronger
and firmer than 
and never loses its consonantal sound in the middle of a word .... On the other
hand, at the end of a word it is always a mere vowel letter, unless expressly
marked by Mappiq as a strong consonant." (As in
Eloahh) Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar p.81
also can act as a vowel in words like #452 E[iyahu, #3194 Yutah etc.. It
also carries the "o" sound, as in #3117 yom. On the other hand it acts like a
consonant in words like #2331 chavah, actually the consonant is not a "v", but
"as in Arabic, or as the English w, not as the German."
ELoahh). When
Hebrew words end with an "uah~ sound it is expressed in Hebrew as
, therefore if the
Hebrew word ends
it will always act as a consonant, ending like “wah” or “weh” etc.
the sacred name, "at the end of a word it is always a
mere vowel letter." Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar p.81