The Sacred Name יהוה
The Four Letters of the Tetragrammaton: A Greek term meaning a Four-Letter Word / Name,
known to be a transcription of the Personal Name to the One and Only Covenant Ailoheem unto the 12 Tribes of Yishra-Ail [Israel].
 

There are two seemingly viable rules of thumb when it comes to pronouncing The Sacred Name.

1) The first one is that all the letters within The Sacred Name are consonants, because within the ancient Hebrew alphabet there were only consonants, while the vowel sounds with in words were to be inferred. This would mean that we will only need to deduce which vowel sounds are to be incurred from the evidence within the ancient texts left behind for us as a witness.

2)The second is according to The Hebrew rules of grammar and usages within the parameters of the Hebrew pronunciation chart

First we will start with the pronunciation chart (including their numerical values)-

Gesenius - Hebrew Grammar:
FORM / NAME                                           / PRONUNCIATION                                                     / NUMERICAL VALUE
י/ Yod or Yohd                                 /  consonant "y" ( or vowel "i" and "e")                       /              10
ה         / Heh                                                /  consonant "h" ( or silent, aiding a vowel sound)     /                 5
ו       / Waw (Wau) [a.k.a. -Vav (Vau) /  consonant "w" ( or vowel "u")                                   /                 6
ה/ Heh                                               /   consonant "h" ( or silent - aiding a vowel sound)   /             + 5
                                                                                                                                                                   Total = 26

(The letters יהוה run continualy throughout the Torah from one end to the other spelling the Sacred Name at a 26 letter skip! Selah)


And now for the rules and ussages of the Hebrew language (with comments in relation to the Sacred Name) -

Rules of Hebrew Grammar and usage (According to Gesenius - Hebrew Grammar):

Rule #1 - [2.2 Vowels & 8.1 Matres lectionis] In the traditional form, vowels are indicated by the weak consonants Aleph (א), He (ה),
                 Vav (ו), or Yodh (י) serving as vowel letters {Wikipedia the free online Encyclopedia} 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_alphabet#Vowels
{See also: [7b] 2. on page 36 of "Gesenius Hebrew Grammar".}
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AGesenius'_Hebrew_Grammar_(1910_Kautzsch-Cowley_edition).djvu/60
(This means that any of the letters within The Sacred Name (יהוה) could stand either as consonants or as vowels.) 

Rule #2 -[24a] ו‎ and י‎ are, as consonants, so weak, and approach so nearly to the corresponding vowels u and i, that under certain 
                conditions they very readily merge into them. This fact is especially important in the formation of those weak stems, in
                which a ו‎ or י‎ occurs as one of the three radical consonants (§69 ff., § 85, § 93). 
                1. The cases in which ו‎ and י‎ lose their consonantal power, i.e. merge into a vowel, belong almost exclusively to the middle 
                    and end of words; at the beginning they remain as consonants. {Gesenius Hebrew Grammar p. 82.}  
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Gesenius'_Hebrew_Grammar_(1910_Kautzsch-Cowley_edition).djvu/106
(This would mean that the letter "yohd"(יהוה) would be a consonant at the begining of The Sacred Name, and the "Waw/Vav" (יהוה) could represent a vowel, being it is in the middle of The Sacred Name.)

Rule #3 - [14a] (ה can never be a vowel letter in the middle of a word). 
                  {Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar p. 56.}  
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Gesenius%27_Hebrew_Grammar_(1910_Kautzsch-Cowley_edition).djvu/80
                  [23k] 4. “The ה is stronger and firmer than א, and never loses its consonantal sound in the middle of a word.” 
                  {Gesenius Hebrew Grammar  p. 81.}
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Gesenius%27_Hebrew_Grammar_(1910_Kautzsch-Cowley_edition).djvu/105
 (This would mean that the first letter "Heh" in the middle of The Sacred Name (יהוה) must be a consonant, and have a vowel sound following it.)

Rule #4 - [23k] 4. Unless the "Heh" () is dotted with the mappiyq, “at the end of a word it is always a mere vowel letter.” 
                 {Gesenius Hebrew Grammar p. 81.}
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Gesenius%27_Hebrew_Grammar_(1910_Kautzsch-Cowley_edition).djvu/105
                 [23k] 4. On the other hand, at the end of a word it is always a mere vowel letter, unless expressly marked by Mappîq as a
                 strong consonant (§14a).   {Gesenius Hebrew Grammar p. 81.} 
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Gesenius%27_Hebrew_Grammar_(1910_Kautzsch-Cowley_edition).djvu/105
                (This would imply that the second letter "Heh" at the end of The Sacred Name (יהוה) could be a vowel.) 











 





But What About Those “Four Vowels”?

Why did Flavius Josephus, the noted Yahu-Dish historian, write that the Sacred Name consists of four vowels?

Here is a translation of this passage in question:

“A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied by a blue ribbon, about which there was another golden crown,
 in which was engraven the Sacred Name: it consists of four vowels.” (The War of the Jews, Book 5. 5. 7.)

Hebrew grammar scholars will agree:
“However, long before the introduction of vowels signs it was felt that the main vowel sounds should be indicated in writing,
 and so the three letters ה ,ו, and י were used to represent long vowels.” (Weingreen [Oxford University Press, 1959])

Other Hebrew grammar books state the same fact: A Beginner’s Handbook to Biblical Hebrew, Marks and Rogers, Abingdon Press, 1958, p.7. How the Hebrew Language Grew, Horowitz, KTAV Publishing, 1960, pp. 333-334.
(See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_alphabet#Vowels )

Yet we must consider the following:
Josephus frequently altered Hebrew names, spelling them after the fashion of the Greeks, to please his Greek readers.

Josephus wrote: “It is the Greeks who are responsible for this change in nomenclature.” (Antiquities of the Jews, 1. 5. 1.)
“I have one thing to add, of which the Greeks are perhaps unaware, before reverting to the narrative where I left it. With a view to euphony* and my readers’ pleasure these names have been Hellenized. The form in which they appear is not that used in our country, where their structure and termination remain always the same.” (Antiquities of the Jews, 1. 6. 1.)

* Euphony - n. the effect produced by words so combined as to please the ear. (Merriam- Webster Dictionary, 1974.)

“Why Josephus speaks of ‘four vowels’ is uncertain. The first and third letters are probably ‘by nature vowels’ (i and u),
though by usage consonants" (Gesenius, Heb. Grammar, ed. Cowley, pp.26, 45).

"He is perhaps thinking of a Greek form [IAUE].” 
(Jewish Wars 5. 5. 7. footnote; edition Loeb Classical Library)

Indeed, the Greeks render the Tetragrammaton as four vowels. So do the Assyrians who transcribed the Sacred Name as Ya-u-a.
(The Scriptures p. xii - from South Africa) The “Y” in Yaua is sometimes written with an “I” by other scholars, so again we have four vowels. But according to the Anceint Hebrew or even the modern Hebrew rules of grammar and usage, spelled together, the letters יהוהare by no means four vowels.
We have so far discussed the first two syllables of the Sacred Name, all that is left is to decide whether to use the Waw as a consonant whereby making a "w" sound within the last consonat, or whether it was the vowel that made the "long u" vowel sound in the second syllable, and just what  the vowel sound of the last syllable is (in which we again find two theories) -

The “ah” / “eh” Argument

Some say that Hebrew words ending with an “ah” sound are feminine (i.e. Sarah, Rebecca) and that the “eh” is masculine. This argument is used against יהוה being pronounced with an "ah" ending. It is said that the pronunciation of "Yahweh" is correct because of its “masculine” termination. Indeed, many Hebrew words with the “ah” termination are considered feminine. However this argument fails when one examines Hebrew proper names. יהוה is a proper Name that was revealed to Hebrews and recorded phonetically in the Hebrew language. Yet, notice only a few of the names below are feminine (denoted with red font), while the majority are masculine. It is common for Greeks to translate Hebrew names ending with different vowels because it is easier for them to pronounce. [see the heading:  "What About Them Four Vowels" above].

Here are a few examples of Hebrew names found in the KJV and translations of these same names rendered in Greek:

KJV Hebrew NameGreek Based KJV
Oshea/Hosea - Num. 13:16 / Hosea 1:1             Osee - Romans 9:25
Joshah - 1 Chronicles 4:34                                   Jose - Luke 3:29
Judah - Genesis 29:35                                          Jude - NT Book
Korah - Numbers 16:1                                           Core - Jude 11
Noah - Genesis 6:29                                              Noe - Matthew 24:37
Nogah - 1 Chronicles 3:7 Nogge - Luke 3:25

Names in KJV
Other Greek Based Translations
Abishua - 1 Chronicles 8:4                                    Abisue - Catholic Douay
Adna - Ezra 10:30                                                  Edne - Septuagint
Ahira - Numbers 1:15                                             Aehire - Septuagint
Ahoah - 1 Chronicles 8:4                                       Ahoe - Catholic Douay
Ajah - Genesis 36:24                                             Aie - Septuagint
Arah - 1 Chronicles 7:39                                       Aree - Catholic Douay
Arbah - Genesis 35:27                                          Arbee - Catholic Douay
Bathsheba - 2 Samuel 11:3                                  Bethsabee - Catholic Douay
Betah - 2 Samuel 8:8                                            Bete - Catholic Douay
Careah - 2 Kings 25:23                                        Caree - Catholic Douay
Chavah - Genesis 3:20 margin                            Eve - common misuse
Elisha - 1 Kings 19:16                                           Elisaie - Septuagint
Elishua - 2 Samuel 5:15                                        Elishue - Septuagint
Gaba - Joshua 18:24                                             Gabee - Catholic Douay
Gilboa - 1 Samuel 28:4                                         Gelboe - Catholic Douay
Gomorrah - Genesis 19:24                                  Gomorrhe - 2 Esdras 2:8 *
Halah - 2 Kings 17:6                                             Alae - Septuagint
Hammedatha - Esther 3:1                                    Amadathes - Septuagint
Hashubah - 1 Chronicles 3:20                             Asube - Septuagint
Hophra - Jeremiah 44:30                                     Ephree - Catholic Douay
Janohah - Joshua 16:6                                         Janoe - Catholic Douay
Jehodiada - 2 Samuel 8:18                                  Jodae - Septuagint
Jehosheba - 2 Kings 11:2                                    Josebee - Septuagint
Jehpthah - Judges 11:1                                        Jephte - Catholic Douay
Jerah - 1 Chronicles 1:20                                     Jare - Catholic Douay
Jeremiah - 2 Chronicles 36:21                            Ieremie - 2 Maccabees 2:5 *

Names in KJVOther Greek Based Translation
Jimnah - Genesis 46:17                                       Jamne - Catholic Douay
Joppa - Ezra 3:7                                                    Joppe - Catholic Douay
Joshua - Exodus 17:9                                           Joshue - Catholic Douay
Kareah - Jeremiah 40:8                                       Caree - Catholic Douay
Malchishua - 1 Chronicles 8:33                           Melchisue - Catholic Douay
Massa - Genesis 25:14                                        Masse - Septuagint
Mizzah - Genesis 36:13                                       Moze - Septuagint
Neziah - Ezra 2:54                                                Nasthie - Septuagint
Nobah - Numbers 32:42                                       Nobe - Catholic Douay
Nophah - Numbers 21:30                                     Nophe - Catholic Douay
Paruah - 1 Kings 4:17                                           Pharue - Catholic Douay
Paseah - 1 Chronicles 4:12                                 Phesse - Catholic Douay
Pekah - 2 Kings 15:25                                         Phakee - Septuagint
Poti-pherah - Genesis 41:45                               Patiphare - Catholic Douay
Reba - Numbers 31:8                                           Rebe - Catholic Douay
Rephah - 1 Chronicles 7:25                                 Raphe - Septuagint
Salah - Genesis 10:24                                         Sale - Catholic Douay
Shammah - Genesis 36:13                                 Some - Septuagint
Sheba - 2 Samuel 20:1                                        Sabee - Septuagint
Shua - 1 Chronicles 2:3                                        Sue - Catholic Douay
Tarah - Numbers 33:27                                        Thare - Catholic Douay
Tebah - Genesis 22:24                                        Tabee - Catholic Douay
Tekoa - 1 Chronicles 2:24                                    Thecoe - Septuagint
Telah - 1 Chronicles 7:25                                     Thale - Catholic Douay
Terah - Genesis 11:24                                         Thare - Catholic Douay
Tobiah - Ezra 2:60                                                Tobie - 1 Maccabees 5:13 *
Zanoah - Joshua 15:34                                        Zanoe - Catholic Douay
Zebah - Judges 8:5                                              Zebee - Catholic Douay
Zechariah - OT Book                                            Zacharie - 2 Esdras 1:40 *
Zerah 2 - Chronicles 14:9                                   Zare - Septuagint
Zia - 1 Chronicles 5:13                                        Zie - Catholic Douay

=========================================================

Other Historic Sources on the Sacred Name יהוה
Yaua - Assyrians Ioua - Sabbath keepers on Island of Iona, 7th Century.
Yuah / Y’wa - Karens of Burma, [Encyc. Britannica]
Iowa / Yowa - American Indians, especially Cherokee
Yava - Arizona Indians
Yohouah - Raymundus Martini (1278)
Iova - Romans
Iohoua - Porchetus (1303)
Iehovah - Peter Galatin (1518)
Ya Huwa- Arabs
Yah Wah- Adairs History of the American Indians, p. 218
Yo He Wah- Adairs History of the American Indians, p. 218

Greek Sources
IAOVE- Clement of Alexandria 
IABE - Theodoret & Epiphanius
Iae - Origen
Jove - Homer
Jave - Ante Nicene fathers


Ladies and gentlemen of jury, what is your verdict?
Is His Name based on the Hebrew or Greek language?

For one to  think that they should take the Greek' evidence literally on the last vowel is as absurd as saying the "Yohd" should be pronounced with the long vowel "EE" sound. Actually the Greeks consistantly transliterated the "ah" vowel sound with the "long a"/"eh" sound as consitantly as they transliterated the "cosonantal y" sound with the "vowel "long e"/"ee" sound. So if any oneis going to use the Greek' examples to determine the last vowel sound in The Sacred Name, they should judge by the habitual evidence and decide accordingly.   

[in reality Yahweh is an English transliteration of the consonant Hebrew letters with the vowel points of HaShem incerted]

The following links has PDFs and a video download that shows much Hebrew evidence as to how the 4th thru 11th century Hebrew speakers pronounced the Divine Name: 

1) ​http://www.mediafire.com/file/k2c5k2kiaikwjo4/2a%2529_Introduction__to_The_Divine_Name.pdf/file

2)http://www.mediafire.com/file/91z9bkzrkfoo8m3/2b%2529The_Divine_Name_Dissertation.pdf/file

3) ​​​http://www.mediafire.com/file/3pts2nubkun33eq/The_Divine_Name_%25232.wmv/file

This page is
still in progress.



   [not through with this section more to come soon]

  {in the mean time finish reading below and
    then check back later for the rest of the story}
Now at this point some may be thinking -