The Jewish Kabbalah – The Name of God

The meanings of the name of God and its transpositions and permutations in the Four Worlds

Italian version

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In Hebrew, the name of the Deity, called by us Jehovah [1], is represented by a four-letter name, IHVH. Its correct pronunciation is believed to be a secret of secrets; it is thought that by speaking it correctly, the heavens and Earth would not cease to tremble. Devotees who encounter it while reading the Scriptures usually avoid saying it, replacing it with the name Adonai, meaning Lord. The name’s etymological root signifies Existence (to be), and it is comparable to another glyph of existence, AHIH or Eheieh. The name is subject to twelve transpositions, all of which relate to the concept of being, and it is the only word that can undergo so many transpositions without changing its meaning. These twelve transpositions are collectively called the “twelve banners of the mighty name,” and some believe they govern the zodiac’s twelve signs. These are the twelve banners: IHVH, IHHV, IVHH, HVHI, HVIH, HHIV, VHHI, VIHH, VHIH, HIHV, HIVH, HHVI. The Tetragrammaton gives rise to three other names: AHIH or Eheieh (Existence), ADNI or Adonai (Lord), and AGLA. The latter is not a word but a Notaricon, an acronym formed from the phrase “Ateh Gebor Le-Olam Adonai,” meaning “Thou art forever great, O Lord!” A concise explanation of the letters composing Agla is this: A, the first; A, the last; G, the Trinity in Unity; L, the completion of the Great Work.

The initial observation drawn from an analysis of both AHIH and IHVH is that the concept of existence is central to both terms. This acts as their first point of comparison. Secondly, the letter H occupies the second and fourth place in both terms. Thirdly, regarding Gematria, AHIH is equivalent to IHV without the H, symbolising Malkuth, the tenth Sephira. These three points are significant in understanding the relationship between the two terms. Interestingly, when both terms are vertically aligned in a cross, they read downwards and frontally as AHIH and IHVH (as demonstrated in Table 1).

Now, the rationale behind the analogies becomes apparent when analysing the question in a Kabbalistic manner. Eheieh, also known as AHIH, is considered the Great Face, the Ancient One, Macroprosopus, Kether, the primary Sephira, the Crown of the Greater Sephirotic Trinity of the Kabbalah, and the Father in the Christian interpretation of the Trinity. In contrast, IHVH, also known as the Tetragrammaton, symbolises all the Sephirot except Kether and explicitly represents the Lesser Face, Microprosopus, the King of the Greater Sephirotic Trinity of the Kabbalah, and the Son in His human form, in the Christian interpretation of the Trinity. Therefore, as the Son reveals the Father, IHVH, Jehovah, reveals AHIH, Eheieh. ADNI represents the Queen, whose exaltation in Binah is analogous to the Christian assumption of the Virgin.

The Tetragrammaton IHVH encompasses all ten Sephirot. The highest point of the letter Yod represents Kether, the first Sephira, while the letter I itself represents Chokmah, the second Sephira and the father of Microprosopus. The letter H, also known as the “supernal He,” denotes Binah, the third Sephira and the supernal Mother. The letter V represents the six subsequent Sephirot, referred to as the six limbs of Microprosopus (and we note that the numerical value of Vau in Hebrew is six). Finally, the letter H, known as the “inferior He,” represents Malkuth, the tenth and final Sephira and the wife of Microprosopus.

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Now, the four worlds of Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah are each associated with a secret name. It is believed that the Tetragrammaton is represented in a distinct way within each of these four worlds. Atziluth’s hidden name is OB or Aub, Briah’s is SG or Seg, Yetzirah’s is MH or Mah, and Assiah’s is BN or Ben. Table 2 provides an overview of how each name is written within its respective world. These names operate in conjunction with the Sephiroth via the “231 gates,” which refers to various alphabet combinations. However, a full exploration of this topic would take up an extensive amount of time.

		I	IH	IHV	IHVH
ATZILUTH	OB – Aub	IVD – Yod	IVD, HI – Yod, He	IVD, HI, VIV – Yod, He, Viv	IVD, HI, VIV, HI – Yod, He, Viv, He
BRIAH	SG – Seg	IVD – Yod	IVD, HI – Yod, He	IVD, HI, VAV – Yod, He, Vau	IVD, HI, VAV, HI – Yod, He, Vau, He
YETZIRAH	MH – Mah	IVD – Yod	IVD, HA – Yod, Hah	IVD, HA, VAV – Yod, Ha, Vau	IVD, HA, VAV, HA – Yod, Hah, Vau, Hah
ASSIAH	BN – Ben	IVD – Yod	IVD, HH – Yod, Heh	IVD, HH, VV – Yod, Heh, Vu	IVD, HH, VV, HH – Yod, Heh, Vu, Heh

The matter of the four Cherubim, as previously mentioned concerning the first Sephira, is closely intertwined with the subject of the Tetragrammaton letters. As seen in Ezekiel’s vision, these forms uphold the throne of the Deity, upon which sits the Heavenly Man – Adam Kadmon, the Sephirotic image, and between the throne and the living creatures is the sky. This arrangement represents the Four Worlds, namely Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, and Assiah. Atziluth signifies the divine form, Briah represents the throne, Yetzirah represents the sky, and Assiah represents the Cherubim. Thus, the Cherubim embody the power of the Tetragrammaton letters on the material plane, and the four represent the operation of the four letters in each of the four worlds. The Cherubim represent the living forms of the letters, symbolised in the Zodiac by Taurus, Leo, Aquarius, and Scorpio, as previously pointed out.

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How was God’s image created on Earth? The human form is said to reflect the Tetragrammaton, represented by the Hebrew letters Yod, He, Vav, and He. The head of the human form corresponds to the letter Yod, while the arms and shoulders represent the letter He. The letter Vav represents the body, and the legs correspond to the final He. As the external form of man corresponds to the Tetragrammaton, the soul corresponds to the ten supernal Sephirot, or divine emanations, which are further divided into three categories: the intellectual world, the ethical world, and the material and sensible world. The highest degree of being, known as Neshamah, corresponds to the crown (Kether) and represents the highest triad of the Sephiroth, the intellectual world. The second degree, Ruach, represents the seat of good and evil and corresponds to Tiphareth, the ethical world. The third degree, Nephesh, corresponds to Yesod and represents animal life and desires.

It is said that all souls pre-exist in the world of emanations in their original androgynous state. However, upon descending to Earth, they separate into male and female, inhabiting different bodies. If the male half of a soul meets its female counterpart in this mortal life, a strong attachment arises between them. It is said that in marriage, the separated halves of a soul are united again.

The above triple division of the soul pertains solely to the trifold intellectual, ethical, and material paradigm. However, it is essential to note the significant kabbalistic concept that the Trinity attains its culmination and realisation in the quaternary; that is, the IHV entity finds its completion and actualisation in IHVH (Tables 4 and 5).

CROWN	KING	QUEEN
Father	Son	Spirit
Absolute	Formation	Realisation

THE ABSOLUTE ONE	FATHER AND MOTHER	SON	BRIDE
Macroprosopus	Father and Mother	Microprosopus	Malkuth
Atziluth	Briah	Yetzirah	Assiah

The soul responds to these four distinct divisions in the following four forms: Chiah corresponds to Atziluth, Neshamah to Briah, Ruach to Yetzirah, and Nephesh to Assiah. These correlations are presented in Table 6:

ATZILUTH	Chiah	Chiah originates from Atziluth, the highest form of existence in the Archetypal World. It represents an intangible, illimitable, and indefinable idea within the soul of the Great Absolute, Incomprehensible God. This concept is analogous to Macroprosopus, which symbolises the divine essence of the universe.
BRIAH	Neshamah	Neshamah, the second form of the soul, emanates from the World of Creation, Briah, regarded as the highest realm governing the creative idea. In the soul, it represents the aspiration to reach the Ineffable One. This form is analogous to the letters IH conjoined in Briah and is coexistent and consubstantial. It establishes the bond between the Macroprosopus and the Microprosopus, representing the supernal Mother and Father.
YETZIRAH	Ruach	The third form of the soul, Ruach, emanates from Yetzirah, the World of Formation. This soul form is characterised by its reasoning power, which encompasses knowledge of good and evil, as well as the ability to define, limit, deduce, and conclude. It is likened to the letter V. It is associated with Microprosopus, the Son.
ASSIAH	Nephesh	Nephesh is the fourth form of the soul, originating from Assiah, the Material World. It represents the physical passions and appetites that nourish and complete all things. This form is analogous to the final letter H, which symbolises the Bride of Microprosopus and the Wife of the Lamb of the Apocalypse, which embodies all that exists.

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[1] The word “Jehovah” is not found in the Bible. Instead, it is a vowel transcription developed by Jewish scholars known as Masoretes during the 4th century AD. The transcription involved incorporating the vowels of “Adonai,” which means “my Lord,” with some minor variations necessary to account for Hebrew pronunciation.