Who Is Jah

"Jah" Is the Short Form of YHWH

Jah (יָהּ, Strong's H3050) is the poetic short form of the divine name YHWH (יהוה), the covenant name of the God of Israel. The form appears about 50 times in the Hebrew Bible, almost always in poetry — the Psalms, the Song of Moses, and a handful of other lyrical texts.

"Jah" is not a different deity from YHWH. It is the same name in abbreviated form, used when Hebrew poetic meter or liturgical cadence calls for a shorter word.

The Name in Scripture

The single most famous use of Jah is in the compound "Hallelujah" — Halelu-Yah, "Praise ye Jah." The word Jah also appears in isolation:

• Exodus 15:2 — "The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation." The KJV renders it "LORD" here, but the Hebrew is Yah, not the full YHWH. This is the first occurrence of Yah in the Bible — in the Song of Moses at the Red Sea.
• Psalm 68:4 — "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him." This is the rare verse where the KJV does transliterate the short form as "JAH" in all caps, exposing the Hebrew directly.
• Psalm 118:14 — "The LORD [Yah] is my strength and song, and is become my salvation." Quoting the Song of Moses.
• Isaiah 12:2 — "the LORD JEHOVAH [Yah YHWH] is my strength and [my] song."
• Isaiah 26:4 — "Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH [Yah YHWH] [is] everlasting strength."

In the Compound "Hallelujah"

The Hebrew phrase Halelu-Yah (הַלְלוּ־יָהּ) literally means "Praise ye Jah" — a plural imperative addressed to a group, calling them to praise YHWH under the short form of the name. The phrase appears 24 times in the Hebrew Bible, all in the Psalter.

The Greek Septuagint and the Greek New Testament transliterate Halelu-Yah as Allēlouia (ἀλληλούϊα) — which is why English has both spellings: Hallelujah (from Hebrew) and Alleluia (from Greek). The New Testament uses the word only in Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6.

The "Yah" at the end of every Hallelujah is the divine name itself.

"Jah" in Personal Names

Many biblical Hebrew names contain the -yah or -yahu ending — a theophoric element embedding the divine name:

• Isaiah (Hebrew Yeshayahu, יְשַׁעְיָהוּ) — "Yah is salvation."
• Jeremiah (Hebrew Yirmeyahu, יִרְמְיָהוּ) — "Yah will establish/lift up."
• Elijah (Hebrew Eliyahu, אֵלִיָּהוּ) — "My God is Yah."
• Zechariah (Hebrew Zekaryah, זְכַרְיָה) — "Yah remembers."
• Obadiah (Hebrew Ovadyah, עֹבַדְיָה) — "servant of Yah."
• Hezekiah (Hebrew Hizqiyahu, חִזְקִיָּהוּ) — "Yah strengthens."
• Josiah (Hebrew Yoshiyahu, יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ) — "Yah heals/supports."

The prevalence of -yah names across the biblical period — priests, prophets, and kings — reflects the centrality of the divine name in Israel's identity. The same element appears in many modern Jewish names.

A Separate Non-Biblical Usage

Outside of biblical scholarship, the name "Jah" has a distinct cultural usage in the Rastafari movement, which emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s. In that religious tradition, "Jah" is used as the primary name for God, often drawing from Psalm 68:4 ("his name JAH") as a key verse. Rastafarian theology is a distinct religious system, not a branch of biblical interpretation, and should not be conflated with the strictly Hebrew-Bible usage of the name.

This page limits itself to the biblical-linguistic record: "Jah" is the short, poetic form of YHWH, appearing in Hebrew Scripture primarily in songs of praise and in the compound "Hallelujah."

Summary

• Jah = short form of YHWH (the tetragrammaton).
• Appears about 50 times in the Hebrew Bible, almost always in poetry.
• Embedded in the compound Hallelujah ("praise ye Jah") — 24 times in the Psalms, 4 times in Revelation (as Alleluia).
• Preserved in biblical personal names ending in -yah or -yahu: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Zechariah, and many others.