In the book A Prayer to our Father on the Hebrew origins of the Lord’s Prayer I shared about an experience I had in the Old City of Jerusalem with Nehemia Gordon. I was told Nehemia was a Hebrew expert trained as a Bible scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I wanted to see if he was legit so I bombarded him with questions throughout our tour. What struck me about Nehemia’s answers was that he wasn’t interested in opinions or theories. Time and again, he would sit down, read and translate directly from the Hebrew Bible. I decided that day that I needed to learn how to interact with my Bible in the original language in the same way. When I told Nehemia he was going to be my Hebrew teacher he responded matter-of-factly: “No, I’m not.” In the last eight years this is the only argument with Nehemia I have ever won.

After much convincing on my part, Nehemia created a rigorous biblical Hebrew curriculum course for me that included linguistic, grammatical and technical information for me to study. He also wrote a series of over 30 exegetical articles for me to read and interact with during our study together. Two of these studies were on the name of our Heavenly Father, which Nehemia wrote as a follow-up to a question I asked him in the Old City of Jerusalem. I have combined his information with my own inspiration and the result is my new book: His Hallowed Name Revealed Again. As you read His Hallowed Name Revealed Again you will also be learning as I did from my Hebrew teacher. When it comes to some of the information behind the inspiration, I am proud to introduce you to my source. I call him Q, but you should probably still call him Nehemia.

My new book answers the question that has been burning in my heart and mind for most of my spiritual journey; what is the name of “Our Father who art in heaven?” I encourage you take the time to interact with the information and inspiration in His Hallowed Name Revealed Again for the revelatory answer to this important question. I have decided to time the official launch of my new book to coincide with the week of the biblical festival of Yom Teruah. Although Jewish tradition calls the festival Rosh Hashanah (New Years), in Numbers 29:1 it is called Yom Teruah, the “Day of Trumpeting.” Some Bible scholars translate the name of this festival as “Day of Shouting” and explain it as a day when the Israelites would shout the name of the Father in prayer. This alone makes it an appropriate time to announce my new book on our heavenly Father’s name. However, there is a more personal connection to the holiday that stems from my own interaction with this hallowed name.

Back in 2002 I was sitting with Nehemia Gordon in the Old City of Jerusalem, across from the Western Wall, when I first asked him how to pronounce the name of our heavenly Father. Nehemia launched into a detailed explanation of ancient Hebrew names talking about grammar, vowels, consonants, and a host of other issues and then finally… he told me how the name is written in the earliest vocalized Hebrew manuscripts. Just at the moment, when Nehemia spoke the name, a Jewish man wrapped in a prayer shawl sounded two blasts of a shofar. Thankfully I recorded the entire conversation and when I played Nehemia the tape some time later, the dual blast of the ram’s horn was unmistakable. In honor of this event, when I heard the Father’s name for the first time, and the two blasts of the shofar, I have chosen Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpeting and Shouting to launch my new book. I invite you to read and download the entire first chapter of His Hallowed Name Revealed Again and send it to family and friends. I look forward to that day when all mankind will Teruah, shout the name of our heavenly Father in praise (Zechariah 14:9 and Psalms 100:1). If you are interested in uncovering truth behind tradition and translation, I encourage you to read my new book that evolved from eight years of study that now allows me to read directly from my most prized possession: the Hebrew Bible.Thanks again Nehemia!