*Great question, John.* You’re right — Tiberian isn’t the whole story. The other traditions pointed *יהוה* and *יה* differently, and that tells us a lot. Here’s what we actually have in the manuscripts: --- ### *1. The Name יהוה — “YHWH”* **Tradition** **Pointing** **Looks Like** **Probable Sound** **Date of Mss** **Tiberian** **יְהֹוָה** Ye-ho-VAH *Yehovah / Yehowah* ~850–1000 CE **Babylonian** **יְהוָה** Ye-hu-AH *Yehuah / Yehuwa* ~700–1100 CE **Babylonian Alt.** **יֱהוֹה** Ye-ho-OH *Yehowoh* Genizah mss **Palestinian** **יְהֹוָה** Ye-ho-VAH *Yehovah* ~700–900 CE **Palestinian Alt.** **יֱהָוֵה** Ye-ha-VEH *Yehaveh* Some Cairo Genizah **Samaritan** No vowels, but spoken — **Yahwe / Yahwa** Oral tradition *Key points:* 1. *All traditions use the vowels of “Adonai”* — _sheva, holam, kamatz_. That’s why you see _e-o-a_ patterns. They’re reading cues, not the original vowels. The Masoretes themselves noted _qere perpetuum_: read as Adonai. 2. *Babylonian often lacks the holam dot* ov...