Names of God — Yahweh/Jehovah Rohi & Yahweh/Jehovah Rophe

Names of God Bible Study
Yahweh-Rohi / Yahweh-Rophe

"Let them praise the name of the LORD:
for His Name alone is excellent;
His glory [is] above the earth and heaven."
Psalm 148:13 (KJV)

Editor's Note:
As there is considerable variance among Bible scholars as to former customs,
usage, and translations of the numerous names of God in the Bible, the neutrality
and factual accuracy of this article may be disputed. These studies are a
summation of those ideas and conclusions on which most scholars agree.

Yahweh-Rohi (Ro'i, Ro'eh) — Yahweh Is My Shepherd / Yahweh Is My Friend
Pronounced Yä-wá' (or Yä-vá') Ro-ee', the compound name first appears directly and personally in Psalm 23 wherein the psalmist refers to the Lord in the most intimate figurative language possible: "Yahweh is my shepherd..."

This beloved psalm is so familiar to many of us that one might be tempted to give it little more than a cursory glance. Don't! It's important that we take time to consider all that this name reveals about Yahweh and our relationship with Him — or better yet, His desired relationship with us.

Before we delve into the specifics of the name, "Yahweh Is My Shepherd", please consider more closely the relationship of the shepherd to his sheep. Following is Harriet-Louise Holland Patterson's observation about shepherding:

"Shepherding does not change much in Palestine, where wild beasts may descend still upon unprotected sheep and suddenly destroy them. The Palestine shepherd lives night and day with his animals. He establishes a degree of intimacy with them which is touching to observe. He calls them all by their names and they, knowing his voice and hearing his only, heed. He protects the sheep from thieves and preying animals who would devour them at night, by sleeping in the opening of the often makeshift sheepfold and they, sensing his watchfulness, fear 'no evil.' He provides pasture and water even in the wilderness and the presence of enemies and they, casting all their anxiety upon him, are fed. There is a singular communion between the shepherd and his sheep which, after one has visited Palestine and observed it, makes the symbol of the good Shepherd peculiarly apt and the Twenty-third Psalm strangely moving."

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The Hebrew word "rohi" (or "ro'i" or "ro'eh") means "shepherd" or "to pasture". An extended translation of the word is also "friend" or "companion". This indicates the intimacy God desires between Himself and His people.

The word "rohi" alone first appears in Genesis 37:2: "...Joseph . . . was feeding the flock [rohi] with his brothers..." A more direct reference to the role of shepherding appears in Genesis 47:3-4 when Joseph's brothers told Pharaoh, "...Your servants are shepherds [rohi], both we, and our fathers . . . We have come to live as foreigners in the land, for there is no pasture [rohi] for your servants' flocks..."

However, the word "rohi" was not limited to shepherding flocks. In the Old Testament, it was also sometimes used...

to represent the relationship between a political or religious leader and the people, as in...
- 2 Samuel 5:2 — In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and Yahweh said to you, "You shall be shepherd [rohi] of My people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel."
with regard to folly and judgment, as in...
Proverbs 15:14 — The heart of one who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouths of fools feed [rohi] on folly.

See also Isaiah 44:20; Hosea 12:1; Ezekiel 34:16
to express companionship or friendship, as in...
Exodus 33:11a — Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend [rohi].

Judges 11:38 — He said, "Go." He sent her away for two months; and she departed, she and her companions [rohi]...

Thus, the word "rohi" symbolizes "to associate with", "take pleasure in", and "to cherish".

Combined with the name Yahweh, the above relationships find their most affectionate and exalted verbal expression — Yahweh, the Shepherd of His people — as in...

Psalm 80:1 — Hear us, Shepherd [Rohi] of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock, You who sit above the cherubim, shine forth.

Isaiah 40:10-11 — Behold, the Lord [Adonai] Yahweh will come as a mighty one . . . He will feed His flock like a shepherd [rohi], He will gather the lambs in His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and will gently lead those who have their young.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 — For thus says the Lord [Adonai] Yahweh: "Behold, I Myself, even I, will search for My sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd [rohi] seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out My sheep; and I will deliver them . . . I will feed [rohi] them with good pasture; and on the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and on fat pasture shall they feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd [Rohi] of My sheep, and I will cause them to lie down," says the Lord [Adonai] Yahweh. "I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick..."

Notice that last verse: He will "seek that which was lost".... "bring back that which was driven away".... "bind up that which was broken." No other revealed name of God denotes such caring intimacy as the name Yahweh-Rohi. As author Nathan Stone wrote in "The Names of God":

"Everything that the shepherd is to the sheep, Jehovah is to His people. If there can exist such a tender intimacy between a man and sheep, how much more so between Jehovah and the spirits He has created and redeemed; and what a marvelous thing that God should offer Himself for such a relationship. He had said, 'I will dwell among the children of Israel' (Exodus 29:45), and the word dwell is the word Shekinah, denoting His glorious presence. Jehovah as Shepherd offers His people the intimacy of His presence. He may be as intimately known as the shepherd is of the sheep. . . . The intimacy of the shepherd is the most precious privilege and possession of the sheep, and this the Lord's people, as His sheep, should cultivate and enjoy. But it comes only by long and constant association and abiding in His presence."

Referring back to Psalm 23, Yahweh-Rohi isn't only the Shepherd of His people. He is my Shepherd. As sheep of His fold, you and I can rest in the sure knowledge that we are precious to Him and that our God cares about every one of our needs. We need not fear, nor doubt, nor wonder. Yahweh is my Shepherd.... Yahweh is your Shepherd.... Oh, praise His most holy name!

Yahweh-Rophe (Rapha, Rophecha) — Yahweh Heals / Yahweh Who Heals
Pronounced Yä-wá' (or Yä-vá') Roh-fee', is the second name which God uses in Scripture to reveal Himself to His people. It arises out of one of Israel's earliest experiences in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt when God tells them in Exodus 15:26: "If you will diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, and will do that which is right in His eyes, and will pay attention to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am Yahweh Who Heals you [Yahweh-Rophe]."

The Hebrew word "rophe" (or "rapha" or "rophecha") means "to restore", "to heal", or "to make healthful". Although the compound name "Yahweh-Rophe" appears only once in the Old Testament, the word "rophe" alone, in reference to Yahweh, appears more than 60 times, as in...

Psalm 103:2-3 — Praise Yahweh, my soul, And don't forget all His benefits; Who forgives all your sins; Who heals [rophe] all your diseases;

Isaiah 30:26 — Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up [rophe] the hurt of His people, and heals [rophe] the stroke of their wound.

Isaiah 61:1 — The Spirit of the Lord [Adonai] Yahweh is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble; He has sent me to bind up [rophe] the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

Jeremiah 3:22— "Return, you backsliding children, I will heal [rophe] your backsliding." Behold, we are come to you; for you are Yahweh our God [Elohim].

Jeremiah 30:17a — "For I will restore health [rophe] to you, and I will heal [rophe] you of your wounds," says Yahweh;

From the above Scriptures, we may thus conclude that Yahweh is the Great Physician who not only heals the physical needs of His people, but also our emotional and spiritual needs.

What great comfort, peace, and blessed hope there is in embracing the names "Yahweh-Rohi" and "Yahweh-Rophe". The great Elohim of the universe isn't far off and disinterested in His creation. Rather, He desires to have the kind of intimate relationship with us that the shepherd [rohi] has with his sheep — one by which He calls us each by name, and we may abide in complete safety and peace. And the Great Physician [Yahweh-Rophe] loves us so much that He willingly and purposely turned His back to be scourged and offered His body to be crucified in order to fully heal us — spirit, soul, and body: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5 KJV)

Next month, we'll conclude our study of the Yahweh compound names with the names Yahweh-M'Kaddesh (Mekeddeshem, Mekadesh), Yahweh Tzva'ot (Sabaoth), and Yahweh-Tsid'Ke-nu (Tsidkenu).

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB)