📖 Biblical Definition
YHWH-Shammah (יְהוָה שָׁמָּה) — "the LORD is there" — is the covenant name Ezekiel gives the eschatological city in the closing verse of his prophecy: "It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there" (Ezekiel 48:35). The name does not mean "the LORD will visit there," or "the LORD’s name is honored there" — it means the LORD is there, in perpetual indwelling presence. The promise anticipates the closing vision of Scripture: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Revelation 21:3).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The LORD Is There — the eschatological city's name.
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The closing covenant name of the book of Ezekiel: the eschatological city itself is named YHWH-Shammah. The presence of YHWH is not a feature of the city; it is the city's identity. Anticipates the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21-22, where God Himself is the temple, the light, and the dwelling-place of His people.
📖 Key Scripture
Ezekiel 48:35 — "And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there."
Revelation 21:3 — "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
Matthew 1:23 — "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Reduced to vague omnipresence ("God is everywhere") rather than the covenantal, manifest, with-His-people presence Scripture means.
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Pop theology says God is everywhere. True — but YHWH-Shammah is more than omnipresence. It is covenantal, manifest, with-His-people presence. Ezekiel 48:35 isn't a metaphysical claim about God's ubiquity; it is an eschatological promise of the Bridegroom dwelling with the Bride.
Recover the covenantal force: God is everywhere, but YHWH-Shammah names His chosen, willing, manifest dwelling with His people. Emmanuel.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew Yahweh + sham (there) + emphatic -ah.
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['Hebrew', 'H3068', 'Yahweh', 'the covenant name']
['Hebrew', 'H8033', 'sham', 'there']
Usage
"The LORD is there — the eschatological promise."
"Emmanuel is YHWH-Shammah in person."
"Read Ezekiel 48 alongside Revelation 21."