Christian Pure

What Does Jehovah Nissi Mean? “The LORD Is My Banner”

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • Jehovah Nissi means “the LORD is my banner,” and it appears only once in the Bible, in Exodus 17:15.
  • Moses gave the name to an altar he built after Joshua defeated Amalek at Rephidim, while Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands until sunset.
  • Nissi comes from the Hebrew nes, a banner, standard or signal pole lifted high as a rallying point.
  • Strictly it names an altar, like Jehovahjireh and Jehovahshalom, so it is a confession about God as much as a title for him.
  • The same word nes is the pole that held up the bronze serpent, which Jesus said pointed to his own lifting up on the cross.
  • The “banner” of “his banner over me was love” in the Song of Solomon is a different Hebrew word, degel.
  • Catholic liturgy does not pronounce the divine name and renders it “Lord,” so the meaning is the same whichever Bible you read.

Jehovah Nissi means “the LORD is my banner”. It is the name Moses gave an altar after Israel beat Amalek in the wilderness (Exodus 17:15), and its second word, nissi, comes from nes, the Hebrew for a banner or standard lifted high on a pole where everyone can see it. On the day the name was given, the banner over Israel was a man’s raised arm. While Joshua fought in the valley, Moses stood on the hill with “the rod…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • The Holy Bible, King James Version (1769 text), quoted from BibleGateway: Exodus 17:5-16; Deuteronomy 25:18; Numbers 2:2, 21:8; Psalm 60:4; Song of Solomon 2:4; Isaiah 11:10-12, 49:22; John 3:14-15, 12:32; Genesis 22:14; Judges 6:24. Young’s Literal Translation of Exodus 17:16 as given on Bible Hub’s Hebrew text page.
  • “Strong’s Hebrew 3071: Yhvh Nissi,” with Strong’s and topical lexicon. Bible Hub. biblehub.com/hebrew/3071.htm
  • “Strong’s Hebrew 5251: nes,” with the Brown-Driver-Briggs entry. Bible Hub. biblehub.com/hebrew/5251.htm
  • “Strong’s Hebrew 1714: degel,” with the Brown-Driver-Briggs entry. Bible Hub. biblehub.com/hebrew/1714.htm
  • Commentaries on Exodus 17:16 (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges; Barnes’ Notes on the Bible; Keil and Delitzsch; Benson; Ellicott; Pulpit Commentary; Matthew Henry). Bible Hub. biblehub.com/commentaries/exodus/17-16.htm
  • Crossway. “Preface to the English Standard Version.” esv.org/preface
  • “Jehovah.” The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 7. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1906. jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8568-jehovah
  • Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. “Letter to the Bishops’ Conferences on ‘The Name of God’,” Prot. N. 213/08/L, 29 June 2008. EWTN Library. ewtn.com
  • New American Bible, Revised Edition, Exodus 17:15-16 with notes. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. bible.usccb.org/bible/exodus/17

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