Yahuah Shammah: Yahuah Is There (Ezekiel 48:35)
Dishon Francis | Yasharun the Scribe
Most names of Yahuah in Scripture were spoken at a place: a mountain, a battlefield, an altar. Yahuah Shammah is different. It is the name of a city, and it is the very last phrase in the book of Ezekiel. After forty eight chapters of exile, warning, grief, and visions, the prophet's final words are a promise: Yahuah is there.
This word study in our Names of Yahuah series fits Sukkot week well, because the Feast of Booths remembers a people living in temporary shelters with Yahuah in their midst. Scripture below is quoted from the King James Version with the Name and titles restored as Yahuah and Elohim. If you learned this name as "Jehovah Shammah," you are reading about the same name. Our article on Jehovah names and Yahuah names explains why the same titles appear two ways.
Where the Name Appears
Ezekiel closes his book with the measurements and gates of a city. It has twelve gates, three on each side, and "the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel" (Ezekiel 48:31). Then comes the final verse:
"It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahuah is there." (Ezekiel 48:35)
The King James Version does not print a compound name here. It translates the phrase into English, replacing the Name with a title as it does elsewhere, and its margin gives the Hebrew as "Jehovah-shammah." In Hebrew the phrase is YHWH Shammah (יְהוָה שָׁמָּה). Sham means "there," and shammah is a form of the same word. The name of the city is a whole sentence: Yahuah is there.
Why "There" Mattered So Much to Ezekiel
To feel the weight of that last word, remember where Ezekiel was. He wrote that he was "among the captives by the river of Chebar" (Ezekiel 1:1), in the land of the Chaldeans. Jerusalem was far away, and in his visions he watched the glory leave it.
"Then the glory of Yahuah departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims." (Ezekiel 10:18)
"And the glory of Yahuah went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." (Ezekiel 11:23)
For an exile, this was the deepest loss: would Yahuah ever again be present with His people?
A Little Sanctuary in the Countries
Even as the glory was leaving, Yahuah gave the scattered people a tender promise. Speaking of those carried far away, He said, "yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come" (Ezekiel 11:16).
Many households today know what it feels like to be far from home. Ezekiel 11:16 says Yahuah's presence was not trapped in one building or one city. He went with His people into the countries where they were scattered.
The Glory Returns
Later chapters reverse the departure. Ezekiel saw the glory come back by the same eastern way it had gone:
"And, behold, the glory of the Elohim of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory." (Ezekiel 43:2)
Then Yahuah spoke of "the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever" (Ezekiel 43:7). Believers read Ezekiel 40 to 48 in different ways, but the ending is plain. The book that watched the glory leave closes with a city whose very name says He stays.
The Thread of His Presence
Yahuah Shammah is not a new idea at the end of Ezekiel. It is the goal Yahuah named from the beginning:
- At Sinai: "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8).
- In the covenant blessings: "And I will walk among you, and will be your Elohim, and ye shall be my people" (Leviticus 26:12).
- When Moses feared the road ahead: "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Exodus 33:14).
- To Yahusha son of Nun at the Jordan: "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for Yahuah thy Elohim is with thee whithersoever thou goest" (Joshua 1:9).
- In Ezekiel's own promise: "My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people" (Ezekiel 37:27).
David put the same truth in personal terms: "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there" (Psalm 139:8). The Hebrew uses the same small word, sham. No place is too high or too low for the name to be true.
Shammah and the Feast of Booths
Sukkot remembers the wilderness, when Israel lived in booths (Leviticus 23:43). Those were not empty years. Yahuah had said, "And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their Elohim" (Exodus 29:45). The people were in temporary shelters, and Yahuah was there.
The same thread runs into the writings of the apostles. John wrote that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The Greek verb for "dwelt" (skenoo) means to pitch a tent or tabernacle. Matthew explains the name Emmanuel: "which being interpreted is, Elohim with us" (Matthew 1:23). Yahusha's last words in Matthew's account carry the same promise: "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20).
Revelation closes the Bible much the way Ezekiel closes his book. It shows a city with twelve gates bearing "the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel" (Revelation 21:12), and a voice that says:
"Behold, the tabernacle of Elohim is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and Elohim himself shall be with them, and be their Elohim." (Revelation 21:3)
A booth this week is a small reminder of that promise.
What Yahuah Shammah Means for a Household
A few ways the name can shape daily life, without adding anything Scripture does not say:
- You are not too far away. Ezekiel's hearers were exiles, and Yahuah still promised to be "a little sanctuary" to them. Distance from home is not distance from Him.
- Look for Him in ordinary places. A kitchen table, a hospital room, or a small booth on a balcony can all be a place where He is there.
- Read the bookends together. Pair Exodus 25:8 with Revelation 21:3 at your table this week.
- Speak it at the door. When someone leaves for work, school, or a hard appointment, a simple "Yahuah is there" can go with them.
Keep the Name Close
Our Names of Yahuah Vellum Bible Inserts include Shammah (Is There) in the Names of Comfort set, so you can lay the name right over Ezekiel 48 in your own Bible. If you learned these names as "Jehovah," the Jehovah Series insert cards carry eight compound names, including Shammah, in that familiar form. For booth week, our Sukkot and Eighth Day Scripture Cards include a John 1:14 remembrance card on His dwelling among us. During the fall feast season, our free Fall Feasts guide is also available for any household getting started.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Yahuah Shammah mean?
It means "Yahuah is there." Sham is the Hebrew word for "there," and Shammah is a form of the same word. The KJV margin at Ezekiel 48:35 gives the name as "Jehovah-shammah."
Where is Yahuah Shammah in the Bible?
Ezekiel 48:35, the last verse of the book of Ezekiel. It is the name given to the city in Ezekiel's closing vision: "the name of the city from that day shall be, Yahuah is there."
Is Yahuah Shammah the name of an altar like Yahuah Nissi?
No. Moses named an altar Yahuah Nissi (Exodus 17:15), and Gideon named an altar Yahuah Shalom (Judges 6:24). Yahuah Shammah is the name of a city, and it describes Yahuah's lasting presence there.
The book of Ezekiel begins by a river in exile and ends with a city named for Yahuah's presence. May your household, wherever this Sukkot finds you, rest in the same promise: Yahuah Shammah, Yahuah is there.