Is God's name really 'Jehovah', And what evidence is there to back this up?

Question

Since New Testament Greek always uses the word "Lord," and never "Jehovah," even in quotes from the Old Testament (OT). Encyclopedia Judaica, Webster’s Encyclopedia, Jewish Encyclopedia,Encyclopedia Britannica, Universal Jewish Encyclopedia and countless others agree that the title "Jehovah" is erroneous, grammatically impossible, and was never used by the Jews. In Hebrew the name of God is spelled YHWH. Since ancient Hebrew had no written vowels, it is uncertain how the name was pronounced originally, but there are records of the name in Greek, which did have written vowels. These records indicate that in all likelihood the name should be pronounced "Yahweh."

Shortly before the first century A.D., it became common for Jews to avoid saying the divine name for fear of misusing it and breaking the second commandment ("You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain," Dt 5:11). Whenever they read Scripture aloud and encountered the divine name, they substituted another Hebrew word, "Adonai" (which means "Lord" or "my Lord"), in its place.

Answer 1

Yes, all you said is true.

“Jehovah” is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although “Yahweh” is favored by most Hebrew scholars. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of four consonants, commonly called the Tetragrammaton (from Greek te·tra-, meaning “four,” and gram′ma, “letter”). These four letters (written from right to left) are יהוה and may be transliterated into English as YHWH (or, JHVH).



Most names change to some extent when transferred from one language to another. Jesus was born a Jew, and his name in Hebrew was perhaps pronounced Ye·shu′a‛, but the inspired writers of the Christian Scriptures did not hesitate to use the Greek form of the name, I·e·sous′. In most other languages the pronunciation is slightly different, but we freely use the form that is common in our tongue, which is Jesus.



At some point a superstitious idea arose among the Jews that it was wrong even to pronounce the divine name (represented by the Tetragrammaton). Just what basis was originally assigned for discontinuing the use of the name is not definitely known. Some hold that the name was viewed as being too sacred for imperfect lips to speak. Yet the Hebrew Scriptures themselves give no evidence that any of God’s true servants ever felt any hesitancy about pronouncing his name. Non-Biblical Hebrew documents, such as the so-called Lachish Letters, show the name was used in regular correspondence in Palestine during the latter part of the seventh century B.C.E.



Another view is that the intent was to keep non-Jewish peoples from knowing the name and possibly misusing it. However, Jehovah himself said that he would ‘have his name declared in all the earth’ (Ex 9:16; compare 1Ch 16:23, 24; Ps 113:3; Mal 1:11, 14), to be known even by his adversaries. (Isa 64:2) The name was in fact known and used by pagan nations both in pre-Common Era times and in the early centuries of the Common Era. (The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1976, Vol. XII, p. 119) Another claim is that the purpose was to protect the name from use in magical rites. If so, this was poor reasoning, as it is obvious that the more mysterious the name became through disuse the more it would suit the purposes of practicers of magic.



So, how can we show proper respect for the One to whom the most important name of all belongs? Would it be by never speaking or writing his name because we do not know exactly how it was originally pronounced?

Or, rather, would it be by using the pronunciation and spelling that are common in our language, while speaking well of its Owner and conducting ourselves as his worshipers in a manner that honors him?

Answer 2

It is a fact that the Jewish people used to combine names with an abbreviation of God's name when they named their children. These names are called teophoric names, and they are preserved with vowel pointings. We have lots of examples of teophoric names in the Bible.



There are mainly two kinds of teophoric names in the Bible. One kind begin with the three first consonants of the tetragrammaton, Y-H-W-, and the second kind end with the short form -yah or -yahu (Yahu is a contraction of the expression Yah hu' which means "Yah himself". F. ex. Eliyah means "my God is Yah", and Eliyahu means "my God is Yah himself").



Here are some examples of teophoric names that begin with the three first consonants of the tetragrammaton: Yehoiakim, Yehonathan, Yehoshaphat, Yehoash, Yehoram, Yehoiada, Yehoiarib, among others. These names were sometimes shortened to create new names, and this resulted in Yoiakim, Yonathan, etc.



When we compare the names that begin with the three first consonants of the tetragrammaton (YHW), we see that all the names are vocalized YeHo-. In Hebrew, the consonant W may be used to represent the vowel sound ō ("o" as in hole), and this is indicated by placing a dot above the consonant W. Usually, the consonantal sound is not pronounced when it represents a vowel (an exception is if this results in two vowels standing beside each other, which is not grammatically correct).



Teophoric names indicates therefore that the tetragrammaton is to be vocalized Ye-H-o-H. Since teophoric names doesn't indicate a vowel "a" in the first half of the tetragrammaton, this means that the -aH in the short form Yah has to be in the last part of the tetragrammaton. When we combine these two pieces of information, it gives ut the following result: Ye-H-o-aH. In Hebrew grammar, there is an invariable rule that two vowels can't stand beside each other, so therefore the consonantal sound of W has to be pronounced. The result is therefore Ye-H-oW-aH.



One thing that is common in all the names that begin with the first consonants of the divine name, is that the vowel "o" is included, both in the primary form (for example Jehonathan) and in the shortened form (Jonathan). This shows us that the name couldn't have only two syllables. For example Jahwe which only has two syllables cannot have the vowel "o".



Professor George Buchanan, a professor emeritus at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. has written the following: "In no case is the vowel oo or oh omitted. The word was sometimes abbreviated as 'Ya,' but never as 'Ya-weh'." He also wrote: "When the Tetragrammaton was pronounced in one syllable it was 'Yah' or 'Yo'. When it was pronounced in three syllables it would have been 'Yahowah' or 'Yahoowah'. If it was ever abbreviated to two syllables it would have been 'Yaho'." (Biblical Archaeology Review)



D. D. Williams said: "Evidence indicates, nay almost proves, that Jahwéh was not the true pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton ... The Name itself was probably JAHÔH." Dr. Max Reisel writes that "vocalization of the Tetragrammaton must originally have been YeHūàH or YaHūàH" (The Mysterious Name of Y.H.W.H., page 74).



Professord Gérard Gertoux, a Hebrew scholar, refers in his book to what Maimonides (a Jewish scholar and famous talmudist) has written, and says: "This name YHWH is read without difficulty because it is pronounced as it is written, or according to its letters as the Talmud says." He displays a long study in pronunciation of names, and draws the conclusion that the divine name is pronounced "I_Eh_oU_Ah". He even writes: "The name Yahweh (which is a barbarism) has only been created to battle with the true name Jehovah." (The Name of God ... its story)

Answer 3

Yod Hey Vav Hey

Y H V H



The name Jehovah never appeared in the Hebrew bible.

The Divine Name is not in the Greek Manuscripts.



God's name:

Hebrew- אהיה אשר אהיה, pronounced Ehyah asher ehyah

English pronounciation - E Yah ausha E Yah

This is E'yah pronounced eYah - a drawn Y or just Yah. I Am ' is ' e'Yah ' in Hebrew. (drawn y in pronunciation).Yah is God's name - not Jah - not Jehovah.



Look at the second half of verse Exodus 3:14.

Almghty God is called El Shaddai to this point by the Hebrew people.

And El Shaddai says (read close); "say "I AM" has sent me unto you".

I AM = YAH

God’s name is not “I AM THAT I AM”, God’s chosen name is “I AM”.



In Hebrew this is “אהיה and in English or any other language is “E’yah”.

This is straight from the Hebrew. God's name is E'yah in all languages - do not be fooled by confusing arguments in this area because there are many convoluted, complex, manipulating, and justifying arguments.

Answer 4

Hello,



You need to do more than copy paste , you need to really understand your subject. The point is that anyone that claims to know for sure how the Divine name was pronounced is lying. That said, it is a nonsence statement that the ENGLISH form Jehovah is {quote} "grammatically impossible", it is perfectly possible because it is a transliteration into the English language.



Further the pronunciation could not have been lost in 70CE because it's pronunciation was part of the daily evening prayer right up to that time so anyone that lived through that period was perfectly familiar with its pronunciation. (btw Yahweh although popular has finally proved to be less likely to be a more accurate rendition than the three syllable Yehowah because of the way Hebrew grammar works).



Anyway the point is that the bible is perfectly clear about the importance of the divine name whatever it's pronunciation; the removal and replacement of the Divine name in scripture is a traversy and regardless of the accepted pronunciation any group that restores God's name to it's rightful place in scripture and worship is a great deal more likely to be reflecting first century Christianity than those that do otherwise.



I don't mean to discourage you, it's good to see a Young person with a degree of curiosity but research is more than a cut and paste from Wiki (I'm pretty sure you didn't know what the tetragrammaton was an hour and a half ago because I saw your original question). Anyway, mearn to ask, look to diverse sources and REASON and you'll be on the right path to enlightenment or you could become one of those crazy militant neo-atheists banging on about how the bible is the root of all evil... your call.





SUNSHINE





LEARN MORE

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008649

Answer 5

To begin, in Hebrew, God's name appears as four consonants: יהוה. These four Hebrew letters are represented in many languages by the letters JHVH or YHWH and are known as the Tetragrammaton.



It is true that no human today can be certain how God's name was originally pronounced in Hebrew because Biblical Hebrew was originally written with only consonants, no vowels. When the language was in everyday use, readers easily provided the proper vowels. However, at some point a superstitious idea arose among the Jews that it was wrong even to pronounce the divine name so they used substitute expressions. Centuries later, copyists kept to following the tradition of eliminating the distinctive name of God by replacing it with Ky´ri·os and The·os´ ("LORD" and "GOD"). Unfortunately, because of the superstitions and traditions concerning the Divine Name, God's name was generally removed from the texts altogether and thus the original pronunciation of the divine name was lost.



Many scholars favor the spelling "Yahweh," but it is uncertain and there is not agreement among them. On the other hand, "Jehovah" is the form of the name that is most readily recognized, because it has been used in *English* for centuries and preserves, equally with other forms, the four consonants of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton.



We can easily understand why many scholars prefer "Yahweh" since it clearly uses the four consonants YHWH. But you wonder why we find so many Bibles using the name which has a "J"?



In the Middle Ages, the "Y" sound of the Greek "I" came to be written as either "I" or "J" (for the first letter of words, at least), and "Iesvs" became either "Iesvs" or, more ornamentally, "Jesvs." And, finally, the "v" came to be written as "u" and the name came into its final written form (in English) as "Jesus." (In fact, even the first editions of the King James Version still used the initial "I" instead of the equivalent "J" which shows that it was still pronounced "Yay-soos" in the English of 1611:



"In form, J was originally merely a [more ornamental] variation of `I,' arising in the 14th century .... Not until the middle of the 17th century did this usage [the new pronunciation of the new letter `J'] become universal in English books; in the King James Bible of 1611, for example, the words Jesus and judge are invariably Iesus and iudge." - p. 4823, Vol. 13, Universal Standard Encyclopedia (Funk & Wagnalls), 1955.



"In the word `hallelujah' the j retains its early consonantal value of i or y." - p. 571, Vol. 15, The Encyclopedia Americana, 1957.



So even for some years after the KJV began using the new letter "J," the pronunciation of it was still "Y." But eventually (18th century?) we began to have "Jesus" (and other "J" words, including "Jehovah," "Jeremiah," "Jerusalem," "Joshua," etc.) with the modern English pronunciation of those letters: "Jee-suz." Nearly all modern English Bibles have purposely retained the earlier tradition concerning biblical names, and "Jesus" (and "Jeremiah," "Jerusalem," "Joshua," etc.) remains in all modern English Bibles.



I believe there is nothing wrong with retaining this tradition even though it is not the original pronunciation of the name of the Messiah (Yehoshua) nor even the original Greek rendering of it (Yaysoos). It is still an honest transliteration of the original proper name of the Messiah, however, and it is common to all speakers of English. (In like manner, although `Cristobal Colon' may be the original pronunciation, I don't think it's wrong to call the famous explorer `Christopher Columbus' in modern English.)



In the same way the only proper name of God Himself, YHWH, which is used nearly 7000 times in the original writings of the Old Testament is sometimes transliterated as "Jehovah" in English (ASV, Young's, KJIIV, NWT, Byington, and, in some verses only, in NEB, MLB, KJV, and Living Bible) and, more rarely, as "Yahweh" (JB, NJB, and Rotherham). (Of course it is more often improperly rendered "LORD" in most places in most Bibles.)



So which is the proper pronunciation of God's name - "Jehovah" or "Yahweh"? Well, many Bible scholars in more recent times have preferred "Yahweh" as the probable original Hebrew pronunciation. But there is still more to say for "Jehovah" in addition to the fact that it is the older, more traditional, and better-known form.



Recommended Articles:



The Divine Name—Its Use and Its Meaning

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/bible-teach/the-divine-name-its-use-and-its-meaning/



Should the Name Jehovah Appear in the New Testament?

http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp20080801/name-in-new-testament/

Answer 6

There are no "J" sounds in the Hebrew language, so you are correct in saying the Jews would never have used the Jehovah as a name for their God, YHWH.



However, you are incorrect with assuming that Yahweh is the correct name, or rather pronunciation for YHWH.



Yahweh was actually a minor desert and wilderness god in the Canaanite Pantheon. Because of this Hellenic scholars assumed the four letter Tetragrammaton referred to Yahweh, but, they were wrong. The Hebrews would never have said Yahweh, as it quite simply is not the name of the Hebrew God.



The correct way to pronounce YHWH depends mainly on the context used. In some case YHWH can be pronounce yo-vah, or yah-vah. Those pronunciations are very similar to how Jehovah is pronounced. However, in Hebrew, the term wouldn't make much sense, as Jehovah, Iehovah, as the Greco Romans would say, is a combination of four Hebrew words. Those four words literally translated to English, are: I Am The LORD.



The irony is, whenever a Jehovah's Witness says the words, Jehovah God, they are actually saying, I Am The LORD, God.



The name of the Hebrew God is unspeakable, with one exception. The only time the name of the Hebrew God can be spoken is during Yom Kippur, in the Temple and by the High Rabbi. Most of the time, Jews will say the words Ha Shem, (The Name). In official prayer, the titles Adonai (lord/master) Avinu (father) and Elohim (God) are used.



SUNSHINE!!! Stop giving me TD's!! You bloody heathen!!

Answer 7

In English, widely accepted - yes the name of our Creator is Jehovah. King James, as well as our version ie NWT says it and a new King James has come out that that has put back our Creator's name.



If you were to go to England or even if you are in England, better still, pop to Plymouth and there you will find a monument with His name.



Edit: just to add: Our Creator is not the God of just the Jews; He is the Creator of the whole world and thus, even if Hebrew does not recognise J, it does not mean that we shouldn't too! Also, no one argues with calling His son, Jesus or any other biblical ones! So why should people do the same with our Creator's name? Or is it more to the point that Jehovah is associated with that hated group eh?



Think on this one: there is a group of people who bear this name and are hated and mocked and despised and banned etc and yet they still keep going? Surely if this name is not meant to be used for our Creator, this group would have disappeared long ago!



Take a look at our website at: www.jw.org and read our history and you will see why our Creator's name is Jehovah!

Answer 8

Well there a New Discovery on Bible-related archaeological “findings” published 10 day ago that might shed some light.. and also added weight for the theory that God “had a wife”





"Fridman points to discoveries in an 8th century tomb at the site of Khirbet el Qom, containing the names of YHWH - the God of the Bible - and a female figure, Ashera. Fridman says that the inscription appears to be a prayer, invoking both deities.



Another inscription, found at the site of Kuntillet Arjud, is dedicated to, ““YHWH and his ASHERA”. Such practices continued into the late Iron Age of the Land of Israel (10th–6th centuries BC), according to Fridman.



http://uk.news.yahoo.com/finds-in-israel-add-weight-to-theory-god-%E2%80%9Chad-wife%E2%80%9D-145026393.html#EX2qXZI

Answer 9

no mortal human has ever known The Name of God....... Adam and Eve might have know His Name... but at that time they were no mortal humans... they became mortal as the result of their disobedience to God... it is not given.... but I suspect that God caused them to forget His Name when He kicked them out of The Garden and into the harsh reality of the world outside........YHWH is NOT a Hebrew Word... those are the English initials equivalen to the ones used by the Jews in place of The Name..... HaShem would be the common Hebrew replacement today

Answer 10

The Person is more important than the Name.

Answer 11

Yes



scripture



Psa 83:15 So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.





Psa 83:16 Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.





Psa 83:17 Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:





Psa 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Answer 12

It's a concoction, with consonants added to the four vowels used to refer to god, and is fairly recent. Using gods name was forbidden to the Israelites (Jews). Actually, gods name is Reginald. His middle name was Jameil, and his surname was god. Not a lot of people know that. But trust me, that's the truth.

Answer 13

God has several names. He told Moses His name is I AM THAT I AM in Exodus 3.

Answer 14

who lost it?

did he?



does he have the power to restore it?



that is exactly what he did when the dead sea scrolls were found



yod

hay

uau

hay



http://thekingdomofyahuah.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/LettersHebrew3.gif

Answer 15

I thought it was Yahweh or Elohim.