The God's Name in the New Testament
For a long time it was
thought that the divine Tetragrammaton YHWH, in Hebrew written with the letters
%&%* * (which occurs over 6,800
times in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament) did not appear in the original
writings of the New Testament. In its place it was thought that the writers of
the New Testament had used the Greek word for LORD, KYRIOS. However, it seems
that such an opinion is wrong. Here below are some factors to consider:
1) The Tetragrammaton in the Greek Version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX). One of the reasons produced to support the above mentioned opinion was that the LXX substituted YHWH (%&%* *) with the term KYRIOS (kurios), which was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word ADONAY used by some Hebrews when they encountered the Tetragrammaton during the Bible reading. However, recent discoveries have shown that the practice of substitution in the LXX (YHWH with KYRIOS) started at a much later date in comparison with the origin of that version. As a matter of fact, the older copies of the LXX keep the Tetragrammaton written in Hebrew characters in the Greek text (See App. 1). J erome (Girolamo), the translater of the Latin Vulgate, confirms this fact. In the prologue of the books of Samuel and Kings he wrote: "In certain Greek volumes we still find the Tetragrammaton of God's name expressed in ancient characters". And in a letter written in Rome in the year 384 it says: "God's name is made up of four letters; it was thought ineffable, and it is written with these letters: iod, he, vau, he (=%&%* *). But some have not been able to decipher it because of the resemblace to the Greek letters, and when they found it in Greek books they usually read it PIPI (pipi)". S. Girolamo, Le Lettere, Rome, 1961, vol.1, pp.237, 238; compare J.P.Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol.22, coll.429, 430.
Further confirmation comes
from The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, which says:
"Recently discovered texts throw doubt on the idea that the translators of
the LXX have rendered the Tetragrammaton (JHWH) with KYRIOS. The most ancient
mss (manuscripts) of the LXX available today have the Tetragrammaton written in
Hebrew letters in the Greek text. This was the custom preserved by the later
Hebrew translators of the Old Testament in the first centuries (after
Christ)". Vol.2, pag.512. Consequently, we can easily deduce that if the
writers of the NT in their quotations from the OT used the LXX, they would
surely have left the Tetragrammaton in their writings the way it occurred in
the Greek version of the OT.
To confirm the correctness
of this conclusion, it is interesting to note the following declaration made
before the finding of the manuscripts proving that the LXX originally contained
the Tetragrammaton: "If that version (LXX) would have kept the term
(YHWH), or had used the Greek term for JEHOVAH and another for ADONAY, such a
use would have surely been followed in the discourses and in the reasonings of
the NT. Therefore our Lord, in quoting the 110th Psalm, instead of saying: 'The
LORD has said to my LORD' could have said: "JEHOVA has said to
ADONI". Supposing that a Christian scholar was translating in Hebrew the
Greek Testament: every time that he met the word KYRIOS, he should have had to
consider if in the context there was something that identified the
corresponding Hebrew word; and this is the difficulty which would have arisen
in translating the NT in whatever language if the name JEHOVAH would have been
left in the Old Testament (LXX). The Hebrew scriptures would have constituted a
standard for many passages: every time that the expression "the LORD's
angel" occurs, we know that the term LORD represents JEHOVA; we could come
to a similar conclusion for the expression "the LORD's word",
according to the precedent established in the OT; and so it is in the case of
the name "the LORD of armies". On the contrary, when the expression
"my LORD" or "our LORD" recurs, we should know that the
term JEHOVA would be inadmissible, when instead the words ADONAY or ADONI
should be used". R.B.Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament, 1897,
p.43. For a stronger support of this argument there are the words of the
professor George Howard, of the University of Georgia (U.S.A.) who observes:
"When the Septuagint Version that the New Testamental Church used and
quoted, contained the Divine Name in Hebrew characters, the writers of the New
Testament included without doubt the Tetragrammaton in their quotations". Biblical
Archeology Review, March 1978, p.14. Consequently several translators of the NT
have left the Divine Name in the quotations from the OT made by the New
Testament writers. It can be noted, for example the versions of Benjamin
Wilson, of Andrè Chouraqui, in Efik, and Malgascio languages.
2) The Tetragrammaton in
Hebrew version of the NT. As many know, the first book of the NT, the gospel of
Matthew, was written in Hebrew. The proof of this is found in the work of
Girolamo De viris inlustribus, chap. 3, where he writes: "Matthew, that is
also Levi, that became an apostle after having been a tax collector, was the
first to write a Gospel of Christ in Judea in the Hebrew language and Hebrew
characters, for the benefit of those who where circumcised that had believed. It's
not known with any certainly who had then translated it into Greek. However the
Hebrew one itself is preserved to this day in the Library at Cesarea, that the
martyr Pamphilus collected so accurately. The Nazarenes of the Sirian city of
Berea that use this copy have also allowed me to copy it". From the Latin
text edited by E.C.Richardson, published in the series Texte und Untersuchungen
zur Geschicte der altchristlichen Literatur, vol.14, Lipsia, 1986, pp.8,9.
It is therefore natural to
conclude that when Matthew quoted passages from the OT in which the
Tetragrammaton appeared (a thing that occurred both in the Hebrew OT and in the
Greek one then available) he would have surely left YHWH in his gospel, as no
Jew ever dared to take away the Tetragrammaton from the Hebrew text of the Holy
Scriptures. To confirm this there are at least 27 Hebrew versions of the NT
that present the Tetragrammaton in the quotations of the OT or where the text
requires it (see note 11)
3) The Tetragrammaton in the Christian Scriptures according to the Babylonian Talmud. The first part of this Jewish work is called Shabbath (Sabbath), and it contains an immense code of rules that establishes what could be done of a Sabbath. Part of it deals with whether (on the Sabbath day) Biblical manuscripts could be saved from the fire, and after it reads: "The text declares: 'The white spaces ("gilyohnim") and the books of the Minim, can't be saved from the fire'. Rabbi Jose said: 'On working days one must cut out the Divine Names that are contained in the text, hide them and burn the rest'. Rabbi Tarfon said: 'May I bury my son if I don't burn them together with the Divine Names that they contain if I come across them". From the English translation of Dr. H.Freedman. The word "Minim" means "sectarians" and according to Dr. Freedman it's very probable that in this passage it indicates the Jewish Christians. The expression "the white spaces" translates the original "gilyohnim" and could have meant, using the word ironically, that the writings of the "Minim" were as worth as much as a blank scroll, namely nothing. In some dictionaries this word is given as "Gospels". In harmony with this, the sentence that appears in the Talmud before the above-mentioned passage says: "The books of the Minim are like white spaces (gilyohnim)." So in the book Who was a Jew?, by L.H.Schiffman, the above-mentioned passage of the Talmud is translated: "We don't save the Gospels or the books of Minim from the fire. They are burnt where they are, together with their Tetragrammatons. Rabbi Yose Ha-Gelili says: "During the week one should take the Tetragrammatons from them, hide them and burn the rest". Rabbi Tarfon said: 'May I bury my children! If I would have them in my hands, I would burn them with all their Tetragrammatons'". Dr. Schiffman continues reasoning that here "Minim" is referring to Hebrew Christians. And it's very probable that here the Talmud refers to the Hebrew Christians. It is a supposition that finds agreement among scholars, and in the Talmud seems to be well supported by the context. In Shabbath the passage that follows the above-mentioned quotations relates a story regarding Gamaliel and a Christian judge, in which there is an allusion to parts of the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, this passage of the Talmud is a clear indication that the Christians included the Tetragrammaton in their Gospel and their writings.
Because of all we have said there are valid reasons to assert that the writers of the New Testament used the Tetragrammaton in their divinely inspired work.
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A version of this article (in the Italian language) appeared in Italy's most famous Catholic magazine: "Rivista Biblica", Year XLV, n.2, April-June 1997, p. 183-186. If you would like a copy of this published article, write to us giving your postal address.
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