'JEHOVAH'
Following
is an incomplete list of Bible translations that use the form of
the Divine Name JEHOVAH for the original four letters-the Tetragrammaton-that is
God's proper name in the original Hebrew Scriptures-the Old Testament.But
before that list is given I would like to reproduce here part of a web page
that attacks the use of this form of the name in the New World Translation of
the Holy Scriptures.
Here is
the attack:
"The
Origin of the word 'Jehovah':The fact of the matter is that it is a man made
name, a false translation.Here is what they won't tell you...In their very own
publication called 'Aid to Bible Understanding', page 884-885 "By
combining the vowel signs of 'Adho-nay' and 'Elo-him' with the four consonants
of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) the pronunciations Yeho-wah' and Yeho-wih' were
formed. The first of these provided the basis for the Latinized form
"Jehova(h)." THE FIRST RECORDED USE OF THIS FORM
DATES FROM THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY C.E.. RAYMUNDUS MARTINI, A SPANISH MONK OF
THE DOMINICAN ORDER (in other words a Catholic) USED
IT IN HIS BOOK PUEGO FIDEI OF THE YEAR 1270."I have shown that the
name did not even exist before the year 1270 so it cannot be Biblical. The
Tetragrammaton, (meaning four letters) the letters YHWH are found in ancient
Hebrew Scripture, but nowhere is the word 'jehovah' to be found.Now let us
return to 'their' bible and read under 'appendix 1' page 1640. "The name
'Jehovah' occurs 6973 times in the text of the Hebrew Scriptures of the New
World Translation. Actually the Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew
text...... WE 'RENDERED' THE TETRAGRAMMATON AS
'JEHOVAH' IN ALL 6828 OCCURRENCES..."To sum it all up, and from
their own publications, they used a man made, manufactured name, and changed
the word 'Lord' to read 'Jehovah' 6828 times in their New World
Translation."
First of
all he charges Jehovah's Witnesses of withholding the fact that the form
Jehovah is of 13 century origin.But then he contradicts himself in the next
breath by quoting a JW publication that tells it's readers that very
fact? Are you already puzzled? I am.That the WTB&TS, the legal and
publishing agent of JW's, "told you" that 'Jehovah' is of this
origin, can be found in the following.
" From the point of view of the
Bible, there has never been any question as to the name of the true God. When
God spoke to Moses, explaining that He would use him to lead the nation of
Israel out of Egyptian bondage, Moses asked a logical question: "When I
come to the Israelites and say to them ,"The God of your fathers has sent
me to you, and they ask me, What is His name? what shall I say to
them?"God answered: "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: The LORD
[Hebrew, = YHWH = Yahweh, or, since the 13th century C.E., Jehovah],
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, has sent me to you: This shall be My name forever, this My appellation
[memorial, JP ] for all eternity."- Exodus 3:13, 15, italics ours."-Will
There Ever Be A World Without War,WTB&TS
And:
" In time, God's name came back
into use. In 1278 it appeared in Latin in the work Pugio fidei(Dagger of
Faith), by Raymundus Martini, a Spanish monk. Raymundus Martini used the
spelling Yohoua.Soon after, in 1303, Porchetus de Salvaticis completed a work
entitled Victoria Porcheti adversusi impios Hebraeos (Porchetus' Victory
Against the Ungodly Hebrews). In this he, too, mentioned God's name, spelling
it variously i Iohouah, Iohoua and Ihouah. Then, in 1518, Petrus Galatinus
published a work entitled De arcanis catholicae veritatis (Concerning Secrets
of the Universal Truth) in which he spells God's name Iehoua. The name first
appeared in an English Bible in 1530, when William Tyndale published a
translation of the first five books of the Bible. In this he included the name
of God, usually spelled Iehouah, in several verses, and in a note in this
edition he wrote: "Iehovah is God's name . . . Moreover as oft as thou seist
LORD in great letters (except there be any error in the printing) it is in
Hebrew Iehovah." From this the practice arose of using Jehovah's name in
just a few verses and writing "LORD" or "GOD" in most other
places where the Tetragrammaton ." The Divine name That Endures Forever,WTB&TS."
So what
can we say about his charge:"Here is what they won't tell
you.." It is an untruth!
If he
thinks that "Jehovah" is not a "Biblical name" and therefore
should not be used that would mean that a host of other names in the Old
Testament as we find in all Bible translations,including the Cathlolic
Jerusalem Bible,should also not be used.This would include
Isaiah,Jeremiah,Jehu,Jehoash, and many more.If he believes that these names are
the original "Biblical names," then he is grossly mistaken.
To remind
you again what this Cathlolic critic said:
"to
sum it all up, and from their own publications, they used a man made,
manufactured name, and changed the word 'Lord' to read 'Jehovah' 6828 times in
their New World Translation."
He seems
unaware of the fact that The Catholic Encyclopedia,Volume 8, 1910
edition, page 329, notes: "Jehovah, the proper name of God in the Old
Testament."
And the
Catholic Encyclopedia 1913, Vol. VIII, p. 329 states:
""Jehovah",the proper name of God in the Old Testament; hence
the Jews called it 'the name' by excellence, the great name, the only
name."
What have
some said about the form of the name "Jehovah"?
R.H.Pfeiffer
said,"Whatever may be said of it's dubious pedigree,"Jehovah" is
and should remain the proper English rendering of Yahweh,the God of Israel who
revealed his name to Moses in the burning bush."-Introduction to the
Old Testament,1952,p.94.
Also,J.B.Rotherham
in his translation of the O.T. used the form "Yahweh",but later in
his "Studies in the Psalms," he reverted back to the
form "Jehovah" because of,in his word, "the desireabilty of
keeping in touch with the public's eye and ear." He said:
"Jehovah-
The employment of this English form of the Memorial name in the present version
of the Psalter does not arise from any misgiving as to the more correct
pronunciation, as being Yahweh; but solely from practical evidence personally
selected of the desirability of keeping in touch with the public ear and eye in
a matter of this kind, in which the principal thing is the easy recognition of
the Divine name intended. . . . As the chief evidence of the significance of
the name consists not nearly so much in its pronunciation as in the
completeness with which it meets all requirements-especially as explaining how
the Memorial name was fitted to become such, and to be the preeminent covenant
name that it confessedly is, it has been thought desirable to fall back on the
form of the name more familiar (while perfectly acceptable) to the general
Bible-reading public."
Also,in
his translation S.T.Byinginton said about why he used "Jehovah":
"the
spelling and the pronunciation are not highly important. What is highly
important is to keep it clear that this is a personal name. There are several
texts that cannot be properly understood if we translate this name by a common
noun like "Lord."
The French
Dictionnaire de la Bible( Dictionary of the Bible) edited by the Catholic
priest F. Vigouroux, says: "Jehovah, the personal name of God in the Old
Testament. No divine name is so frequently used in the Hebrew Bible. It is
repeated about 6000 times, either alone or with another divine name."
Johann
David Michaelis in his German translation of the Old Testament of the
eighteenth century. When commenting on Genesis, he said in part: "On the
other hand, the name Jehovah [ Jehova in German] is used in equally long
sections [of the Bible] and the Supreme Being continually called Jehovah God,
likely with the intent of conveying to the reader that the God of whom Moses is
speaking is that one God who had made himself known to him by the name Jehovah
and who distinguished himself from all other gods by means of this peculiar
name. . . . so I considered it to be a matter of integrity in translation to
identify it, even though it might not always be pleasing to the German ear. In Michaelis' comments on the
book of Job, he said: "Nothing has more often aroused doubts on my part in
translation than the name of God, Jehovah, occurring so frequently in the
Hebrew [Scriptures]. Several of my friends insisted that I not at all insert
this foreign word. . . . Jehovah is a Nomen Proprium, and, just as properly as
I retain other nomina propria[such as] Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or, taking names
of other gods as examples, Baal, Ashtaroth, Dagon- they may be as
foreign-sounding as they like- it can well occur in the case of Jehovah. In the
translation of a classical author one would not have the slightest hesitance
toward the use of the names Jupiter, Apollo [and] Diana; and why then should
the name of the Only True God sound more offensive? I do not therefore see why
I should not use the name Jehovah in the German Bible."
A major
translation that uses "Jehovah," is the American Standard Version.It
would be beneficial to quote that part of it's preface that tells why they did
so.
"The
change first proposed in the Appendix-that which substitutes "Jehovah"
for "LORD" and "GOD".....-is one which will be unwelcome to
many,because of the freqeuncy and the familiarity of the terms displaced.But the
American Revisors,after a careful consideration,were brought to the unanimous
conviction that a Jewish superstition,which regarded the Divine name as too
sacred to be uttered,ought no longer to dominate in the English or in any other
version of the Old Testament,as it fortunately does not in the numerous
versions made by modern missionaries.This Memorial Name,......and emphasised as
such over and over again in the original text of the Old Testament,designates
God as the personal God,as the covenant God,the God of revelation,the
Deliverer,the Friend of his people;- not merely the abstract "Eternal
One" of many French translations,but the ever living Helper of those who
are in trouble.This personal name,with it's wealth of sacred associations,is
now restored to the place in the sacred text to which it has an unquestionable
claim."-Preface.p.iv.
Following
the ASV in this are the translations by(some using the name less than the
actual occurrences in the original):
Rotherham's
The Emphasised Bible, the Jerusalem Bible and The Bible-An
American Translation(Smith and Goodspeed) uses the form
"Yahweh."
On this
form of the divine name the producers of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
of the Christian Greek Scriptures said, back in 1969, "While
inclining to view the pronunciation "Yah-weh" as the more correct
way, we have retained the form "Jehovah" because of people's
familiarity with it since the 14th century. Moreover, it preserves, equally
with other forms, the four letters of the Tetragrammaton JHVH."
-WTB&TS, Foreword, p.23
More
translations could be cited.
Of course,
we know that the Revised Standard Version departed from the practice of
the ASV by not using "Jehovah,"or any proper name for God, instead
substituting "Lord" in those places where the proper name occurs in
the original Hebrew. Back in 1952 we can read what one who published his
thoughts in the New York newspaper the Daily Compass, of October 28th said:
" The 32 Protestant scholars may
have attempted to revise the Scriptures in the "clearest, most accurate English
of our time," but in so doing, they actually obscured the original
meanings. Moreover, by rendering some original Hebrew names, such as
"Jehovah" into English words that never convey the original meaning
(" Jehovah" is a compound of three tenses "I Was, I Am, I Will
Be"), the translators have greatly transgressed and committed grievous
sin. For by using the word "Lord" for "Jehovah" they only
add confusion to the readers who will now not know when [the reference is to]
Jehovah, the Creator of all, or to the accepted Christian Son who is so
referred to throughout the evangelical works. "Lord," moreover, has
several common meanings."
The above
critic said, you may recall:
"they
used a man made, manufactured name, and changed the word 'Lord' to read 'Jehovah'
6828 times in their New World Translation."
If this
critic thinks that the NWT rendered the Hebrew word for "Lord" as
"Jehovah," then he is grossly mistaken.That is a different word
altogether.The NWT rendered "adonai" as
"Lord" as has all other Bible translations! If he thinks that to
render the four letters which represents the Divine Name,a proper name,in the
original Hebrew by the English "Lord" is not changing
it,then again he is grossly mistaken.Either this critic is not aware of the
facts or,even worse,he is lying.Either way his accusations are in excusable.It
might be pointed out that this Catholic critic of the NWT has also,perhaps
without being aware of it,also maligned the Catholic Jerusalem Bible!
Would he now charge it with changing "Lord" to read
"Yahweh"? Of course,when you read this attack on the NWT you are not
told that other Bible Translation Committees have done the same thing.Is his
intent to inform or mislead?
Back in
1953 the New World translation was attacked from a Catholic source for using
the form "Jehovah". A Watchtower article replied in part:
"We
do not say that "Jehovah" is the correct pronunciation of God's name.
For that matter, neither is "Jesus" the correct pronunciation of
Christ's name. But according to the Aramaic language which Christ and his
apostles spoke, his name was pronounced "Yeshu'a"....... But
"Jesus" is only our colloquial way of pronouncing his name, and we do
not find fault with you for using it instead of Yeshu'a. However, if you call
it shallow scholarship for the[New World Translation]Committee to use the word
Jehovah in the New World Translation, then you will have to admit that it is
due to the shallow scholarship of the Roman Catholic clergy of the thirteenth
century, for in that century the word historically appears among them."
It might
be added here what the meaning of the Son of God's name "Jesus" is,
whilst he dwelt on earth as a man, as used by all translations. According to
Weymouth this name means "Jehovah is Salvation."(The New
Testament in Modern Speech, ftnote 21 under Matthew 1:21.)He is entirely
right. So everytime anyone uses this name, Jesus, (which is not the original
pronounciation of it in the 1st century)he is using and supporting the form of
The Divine Name JEHOVAH
A
Watchtower of of 1964 toward those who do use a proper name in their
translation or writings but think using the form "Jehovah" is some
how wrong said:
"Those
who reject the English "Jehovah" and insist on using the Hebrew
pronunciation[Yahweh] would do well to ask themselves why they say "Jesus
Christ," when that was not the way his name was pronounced in Hebrew. That
is the English way, derived from the Greek language. In Hebrew, Jesus would be
closer to "Yehshua" and Christ would be "Mash'edahh." So,
as we say "Jesus Christ" in the English language, we also say
"Jehovah," both being correct when speaking English."-The
Watchtower,1964,p.423.
It is a
great shame then that the likes of James White in his book 'The Forgotten
Trinity'(1998) says in a note; "Throughout this work the New
American Standard Bible is cited(1995 edition). The NASB follows the
standard English custom of rendering the divine name of God as LORD, using
small capitals. This is meant to indicate to the English reader that the Hebrew
term is ...YHWH, or Yahweh(oftentimes badly mispronounced as Jehovah.)"-italics
ours.
However,
in the book 'Jehovah's Witnesses
Defended-An Answer to Scholars and Critics'(1st edition),in which White
would have been very familiar with as he reviewed it in the Christian
Research Journal (volume 21.2,
published by the Christian Research Institute (CRI), an organization founded by
Walter Martin that is known for combating groups it considers
"cultic."), Greg Stafford
devotes some 21 pages to the Name of God including 8 on the pronounciation of
it in English. He showed that " "Yahweh" is not the correct
pronunciation at all, but that the Anglicized form "Jehovah" is quite
in line with the accepted practice of pronouncing biblical names whose
pronunciation is unknown, in English, and that the original form of the divine
name was in fact three syllables (as in "Jehovah"), not two (as in
"Yahweh")." In his 2nd edition Stafford's book "contains a
substantial amount of new material on the divine name, being approximately 50
pages long instead of 21." He also "presents a more detailed
discussion of the NWT's use of "J" documents and the appearance of
the divine name in the New Testament, and other matters involving the divine
name." Sadly, it is apparent
that White does not understand the issues involved in using the Anglicized,
trisyllable form "Jehovah," instead of the far less accurate,
bisyllable Hebrew approximation "Yahweh." Insofar as White's brief
note is concerned it is unfortunate that such inaccurate information continues
to be spread in such partisan publications.
Also, on the basis for incorporating the Name in the translation of the
Christian Greek Scriptures and the arguements given by the New World
Translation as being 'scientifically sound', please see 'Does NWT Follow Its
Own Translation Principles', Chapter 5, pp. 149-198 in Rolf Furuli's book 'The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation'.)
Francis Denio
wrote an article that was published in the Journal of Biblical Literature,
1927,pp146-149. Take note that this was based on 40yrs of experience in his
field.
On the Use of the Word Jehovah in Translating
the Old Testament
Conclusions based on forty years experience in
the Hebrew classroom
In the
Authorized version of the Old Testament the English word Lord is used to
represent two quite different words in the Hebrew. For the one word it is
printed Lord, and for the other LORD or GOD. The explanation is given that the
latter printing indicates that it stands for the Hebrew word designating the
covenant God of Israel, and is a proper name. The proper assimilation of this
fact rarely occurs. In all cases the words carry the idea, Master, Ruler.
Neither of them after four centuries of use has acquired the connotations that
are desired.
In order to secure the proper idea in the mind of the ' student the custom was
adopted in the early years of teaching to require him to give the rendering
Yahweh when the Hebrew IHWH occurred. Gradually it came to be felt that this
method savored of pedantry rather than scholarship. And plainly the desired
result was not secured. Not only was it a literary barbarism, but it was a word
empty of meaning which needed generations of use before it could be filled with
the proper meaning. 'Its use was abandoned.
Classroom needs demanded some word. The only hopeful candidate was the word
Jehovah. The following considerations led to its adoption.
Unquestionably it is an erroneous form. Other forms equally erroneous are
unchallenged. Isaiah and Jeremiah, to name no others,'would, if correctly
printed, be as much barbarisms as Yahweh. The difference between them and
Jehovah is that there was once a famous controversy and the facts about the
word Jehovah were made public knowledge. Isaiah and Jeremiah received no such
publicity.
Jehovah misrepresents Yahweh no more than Jeremiah misrepresents Yirmeyahu. The
settled connotations of Isaiah and Jeremiah forbid questioning their right.
Usage has given them the connotations proper for designating the personalities
which these words represent.
Much the same thing is true of Jehovah. It is not a barbarism. It has already
many of the connotations needed for the proper name, of the covenant God of Israel.
There is no other word which can faintly compare with it. For four centuries it
has been gathering these connotations.
In the sixteenth century Protestant and Roman Catholic scholars alike began to
use this word freely. At the outset they believed that the Hebrew points were
correctly used. The word thus launched into literature was not wholly
relinquished when the facts became known. For one reason, it filled a felt
need. The literature of devotion appropriated it more and more as time went on.
Few collections of hymns are without the one beginning:
Guide me, 0 thou great Jehovah.
Almost as many have that beginning:
Before Jehovah's awful throne.
In half a dozen hymn books used by three different denominations the following
first lines are found:
Call
Jehovah thy salvation.
Jehovah God the Father.
Jehovah! gracious power.
Jehovah reigns, he dwells in light.
Jehovah reigns, his throne is high.
Jehovah reigns, let all the earth rejoice,
Jehovah speaks, let Israel.
Praise ye Jehovah!
Praise ye Jehovah's name!
Sing to the great Jehovah's praise.
Sing to the Lord Jehovah's name.
Thank and praise Jehovah's name.
The Lord Jehovah reigns. And royal.
The Lord Jehovah reigns.
These
occurrences give only first lines, but the use is not confined to first lines.
These suffice to show the fact of usage and the meaning which usage gives. They
show it to be a personal name with associations of reverence and trust and
affection such as befit the name of the covenant God of Israel. These are the
qualities upon which the Psalmists of Israel love to dwell. In fact the use of
this word in our devotional literature especially adapts it for use in the
Psalter, and also in the prophets.
No other word approaches this name in the fulness of associations required. The
use of any other word falls so far short of the proper ideas that it is a
serious blemish in a translation.
The result of the use in the classroom was satisfactory. The habit received
strong support from the publication of the American Revision. During the twenty-five
years since the publication of this revision its use in family worship has
steadily increased the conviction that this is the one word to secure to the
general reader of the Old Testament the conception which its adoption was
designed to secure. In Psalms and Prophets alike it is helpful beyond
expression. The words of the Revisers in their preface are fully justified:
"The
change first recommended in the Appendix (of the English Revision of 1885)-that
which substitutes 'Jehovah' for 'LORD' and 'GOD'-is one which will be unwelcome
to many, because of the frequency and familiarity of the terms displaced. But
the American Revisers, after a careful consideration, were brought to the
unanimous conviction that a Jewish superstition, which regarded the Divine name
as too sacred to be uttered, ought Do longer to dominate the English or any
other version of the Old Testament, as it fortunately does not in the numerous
versions made by modem missionaries. This Memorial Name, explained in Ex. 3 14,
15 and emphasized as such over and over in the original text of the Old
Testament, designates God as the personal God, as the covenant God, the God of
revelation, the Deliverer, the Friend of his people;-not merely the abstract
'Eternal' One of many French translations, but the ever living Helper of those
who are in trouble. This personal name, with its wealth of sacred associations,
it now restored to its place in the sacred text to which it has an
unquestionable claim."
It is well
to record the fact that the American Revisers were not pioneers in using the
word. The earlier translators themselves apparently felt that in some instances
its use was imperative. It is said to have appeared in the Pentateuch
translated by Tyndale (1530). The Geneva Bible (1560) and Bishop's Bible (1568)
used it in Ex. 6 3 and Psa. 83 18. A. V. (1611) followed these bibles and added
it in Is. 12 2- 26 4. The 1885 Revision added to these four Ex. 6 6, 7, 8;
Psa.68 20; Isa. 49 14; Jer: 16 21 and Hab. 3 19. The compounds Jehovah
Jireh,Gen. 2 2 14; Jehovah Nissi, Ex. 17 15, and Jehovah Shalom, Jud.6 24 are
given in the Geneva Bible and in the versions of 1611 and 1885, though not in
the Bishop's Bible.
In some of these passages, as Jer. 16 21, a personal name is fairly demanded:
11 And they shall know that my name is Jehovah." Others where no change
was made call as loudly as Isa. 42 8: -'I am the LORD: that is my name."
The virtue of the American Revisers was that they missed no passage of this
sort nor any other where the Hebrew IHWH occurred."
A
reproduction of a page from "Five Pauline Epistles,A New Translation"
by William Gunion Rutherford, 1900. The excert is from Gunion's translation of
Romans 9: 20-29. Notice the occurrence of the name "Jehovah" 5 lines from
the bottom. Gunion used the Name several times in Romans.
A
reproduction of J.C.Wands translation of Hebrew chapter 7 from his "The
New Testament Letters" originally published in Australia 1944 and later a
corrected edition in England in 1946. Wand was the Bishop of London. Again,
notice the occurrence of the Name "Jehovah" 4 lines from the bottom.
…………………………………………………
Reproduction
of J.N.Darby's opening page of the book of "Matthew." from his
"The Holy Scriptures, A New Translation from the Original Languanges"
Note the (barely) visible "Jehovah" in the last line in the
footnotes. It reads: "'Lord' without the article, signifying, as often,
'Jehovah.'
For an in
depth study of The Divine name why not visit the official Jehovah's Witness
webpage located at http://www.watchtower.org/library/na/toc.htm where you will be
able to read the brochure "The Divine Name That Will Endure For
Ever",WTBTS,1984.Below are the chapter headings you will find. Happy reading.
…………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………….
"Hallowed
be Your Name"-What Name?
God's Name-It's Meaning and Pronunciation
The Divine Name Through the Ages
Christians and the Name
God's Name and Bible Translators
God's Name and the "New Testament"
Why We Must Know God's Name