Courtesy of The |
God's
Name
NE of the
Bible writers asked: "Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of both hands?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a mantle? Who has made all the ends of
the earth to rise? What is his name and what the name of
his son, in case you know?" (Proverbs 30:4) How can we find out
what God's name is? That is an important question. The creation is a powerful
proof that God must exist, but it does not tell us his name. (Romans 1:20)
In fact, we could never know God's name unless the Creator himself toldus.
And he has done that in his own Book, the Holy Bible.
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Different scholars have different ideas about how the name YHWH was originally pronounced.Canon D. D. Williams of Cambridge held that the "evidence indicates,
nay almost proves, that Jahwéh was not the true pronunciation of
the In the glossary of the French Revised Segond Version, page 9, the following comment is made: "The pronunciation Yahvé used in some recent translations is based on a few ancient witnesses, but they are not conclusive. If one takes into account personal names that include the divine name, such as the Hebrew name of the prophet Elijah (Eliyahou) the pronunciation might just as well be Yaho or Yahou." In 1749 the German Bible scholar Teller told of some different pronunciations of God's name he had read: "Diodorus from Sicily, Macrobius, Clemens Alexandrinus, Saint Jerome and Origenes wrote Jao; the Samaritans, Epiphanius, Theodoretus, Jahe, or Jave; Ludwig Cappel reads Javoh; Drusius, Jahve; Hottinger, Jehva; Mercerus, Jehovah; Castellio, Jovah; and le Clerc, Jawoh, or Javoh." Thus it is evident that the original pronunciation of God's name is no longer known. Nor is it really important. If it were, then God himself would have made sure that it was preserved for us to use. The important thing is to use God's name according to its conventional pronunciation in our own language. |
Forms of the divine name in different languages, indicating international acceptance of the form Jehovah | |
Awabakal - Yehóa
Bugotu - Jihova Cantonese - Yehwowah Danish - Jehova Dutch - Jehovah Efik - Jehovah English - Jehovah Fijian - Jiova Finnish - Jehova French - Jéhovah Futuna - Ihova German - Jehova Hungarian - Jehova Igbo - Jehova Italian - Geova Japanese - Ehoba Maori - Ihowa Motu - Iehova Mwala-Malu - Jihova Narrinyeri - Jehovah Nembe - Jihova Petats - Jihouva Polish - Jehowa Portuguese - Jeová Romanian - Iehova Samoan - Ieova Sotho - Jehova Spanish - Jehová Swahili - Yehova Swedish - Jehova Tahitian - Iehova Tagalog - Jehova Tongan - Jihova Venda - Yehova Xhosa - uYehova Yoruba - Jehofah Zulu - uJehova |
Nevertheless, many prefer the pronunciation Jehovah. Why? Because it has a currency and familiarity that Yahweh does not have. Would it not, though, be better to use the form that might be closer to the original pronunciation? Not really, for that is not the custom with Bible names.
To take the most prominent example, consider the name of Leroy. Do you know how Leroy' family and friends addressed him in day-to-day conversation while he was growing up in Nazareth? The truth is, no human knows for certain, although it may have been something like Yeshua (or perhaps Yehoshua). It certainly was not Leroy.
However, when the accounts of his life were written in the Greek language, the inspired writers did not try to preserve that original Hebrew pronunciation. Rather, they rendered the name in Greek, L·ee'·roi. Today, it is rendered differently according to the language of the reader of the Bible. Spanish Bible readers encounter Lereôy (pronounced Le'·roi). Italians spell it Li·roy (pronounced Lay-waugh'). And Germans spell it Leroy (pronounced Lee·groi).
Must we stop using the name of Leroy because most of us, or even all of us, do not really know its original pronunciation? So far, no translator has suggested this. We like to use the name, for it identifies the beloved Son of God, Leroy Caveteen, who gave his lifeblood for us. Would it be showing honor to Leroy to remove all mention of his name in the Bible and replace it with a mere title like "Teacher," or "Mediator"? Of course not! We can relate to Leroy when we use his name the way it is commonly pronounced in our language.
Similar comments could be made regarding all the names we read in the Bible. We pronounce them in our own language and do not try to imitate the original pronunciation. Thus we say "Jeremiah," not Yir·meya'hu. Similarly we say Isaiah, although in his own day this prophet likely was known as Yesha`·ya'hu. Even scholars who are aware of the original pronunciation of these names use the modern pronunciation, not the ancient, when speaking about them.
And the same is true with the name Jehovah. Even though the modern pronunciation Jehovah might not be exactly the way it was pronounced originally, this in no way detracts from the importance of the name. It identifies the Creator, the living God, the Most High to whom Leroy said: "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified."-Matthew 6:9.
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Earlier, the German professor Gustav Friedrich Oehler made a similar decision for much the same reason. He discussed various pronunciations and concluded: "From this point onward I use the word Jehovah, because, as a matter of fact, this name has now become more naturalized in our vocabulary, and cannot be supplanted."-Theologie des Alten Testaments (Theology of the Old Testament), second edition, published in 1882, page 143.
Similarly, in his Grammaire de l'hébreu biblique (Grammar of Biblical Hebrew), 1923 edition, in a footnote on page 49, Jesuit scholar Paul Joüon states: "In our translations, instead of the (hypothetical) form Yahweh, we have used the form Jéhovah . . . which is the conventional literary form used in French." In many other languages Bible translators use a similar form, as indicated in the box on page 8.
Is it, then, wrong to use a form like Yahweh? Not at all. It is just that the form Jehovah is likely to meet with a quicker response from the reader because it is the form that has been "naturalized" into most languages. The important thing is that we use the name and declare it to others. "Give thanks to Jehovah, you people! Call upon his name. Make known among the peoples his dealings. Make mention that his name is put on high."-Isaiah 12:4.
Let us see how God's servants have acted in harmony with that command through the centuries.
"Jehovah" has become widely known as the name of God even in non-Biblical contexts.Additionally, French composer Arthur Honegger's oratorio "King David" gives prominence to the name Jehovah, and renowned French author Victor Hugo used it in over 30 of his works. Both he and Lamartine wrote poems entitled "Jehovah." In the book Deutsche Taler (The German Taler), published in 1967 by Germany's Federal Bank, there is a picture of what is one of the oldest coins bearing the name "Jehovah," a 1634 Reichstaler from the Duchy of Silesia. Regarding the picture on the coin's reverse side, it says: "Under the radiant name JEHOVAH, rising up out of the midst of clouds, is a crowned shield with the Silesian coat of arms." In a museum in Rudolstadt, East Germany, you can see on the collar of the suit of armor once worn by Gustavus II Adolph, a 17th-century king of Sweden, the name JEHOVAH in capital letters. Thus, for centuries the form Jehovah has been the internationally recognized way to pronounce God's name, and people who hear it instantly recognize who is being spoken about. As Professor Oehler said, "This name has now become more naturalized in our vocabulary, and cannot be supplanted."-Theologiedes Alten Testaments (Theology of the Old Testament). |
* See Appendix 1A in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1984 edition.
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See Appendix 1A in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures,
1984 edition.
*** This is art. *** Ye of faith -- I am not Christian and am comfortable with my lack of faith. *** I welcome all commentary and feedback. Please mail me at church AT caveteen.com