Jehovah

Jehovah is a personal name of God used in the King James Version. It is an attempt to transliterate the tetragrammaton used in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. In Hebrew, this word is given as Yĕhovah or YHWH. Modern scholars have concluded that medieval Jewish scholars intentionally inserted incorrect vowels into an ancient consonant-only text. They did this to prevent God's true name from being pronounced accidentally. The original pronunciation of the tetragrammaton is not known, but "Yahweh" is conventional among modern scholars.

Usage in the King James Version

There are over six thousand examples of the tetragrammaton in scripture. English-language translations, including KJV, this word is indicated with an all-caps "LORD" or "GOD." In four cases, the KJV gives the divine name as "JEHOVAH":

• "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:3)
• "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth." (Psalms 83:18)
• "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)
• Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." (Isaiah 26:4)

Tetragrammaton

The divine name appears over 6,800 times in the Hebrew-Aramaic portion of the scripture. Until the destruction of the Second Temple, the name was pronounced only by the Jewish high priest on Yom Kippur. Later, the rabbis substituted adonai (sovereign lord) or elohim (God) to avoid accidentally profaning the name. The pronunciation "Jehovah" comes from inserting the Hebrew vowels of the word "adonai" into a Latinized tetragrammaton ("JHVH"). It bears little resemblance to the divine name as it was originally pronounced.

Meaning

Rooted in the imperfect state of the causative form of the Hebrew verb הוה (ha•wah, "to become"), the Divine Name indicates progressive action. This can be seen by the context of Exodus 3:14, 15. Moses inquires who he said say has sent him to the captive Israelites. Where some translations render God's response as, "I am who I am" (King James), other translations show the dynamic nature of the Divine Name by rendering the Hebrew text as "I Will Be What I Will Be" (The Torah) or "I Shall Prove To Be What I Shall Prove To Be" (New World Translation) indicating that rather than a simple statement acknowledging His existence, He indicates that He can do whatever is necessary to accomplish His purposes.

Origins

Originally Biblical Hebrew was written without vowels, the reader having been educated to know the appropriate vowels to insert when reading. As the proper pronunciation of Hebrew was being lost through lack of fluency a group of Hebrew copyists, the Masoretes invented signs to be placed around consonants to indicate accents and proper pronunciation of vowels.

When it came to copying the Divine Name, the Masoretes provided vowel points for יהוה so that it now appeared as יְהוָה, following the accepted tradition of using "Adonai" (Sovereign Lord) or "Elohim" (God) in place of the Divine Name.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, some scholars hold Jehovah dates only from the year 1520. However, writers of the sixteenth century, regardless of religious background, were familiar with the word. The name has been found as early as the 13th century in the "Pugio fidei" of Raymund Martin, a work written about 1270 (ed. Paris, 1651, pt. III, dist. ii, cap. iii, p. 448, and Note, p. 745).

With the publication of the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible in 1611 AD, the name Jehovah would become widely known; it appears at Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4.

Translations Featuring

The following translations use Jehovah, either directly or in references:

• The King James Bible (1611)
• The Living Bible (Tyndale House Publishers, 1971)
• The Bible In Living English (translated by Steven T. Byington, published by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1972)
• The Oxford Annotated Bible - Revised Standard Version (Oxford University Press, 1962)
• American Standard Version (International Council of Religious Education, 1929)
• The New American Bible - Michaelangelo Edition (Catholic Press, 1970)
• The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 1984)
• Young's Literal Translation
• Darby's Translation

• Psalm 83:18
  • That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. (King James Version)
  • And they know that Thou -- (Thy name [is] Jehovah—by Thyself,) [Art] the Most High over all the earth! (Young’s Literal Translation)
  • That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the earth. (Darby Translation)

References

• Catholic Encyclopedia (1917 edition) - [1]
• The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever (1984) - [2]
• Angel Fire Yahweh [3],[4]
• Encyclopaedia Judaica Names of God [5]

External Links:

• Bible Online – [6]
• Hebrew-English Interlinear [7]