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Jehovah
See technical note on viewing the Hebrew characters in this article.
Jehovah (also sometimes spelled Yehovah) is the name of the God of the Old Testament as commonly transliterated in English from the Masoretic Hebrew text. Etymologically, it is a third person singular, imperfect, probably the causative form of the verb hawah (or hayah), signifying "to be." The word Jehovah consists of the consonants JHVH or JHWH (more accurately YHWH or YHVH), with the vowels of a separate word, Adonai (Lord). What its original vowels were is a matter of speculation, as an interpretation of such texts as Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 24:11 led to the name being regarded as too sacred for expression; the scribes, in reading aloud, substituted "Lord" and therefore wrote the vowel markings for "Lord" into the consonantal framework JHVH as a reminder to future readers. The non-Jewish translators of the Hebrew, not realizing what the scribes had done, read the word as it was written down, taking the scribal vowel markings as intrinsic to the name of their God rather than as a mere reminder not to speak it. From this came the rendition Jehovah.
In many world languages vowels are of secondary importance, This was true of ancient hebrew."J" and "y" are virtually interchangeable in modern linguistics. The letter sounded "v" could also be "w" depending on accent. For this reason many of the arguements regarding the name seem academic. It is clear then that the name was JHVH or YHWH with the vowels being subject to accent and dialect.
Jehovah - Jehovah is an 18th century English translation of יְהֹוָה [Hebrew word #3068]
Jehovah ( Latin Iéhova ) is an 18th century English translation of "יְהֹוָה", which is a Masoretic vocalization of "יהוה" [ i.e. the Tetragrammaton ]. "יְהֹוָה" is found 6518 times in the Ben Chayyim Hebrew text of 1525 A.D., which underlies the Old Testament of the King James Bible. The 1611 edition of the King James Bible translated "יְהֹוָה" as "Iehovah", but during the 1762-1769 edit of the King James Bible, the spelling "Iehovah" was changed to "Jehovah".
James Strong's "A concise Dictionary of the words in the Hebrew Bible" [ first published in 1890 A.D. ] lists every word that is found in the Hebrew Bible in alphabetical order [ according to the Hebrew Alphabet ]. Since the Biblical Hebrew word "יְהֹוָה" is the 3068th word on the list, it is known as Strong's Hebrew word #3068.
Tetragrammaton, Yehuah, Yahweh, Names of God in Judaism, God, Judaism, Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jehovah in the New Testament
Jehovah - Encyclopedia Britannica of 1910-1911’s Case against Jehovah
Many 20th century scholars believed that the Masoretes did not point "יְהֹוָה" [ i.e. Hebrew word # 3068 ] with the actual vowel points of God's name, but, as described in the introduction of this article, they pointed "יְהֹוָה" with the vowels of an entirely different Hebrew word [ i.e. "Adonai" ( a.k.a. "Adonay" ) ].
On page 311 of the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1910-1911 is an article on "JEHOVAH" 1. It states:
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JEHOVAH ( Yahweh 2 ), in the Bible, the God of Israel.
"Jehovah" is a modern pronunciation of the Hebrew name, resulting from combining the consonants of the name, Jhvh, with the vowels of the word adonay, "Lord," which the Jews substituted for the proper name in reading the scriptures. In such cases of substitution the vowels of the word which is to be read are written in the Hebrew text with the consonants of the word which is not to be read. The consonants of the word to be substituted are ordinarily written in the margin; but inasmuch as Adonay was regularly read instead of the ineffable name Jhvh, it was deemed unnecessary to note the fact at every occurrence. When Christian scholars began to study the Old Testament in Hebrew, if they were ignorant of this general rule or regarded the substitution as a piece of Jewish superstition, reading what actually stood in the text, they would inevitably pronounce the name Jehovah. It is an unprofitable inquiry who first made this blunder; probably many fell into it independently. The statement still commonly repeated that it originated with Petrus Galatinus (1518) is erroneous; Jehova occurs in manuscripts at least as early as the 14th century.
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Jehovah - Qeri-Perpetuum [a.k.a.Qere Perpetuum]
The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910 explains in different words, what was written in the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1910-1911's article on Jehovah.
The Catholic Encyclopedia’s Article:Jehovah (Yahweh) explains qeri perpetuum [a.k.a. qere perpetuum], under the heading: "I. PRONUNCIATION OF JEHOVAH":
What has been said explains the so-called qeri perpetuum, according to which the consonants of Jehovah are always accompanied in the Hebrew text by the vowels of Adonai except in the cases in which Adonai stands in apposition to Jehovah: in these cases the vowels of Elohim are substituted. The use of a simple shewa in the first syllable of Jehovah, instead of the compound shewa in the corresponding syllable of Adonai and Elohim, is required by the rules of Hebrew grammar governing the use of shewa.
Thus the Hebrew name underlying "Jehovah" does not have the precise same Hebrew vowel points as "Adonay or Adonai" has. This can be observed in the image to the right:
Compare "YHWH intended to be pronounced as Adonai" with "Adonai with its slightly different vowel points"!
Note that "YHWH intended to be pronounced as Elohim" has the precise same vowel points as "Elohim itself"!
Jehovah - KJVO Christians defend the vowel points of יְהֹוָה and the name Jehovah
Most modern scholars hold the view that the vowel points of the spelling "יְהֹוָה" (which would seem to indicate a pronunciation "Yehowah", if taken literally) are not the correct vowel points of God's name — and that they were actually never intended to be such, but were instead a masoretic Q're perpetuum, or implicit textual note to indicate that the letters YHWH should be pronounced out loud as "Adonai" when reading the text (something later misunderstood by early Christian Hebraists). Therefore most scholars do not consider that the name of Israel's God can be correctly transcribed as "Jehovah".
However, some KJVO Christians place great emphasis on the fact that the vowel points of Jehovah and Adonay are not precisely the same (Adonai having a hatef-patah vowel point under the aleph in its first syllable, while the Masoretes placed a simple shewa under the yod in the first syllable of YHWH, when YHWH stood alone in the Hebrew text. ), and take this as an indication that "Jehovah" is the actual name of God.
KJVO Christians are aware that the Catholic Encyclopedia explains the discrepancy in the vowel points of "יְהֹוָה" and "Adonai" in these terms:
"The use of a simple shewa in the first syllable of Jehovah, instead of the compound shewa in the corresponding syllable of Adonai and Elohim, is required by the rules of Hebrew grammar governing the use of shewa." [1]
KJVO Christians question this claim (also found in other reference works, such as the old Jewish Encyclopedia), noting that when YHWH is found adjacent to the actual word Adonai in the Masoretic text, the Masoretes placed a compound shewa (e.g. the precise same hatef-segol vowel point which is found under the Aleph of the first syllable of the intended pronunciation Elohim) under the first letter of YHWH (as seen in the image in sub-section # 2.1).
Thus there is an apparent discrepancy between how the Masoretes pointed the yod in YHWH, when YHWH was next to Adonai, compared to how the Masoretes pointed the yod in YHWH, when YHWH stood alone in the Hebrew text, (where some explanation of the use of a simple shewa under the yod in YHWH, when YHWH stands alone, 'has to be presumed' in order to maintain the explanation that the vowel points of this form were taken from Adonai).
KJVO Christians point to this discrepancy in arguing that "יְהֹוָה" must have the actual vowel points of God's name, and that the modern English name "Jehovah", which is derived from "יְהֹוָה", is an accurate translation of God's name.
Jehovah - Jehovah's Witnesses and the English rendering of the name Jehovah
Concerning the vowel points of God's Hebrew name, The Watchtower Official Website of Jehovah’s Witnesses states:
When it came to God's name, instead of putting the proper vowel signs around it, in most cases they put other vowel signs to remind the reader that he should say 'Adho·nai'. From this came the spelling Iehouah, and, eventually, Jehovah became the accepted pronunciation of the divine name in English. This retains the essential elements of God's name from the Hebrew original.
While The Watchtower Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses acknowledges that they do not believe that the vowel points of "יְהֹוָה" are the actual vowel points of God's Hebrew name, Jehovah's Witnesses honor the English name "Jehovah" which is translated from "יְהֹוָה".
Jehovah's Witnesses use the common form of God's name in whatever language they speak. They publish Bibles and bible literature in roughly 400 languages. For instance, in Spanish Jehova' (pronounced Hay-oh-va') is used, or in English they use the common form "Jehovah".
Jehovah - יְהֹוָה is found only 44 times in the Leningrad Codex of 1008-1010 A.D.
Hebrew word #3068 [ i.e. "יְהֹוָה ] from which the 18th century English translation "Jehovah" is derived is preserved only 44 times in the Leningrad Codex of 1008-1010 A.D.
On the b-Hebrew discussion board, Peter Kirk, a Hebrew scholar, states that Hebrew word # 3068 [ i.e. "יְהֹוָה" ], from which the 18th century English translation "Jehovah" is derived, is found only 44 times in the Leningrad Codex of 1008-1010 A.D. Note that on b-Hebrew, Hebrew word # 3068 [ i.e. "יְהֹוָה" ] is written as "Y:HOWFH".
Jehovah - Latin Translations of יְהֹוָה from 1278 A.D. to 1518 A.D.
- Raymond Martini's 1278 A.D. Latin translation "Yohoua"
- Petrus Galatinus's 1518 A.D. Latin Translation "Iehoua"
Jehovah - English Translations of יְהֹוָה from 1530 A.D. to 1890 A.D.
- Tyndale's 1530 A.D. English Translation "Iehouah"
- The King James Bible's 1611 A.D. English Translation "Iehovah
- The King James Bible's 1762-1769 A.D. English Translation "Jehovah"
- James Strong's 1890 A.D. letter-by-letter Hebrew to English transliteration "Yehovah"
Jehovah - Translations of YHWH found in writings of the Greek Fathers
The evidence of the Greek church fathers shows the forms Jabe and Jâo to be traditional, as well as the shortened Hebrew forms of the words Jah (see Psalms 68:4, for example) and Jahu (in proper names). It could indicate that the name was originally spoken Jaweh or Yahwe (often spelled Yahweh in modern usage). This is supported by Yahwitic names of the Masoretic text, the Peshitta Aramaic and the Marashu texts. The pronunciation of Yahweh is also preserved in ancient transliterations of the name written in Egyptian Hieroglyphics, cuneiform and Greek, all of which had written vowels. The older interpreters explain the verb in a metaphysical and abstract sense; the "I am" of Scripture is "He who is," the absolutely existent.
The word occurs some 7000 times in the Hebrew bible.
See also
- Tetragrammaton
- Yehuah
- Yahweh
- Names of God in Judaism
- God
- Judaism
- Christianity
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Jehovah in the New Testament
For the deity claimant, see Jehovah Wanyonyi.
Jehovah - Articles that defend the Name Jehovah
In Defense of Jehovah by Carl Franklin
Debunking the Myths of Sacred Namers: Part I by Carl Franklin
Debunking the Myths of Sacred Namers: Part II by Carl Franklin
Debunking the Myths of Sacred Namers: Part III by Carl Franklin
Scott Jones’ updated Article:Jehovah
Jehovah - Articles that critique the Name Jehovah
Jewish Encyclopedia of 1901-1906: Jehovah
Jewish Encyclopedia of 1901-1906: Names of God: YHWH
Catholic Encyclopedia of 1910: Jehovah (Yahweh): I. PRONUNCIATION OF JEHOVAH
Jehovah - Footnotes
1.Page 311 of the Encyclopedia Britannica of 1910-1911 If you position your mouse on the bottom right of the image,an icon will appear that will allow you to enlarge the image.
Jehovah - Technical note
The Hebrew characters in this article may be displayed in some browsers at a size too small for clarity; printing the article out, or cutting-and-pasting text from the web-browser into a word processor and increasing the font size, may help.
Categories: Cleanup from December 2005 | Christianity | Judaism
Other related archives"יהוה", Adonai, Aramaic, Christianity, Cleanup from December 2005, Egyptian, Exodus, God, Greek, Greek church, Hebrew, Hebrew bible, Jah, Jehovah Wanyonyi, Jehovah in the New Testament, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jewish Encyclopedia, Judaism, Latin, Leviticus, Lord, Masoretic, Names of God in Judaism, Old Testament, Peshitta, Psalms, Tetragrammaton, Yahweh, consonants, cuneiform, masoretic, name of the God, sacred, scribes, vowels
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