Jehovah, LORD?

Question

Why does Jehovah Witness’ Bible have the word Jehovah instead of LORD? I noticed that their Bibles are the only ones that have the word Jehovah. Most of the Bibles have just the word LORD?

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus, the apostles, and the other Christian bible writers must have used the divine name in their speech and in their writings. Sadly, the original Greek manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures (the so-called "New Testament") have never been found.

(John 17:26) [Jesus said] I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them

(Matthew 6:8,9) God your Father knows what things you are needing before ever you ask him. 9 “You must pray, then, this way: “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.


Think about it: Jesus and his apostles must have been extraordinarily familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures (the "Old Testament"), and the evidence is that they frequently quoted from these writings. The Hebrew Scriptures use the divine name SEVEN THOUSAND TIMES; would Jesus and his apostles have skipped over "Yahweh" or "Jehovah" when it appeared in the text they were quoting?

Perhaps the most revealing passage is to note the way that Luke 4:18,19 quotes from Isaiah 61:1,2. Scholars universally concede that the passage in Isaiah uses the divine Name and even repeats that Name; Jesus and his audience all understood Hebrew and the scroll was almost certainly in Hebrew (although that is immaterial). Clearly, when Jesus actually read the Isaiah passage he would hardly have replaced his Father's personal name with a generic term (such as the corrupters of Luke's Gospel have done).

(Luke 4:16-21) [Jesus] entered into the synagogue, and he stood up to read. 17 So the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed him, and he opened the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “Jehovah’s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor, he sent me forth to preach a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the crushed ones away with a release, 19 to preach Jehovah’s acceptable year.” 20 With that he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were intently fixed upon him. 21 Then he started to say to them: “Today this scripture that you just heard is fulfilled.”

(Isaiah 61:1,2) The spirit of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to the meek ones. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening of the eyes even to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah


As in Luke chapter 4, the New World Translation is quite careful to ONLY render the divine name when a verse or phrase in the Christian Greek (NT) Scriptures seems to quote or refer to a Hebrew (OT) Scripture with the divine Name. That is why the OT has almost 7000 occurrences of "Jehovah" while the NT has less than 300.

An additional example is the way the Apostle Paul at Romans 10:13 quotes Joel 2:32.

(Romans 10:13) For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved"

(Joel 2:32) And it must occur that everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe (see also Zeph 3:9)


Essentially, the New World Bible Translation Committee believed that it is preferable to err (if that is what they did) on the side of magnifying the divine name, rather than share in perpetuating a superstition that hides it.

The name "Jehovah" is an English translation of the Hebrew name pronounced as or similar to "Yahweh" or "Yehowah"; the exact original pronunciation is unknown. The four Hebrew characters corresponding to the letters "YHWH" are well-recognized as the biblical personal name of Almighty God, and are universally designated as "the Tetragrammaton" or "the Tetragram".

For centuries, most Jews have superstitiously refrained from pronouncing aloud any form of the divine Name. They base that superstition on the third of the Ten Commandments given to Moses:
(Exodus 20:7) You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way
http://watchtower.org/e/bible/ex/chapter_020.htm?bk=Ex;chp=20;vs=7;citation#bk7

Over the centuries, that Jewish superstition has expanded to also forbid writing or engraving any form of "YHWH", even when simply copying from one of the nearly 7000 occurrences in the Hebrew Scriptures. In recent centuries, some superstitious Jews have even forbade unabbreviated EUPHEMISMS for "YHWH"; capitalized terms such as "Tetragrammaton" and (amazingly) even "the Name" are forbidden by such superstitions, and they even insist that "God" must be written as "G~d".

Naturally, the religious and superstitious practices of a person are between him and his Creator. However, in recent decades these superstitious Jews have worked to impose their superstitious sensibilities beyond their religious communities, and onto the entire populace. Thus, although "YHWH' is unanimously recognized as the personal name of God, few today use any form of it in their writings and conversation.

Interestingly, Christendom has largely joined with superstitious Jews in suppressing the use of "Yahweh" and "Jehovah". However, it seems that Christendom's anti-YHWH bias largely devolves from their hatred of Jehovah's Witnesses, the religion almost single-handedly responsible for the growing public recognition that the Almighty God of Judaism and Christianity actually does have a personal name.

It seems that too many are more interested in coddling superstition than in allowing intellectual honesty and respect for the Almighty.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20040122/

Answer 2

Most older King James Versions of the bible will have the name Jehovah in it. A couple notable places would be
Psalms 83.18
Exodus 6.3

I think the real question, is why has Gods name been removed from the bible.

Answer 3

I notice you say that the NWT is the only one to say Jehovah, then say most say Lord. It is true we try to make sure that everything we preach and teach is as close to the original manuscripts as possible. Thus we use God's name. However, we are not alone, many older Bibles do use Jehovah's name. Another question is why do so many other Bibles remove Jehovah's name

Answer 4

In regard to Romans 10:13, all of the original Greek manuscripts use the word 'lord', not Jehovah.

Since they all say 'lord', you cannot 'restore' the name to Jehovah, since it was already lord and never was 'Jehovah' to begin with.

All of the translations which support using "Jehovah" (in the New Testament) are just that - translations into other languages made about 1500 years after the original was written.

Since all of the original Greek manuscripts say 'lord', why would anyone choose to ignore them and use a fairly recent translation into another language instead?

Answer 5

Basically, where you see LORD (in capital letters) it is where the
Tetragrammaton occurs (God's name YHWH/Yahweh/Jehovah)

Many other Bibles have Jehovah's name

Where is God’s name found in Bible translations that are commonly used today?

The New English Bible: The name Jehovah appears at Exodus 3:15; 6:3. See also Genesis 22:14; Exodus 17:15; Judges 6:24; Ezekiel 48:35. (But if this and other translations use “Jehovah” in several places, why not be consistent in using it at every place where the Tetragrammaton appears in the Hebrew text?)

Revised Standard Version: A footnote on Exodus 3:15 says: “The word LORD when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH.”

Today’s English Version: A footnote on Exodus 6:3 states: “THE LORD: . . . Where the Hebrew text has Yahweh, traditionally transliterated as Jehovah, this translation employs LORD with capital letters, following a usage which is widespread in English versions.”

King James Version: The name Jehovah is found at Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4. See also Genesis 22:14; Exodus 17:15; Judges 6:24.

American Standard Version: The name Jehovah is used consistently in the Hebrew Scriptures in this translation, beginning with Genesis 2:4.

Douay Version: A footnote on Exodus 6:3 says: “My name Adonai. The name, which is in the Hebrew text, is that most proper name of God, which signifieth his eternal, self-existing being, (Exod. 3, 14,) which the Jews out of reverence never pronounce; but, instead of it, whenever it occurs in the Bible, they read Adonai, which signifies the Lord; and, therefore, they put the points or vowels, which belong to the name Adonai, to the four letters of that other ineffable name, Jod, He, Vau, He. Hence some moderns have framed the name of Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians; for the true pronunciation of the name, which is in the Hebrew text, by long disuse is now quite lost.” (It is interesting that 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.”)

The Holy Bible translated by Ronald A. Knox: The name Yahweh is found in footnotes at Exodus 3:14 and 6:3.

The New American Bible: A footnote on Exodus 3:14 favors the form “Yahweh,” but the name does not appear in the main text of the translation. In the Saint Joseph Edition, see also the appendix Bible Dictionary under “Lord” and “Yahweh.”

The Jerusalem Bible: The Tetragrammaton is translated Yahweh, starting with its first occurrence, at Genesis 2:4.

New World Translation: The name Jehovah is used in both the Hebrew and the Christian Greek Scriptures in this translation, appearing 7,210 times.

An American Translation: At Exodus 3:15 and 6:3 the name Yahweh is used, followed by “the LORD” in brackets.

The Bible in Living English, S. T. Byington: The name Jehovah is used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

The ‘Holy Scriptures’ translated by J. N. Darby: The name Jehovah appears throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, also in many footnotes on Christian Greek Scripture texts, beginning with Matthew 1:20.

The Emphatic Diaglott, Benjamin Wilson: The name Jehovah is found at Matthew 21:9 and in 17 other places in this translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text—A New Translation, Jewish Publication Society of America, Max Margolis editor-in-chief: At Exodus 6:3 the Hebrew Tetragrammaton appears in the English text.

The Holy Bible translated by Robert Young: The name Jehovah is found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures in this literal translation.


Having a name is very important. It identifies us from other people. And just as a name is important to us, so is God's name important.
PSALMS 83:18 - Yahweh / YHWH / Jehovah
By using His name we identify Him from other gods.

I reckon that the best way to find out what Jehovah's Witnesses believe is to ask them themselves instead of listening to the biased answers of those who frankly don't know any better or who's purpose is to discredit what JWs believe, wouldn't you agree?

or go to their official website.


http://www.watchtower.org/

http://www.watchtower.org/library/jt/article_08.htm

Thanks for the question :)



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Answer 6

Look in the foreward or appendix of your copy of the Bible. 99% of all Bibles make mention of why they REMOVED the name Jehovah from their version/translation.

From WIKIPEDIA:

The Wycliffe translation of 1395 followed Jewish tradition and wrote 'Adonai', e.g. in Ex. 6:3.

The first early modern English translators to transcribe God's name into English did not correspond with Jewish scholars, and thus believed that it was not treated in any unusual way, so they transcribed "יְהֹוָה‎" into English just as they thought it was written. It therefore became Iehouah in 1530, Iehovah in 1611, and Jehovah in 1769.[5]

The transcription Iehouah was used in the 16th century by many authors, both Roman Catholic and Protestant.

Iehouah[6] is the first English transcription of God's name and first appeared in an English Bible in Tyndale's translation of the Pentateuch (1530). Iehouah is found in all English Protestant versions of the 16th century except that of Coverdale (1535).

IEHOVAH[7][in all capital letters] is the English transcription of the Biblical Hebrew name יְהֹוָה‎ in the King James Bible of 1611 A.D., where it occurs as such four times:- Exodus 6:3 Psalm 83:18 Isaiah 12:2 Isaiah 26:4. Elsewhere in the KJV the tetragrammaton is rendered as GOD or LORD, e.g. Genesis 2:4 Psalm 110:1 Psalm 113:1 Proverbs 18:10 etc.

JEHOVAH [in all capital letters] is found four times in an 18th century revision of the King James Bible of 1611 A.D.

Answer 7

You better read this from Pat Robertson:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2006/11/robertson_says.html

Theirs is not the only Bible to use God's name or to say that the word LORD is there to replace God's name because people fear it.

Answer 8

Most Bibles use 'Jehovah' or 'Yahweh', in a few places, but most of the time 'YHWH' is translated as 'Lord' because it has become customary. (The King James uses 'Jehovah' in four places.) God's name is no longer known except for the consonants YHWH, but it has also become customary to translate YHWH as 'Jehovah' or 'Yahweh" if a personal name is desired, rather than a respectful title such as 'lord'.

In the Old Testament, YHWH occurs thousands of times. When the New Testament was written, the custom had developed of not speaking the name, so the NT writers apparently didn't use it, since it is not in any Greek manuscripts, not even one. Jehovah's Witnesses theorize that the name might have been in the originals, so they translate 'lord' and 'god' as 'Jehovah' in more than 200 places in the NT.

Achtung points out the originals aren’t available. The same is true of the Old Testament, yet JW’s are content to accept it the way it’s written. But apparently they feel the New Testament needs to be improved.

Achtung also says that ‘Jehovah’ is only used in scriptures that are quotes from the OT where YHWH was used in the OT and that clearly refer to Jehovah God. Not true. Romans 10:13 likely uses ‘lord’ to refer to Jesus Christ, but JW’s translate it as ‘Jehovah’. (This is only one example; there are others.)

In any case, ‘theos’ should be translated as ‘god’ and ‘kyrios’ should be ‘lord’, regardless of who is meant.

I was a JW for many years and was quite shocked when I realized that our own translators had more respect for their own personal opinions and theories than for the Scriptures as they have been handed down to us.

EDITED: TeeM says its "possible" that YHWH was originally in the NT. I agree. It's possible. But since there's no way to be sure, wouldn't it be best not to deviate from the original language?

EDITED - AGAIN:

I see that TeeM has changed "possible" to "strong evidence".

Notice this "strong evidence" relies on these words:

"COULD refer", not "does" refer

"most likely" refers - not "definitely" refers

"two possible meanings" - not one definite meaning

"could be"

"as if"

Evidence - yes. Strong evidence - no. Theoretical, at best, and one man's opinion.

Bottom Line: "kyrios" should be translated 'lord' in the NT for the same reason that YHWH is translated 'Jehovah' in the OT - that's what the oldest, most reliable manuscripts say. That is the final authority, is it not?

Answer 9

You can get free Bible software at www.e-sword.net and that way you can check the Hebrew and Greek Text for the Word = LORD = translated from Jehovah.

Their Agenda is to Diminish = JESUS AS GOD! Do not believe their False Doctrine!

Thanks, RR

Answer 10

They have that word in there because it was put in there by them. It is also put in there inconsistently and not according to the principle that they said they used.