Did you know Jehovah is not a real name?

Question

It only exists in the KJV of the Bible and was a mistranslation of YHWH.

Answer 1

God’s Name and Bible Translators

EARLY in the second century, after the last of the apostles had died, the falling away from the Christian faith foretold by Jesus and his followers began in earnest. Pagan philosophies and doctrines infiltrated the congregation; sects and divisions arose, and the original purity of faith was corrupted. And God’s name ceased to be used.

As this apostate Christianity spread, the need arose to translate the Bible from its original Hebrew and Greek into other languages. How did the translators render God’s name in their translations? Usually, they used the equivalent of “Lord.” A very influential version of that time was the Latin Vulgate, a translation of the Bible by Jerome into everyday Latin. Jerome rendered the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) by substituting Dominus, “Lord.”

Eventually, new languages, such as French, English and Spanish, began to emerge in Europe. However, the Catholic Church discouraged the translating of the Bible into these new languages. Thus, while Jews, using the Bible in the original Hebrew language, refused to pronounce God’s name when they saw it, most “Christians” heard the Bible read in Latin translations that did not use the name.

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 adversus impios Hebraeos (Porchetus’ Victory Against the Ungodly Hebrews). In this he, too, mentioned God’s name, spelling it variously 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 occurs in the Hebrew text.

In 1611 what became the most widely used English translation, the Authorized Version, was published. In this, the name appeared four times in the main text. (Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4) “Jah,” a poetic abbreviation of the name, appeared in Psalm 68:4. And the name appeared in full in place-names such as “Jehovah-jireh.” (Genesis 22:14; Exodus 17:15; Judges 6:24) However, following the example of Tyndale, the translators in most instances substituted “LORD” or “GOD” for God’s name. But if God’s name could appear in four verses, why could it not appear in all the other thousands of verses that contain it in the original Hebrew?

Something similar was happening in the German language. In 1534 Martin Luther published his complete translation of the Bible, which he based on the original languages. For some reason he did not include the name of God but used substitutes, such as HERR (“LORD”). However, he was aware of the divine name, since in a sermon on Jeremiah 23:1-8, which he delivered in 1526, he said: “This name Jehovah, Lord, belongs exclusively to the true God.”

In 1543 Luther wrote with characteristic frankness: “That they [the Jews] now allege the name Jehovah to be unpronounceable, they do not know what they are talking about . . . If it can be written with pen and ink, why should it not be spoken, which is much better than being written with pen and ink? Why do they not also call it unwriteable, unreadable or unthinkable? All things considered, there is something foul.” Nevertheless, Luther had not rectified matters in his translation of the Bible. In later years, however, other German Bibles did contain the name in the text of Exodus 6:3.

In succeeding centuries, Bible translators went in one of two directions. Some avoided any use of God’s name, while others used it extensively in the Hebrew Scriptures, either in the form Jehovah or in the form Yahweh. Let us consider two translations that avoided the name and see why, according to their translators, this was done.

Answer 2

Here are two other bibles of the many that disagree with you.

ASB:

Ps 83: 18 That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth.

YLT:

Ps 83: 18 And they know that Thou -- (Thy name [is] Jehovah -- by Thyself,) [Art] the Most High over all the earth!

Strongs:

Hebrew for 03068

Jehovah = "the existing One"

1) the proper name of the one true God

3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord

YHWH is Hebrew

JHVH is English

In Spanish you say "Hay-zues" for Jesus

even though it is spelled the same.

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.

Other languages:

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

Answer 3

Iehouah is the first English transcription of God's name and is found a small number of times in Tyndale's Pentateuch, which was written in 1530.

In the year 1530 the English letter "u", when being used as a consonant, was pronounced like the English letter "v" is pronounced today.
IEHOVAH [in all capital letters] is the 1611 English transcription of the Biblical Hebrew name יְהֹוָה‎.

"IEHOVAH" [in all capital letters]. In the King James bible of 1611, the tetragrammaton is predominantly translated (over 6,500 times) as LORD or GOD, all in capital letters e.g. Exodus 6:2, Psalm 110:1, Psalm 113:1, Proverbs 18:10, et al. Four times it is transcribed as JEHOVAH: Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2, and Isaiah 26:4.

Answer 4

thats ok Jesus was not his real name either

In fact, there was no letter ‘J’ in any language prior to the 14th century in England. The letter did not become widely used until the 17th century.

The Encyclopedia Americana contains the following quote on the J: “The form of ‘J’ was unknown in any alphabet until the 14th century. Either symbol (J,I) used initially generally had the consonantal sound of Y as in year. Gradually, the two symbols (J,l) were differentiated, the J usually acquiring consonantal force and thus becoming regarded as a consonant, and the I becoming a vowel.

It was not until 1630 that the differentiation became general in England.” Note in the original 1611 version of the King James Version of the Bible there was no “J” letter in this Bible for because it did not exist. James was spelled Iames. Jesus was spelled Iesous.

Answer 5

Yhwh only has consonants because that is how old Hebrew is set up. There was no English language back then, so Jehovah is the translation of the name Yhwh. Notice that Jehovah has the consonants Jhvh, and they are very similar. YHWH JHVH.

Answer 6

Jesus came from Greek Iesous and Hebrew Yehosua. It's like John, Juan, Johann, Yohann. and Jonas. They are all the same. And other Bible translation uses Jehovah.

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.

It's in the dictionary, encyclopedia, and even movies like History of the World and Indiana Jones Last Crusade.

Answer 7

It is a hybrid god name with the consonants of YHWH on the vowels od Adonai. Also, get your facts straight. It was used long before the KJV as a way of getting around saying the holy name of God for the Jews.

Answer 8

no human today can be certain today how God's name was originally pronounced in Hebrew.
Many scholars favor the spelling "Yahweh",but it is uncertain and there is not agreement among them.On the other hand,"Jehovah" is the form of the name that is most readily recognized,because it has been used in English for centuries and preserves, equally with other forms,the four consonants of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton.
Most names change to some extent when transferred from one language to another.Jesus was born a Jew,and his name in Hebrew was perhaps pronounced Yeshua,but the inspired writers of the Christian Scriptures did not hesitate to use the Greek form of the name, Iesous.In most other languages the pronunciation is slightly different,but we freely use the form that is common in our tongue.The same is true of other Bible names.How,then,can we show proper respect for the One to whom the most important name of all belongs?
Would it be by never speaking or writing his name because we do not know exactly how it was originally pronounced?Or,rather,would it be by using the pronunciation and spelling that are common in our language,while speaking well of its Owner and conducting ourselves as his worshipers in a manner that honors him?
As Jehovah's Witnesses we are proud to be priviledged to use the divine name and tell others about our wonderful God,Jehovah

Answer 9

I know who it originated from taking the letters of YHWH and the vowels of adonai and ptting them together. The issue comes back to God not wanting to let His name be known because the culture at the time taught that if you knew the name of a god, that god would be obliged to give you what you want.

Answer 10

You're absolutely right. The most common spoken version of YHWH is YAHWEH, which is what is guessed is how it was spoken in the original hebrew.

I heard somewhere that the mistranslation started somewhere in Germany, but i have no way to verify that, so don't take my word for it.

God bless!