jehovah or yahweh? what's the right name of God if he has a name?

Question

I was reading yahweh it's the most closer to the real name but I am not sure.. if both names are wrong why the christian bibles still editing these names?

Answer 1

Neither. It is written in Hebrew YHWH with no vowels and was considered (and still is considered) "unpronounceable" and "unspeakable" by any but the Jewish Priesthood. We have no idea.

Most Bibles indicate that when they used the capital letters "LORD" they mean the tetragrammaton: "YHWH".

Answer 2

Why does God's name look so different in these versions? Is his name LORD, the Eternal, Yahweh or Jehovah? Or are these all acceptable?

To answer this, we have to remember that the Bible was not originally written in English. The Bible writers were Hebrews, and they mostly wrote in the Hebrew and Greek languages of their day. Most of us do not speak those ancient languages. But the Bible has been translated into numerous modern tongues, and we can use these translations when we want to read God's Word.

In the Hebrew language it is written as four letters, called the Tetragrammaton, and are read from right to left in Hebrew and can be represented in many modern languages as YHWH or JHVH. God's name, represented by these four consonants, appears almost 7,000 times in the original "Old Testament," or Hebrew Scriptures.

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

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.

To take the most prominent example, consider the name of Jesus. Do you know how Jesus' 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 Jesus.

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, I·e·sous'. Today, it is rendered differently according to the language of the reader of the Bible. Spanish Bible readers encounter Jesús (pronounced Hes·soos'). Italians spell it Gesù (pronounced Djay·zoo'). And Germans spell it Jesus (pronounced Yay'soos).

Answer 3

Technically, "Yahweh" is right, and the word "Jehovah" exists only as a historical accident.

To understand how the word "Jehovah" came about, it is necessary to understand (1) Jewish custom regarding the writing of God's name, and (2) the way the Hebrew alphabet works.

1. Jews customarily avoid writing God's name because of a Biblical prohibition against destroying God's written name. Many will especially avoid writing it casually because of the responsibility they then have to properly preserve such writing. But sometimes this custom is carried even into scholarly writings and into copies of the scriptures themselves.

2. In the Hebrew alphabet, only consonants appear as the kind of letters we English-speakers are accustomed to. Vowels, if they are used at all, appear as marks beneath the preceding consonants. But vowels are usually omitted entirely.

And so the word "Jehovah" originated as follows:

Jewish scribes copying the scriptures wished to avoid writing the Hebrew name of God that could be roughly represented in English as YHWH. And so to achieve this, they intentionally made a recognizable nonsense word by mixing the consonants of Yahweh with the vowels of another of God's names, Adonai. They all understood what they were doing, but then along came some Germans who were translating the Bible and were unaware of this convention. They took the word at face value and read it as "YaHoWa", which in German is spelled "Jehovah." This word was then borrowed by English translators, and there you have it.

Answer 4

The Hebrew is the four letters. Jewish tradition is that we cannot ever name G-d, whatever we say or write will omit far too much. That's why we leave out the o in G-d, it's a reminder of this vital piece of theology. Likewise why we don't even try to pronounce the Name.

In fact, when it's written in a Torah scroll, the letters are the four, but the vowels are from a different word, Adonai, which is spoken instead. Je-ho-va-h comes from trying to read that combination. It's actually a mistake. There is no sacred text that says his name is Jehovah, just errors in some translations. But then most Christians don't really care to hear that their religion's understanding of Jewish texts isn't all that it purports to be.

From the way you've worded this question, I think you might find the Jewish approach interesting. A lot has been written on it.

Answer 5

The name is YHWH. It was so revered people stopped using it even before Christ came. You may notice that its replacement LORD only appears in the New Testament when quoting Old Testament.

Since YHWH is only consonants, most scholars believe Y had the sound of J in English and W the sound of V. Thus in English the name may be modified to JHVH. Same scholars believe the vowels necessary to pronounce the name are e, o and a to make JeHoVaH. This could be spelled as YeHoWaH. But nobody really knows so Yahweh could just be as correct.

God bless

Answer 6

Yahweh is closer, but the true name because, in Hebrew (and some other languages), an extra consonant something would be added for any of the names of God because humans were considered unworthy of saying His name.

Answer 7

It is true that the Almighty did not say, "Listen, thousands of years from now when a new language called English comes along, they can pronounce my name as 'Jehovah' and that's fine."

Instead, like with any and every personal name, different languages TRANSLATE personal names to fit their lingual tendencies. George becomes "Hor-hey" in Spanish or "Gay-org" in German and no one gets upset.

It's not exactly wrong to call the Almighty by the impersonal "God", just as it's not wrong to call one's offspring "Child". If we want a familiar and close relationship, however, it makes sense to use the personal name of someone we love. The Scriptures encourage us to use God's personal name.

The Hebrew name “Yahweh” (or “Yehowah”) does seem to approximately pronounce the divine name. Just as the Hebrew name “Yeshua” (or “Yehoshua”) is translated into “Jesus” in English, the Hebrew name “Yahweh” is translated into “Jehovah” in English.

The important thing is to use God’s personal name in whatever language you speak, rather than insisting upon the impersonal! The name “Yahweh” is certainly preferable to the non-name “God” or “Lord”, especially if you speak Hebrew. If you speak English, feel free to use the name "Jehovah".

(Psalms 83:18) That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth

(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

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/na/
http://watchtower.org/e/20040122/
http://watchtower.org/e/19990208/article_03.htm

Answer 8

Jehovah is most widely used in the English language. Bibles such as the KJV have removed God's personal name and replaced it with capital LORD. This resulted from a superstition of the Jews a long time ago. However Lord is just a title. Should we use God's personal name Jehovah?
Absolutely. The Bible says “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)

Answer 9

We do not have the vowels needed to give a true representation of God's Name. The Tetragrammaton YHWH is an approximation, possibly based on the one time men heard God speak His Name, when the Israelites were freed from Egypt. A volcano exploded, and the noise of it went out, making a shrieking, rumbling noise similar to but much louder than a passing jet aircraft. How do you spell that kind of roar?

Answer 10

I personally think Yahweh is it- there is no- j- in the original Hebrew language---and the Bibles are edited- but the Jews were the reason no one remembers Yahweh- they did not want it profaned so they made it illegal to say it-- and it was forgotten--- lets bring it back!!!!! ( I don't mean to say the Jews are bad- they had good intentions but something this important should not be forgotten.)

Answer 11

Yahweh; Jehovah is a combination of Yahweh Adonai (Lord God).
Actually, in Exodus chapter 3, He introduces himself as "I am."