Why do some denominations call the God of the Bible "Jehovah" when his name is actually YAHWEH???

Question

Why is it that the Jehovah's Witnesses and other Christian groups continue to call the God of the Bible "Jehovah" when we know that his name is actually YAHWEH, and the name Jehovah is from a MISTRANSLATION of the text? Aren't they up on their Bible studies? Does this not DISPROVE their claims about Biblical inerrancy (at least as far as the modern translations are concerned)?
Isn't it disrespectful to him to call him by a name that is based on a mistake? How do Jehovah's Witnesses answer this fact? Doesn't this pretty much undermine the entire basis of their religious claims? Their entire religion seems to based on a MISTAKE in translation!
To any Jehovah's Witnesses out there, how do you answer this? I mean no disrespect, but this question was actually brought up in a conversation I had with a Biblical scholar recently who pointed this out as a refutation of the claims of the Witnesses (and why he rejected their version of Christianity). So, I pose the same question here.

Answer 1

Jehovah” is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although “Yahweh” is favored by most Hebrew scholars. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of four consonants, commonly called the Tetragrammaton (from Greek "tetra", meaning “four,” and "gramma", “letter”). These four letters (written from right to left) are הוהי and may be transliterated into English as YHWH (or, JHVH).


For more information go to:
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2004/1/22/article_01.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/na/article_02.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/na/article_05.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1999/2/8/article_03.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/na/article_06.htm

Answer 2

Jehovah is not a translation of Yahweh or YHWH.
It is a simple transliteration of the Hebrew into English.
The merits and accuracy may be debated.

There is one good thing though:

You know God's name is not Jesus.
You know Jesus (Yahshua) is not an angel or arch angel.
You know, if you have gotten this far, the name of the Holy Spirit.

For example: Yahshua (Jesus) holds "offices". Each office has a title.
These titles, offices, or works that Jesus has or has done have a title such as Savior, Immanuel, Son, Lamb and so forth.
These are given by The Almighty to Yahshua.

Does being the Lamb of God make Jesus a sheep? No.
Does being given the function as Redeemer make Yahshua God? No.

Sometimes scholars and religionist get the office and function or manifestation all confused. Such as appearing and functioning as an angel.

An angel is a messenger and Jesus is a messenger. But that does not make Yahshua an angel.

Religionist forget that man is above the angels by their interpretation. If Jesus is an angel the the religionists set themselves above Christ.

There are many errors.

Michael is an arch angel and he is the protector of what tribe?

Be not deceived. Pray and ask God for the truth.

Answer 3

In the Bible it only appears as consonants YHWH (otherwise known as the Tetragrammaton, link!). It is thought that some sects thought the name of God was too holy to even be written out. But here's the rub - nobody anymore remembers what the vowels are supposed to be. This means that the 'Yahweh' construction is purely hypothetical. I've seen others (like 'Jehovah') that connect it to other traditions. So either the former reason (it wasn't spelled out for a reason) or the latter (nobody really knows how to spell it out) is probably why it still gets excluded.

Answer 4

God's name -- I AM -- is actually unspeakable to the Jews. Therefore the Tetragrammaton (a term meaning "the 4 letters") is used...the YHWH which does not use any vowels. Since no-one knows what the vowels are supposed to be, YHWH could come out to Jehovah or to Yahweh if you put in vowels. The term Jehovah is biblical...see Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4

Answer 5

Firstly I need to point out that not all the responses you have received are from Jehovahs Witnesses.Reading some of the responses received is enough to confuse anybody.
As one of Jehovahs Witnesses,I would like to let you know that "Jehovah" is translated from the Hebrew Tetragrammaton and means "He Causes to Become".These four Hebrew letters are represented in many languages by the letters JHVH or YHWH.
No human today can be certain how it was originally pronounced in Hebrew,as Biblical Hebrew was originally written with only consonants,no vowels.When the language was in everday use,readers easily provided the proper vowels.In time,however, the Jews came to have the superstitious idea that it was wrong to say God's personal name out loud,so they used substitute expressions.Thus the original pronunciation of the divine name was lost.
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 Yeshu'a,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 His Witnesses we know what we should be doing and we are doing it.

Answer 6

I understand that all the Hebrew manuscripts that are available date after the Babylonian captivity.
When the Hebrews returned from Babylon they were determined never to turn away from God again. They became very stringet in their observances. Some say this was when the Pharisee party began. The Pharisees purified Israel but eventually they became overly legalistic.
Go back to when the Israelites asked Moses to ask God his name. Desert people had to have a name for everything and having a name for their gods gave them possession of them.
When Moses asked God his name he answered by saying "IAM WHO IAM.' It has been said that he was letting Moses know that the only thing that was important is that they know HE is. He was letting them know he wasn't going to be another household possession.
Nevertheless they called God by the word that means IAM. We all know the story of Israel how they turned away from God many times but God in HIS special love brought them back many times.
After the return from Babylon, it was believed that calling God by that name created to much familiarity with God. Therefore they were not allowed to use the name and in all their manuscripts they only used an abbreviation YHWH. That is why the KJV and Catholic versions prior to Vatican 2 constantly says the Lord said this etc. the Lord said to my Lord. There was a word there they didn't know what it meant.
In the 19th century a German and I don't know his name right now, translated the word to Jehowah.
The J in German is pronounced like the Y in English and the w is pronounced like the v in English. In English we kept the letter J and pronouced it like the English J but we changed the w to v to pronouce it like the English v.
In recent years, Hebrew and Christians scholars in studying the ancient language feels like it was more like Yahweh.
It is funny that the Jehovah Witnesses do not believe in the divinity of Christ. Yet they are using\a translation of a word that meant IAM. At one point in the Gospels Jesus said, "Before Abraham came to be IAM." The crowds picked up stones to stone him. I have Jewish relatives who said absolutely if he had said that he would have been stoned as the people would have known he was claiming to be God.

Answer 7

First, God's name in Hebrew is unutterable, unpronounceable, unknowable. Yaweh is just used as a possible close proximity.
Second, when Hebrew words are spelled with Hebrew letters, often the vowels are omitted; therefore the same word can be spelled with various letters when transcribed into the Roman alphabet. The Hebrew letters which form the word you are calling Yahweh are the Tetragrammaton and are Yod, Heh, Vau, Heh, or in the Roman alphabet YHVH which might well be pronounced Jehovah or Yehovah.
Third, there are many many names for God in Hebrew..

Answer 8

It is not actually from a mistranslation. It was actually more of a mispronunciation.

They got the translation right they just were not familiar with the way the Hebrew names were pronounced.

It does get kind of funny when someone comes on here telling everyone that Gods name is something that came from a mispronunciation.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 9

YHWH is Hebrew. Bible scholars translate this as YHVH. In english translation it is JHVH. Since Hebrew language does not use vowels, bible scholars added vowels between the consonants ( E. O . A ) In English it is JEHOVAH! It is the common translation of YHWH.

AY! SO EASY!! NEXT QUESTION!!!

Answer 10

YAHWEH is the Hebrew form of God's name. Jehovah is the accepted form of God's name in English.