Why make a big deal of the pronuciation if Jehovah wants us to use his name in our own tongue?

Question

To LP question: "CHRISTians" etc. Best Answer
This is Jesus speaking, the head of the Christian congregation.-This is one of many places he speaks of 'his God'.-He is refering to his Father.-Jesus called his Father "the only true God" at John 17:3.-The Father is the one who "spoke aforetime by means of the prophets" Hebrews 1-This is the one called "Jehovah" nearly 7000 times in the Bible.-This name is written in ancient Hebrew with the four letters Yohdh He Waw He YHWH. It is the most frequently used noun in the Hebrew Scriptures!-Revelation Chapter 19 contains the expression Hallelujah four times. It means 'praise Jah!' Jah is an abbreviated form of the divine name Jehovah." People fight over the pronuciation of God's name but did not JEHOVAH know people would say his name quite different in other tongues. The pronuciation is not where the sin is at. If Jehovah did not want his name used, why did he have his faithful writers write it down near 7000 times? Jehovah wants it there!

Answer 1

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 accurately 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 2

someone asked "how is Jah an abbr of Jehovah?"

its the first and last two letters is how

what I wanna know is;
how is Bill an abbr of William?!
how is Jack an abbr of Johnathan?!
how is Bob an abbr of Robert?!

but seriously, if you insist on using Yahweh instead of Jehovah then I imagine you never use the name Jesus either or else you would be a hypocrite! The Messiah's name is Yhshua!

also, the fact that there are *many* non-JW Bible scholars who believe that Jehovah is an accurate pronunciation is pretty good evidence as well!

start with the Catholic encyclopedia:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08329a.h...

then heres a whole book about it!
http://gertoux.online.fr/divinename/faq/...

then another Christian website
http://www.nazarene-friends.org/articles...

and yet another:
http://www.equipministry.com/studies/yhw...

and the list goes on so email me for more if you're interested

the fact is that many many Bible scholars know that the name of the Almighty God that Jesus serves is YHWH in Hebrew and Jehovah in English.

agape!

Answer 3

Jesus taught us to pray to his Father let your name be sanctified. What's the name of the Father? It's sad when we ask Christians this question and they answer with titles like LORD, GOD, Almighty, and so on. But God has a personal name and in English it's Jehovah. Any English Dictionary will point this out. We don't speak Hebrew today we speak English. Jesus in English would be different in Hebrew. When you read John Chapter 17 where Jesus is praying to his Father Jehovah he says he made his Fathers name known, and will make it known. All attention today is on Jesus. Would Jesus appreciate that they refuse to recognize his Father Jehovah and give him all the praise and glory. Jesus taught us his Fathers name and we should use it. By the way what does Jesus name mean? Jesus name means Jehovah is salvation. Beautiful !!!

Answer 4

I believe that this was not the point LP was trying to bring across, rather he was speaking of Jesus when refering to his Father and God, who's name is Jehovah [הוהי], as the "the only true God" at John 17:3.

You are correct, nobody knows for sure how the name of God was originally pronounced. Why not? Well, the first language used in writing the Bible was Hebrew, and when the Hebrew language was written down, the writers wrote only consonants—not vowels. Hence, when the inspired writers wrote God’s name, they naturally did the same thing and wrote only the consonants.
While ancient Hebrew was an everyday spoken language, this presented no problem. The pronunciation of the Name was familiar to the Israelites and when they saw it in writing they supplied the vowels without thinking (just as, for an English reader, the abbreviation “Ltd.” represents “Limited” and “bldg.” represents “building”).

Two things happened to change this situation. First, a superstitious idea arose among the Jews that it was wrong to say the divine name out loud; so when they came to it in their Bible reading they uttered the Hebrew word ’Adho·nai′ (“Sovereign Lord”). Further, as time went by, the ancient Hebrew language itself ceased to be spoken in everyday conversation, and in this way the original Hebrew pronunciation of God’s name was eventually forgotten.
Hence, in order to ensure that the pronunciation of the Hebrew language as a whole would not be lost, Jewish scholars of the second half of the first millennium C.E. invented a system of points to represent the missing vowels, and they placed these around the consonants in the Hebrew Bible. Thus, both vowels and consonants were written down, and the pronunciation as it was at that time was preserved.
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.

Which Pronunciation Will You Use?

Where, though, did pronunciations like Yahweh come from? These are forms that have been suggested by modern scholars trying to deduce the original pronunciation of God’s name. Some—though not all—feel that the Israelites before the time of Jesus probably pronounced God’s name Yahweh. But no one can be sure. Perhaps they pronounced it that way, perhaps not.
Nevertheless, many prefer the pronunciation Jehovah. Why? Because it has a currency and familiarity that Yahweh does not have. Would it not, though, be better to use the form that might be closer to the original pronunciation? Not really, for that is not the custom with Bible names.
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).
Must we stop using the name of Jesus because most of us, or even all of us, do not really know its original pronunciation? So far, no translator has suggested this. We like to use the name, for it identifies the beloved Son of God, Jesus Christ, who gave his lifeblood for us. Would it be showing honor to Jesus to remove all mention of his name in the Bible and replace it with a mere title like “Teacher,” or “Mediator”? Of course not! We can relate to Jesus when we use his name the way it is commonly pronounced in our language.

Similar comments could be made regarding all the names we read in the Bible. We pronounce them in our own language and do not try to imitate the original pronunciation.
And the same is true with the name Jehovah. Even though the modern pronunciation Jehovah might not be exactly the way it was pronounced originally, this in no way detracts from the importance of the name. It identifies the Creator, the living God, the Most High to whom Jesus said: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.”—Matthew 6:9.

Is it, then, wrong to use a form like Yahweh? Not at all. 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.

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

Answer 5

I agree. We also must remember not to take his name for granted, and at the same time not abuse it. Jesus also said that not everyone saying "Lord, Lord would enter the kingdom of the heavens." The key is not only using Jehovah's name, knowing the Truth set out in the Bible and preaching it, but also to do what is pleasing in his eyes & do what is required of us, as he is Sovereign and has the right to rule over us.

Answer 6

there is only one tongue, one language, the true lang. We all spoke it in mindspeak before we left home and came to this place called 2007C.E. planet Earth. There is a subtle nuance to every sound and syllable a human can utter. Words are powerful and woefully undervalued today.
The God of all gods to me is Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh. There is no exact English translation for this name, the name God told to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
You don't have to follow me, only you can set you free.

Answer 7

Jehovah, Lord , Father, Holy, Jesus, You name it. It's all the name of god.Means God.

Answer 8

the name Jehovah is in error, A catholic monk by the name of Raymundus Martini coined the name in the 12th century in a monastery in Spain, the name did not find it's way into the bible until the 15th century so it was not always in the bible. most bible scholars are leaving the name out of newer translations. Placing the name Jehovah in the bible over 7000 is admitting placing 7000 mistakes in the bible, the scripture says do not add or take any thing away from that book.

Answer 9

Look, nothing about organized religion makes any sense. Arguing about something idiotic like how to pronounce some storybook name seems par for the course to me.

Wars are fought between people who thing god is great and their neighbors who think god is SUPER great.

I don't understand why people find a God necessary. Why worship a mythological god when the love you share with your family, friends and community is far more tangible and holistic. If you saved your tithings and invested that in the future of you family and coming generations you would do your love for family much more good than giving it to a church.

Wake up. This is the real world.

Answer 10

First of all how can Jah be an abbr of Jehovah, the would be Jeh. Furthermore there is no "J" in the Hebrew alphabet so his name definitely could not be Jehovah. Lastly the Tetragrammaton is YHWH and this could not mean Jehovah, god, God, lord or Lord.

HIS NAME IS YAHWEH!

And regarding the scribes who translate the original scriptures.....

Jer 8:8 ¶ How do ye say, We [are] wise, and the law of the Yahweh is with us? Lo, certainly the lying pen of the scribes have falsified them!...

Mat 23:13 But woe unto you, SCRIBES and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my Laws and HAVE NOT DENIED MY NAME!!!!!

STOP YOUR LYING!!!!

Exd 3:15 And Yahweh said moreover unto Mohses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Yisrayl, Yahweh the Father of your fathers, the Father of Abraham, the Father of Isaac, and the Father of Yaaqob, hath sent me unto you: THIS IS MY NAME FOR EVER, and this [is] my memorial TO BE REMEMBERED THROUGHOUT ALL YOUR GENERATIONS!