YHWH? Jehovah? Isn't that taking gods name in vein?

Question

Right, first of all i'm not religious at all. I came across this little paradigm when researching a paper and wondered if anyone had anything sensible to say about it. According to te origional hebrew bible (from which modern bibles were translated and altered) Exodus 20:7 "You shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain"
The name of god (Jehovah) is a translation of this from the Hebrew name of God YHWH, but it is a mistranslation it should be translated Yahweh, so, simply by saying Jahovah aren't we commiting blaspemy? And as for those Jehovahs witnesses... well well well.
So my question is have I got this right, and what can they say to get out of this?

As i say i heard about this whist researching someting else, but alot can be found about it on this site if youre interested:

http://www.nazarene.net/_halacha/Nazarenes_and_the_name.html

Answer 1

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 occurences 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.

More recently, the Jewish superstition has ballooned out of all reasonableness by also forbidding respectful impersonal TERMS referring to the Almighty; thus many Jews insist upon writing "G-d" or "G~d" rather than "God". They may even refrain from capitalizing impersonal terms such as "Creator" and "Almighty".

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 Christiandom'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 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/


Interestingly, Encyclopaedia Judaica says that “the avoidance of pronouncing the name YHWH ... was caused by a misunderstanding of the Third Commandment.”
http://www.jehovantodistajat.fi/e/20040122/article_02.htm

(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

Answer 2

No-one has ever dared to pronounce God's name of I AM in its Hebrew form (that would make them God if they said, "I AM"). Because God's name is so holy, only the four consonants are ever written -- YHWH -- which is called the Tetragrammaton (the four letters). And because no-one has ever heard it pronounced, no-one can be certain if it is pronounced as Jehovah or Yahweh (in many languages the J and Y are interchangeable as are the V and W.....plus an extra vowel in the middle of Jehovah). Therefore, both are correct.

In fact, God's name is so holy that to this day, Orthodox Jews write his name as G-d. This way if the paper upon which his name is written and gets sullied or torn, his name will not be defiled. In speaking of God in everyday speech, they simply refer to God as HaShem..."the Name".

PS Modern bibles are not translated from the "original Hebrew" as you claim.....they are translated from the Septuagint Greek that was in use by during the time of Jesus and the Apostles. The entire New Testament was written in Greek.....the Masoretic (Hebrew) text is used by today's Jews while the OT used by Jesus and his apostles is what is used by today's Catholics.

Answer 3

The pronunciation Jehovah has been accepted in English for centuries. Those who object to using this pronunciation should also object to the use of the accepted pronunciation Jeremiah and even Jesus. Jeremiah would need to be changed to Yir·meyah′ or Yir·meya′hu, the original Hebrew pronunciations, and Jesus would become Ye·shu′a‛ (Hebrew) or I·e·sous′ (Greek). Hence, many Bible students, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, feel that consistency favors the use of the already well-known English-language “Jehovah” and its equivalent in other languages

As regards to your point about using the name Jehovah being a disobedience to the scripture in Exodus 20:7 it is interesting to note that it was superstition that stopped the Jews from even saying the name.
Some claim that the Jews considered the name of God too sacred for imperfect humans to pronounce. Eventually, there was a hesitancy even to write the name. According to one source, that fear arose because of a concern that the document in which the name was written might later end up in the trash, resulting in a desecration of the divine name.

The Encyclopaedia Judaica says that “the avoidance of pronouncing the name YHWH . . . was caused by a misunderstanding of the Third Commandment.” The third of the Ten Commandments given by God to the Israelites states: “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his name in a worthless way.” (Exodus 20:7) Hence, God’s decree against the improper use of his name was twisted into a superstition

The actual meaning of Exodus 20:7 however is that the name should not be used in a derogatory way.
Not that it shouldn't be used at all, because consider this please -
Could pronouncing God’s name when teaching others about him or when turning to our heavenly Father in prayer be rightly termed “unnecessary or frivolous”?
Jehovah expresses his view through the words of Psalm 91:14: “Because on me he has set his affection, I shall also provide him with escape. I shall protect him because he has come to know my name.”


:)

Answer 4

I think people look too much to how something is said and I really don't think that is what God meant when He said not to take His name in vain. I doubt He was so concerned with translations and unbelievers saying God alongside an explative as He is concerned with the way someone behaves. Those that believe and follow Him are to be called by His name. If someone walks around claiming to be a son of God but acting like the son of the devil- that is taking His name in vain.

I believe that there is value in knowing and understanding the Hebrew letters that make up the name of God, His name has a meaning and describes His character and who He is- I would not want to call God by a name that imply's less than or opposite of who He truly is- I don't take that lightly.

I do however feel that one that is going to call themselves a follower of God, they had better truly be a follower.

Answer 5

According the Hebrew Bible, saying God's name in vain doesn't mean saying it improperly. It means using the name of God in useless situations, like swearing on something obviously true (I swear this is Yahoo Answers) or something obviously false (I swear this is Google Answers).

According to most Jewish sources, the accurate pronunciation of God's name as expressed YHWH (יהוה) is lost today. Saying Jehovah or Yehovah or Yahweh is most likely not how the name was meant to pronounced.

The word YHWH or YHVH (probably more accurate English transliteration) is an amalgamtion of היה, "was", הוה, "is" and יהיה, "will be". So the name literally means something like "I am that was and that will be", or as God says to Moses by the burning bush, "I am that I am".

Hope that cleared things up a bit.

Answer 6

Yes. That is like asking which is was the real name of "Peter", was it Petros, Peter or Pablo. They are all just different spellings of the same name in different languages. In the original Hebrew the name is יהוה. The closest we can come in English to duplicating the sound of those vowels would the English letter YHWH. However the Hebrew language did not write down the vowels, on the contenants for their words. And it is a tradition not to pronounce the word, so the vowels are unknown today. The best guess that scholars have at this time is "Yahweh". Later Jews would remind people not to say the name יהוה by write the vowels for the word "adonias" over the top of the name. That is the Hebrew word for "Lord" and why most English translation use the word "LORD" all in caps as a translation for יהוה. However based on those vowels, in teh Middle Ages the translation "Jehovah" was often used. Keep in mind that when the word was made, the "J" still had the "I" or "Y" sound, and the "V" had the "W" sound. So it was originally pronounced as "Yehowah". So the answer is that all of them are different ways of translation the same word - יהוה.

Answer 7

True, is a mistranslation. Jehovah was created by the Masoretic Monks of the VI - X Centuries. Due to the fact that the Old Hebrew written language didn't have vowels, the Monks inserted the vowels from the word "Adonai" (Lord in Hebrew) into the Tetragramaton "YHWH", and created "YaHoWaH" which evolved into Jehovah.

Want to know more? In the introduction of the Jehovah Witnesses bible "The New World Translation of the Sacred Scriptures", the Watchtower Society accepts the fact that Jehovah is not the name of God. So, they know it, they accept it, but they keep preaching a lie.

Answer 8

There is no J in Hebrew or Greek so Jehovah is the nearest thing in English.
There is no problem using the word Jehovah because it is what the early translators used.
In the Jewish culture they would not even mention the name of G-D. As they consider it to holy.
YHWH they have no proper pronouciation as it was lost.
There is another scripture

Ps 44:20 - Show Context
If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

Jer 23:27 - Show Context
Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

Forgetting gods name is just a sin and using the name Jehovah is ok it is not correct hebrew but you are not taking gods name in vain.
I have brought this up in conversation as there is no Y in the Hebrew or Greek alphabet and they were still firm on using the word Jehovah to Jehovah Witnesses

Jehovah Witnesses have many problems!

Answer 9

Translating/Mistranslating a name is not taking it in vein. Using it in such means as "Oh MY God" is more along the lines you are thinking.

As for refering to God by name/as having a name, to serve God you must know God, you must have a close relationship. Using one's name is often an expression of love for that person.

Answer 10

There's more then 1 Q here. But @ the end u state "So my Q is..."and I will answer that directly, b-4 I'm finished.
"Using the name of God, is not using it in vain*" .

1. The New English Bible, the name appears @ Ex 3:15; 6:3,27:15 also, Ge22:14; Ju 6:24 & Exe 48:35.
But if this & other translations use "Jehovah" in several places, why not be consistent in using it @ every place where the Tetragrammaton appears in the Hebrew text?

2. RSE: a footnote on Ex 3:15 says: "The word LORD when spelled w/ all capital letters, stands for the divine name,YHWH."

3. KJV:The name is found @ Ex6:3; Ps83:18; Isa12:2; 26:4; Gen22:14 Ex17:15 Ju6:24.

4. ASV: The name Jehovah is used consistently in the Hebrew Scriptures in this translation, beginning w/ Ge2:4.

5. The Catholic Encyclopedia [1913,Vol. VIII,p. 329] states: "Jehovah the proper name of God in the OT; hence the Jews called it 'the name' by excellence, the great name, the only name."

6. The Holy Bible: translated by Ronald A. Knox: The name Yahweh is found in footnotes @ Ex3:14 and 6:3.

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

8. The Holy Bible translated by Robert Young: The name Jehovah is found throughtout the Hebrew scriptures in this literal translation.
( I left out 7 more Bibles,cuz this is getting really long.)
So that makes 15 Bibles, where Jehovah's name is either used some, often or @ least mentioned.

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

Many scholars favor the spelling "Yahweh," but it is uncertain & 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 & preserves, equally w/ other forms, the 4 consonants of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton.
So, does this imply that we shouldn't even attempt to use His Holy and most sacred name. As the Bible does. No, it does not. Yes, the true pronunciation is lost, but, does that imply that we don't use his name @ all? 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.

Why is it important to know & use God's personal name?
Do u have a close relationship w/ n/e1 whose personal name u do not know? For ppl to whom God is nameless he is often an impersonal force,not a real person, not some1 that they know & love & to whom they can speak from the heart in prayer.True Christians have a commission from Jesus Christ to make disciples of ppl of all nations. When teaching these ppl, how would it be possible to identify the true God as different from the false gods of the nations? Only by using His personal name, as the Bible itself does.--
--Matt 28:19,20; 1Cor 8:5,6.
Matt 6:9 Our Father in the heavens,let your name be sanctified.....
Ex 3:15 God said to Moses: "......This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation.
Isa12:4 "Give thanks to Jehovah, you ppl! Call upon his name. Make known among the ppls his dealings. Make mention that his name is put on high."
Eze 38:17,23 "....and they will have to know that I am Jehovah."
Mal 3:16 "...........for those thinking upon his name."
John 17:26 "[Jesus prayed to his Father:] I have made your name known to them [his followers] and will make it known, in order that the love w/ which u loved me may be in them and I in union w/ them."
Acts 15:14 "Symeon has related thoroughly how God for the 1st time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name."

In my own personal exp., I noticed that not once or twice BUT, Many times throughout the scriptures "his name" is mentioned. Not the name of God, in & of itself, but, the words---"his name." That is what got my attention. Cuz I didn't used to know that HE has a personal name, so I wanted to know this name.And of Him. That is how I came to realize.. the name "Jehovah's Witnesses' " means that they r witnessing about the true God." And here I am, more then 10 years later.

And now, the answer to ur Q......
"what can they(JW) say to get out of this".....
My dear, We would never Want Out, Get Out of using HIS name, it is the only name of the 1 true God, it's how we r separated from the nations; distinguished from the World.
The only name; to be marked w/ to be saved from destruction.
(p.s. no, I'm not forgetting Jesus, His Son.)

Vain def: in an improper manner or irreverent manner;
w/out real signifiance,value or importantance.
This We Do Not Do.We Do the Opposite.