How come Christianity and Judaism do not really know how to pronounce Gods name ?

Question

The MOST famous name for God in the OT is called the Sacred Tetragrammaton –It is YHWH.

The name Yahweh is derived from the statement God made to Moses in Exodus 3:14. Moses asked God as to what his name was and he got the reply -- "ehyeh esher ehyeh" .

The editors of the NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE explain this as : "The Hebrew can be translated literally 'I am what I am' , which would mean that GOD did not wish to reveal his name to them" (p. 85)

Biblibal scholars go even further and admit :

"The truth is , nobody knows for sure how the name of God was pronounced" (Pg. 7 - Watchtower Bible and Tract Society)


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IT MATTERS BECAUSE GOD BLESSES THE PRAYERS IN HIS NAME


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Answer 1

You have no idea what you are talking about.

The original Jewish Bible says that G-d did reveal HaShem (the name) but also that it is too sacred to be written or spoken. This "New Jerusalem Bible" really holds no stock.

Nice job on making yourself look like an idiot.

Answer 2

The pronunciation of God's name was known to the Jews at the time of the temple. It was only pronounced aloud once a year during the service on the Day of Atonement at the peak of the cerempny when the Kohen Gadol was at a high of purity and spirituality.

There are also tales that within the Kaballah the exact ponuciation of the name of God is givin (Not just "eheye asher eheye', but also for the other ones- inculding the fourty two letter one.) Have fun trying to find a genuine teacher of Kaballah- I'm afraid the bunch at the cult Madonna belongs to are unlikely to know much about this!

Answer 3

Because it was dangerous.
Certain holy names and words have power. The actual name of God is pretty darn scary. If said without the proper conditions, it could kill people.
Therefore, it was only pronounced by the High Priest during the Yom Kippur services in the Temple.
Two thousand years ago, the Second Temple was destroyed. No Temple= no High Priest= no one able to say the Name.

Answer 4

So why are you pointing this out to me, a Christian? What, you think YOU know how to pronounce it? .....as your little proofs and things shows that you don't too....you are just looking to bash jews and Christians arent you? ugh, grow up. if anything a TRUE Christian knows more about God....than an atheist does or than anyone who isnt Christian. and really, it doesn't matter if we know how to pronounce God's name. God will not say we sinned...because God did not come and TELL US....the new generation. He only told the people in the old Testament....and the Bible and the translation is all we have. It IS important that we know God's name...because it's His NAME. but we may or may not know His name.....but God will not be mad at us for it...because it is not our fault. but right now...whats important is that we know who God is...and stop worrying over His name...because we wont know unless God reveals it to us....in some way. which He hasnt yet.

Answer 5

It's not supposed to be pronounced -- or pronounceable. It's supposed to be something austere and removed from human norms. In Hebrew the Tetragrammaton is written without vowel dots (when it's written properly). It's all part of the inherent differentness of the divine name.

Answer 6

This came about because of Jewish superstition. They stopped using the divine name and over time, its correct pronunciation was forgotten. What matters is that we use Gods name as best we can, instead of abandoning it altogether. Jesus isn't the correct pronunciation either. Jesus in english is Jehoshua in Hebrew, but no one seems to make a big deal of that, even though some teach that Jesus is God (which isn't true). Jehovah is the commonly accepted english pronunciation of YHWH, which could also be Yahweh in Hebrew (we just don't know for sure).

Answer 7

Gods name in not pronouncable because......

God is not a "he". God is an it. God is only symbolic, God is a force that no human being can comprehend, God is the cosmos, god is actually in everything, living or dead, we cannot pronounce it's name, because we cannot comprehend it.

I am not christian, I do not follow a religion, as it is just a form of control, and a way of messing with your mind, but thanks to a friend I have learnt a lot about different religiions and what have you, so I am equally respectful of them all.

I just wish that people would read religios texts symbolically rather than literally!!

Answer 8

Some believed that God's name is inpronouncable. Or even, that the sound of -breathing- is saying God's name. Kind of a weird name.. But it's kinda funny..as soon as you stop saying God's name, you die... interesting, isn't it?

Answer 9

The Jewish people will not speak the name of God out of reverence.

Answer 10

The Bible as we know it today has been so badly mistranslated and misinterpreted that it can not be trusted as a reliable source of information. For that we have to examine the original Hebrew and Greek scriptures.

In 2601 places in the Old Testament, the word God is translated from the Hebrew word 'ĕlôhîym which is the plural form of 'ĕlôahh meaning a deity…God.

In Exodus 3:13 - 16 the original scriptures tell us a different tale from what we’ve been taught.

(Exo 3:13) And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

Here, Moses isn’t talking to only one god…he’s talking to the Elohiym: the Gods.

(Exo 3:14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

Since Moses is being answered by the Elohiym and not just a single god, the translation must reflect the plurality. “I am that I am” should therefore be translated as “We are that We are”…another interpretation of this is “We exist because We exist”. “I am hath sent you” should read “We exist” or “We who exist have sent you”

(Exo 3:15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

In this verse, the name Lord is translated from the Hebrew word yehôvâh which means self Existent or eternal; Jehovah. Combine the words Lord and God and you get Yhovah of the Gods. So the verse should read “…thou say unto the children of Israel, Yhovah of the Gods of your fathers, the Gods of Abraham, the Gods of Isaac, and the Gods of Jacob, hath sent me unto you

(Exo 3:16) Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

Again, with proper translation, this verse reads: “…Yhovah of the Gods of your fathers, the Gods of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me saying, I have surely visited you…”

What this all means is that Yhovah is the true name of the one God, the supreme God. “I am” or, more properly “We exist” is not a name but rather a description if you will.