If the "J" is not pronounced in Hebrew then where did the fabrication of the name Jehovah come from ?

Question

Yahweh was changed into Jehovah by Christians -- Mark 12:29

Harpers Bible Dictionary says that the name JEHOVAH was "the result of the translators' ignorance of the Hebrew language and customs" (1985 edition , p. 1036)

Jehovah is a mistaken name of YHWH.

The Book "World Religions From Ancient History to the Present" says : "The name Jehovah is a medieval misreading and does not occur in the Hebrew Bible" (edited by Geoffrey Parrinder, p. 386)

The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible says the name Jehovah is "an artificial name" (vol. 2, p.817)

Asimovs Guide to the Bible says that the name Jehovah "arose by mistake" (vol 1, p. 135). The author further says : "This mistake has persisted and will probably continue to persist" (p.135)

"The truth is , nobody knows for sure how the name of God was originally pronounced". -(page 7- Watchtower Bible and Tract Soceity, 1984.)

Answer 1

Its not that the letter J is not pronounced, there is no letter J in Hebrew language at all. Jehovah is a mistranslation of Yahweh.

Answer 2

The same place the J came from for Jesus, Jeremiah, Jehu, etc.

All these names are fabrications from the German language.

English is a Germatic language,

Is Jehovah accepted?

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


So all these bible scholars from so many other countries are wrong?

So all these bible translators who translated the bible into all these other languages didn't know what they were doing?

.

Answer 3

I think it came from the early Christians, when they translated the Bible into Latin, but I'm not sure.

For some reason, most English bibles translate words that start with Y as J or I. They also turn V's into B's, Sh's into S's, certain S's into Th's, -yahu's into -aiah's, Tz's into Z's, Kh's into H's, and change around the pronunciation of the vowels.
Thus, Yeshayahu became Isaiah, Yirmiyahu became Jeremiah, Yaakov became Jacob, Devorah (with three syllables) became Deborah (with two syllables), Rut turned into Ruth, Shimshone became Samson- I could go on for pages.
And then there are some even stranger ones. Moses was originally Moshe, Esau was Aisav, Rebecca was Rivka, Cyrus was Koresh, and Solomon was Shlomo. And Methusalah was Metushalach, but I don't blame them for changing that one. Try saying Meh-too-sheh-lakh ten times fast.

And, yes, Jehovah came from an attempt at pronoucing Y-H-V-H.

Answer 4

I read this somewhere and I think it's correct, but I don't know for sure. Latin was the language of the Christian church (actually Catholic at that time) for many centuries, and in Latin the "J" had the sound of a "Y", so even though it was spelled JHVH in Latin, the J actually sounded and was pronounced with the sound of "Y". For example, "Hallelujah" is Latin and even though it has a "j" it is pronounced like a "y".

Apparently when the Bible was translated into other languages as German and English, the J was used, and pronounced with the sound of a J in the new language instead of retaining the sound of the "Y".

Technically, it may not be correct, but as Adam's Rib said, it is "accepted", much the same way that Christmas is accepted as the birth date of Jesus, and the cross is accepted as a symbol of Jesus' sacrificial death. If not technically correct, some may view these as 'fabrications'; while others may view them as acceptable "substitutes" where a more definite answer is lacking.

Answer 5

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.

The name "Jehovah" was not fabricated "from whole cloth" (as it were). As speakers of English find it easier to say "Jesus" than "Yeheshua", so "Jehovah" seems to have originated as an honest attempt to pronounce "the Tetragrammaton", which is the four-Hebrew-letter expression used in the bible (and elsewhere) to express the Divine Name of Almighty God (the Father).

The four Hebrew characters are generally transliterated as "YHWH" (that is, each Hebrew character is directly replaced by a different character with the same sound in another language's character set). There is no certainty about how "YHWH" is best pronounced, but increasingly scholars are leaning toward a pronunciation similar to the three-syllable "Yehowah" rather than two-syllable "Yahweh".

If "Yehowah" is close to the correct pronunciation, then it is quite enlightening to juxtapose "Yehowah" with "Jehovah". Many or most English speakers are likely to embrace the pronunciation which their predecessors embraced at least four hundred years ago.

"Jehovah".

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/na/

Answer 6

When the first German Bible (Gutenburg) came out from the translation of the Latin (Vulgate) Bible, the word Jehovah for the first time came into usage. The Germans use J for Y and V for W. So instead of Yahuwah or Yehuwah, it was changed to Jehovah.

And since most European Translations of the bible used the German translation apart from Jerome's Vulgate, the word Jehovah became too common that Churches use them for their services.

Answer 7

When Moses asked Who God was that the Hebrews should follow Him, God said, "Tell them I AM has spoken." This is the name God considers to be His proper name. That word, in Hebrew, is YHWH, pronounced Yah-weh. This name, appropriately, was consider to be the most sacred name ever given to men, and scribes, out of respect for it, added to it the vowels of another name of God, Addonai. When they did this (out of respect, mind you), the name was altered slightly to be pronounced Yahowah. In time this has come to be pronounced Jehovah, again with all respect for Him.

Answer 8

Hi,

Since I cannot email ABC to tell him I think he gave you the Best Answer I'll just say it here.

I would also like to call your attention to Jeremiah 3:19b

"... I thought you would call me 'Father' and not turn away from following me."

Jesus was the first person to call God Father and even so it was considered a radical thing for Him to do so.

For His glory,
JOYfilled

Answer 9

You know..I think that saying the name of God so readily..as do the Jehovah's Witnesses..they should really think about that. We have no idea how to really pronounce Gods name..No one knows how. Even JW's have admitted that in the past..Not sure if they will admit it again. But..when Jesus told us the way to pray..He did not say..Jehovah..He said to say Our father in the heavens. If he wanted us to say God's name..Jehovah..He would have told us that.
As for the man that state the KJV has taken that name out of the Bible..Is he certain about that?100%? Or does he just take what the WT tells him as truth.
The one scholar that they always quote in favor of their Translation also says that they have added the name of Jehovah where it shouldn't be.
Also, isn't calling God ..Jehovah disrespectful? That would be like calling my dad by his name..or a president by his first name.or even a teacher..It is disrespectful to do that..not to mention calling them by their name and not even knowing how to pronounce it correctly.

ServantofGod....THAT is your reasoning? That is rediculous to compare those things to the Almighy God, the creator of heavens and earth..His name is sacred and Holy..none of the words that you mentioned are.

Answer 10

Jehovan is the ENGLISH version of the original four-consonant Hebrew root YHWH.