The Name of God: Jehovah

A few days ago, a reader of this blog and a former student asked me to explain the origin of the name Jehovah. I always welcome questions from readers and when a question is of general interest, I try to write a post and provide an answer that will benefit the general public.

First, let me remind readers that I have already written several posts on the divine name. The following posts deal with the name of God:

Pronouncing the Divine Name - Part 1

Pronouncing the Divine Name - Part 2

Pronouncing the Divine Name - Part 3

Pronouncing the Divine Name: An Explanation

The name Jehovah is not the real name of God. Let me explain. The word Jehovah, a popular English name used by Christians to identify the God of the Old Testament, was not used until after 1278 A.D.

In the Hebrew Bible, the name of God is expressed by four consonants: YHWH. These four consonants are also known in academic circles as the Tetragrammaton. The name of God was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai:

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:13-15 RSV).

When God sent Moses back to Egypt to bring the people out of their oppression, God told Moses: “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD has sent me to you’: this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:15). In Hebrew the name “the LORD” is YHWH.

Over the centuries, the Jewish community has avoided using or pronouncing the divine name in public. Thus, when reading the name of God in Hebrew, the Masoretes wrote the four consonants YHWH and inserted the vowels of the Hebrew word Adonai, a word that means “the Lord.”

The name Jehovah is a hybrid name. The name was formed by the use of the Tetragrammaton YHWH with the vowels of Adonai and the result was YeHoWaH. This hybrid name became the basis for the Latinized name Jehovah.

The name Jehovah was not known until sometime after 1278 when a Dominican monk by the name of Raymundus Martini, a Spaniard, first used it in his book Pugeo Fidei. The name Jehovah appeared in English when William Tyndale translated the book of Moses in 1530. Thus, the name Jehovah is an artificial creation that was not used until the Middle Ages. It does not reflect an accurate rendering of the divine name in the Hebrew Bible and its use should be avoided.

Most Christian Bibles today follow the example of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and of the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible by Jerome. The Septuagint translated the Tetragrammaton YHWH by Kurios, “Lord” and the Vulgate rendered the divine name as Dominus, “Lord.”

The name Jehovah appears in the King James Bible in four places: Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; and Isaiah 26:4. The poetic form of the name, Yah (or Jah in the KJV) appears in Psalm 68:4. The divine name appears in several passages in the Bible compound with other words: “Jehovahjireh” (Genesis 22:14 KJV), “Jehovahnissi” (Exodus 17:15 KJV), and “Jehovahshalom” (Judges 6:24 KJV).

Most modern English translations follow orthodox Jewish tradition and avoid using the divine name. Instead, these translations substitute the word “the LORD” for the name Yahweh. The following are the usages of the divine name in most English Bibles:

1. The word “God” translates the Hebrew name Elohim.

2. The word “GOD” translates the divine name Yahweh.

3. The word “Lord” translates the Hebrew word Adonai.

4. The Word “LORD” translates the divine name Yahweh.

I respect my Jewish readers who refrain from using the divine name as a way of honoring God. This reluctance to use the divine name reflects their love and reverence for God and a recognition of the holiness of God’s name. Instead of using the divine name, they use “Adonai,” and “Hashem,” a Hebrew word meaning “The Name.”

As a Christian, however, I believe that this reluctance to pronounce the divine name goes contrary to God’s own wishes. God said to Moses:

“Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation (Exodus 3:15 HCSB).

God clearly tells Moses that he wants to be remembered forever by his name. However, if we do not call God by his name, how can people know him by his name?

The Psalmist wrote: “Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. His name is Yahweh.” (Psalm 68:4 HCSB).

The Psalmist also wrote: “Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh, let us acclaim his name together (Psalm 34:3 NJB).

To sing praises to God’s name and to acclaim his name requires the worshiper to know God’s name and to use it and pronounce his name aloud.

The prophet Joel wrote: “Everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved” (Joel 2:32 HCSB). However, how can people call upon the name of God when the name of God is not used?

Christians should avoid using the name Jehovah because it does not provide an accurate translation of the Hebrew name for God. And, although I am going against the majority of Biblical scholars on this issue, I believe we should take seriously God’s desire that he wants to be remembered forever by his name.

If Christians and Jews are to use the divine name, it must be done so with reverence, for we must remember God’s own admonition: “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name” (Exodus 20:7 NJB).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Adonai, Divine Name, Jehovah, Tetragammaton

Pronouncing the Divine Name - Part 2

In my last post (part 1 here), I discussed what I perceived to be the purpose of Liturgiam authenticam: a return of the Catholic Church to its historical traditions.

One aspect of this desire to remain faithful to traditional Catholic faith and practice is the church’s use of the divine name as it appears in the Nova Vulgate Editio. The directive to translate the Tetragrammaton YHWH by a word equivalent to the Latin Dominus and the Greek Kyrios reflects the desire to maintain the ancient traditions of the church.

The revelation of the divine name to Moses on Mount Sinai reflects God’s desire to enter into a special relationship with Israel. The holy and sovereign God, the creator of the universe, in an act of sheer grace, wanted to enter the history of a nation and deal with a people who would be entrusted to carry out his will in the world.

In order to establish this relationship, God wanted to make himself known to Israel and this revelation of himself to the people came through Moses. Thus, on Mount Sinai God appeared to Moses and commissioned him to return to Egypt and bring the people out of their oppression.

Until the time of Moses, the people of Israel and the chosen leaders of the people did not know the name of God. In the past, God had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, God Almighty (Exodus 6:3). This fact is attested in God’s words to Abraham: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am El Shaddai; walk before me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1).

In his encounter with the God of the ancestors, the identity of the God who was sending him back to Egypt became an item of concern to Moses. Moses said to God: “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13).

Moses was aware that the people of Israel would be reluctant to follow an unknown God. Thus, the revelation of the divine name would establish a lasting relationship between God and Israel: Israel would be God’s people and God would be Israel’s God.

So, in response to Moses’ request, God said to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM.” Then God commanded Moses: “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14).

In addition, God identified himself with the God of the ancestors. God said to Moses: “Say to the Israelites, ‘YHWH, the God of your fathers-- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-- has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15).

The origin, meaning, and theological significance of God’s name, YHWH, has produced a vast amount of literature but no definite consensus has been reached by scholars. The name YHWH appears more than 6,700 times in the Hebrew Bible (according to Charles Halton, the name appears 6,828 times). The name appears in every book of the Hebrew Bible except Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. The fact that the God of Israel had a name implies that Israel recognized that its God was a personal being who wished to be known by his people and who desired to distinguish himself from the gods of the other nations.

When the Masoretes added vowels to the consonantal text circa the 10th century A.D., they added the vowels of Adonai to the Tetragrammaton to indicate that the name Adonai should be pronounced instead of YHWH. In 1518, Petrus Galatinus, the confessor of Pope Leo X, proposed that the divine name should be transliterated as Jehovah and this hybrid name became popular in religious writings. The name “Jehovah” appears in the King James Version in Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, and Isaiah 12:2; 26:4. The name also appears in three other passages where it is combined with other elements (see Genesis 22:14; Exodus 17:15; Judges 6:24). The name Jehovah is used in the American Standard Version of 1901 to translate the divine name. However, Jehovah should not be used in theological writing nor in the liturgy because Jehovah is not the name of God.

The divine name appears in the Hebrew Bible in abbreviated form in hundreds of names of individuals such as Jeremiah, Abijah, Jehonathan, Jehoshaphat, and many others. The name of God also appears to designate holy places:

“And Abraham called the name of the place, ‘YHWH Will Provide’” (Genesis 22:14).

“And Moses built an altar and named it, ‘YHWH Is My Banner’” (Exodus 17:15).

“So Gideon built an altar to YHWH and called it ‘YHWH Is Peace’” (Judges 6:24).

“Jerusalem will be called ‘YHWH Our Righteousness’” (Jeremiah 33:16).

The name YHWH appears in the Mesha Stele (9th century B.C.E.), in an ostracon discovered at Kuntilet ‘Ajrud (8th century B.C.E.), in the Arad Letters (6th century B.C.E.), in the Lachish Letters(6th century B.C.E.). The name also appears in Syria and in Egypt.

The divine name YHWH was also used in the liturgy of Israel. In a text that reveals the nature of the God of Israel, the divine name appears twice: “YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7).

The divine name was used in prayer by people everywhere: “Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the name of YHWH” (Genesis 4:26). The name of God was invoked at the time of worship: “I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of YHWH” (Psalm 116:17). Foreigners will pray to YHWH: “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of YHWH and serve him shoulder to shoulder” (Zephaniah 3:9). The remnant of Israel will also call on God’s name: “This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘YHWH is our God’” (Zechariah 13:9).

I argue that it was in the liturgy of Israel that the name of God was celebrated. When the people came to the temple they would say: “Oh, magnify YHWH with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Psalm 34:3). In worship, the people proclaimed: “YHWH is king” (Psalm 93:1). In times of need the people would cry: “Arise, O YHWH! Save me” (Psalm 3:7). When the people were asked at the time of worship: “Who is the King of glory?” They would respond: “YHWH, strong and mighty, YHWH, mighty in battle” (Psalm 24:8).

So, the name of God was pronounced by the people of Israel in worship, prayer, and celebration because YHWH was the name of their God. God said: “I am YHWH, this is my name” (Isaiah 42:8).

When Moses descended Mount Sinai and returned to Egypt and the people asked him the name of the God who had appeared to him, Moses did not say: “His name is Adonai.” Moses could not say that Adonai appeared to him because Adonai was not the name of the God who appeared to him. His name was YHWH and to identify the God who sent him back to Egypt, Moses had to pronounce the divine name.

During the Second Temple period, the name of God was considered too holy to be pronounced in public and eventually, it was not even pronounced in the temple. For this reason, the correct pronunciation of God’s name was lost and forgotten.

This reluctance to pronounce God’s name is contrary to God’s will as expressed by God himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. When God revealed his name to Moses, God said: “Say to the Israelites, ‘YHWH, the God of your fathers-- the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-- has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15).

This is God’s will concerning his name: that his name be remembered forever. God said to Moses: “This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” God wanted to be remembered by his name from generation to generation. But today, no one knows how to pronounce God’s name. It is sad that the intimacy that God desired to have with his people when he revealed his name cannot be accomplished in its fulness. The revelation of the name began that relationship, but the name of God has been forgotten. Now, our relationship is with a God whose name is not known and if we follow the directives of Liturgiam authenticam, a God whose name cannot be pronounced.

In my next post I will discuss one of the reasons the name of God cannot be pronounced and whether Christians should pronounce God’s name.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Adonai, Yahweh, YHWH, Tetragrammaton