Do You Believe Gods name is Jehovah and why? (page 4)

Joliette

LOL @ Trevor.

Naw, I think there is a conspiracy there.

return of parakeet

First, there would have to be a god ........

Pistoff

YHWH was one hebrew representation of god, El another.

Jehovah was certainly not what the Israelites called him.

Is it god's name?

More accurate to say it is an anglicized guess at what an ancient group of people called the sky god/weather god; some modern religions, including the WT, have fetishized the name.

leaving_quietly

Fascinating article in w50 12/1 pp. 469-474 entitled: "An Open Letter to the Catholic Monsignor". It's a rebuttal to an article written by Catholic Monsignor Matthew Smith.

Note part of the rebuttal:

"Thank you for this opportunity to present some facts to you and to the public. We do not say that “Jehovah” is the correct pronunciation of God’s name. For that matter, neither is “Jesus” the correct pronunciation of Christ’s name. But according to the Aramaic language which Christ and his apostles spoke, his name was pronounced “Yeshu′a” (the a representing a gutteral ending). But “Jesus” is only our colloquial way of pronouncing his name, and we do not find fault with you for using it instead of Yeshu′a. However, if you call it shallow scholarship for the Committee to use the word Jehovah in the New World Translation, then you will have to admit that it is due to the shallow scholarship of the Roman Catholic clergy of the thirteenth century, for in that century the word historically appears among them."

Also, g73 3/22 p. 27:

"In the same vein the New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “JEHOVAH, false form of the divine name Yahweh. The name Jehovah first appeared in manuscripts in the 13th century A.D., but had probably been in use for some time.” (Vol. 7, p. 863) Likewise the Revised Standard Version translators objected to the form “Jehovah,” stating that “the word ‘Jehovah’ does not accurately represent any form of the Name ever used in Hebrew,” and that “it is almost if not quite certain that the Name was originally pronounced ‘Yahweh.’” (P. vi.) Also, the modern Roman Catholic version known as The Jerusalem Bible uses the form “Yahweh,” even as does Rotherham’s Emphasised Bible.

In view of these opinions, why do the witnesses of Jehovah prefer to use “Jehovah” rather than “Yahweh”? For one thing, no one can be certain just what the original pronunciation was, even as admitted by those who prefer “Yahweh.” And further, the form “Jehovah” has a currency and familiarity that “Yahweh” does not have. “Yahweh” is obviously a transliteration, whereas “Jehovah” is a translation, and Bible names generally have been translated rather than transliterated. A transliteration usually sounds strange to the ears of those speaking the tongue into which the proper name has been transliterated."

mP

And yet our gospels are written in Greek and dont include Jehovah once.

JW GoneBad

One thing is for certain, the name 'Jehovah' is repeated way too often by the average JW, whether it be in a prayer or in the course of a comment during a question and answer session (Watchtower study or Service meeting part).

It happens repeatedly for example when a 'brother' is offering a public prayer that in mid-conversation, so to speak, he mentions 'Jehovah' 10, 11 or 12 times. Once is enough!! The last thing our Grand Creator wants is to feel like he's being 'handled'. How about just following Jesus Christ's example and refer to Him as Father.

This is just another example of how JWs over-do-it in their form of worship!

rawe

Hi Sarahsmile,

"Many internet sites claiming that GOD'S names is Jehovah. Do you believe it is the name of God?"

Hmm... I'm not sure one can answer that question without making some assumptions. Jehovah is the English form of Hebrew name YHWH and that is the name of the primary God one finds in OT writings. However, Baal, Ashtoreth and Molech are the names of Gods in the OT as well. It also seems clear from Genesis 1:1 to 2:3 where one sees 'God' (Elohim) only to see the switch on 2:4 to 'Jehovah' that more than one idea of Almighty God was in play, likely because these books combine material form different sources.

If you're asking if 'Jehovah' is a good English translation of YHWH, I would argue that it is reasonable, given that similar names like Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Jephthah and Jochebed are considered good English translations.

When you see the earlier books of the Bible as a combination of different sources with different ideas, it makes more sense. The idea that Jehovah was adopted and promoted can been seen in how the text reads. Consider this bit about Abraham...

Later he moved from there to the mountainous region to the east of Beth′el and pitched his tent with Beth′el on the west and A′i on the east. Then he built an altar there to Jehovah and began to call on the name of Jehovah - Genesis 12:8

I see this as an adoption of "Jehovah" by Abraham. Yet as you move down in time, the Israelites seem to be ignorant about who Jehovah might be. The famous "I AM THAT I AM" quote where Moses gets his assignment reflects that...

Nevertheless, Moses said to the [true] God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of YOUR forefathers has sent me to YOU ,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” - Exodus 3:13

Isn't that odd? Moses' mother's name Jochebed contains part of the name Jehovah -- yet Moses expects to be asked what is the name of the God that has sent you. Here is the answer he gets...

At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE .” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to YOU .’” - Exodus 3:14

This too is odd, a direct answer is not given at first. Instead this full name expansion lands in the text. Reflecting the belief, it seems, that a name has power. Power within itself, intrinsic, just say it and things will happen. The text continues on to make the direct statement...

Then God said once more to Moses: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘Jehovah the God of YOUR forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to YOU .’ This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation. - Exodus 3:15

Here I imagine an ancient Israelite reading this and say, "ah, oh, 'Jehovah' was the God of Abraham, therefore 'Jehovah' is my God too." Perhaps one of the strongest clues is this explanation given to Moses...

I am Jehovah. 3 And I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them - Exodus 6:2, 3

What the heck? How could it be that Abraham "began to call on the name of Jehovah" at Genesis 12:8, yet Jehovah did not make his name known? As Jehovah's Witnesses we were told the text at Exodus 6:2, 3 is speaking about the name Jehovah in a special way. The power behind the name to vanquish Pharoah. That is probably the best one can come up if you wish to insist the OT ideas about God are consistent. To me though it makes much more sense in the light of the documentary hypothesis. Consider this theory, some of it backed up by the Bible itself...

Various pre-Biblical ideas about God develop and are repeated. Many ideas about God exist and many Gods are local and not so cosmic in nature. Eventually a relatively unified idea of God gets codified. The first command of the new God in town is no-other-Gods-in-my-face (monotheism). The Hebrews carrying these ideas are split by political forces, into north and south. The split groups now develop different ideas about God. Then the north group is attacked and flees south as refugees, bringing their ideas and pre-Bible writings. By the time Jeremiah is on the scene he is faced with the task of combining material from the north and south and few other places into one consistent text that will help unite the people. He may also wish to warn as well as bring comfort to people that have Babylon breathing down threats.

The OT Biblical text may have been redacted somewhat after the Babylonian exile. If so, no doubt, to strenghten ideas that would warn future generations as why the exile happened (idol worship, non-obedience to Sabbath law, etc).

Here I use weasle words "may" and "if so", because there is no way to know these things for certain. Alas, all we can do is struggle for the most reasonable explanation.

Cheers,

-Randy

Is it important - no.

Do You Believe Gods name is Jehovah and why?

Joliette

return of parakeet

Pistoff

leaving_quietly

mP

JW GoneBad

rawe

Vanderhoven7

Phizzy

LouBelle

Share this