Vanderhoven7

I say no.

Although the tetragrammaton appears close to 7000 times in the Hebrew scriptures, the personal name of God does not. Seems to me that God made sure that both that His personal name does not appear therein and that no one would ever actually know it or learn even how to pronounce it. He also made sure that His name (baring 3 Hallelujahs in Revelation) did not appear in the New Testament. Could this be because God wanted His Son's name to have preeminence? I think so. Knowing Father and Son is far more important than knowing or repeating His name. Knowing Him sufficiently to address Him as Father, is what is in the heart of Jesus for us.

stan livedeath

i think its very important using gods real name..be it Thor--Vishnu--Baal--or whatever.

not at all sure about this name jehovah though. did he create the vacuum cleaner ?

NVR2L8

Edgar J Hoover?

Barrold Bonds

Or it doesn't really matter because he doesn't exist.

TerryWalstrom

If there were only ONE living God there would not be need of a name because a name distinguishes and differentiates one from another of a kind.

The Old Testament is a strange and mythical world. It is an admixture of history and mystery and accretions of legend, myth, and perhaps absorption of Homer's epic tales of Odysseus.

A Greek god was arbitrary, capricious, and whimsical. To obtain the favor of such a personality a great sacrifice was in order.

The idea of "giving" to God is perhaps the most peculiar of all human ideas. God needs nothing and can make no use of something burned on an altar. The fable spinners, however, like to assure us God's nostrils can be pleased by the aroma of burnt oxen. The Physics of molecules and the distance from Earth to Heaven was much more (ignorant) simple in the old days.

To invoke the deity by Name was a tetchy business. If you bandy the name about without sufficient respect you are in for it.

This doesn't seem to bother the fetishistic JW's who now are so bold as to abbreviate the Living Eternal God with but 1 letter of the alphabet.

The tetragrammaton was 4 letters and the Dubs claim that is short shrift.

Go figure.

TheLiberator

That is one subject that I just couldn't understand after discovering TTATT. But now it makes sense, and now I only use his name in a very specific or discerning way, especially in prayer.

For the believer, he is there Father. For everyone else, he is Yahweh. Now when I read the OT, it is clear, that those in God's favor were his "friends", and only his sons in the sense that he is there creator. But then Jesus introduced the Father, or we could say it more affectionately, daddy. Paul made that point when he used the expression"Abba Father".

Also, Paul used many scriptures that were originally applied to Yahweh, in connection with Jesus Christ. (This is what leads many to the trinity, but I have a different view). So now, God wants all attention to be on His Son. Now I appreciate scriptures like this even more today: Mark: 9. 7. "A cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.""

What I never discerned before, is how each religion, has it's "main" doctrine they focus on. Seventh Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Christian Scientists, etc. For Jw's, it was the name, the name, the name, the name...... It feels so good to now understand such a simple concept. But until they wake up, this subject is beyond the grasp of Jw's.

Finkelstein

The Jehovah's Witnesses got its name because J Rutherford and the associated Bible Students used mostly the King James version of the bible " Protestant ".

Actually Adonai or Yahweh would be a closer and more accurate pronunciation of the Hebrew god.

Adonai and Adoni (Psalm 110:1)

The Bible’s supreme proof text for telling the difference between the One God and the Messiah who is not God

This verse was referred to the Messiah by the Pharisees and by Jesus. It tells us that the relationship between God and Jesus is that of Deity and non-Deity. The Messiah is called adoni (my lord) and in every one of its 195 occurrences adoni (my lord) means a superior who is not God. Adonai on the other hand refers exclusively to the One God in all of its 449 occurrences. Adonai is the title of Deity and adoni never designates Deity.

If the Messiah were called Adonai this would introduce “two Gods” into the Bible and would be polytheism. Psalm 110:1 should guard us all against supposing that there are two who are God. In fact the Messiah is the supreme human being and agent of the One God. Psalm 110:1 is the Bible’s master text for defining the Son of God in relation to the One God, his Father.

Why is it that a number of commentaries misstate the facts about Psalm 110:1? They assert that the word for the Messiah in Psalm 110:1 is adonai. It is not. These commentaries seem to obscure a classic text defining God in relation to His Son. The Hebrew text assigns to the Messiah the title adoni which invariably distinguishes the one addressed from the Deity. The Messiah is the supreme human lord. He is not the Lord God (cp. I Tim. 2:5; I Cor. 8:4-6; Mark 12:28ff).

Why is the Messiah called adoni (my lord) and never adonai (my Lord God)?

“Adonai and Adoni are variations of Masoretic pointing to distinguish divine reference from human.”

Adonai is referred to God but Adoni to human superiors.

Adoni — ref. to men: my lord, my master [see Ps. 110:1]

Adonai — ref. to God…Lord (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, under adon [= lord]).

“The form ADONI (‘my lord’), a royal title (I Sam. 29:8), is to be carefully distinguished from the divine title ADONAI (‘my Lord’) used of Yahweh.” “ADONAI — the special plural form [the divine title] distinguishes it from adonai [with short vowel] = my lords” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, “Lord,” p. 157).

“Lord in the OT is used to translate ADONAI when applied to the Divine Being. The [Hebrew] word…has a suffix [with special pointing] presumably for the sake of distinction…between divine and human appellative” (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, “Lord,” Vol. 3, p. 137).

“Hebrew Adonai exclusively denotes the God of Israel. It is attested about 450 times in the OT…Adoni [is] addressed to human beings (Gen. 44:7, Num. 32:25, II Kings 2:19 [etc.]). We have to assume that the word adonai received its special form to distinguish it from the secular use of adon [i.e., adoni]. The reason why [God is addressed] as adonai, [with long vowel] instead of the normal adon, adoni or adonai [with short vowel] may have been to distinguish Yahweh from other gods and from human lords” (Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, p. 531).

“The lengthening of the ā on Adonai [the Lord God] may be traced to the concern of the Masoretes to mark the word as sacred by a small external sign” (Theological Dictionary of the OT, “Adon,” p. 63 and Theological Dictionary of the NT, III, 1060ff. n.109).

“The form ‘to my lord,’ l’adoni, is never used in the OT as a divine reference…the generally accepted fact that the masoretic pointing distinguishes divine references (adonai) from human references (adoni)” (Wigram, The Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the OT, p. 22) (Herbert Bateman, “Psalm 110:1 and the NT,” Bibliothecra Sacra, Oct.-Dec., 1992, p. 438).

Introvert 2

Good post Vanderhoven7 and Liberator I agree

Island Man

According to the bible, knowing God's name is important. But just what kind of name is the bible actually talking about? Is it knowing the pronunciation of God's appellation, YHWH; or is it knowing the character and reputation of God? I say it's the latter that is really important. Why?

The meaning of God's name is actually a description of his nature. So if you know God's character, you know his name - even without knowing the exact appellation YHWH. Furthermore the bible as a whole does a far better job in giving a complete and thorough description of God's character, than the appellation YHWH ever can.

The meaning of the name YHWH amounts to nothing more than a succinct way of saying that he is almighty and can transform and/or empower anyone or anything to accomplish his will. That's basically what the name means, in simple terms. Every bible believer who has studied any bible - whether it uses "LORD" or "Jehovah" - comes to appreciate this fact about God nature. Thus the Bible as a whole, by its many accounts reveal God's nature - God's name - separate and apart from the actual word YHWH.

Jehovah's Witnesses are being very spiritually petty, focusing on the verbalization of an appellation and missing the point that it is the knowing the meaning of the name - knowing God's character - that is truly the important thing and that every student of the bible using any bible gets know God's character. Their fixation on the need to use "Jehovah" amounts to a silly superstition.

cofty

I heard a very interesting idea recently about the god of the OT being a god of the air.

The OT is full of references connecting Yahweh to the air/wind. He speaks out of the whirlwind, his spirit is the Hebrew word for breath etc.

It is easy to say the name of this god every time you breathe deeply. As you inhale whisper "yah" and as you exhale whisper "whey". To the OT believer god is the omnipresent invisible air that sustains life.

Is Knowing/Using The Name Of God Important?