Written originally as an email, sharing here for discussion purposes. It's easist to skip the indented references and just read the commentary, and then go back to research references if you're interested. See also Watchtower Online Library: Yehowah.
Jehovah, and the Hebrew divine name, Yehowah
The participle howeh′ is from the root verb hawah′, related to the divine name, Yehowah′. — NWT Reference Bible
"the translation committee has used the form “Jehovah” because of its familiarity and because it preserves the four original letters of the Hebrew name. [Excuse me? Pop question Witnesses: What are the four original letters of the Hebrew name?] In God’s own time when He reveals the correct pronunciation of his holy name, we will gladly make the accurate correction." — Watchtower 1950, pg 317, paragraph 14
Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Watchtower is God's sole channel of communication on earth, despite the fact that you cannot locate that phrase anywhere on the WTDVD, but they keep claiming that Jesus instead is that sole channel—either way, they are not privy to the correct pronunciation?
I wonder if someone did tell them, albeit not God himself, but God in his own time, and perhaps even revealed it in their own publications, would they indeed gladly make the accurate correction???
The New World Translation Reference Bible:
The participle howeh′ is from the root verb hawah′, related to the divine name, Yehowah′.
*** w07 6/15 p. 32 “Do You Know God by Name?” ***
In many places, in fact “to the most distant part of the earth,” people are becoming acquainted with the divine name, Jehovah. (Acts 1:8) For example, this name in the Turkmen language, Yehowa , can readily be found in the Turkmen translation of the Holy Scriptures.
*** w08 8/1 p. 21 Should the Name Jehovah Appear in the New Testament? ***
YEHOWA: Ga; Laotian; (Ki)Songe; Tshiluba
YEOHOWA: Korean
YAHOWA: Thai
YHWH: Hebrew
*** yb73 pp. 142-143 Ghana ***
These translations were so accurate, as far as the languages were concerned, that the Ewe and Ga ones are still the only translations in use, with very little revision.
One more commendable feature of their translations is the use of the Divine Name. This, rendered Iehowa and Yehowa, appears in the Hebrew Scriptures in almost all its proper places in all three translations. The Ewe and Ga translators did even better than that. They used the Divine Name in the Greek Scriptures, in Ga at 2 Corinthians 6:17 and 18 and in Ewe at Hebrews 7:21; 13:6; 1 Peter 3:12 and in the book of Revelation wherever the expression “Hallelujah” occurs.
The early missionaries thus taught the people that the name of the God-in-Chief is Iehowa or Yehowa. They established schools and taught the people how to read. They also produced books and booklets setting forth simplified historical narratives of the Bible and encouraged their reading. All this helped to give the natives some basic information about the Bible and to acquaint them with the Divine Name.
*** jv chap. 11 p. 154 How We Came to Be Known as Yehowah’s Witnesses ***
Ewe Yehowa Ðasefowo
Ga Yehowa Odasefoi
Tshiluba Bantemu ba Yehowa
Twi Yehowa Adansefo
*** g79 6/8 p. 24 Translating the Bible in India ***
Fabricius’ version ranks as one of the most notable achievements in the whole field of Bible translation. It came to be known as the ‘Golden Version.’ All subsequent Tamil revisions were based on this work. Interestingly, the revision of 1936 rendered God’s personal name as Yehowah throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
*** w57 10/15 p. 628 International Praise to the One God ***
This includes the forty-eight times where the Jewish Sopherim changed the early Hebrew text to read Adoay′ instead of Yehowah′, which the New World Translation has restored to their primitive reading.
*** w59 4/15 p. 250 Part 12—“Your Will Be Done on Earth” ***
This is one of 134 places where the Jewish copyists or Sopherim say they changed the primitive Hebrew text to read Adonay (“the Lord”) instead of Yehowah or Yahweh (“Jehovah”).
*** w66 12/15 p. 746 No Healing Till Houses Are Without Man ***
As to the occurrence of the name Jehovah here, the footnote b on Isaiah 6:1 as given in Volume 4 of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, edition of 1958, says: “‘Jehovah,’ Syriac and about 100 Hebrew manuscripts; ‘the dignity of Jehovah,’ Targum, ‘the Lord,’ LXX; Do′mi?nus, Vulgate Adonay′, Masoretic and Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah. This is one of the 134 passages in which the Jewish Sopherim changed the primitive Hebrew text to read Adonay′ instead of Yehowah′.”
*** pm chap. 2 pp. 26-27 par. 12 Why Highest Hopes Were Disappointed ***
Who, though, told “Jehovah of armies” what “this people” had been saying? Why, Jehovah of armies himself had heard it with his marvelous means of hearing from heaven. It was a striking way in which he referred to himself, namely, as “Jehovah of armies” (Yehowah′ Tsebaoth′, in Hebrew). Throughout the inspired Hebrew Scriptures, from Genesis to Malachi, this designation “Jehovah of armies” occurs 281 times, the prophet Samuel being the first to use it in writing, (1 Samuel 1:3)
*** Rbi8 Luke 2:11 ***
“Christ [the] Lord.” Gr., Khristos′ ky′rios. This expression might be a Gr. rendering of the Heb. mashi′ach Yehowah′, “Jehovah’s Christ,” as in J5-8,10. See 2:26.
*** Rbi8 Matthew ***
“Jehovah’s.” J3,4,7-14,16-18,22-24 (Heb.), ???? (Yeho?wah′); Gr., Κυρ?ου (Ky?ri′ou), without the definite article, “Lord’s.” The Holy Scriptures, by J. N. Darby, 1920 (corresponding to the German “Elberfelder Bibel,” 1891), says in a ftn on Mt 1:20: “ ‘Lord’ without the article, signifying as very often, ‘Jehovah.’ ” This is the first of 237 places in the Christian Greek Scriptures where the divine name “Jehovah” occurs in the main text of this translation. In addition it occurs 72 times in the ftns but not in the main text. See App 1D.
“Jesus.” Gr., ?Ιησο?ν (I?e?soun′); J1-14,16-18,22 (Heb.), ???? (Ye?shu′a?, “Jeshua,” meaning “Jehovah Is Salvation”).
*** Rbi8 Ecclesiastes 2:22 ***
Lit., “what is there proving to be for the man?” Heb., meh-ho?weh′ la?'a?dham′? The participle ho?weh′ is from the root verb ha?wah′, related to the divine name, Yehowah′.
See interlinear for "get" for pronuciation.
*** Rbi8 Leviticus 25:17 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. See App 1A.
*** it-2 p. 21 Jehovah of Armies ***
This expression, found 283 times, with variations, in the Scriptures, translates the Hebrew Yehowah′ tseva'ohth′. The prophetic books, particularly Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah, contain by far the majority of its occurrences. Paul and James, quoting from or alluding to the prophecies, used the expression (transliterated into Greek) in their writings.—Ro 9:29; Jas 5:4; compare Isa 1:9.
*** w05 7/15 p. 13 “Clear Light” on the Bible From Russia’s Oldest Library ***
The diligent work of scribes throughout the ages has been involved in its preservation. The most meticulous of these were the Masoretes, professional Hebrew scribes who worked from the sixth to the tenth century C.E. Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels. Over time, this increased the danger of losing the proper pronunciation as Aramaic replaced Hebrew. The Masoretes developed a system of vowel points to add to the Bible text in order to indicate the correct pronunciation of Hebrew words.
Significantly, the Masoretic vowel points in the Leningrad Codex allow for the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton—the four Hebrew consonants making up the divine name—as Yehwah’, Yehwih’, and Yehowah’. Unfortunately, “Jehovah” is now the most widely known pronunciation of the name. The divine name was a living, familiar term to Bible writers and others of ancient times. Today, God’s name is known and used by millions of Jehovah's Witnesses who acknowledge that ‘Jehovah alone is the Most High over all the earth.’—Psalm 83:18.
*** dx86-10 Hebrew (Language) ***
Yehowah tseva'ohth (Jehovah of armies): it-2 21
*** Rbi8 p. 1561 1A The Divine Name in the Hebrew Scriptures ***
The text located in the U.S.S.R., namely, the Codex Leningrad B 19A, used for Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS), vowel-points the Tetragrammaton to read Yehwah′, Yehwih′ and a number of times Yehowah′, as in Ge 3:14. The edition of the Hebrew text by Ginsburg (Gins.) vowel-points YHWH to read Yehowah′. While many translators favor the pronunciation “Yahweh,” the New World Translation continues to use the form “Jehovah” because of people’s familiarity with it for [less than three hundred years] centuries. Moreover, it preserves, equally with other forms, the four letters of the divine name, YHWH or JHVH.
*** it-2 p. 7 Jehovah ***
The Codex Leningrad B 19A, of the 11th century C.E., vowel points the Tetragrammaton to read Yehwah′, Yehwih′, and Yeho?wah′. Ginsburg’s edition of the Masoretic text vowel points the divine name to read Yeho?wah′. (Ge 3:14, ftn) Hebrew scholars generally favor “Yahweh” as the most likely pronunciation. They point out that the abbreviated form of the name is Yah (Jah in the Latinized form), as at Psalm 89:8 and in the expression Ha?lelu-Yah′ (meaning “Praise Jah, you people!”). (Ps 104:35; 150:1, 6) Also, the forms Yehoh′, Yoh, Yah, and Ya′hu, found in the Hebrew spelling of the names Jehoshaphat, Joshaphat, Shephatiah, and others, can all be derived from Yahweh. Greek transliterations of the name by early Christian writers point in a somewhat similar direction with spellings such as I?a?be′ and I?a?ou?e′, which, as pronounced in Greek, resemble Yahweh. Still, there is by no means unanimity among scholars on the subject, some favoring yet other pronunciations, such as “Yahuwa,” “Yahuah,” or “Yehuah.”
Since certainty of pronunciation is not now attainable, there seems to be no reason for abandoning in English the well-known form “Jehovah” in favor of some other suggested pronunciation. If such a change were made, then, to be consistent, changes should be made in the spelling and pronunciation of a host of other names found in the Scriptures: Jeremiah would be changed to Yir?meyah′, Isaiah would become Yesha??ya′hu, and Jesus would be either Yehoh?shu′a? (as in Hebrew) or I?e?sous′ (as in Greek). The purpose of words is to transmit thoughts; in English the name Jehovah identifies the true God, transmitting this thought more satisfactorily today than any of the suggested substitutes.
*** Rbi8 Genesis 3:14 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. The first of quite a few occurrences in BHK and BHS where the divine name is vowel-pointed with the additional vowel “o.” See 2:4 ftn, “Jehovah”; App 1A.
*** Rbi8 Genesis 9:26 ***
Heb., Yehowah . See 3:14 ftn, “Jehovah.”
*** Rbi8 Genesis 15:2 ***
“Sovereign Lord Jehovah.” Heb., 'Adho?nai′ Yehwih′. Where God’s name follows the title 'Adho?nai′, as occurs here, note that the vowel pointing for YHWH changes. Here BHK reads Yehwih′ instead of Yehwah′; whereas Gins. reads Yeho?wih′ instead of Yehowah ′. See App 1E.
*** Rbi8 Exodus 3:2 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. See App 1A.
*** Rbi8 Exodus 13:3 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. See App 1A.
*** Rbi8 Exodus 13:15 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. See App 1A.
*** Rbi8 Exodus 14:1 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. See App 1A.
*** Rbi8 Exodus 14:8 ***
Heb., Yehowah′. See App 1A.
*** na pp. 9-10 God’s Name—Its Meaning and Pronunciation ***
To take the most prominent example, consider the name of Jesus. Do you know how Jesus’ family and friends addressed him in day-to-day conversation while he was growing up in Nazareth? The truth is, no human knows for certain, although it may have been something like Yeshua (or perhaps Yehoshua). It certainly was not Jesus.
However, when the accounts of his life were written in the Greek language, the inspired writers did not try to preserve that original Hebrew pronunciation. Rather, they rendered the name in Greek, I?e?sous′. Today, it is rendered differently according to the language of the reader of the Bible. Spanish Bible readers encounter Jesús (pronounced Hes?soos′). Italians spell it Gesù (pronounced Djay?zoo′). And Germans spell it Jesus (pronounced Yay′soos).
Recall that the Greek scriptures manuscripts also do not include a single reference to YHWH. So, if you want to insert it everywhere where there is no evidence it was because one argues that the scribes removed it and replaced it with Adonai, then you cannot claim that they didn't also replace Christ's Hebrew name with the Greek. (See John 4:25)
*** bh p. 195 par. 4 The Divine Name—Its Use and Its Meaning ***
Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels. Therefore, no one today can say for sure exactly how people of Bible times pronounced YHWH. However, should this prevent us from using God’s name? In Bible times, the name Jesus may have been pronounced Yeshua or possibly Yehoshua—no one can say for certain.
INDEED! Should this prevent us from using God's name? No! Never should that be! However, this doesn't mean we should go make up a new one using letters that didn't exist, Hebrew roots which are negotative or blasphemous in connotation, and ignoring the evidence given to us.
The article quoted just above points out that "Jesus" may have been pronounced Yeshua or Yehoshua. Do you know why? Because Ye[ho]shua was the name given to him by his Father, a family name. It means YHWH is Salvation, or "Y'shua". The Hebrews tended to drop letters out of the middle of names when shortening them to the more casual versions—think of it as slurring it together. Thus when we respect the name God gave his Son, the name above any other name, we should acknowledge literally that Yehowah is Salvation. Now. How did I get to "Yehowah"? Well, it's simple, even the Watchtower acknowledges the longer name was "Yehoshua" and that his name means YHWH is Salvation. What is simply ignored is that it means this LITERALLY. Do you know what literally means? If not please look it up. That "light getting brighter" for me was like a light bulb going off where I could never go back.
*** w68 10/1 p. 580 Who Is God? ***
Because there is uncertainty as to the exact pronunciation of God’s personal name, some clergymen say you should not use it at all, but instead simply say “God” or “the Lord.” However, they do not insist that you should not use the names “Jesus” and “Jeremiah.” And yet these commonly used pronunciations are quite different from the Hebrew pronunciations “Yesh′ua” and “Yirmeiah′.”
*** w70 1/1 p. 7 Get to Know the God of Truth ***
Some clergymen contend that we should stop using God’s name because we do no know the exact Hebrew pronunciation today. But these same persons will use the word “Jesus” without hesitation. Yet, that is not the way Jesus’ name was pronounced in Hebrew. It was more like Yeshu′a, or Ye–ho′shu?a.
This one makes my head hurt. Remember, there is no "J". Also, "Salvation" is "-shua", not "Yeshua" because Yeshua in itself means Yehowah is Salvation. Thus Jehovah-Yeshua would be "Jehovah Yehowah is Salvation". And while "J" didn't exist, in the Hebrew times we did have "hovah" 1943. ????? ( hovah ) -- a ruin, disaster.
*** w80 2/1 p. 6 Does God Have a Name? ***
Interestingly, the Hebrew form of “Jesus” is “Jehoshuah,” which is an abbreviated form of “Jehovah-yeshua,” meaning “Jehovah is salvation.” So there it is—the name of the Father, the Supreme Being, is JEHOVAH. And how appropriate that Jesus, as Jehovah’s agent for salvation, should thus be named after his Father!
Makes me want to puke. Read that one twice, please. Maybe three times. Do you get it? It's not his name. They don't even accurately present the meaning of the name! Compare below.
Insight: (Je′sus) [Lat. form of the Gr. I·e·sous′, which corresponds to the Heb. Ye·shu′a? or Yehoh·shu′a? and means “Jehovah Is Salvation”].
*** si pp. 42-43 par. 5 Bible Book Number 6—Joshua ***
The book of Joshua covers a period of over 20 years, from the entry into Canaan in 1473 B.C.E. to approximately 1450 B.C.E., in which year Joshua probably died. The very name Joshua (Hebrew, Yehoh?shu′a?), meaning “Jehovah Is Salvation,” is most fitting in view of Joshua’s role as visible leader in Israel during the conquest of the land. He gave all the glory to Jehovah as Deliverer. In the Septuagint the book is called I?e?sous′ (the Greek equivalent of Yehoh?shu′a?), and from this the name Jesus has been derived. In his fine qualities of courage, obedience, and integrity, Joshua was truly a splendid prophetic type of “our Lord Jesus Christ.”—Rom. 5:1.
Whoops! Where'd that extra "h" come from there??? There are more than 2 million Google results for Yehoshua, and a measly 6,940 results for Yehohshua quoted above. I wonder why they'd introduce that? Was it a mistake? Or do they not want people to realize like I did that we DO know what God's name is and how to pronouce it? Yeho[wah]shuah. I felt like an idiot when it dawned on me (pardon the punny) that it was the world's simplest game of hang man ever! When I was younger I often wondered why so many names in the scriptures had patterns to them. Eliyah — yeah, I said it. Eliyah. You know him as Elijah. If you let go of that letter "J" and just pronounce it how everyone does, regardless, besides the English, then it sounds the same. But one is based on God's name, and means "Yah is God" (from el and Yah) which is a really easy name to understand if you know that "El" means god.
Wikipedia: Joshua (Hebrew: ?????????? Yehôshúa‘); his name was Hoshe'a the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, but Moses called him Yehoshu'a (Joshua)
The funniest part to me, the part where you know that Jehovah and Yehowah are both laughing, though for different reasons, is that the Watchtower swiped the name from the Catholic church who they call Christendom. It was like bait that they couldn't resist, so that they could say that they are the only religion using "God's name", right? Well, then the Catholic church calls them on it and says that "Jehovah" isn't even accurate. So the Watchtower goes public bickering with them. "We do not say that “Jehovah” is the correct pronunciation of God’s name."
*** w50 12/1 pp. 472-473 An Open Letter to the Catholic Monsignor ***
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.
Your quotation from the Catholic Biblical Encyclopedia says Jehovah was the incorrect pronunciation given to the Hebrew tetragrammaton JHVH in the 14th century by Porchetus de Salvaticis (1303). But let us say: The origin of the word Jehovah used to be attributed to Petrus Galatinus, a Franciscan friar, the confessor of Pope Leo X, in his De Arcanis Catholicae Veritatis, published in 1518. But the latest scholarship has proved he was not the one to introduce the pronunciation Jehovah, and neither was your aforementioned Porchetus de Salvaticis. As shown by Joseph Voisin, the learned editor of the Pugio Fidei (The Poniard of Faith) by Raymundus Martini, Jehovah had been used long before Galatinus.
Imagine for a moment please that you simply acknowledged that "J" didn't exist until about the same time as the name "Jehovah". The whole world did without "J" until the 1400's.
Instead the letter was "Y". So replace the letter J below with "Y". Also, realize that "V" isn't part of the original four letters of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton. Now ask yourself, is it proving the international acceptance of "Jehovah" because that's his name, or because that's the name that was promoted??? Also, please, understand that if you speak to anyone besides the English when they see a "J" they pronounce it as a "Y" anyway.
Examples: Johan Sebastian Bach? Jose? Jesus? (Hey-zeus)
*** na p. 8 God’s Name—Its Meaning and Pronunciation ***
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
*** w68 10/1 p. 580 Who Is God? ***
The vital point is not what pronunciation you use for the Divine Name,... as long as _________________________.
You know I searched the English language. No English word ends in "-vah". Neither is there any word beginning with "Jeh".
I did find one word I didn't know existed, but it's about as English as "Jehovah" is: JEHOVISTIC.
I also just learned this, and oh I didn't realize I would ever figure this out. I knew that the name "Jehovah" is rooted deeply in Medo-Persian false religion, but I couldn't pin point it's origin. And seriously, I just found it. I never occurred to me to search the English dictionary.
Jeh [jey]
noun Zoroastrianism [an Iranian religion, founded c600 b.c. by Zoroaster, the principal beliefs of which are in the existence of asupreme deity, Ahura Mazda, and in a cosmic struggle between a spirit of good, Spenta Mainyu, and aspirit of evil, Angra Mainyu.]
a female demon who was the companion of Angra Mainyu and was believed to have corrupted the female sex: sometimes considered the first woman.
hovah (Hebrew) 1943. ????? ( hovah ) -- a ruin, disaster
Who was Angra Mainyu? Wikipedia says Zoroastrianism's hypostasis [religion] of the "destructive spirit". Jeh, the primal whore who afflicts women with their menstrual cycles: Zoroastrianism's demoness of "lasciviousness." As a hypostatic entity, Jahi is variously interpreted as "hussy," "rake," "libertine," "courtesan" and "one who leads a licentious life." Her standard epithet is "the Whore."
Um, just who is Babylon the Great, the whore, again? Wasn't she a mystery with many names and a God complex?
Assyria conquered Babylon and "She said to herself, "I am, and there is none besides me." What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists." — Zeph 2:15.
God said: "I AM, and there is no other god besides me." — Deut 32:29