Replacing the Tetragrammaton with something else

[jgh7]

It is rather surprising to me that nearly all (if not all) of the mainstream bibles replace the tetragrammaton with another word (maybe 'Lord' in some places or 'God' in other places).

I've only briefly looked into the reasoning that the publishers give, and some of the reasons I find rather disturbing. I have read that they are afraid of losing their readers. Isn't this a motivator that is based on monetary profit?

It feels wrong to me to alter text in the bible that need not be altered. Why should the tetragrammaton be replaced with 'Lord' or 'God'? It was not originally that way, so what justification is there to do it now? If anything, it just makes it more confusing because I don't know when the original text was actually using 'Lord' and 'God' because it was originally there, vs. when the publishers used it for placeholders for the tetragrammaton.

[JehovahsWitness]

It feels wrong to me to alter text in the bible that need not be altered. Why should the tetragrammaton be replaced with 'Lord' or 'God'? It was not originally that way, so what justification is there to do it now? If anything, it just makes it more confusing because I don't know when the original text was actually using 'Lord' and 'God' because it was originally there, vs. when the publishers used it for placeholders for the tetragrammaton.

Most translators claim they remove the Divine Name out of reverence for the Jewish Tradition; you can read various forwards (including financial considererations) HERE
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 886#867886

If anything, it just makes it more confusing because I don't know when the original text was actually using 'Lord' and 'God' because it was originally there, vs. when the publishers used it for placeholders for the tetragrammaton.

That is certainly true.



As in the above example, many English translation capitalize the word GOD or LORD to indicate they have removed the Tetragrammaton, but this is not always the case.



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[2timothy316]

Removing God's name is an old trick.

"They intend to make my people forget my name by the dreams they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot my name because of Baʹal." Jeremiah 23:27

Replace 'dreams' with biased Bible interpretations and 'Ba'al' with the trinity and it's the same thing. That's the way I see it anyway, that there are people actively trying to direct people away from the Divine Name. Which might be considered an everlasting sin as it directly is against God's will for mankind to 'get to know the only true God' to gain everlasting life. If people are directing others away from that knowledge, they might be in grave danger!

[Elijah John]

It is rather surprising to me that nearly all (if not all) of the mainstream bibles replace the tetragrammaton with another word (maybe 'Lord' in some places or 'God' in other places).

I've only briefly looked into the reasoning that the publishers give, and some of the reasons I find rather disturbing. I have read that they are afraid of losing their readers. Isn't this a motivator that is based on monetary profit?

It feels wrong to me to alter text in the bible that need not be altered. Why should the tetragrammaton be replaced with 'Lord' or 'God'? It was not originally that way, so what justification is there to do it now? If anything, it just makes it more confusing because I don't know when the original text was actually using 'Lord' and 'God' because it was originally there, vs. when the publishers used it for placeholders for the tetragrammaton.

It is not right, imo, that they do this. Replacing the tetragrammaton with placeholders. It can be confusing. However, when you see LORD (all caps) in the "Old" Testament, those are instances where the Divine name has been replaced.

"LORD", and other placeholders in the stead of the Divine Name "YHVH", does no honor to God, and, in fact dishonors Him, because, arguably, the practice depersonalizes God.

Some folks say, "Yahweh" is the Old Testament name for God, now He is "Father" or "Jesus" whose name is supposedly above all.

Not so, according to Exodus 3.15 which states that the name "YHVH" ("LORD", all caps) is God's "name forever, his title for all generations". Some translations use the word "invocation" instead of title. His invocation for all generations.

[brianbbs67]

Get a JPS Tanakh. It will clear up a lot with its footnotes, although the Israelites hid The name, also. If you get a version with the hebrew along with the English, you will soon recognize everytime His name appears. I probably own 30 translations of the Bible. Just to compare when necessary. After a while, I learned 5-6 of those are more useful than others.

Our adversary is assigned to distract and mislead. He uses , even churches and men of god , to do this. Our mission is to seek the kingdom of God and pray first for wisdom as it will bring you knowledge and be like a tree of life for you. Doing so, blessings flow. Praise Him from whom all blessings come.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 5 by brianbbs67]

I agree using various translations is a good idea. I would recommend The New World Translation (available online) as it does not oblige the reader to go to footnotes leaving the Divine Name in the main text.

New World Translation
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/bibl ... ble/books/





Further Reading: Which translation should I use?
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102007409#h=19

[Overcomer]

This explains it well:

Why do Bibles use “LORD� instead of YHWH or Jehovah?

by Matt Slick
5/9/09

Bibles use "Lord" instead of YHWH or Jehovah because of the practice begun by the Jews hundreds of years before Christ. The Jews did not want to pronounce or mispronounce the name of YHWH out of reverence. They did not want to risk violating the commandment that says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain," (Exodus 20:7).

So, the Jews began substituting God's name (in Hebrew, "Lord") which is now Adonai. This practice is followed today in English translations of the Bible to show reverence for the Holy Name. Finally, since the early Hebrew text did not contain vowels but only consonants, it is not known exactly how to pronounce God's name. So, LORD is substituted for YHWH.

If someone were to write out God's name in English Bibles, what exactly would be the name?

In the Hebrew Old Testament, the word for “God� is Elohim. God is also called “Lord,� which is a translation of the Hebrew Adonai. However, the special name of God that is given in Exodus 3:14 is YHWH, which is "I AM."

Exodus 3:14, “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM�; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’�

The four letters YHWH are called the tetragrammaton and is sometimes written/pronounced Yahweh - a better pronunciation than Jehovah since there is no “j� in Hebrew. But, we cannot be sure what the proper pronunciation really is. So, instead of risking a mispronunciation of God's incredibly holy name which he himself revealed to us, and since the true pronunciation is lost, modern Bibles today substitute "lord" and LORD for those terms. The small letters of "lord" are usually translated from the Hebrew adonai, which simply means lord. The all capital LORD is the representation of YHWH, the personal name of God.

https://carm.org/why-do-bibles-use-lord ... or-jehovah

This is good, too:

Question: "What is YHWH? What is the tetragrammaton?"

Answer: The ancient Hebrew language that the Old Testament was written in did not have vowels in its alphabet. In written form, ancient Hebrew was a consonant-only language. In the original Hebrew, God’s name transliterates to YHWH (sometimes written in the older style as YHVH). This is known as the tetragrammaton (meaning “four letters�). Because of the lack of vowels, Bible scholars debate how the tetragrammaton YHWH was pronounced.

Contrary to what some Christians believe (and at least one cult), Jehovah is not the Divine Name revealed to Israel. The name Jehovah is a product of mixing different words and different alphabets of different languages. Due to a fear of accidentally taking God’s name in vain (Leviticus 24:16), the Jews basically quit saying it out loud altogether. Instead, when reading Scripture aloud, the Jews substituted the tetragrammaton YHWH with the word Adonai (“Lord�). Even in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), the translators substituted Kurios (“Lord�) for the Divine Name. Eventually, the vowels from Adonai (“Lord�) or Elohim (“God�) found their way in between the consonants of YHWH, thus forming YaHWeH. But this interpolation of vowels does not mean that was how God’s name was originally pronounced. In fact, we aren’t entirely sure if YHWH should have two syllables or three.

Any number of vowel sounds can be inserted within YHWH, and Jewish scholars are as uncertain of the real pronunciation as Christian scholars are. Jehovah is actually a much later (probably 16th-century) variant. The word Jehovah comes from a three-syllable version of YHWH, YeHoWeH. The Y was replaced with a J (although Hebrew does not even have a J sound) and the W with a V, plus the extra vowel in the middle, resulting in JeHoVaH. These vowels are the abbreviated forms of the imperfect tense, the participial form, and the perfect tense of the Hebrew being verb (English is)—thus the meaning of Jehovah could be understood as “He who will be, is, and has been.�

So, what is God’s Name, and what does it mean? The most likely choice for how the tetragrammaton was pronounced is “YAH-way,� “YAH-weh,� or something similar. The name Yahweh refers to God’s self-existence. Yahweh is linked to how God described Himself in Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM has sent me to you.�’� God’s name is a reflection of His being. God is the only self-existent or self-sufficient Being. Only God has life in and of Himself. That is the essential meaning of the tetragrammaton, YHWH.

https://www.gotquestions.org/YHWH-tetragrammaton.html

As for a good Bible, I usually recommend the NIV. It's a good translation from the Hebrew and Greek and easy to read. The NET Bible is also excellent. It has particularly good footnotes. I advise against the New World Translation as it is NOT a translation from the original languages. Its authors altered the Bible to fit their theology. It will only lead you astray.

[JehovahsWitness]

there is no “j� in Hebrew.

So? Is there a "J" in Jesus?

Hebrew does not even have a J sound

So? Does the name Jesus have a J sound?

Are we removing all names from our English bibles that have J sounds now? What exactly is your point?

[brianbbs67]

Is a rose , by any other name, still a rose?

I don't think it matters, as we don't know 100%. I wouldn't bet my soul on that. God said we would forget His name.

[2timothy316]

Is a rose , by any other name, still a rose?

I don't think it matters, as we don't know 100%. I wouldn't bet my soul on that. God said we would forget His name.

It must matter to some extent. What I don't think matters is the language the divine name is said. Certainly the Most Powerful can have His name uttered as He sees fit. Or if He wanted His name in only one language He would have made that known too.

However, we have people today making up all of these rules but I have yet to see a clear scripture not to use His name. In fact, in the Bible we see that God is opposed to those that make other forget His name.