Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

God of Israel God of Israel may refer to: * God in Judaism, God as understood in Jewish theological discussion * Yahweh, the national god of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah * Tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew letters YHWH as the name of God, and various ...

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament. The

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and one of the

names of God in Christianity The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g. Ex. 20:7 or Ps. 8:1), generally using the terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God. However, general references to the name of God may branc ...

. The consensus among scholars is that the historical vocalization of the Tetragrammaton at the time of the redaction of the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

(6th century BCE) is most likely

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

. The historical vocalization was lost because in

Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The Second Temple ...

, during the 3rd to 2nd centuries BCE, the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton came to be avoided, being substituted with ("my Lord"). The Hebrew vowel points of were added to the Tetragrammaton by the

Masoretes The Masoretes ( he, בַּעֲלֵי הַמָּסוֹרָה, Baʿălēy Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Masters of the Tradition') were groups of Jewish scribe-scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries CE, based primarily in ...

, and the resulting form was transliterated around the 12th century CE as ''Yehowah''.Schaff, Philip
Yahweh
''The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge Volume XII'', Paper Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1950, page 480. The derived forms ''Iehouah'' and ''Jehovah'' first appeared in the 16th century. ''Jehovah'' was first introduced by

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...

in his translation of Exodus 6:3, and appears in some other early English translations including the Geneva Bible and the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

.In the 7th paragraph of ''Introduction to the Old Testament of the New English Bible''
Sir Godfrey Driver wrote
"The early translators generally substituted 'Lord' for

HWH HWH may refer to: *HWH, the Indian Railways code for Howrah railway station, West Bengal, India *HWH, the National Rail code for Haltwhistle railway station, Northumberland, England {{Disambiguation ...

..The Reformers preferred Jehovah, which first appeared as ''Iehouah'' in 1530 A.D., in Tyndale's translation of the Pentateuch (Exodus 6.3), from which it passed into other Protestant Bibles." The

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

states that in order to pronounce the Tetragrammaton "it is necessary to introduce vowels that alter the written and spoken forms of the name (i.e. "Yahweh" or "Jehovah")." ''Jehovah'' appears in the Old Testament of some widely used translations including the

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

(1901) and

Young's Literal Translation Young's Literal Translation (YLT) is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of '' Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible'' and ''Concise Critical Comments on the New Te ...

(1862, 1899); the

New World Translation The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first, in 1950, ...

(1961, 2013) uses ''Jehovah'' in both the Old and New Testaments. ''Jehovah'' does not appear in most mainstream English translations, some of which use

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

but most continue to use "Lord" or "" to represent the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

.

Pronunciation

Most scholars believe the name ''Jehovah'' (also transliterated as ''Yehowah'')GOD, NAMES OF
– 5. Yahweh (Yahweh) in ''New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. XII: Trench – Zwingli'' Retrieved 19 November 2014. to be a hybrid form derived by combining the Hebrew letters (, later rendered in the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...

as ''JHVH'') with the vowels of . Some hold that there is evidence that a form of the Tetragrammaton similar to ''Jehovah'' may have been in use in Semitic and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

phonetic texts and artifacts from

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

.Roy Kotansky, Jeffrey Spier,
The 'Horned Hunter' on a Lost Gnostic Gem
, ''The Harvard Theological Review'', Vol. 88, No. 3 (Jul., 1995), p. 318. Quote: "Although most scholars believe "Jehovah" to be a late (c. 1100 CE) hybrid form derived by combining the Latin letters ''JHVH'' with the vowels of ''Adonai'' (the traditionally pronounced version of יהוה), many magical texts in Semitic and Greek establish an early pronunciation of the divine name as both ''Yehovah'' and ''Yahweh''" Others say that it is the pronunciation ''Yahweh'' that is testified in both Christian and pagan texts of the early Christian era.Kristin De Troye
''The Names of God, Their Pronunciation and Their Translation''
– lectio difficilior 2/2005. Quote: "IAO can be seen as a transliteration of YAHU, the three-letter form of the Name of God" (p. 6). Some Karaite Jews, as proponents of the rendering ''Jehovah'', state that although the original pronunciation of has been obscured by disuse of the spoken name according to oral Rabbinic law, well-established English transliterations of other Hebrew personal names are accepted in normal usage, such as

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

,

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewi ...

,

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

or

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, for which the original pronunciations may be unknown.Dennio, Francis B., "On the Use of the Word Jehovah in Translating the Old Testament", ''Journal of Biblical Literature 46'', (1927), pages 147–148. Dennio wrote: "''Jehovah misrepresents Yahweh no more than Jeremiah misrepresents Yirmeyahu.'' The settled connotations of Isaiah and Jeremiah forbid questioning their right. Usage has given them the connotation proper for designating the personalities with which these words represent. Much the same is true of Jehovah. It is not a barbarism. It has already many of the connotations needed for the proper name of the Covenant God of Israel. ''There is no word which can faintly compare with it. For centuries it has been gathering these connotations.'' No other word approaches this name in the fullness 'sic''of associations required. ''The use of any other word falls far short of the proper ideas that it is a serious blemish in a translation''." They also point out that "the English form ''Jehovah'' is quite simply an Anglicized form of Yhovah," and preserves the four Hebrew consonants "YHVH" (with the introduction of the "J" sound in English). Some argue that ''Jehovah'' is preferable to ''Yahweh'', based on their conclusion that the Tetragrammaton was likely tri-syllabic originally, and that modern forms should therefore also have three syllables.George Wesley Buchanan, "How God's Name Was Pronounced," Biblical Archaeology Review 21.2 (March -April 1995), 31–32 Biblical scholar Francis B. Dennio, in an article he wrote, in the ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', said: "Jehovah misrepresents Yahweh no more than Jeremiah misrepresents Yirmeyahu. The settled connotations of Isaiah and Jeremiah forbid questioning their right." Dennio argued that the form ''Jehovah'' is not a barbarism, but is the best English form available, being that it has for centuries gathered the necessary connotations and associations for valid use in English. According to a Jewish tradition developed during the 3rd to 2nd centuries BCE, the Tetragrammaton is written but not pronounced. When read, substitute terms replace the divine name where () appears in the text. It is widely assumed, as proposed by the 19th-century Hebrew scholar

Wilhelm Gesenius Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic. Biography Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he became ...

, that the vowels of the substitutes of the name— (Lord) and (

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

)—were inserted by the

Masoretes The Masoretes ( he, בַּעֲלֵי הַמָּסוֹרָה, Baʿălēy Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Masters of the Tradition') were groups of Jewish scribe-scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries CE, based primarily in ...

to indicate that these substitutes were to be used. When precedes or follows , the Masoretes placed the vowel points of into the Tetragrammaton, producing a different vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (), which was read as . Based on this reasoning, the form () has been characterized by some as a "hybrid form", and even "a philological impossibility". Early modern translators disregarded the practice of reading (or its equivalents in Greek and Latin, and ) in place of the Tetragrammaton and instead combined the four Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton with the vowel points that, except in synagogue scrolls, accompanied them, resulting in the form ''Jehovah''. This form, which first took effect in works dated 1278 and 1303, was adopted in Tyndale's and some other

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

translations of the Bible. In the 1560 '' Geneva Bible'', the Tetragrammaton is translated as ''Jehovah'' six times, four as the proper name, and two as place-names. In the 1611 ''

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

'', ''Jehovah'' occurred seven times. In the 1885 ''

English Revised Version The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first and remains the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Versio ...

'', the form ''Jehovah'' occurs twelve times. In the 1901 ''

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

'' the form "Je-ho'vah" became the regular English rendering of the Hebrew , all throughout, in preference to the previously dominant "the ", which is generally used in the King James Version. It is also used in Christian

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

such as the 1771 hymn, "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".

Development

The most widespread theory is that the Hebrew term has the vowel points of ().Paul Joüon and T. Muraoka. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Subsidia Biblica). Part One: Orthography and Phonetics. Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblio, 1996. . Quote from Section 16(f)(1)" "The Qre is יְהֹוָה ''the Lord'', whilst the Ktiv is probably(1) יַהְוֶה (according to ancient witnesses)." "Note 1: In our translations, we have used ''Yahweh'', a form widely accepted by scholars, instead of the traditional ''Jehovah''" Using the vowels of , the composite () under the

guttural Guttural speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, especially where it's difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise term fo ...

() becomes a () under the (), the () is placed over the first (), and the () is placed under the (), giving (). When the two names, and , occur together, the former is pointed with a () under the () and a () under the second (), giving , to indicate that it is to be read as in order to avoid being repeated. Taking the spellings at face value may have been as a result of not knowing about the

Q're perpetuum Qere and Ketiv, from the Aramaic ''qere'' or ''q're'', ("hat isread") and ''ketiv'', or ''ketib'', ''kethib'', ''kethibh'', ''kethiv'', ("hat iswritten"), also known as "q're uchsiv" or "q're uchtiv," refers to a system for marking differences b ...

, resulting in the transliteration ''Yehowah'' and derived variants.

Emil G. Hirsch Emil Gustav Hirsch (May 22, 1851 – January 7, 1923) was a Luxembourgish-born Jewish American biblical scholar, Reform rabbi, contributing editor to numerous articles of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906), anfounding member of the NAACP Biog ...

was among the modern scholars that recognized "Jehovah" to be "grammatically impossible". Sefer Yezira 1552 IEHOUAH

appears 6,518 times in the traditional

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, in addition to 305 instances of (). The pronunciation ''Jehovah'' is believed to have arisen through the introduction of vowels of the —the marginal notation used by the Masoretes. In places where the consonants of the text to be read (the ) differed from the consonants of the written text (the ), they wrote the in the margin to indicate that the was read using the vowels of the . For a few very frequent words the marginal note was omitted, referred to as ''

q're perpetuum Qere and Ketiv, from the Aramaic ''qere'' or ''q're'', ("hat isread") and ''ketiv'', or ''ketib'', ''kethib'', ''kethibh'', ''kethiv'', ("hat iswritten"), also known as "q're uchsiv" or "q're uchtiv," refers to a system for marking differences b ...

''. One of these frequent cases was God's name, which was not to be pronounced in fear of profaning the "ineffable name". Instead, wherever () appears in the of the biblical and

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic C ...

s, it was to be read as (, "My Lord lural of majesty), or as (, "God") if appears next to it. This combination produces () and () respectively. is also written , or even , and read ("the name"). Scholars are not in total agreement as to why does not have precisely the same vowel points as . The use of the composite () in cases where the name is to be read , has led to the opinion that the composite () ought to have been used to indicate the reading . It has been argued conversely that the disuse of the is consistent with the Babylonian system, in which the composite is uncommon.

Vowel points of and

Tetragrammaton-related-Masoretic-vowel-points

The table below shows the vowel points of and , indicating the simple in in contrast to the in . As indicated to the right, the vowel points used when the Tetragrammaton is intended to be pronounced as are slightly different to those used in itself. The difference between the vowel points of and is explained by the rules of Hebrew

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

and

phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

. and were

allophone In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor '' phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in '' ...

s of the same

phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

used in different situations: on glottal consonants including (such as the first letter in ), and simple on other consonants (such as the ''Y'' in ).

Introduction into English

The earliest available

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

text to use a vocalization similar to ''Jehovah'' dates from the 13th century. The ''Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon'' suggested that the pronunciation ''Jehovah'' was unknown until 1520 when it was introduced by Galatinus, who defended its use. In English it appeared in

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...

's translation of the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

("The Five Books of Moses") published in 1530 in Germany, where Tyndale had studied since 1524, possibly in one or more of the universities at

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

,

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

and

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

, where Hebrew was taught. The spelling used by Tyndale was "Iehouah"; at that time, "I" was not distinguished from J, and U was not distinguished from V. The original 1611 printing of the Authorized King James Version used "Iehouah". Tyndale wrote about the divine name: "IEHOUAH ehovah is God's name; neither is any creature so called; and it is as much to say as, One that is of himself, and dependeth of nothing. Moreover, as oft as thou seest in great letters (except there be any error in the printing), it is in Hebrew ''Iehouah'', Thou that art; or, He that is." The name is also found in a 1651 edition of

Ramón Martí Raymond Martini, also called Ramon Martí in Catalan, was a 13th-century Dominican friar and theologian. He is remembered for his polemic work ''Pugio Fidei'' (c. 1270). In 1250 he was one of eight friars appointed to make a study of oriental lan ...

's . The name ''Jehovah'' (initially as ''Iehouah'') appeared in all early Protestant Bibles in English, except Coverdale's translation in 1535. The Roman Catholic

Douay–Rheims Bible The Douay–Rheims Bible (, ), also known as the Douay–Rheims Version, Rheims–Douai Bible or Douai Bible, and abbreviated as D–R, DRB, and DRV, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by member ...

used "the Lord", corresponding to the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

's use of (Latin for , "Lord") to represent the Tetragrammaton. The '' Authorized King James Version'', which used "" in a few places, most frequently gave "the " as the equivalent of the Tetragrammaton. The form ''Iehouah'' appeared in John Rogers' ''

Matthew Bible ''The Matthew Bible'', also known as ''Matthew's Version'', was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of William Tyndale, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able ...

'' in 1537, the ''

Great Bible The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorised edition of the Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, worki ...

'' of 1539, the '' Geneva Bible'' of 1560, ''

Bishop's Bible The Bishops' Bible is an English translation of the Bible which was produced under the authority of the established Church of England in 1568. It was substantially revised in 1572, and the 1602 edition was prescribed as the base text for the King ...

'' of 1568 and the ''

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

'' of 1611. More recently, ''Jehovah'' has been used in the '' Revised Version'' of 1885, the ''

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

'' in 1901, and the ''

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first, in 1950, ...

'' of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1961. At Exodus 6:3–6, where the King James Version has ''Jehovah'', the '' Revised Standard Version'' (1952), the ''

New American Standard Bible The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an English translation of the Bible. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. The NASB relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Gre ...

'' (1971), the '' New International Version'' (1978), the '' New King James Version'' (1982), the ''

New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.New Century Version The New Century Version (NCV) is a revision of the International Children's Bible (ICB). The ICB is a translation of the Bible that was aimed at young readers and those with low reading skills/limited vocabulary in English. It is written at a 3rd ...

'' (1991), and the ''

Contemporary English Version The Contemporary English Version or CEV (also known as Bible for Today's Family) is a translation of the Bible into English, published by the American Bible Society. An anglicized version was produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society, w ...

'' (1995) give "" or "Lord" as their rendering of the Tetragrammaton, while the '' New Jerusalem Bible'' (1985), the ''

Amplified Bible ''The Amplified Bible'' (AMP) is an English language translation of the Bible produced jointly by Zondervan and The Lockman Foundation. The first edition as a complete volume was published in 1965. “Amplifications” are words or phrases int ...

'' (1987), the ''

New Living Translation The New Living Translation (NLT) is an English translation of the Bible. The origin of the NLT came from a project aiming to revise '' The Living Bible'' (TLB). This effort eventually led to the creation of the NLT—a new translation separat ...

'' (1996, revised 2007), and the ''

Holman Christian Standard Bible The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The New Testament was published in 1999, followed by the full Bible in March 2004. Beginnings The roots of the HCSB can be traced ...

'' (2004) use the form ''Yahweh''.

Hebrew vowel points

Modern guides to Biblical Hebrew grammar, such as Duane A Garrett's ''A Modern Grammar for Classical Hebrew'' state that the Hebrew vowel points now found in printed Hebrew Bibles were invented in the second half of the first millennium AD, long after the texts were written. This is indicated in the authoritative ''Hebrew Grammar'' of Gesenius, and ''Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia'', and is acknowledged even by those who say that guides to Hebrew are perpetuating "scholarly myths". "Jehovist" scholars, largely earlier than the 20th century, who believe to be the original pronunciation of the divine name, argue that the Hebraic vowel-points and accents were known to writers of the scriptures in antiquity and that both Scripture and history argue in favor of their '' ab origine'' status to the Hebrew language. Some members of

Karaite Judaism Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme ...

, such as Nehemia Gordon, hold this view. The antiquity of the vowel points and of the rendering ''Jehovah'' was defended by various scholars, including Michaelis,(''In Awe of Thy Word, G.A. Riplinger''-Chapter 11, page 41
Online
/ref> Drach, Stier,

William Fulke William Fulke (; 1538buried 28 August 1589) was an English Puritan divine. Life He was born in London and educated at St John's College, Cambridge graduating in 1557/58. After studying law for six years, he became a fellow at St John's Colleg ...

(1583),

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf ( la, Johannes Buxtorfius) (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis" ...

, his son

Johannes Buxtorf II Johannes Buxtorf the Younger, (13 August 1599 – 16 August 1664) was son of the scholar Johannes Buxtorf, and a Protestant Christian Hebraist. Life Buxtorf was born in Basel, where he also died. Before the age of thirteen he matriculated at ...

, and John Owen (17th century); Peter Whitfield
A Dissertation on the Hebrew Vowel-Points (PDF 58.6 MB)
'', (Liverpoole: Peter Whitfield, 1748)
A Dissertation on the Hebrew Vowel-Points
', (Liverpoole: Peter Whitfield, 1748) and

John Gill John Gill may refer to: Sports *John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer *John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach *John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer *John Gill (American football) ...

(18th century), John Moncrieff (19th century),

Johann Friedrich von Meyer Johann Friedrich von Meyer (12 September 1772 – 28 January 1849) was a German translator, politician, and senator of Frankfurt, who published a translation of the Bible in 1819 (''Die heilige Schrift in berichtigter Übersetzung mit kurzen Anmerk ...

(1832) Thomas D. Ross has given an account of the controversy on this matter in England down to 1833. G. A. Riplinger, John Hinton, Thomas M. Strouse, are more recent defenders of the authenticity of the vowel points.

Proponents of pre-Christian origin

18th-century theologian

John Gill John Gill may refer to: Sports *John Gill (cricketer) (1854–1888), New Zealand cricketer *John Gill (coach) (1898–1997), American football coach *John Gill (footballer, born 1903), English professional footballer *John Gill (American football) ...

puts forward the arguments of 17th-century

Johannes Buxtorf II Johannes Buxtorf the Younger, (13 August 1599 – 16 August 1664) was son of the scholar Johannes Buxtorf, and a Protestant Christian Hebraist. Life Buxtorf was born in Basel, where he also died. Before the age of thirteen he matriculated at ...

and others in his writing, ''A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Letters, Vowel-Points and Accents''. He argued for an extreme antiquity of their use, rejecting the idea that the vowel points were invented by the Masoretes. Gill presented writings, including passages of scripture, that he interpreted as supportive of his "Jehovist" viewpoint that the Old Testament must have included vowel-points and accents. He claimed that the use of Hebrew vowel points of , and therefore of the name ''Jehovah'' , is documented from before 200 BCE, and even back to Adam, citing Jewish tradition that Hebrew was the first language. He argued that throughout this history the Masoretes did not invent the vowel points and accents, but that they were delivered to Moses by God at Sinai, citing Karaite authorities Mordechai ben Nisan Kukizov (1699) and his associates, who stated that "all our wise men with one mouth affirm and profess that the whole law was pointed and accented, as it came out of the hands of Moses, the man of God." The argument between Karaite and

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...

on whether it was lawful to pronounce the name represented by the Tetragrammaton is claimed to show that some copies have always been pointed (voweled) and that some copies were not pointed with the vowels because of "

oral law An oral law is a code of conduct in use in a given culture, religion or community application, by which a body of rules of human behaviour is transmitted by oral tradition and effectively respected, or the single rule that is orally transmitted. M ...

", for control of interpretation by some Judeo sects, including non-pointed copies in synagogues. Gill claimed that the pronunciation can be traced back to early historical sources which indicate that vowel points and/or accents were used in their time. Sources Gill claimed supported his view include: * The Book of Cosri and commentator

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Judab Muscatus, which claim that the vowel points were taught to Adam by God. *

Saadiah Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

(927 AD) *

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

(380 AD) *

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

(250 AD) * The Zohar (120 AD) *

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

(31 AD), based on Gill's interpretation of Matthew 5:18 * Hillel the Elder and

Shammai Shammai (50 BCE – 30 CE, he, שַׁמַּאי, ''Šammaʾy'') was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hill ...

division (30 BC) * Karaites (120 BCE) *

Demetrius Phalereus Demetrius of Phalerum (also Demetrius of Phaleron or Demetrius Phalereus; grc-gre, Δημήτριος ὁ Φαληρεύς; c. 350 – c. 280 BC) was an Athenian orator originally from Phalerum, an ancient port of Athens. A student of Theophrast ...

, librarian for Ptolemy II Philadelphus king of Egypt (277 BCE) Gill quoted

Elia Levita Elia Levita (13 February 146928 January 1549) ( he, אליהו בן אשר הלוי אשכנזי), also known as Elijah Levita, Elias Levita, Élie Lévita, Elia Levita Ashkenazi, Eliahu Levita, Eliyahu haBahur ("Elijah the Bachelor"), Elye Bok ...

, who said, "There is no syllable without a point, and there is no word without an accent," as showing that the vowel points and the accents found in printed Hebrew Bibles have a dependence on each other, and so Gill attributed the same antiquity to the accents as to the vowel points. Gill acknowledged that Levita, "first asserted the vowel points were invented by " the men of Tiberias", but made reference to his condition that "if anyone could convince him that his opinion was contrary to the book of Zohar, he should be content to have it rejected." Gill then alludes to the book of Zohar, stating that rabbis declared it older than the Masoretes, and that it attests to the vowel-points and accents.

William Fulke William Fulke (; 1538buried 28 August 1589) was an English Puritan divine. Life He was born in London and educated at St John's College, Cambridge graduating in 1557/58. After studying law for six years, he became a fellow at St John's Colleg ...

, John Gill, John Owen, and others held that Jesus Christ referred to a Hebrew vowel point or accent at , indicated in the King James Version by the word ''

tittle A tittle or superscript dot is a small distinguishing mark, such as a diacritic in the form of a dot on a letter (for example, lowercase ''i'' or ''j''). The tittle is an integral part of the glyph of ''i'' and ''j'', but dot (diacritic), diacri ...

''. The 1602 Spanish Bible (

Reina-Valera The Reina–Valera is a Spanish translation of the Bible originally published in 1602 untilAnon. ''¡Refrescante y más brillante que nunca!'' Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas (1995) p.9 United Bible Societies in 1909 revised the earlier translation pr ...

/ Cipriano de Valera) used the name ''Iehova'' and gave a lengthy defense of the pronunciation ''Jehovah'' in its preface.

Proponents of later origin

Despite Jehovist claims that vowel signs are necessary for reading and understanding Hebrew, modern Hebrew (apart from young children's books, some formal poetry and Hebrew primers for new immigrants), is written without vowel points. The

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

scrolls do not include vowel points, and ancient Hebrew was written without vowel signs. The

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

, discovered in 1946 and dated from 400 BC to 70 AD, include texts from the Torah or Pentateuch and from other parts of the Hebrew Bible, and have provided documentary evidence that, in spite of claims to the contrary, the original Hebrew texts were in fact written without vowel points. Menahem Mansoor's ''The Dead Sea Scrolls: A College Textbook and a Study Guide'' claims the vowel points found in printed Hebrew Bibles were devised in the 9th and 10th centuries. Gill's view that the Hebrew vowel points were in use at the time of Ezra or even since the origin of the Hebrew language is stated in an early 19th-century study in opposition to "the opinion of most learned men in modern times", according to whom the vowel points had been "invented since the time of Christ". The study presented the following considerations: * The argument that vowel points are necessary for learning to read Hebrew is refuted by the fact that the Samaritan text of the Bible is read without them and that several other Semitic languages, kindred to Hebrew, are written without any indications of the vowels. * The books used in synagogue worship have always been without vowel points, which, unlike the letters, have thus never been treated as sacred. * The Qere Kethib marginal notes give variant readings only of the letters, never of the points, an indication either that these were added later or that, if they already existed, they were seen as not so important. * The

Kabbalists Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The def ...

drew their mysteries only from the letters and completely disregarded the points, if there were any. * In several cases, ancient translations from the Hebrew Bible (

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

,

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

, Aquila of Sinope, Symmachus,

Theodotion Theodotion (; grc-gre, Θεοδοτίων, ''gen''.: Θεοδοτίωνος; died c. 200) was a Hellenistic Jewish scholar, perhaps working in Ephesus, who in c. 150 CE translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. Whether he was revising the Septua ...

,

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

) read the letters with vowels different from those indicated by the points, an indication that the texts from which they were translating were without points. The same holds for

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

's transliteration of the Hebrew text into Greek letters. Jerome expressly speaks of a word in Habakkuk 3:5, which in the present

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

has three consonant letters and two vowel points, as being of three letters and no vowel whatever. * Neither the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

nor the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...

(in all their recounting of Rabbinical disputes about the meaning of words), nor

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...

nor

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, nor any Christian writer for several centuries after Christ make any reference to vowel points.

Early modern arguments

In the 16th and 17th centuries, various arguments were presented for and against the transcription of the form ''Jehovah''.

Discourses rejecting ''Jehovah''

Discourses defending ''Jehovah''

Summary of discourses

William Robertson Smith William Robertson Smith (8 November 184631 March 1894) was a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and contributo ...

summarizes these discourses, concluding that "whatever, therefore, be the true pronunciation of the word, there can be little doubt that it is not ''Jehovah''". Despite this, he consistently uses the name ''Jehovah'' throughout his dictionary and when translating Hebrew names. Some examples include ''Isaiah'' 'Jehovah's help or salvation'' ''Jehoshua'' 'Jehovah a helper'' ''Jehu'' 'Jehovah is He'' In the entry, ''Jehovah'', Smith writes: "JEHOVAH (, usually with the vowel points of ; but when the two occur together, the former is pointed , that is with the vowels of , as in Obad. i. 1, Hab. iii. 19:" This practice is also observed in many modern publications, such as the ''New Compact Bible Dictionary'' (Special Crusade Edition) of 1967 and ''Peloubet's Bible Dictionary'' of 1947.

Usage in English Bible translations

The following versions of the Bible render the Tetragrammaton as ''Jehovah'' either exclusively or in selected verses: *

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...

, in his 1530 translation of the first five books of the English Bible, at Exodus 6:3 renders the divine name as ''Iehovah''. In his foreword to this edition he wrote: "Iehovah is God's name... Moreover, as oft as thou seeist in great letters (except there be any error in the printing) it is in Hebrew Iehovah." * The

Great Bible The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorised edition of the Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, worki ...

(1539) renders ''Jehovah'' in Psalm 33:12 and Psalm 83:18. * The Geneva Bible (1560) translates the Tetragrammaton as ' in Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, and two other times as place-names, Genesis 22:14 and Exodus 17:15. * In the

Bishop's Bible The Bishops' Bible is an English translation of the Bible which was produced under the authority of the established Church of England in 1568. It was substantially revised in 1572, and the 1602 edition was prescribed as the base text for the King ...

(1568), the word ''Jehovah'' occurs in Exodus 6:3 and Psalm 83:18. * The Authorized King James Version (1611) renders ' in Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 26:4, and three times in compound place names at Genesis 22:14, Exodus 17:15 and Judges 6:24. *

Webster's Bible Translation Noah Webster's 1833 limited revision of the King James Version, (more commonly called Webster Bible) focused mainly on replacing archaic words and making simple grammatical changes. For example: "why" instead of "wherefore", "its" instead of "h ...

(1833) by

Noah Webster Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible ( Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...

, a revision of the King James Bible, contains the form ''Jehovah'' in all cases where it appears in the original King James Version, as well as another seven times in Isaiah 51:21, Jeremiah 16:21; 23:6; 32:18; 33:16, Amos 5:8 and Micah 4:13. King James Bible-Isaiah 12 2 Jehovah

* The King James Bible (1853) in e.g. Genesis 12:14, Exodus 6:3, Judges 6:24, Isaiah 12:2 (see image), Isaiah 26:3 and Psalms 83:18. *

Young's Literal Translation Young's Literal Translation (YLT) is a translation of the Bible into English, published in 1862. The translation was made by Robert Young, compiler of '' Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible'' and ''Concise Critical Comments on the New Te ...

by Robert Young (1862, 1898) renders the Tetragrammaton as ''Jehovah'' 6,831 times. * The Julia E. Smith Parker Translation (1876) considered the first complete translation of the Bible into English by a woman. This Bible version was titled The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues. This translation prominently renders the Tetragrammaton as ''Jehovah'' throughout the entire Old Testament. * The

English Revised Version The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first and remains the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Versio ...

(1881-1885, published with the Apocrypha in 1894) renders the Tetragrammaton as ' where it appears in the King James Version, and another eight times in Exodus 6:2,6–8, Psalm 68:20, Isaiah 49:14, Jeremiah 16:21 and Habakkuk 3:19. * The

Darby Bible The Darby Bible (DBY, formal title ''The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby'') refers to the Bible as translated from Hebrew and Greek by John Nelson Darby. History and principles Darby published a ...

(1890) by

John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of moder ...

renders the Tetragrammaton as ''Jehovah'' 6,810 times. * The

American Standard Version The American Standard Version (ASV), officially Revised Version, Standard American Edition, is a Bible translation into English that was completed in 1901 with the publication of the revision of the Old Testament. The revised New Testament had ...

(1901) renders the Tetragrammaton as ''Je-ho’vah'' in 6,823 places in the Old Testament.(Note: The Watchtower Edition of the ASV renders ''Jehovah'' in 6,870 places in the Old Testament, 47 more times than in mainstream editions.) * The Modern Reader's Bible (1914) an annotated reference study Bible based on the English Revised Version of 1894 by Richard Moulton, renders ''Jehovah'' where it appears in the English Revised Version of 1894. * The Holy Scriptures (1936, 1951), Hebrew Publishing Company, revised by

Alexander Harkavy Alexander Harkavy ( yi, אַלכּסנדר האַרקאַווי, russian: Александр Гаркави, ''Aleksandr Garkavi''; May 5, 1863 at Nowogrudok (), Minsk guberniya (''governorate''), Russian Empire (now Navahrudak, Hrodna Voblast ...

, a Hebrew Bible translation in English, contains the form ''Jehovah'' where it appears in the King James Version except in Isaiah 26:4. * The

Modern Language Bible The Modern Language Bible carries the subtitle, The New Berkeley Version The Berkeley Version is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published by Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing ...

—''The New Berkeley Version in Modern English'' (1969) renders ''Jehovah'' in Genesis 22:14, Exodus 3:15, Exodus 6:3 and Isaiah 12:2. This translation was a revision of an earlier translation by

Gerrit Verkuyl Gerrit Verkuijl or Gerrit Verkuyl (18 September 1872, Haarlemmermeer – 19 March 1967, Alameda, California) was a New Testament Greek scholar and Bible Translator. He emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States at 21, becoming a farmhan ...

. * The

New English Bible The New English Bible (NEB) is an English translation of the Bible. The New Testament was published in 1961 and the Old Testament (with the Apocrypha) was published on 16 March 1970. In 1989, it was significantly revised and republished as the R ...

(1970) published by Oxford University Press uses ' in Exodus 3:15-16 and 6:3, and in four place names at Genesis 22:14, Exodus 17:15, Judges 6:24 and Ezekiel 48:35. A total of 7 times. * The King James II Version (1971) by Jay P. Green, Sr., published by Associated Publishers and Authors, renders ''Jehovah'' at Psalms 68:4 in addition to where it appears in the Authorized King James Version, a total of 8 times. * The Living Bible (1971) by

Kenneth N. Taylor Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor (May 8, 1917 – June 10, 2005) was an American publisher and author, better known as the creator of ''The Living Bible'' and the founder of Tyndale House, a Christian publishing company, and Living Bibles Internat ...

, published by

Tyndale House Tyndale House is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Ch ...

Publishers, Illinois, ''Jehovah'' appears 428 times according to the Living Bible Concordance by Jack Atkeson Speer and published by Poolesville Presbyterian Church; 2nd edition (1973). *

The Bible in Living English The Bible in Living English is a translation of the Bible by Steven T. Byington. History Byington translated the Bible on his own for 45 years from 1898 to 1943, but was unable to have it published during his lifetime. After he died in 1957, t ...

(1972) by

Steven T. Byington Steven Tracy Byington (birthname Stephen) (December 10, 1869 – October 12, 1957) was a noted intellectual, translator, and American individualist anarchist. Life He was born in Westford, Vermont, and later moved to Ballardvale section of Ando ...

, published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, renders the name ''Jehovah'' throughout the Old Testament over 6,800 times. *

Green's Literal Translation Green's Literal Translation or the Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV) is a translation of the Bible by Jay P. Green, Sr., first published in 1985. The LITV takes a literal, formal equivalence approach to translation. The Masoretic Text ...

(1985) by Jay P. Green, published by Sovereign Grace Publishers, renders the Tetragrammaton as ''Jehovah'' 6,866 times. * The

21st Century King James Version The 21st Century King James Version is an updated version of the King James Version Bible published in 1994 that stays true to the Textus Receptus, and does not delete Bible passages based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts. However, in contrast ...

(1994), published by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., renders ''Jehovah'' at Psalms 68:4 in addition to where it appears in the Authorized King James Version, a total of 8 times. A revision including the Apocrypha entitled the

Third Millennium Bible The Third Millennium Bible (TMB), also known as the New Authorized Version, is a 1998 minor update of the King James Version of the Bible. Unlike the New King James Version, it does not alter the language significantly from the 1611 version, ret ...

(1998) also renders ''Jehovah'' in the same verses. * The

American King James Version The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Aramaic, Greek, and Hebrew. The Latin Vulgate translation was dominant in Western Christianity through the Middle Ages. Since then, the Bible has been translated in ...

(1999) by Michael Engelbrite renders ''Jehovah'' in all the places where it appears in the Authorized King James Version. * The

Recovery Version The Recovery Version is a modern English translation of the Bible from the original languages, published by Living Stream Ministry. It is the commonly used translation of the local churches. The New Testament was published in 1985 with stu ...

(1999, 2003, 2016) renders the Tetragrammaton as Jehovah throughout the Old Testament 6,841 times. * The New Heart English Translation (Jehovah Edition) (2010) Public Domain work with no copyrightuses "Jehovah" 6837 times. Bible translations with the divine name in the New Testament: * In the

Emphatic Diaglott The ''Emphatic Diaglott'' is a diaglot, or two-language polyglot translation, of the New Testament by Benjamin Wilson, first published in 1864. It is an interlinear translation with the original Greek text and a word-for-word English translatio ...

(1864) a Greek-English Interlinear translation of the New Testament by Benjamin Wilson, the name ''Jehovah'' appears eighteen times. * The Five Pauline Epistles, A New Translation (1900) by William Gunion Rutherford uses the name ''Jehovah'' six times in the Book of Romans. Bible translations with the divine name in both the Old Testament and the New Testament: render the Tetragrammaton as ''Jehovah'' either exclusively or in selected verses: * In the

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first, in 1950, ...

(1961, 1984, 2013) published by the

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate doc ...

, ''Jehovah'' appears 7,199 times in the 1961 edition, 7,210 times in the 1984 revision and 7,216 times in the 2013 revision, comprising 6,979 instances in the Old Testament, and 237 in the New Testament—including 70 of the 78 times where the New Testament quotes an Old Testament passage containing the Tetragrammaton, where the Tetragrammaton does not appear in any extant Greek manuscript. * The Original Aramaic Bible in Plain English (2010) by David Bauscher, a self-published English translation of the New Testament, from the Aramaic of The Peshitta New Testament with a translation of the ancient Aramaic Peshitta version of Psalms & Proverbs, contains the word "JEHOVAH" approximately 239 times in the New Testament, where the Peshitta itself does not. In addition, "Jehovah" also appears 695 times in the Psalms and 87 times in Proverbs, totaling 1,021 instances. * The Divine Name King James Bible (2011) - Uses JEHOVAH 6,973 times throughout the OT, and LORD with Jehovah in parentheses 128 times in the NT.

Non-usage

The Douay Version of 1609 renders the phrase in Exodus 6:3 as "and my name Adonai", and in its footnote says: "Adonai is not the name here vttered to Moyses but is redde in place of the vnknowen name". The Challoner revision (1750) uses ''ADONAI'' with a note stating, "some moderns have framed the name Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians." Various Messianic Jewish Bible translations use ''Adonai'' (

Complete Jewish Bible Messianic Bible translations are translations, or editions of translations, in English of the Christian Bible, some of which are widely used in the Messianic Judaism and Hebrew Roots communities. They are not the same as Jewish English Bible tra ...

(1998),

Tree of Life Version The Tree of Life Version of the Holy Scriptures (TLV), first published in 2014, is a Messianic Judaism, Messianic Jewish translation of the Hebrew Bible (or TA-NA-KH) and the New Testament (or New Covenant) sponsored by the Messianic Jewish Family B ...

(2014) or ''Hashem'' (

Orthodox Jewish Bible Messianic Bible translations are translations, or editions of translations, in English of the Christian Bible, some of which are widely used in the Messianic Judaism and Hebrew Roots communities. They are not the same as Jewish English Bible tran ...

(2002)). A few sacred name Bibles use the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

instead of a generic title (e.g., the LORD) or a conjectural transliteration (e.g., Yahweh or Jehovah): * The Scriptures (ISR) Version (1993, 1998, 2009) * Sacred Name King James Bible (2005). * HalleluYah Scriptures (2009, 2015). * Literal English Version (2014) Most modern translations exclusively use ''Lord'' or ', generally indicating that the corresponding Hebrew is ''

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he poss ...

'' or ''

YHWH The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

'' (not ''JHVH''), and in some cases saying that this name is "traditionally" transliterated as ''Jehovah'':English Standard Version Translation Oversight Committe
Preface to the English Standard Version
Quote: "When the vowels of the word adonai are placed with the consonants of YHWH, this results in the familiar word Jehovah that was used in some earlier English Bible translations. As is common among English translations today, the ESV usually renders the personal name of God (YHWH) with the word Lord (printed in small capitals)."Bruce M. Metzger for the New Revised Standard Version Committee.
To the Reader
p. 5 * The Revised Standard Version (1952), an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901, replaced all 6,823 usages of ''Jehovah'' in the 1901 text with "" or "", depending on whether the Hebrew of the verse in question is read "Adonai" or "Elohim" in Jewish practice. A footnote on Exodus 3:15 says: "The word when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH." The preface states: "The word 'Jehovah' does not accurately represent any form of the name ever used in Hebrew". * The New American Bible (1970, revised 1986, 1991). Its footnote to Genesis 4:25–26 says: "... men began to call God by his personal name, Yahweh, rendered as "the " in this version of the Bible." * The

New American Standard Bible The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an English translation of the Bible. Published by the Lockman Foundation, the complete NASB was released in 1971. The NASB relies on recently published critical editions of the original Hebrew and Gre ...

(1971, updated 1995), another revision of the 1901 American Standard Version, followed the example of the Revised Standard Version. Its footnotes to and state: "Related to the name of God, YHWH, rendered , which is derived from the verb HAYAH, to be"; "Heb YHWH, usually rendered ". In its preface it says: "It is known that for many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh, however no complete certainty attaches to this pronunciation." * The Bible in Today's English (

Good News Bible Good News Bible (GNB), also called the Good News Translation (GNT) in the United States, is an English translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society. It was first published as the New Testament under the name ''Good News for Modern Man'' ...

), published by the American Bible Society (1976). Its preface states: "the distinctive Hebrew name for God (usually transliterated Jehovah or Yahweh) is in this translation represented by 'The Lord'." A footnote to states: "I am sounds like the Hebrew name Yahweh traditionally transliterated as Jehovah." * The New International Version (1978, revised 2011). Footnote to , "The Hebrew for sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I AM in verse 14." * The New King James Version (1982), though based on the King James Version, replaces ''JEHOVAH'' wherever it appears in the Authorized King James Version with "", and adds a note: "Hebrew YHWH, traditionally Jehovah", except at Psalms 68:4, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 26:4 and Isaiah 38:11 where the tetragrammaton is rendered "Yah". * The

God's Word Translation The ''God's Word Translation'' (GW) is an English translation of the Bible translated by the God's Word to the Nations Society. History The ''God's Word Translation'' of the Bible was produced by the God's Word to the Nations Bible Mission S ...

(1985). * The

New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.New Century Version The New Century Version (NCV) is a revision of the International Children's Bible (ICB). The ICB is a translation of the Bible that was aimed at young readers and those with low reading skills/limited vocabulary in English. It is written at a 3rd ...

(1987, revised 1991). * The

New International Reader's Version The New International Reader's Version (NIrV) is an English translation of the Christian Bible. Translated by the International Bible Society (now Biblica) following a similar philosophy as the New International Version (NIV), but written in a s ...

(1995). * The

Contemporary English Version The Contemporary English Version or CEV (also known as Bible for Today's Family) is a translation of the Bible into English, published by the American Bible Society. An anglicized version was produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society, w ...

or CEV (also known as Bible for Today's Family) (1995). * The English Standard Version (2001). Footnote to , "The word , when spelled with capital letters, stands for the divine name, YHWH, which is here connected with the verb hayah, 'to be'." * The

Common English Bible The Common English Bible (CEB) is an English translation of the Bible whose language is intended to be at a comfortable reading level for the majority of English readers. The translation was begun in late 2008 and was finished in 2011. It includes ...

(2011). * The

Modern English Version The Modern English Version (MEV) is an English translation of the Bible begun in 2005 and completed in 2014. The work was edited by James F. Linzey, and is an update of the King James Version (KJV), re-translated from the Masoretic Text and the ...

(2014). A few translations use titles such as The ''Eternal'': *

Moffatt, New Translation Moffatt, New Translation (MNT) is an abbreviation of the title ''The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments, a New Translation'' by James Moffatt. Description In the introduction to his 1926 edition, Moffatt wrote, "The aim I have ende ...

(1922) *

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

(2012) Some translations use both ''Yahweh'' and ': * The Bible,

An American Translation ''The Bible: An American Translation'' (AAT) is an English version of the Bible consisting of the Old Testament translated by a group of scholars under the editorship of John Merlin Powis Smith, the Apocrypha translated by Edgar J. Goodspeed, ...

(1939) by J.M. Powis Smith and Edgar J. Goodspeed. Generally uses "" but uses ''Yahweh'' and/or "Yah" exactly where '' Jehovah '' appears in the King James Version except in Psalms 83:18, "Yahweh" also appears in Exodus 3:15. * The

Amplified Bible ''The Amplified Bible'' (AMP) is an English language translation of the Bible produced jointly by Zondervan and The Lockman Foundation. The first edition as a complete volume was published in 1965. “Amplifications” are words or phrases int ...

(1965, revised 1987) generally uses ''Lord'', but translates as: "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty l-Shaddai but by My name the Lord ahweh—the redemptive name of GodI did not make Myself known to them n acts and great miracles" * The

New Living Translation The New Living Translation (NLT) is an English translation of the Bible. The origin of the NLT came from a project aiming to revise '' The Living Bible'' (TLB). This effort eventually led to the creation of the NLT—a new translation separat ...

(1996), produced by

Tyndale House Tyndale House is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, Illinois. History Tyndale was founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor in order to publish his paraphrase of the Epistles, which he had composed while commuting to work at Moody Press in Ch ...

Publishers as a successor to the Living Bible, generally uses ', but uses ''Yahweh'' in and . * The

Holman Christian Standard Bible The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The New Testament was published in 1999, followed by the full Bible in March 2004. Beginnings The roots of the HCSB can be traced ...

(2004, revised 2008) mainly uses ', but in its second edition increased the number of times it uses ''Yahweh'' from 78 to 495 (in 451 verses). Some translate the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

exclusively as ''Yahweh'': * Rotherham's

Emphasized Bible Joseph Bryant Rotherham's Emphasized Bible (abbreviated EBR to avoid confusion with the REB) is a translation of the Bible which uses various methods, such as "emphatic idiom" and special diacritical marks, to bring out nuances of the underlyi ...

(1902) retains "Yahweh" throughout the Old Testament. * The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonica ...

(1966). * The New Jerusalem Bible (1985). * The

Christian Community Bible The Christian Community Bible is a translation of the Christian Bible in the English language originally produced in the Philippines. It is part of a family of translations in multiple languages intended to be more accessible to ordinary readers, ...

(1988) is a translation of the Christian Bible in the English language originally produced in the Philippines and uses "Yahweh". * The

World English Bible The World English Bible (WEB) is an English translation of the Bible freely shared online. The translation work began in 1994 and was deemed complete in 2020. Created by volunteers with oversight by Michael Paul Johnson, the WEB is an updated ...

(1997) is based on the 1901 American Standard Version, but uses "Yahweh" instead of "Jehovah". * Hebraic Roots Bible (2009, 2012) * The

Lexham English Bible The Lexham English Bible (LEB) is an online Bible released by Logos Bible Software. The New Testament was published in October 2010 and has an audio narration spoken by Marv Allen. It lists as General Editor W. Hall Harris, III. The Old Testamen ...

(2011) uses "Yahweh" in the Old Testament. *

Names of God Bible Sacred Name Bibles are Bible translations that consistently use Hebraic forms of the God of Israel's personal name, instead of its English language translation, in both the Old and New Testaments. Some Bible versions, such as the Jerusalem Bibl ...

(2011, 2014), edited by Ann Spangler and published by

Baker Publishing Group Baker Publishing Group is a Christian book publisher that discusses historic Christian happenings for its evangelical readers. It is based in Ada, Michigan and has six subdivisions: namely Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Baker Academic, Chos ...

. The core text of the 2011 edition uses the ''God's Word'' translation. The core text of the 2014 edition uses the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

, and includes ''Jehovah'' next to ''Yahweh'' where "LORD Jehovah" appears in the source text. The print edition of both versions have divine names printed in brown and includes a commentary. Both editions use "Yahweh" in the Old Testament. * The

Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition (SSBE) is a Sacred Name Bible which uses the names Yahweh and Yahshua in both the Old and New Testaments (''Chamberlin'' p. 51-3). It was produced by Jacob O. Meyer, based on the American Standard Ver ...

(1981) is a Sacred Name Bible which uses the name "Yahweh" in both the Old and New Testaments (Chamberlin p. 51-3). It was produced by the Assemblies of Yahweh elder, the late Jacob O. Meyer, based on the American Standard Version of 1901.

Other usage

JEHOVAH at RomanCatholic Church Martinskirche Olten

Following the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, before and after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

some churches and public buildings across Europe were decorated with variants and cognates of "Jehovah". For example, the

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of Plymouth (UK) City Council bears the Latin inscription, ''Turris fortissima est nomen Jehova'' (English, "The name of Jehovah is the strongest tower"), derived from . Lyrics of some Christian hymns, for example, "Guide me, O thou great Jehovah", include "Jehovah". The form also appears in some reference books and novels, appearing several times in the novel ''

The Greatest Story Ever Told ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens. It is a retelling of the Biblical account about Jesus of Nazareth, from the Nativity through to the Ascension. Along with the ensemble cast ...

,'' by Catholic author

Fulton Oursler Charles Fulton Oursler (January 22, 1893 – May 24, 1952) was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an author of mysteries and detective fiction. His son was the journalist and author Will Ou ...

. Some religious groups, notably Jehovah's Witnesses and proponents of the

King-James-Only movement The King James Only movement asserts the belief that the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is superior to all other translations of the Bible. Adherents of the King James Only movement, mostly members of Conservative Anabaptist, Conservativ ...

, continue to use Jehovah as the only

name of God There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word ''god'' (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun to refer to different deities, or speci ...

. In

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of ...

, "Jehovah" is thought to be the name by which Jesus was known prior to his birth; references to "the " in the KJV Old Testament are therefore understood to be references to the pre-mortal Jesus, whereas God the Father, who is regarded as a separate individual, is sometimes referred to as " Elohim". "Jehovah" is twice rendered in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...

, in 2 Nephi 22:2 and Moroni 10:34.

Similar Greek names

Ancient

* (, ): ''

Pistis Sophia ''Pistis Sophia'' ( grc-koi, Πίστις Σοφία) is a Gnostic text discovered in 1773, possibly written between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. The existing manuscript, which some scholars place in the late 4th century, relates one Gnostic g ...

'' cited by Charles William King, which also gives (, (2nd century) * (, ): ''Pistis Sophia'' (2nd century) * (, ), the seven vowels of the Greek alphabet arranged in this order. Charles William King attributes to a work that he calls ''On Interpretations'' the statement that this was the Egyptian name of the supreme God. He comments: "This is in fact a very correct representation, if we give each vowel its true Greek sound, of the Hebrew pronunciation of the word Jehovah." (2nd century) * ():

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

, who says that Sanchuniathon received the records of the Jews from Hierombalus, priest of the god Ieuo. (c. 315) * ():

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

magical text (2nd–3rd centuries), M. Kyriakakes (2000)

Modern

* (like Jehova : Paolo Medici (1755) * (like Je va : Greek ''

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

'' (1833), ''Holy Bible'' translated in

Katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...

Greek by Neophytus Vamvas (1850) * (like Jehova : Panagiotes Trempelas (1958)

Similar Latin and English transcriptions

Tetragrammaton Lat JOVA Hexapla Prov 3 19

Transcriptions of similar to ''Jehovah'' occurred as early as the 12th century. * ''Ieve'':

Petrus Alphonsi Petrus Alphonsi (died after 1116) was a Jewish Spanish physician, writer, astronomer and polemicist who converted to Christianity in 1106. He is also known just as Alphonsi, and as Peter Alfonsi or Peter Alphonso, and was born Moses Sephardi. ...

(c. 1106), Alexander GeddesSee comments at Exodus 6:2, 3 in his ''Critical Remarks on the Hebrew Scriptures'' (1800). (1800) * ''Jehova'': Raymond Martin (Raymundus Martini)''Pugio Fidei'', in which Martin argued that the vowel points were added to the Hebrew text only in the 10th century
Thomas D. Ross, ''The Battle over the Hebrew Vowel Points Examined Particularly as Waged in England''
p. 5). (1278),

Porchetus de Salvaticis Porchetus Salvagus (Victor Porchetto de Salvatici) (died c. 1315), sometimes referred to as Porchetus, was an Italian Carthusian monk from Genoa, Italy. Variants of his name include: ''Porcheus de Salva ignis'', ''Salvagus'', ''Salvagus Porchetus' ...

(1303), Tremellius (1575), Marcus Marinus (1593), Charles IX of Sweden (1606), Rosenmüller (1820),

Wilhelm Gesenius Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic. Biography Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he became ...

(c. 1830) * ''Yohoua'': Raymond Martin (1278) * ''Yohouah'': Porchetus de Salvaticis (1303) * ''Ieoa'':

Nicholas of Cusa Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic cardinal, philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Re ...

(1428) * ''Iehoua'': Nicholas of Cusa (1428), Peter Galatin (Galatinus) (1516) * ''Iehova'': Nicholas of Cusa (1428),

Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples ( Latinized as Jacobus Faber Stapulensis; c. 1455 – c. 1536) was a French theologian and a leading figure in French humanism. He was a precursor of the Protestant movement in France. The "d'Étaples" was not part of ...

(1514),

Sebastian Münster Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...

(1526),

Leo Jud Leo Jud (; also Leo Juda, Leo Judä, Leo Judas, Leonis Judae, Ionnes Iuda, Leo Keller; 1482 – 19 June 1542), known to his contemporaries as Meister Leu, was a Swiss reformer who worked with Huldrych Zwingli in Zürich. Biography Jud was born ...

(1543),

Robert Estienne The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(1557) * ''Ihehoua'': Nicholas of Cusa (1428) * ''Jova'': 16th century, Rosenmüller''Scholia in Vetus Testamentum'', vol. 3, part 3, pp. 8, 9, etc. (1820) * ''Jehovah'':

Paul Fagius Paul Fagius (1504 – 13 November 1549) was a Renaissance scholar of Biblical Hebrew and Protestant reformer. Life Fagius was born at Rheinzabern in 1504. His father was a teacher and council clerk. In 1515 he went to study at the University of ...

(1546), John Calvin (1557), King James Bible (1671 T/ 1669 T,

Matthew Poole Matthew Poole (1624–1679) was an English Non-conformist theologian and biblical commentator. Life to 1662 He was born at York, the son of Francis Pole, but he spelled his name Poole, and in Latin Polus; his mother was a daughter of Alderman T ...

(1676),

Benjamin Kennicott Benjamin Kennicott (4 April 171818 September 1783) was an English churchman and Hebrew scholar. Life Kennicott was born at Totnes, Devon where he attended Totnes Grammar School. He succeeded his father as master of a charity school, but the gene ...

(1753), Alexander Geddes (1800) * ''Iehouáh'': Geneva Bible (1560) * ''Iehovah'': Authorized King James Version (1611),

Henry Ainsworth Henry Ainsworth (1571–1622) was an English Nonconformist clergyman and scholar. He led the Ancient Church, a Brownist or English Separatist congregation in Amsterdam alongside Francis Johnson from 1597, and after their split led his own con ...

(1627) * ''Jovae'': Rosenmüller (1820) * ''Yehovah'': William Baillie (1843) * ''Jahovah'': Sebastian Schmidt (1872), Samuel Hammond (1899)

Footnotes

Notes

References

*

External links

* * * *
"Tetragrammaton", ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' 1906
{{Names of God 16th-century neologisms Deities in the Hebrew Bible Christianity and Judaism related controversies Names of God in Christianity Names of God in Judaism Reconstructed words Tetragrammaton Yahweh ja:ヤハウェ (ヘブライ語)

Pronunciation

Development

Vowel points of and

Introduction into English

Hebrew vowel points

Proponents of pre-Christian origin

Proponents of later origin

Early modern arguments

Discourses rejecting ''Jehovah''

Discourses defending ''Jehovah''

Summary of discourses

Usage in English Bible translations

Non-usage

Other usage

Similar Greek names

Ancient

Modern

Similar Latin and English transcriptions

See also

Footnotes

Notes

References

External links