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The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition (SSBE) is a
Sacred Name Bible Sacred Name Bibles are Bible translations that consistently use Hebraic forms of the Yahweh, God of Israel's personal name, instead of its English language translation, in both the Old Testament, Old and New Testaments. Some Bible versions, such ...
which uses the names
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 posse ...
and
Yahshua Yahshua is a proposed transliteration of , the original Hebrew name of Jesus. The pronunciation ''Yahshua'' is philologically impossible in the original Hebrew and has no support in archeological findings, such as the Dead Sea scrolls or inscrip ...
in both the Old and New Testaments (''Chamberlin'' p. 51-3). It was produced by Jacob O. Meyer, based on 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 b ...
of 1901 and it contains over 977 pages. The
Assemblies of Yahweh The Assemblies of Yahweh is a nonprofit religious organization with its international headquarters in Bethel, Pennsylvania, United States. The organization developed independently out of a radio ministry begun by Jacob O. Meyer in 1966.''Histo ...
printed 5,500 copies of the first edition in 1981. It is also used by some members of the
Sacred Name Movement The Sacred Name Movement (SNM) refers to the movement within Adventism which, prompted by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, were concerned with the Hebrew name of God, a concern that led the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society to the adoption of the nam ...
.


History


Use

In the early years of the ministry, Jacob O. Meyer, the Directing Elder of the Assemblies of Yahweh, would preach using a
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 ...
(KJV) Bible, simply replacing
Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...
,
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 religious ...
and
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
by
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 posse ...
and
Yahshua Yahshua is a proposed transliteration of , the original Hebrew name of Jesus. The pronunciation ''Yahshua'' is philologically impossible in the original Hebrew and has no support in archeological findings, such as the Dead Sea scrolls or inscrip ...
. The KJV presented a problem in that, as pointed out by Bible scholars, there are numerous errors in the text. During the late 19th century and on to the early 20th century, a number of notable Bible translations came about which were more accurate than their predecessor, the KJV. These include 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 b ...
, the
New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest an ...
and 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 ...
. The year 1966 saw the significant progressive step of a Bible produced by the Roman Catholic Church, 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 deuterocanonical ...
. In their effort to be literal with their translation they retained the Sacred Name Yahweh in the Old Testament texts, but as a limited Sacred Name Bible did not include it in the New Testament texts. Other limited Sacred Name Bibles were produced such as the Anchor Bible, but none which seamlessly retained Yahweh (or indeed Yahshua) throughout the texts. This was one of the main reasons why the Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition came in to being.


Based on the ASV

As Meyer studied Hebrew and Greek and the original texts, Meyer came to believe that most false doctrines found in modern religious teaching originated from the translation of the text into modern language, not in the original texts. For example, the SSBE does not use the term "
cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
" in reference to the death fixture used on the Messiah, but rather stake or pole. Meyer chose the ASV as a basis for the SSBE translation as Meyer noticed that professors would often comment that the English language that would provide the best approximation of the original text was the American Standard Version. Meyer wrote in the preface of the Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition:


A joint effort

As Meyer wished the Assemblies of Yahweh to be in complete unity, all reading from the same Bible rather than different people reading different versions, Meyer put out an annual report around the
Feast of Tabernacles or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Judaism, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopaganism, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei ...
in 1980. In the annual report, he announced that the project of producing an accurate Bible translation would go forth for the glory of Almighty Yahweh. Firstly, the funds had to be acquired for typesetting, printing and binding expenses, as well as the cost of time spent reviewing, editing and making corrections. Donations came in from all over the world to complete the project. That, with securing a loan from the bank, made it possible to advance this project. In the Spring – Summer of 1981, editing was done to the text, assisted by office staff and Obadiah School of the Bible students. Because the editing work was being done in a time before the computer technology became common, editorial changes were all done by hand by Meyer. Not only were Yahweh and Yahshua put back in the text to replace LORD and Jesus but also the Hebrew titles
Elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...
,
Eloah ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...
and El were also restored to the texts. Further, the Shakespearean English was updated to reflect the usage of language in the 20th century.


Published and distributed

The manuscripts were completed by Autumn in 1981. The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition went to press and was delivered to the International Headquarters between December 1981 and January 1982. The Assemblies of Yahweh have continuously had the SSBE on display at the altar table of the Bethel Meeting Hall opened to Psalm 101 – Psalm 103.


Sacred names

Sacred Name supporters often cite from passages such as where, in the original Hebrew texts,
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 '' ...
() is found. The name is found approximately 7,000 times in the
Hebrew Scriptures The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Encyclopedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langua ...
makes the following statement: Prominent religious leaders have agreed that Yahweh cannot be translated into any word exactly (''Herbert Armstrong'', pp. 128 – 129), while other Bible translators point out that the reason for not pronouncing Yahweh and producing the form Jehovah, was due to a misunderstanding of Jewish tradition (''Anchor Bible'', page XIV). Bible translations such as the 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 ...
, the Anchor Bible, and 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 deuterocanonical ...
have retained the name Yahweh in the Old Testament. The SSBE is one of the few English Bible translations that uses Yahweh in both the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
and the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
.


Notable aspects


Preface section

The SSBE is distinguishable by its
preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes ...
section, which describes the setting, language and name of the Bible. Evidence is offered to show how the rendering ''
Jehovah Jehovah () is a Latinization of the Hebrew , one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament. The Tetragrammaton is considered one of the seven names of God in Judais ...
'' is a serious mispronunciation of the
Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, 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 (l ...
. Among some of the terms used by scholars to describe the name Jehovah are "morphological monstrosity" and a "mispronunciation". Meyer writes in the ''Sacred Name Broadcaster'': "We as humans cannot choose the name which we personally wish to call him. He has already named himself Sacred Name Broadcaster, (4/1987), Radio Message: A Name That Endures Forever, a publication of the Assemblies of Yahweh; Meyer, Elder Jacob and that "the best transliteration of this name into English is spelled ''Yahweh'', and is so pronounced". They therefore reject the English titles for God's name, claiming to trace such titles etymologically to the worship of other deities.


Corrected terms

The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition uses terms that Meyer felt were corrections from previous versions, including Yahweh in both the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
and the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
. While Greek anarthrous "God" is rendered as
Elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...
(e.g. John 1:1c), the arthrous "the God" is mostly as "Yahweh" (e.g. John 1:1b). The name of the Messiah, commonly referred to as
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 religious ...
, is rendered as Yahshua. Instead of the
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 ...
word ''Christ'', it uses the
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 ...
word ''
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
'', and instead of ''
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
'' it uses ''assembly''. Also, the translation does not use the terms ''
cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
'' and ''
crucify Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
'' but ''
torture stake Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
'' and ''
impale Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...
''. The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition concludes with a "pure religious vocabulary" section, which gives the explanation of words which should be avoided for those seeking "to purify their personal worship". The glossary of terms briefly traces and presents the etymology of words used frequently by Christian theologians that the translator claims are pagan in origin.


Editions

The Assemblies of Yahweh continue to use the SSBE as their preferred text. , it has undergone seven printings: 1981, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2008. The Sacred Scriptures Bethel Edition is available at at least one library in England and at least one in the United States and is used at Dalet School and Obadiah School of the Bible, both in Bethel, Pennsylvania.


See also

* Names and titles of God in the New Testament *
Nomina sacra In Christian scribal practice, nomina sacra (singular: ''nomen sacrum'' from Latin ''sacred name'') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A nomen sacrum consists ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

*
Official Assemblies of Yahweh site
{{authority control, state=expanded 1981 non-fiction books 1981 in Christianity Bible translations into English Sacred Name Movement