THE NAME OF GOD
We sing songs with lyrics like, "Hallelujah, praise Jehovah." But if you use a modern English translation, you probably won't find the word "Jehovah" in your Bible. Instead, you'll likely find the expression "the Lord." And in some translations, you'll find the word "Yahweh." All of these words represent the Hebrew word YHWH. But which most accuratley represents the Hebrew word YHWH: Jehovah, Lord, or Yahweh? Bridgeway Bible Dictionary says:
The word 'Jehovah' probably never existed in the Hebrew language. Originally Hebrew was written with consonants only, the readers supplying the vowels as they read. The word from which 'Jehovah'comes consists of the consonants YHWH, and was probably pronounced 'Yahweh'. Transliterations of the word in other languages support this as the likely pronounciation.
Absolute certainty, however, is not possible, as there are no Hebrew records old enough to preserve the original pronounciation. By the time written Hebrew had established the practice of adding vowels to the consonants, the Jews no longer spoke the name YHWH. They claimed this was because of their reverence for God's name, but for many it was more because of superstition. Whatever the reason, the practice became universal that when Jews read the Scriptures, instead of speaking the word YHWH, they substitited the word adonai, meaning 'lord' or 'master.'
When, about 300 BC, a new version of the Hebrew Bible added vowels to the consonants for the first time, it put the vowels of adonai to the consonants YHWH. This resulted in the word 'Jehovah', though the Jews continued to subsitute the word adonai, for YHWH when speaking. Many English versions of the Bible have avoided the pronounciation problem by using the expression 'the Lord' (in capital letters) for YHWH.
We know that translators are justified for using the expression "the Lord" for YHWH since Jesus Himself did so when quoting Psalm 110:1 in Matthew 22:42. However "Yahweh," not "Jehovah," is probably the correct way to pronounce YHWH. But that doesn't mean there's any harm in singing songs like, "Hallelujah, praise Jehovah." We know who we mean when we say, "Jehovah."
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