Why wont JWs try to answer a question when it proves that they are wrong?

http://www.bible.ca/jw-YHWH.htm

Jehovah’s Witnesses add "Jehovah" into the New Testament!

1. The New World Translation adds "Jehovah" into the New Testament 237 times, where there is absolutely no ancient manuscript evidence of any kind to support it.

2. Even the Watchtower admits this to be true! "no ancient Greek manuscript that we possess today of the books from Matthew to Revelation contains God's name in full." (The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, Watchtower booklet)

3. While the Hebrew Old Testament does contain YHWH many times, the Greek New Testament, NEVER uses the name of God YHWH. In words JW’s would understand: "Jehovah is never found in the New Testament, but was added by the Watchtower society to support their false doctrine."

4. When you point this most significant fact out to Jehovah’s Witnesses, they first think you are a liar. Then second, they thoughtfully twitch in stunned wonder as to how this could possibly be true. Then third, they run off to "the higher ranking" to learn that what Christians first told them is in fact true! Finally they are told the most bizarre lies by "the higher ranking".

5. After JW’s have recovered from the initial shock that the Greek New Testament NEVER uses the word "Jehovah" (YHWH), the answer is even more shocking and disturbing, than the original news!

6. Jehovah’s Witnesses actually teach that the gospel of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew and that this original Hebrew copy of Matthew (the one written by Matthew’s own hand) did contain YHWH. Problem is, no one has ever found any evidence of a Hebrew Matthew original, and this still doesn’t explain why the Jew world Translation add’s Jehovah in the books Paul wrote.

Rev 19:1-6 does not use YHWH, but YAH

1. The Fourfold "Hallelujah" of Rev 19:1-6 is used as proof that YHWH is used four times in the New Testament. The word means "praise to JAH" not Praise to YHWH. We repeat, the Tetragrammaton is NEVER used even once in the New Testament.

2. "Alleluia—Hebrew, "Praise ye Jah," or Jehovah: here first used in Revelation, whence Ellicott infers the Jews bear a prominent part in this thanksgiving. Jah is not a contraction of "Jehovah," as it sometimes occurs jointly with the latter. It means "He who Is": whereas Jehovah is "He who will be, is, and was." It implies God experienced as a present help; so that "Hallelujah," says Kimchi in Bengel, is found first in the Psalms on the destruction of the ungodly. "Hallelu-Jah" occurs four times in this passage." (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D)

3. In Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4 both Jah and YHWH are used beside each other IN THE SAME VERSE. This proves that Jah is not a simple abbreviated/shorted form of YHWH.

"Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD [Jah YHWH], GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2

"Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD [Jah] the LORD [YHWH], we have an everlasting Rock." Isaiah 26:4

4. Those who use Rev 19:1 as an example of the divine name are left stumbling when they learn the following: It is Jah not YHWH and the Holy Spirit doesn’t shorten psalm 146:1, but He quotes it Jah for Jah, not Jah for YHWH.

5. Hallelujah is used in these passages: Ps 104:35; 105:45; 106:1, 48; 112:1; 113:1, 9; 115:18; 116:19; 117:2; 135:1, 3, 21. These Psalms begin and end with Hallelujah: Ps. 146:1, 10; 147:1, 20; 148:1, 14; 149:1, 9; 150:1, 6.

6. To summarize. The Holy Spirit used Hallelujah some 30 times in the Old Testament and Hallelujah is used only 4 times in New Testament. The word Jah, which is one of the conjunctive components of Hallelujah, is used twice beside YHWH (Jah HYWH).

7. Some argue that there are many shortened forms of YHWH in seen in the various Old Testament names of God’s people like Yah, Yahu, Y'ho, and Yo. Suggested examples are: Isaiah (Heb. Yesha`yahu), Joel (Hebrew Yo'el), Joshua (Hebrew Y'hoshua`), and Abijah (Hebrew Aviyyah). It is suggested that these names each use a shortened form of YHWH. Isaiah uses Yahu, Joel uses Yo, Y'hoshua uses Y'ho, and Abijah uses Yah. They are all shortened forms of YHWH. The problem is exposed with Joshua. Ex 6:3 clearly says that Moses was the first one to hear YHWH. Yet, Joshua, who was 20 years old before he ever met Moses was supposedly named after YHWH? There is no record of his name being changed when he met Moses. Even Moses’ mother was named "Jochebed" which is a compound word that some suggest derive from YHWH and glory: "Jehovah of Glory". All this before anyone on the planet had ever heard of God’s name given to the Jews through Moses: YHWH at the burning bush when he was 80 years old. So down goes that theory! Of course, some suggest that since the Jews developed that annoying and anti-biblical tradition of not pronouncing the name of God, that this explains why the name was not used in the NT. So supposedly the Jews would name their kids after YHWH, "God’s personal name", but never refer to God Himself as Jehovah. I can just hear it: "Now Jehovah, come home right after school, we have a soccer game and you know G-D tells you to obey your parents!"

8. All this is just silly and useless speculation. The Holy Spirit is the one who chose to never use YHWH in the New Testament. The suggestion that the Holy Spirit bowed to some anti-Biblical tradition of not using the divine name is just not worth consideration to serious Bible students!

You are making an assertion, not stating a fact. Jehovah's Witnesses continue to answer hundreds of questions on Y!A all the time, and not one question has ***proved*** that we are wrong.

Perhaps we don't answer some questions because they have already been answered many times over. Or maybe because the question simply holds no interest to us individually.

What "majority" use "Yehweh"? Please prove that assertion, or it remains just an assertion, not a fact. Who are the people that use 'Yehweh"? How many are they? Don't just make statements, back them up with facts, please.

Many scholars use "Yahweh," not "Yehweh." But even that is based on Greek pronunciations, not pure Hebrew.

"Jehovah" is not a form of YHWH that was created by Jehovah's Witnesses. But plenty of other people still use that form, in English and other languages, and especially people who still use the King James Bible, where Jehovah is found in big letters: JEHOVAH.

English people speak English, not Hebrew. What is "more accurate" in Hebrew is not particularly relevant to English.

And since the Hebrew text has no natural vowels for YHWH, ANY proposed "Hebrew" pronunciation is just a guess, and none can be stated definitely to be "more accurate" than any other.

But "Jehovah" has become naturalized in the English language (and in others) and it adequately identifies the one true God.

1) I did answer that first question. You should read it.

2) The original pronunciation of the divine name is unknown. Forget the name - the ancient pronunciation of Hebrew in general is unknown. For example, note what this Hebrew grammar says:

"Hebrew grammars reflect a great deal of variety in the systems of vowel

pronunciation that they recommend. Since it is impossible to reconstruct with

confidence the manner in which Hebrew was pronounced in antiquity, this

Grammar opts for a pronunciation system based on modern Hebrew."

-Learning to Read Biblical Hebrew, Robert Ray Ellis, 2006

It is really pointless to quibble over the exact vocal intonation of a word or name in an ancient language, when no one knows exactly how that language was pronounced.

Even if the pronunciation of the divine name was known for a certainty, that's no reason to change the English pronunciation Jehovah. Hebrew has one pronunciation for God's name, English has another. The same goes for other names - like Jesus. If the Bible stated that God's name must be pronounced a certain way, then let me assure you, Jehovah's Witnesses would pronounce that it way. But it doesn't. Hence, it's not scriptural to insist on a certain pronunciation.

I think one problem of "JWs not answering questions" is because some questions are fundamentally flawed. They're based on false premises. Therefore, JWs have to explain things to get a solid basis in which to answer a question. This explaining may be interpreted by some as "evading the question."

To directly address your question:

"How could the drastic alteration from the Hebrew tetragrammaton to Jehovah be considered as more accurate than Yehweh?"

Jehovah isn't a drastic alteration of the Hebrew compared to other Hebrew names in Englislh. Most Hebrew names came into English in this manner: From Hebrew then grecanized then latinized then anglicized. "Jehovah" actually skipped the grecanized part, and therefore is closer to the Hebrew original than some other Hebrew names. "Jesus" is more drastically altered than "Jehovah." "Jesus" started with four syllables and ended up with two. It even had a Hebrew consantant in it that has no English equivalent. Jesus in the Hebrew Masoretic text is: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ - YeHoSHua'. Actually, I think technically it's counted as three syllables, but the last syllable is pronounced OO-ah. The ' at the end of YeHoSHua' is an Ayin, a voiced pharyngeal fricative, which has no English equivalent. "Jesus" is world's away from YeHoSHua'. "Joshua" is closer. But even "Yeshua" used by Hebrew Name Purists is quite different from YeHoSHua'.

Again, Jehovah isn't "considered as more accurate" than Yahweh in Hebrew. Yahweh is more accurate if we're speaking Hebrew, but we're speaking English and Jehovah works fine.

You said and I quote:

"To use Yehweh only requires the addition of two e’s whereas the use of “Jehovah, still uses the two e’s but also changes the “Y” to a “J” and adds another “o” as well."

If you are going to play that game you have a LOT of name changing in the Bible, like for example .... mmmm .... let's see ..... oh right ....JESUS, and hundreds of other names that in ENGLISH have been translated with a "J" (i.e. Joshua, Jonadab, Jehu, and hundreds more)

Many in here have answered your question thoroughly! Now the fact that you don't agree with it doesn't mean that we can't answer it!

#QUESTION: How could the drastic alteration from the Hebrew tetragrammaton to Jehovah be considered as more accurate than Yehweh?

#ANSWER: "How the Divine name was originally pronounced cannot be known for sure. The exact pronunciation given by God directly to ancient worshippers has tragically been lost due to human superstitious reluctance to pronounce the Name aloud.

What we do have is the tetragrammaton (the 4 hebrew letters representing the name) => YHWH. While it certainly SEEMS that Yahweh (which undeniably includes Y, H, W, and H) would be a more accurate, there is much more to be considered...

THEOPHORIC NAMES

A theophoric name actually includes the divine name WITHIN them giving hints as to the tetragrammaton's original pronunciation. See chart (for examples)

http://photo.xanga.com/PRONOUNCINGTHENAME/743fb177...

All theophroic names are translated with "JEHO" in the beginning (for example Jesus in Hebrew was was JEHOshuah ) thus, "all the theophoric names suggest that YHWH had three syllables (as is found in Jehovah)." - Rolf Furuli Lecturer in Semitic languages, University of Oslo

" [...] The Hebrews took care of making either their names

begin with Yehô-, [...] For example, the name YHWHNN (John) is vocalized Yehôha-nan in Hebrew." -- M. Gérard GERTOUX( Hebrew scholar and specialist of the Tetragram;president of the Association Biblique de Recherche d'Anciens Manuscrits

"Yehova, which was in agreement with the beginning of all the theophoric names, was the authentic pronunciation..."

- Paul Drach, De l'harmonie entre l'église et la synagogue (Of the Harmony between the Church and the Synagogue)

So the evident suggests that a pronunciation similar to the THREE SYLLABLE "Yehowah" rather than two-syllable "Yahweh" is a more accurate reflection of the original pronunciation.

NOTES: Similar to the way in which the Messiah's earthly Hebrew name 'Yeshua' is normally pronounced as 'Jesus' in English**, most sincere persons are not uncomfortable with the traditional Hebrew-to-English translation of 'Yahweh' as 'Jehovah'.

The important thing is to use God’s personal name in whatever language you speak, rather than insisting upon the impersonal! Even the Hebrew name “Yahweh” is certainly preferable to the non-name “God”, just as the name “Jesus” (and English translation from the latin FAR from its hebrew (correct) pronuniciation) is good and acceptable - the asker no doubt included.

** "Y" in Hebrew - it is Always Translated into "J" in English.

I won't go into particulars on the usage and pronunciation of Jehovah's name. Several of Jehovah's Witnesses have answered that part very well with details and quotes worth examining.

But what may happen, which you may not be very aware of, is that if we are BLOCKED, we cannot answer a question for which we feel we have something to add.

I personally found questions that I would have LOVED to answer but was unable to because of being BLOCKED.

So please, do not assume that a lack of Witnesses answering is ALWAYS because we don't want to or that we know we could not offer any information to support our belief. Quite the contrary, we look for ways to express our beliefs to others and welcome any who will listen and converse respectfully.

We love to teach AND learn about the Bible.

Since many have answered the first half your opinion.

Let me address John 17:11.

This verse was fulfilled at (John 12:13) “. . .“Save, we pray you! Blessed is he that comes in Jehovah’s name, even the king of Israel!””

John 17:11 is another example of proof, that Jesus used Jehovah's name in teaching others.

Jehovah was the authority behind everything Jesus did.

Joh 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (NASB)

When was the last time you read that "God can not do anything of his own initiative?"

When was the last time you read that "God does not do his own will, but the will of him that sent him?"

Who has the authority to send God someplace?

.

The premise of your question is flawed, your argument is flawed, all you are trying to do is double-speak to those who are not aware of your lack of knowledge and ingrained hatred of Jehovah's Witnesses. You, the king sir, have no clothes just as your "argument" has no base. Try again.

Well I think that you're trying to mislead . . . JW's don't back of questions no matter what "proof" you think you've found.

If your Logic Train is going to stay on track shouldn't you pronounce Jesus' name as Yeshua? Or do some in Christendom have another case of double standards?

Greetings,

The only True God’s name in Hebrew is written YHWH and called The Tetragrammaton. The form Jehovah is the most recognizable rendering and is a perfectly accurate pronunciation of the Hebrew. "Jehovah" can be verified as an accurate rendering for YHWH by examination of theophoric names.

The original Hebrew name for God’s son is a theophoric because it contains the Divine Name. It is written YHWSA. No one knows exactly how it was pronounced but either Yeshua or Yehoshua are acceptable. And even though "Jesus" does not retain the Hebrew pronunciation it is the most recognizable is a perfectly accurate pronunciation.

The name Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation." Since Je– or Jeho- is the proper prefix for Christ's name this provides evidence for the propriety of the pronunciation "Jehovah" in English. If you accept "Jesus" as correct, then you have to accept Yeh(o)-/Jeh(o)- as the first part of the Divine Name. Other theophoric names in the Bible support this prefix as well as The Name having three syllables.

Therefore, we can properly render the Hebrew "tetragrammaton" YHWH/JHVH as Yehowah, Yahweh or Jehovah which are all real translations.

While we may not know for sure what the original pronunciation is, it is better and shows respect if we use a pronunciation that is as close to being accurate as possible for our language.

The pronunciation Yahweh is OK since it retains the inspired letters of the Divine Name. However, many scholars now consider the form Yahweh as dubious, and modern scholarship recognizes that the Divine Name was most likely pronounced with three syllables rather than with two. So, Yehowah in Hebrew and Jehovah in English are actually more accurate. Anyone who claims that the English pronunciation “Jehovah” is not correct or is an "artificial" pronunciation is ignoring the facts of modern scholarship.

(See George Wesley Buchanan; "How God's Name Was Pronounced", Biblical Archaeology Review Mar./Apr. 1995 Volume 21 Number 2; page 30. Harris, Archer, Waltke; "Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament" #484. James Trimm; "Nazarenes and the Name of YHWH," and "In Fame Only? A Historical Record of the Divine Name," by Gerard Gertoux)

When we accept the overwhelming evidence for a tri-syllable pronunciation, the acceptable vocalizations vary relatively little in their pronunciation from the sound of "Jehovah." So, it is clear that "Jehovah" does accurately represent the Divine Name. In fact, in light of the evidence, it may be as close to the original pronunciation as one could get in translating any name from Hebrew to English or other languages. And I don’t see any logical complaints about the translational variations in other Biblical names.

Many theologians use the specious argument that since we don't know the original pronunciation of God's name we should not use it. This reasoning is bogus since we also don’t know the original pronunciation of the name Jesus. No one would suggest we shouldn’t use the name Jesus or replace it in the Bible with the common title “Lord.”

God placed this Name almost 7,000 times in his Word. Obviously, He wanted his children to use and respect that Name! If a child doesn’t know his father’s name, what does that make him? Jehovah condemned those who would "try to make my people forget my name ... as their fathers forgot my name for Baal." Significantly, the Hebrew word Baal means “Lord.” (Jer. 23:27).

But removing that Divine Name by replacing it with a completely different word such as "LORD" would elicit the strongest of condemnation (Rev. 22:18,19). Replacing the Divine name with a common title "LORD" is the most blatant of blasphemies. It is imitating Satan, who refused to used that Name, and it is a refusal to imitate Jesus who "made that name known" to all his followers and placed it first, of primary importance, in his model prayer (Jn.17:6,26; Mt.6:9).

The Jews pronounced the Divine Name aloud until about the time of Christ when the apostate Jews began the superstition that it should not be spoken aloud. True worshipers would never imitate this superstition.

It is incontestable that the Divine Name occurs in the original Hebrew text of the Bible almost 7,000 times. There is absolutely no valid excuse for not transmitting God's Word as he originally inspired it to be written. We are not talking about variety in translations. What we are talking about is the purposeful removal of God's personal name which distinguishes Him from all other Lords and Gods.

One major thing you may be missing is that not including the personal Name in our translations or just transferring the Tetragramation as an unpronounceable “word” would be imitating Satan, who refused to used that Name. It would be falling into the purpose of those who hate that Name, and cause us to also merit God's condemnation (Rev.21:19).

And it would be a refusal to imitate Jesus who "made that name known" to all his followers and placed it first, of primary importance, in his model prayer (Jn.17:6,26; Mt.6:9).

God made it clear that Jehovah would be his Eternal Name (Ex. 3:15, Mic. 4:5; Jer.23:27). It was manifestly Christ’s determination to make Jehovah's name known to Christians (Jn. 17:6, 26 (Cf. Jn. 12:28; 17:4, 26; Rev. 1:5).

In the end times True Christians would be associated with the Father’s Name (Acts 15:14; Amos 9:11, 12). Refusal to use some proper form of that Name would therefore be a denial of being truly Christian.

Hope that educates,

BAR-ANERGES

Why doesn't any fundie respond to an answer that proves the bible is a fairy tale.