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Were the names of Jesus and Jeremiah translated correctly from Hebrew, what of JEHOVAH?

It is reasonable to condemn the English rendering of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH as JEHOVAH?

Which is worse the use of the confusing title of LORD as at Psalm 110:1

Psalm 110:1

King James Version (KJV)

110 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Rather than:

Psalm 110:1

American Standard Version (ASV)

A Psalm of David.

110 Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Why does man so readily dance to the fiddler's tune?

5 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    These are not translations.

    In the case of Jeremiah, we have a transliteration of a transliteration, with the addition of several hundreds of years' worth of changes in pronunciation in the two languages into which it was transliterated.

    In the case of Jesus, we have a transliteration of a transliteration of a transliteration, again with those same several hundreds of years' worth of changes in the three languages.

    In the case of Jehovah, we have a scribal error - the combination of a transliteration of the tetragrammaton with the vowels of the Hebrew word "adonai", and on top of that a few hundred rather crucial centuries of change in English spelling and pronunciation.

    2) It is reasonable to condemn the English rendering of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH as JEHOVAH?

    Well...of course, on a few counts.

    a - it is not purely a rendering of the tetragrammaton

    b - it is not the only English rendering of the tetragrammaton

    c - it is not the most accurate or precise English rendering of the tetragrammaton

    However: in my opinion these things do not make very telling condemnation. That is: it is a wholly-justified condemnation, but a rather weak one of only small significance **unless** one is very concerned about pronouncing the tetragrammaton in particular exactly as it was (presumably) intended to be pronounced. There are some grounds supporting the possession of such a concern, and I don't condemn people for believing that it is extremely important to pronounce the tetragrammaton in a very particular way. However: in my opinion it is not terribly important - to me, just a matter of scholarly interest to learn (and prefer) the most accurate way to pronounce it.

    3) Which is worse the use of the confusing title of LORD as at Psalm 110:1

    In this particular instance - and literally thousands of others in the Bible - the rendering "Jehovah" is certainly more clear than the rendering "the Lord".

    http://bible-reviews.com/topics_accuracy_words_tet...

    http://bible-reviews.com/topics_accuracy_words_tet...

    However: it's a poor argument when the argument runs:

    - a is not best

    - we know b is better than a

    - b is not any more difficult or more expensive or otherwise harder to obtain than a

    - but since a is better than z

    - we should all be happy to settle for a

    Given a choice between "Jehovah" and "the Lord", I'll take "Jehovah" every time. Given a choice between "Jehovah" and "Yahweh" (or some near equivalent), and I'll take "Yahweh" every time. Why not choose the best option available? Why prefer a lesser option?

    - Jim

  • 8 years ago

    YHWH is most likely pronounced Yahoowah or Yahoveh depending in whether you go with the sound of Judea in Hebrew minus the D or if you go with Yah I Am, Yah Hoveh

  • 8 years ago

    when I travel in other countries my name is not introduced differently or changed to blend to their language.

    I am introduced as my name is, and so should our God YHVH.

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    Ok, lets look at the BIBLE then:

    "Jeremiah" real name in the Bible: יִרְמְיָה pronounced "YirmeyAhu"

    "God" first name that appears in the Bible: אֱלֹהִים֙ pronounced "ElOhim"

    "God" the name you refer to: יְהוָ֥ה pronounced "YAweh"

    "Jesus" real name in the Bible -remember his name appears ONLY in Greek- : Ἰησοῦς pronounced: "YEsus". the Hebrew form is ישוע pronounced YEshua, but that is NOT in the bible.

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  • 8 years ago

    There's no "J' sound in Hebrew.

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