Yahweh

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I have been meaning to reply to a post sent by Bro. Tyler a few days ago.
Only now have I found the time to do it.  I proceed with love and caution
as to not offend Bro. Tyler or his pastor, who was the source of his
information.

Bro. Tyler wrote:

>God's proper name is as you have mentioned it, YHWH.  Without any vowels,
>it's nearly impossible to pronounce.  (I know there'll be email because of
>this because I've said it before.)  The oldest hebrew manuscripts used YHWH
>quite a lot (according to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Funk & Wangnals 1907).
>
><snip>
>
>But after the captivity of Israel, the Jews were so beaten up, so shamed by
>the captivity, they changed to using God's proper name from YHWH to several
>heathen titles (names).  El (Elohim) - heathen for "lord"  and "Adonai" -
>another heathen word for "lord" were substituted.  Then later, a contraction
>from Elohim, Adonai, and equivalents of YHWH were used to form a man-made
>name of God that is widely accepted, "Jehovah".  That word now appears in
>text many times over due to the translators of the word down thru the
>generations.  Does that make the word null?  Nope.  Just the name is more
>hidden.
>
><snip>
>
>What was said all over the OT?  Teach the children, instruct, teach,
>instruct, teach, instruct....   They started to teach contrary to what
>was first taught, thus when they say the Lord God Jehovah, it doesn't
>have the same power as calling him by his own name.  I mean, if you want
>to get my attention, you call me by my name, Tyler (or Nally).  Not skinny,
>ugly, fatso, geek (computer geek), etc.  Such is the same as Jehovah,
>El, Adonai, Elohim, etc.  I don't think God's attention might be granted
>when one of these heathen derivitives are used.



I have a couple of points where I would take issue with the above comments.

1)  YHWH

It is certain that neither "Yahweh" or "Jehovah" are the original
pronunciations for the proper name of God.  For that matter, neither is
YHWH God's name.  It is the best English translation for the Hebrew
characters that were recorded in the oldest available texts of the OT.  No
one really knows exactly what the original pronunciation for this name
really was.  We do know that the letters YHWH (or their Hebrew equivalents)
are only an abbreviated form of the actual name.  Using this abbreviated
form was a standard practice used by the writers and/or transcribers of the
OT to insure that they would not be guilty of breaking the commandment
concerning not taking God's name in vain.  "Yahweh" and its Anglicized
relative "Jehovah" are simply transliterations of the YHWH.  In other
words, no matter how we say it, we are still not pronouncing correctly--the
original pronunciation has been lost.

2)  "Heathen" names for God.

The KJV translators often used "LORD" to replace "YHWH."  In like manner,
ancient Jewish scribes and teachers customarily substituted "YHWH" with the
Hebrew word "Adonai."  However, this was not done out of shame of God, fear
of secular rulers, etc.  Rather, the tradition arose (in the case of the
ancient Jews) as a sincere attempt to safeguard against violating the Third
Commandment which warned against taking "the name" of God in vain.

Elohim (and its various forms such as El, Eloah, etc.) were most certainly
titles for God that were used by Moses and the other original writers of
the OT and were not terms implemented in later redactions.  Were these
titles similar to words used to describe the gods of Israel's pagan
neighbors?  Yes.  In like manner the NT terms such as kurios (Lord) and
Theos (God) are titles ascribed to the one true God, Jesus Christ.  These
terms were also used by the Greeks and Romans in reference to the pagan
gods of their cultures.  No one, however, claims that Paul and the other
writer of the NT were used these terms out of fear or shame.  Languages
often overlap and borrow from one another.  This does mean that El, Elohim,
etc. are somehow tainted by pagan culture.  Instead, these titles simply
describe some of the attributes or characteristics of the God of Israel.
El, Eloah and Elohim are are HEBREW words (not Chaldean/Aramaic) and simply
designates God as being strong, mighty, great and majestic.  While these
words are simply titles for God, YHWH (however it was originally pronounced
and spelled) was the only proper name for God.

3)  Does pronunciation matter?

Absolutely not.  As Bro. Masoner pointed out, there is a similar argument
today as to the correct pronunciation of "Jesus."  God speaks all
languages.  "Jehovah" is just as accurate as saying "YHWH" as "Jesus" is
just as accurate as saying "Yeshua."  Bro. Bernard addresses this issue in
his book, _In the Name of Jesus_.

Submitted with respect and love,
Bro. Kirk

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*        Kirk Van Ooteghem           *
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***********************
 Kirk Van Ooteghem  
 00kmvanooteg@bsu.edu
 University Libraries
 Ball State University
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