Why do most Bibles omit Yahweh's name?

[danbuter]

I know quite a few Christians who have no idea they worship Yahweh. They just say God. God is his title, not his name. By saying God in your prayers, literally any other god (Odin, Zeus, etc) could claim you are praying to them instead.

(I didn't know his real name until a few years ago. Grew up going to church, and I never heard a single person say Yahweh's name (some Jehovah's, but no Yahwehs)).

 

[Rubiks]

Even the original Hebrew manuscripts omit YHWH's name.

 

[Dkh587]

Manmade tradition

I didn't know that God had a name that was replaced in our bibles with "The LORD" until a few years ago. I had heard the name "Jehovah" throughout the years, but didn't know they were using that to refer to God.

It's disturbing how much traditions of men can really lead us astray

 

[TuxAme]

It became Jewish tradition, and we carried it over. I heard Jimmy Akin (a Catholic apologist) say that it used to be very customary to use the divine name, but eventually fell into disuse as it was considered disrespectful. This is why we see the title Adonai- Lord- pop up so frequently. It's an attempt to identify who it is we're talking about (God) without using the name considered disrespectful to use.

It's not a sin, however, to utter His name- so long as it's not taken in vain as people these days often use Christ's name (and the title "God") vainly.

 

[Anto9us]

The New Jerusalem Bible is the only one I have that uses the name "Yahweh" -- I think at one time the 'Tetragrammaton' - YHWH - was considered too sacred to speak. "Jehovah" was a different name for Yahweh with consonants/vowels a little different.

The New Jerusalem Bible just says "God" where Elohim is used rather than Yahweh, where Yahweh is used in Hebrew, it says Yahweh.

 

[Radagast]

It became Jewish tradition, and we carried it over.

To clarify, just as the Jews see YHWH written down and say "Lord" or "The Name," most English Bibles translate YHWH as LORD in all capitals.

Part of the reason is that, because the Jews never said the name, we don't know how to pronounce it. "Jehovah," although traditional, isn't correct, but "Yahweh" is just a guess.

In the New Testament, the name YHWH is never used at all. Even in quotations from the Old Testament referring to YHWH, the ordinary Greek word for "Lord" is used.

The fact that the New Testament does that has also influenced translations of the Old Testament into English. If that's how the Apostles translated YHWH, then maybe we should do likewise.

 

[Radagast]

By saying God in your prayers, literally any other god (Odin, Zeus, etc) could claim you are praying to them instead.

Well, the other "gods" don't exist.

And Jesus himself told us to say "Father" when we pray. Jesus didn't tell us to say "Yahweh."

 

[Radagast]

Even the original Hebrew manuscripts omit YHWH's name.

Not true, I'm afraid.

 

[RDKirk]

Well, the other "gods" don't exist.

And Jesus himself told us to say "Father" when we pray. Jesus didn't tell us to say "Yahweh."

And in terms of a specific name, He instructed us to use His name, as the Son.

 

[☦Marius☦]

I know quite a few Christians who have no idea they worship Yahweh. They just say God. God is his title, not his name. By saying God in your prayers, literally any other god (Odin, Zeus, etc) could claim you are praying to them instead.

(I didn't know his real name until a few years ago. Grew up going to church, and I never heard a single person say Yahweh's name (some Jehovah's, but no Yahwehs)).

To be this paranoid about false worship. I'm pretty sure God, who knows your thoughts, know who you pray to.

 

[Doug Melven]

By saying God in your prayers, literally any other god (Odin, Zeus, etc) could claim you are praying to them instead.

As Marius said these other gods don't exist.
God knows our hearts.
He knows our thoughts.
And nobody actually knows how to pronounce YHWH.

 

[Anto9us]

And nobody actually knows how to pronounce YHWH.

That may be true, but I bet it's not "Jehovah"

 

[Micah888]

I know quite a few Christians who have no idea they worship Yahweh. They just say God. God is his title, not his name.

If we want to get really technical it is YHWH Elohim (LORD God). You many pronounce YHWH (or YHVH) as Yahweh, but others pronounced it as Jehovah, and devout Jews would not pronounce it for fear of taking the Lord's name in vain. So they substituted Adonai (Lord) for YHWH, and the KJV rightly followed their custom, but used LORD (in small capitals).

So if you really want to speak Yahweh's name, JESUS should suffice. The Hebrew equivalent of Jesus is Yeshua or YAH-SHUA (God is our salvation). Jesus said that He was the "I AM" and that is also Yahweh's name.

 

[Rubiks]

Not true, I'm afraid.

Yes they did. In avoiding saying God's name, the Jews took the vowels from the unrelated word Adonai into the consonant temple Y-H-W-H.

 

[Radagast]

Yes they did. In avoiding saying God's name, the Jews took the vowels from the unrelated word Adonai into the consonant temple Y-H-W-H.

The original Hebrew manuscripts wrote God's name as YHWH, without volwels, but they wrote every word without vowels. The original Hebrew manuscripts had no vowels at all.

When the Masoretes developed vowel pointing (during the Middle Ages) and started adding it to the Hebrew scriptures, then they added the vowels from Adonai to YHWH.

There were other ways of marking YHWH as a holy name though. The Dead Sea Scrolls are much older than the Masoretic Text. In this section (Psalms 119:56-64), YHWH is written using Paleo-Hebrew letters (see the blue arrow):

 

[dreadnought]

I know quite a few Christians who have no idea they worship Yahweh. They just say God. God is his title, not his name. By saying God in your prayers, literally any other god (Odin, Zeus, etc) could claim you are praying to them instead.

(I didn't know his real name until a few years ago. Grew up going to church, and I never heard a single person say Yahweh's name (some Jehovah's, but no Yahwehs)).

I never called my dad "Bert," and I don't call the Lord "Yaweh," in most instances. I call him "Father."

 

[Hank77]

The New Jerusalem Bible is the only one I have that uses the name "Yahweh" -- I think at one time the 'Tetragrammaton' - YHWH - was considered too sacred to speak. "Jehovah" was a different name for Yahweh with consonants/vowels a little different.

The New Jerusalem Bible just says "God" where Elohim is used rather than Yahweh, where Yahweh is used in Hebrew, it says Yahweh.

Young's Literal Translation, use Jehovah (coming from the German spelling for Yahovah/Yahweh) 6,831 times. Elohim is translated 'God', Lord does not replace 'Jehovah/Yehovah/Yahwah.

 

[Hank77]

That may be true, but I bet it's not "Jehovah"

A Karaite Jew explains...

 

[Doug Melven]

That may be true, but I bet it's not "Jehovah"

I more than doubt it is Jehovah as the J sound was not in the original Hebrew alphabet.

 

[Hank77]

I more than doubt it is Jehovah as the J sound was not in the original Hebrew alphabet.

It is the German spelling. Even today a 'J' sounds like a 'Y', not a hard 'J' sound.
In German Jesus sounds like 'Yesus'. Google it.
So no it not pronounced with a hard 'J' sound but with a 'Y' sound. Yehovah.