“Yahweh” or “Jehovah”?

[Pudgy]

 If the perceived ambiguity of God’s name is a problem to you, simply refer to or address the true God of the Bible as “The True God of the Bible.”

…… Problem solved!

[Witness]

I'm sharing a quote from someone I have not been acquainted with.  She may or may not have been a JW. 

There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what his name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name he gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH. 

Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels.

But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.

YH (inhale): WH (exhale).

So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.

A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.

Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breath is giving constant acknowledgment to God.

Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filing their lungs.

So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?

Being alive means I speak His name constantly.

So, is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs.

In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.

In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.

When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.

When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardest moments!

This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought. God chose to give himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.

All of us, always, everywhere.

Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips.

written by - Sandra Thurman Caporale

 

"So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God."

But then, we have the wisdom from the lips of your highly admired Governing Body member, Stephen Lett, who stated at the recent convention, that babies are born as enemies of God.  He said,

“You hear people say of a little baby, ‘look at that little angel’, but more accurate would be to say, ‘look at that little enemy of God’”.

God was incensed at the sacrificing of children in the fire by worshippers of Baal.  To His people, He said,

“Say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such a disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder 

^4 “because they have abandoned me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have never known.

 They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 

⁵ They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.”  Jer 19

God’s word is “like fire”, (Jer 23:29) Satan’s word, the lying doctrine of men, is also like fire. It can consume and crush the word of God in our hearts and minds.  (Luke 8:11-14; Rev 13:11,13; Matt 24:24,25)

Think, JWs; you, who believe that every living being outside of your “foreign place” is an enemy of God…tell me, who is the primary enemy of God?  It is Satan, who treats all people, all life, as his enemies, since he wants to destroy...just as you do; and just as easily as Stephen Lett made the declaration that all babies are enemies of God.  If this man was truly an ambassador of Christ, never would such a statement come out of his mouth.  We have the account of Jesus interacting with men, women and children. After reading his words, did any of you come away with the thought that Jesus viewed babies as his enemies?

Matt 19:14 - Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

On this forum are JWs who love to target exjws as ready for their burning hell; and supposedly you don’t even believe in a burning hell. They represent millions of JWs with the same belief.  You live in an organization that destroys families through disfellowshipping, destroys any possible love through that very act, that neglects the plea of a victim of abuse, yet supports the abuser; and you and your leaders revel in the promise of an Armageddon of bloodshed. Aside from the fact that you believe lies spoken by your leadership, are not really lies!  

What’s next?  Baby baptism to save those little enemies from destruction in Armageddon?  Babies, born of your own people?  Babies, that must be indoctrinated and “sacrificed” to a god, the organization, and a “foreign place” never to have appeared in the history of God’s people until now?

“Je hovah”, a god of ruin and destruction.

YHVH/YHWH – “He causes to become”

If your leaders revered the God of life, and His Son who is life, they would never have resorted to the “custom” of the nations by adopting the name, “Jehovah” to represent the true, Almighty Father and Giver of live.

Daniel chapter 11 speaks of the Beast that tramples God’s holy saints (Rev 13:5-7)  – taking away their “daily sacrifice” and replacing them with sacrifices uttered from the mouths of false priests/ELDERS.  Sacrifices of praise given to a god of fortresses; your Watchtower organization. (Dan 11:31;8:11; Matt 24:15,16) 

You are residing in the Wild Beast from the Sea – the “man of lawlessness” that “sits in the temple of God” where it doesn’t belong.  (Rev 13:1,2,5-7,18; 2 Thess 2:3,4; Rev 11:1-3; Mark 13:14)

“Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.” Dan 11:36

(“gods” – the sons of God, the anointed priests.  (s 82:6; John 10:34-36; Gal 3:26; 1 Pet 2:5,9; 1 Cor 3:16,17)

“And in their place”  (in the place of the Temple/dwelling of God’s spirit, made of “living stones")

“he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.” Dan 11:38

Your donations toward the organization in the form of money, gold, silver, real estate… anything and everything is accepted and expected from each of you, to support the god of fortresses.

²⁹ “Is not my word like fire”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and like a hammer that pulverizes rock? ³⁰ Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets”—the Lord’s declaration—“who steal my words from each other. ³¹ I am against the prophets”—the Lord’s declaration—“who use their own tongues to make a declaration. ³² I am against those who prophesy false dreams”—the Lord’s declaration—“telling them and leading my people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people”—this is the Lord’s declaration.”  Jer 23

Through your doctrines of men, you are abandoning the God of life, and have adopted the god of destruction.

I’m telling all of you, get out of there, before it’s too late. Rev 18:4-8

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pudgy]

……sigh …..

You REALLY need a hobby.

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

1 hour ago, Pudgy said:

……sigh …..

You REALLY need a hobby.

There is a rumour that YOU found one. 

[Witness]

 

4 hours ago, Pudgy said:

You REALLY need a hobby.

You mean, like cart witnessing; where you stand still, read the cell phone, and do not respond in depth to any asking serious thought-provoking questions from anybody, but direct them to the endless depth of misunderstanding at jw org?  You gotta agree, that's a pretty easy hobby. 🙂

"Let your faithful love come to me, Lord,
your salvation, as you promised.
42 Then I can answer the one who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
43 Never take the word of truth from my mouth,
for I hope in your judgments.
44 I will always obey your instruction,
forever and ever.
45 I will walk freely in an open place
because I study your precepts.
46 I will speak of your decrees before kings
and not be ashamed. - (you know, those "kings" who live at 1 Kings Drive in Tuxedo, New York?)
47 I delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift up my hands to your commands,
which I love,
and will meditate on your statutes.

Remember your word to your servant;
you have given me hope through it.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction:
Your promise has given me life.
51 The arrogant constantly ridicule me,
but I do not turn away from your instruction.
52 Lord, I remember your judgments from long ago
and find comfort.
53 Fury seizes me because of the wicked
who reject your instruction.
54 Your statutes are the theme of my song
during my earthly life.

Lord, I remember your name in the night,
and I obey your instruction.
56 This is my practice:
I obey your precepts."  Ps 119

[Chioke Lin]

2 hours ago, Witness said:

You mean, like cart witnessing; where you stand still, read the cell phone, and do not respond in depth to any asking serious thought-provoking questions from anybody

I'm sure a serious question would first need to be asked, and not some long-drawn opinion in order to have a meaningful bible discussion, and not just an argument generated by animosity. No Christian is supposed to argue, much like it's done here. So, it makes me wonder, how many consider themselves Christians.

But, this "topic" is about God's name, not some kind of, circular way at criticism. We can all do that without breaking a sweat.

It seems your presentation on how the name of God sounded seems a little outlandish, since we don't know exactly how the tone was for praising God in ancient times. 

We need to consider, how scribes manipulated the YHWH to make it seem to look like something else. Regardless if we are scholars or rabbi's, the professionals have a better understanding on how the YHWH was formed.

I AM THAT I AM

When Moses met God at the burning bush, Moses asked God what his name was. God responded, “I Am That I Am” (Exodus 3:13-14). In Hebrew the name is spelled YHWH, or Yahweh. In the several centuries before Christ, Jews were not allowed to pronounce the name because it was holy. When they came to the name Yahweh in the Scripture, they said Adonai (‘the Lord’). See the list of names for God at the entry for God.

It wouldn’t matter to a Hebrew. If God’s name came up, they substituted God's personal name out of fear. Those that God favored, had no problem praising God without fear.

Scholars recognize where scribes wanted to reconfigure the YHWH to mean something else.

Translators of the Old Testament have not agreed upon the correct translation of the name Yahweh. Since it is translated into the Greek as kurios, which means, “Lord,” many have translated Yahweh as “LORD.” However, ‘Adonai, which is best translated “Lord,” appears with Yahweh in various instances. The King James Version, for example, translates Yahweh as “God,” and ‘Adonai as “Lord.” Some modern translators have chosen to maintain the use of Yahweh. The name Jehovah has been judged by translators to be unacceptable. This name arose due to the Jewish practice of not pronouncing Yahweh because of Leviticus 24:16, “He that blasphemes the name of Yahweh shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16). This warning against a vain or blasphemous use of the name was taken in an absolute sense, especially after Israel’s exile to Babylon (Amos 6:10). Because of this, when reading the Old Testament, the Jews substituted either Elohim or ‘Adonai for Yahweh. From this, the practice of adding the vowels of ‘Adonai to YHWH (JeHoWaH) became established.

 Nehemia Gordon Findings, found the name Yahovah. So, the substitution of the J for Y and “e” for “a” is appropriate in the English language.

Now if the discussion is going to extend, to how we arrive at those substitutions from "a" to "e" then we need to understand how the language transformed within the Jews.

The professionals also have a good explanation for that transformation. So, in English, the name of God is Jehovah, and it's appropriate under the Hebrew scheme of language. 

 

 

[Witness]

3 hours ago, Chioke Lin said:

t seems your presentation on how the name of God sounded seems a little outlandish, since we don't know exactly how the tone was for praising God in ancient times. 

We all have our opinions, don't we.  The person who wrote down her thoughts was using introspection to help her comprehend the God, "He causes to become"

God is Spirit, and Spirit is breathed onto and into, whatever God chooses.  Ps 139:7;John 4:24; John 20:22

“Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“And not a God far off?
“Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the Lord.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord.  Jer 23:23,24

 

 

 

[Arauna]

3 hours ago, Chioke Lin said:

I AM THAT I AM

I enjoy your postings and your answers to the hate-crew.    I will just add that most biblical scholars do not care for the bible at all.  They are "scholars" with egos who want to get their name out there in the big world by any means.  Modern scholarship is farcical because of "peer review" practices - which is prone to friends approving work of friends.  One need to look no further than the current gender debacles in behavioral "science" in the present day - which does not even acknowledge the existence of Y and X chromosomes!  In my experience, many of the biblical scholars have done more harm to the bible's reputation and  the truth, than the other way around, by promoting theories based on conjecture, rather than sound reasoning.

Back to the subject:  When I was learning Arabic - which is a closely related Semitic language to Hebrew and, and some say, more closely related to the ancient Akkadian (the old Linga franca of the entire world which later morphed into Aramaic), I learnt about the  "causative verbs".   It was then that I realized that "I am that I am"  was not an accurate translation of the Hebrew.  In Semitic languages all the verbs already imply that a person exists.  They do not say - I am - as separate words, as in English - except in special circumstances. "Ana" means I am.

This was when I realized that the translation of "He causes to become" is a more  accurate translation of this verse and is a causative verb.

[Arauna]

6 hours ago, Witness said:

cart witnessing

Even if you do not get the opportunity to speak you are a silent Witness..... Witnessing can include many actions. 

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

6 hours ago, Chioke Lin said:

When Moses met God at the burning bush, Moses asked God what his name was. God responded, “I Am That I Am” (Exodus 3:13-14). In Hebrew the name is spelled YHWH, or Yahweh. In the several centuries before Christ, Jews were not allowed to pronounce the name because it was holy. When they came to the name Yahweh in the Scripture, they said Adonai (‘the Lord’). See the list of names for God at the entry for God.

 

6 hours ago, Chioke Lin said:

Translators of the Old Testament have not agreed upon the correct translation of the name Yahweh. Since it is translated into the Greek as kurios, which means, “Lord,” many have translated Yahweh as “LORD.” However, ‘Adonai, which is best translated “Lord,” appears with Yahweh in various instances. The King James Version, for example, translates Yahweh as “God,” and ‘Adonai as “Lord.” Some modern translators have chosen to maintain the use of Yahweh. The name Jehovah has been judged by translators to be unacceptable. This name arose due to the Jewish practice of not pronouncing Yahweh because of Leviticus 24:16, “He that blasphemes the name of Yahweh shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16). This warning against a vain or blasphemous use of the name was taken in an absolute sense, especially after Israel’s exile to Babylon (Amos 6:10). Because of this, when reading the Old Testament, the Jews substituted either Elohim or ‘Adonai for Yahweh. From this, the practice of adding the vowels of ‘Adonai to YHWH (JeHoWaH) became established.

I don't know if these are your own words or quotes from elsewhere but the name YAHWEH seems to occur a lot.  

Can you give me a 'good reason' why there is any need to change YAHWEH into Jehovah ?

Surely YAHWEH can be used in English so why would it need changing ?  

Could it not be seen as blasphemy and against scripture to remove God's real name and then put in a 'made up name' for God ?  Doesn't God tell us it is a sin to remove or to add anything to scripture ? 

[Arauna]

Jeho-ram, Jeho-saphat, Jehoaikim, jehoi-ada; jeho-nadab; Jehonathan; Jehorab; Jeho-shua; 

 

These are all names which have the name of Jeho-vah in them.

Jah - is the short version of Jehovah's name such as in  - Hallelujah

Then one also has names with the Jah in it - 

Jah-aziel; and many other. 

 

So the Israelite names should give you a good idea of the pronunciation of God's name!

 

 

[Chioke Lin]

Witness: "We all have our opinions, don't we.  The person who wrote down her thoughts was using introspection to help her comprehend the God, "He causes to become"

Arauna: "This was when I realized that the translation of "He causes to become" is a more  accurate translation of this verse and is a causative verb."

It appears both commentators have come to an agreement on what can be a derivative of the Hebrew syllable.

The translation of "I am that I am" which is in English form is not discarded from that derivative.

Another way of translating the psalmist words.

13And Moses said to God, “Look, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?,’ what shall I say to them?” 14And God said to Moses, “ʾEhyeh-ʾAsher-’Ehyeh, I-Will-Be-Who-I-Will-Be.” And He said, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘ʾEhyeh has sent me to you.’” 

This would be the most appropriate translation, since the "e" is inclusive. Do all those forms deviate from "He causes to become"?

Now, how about the confusion between YHWH-Y'sua and YHWH-Jah, if we only use, he causes to become?