| The Name of Our Heavenly Father |
The purpose of this essay is to show how various versions of the Bible have rendered the name of our Heavenly Father. The passages compared are Exodus 6: 3, Exodus 15: 3, Psalm 68: 4, and Revelation 21: 22. These are only four of the numerous ones which could have been used. Discussion on the name of the Messiah, of Greek origin, is not included here.
Passages from the King James Version, which is not listed here, are very similar to those of the Holy Bible, Revised Version. Following the listing is a short commentary.
| Versions Compared |
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| Exodus 6: 3 |
| AAT | I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I didn't reveal Myself to them by My name "the LORD." |
| AB | I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty [El Shaddai]; but by My name the Lord [Yahweh] [the redemptive name of God] -- I did not make Myself known to them [in acts and great miracles]. |
| HBME | And I appeared to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob; as GOD ALMIGHTY; and by My name of
the EVER-LIVING I did not make Myself known to them; ... . Footnote: "Johvah." See on this name of the Almighty Prof. Lee's Hebrew Lexicon, Jehovah, where it is shown to indicate Christ, as the Manifestation of GOD Who spoke with the Patriarchs, Moses, and the Prophets, and it was first used as a Divine name, to Moses at the bush. -- F. F. |
| HBRV | And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH I was not known to them. |
| IV | And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. I am the Lord God Almighty; the Lord JEHOVAH. And was not my name known unto them? |
| KTC | ...: I am the same Lord who revealed myself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; but although I
revealed myself as God the Almighty, my name Adonai I did not make known to them. Footnote: 'Adonai'; in the Hebrew test, 'Javé', for which the word 'Adonai', 'my Lord', was sometimes substituted from motives of reverence. Hence the Latin version regularly gives 'the Lord' where the Hebrew text uses Javé. |
| LB | I am Jehovah, the Almighty God who appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- though I did not reveal my name, Jehovah, to them. |
| MNT | I am the Eternal; I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I never made myself known to them as 'the Eternal.' |
| LXX | And I appeared to Abraam and Isaac and Jacob, being their God, but I did not manifest to them my name Lord. |
| NAB | As God the Almighty I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but my name, LORD, I did not make known to them. |
| NBV | I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name Jehovah did I
not reveal Myself to them. Footnote: His name had been Elohim, or El, the Almighty; now it is Yahweh, the Faithful God. Since Yahweh sounds unfamiliar we shall occasionally use the word Jehovah, but usually "the Lord." |
| NEB | I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty. But I did not let myself be known
to them by my name JEHOVAH. Footnote: The Hebrew consonants are YHWH, probably pronounced Yahweh, but traditionally read Jehovah. |
| NJB | To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob I appeared as El Shaddai, but I did not make my name Yahweh known to them. |
| NJPS | I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known to
them by My name YHVH. [In this version, the letters YHVH appear in Hebrew.] |
| NWT | And I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them. |
| SSBE | ...: and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as El Shaddai; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them. |
| SNB | I appeared therefore unto Abraham, unto Isaac and unto Jacob as El-Almighty, although by My name YAHVAH was I not made known to them? |
| SGAT | ...; I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but did not make myself known to them by my name Yahweh [the LORD]. |
| Exodus 15: 3 |
| HBME | The LORD is a warrior; His name is THE LIFE. |
| HBRV | The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. |
| KTC | Javé, the warrior God, Javé, whose very name tells of omnipotence! |
| LB | The Lord is a warrior -- Yes, Jehovah is his name. |
| MNT | The Eternal knows well how to fight -- the Eternal is his name -- ... . |
| NAB | The LORD is a warrior, LORD is his name! |
| NJB | Yahweh is a warrior; Yahweh is his name. |
| NJPS | The LORD, the Warrior -- LORD is His name! |
| NWT | Jehovah is a manly person of war. Jehovah is his name. |
| SNB | YAHVAH is a warlike one, YAHVAH is his name. |
| SSBE | Yahweh is a man of war: Yahweh is his name. |
| Psalm 68: 4 |
| AAT | Sing to God, sing to praise His name! Make a highway for Him to drive through the deserts! His name is the LORD. Be very happy before Him. |
| EBR | Sing ye to God Make music of his name -- Lift up (a song) to him that rideth through the waste plains, -- Since Yah is his name exult ye before him. |
| HBME | Sing to our God! chant to His Name! Who rides in Darkness borne! -- His name is LIFE; be glad to Him, -- |
| HBRV | Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: cast up a high way for him that rideth through the deserts; his name is JAH; and exult ye before him. |
| KTC | Sing, then, in God's honour, praise his name with a psalm; a royal progress for the God whose throne is the sunset, whose name is Javé. |
| LB | Sing praises to the Lord! Raise your voice in song to him who rides upon the clouds! Jehovah is his name -- oh, rejoice in his presence. |
| NWT | Sing YOU to God, make melody to his name. Raise up [a song] to the One riding through the desert plains As Jah, which is his name; and jubilate before him; ... . |
| SARV | Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: Cast up a highway for him that rideth through the deserts; His name is Jehovah: and exult ye before him. |
| SNB | Sing ye to Elohim, make music of His Name, -- lift up a song to Him that rideth through the waste plains, since YAH is His name, exult ye before Him ... . |
| SSBE | Sing to Elohim, sing praises to his name: Cast up a highway for him that rides through the deserts; His name is Yah; and exult before him. |
| TM | Sing hymns to God; all heaven, sing out; clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider. Enjoy GOD, cheer when you see him! |
| Revelation 21: 22 |
| CLNT | And a temple I did not perceive in it, for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lambkin. |
| HBRV | And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. |
| MSNT | I saw no sanctuary in the city, for the Lord God, the Ruler of all, is its Sanctuary, and so is the Lamb. |
| NEB | I saw no temple in the city; for its temple was the sovereign Lord God and the Lamb. |
| NLV | I did not see a house of God in the city. The All-powerful Lord God and the Lamb are the house of God in this city. |
| NNT | I saw no temple in the city. For the Lord our God Almighty and the Lamb are themselves her temple. |
| NWT | And I did not see a temple in it, for Jehovah God the Almighty is its temple, also the Lamb [is]. |
| SNB | And sanctuary I saw none therein; for YAHVAH the Elohim, the Almighty, is the sanctuary thereof, and the Lamb. |
| SSBE | And I saw no temple within it: for Yahweh El Shaddai, and the Lamb, are the temple of it. |
| TM | But there was no sign of a Temple, for the Lord God -- the Sovereign-Strong -- and the Lamb are the Temple. |
| WET | And an inner sanctuary I did not see in it, for the Lord God, the Omnipotent, is its inner sanctuary, and the Lamb. |
| WNT | I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty Himself and the Lamb Himself are its temple. |
| Definitions |
Adonai: my Lord; a Jewish substitution for Yahweh
Almighty: omnipotent; a term referring to Yahweh
El: Mighty One
El Shaddai: God Almighty
Elohim: plural of El
Eternal: having neither beginning nor ending of existence; a term referring to Yahweh
Ever-Living: Eternal
God: an object of worship; any deity or god, including our Heavenly Father
Jah: an abbreviation of Yahweh
Javé: a variation of Yahweh
Jehovah: a mistranslation of YHVH
Lord: a master or ruler; also a translation of Yahweh
Yah: a variation of Jah
Yahvah: a variation of Yahweh
Yahweh: the personal name of the Heavenly Father
| Commentary |
A footnote on page 112 of The Dartmouth Bible states that "Jehovah" is now seen to have been the result of a curious misunderstanding. Jews after the fourth century B.C., considering the four-consonant name [JHVH] too sacred to be uttered except on the most solemn occasion, regularly substituted for it "Adonai," meaning "the Lord." In Hebrew texts the points indicating the vowels of "Adonai" accompany the JHVH as a reminder to make the substitution in oral reading. Early English translators, ignorant of the Hebrew practice, accepted these points as the correct vowels and thus, erroneously, wrote the word as JeHoVaH.
The dictionary/concordance at the back of the New Revised Standard Version has Tetragrammaton as the four letters YHWH, which form the sacred name of God. Whenever the words "LORD" and "GOD" appear in large and small capital letters in the OT, the original Hebrew text uses YHWH. Sometimes the tetragrammaton is rendered as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah."
The name "Jehovah" was formed by placing the vowel points for Adonai into the Tetragrammaton, YHVH. There is a common belief that the four letters forming the name of our Heavenly Father are consonants. Josephus, a Jewish priest, in his Wars of the Jews (V.5.vii), states that on a golden crown of the priests was engraven the sacred name [of God], consisting of four vowels. As in English, the letters W and Y are semi-vowels. The V in the Tetragrammaton has the sound of a W. Vowels can stand alone, whereas consonants cannot. This caused Hebrew vowel sounds to be added erroneously for pronunciation. If the Spanish vowels IAUE are substituted, an almost identical pronunciation for YHVH is achieved. Therefore YHVH becomes Yahweh, and can be pronounced.
Does it matter if a Hebrew name is Anglicized? Can it really be done? Is it like Giovanni, Ivan, Jaôa, Jean, Johann, Juan, and Sean, which equate to John? Or is it like such names as Gamal Abdul Nasser, Hideki Tojo, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mao Tse-tung, and Porfirio Díaz? The names of these national leaders were never translated into English. Why, then, should we try to translate the name of Yahweh into English or any other language?
Is the use of an incorrect form for the name of our Heavenly Father, as is the case in Jewish and Christian circles for various reasons, proper? Are some versions in error? The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible, The Holy Scriptures, Bethel Edition and The Scriptures (ISR) are three versions which deal with this issue. More detailed information is available on the Internet from other writers.
I have used the names God, Jesus Christ, and Lord all my life. I am now changing because of knowledge that had not registered with me before. However, I am leaving the names unchanged in previous essays. This will show that I have learned something and have changed as a result. Changes will not be made when I quote from the versions.
Tradition is very difficult to change. When we learn that we are wrong, whatever the tradition, we must decide if we really want to change. Will the names Yahweh and Yahshua find a place in your vocabulary?