What Is The Correct Name Of God, “Jehovah” Or “Yahweh” Or “Adonai” Or “Lord”?

Both the names JEHOVAH and YAHWEH do not accurately convey the exact pronunciation of the divine name of God, but “Jehovah” is far off the lane! Yes, you heard me well. Now, take your time and read, then share after reading…

God’s true name in Hebrew was revealed and spelt as יהוה, which is the TETRAGRAMMATON (consisting of four Hebrew consonants – Yod, He, Vav, He), and when transcribed into English, it gives us YHVH or YHWH. This is so because ancient Hebrew was traditionally written without vowels. Only the Jews who existed at that time knew how they pronounced the divine name.

Unfortunately, the exact pronunciation of YHWH was lost over time. How? Out of deep reverence for God’s name and in fear of violating the commandment in Exodus 20:7 about taking God’s name in vain, the Jewish people stopped pronouncing the divine name aloud whenever it was read in their synagogue or at places of worship.

Instead of pronouncing the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), the Jews began substituting it with another Hebrew word “Adonai” (which means “Lord”) during recitations. This substitution became a standard practice to show respect for the sacred name. As a result, while YHWH was written in the Scriptures, Adonai was spoken in place of it whenever the name of God appeared.

Fast forward to the Middle Ages, Jewish scholars known as the Masoretes created a system of vowel markings to help with the pronunciation of Hebrew texts. However, since the original vowels for YHWH were unknown, they added the vowels from “Adonai” (a, o, a) underneath the consonants of YHWH to remind readers to pronounce Adonai instead. This system was never intended to indicate to us the actual pronunciation of YHWH.

Precisely in the the 13th century, a Dominican (Roman Catholic) monk named Raymundus Martini mistakenly combined the consonants of YHVH with the vowels of Adonai (a, o, a), which resulted in the form “Jehovah”. Although this form became popular in Christian circles, it does not reflect the original Hebrew pronunciation and is considered linguistically inaccurate, in fact, a mistake according to Jewish scholars for combining the Sacred consonants with other vowels for Lord.

Now, how did “J” get into YHWH? It was a case of transliteration issue which isn’t bad. It might interest us to note that the letter “J” did not exist in ancient Hebrew, and the Hebrew letter Yod (י) corresponds to the English letter “Y”, not “J”. However, when the Yod was transliterated into Greek, it became “I” (since Greek lacked a “Y” sound), and when it was later transliterated into Latin, it remained as “I”. The letter “J” eventually appeared in later Latin and early modern English as a stylistic variant of “I”. Then, later in the 16th century, that “J” started to be used as a distinct letter, especially in Germanic languages, including English. This is how names like “Yehoshua” (יהושע) in Hebrew became “Iesous” in Greek, and eventually “Jesus” in English, with the introduction of the letter “J”.

Subsequently, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who officially began as a movement in the 1870s under Charles Taze Russell, formally adopted the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses” in 1931. The name they took from the Catholic Church’s Latinized rendering, which had been borrowed already during the Reformation period by the Protestants. Yet, the same Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have deepseated dislike for the Catholic Church, continue to use this name as central to their doctrine, despite its origins in Catholic tradition.

Now, if JEHOVAH is an adulteration or a mistaken form of writing of YHWH, what about the name “Yahweh?” There’s a unity among a majority of Hebrew and Catholic Scholars who widely accept “Yahweh” as the closest possible approximation to the original pronunciation of YHWH, although not the exact pronunciation, because no one knows that till date. This pronunciation (Yahweh) is based on linguistic and historical evidence. However, since the exact pronunciation has been lost due to the Jewish tradition of not vocalizing the name, “Yahweh” remains a scholarly reconstruction rather than a definitive pronunciation.

One example is the use of the theophoric element “Yah” in certain Hebrew names like “Yeshayahu” (Isaiah) and “Yirmeyahu” (Jeremiah), which suggests that “Yah” was a common abbreviation of YHWH.
Also, The word “Alleluia” comes from the Hebrew phrase Hallelu-Yah (הללויה), which means “Praise the Lord” or more precisely, “Praise Yah.” The “Yah” in this phrase is an abbreviated form of the divine name YHWH as seen in Scriptures, for fear of writing it in full and violating the commandment. This shortened form of God’s name appears in several places, such as in Psalm 68:4 etc.

This “Yah” is widely accepted as a theophoric element, which is a fragment of the divine name YHWH, supporting the idea that “Yahweh” closely approximates the pronunciation of the full name. The continued use of “Hallelujah” in Christian and Jewish liturgical traditions and in various biblical texts (especially in the Psalms) further strengthens the historical use of this “Yah” sound in the divine name.

The Catholic Church acknowledges that “Yahweh” is a widely accepted scholarly approximation of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH), but it does not use or encourage the use of “Yahweh” in liturgical practices or public prayers. The Church continues the ancient tradition of using titles such as “Lord” (Adonai) or “God” in place of vocalizing the divine name, out of reverence and respect for both Jewish tradition and the ineffable nature of God’s name.

Written by Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ

References

1. Frank Moore Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Harvard University Press, 1973), explores the linguistic and historical background of the divine name.

2. T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names (Fortress Press, 2005), also addresses the historical use of the divine name and its probable pronunciation.

3. Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (Eerdmans, 2002), provides a detailed exploration of the usage and development of the divine name in ancient Israel (Eerdmans, 2002), provides a detailed exploration of the usage and development of the divine name in ancient Israelite religion.