Introduction
For centuries, “Jehovah” was the accepted name of God in various languages around the world. The full spelling of the divine name can be found in over a thousand Hebrew manuscripts dating somewhere between the sixth and tenth centuries AD. The divine name was found in the French Olivétan Bible of 1535. It was found in the Italian Brucioli Bible of 1532 and the Giovanni Diodati Bible of 1607. It was found in the Spanish Reina-Valera Bible of 1602. It was also in The Russian Synodal Bible of 1876 and the German Elberfelder Bible of 1871. Likewise, “Iehouah” or “Iehova” (pronounced "Jehovah") was the name used in 16th and 17th century English Bibles such as the Tyndale Bible of 1530, the Great Bible of 1539, the Geneva Bible of 1560, the Bishop’s Bible of 1568, and the King James Bible of 1611.
So where did “Yahweh” come from? And how did “Yahweh” become popular in mainstream biblical studies?
יהוה—JHVH—Jehovah
For those unfamiliar with the subject, the question about the correct pronunciation of God’s name involves four Hebrew consonants: jod, he, vav, and he. These letters were “transliterated” into English by using the closest corresponding letters: JHVH. Most write YHVH or YHWH based on the academic consensus that promotes “Yahweh” rather than “Jehovah.” We’ll explain later why we opt for JHVH. (We’ll also cover the missing vowels.)
In the King James Bible, the letters JHVH (known as the tetragrammaton) are usually translated “LORD,” using all capital letters—as opposed to “Lord.” The Bible confirms “the LORD” as a legitimate translation instead of using the name “Jehovah” in every case. For instance, Psalm 110:1 reads: “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” This verse is quoted in Matthew 22:44 while also supplying “the LORD.” (More examples: Matt. 3:3 cf. Isa. 40:3; Matt. 4:4 cf. Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:7 cf. Deut. 6:16; Matt. 4:10 cf. Deut. 6:13; Luke 4:18-19 cf. Isa. 61:1-2; Rom. 10:13 cf. Joel 2:32; Rom. 14:11 cf. Isa. 45:23; 1 Pet. 1:25 cf. Isa. 40:8.)
That being said, there are a number of times when the context makes it necessary to use the actual divine name of God—Jehovah. For instance, God told Moses, “I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them” (Exodus 6:3). In this case, God’s “name” was invoked. Similarly, the psalmist declared, “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18). There are also several times when the divine name is used for the name of a place. For instance: “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh” (Genesis 22:14). Lastly, there are a couple instances where the tetragrammaton is repeated back-to-back. Rather than translating it “the LORD LORD,” the repetition compelled the translators to write “the LORD JEHOVAH” (Isaiah 12:2, 26:4). In all, there are seven instances where the name “Jehovah” is found in the King James Bible. There is one time when it is spelled “JAH” as an abbreviated form of Jehovah (Psalm 68:4). Sadly, the divine name is nowhere to be found in the NKJV, NRSV, NIV, NRSV, and ESV.
A Matter of Faith in the Holy Bible
We will delve into some historical details in a moment, but the entire topic is ultimately a matter of faith. More than anything else, this article is a defense of the King James Bible’s use of the name “Jehovah.” Contrary to what the academic community alleges, it is not a mistake. Here are the facts: The ‘Y’ is
translated into English as the letter ‘J’ in every other instance. Hence: Judah,
Judea, Jews, Jerusalem, Jacob, Joshua (Jesus), and Joseph all start with a ‘J.’
This is the reason we opt for JHVH rather than YHVH. In fact, consider the
following Hebrew names that actually begin with the name Jehovah:
- Jehonadab
- Jehoash
- Jehoiada
- Jehoshabeath
- Jehoshaphat
- Jehoshua
- Jehozabad
Notice that the words even retain the same vowels ‘e’ and ‘o’ that are found in Jehovah rather than the ‘a’ and ‘e’ in Yahweh. Then consider the Hebrew names that end with the name Jehovah:
- Abiah
- Amaziah
- Jedidiah
- Jeremiah
- Josiah
- Uzziah
- Zachariah
Lastly, consider the names that contain the shortened form of the divine name, “Jah,” at the beginning and at the end of the names:
- Jahaziel
- Jahaziah
- Elijah
- Abijah
In summary, all three vowels in the name “Jehovah” (e-o-a) show up in the above examples, as opposed to just the two vowels in “Yahweh” (a-e).
The only sure way to break through the fog of the information war and the never-ending tussle between facts and fables is to go to the scriptures. What does the Holy Bible say? It assures us that the word of God lives (is inspired) and abides (is preserved) forever (1 Peter 1:23). That would include God’s own name. When having to choose between the scholar and the scriptures, I side with the scriptures. The word of God assures us that Moses HEARD the pronunciation of the divine name when God said, “my name Jehovah” (Exodus 6:3). No doubt, Moses penned the Hebrew version of the divine name and that it was preserved by God’s faithful followers throughout the ages.
In the mid-1800s, “Yahweh” began to be popularized by a German scholar and theologian named Wilhelm Gesenius. He was a “rationalist,” believing reason to be the main source of knowledge. Gesenius is considered “the father of modern Hebrew lexicography.” He suggested the new pronunciation of God’s name in his 1847 Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon. Many Hebrew study tools used today—such as the Brown, Driver, Briggs Lexicon (BDB)—are the result of Gesenius’ work. The BDB alleges Yahweh as the likely pronunciation of the Hebrew letters. It also advances the idea that the pronunciation of Jehovah was not known in the past, and that the vowel points used to pronounce the name were borrowed from “Adonai” (Lord) or “Elohim” (God). These factoids have been parroted for the last couple of hundred years and are reinforced across the internet today, making it nearly impossible to dispel.
Another unbelieving German scholar who helped bring “Yahweh” into the 20th century was Rudolph Kittel. He is known for his expertise in the field of Hebrew Bible studies and is the originator and editor of the Biblia Hebraica, a critical edition of the Hebrew scriptures that came out in 1906. It has been reprinted in the 1990s and 2000s with a compact hardcover edition in 2020. Far from being the self-existent Holy One of Israel, Kittel saw “Yahweh” as an adopted pagan deity, a god that had originated from a non-Israelite people. He suggested that the meaning of the divine name might not be even traced to the Hebrew language. Hence:
“In case Yahweh was a deity known in Israel long before the time of Moses, or was the deity of one of the ancestors of the people or of a non-Israelitic Semitic stock adopted by the whole people in Mosaic times, it would follow that an etymological origin in Hebrew either could receive no guaranty or would be excluded, and a Semitic stem hawah should be sought, leading far back into origins in nature religion. Hence Lagarde derived the name from the verb “to (cause to) fall,’ ie., she storm-god (Orientalia, ii. 27, Géttingen, 1880), with whom practically agree W. R. Smith, Schwally, and Kerber; while Holzinger from the same root derives the meaning “destroyer” and Wellhausen obtains ‘‘the breather” or “weather god’’—a meaning with which Ewald is in substantial accord.” (The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume 12, s.v. Yahweh, p. 472).
“At the time of this revelation, Moses was in connection with the shepherd stock of Midianites, a stock related to the Kenites, who were in turn associated with the later Rechabites, strenuous maintainers of the Yahweh cult. Thus Yahwéh appears as an old deity of Sinai, revered in untold antiquity as a weather-god, and as such brought by Moses to Israel, to him revealed through his connection with the Midianite priestly family.” (The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume 12, s.v. Yahweh, p. 472).
Gerhard Kittel (Rudolph Kittel’s son) was a German theologian and a celebrated authority in the field of biblical studies and languages. He was the founder and editor of the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament ("Kittel" or TDNT) which remains popular today on digital platforms like Logos Bible Software. An avowed Nazi supporter, Kittel’s writings and lectures supplied the theological reasoning for the persecution of the Jews. We are not suggesting that Kittel created the prevailing view of the divine name, but he did help forward the notion that the pronunciation was lost over time and that “Jehovah” was contrived (See Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 3, s.v. θεός [Theos], 2. The Rabbinic Terms of God).
Note: Internet searches and AI chatbots often dredge up the biased opinions of the academic community. These tools may try to refute the above claims. How you frame a question is key when you are using a virtual assistant. Understand that we are not claiming that German scholars and theologians created the name “Yahweh.” No, we are simply stating a fact that German Higher Critics took the name “Yahweh” that had existed in ancient non-biblical writings and then made it popular. From that point on, “Yahweh” made its way into mainstream biblical studies.
To come to the point, the majority of modern Hebrew-Greek study tools have come from German sources. (In fact, much of what English-speaking believers are reading regarding “the original languages” was translated into German first—then into English.) Unbelieving German scholars were at the forefront of “higher criticism,” a method of studying the origin and authorship of the Bible from a secular perspective. These men did not believe in the divine inspiration of the Bible. It was unregenerate German scholars who discarded the divine name that had been the accepted name for centuries. These intellectuals and theologians ignored every vowel-pointed Hebrew manuscript that existed.
“The bulk of theological studies having come from German sources, there has been an intermixed usage in English of the J and the Y. Our English translations of the Bible reflect this, so we have chosen to use J, thus Jehovah, rather than Yahweh, because this is established English usage for Biblical names beginning with this Hebrew letter. No one suggests that we ought to change Jacob, Joseph, Jehoshaphat, Joshua, etc. to begin with a Y, and neither should we at this late date change Jehovah to Yahweh” (The Interlinear Bible, 2nd ed., by Jay P. Green, Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 1985).
To complicate matters, when English scholars began adopting “Jahwe” (as found in German), they saw a German W that LOOKED like an English W. But it should be noted that the German W is equivalent to the English V. So in English, the debate should really be “Jehovah” versus “Jahveh” or “Yahveh.” The modern Hebrew vav is also equivalent to the English V.
The Origin of the Vowels in Jehovah
The Hebrew language does not contain vowels in the way English does. Rather, it contains vowel points—little markings that resemble dots and dashes placed above or below or inside the Hebrew letters to indicate the vowel sounds. Getting to the bottom of the truth about the origin of the Hebrew vowel points in “Jehovah” is like trying to find one’s way through a misty forest. But the oft repeated story goes something like this: The ancient Hebrew Bible didn’t contain any vowel points. The sacred texts were understood through an oral tradition from the time of Moses until around the 6th century AD. At that time, a group of Jewish scribes and scholars known as the Masoretes (or Masorites) started to develop a system of vowel points. Their work also included extensive marginal notes that would help safeguard the accurate reading of the Hebrew Bible. This work was completed around the 10th century and gave rise to what is commonly called the Masoretic Text. The Masoretic Text was the foundational text for the Old Testament translation in the King James Bible.
We’ll comment on some of these claims later. Without a doubt, God used the Masoretes to pass on the Hebrew Bible. This fact demolishes the repeated claim that the name "Jehovah" originated with Peter Galatinus in 1518, whereas over a thousand vowel-pointed Hebrew manuscripts from the Early Middle Ages contain the name.
But this is where the story really goes off course: Once upon a time, the original pronunciation of JHVH became lost. Apparently, God failed to preserve his word. In this case, his own name! After the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people considered the divine name of God too sacred to say out loud. That in place of the tetragrammaton (JHVH), they would say “Adonai” when reciting the holy scriptures. Who it was that enabled this tradition, and to what extent it took place, is difficult to say. But the story goes that the Masoretes maintained this tradition by applying the vowels of “Adonai" (a-o-a) or “Elohim (e-o-i) to “YHWH” to remind the readers to pronounce “Adonai” or “Elohim” instead of the sacred name. Thus the Masoretes supposedly “invented” the name “Yehovah.”
In all, the academic consensus is that Christians in the following centuries mistakenly thought Yehovah was the real pronunciation of God’s name since that is what was in the Masoretic Text. So Christians took this “hybrid word” that the Masoretes had “invented” (“YHWH” plus the vowel points of “Adonai” or “Elohim”) and transcribed it into Latin (Iehovah or Iehouah), which was eventually transliterated into English (Jehovah or Yehovah). The end.
The Word of God Versus the Academic World
Did God fail to preserve his own name? I don’t believe so. Ultimately, the answer to this question is a matter of faith. But it is a matter of fact that the holy scriptures state that God’s word would be preserved throughout the ages. "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8). The Apostle Peter even quoted this verse (1 Peter 1:24-25). He had made it clear that we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Peter 1:23). The word of God “lives”—it is inspired. The word of God “abides”—it is preserved. “Every word of God is pure” (Proverbs 30:5). “The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11). One has to believe that God’s own name is one of the thoughts of his heart!
Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). The “jot” (or “jod”) was the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and the “tittle” referred to the smallest markings of the Hebrew alphabet. In other words, Jesus was emphasizing the fact that every detail of the Law still endured. And that as long as heaven and earth remained, all would be fulfilled through Christ. Jesus said elsewhere, “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17). Nothing had been lost, and nothing would ever be lost.
Jesus said, “Search the scriptures” (John 5:39). The scriptures were not only available during the time of Christ, but the scriptures were read and received. Jesus repeatedly asked, “Have ye not read?” (Matthew 12:3, 5; 19:4; 22:31; Mark 12:10, 26). Interestingly enough, the religious crowd never argued with Christ over vowel sounds and alternate constructions of a word based on missing vowel points! Jesus simply stated, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Even the devil quoted a verse to the Lord and said, “It is written” (Matthew 4:6). Not even Satan disputed the construction of the words based on other possible vowel sounds. His tactic was to simply to distort the application of the verse—not reconstruct it. No doubt, he is trying to distort it and reconstruct it today.
Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). He was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. And the truth that had been written in Deuteronomy 8 is now written in Matthew 4. What’s more, Jesus said that we need “every word” that proceeds out of God’s mouth. And notice that it “proceedeth”—present tense. The holy scriptures contain the words that God is speaking today.
Might There Have Been Vowel Points All Along?
John Gill was a biblical scholar, theologian, and minister of the church that the famed Charles Spurgeon would later pastor decades later. In the 1700s, John Gill wrote a book titled A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Letters, Vowel-Points and Accents. This book is in print again, and a digital copy is also available on the internet. In his dissertation, John Gill defended the pronunciation of “Jehovah” while rejecting the Jewish tradition regarding the unspeakable name of God. He also rejected the idea that the Masoretes (Masorites) invented the vowel points found in the Masoretic Text. He believed the Old Testament scriptures must have included vowel points and accents to help pronounce the words, and that they were given to Moses by God. That while there were ancient Hebrew texts that existed without the vowel points, there were still copies that had retained them. So rather than creating the vowel points, the Masoretes merely preserved the ancient system that had already existed. Though the general consensus today is that the “tittle” is in reference to the little strokes or ornamental lines of a consonant letter, Gill believed the “tittle” signified the tiny vowel points of the Hebrew Bible.
This leads to a serious question: Is it possible that Jesus, when mentioning the jot and tittle of the Hebrew Bible, was actually referring to both the letters and vowel points? There’s a strong case for this. The everlastingness of the message of God’s word is in its consonants and vowel sounds—the words themselves! Not just ornamental flourishes.
One of the reasons why Gill believed the vowel points were removed was to allow the unsaved Jewish cults to reinterpret the scriptures in any way they pleased. For example, the followers of Kabbalah interpreted the scriptures in a mystical way that uncovered “hidden” meanings beyond the literal text. Hence the following (in updated spelling):
“One reason was, that the Cabalists, and those who had got into the allegorizing way of interpreting the scriptures, might have the opportunity of framing and establishing their own and even various senses of them, which an unpointed Bible [with no vowel points] will admit of [allow], when a pointed one will not.” (A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Scholar Select, Andesite Press, p. 277).
Another reason why Gill believed the vowel points were removed was to create a protected class of readers within the synagogue:
“But the chief reason of unpointed copies in the synagogues seems to be, that none but learned men, or such who are well versed in the Hebrew language, should be admitted readers there; for if the copy was pointed, as then, any common man might read it.” (A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Scholar Select, Andesite Press, p. 281).
Lastly, John Gill made the case that it is difficult to prove the originals didn’t contain vowel points:
“That it is an unpointed copy of the law which is usually kept in the Jewish synagogues now, will be allowed, but that the Archetype [original] or Autograph of Moses was without points may be asserted, but not easily proven; nor can it be said, with any precision, how long it has been the custom of the Jews to have an unpointed copy of the law in their synagogues” (A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Scholar Select, Andesite Press pp. 275-276).
To be clear, none of this is proof that there were vowel pointed copies of the Hebrew Bible before the time of Christ. This section simply demonstrates that we are not alone in challenging the prevalent narrative. Once more, nowhere in the Bible do we ever find Jewish or Gentile believers debating the meaning of a text based on other possible vowel sounds and alternate constructions of a word. The New Testament writers simply declared, “It is written” (Acts 1:20, 7:42, 15:15, 23:5; Rom. 1:17, 2:24, 3:4, 10; 4:17, 8:36, 9:13, 33; 10:15, 11:8, 26; 12:19, 14:11, 15:3, 9, 21; 1 Cor. 1:19, 31; 2:9, 3:19, 9:9, 10:7, 14:21, 15:45; 2 Cor. 4:13, 8:15, 9:9; Gal. 3:10, 13; 4:22, 27; Heb. 10:7; 1 Pet. 1:16).
Did the Masoretes Really Deem “Jehovah” an Invention?
The Masoretic scribes developed a system in which marginal notes (Masorah) would correct or modify that which was written in the main text. This system is known today as the Qere-Ketiv system. In short, the system would document the differences between the written text (ketiv) and the corrected reading (qere). The objective was to make sure the correct reading of the Hebrew Bible was passed on to the next generation. As stated earlier, the academic community alleges that the Masoretic scribes took the vowel points from "Adonai" (Lord) or "Elohim" (God) and applied them to the Hebrew consonants (YHVH), thus creating “Yehovah.” According to the prevailing notion, the reader was not only prevented from uttering the “unspeakable” name of God (since the “artificial” name of Yehovah was supplied), but the vowel points of Yehovah would also remind him to say “Adonai” or “Elohim” instead.
There’s a problem with this narrative though. In the thousands of times the name “Yehovah” appears in all the Masoretic manuscripts, the Masoretes never wrote any marginal notes—or any other notes for that matter—instructing the reader to pronounce YHVH as “Adonai.” Critics claim the vowel points in the margin are proof enough; that the redundancy of the divine name necessitated this unwritten tradition. However, having vowel points in the margin only proves there were vowel points in the margin. This does not prove that the Masoretes intended “Adonai” to be a surrogate name. At best, it’s an assumption that is presented as fact. At worst, it’s a deception. The absence of any instructions suggests the Masoretes considered “Yehovah” to be the correct name to be read out loud. Furthermore, there are over one thousand documented Hebrew manuscripts that contain the divine name with the vowel points written into the text itself. (See “Yehovah Manuscripts,” https://www.nehemiaswall.com/yehovah-manuscripts.)
Where Did the A and the E in “Yahweh” Come From?
There isn’t one particular source, but many Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias do mention the 5th-century Theodoret of Cyrus as a major source for reconstructing the pronunciation of the name "Yahweh." He was a bishop and author of a theological work called the Haereticarum Fabularum Compendium, otherwise known as A Compendium of Heretical Mythification. In his work, Theodoret alleged that the Samaritans pronounced the divine name of God as “Jabe” or “Yabe.” So the vowels ‘a’ and ‘e’ could have been taken from “Jabe” and inserted into JHVH to become “Javeh” or “Yaveh.” Despite his well-documented lack of knowledge of the Hebrew language, many scholars still invoke his work.
Consider The Catholic Encyclopedia:
“To take up the ancient writers: Diodorus Siculus writes Jao (I, 94); Irenaeus (Against Heresies II.35.3), Jaoth; the Valentinian heretics (Irenaeus, Against Heresies I.4.1), Jao; Clement of Alexandria (Stromata V.6), Jaou; Origen (Commentary on John II.1), Jao; Porphyry (Eusebius, "Praep. evang", I, ix, in P.G., XXI, col. 72), Jeuo; Epiphanius (Against Heresies I.3.40), Ja or Jabe; Pseudo-Jerome ("Breviarium in Pss.", in P.L., XXVI, 828), Jaho; the Samaritans (Theodoret, in "Ex. quaest.", xv, in P.G., LXXX, col. 244), Jabe; James of Edessa (cf. Lamy, "La science catholique", 1891, p. 196), Jehjeh; Jerome (Epistle 25) speaks of certain ignorant Greek writers who transcribed the Hebrew Divine name II I II I. The judicious reader will perceive that the Samaritan pronunciation Jabe probably approaches the real sound of the Divine name closest; the other early writers transmit only abbreviations or corruptions of the sacred name. Inserting the vowels of Jabe into the original Hebrew consonant text, we obtain the form Jahveh (Yahweh), which has been generally accepted by modern scholars as the true pronunciation of the Divine name.” (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910, Robert Appleton Company, vol. VIII, s.v. “Jehovah (Yahweh)”; also online at https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08329a.htm).
Then consider The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge:
“Such a conclusion, giving “Yahweh” as the pronunciation of the name, is confirmed by the testimony of the Fathers and gentile writers, where the forms Jao, Yaho, Yaou, Yahouat, and Yaoue appear. Especially important is the statement of Theodoret in relation to Ex. vi., when he says: ‘the Samaritans call it [the tetragrammaton] ‘Yabe,’ the Jews [call it] ‘Aza’ (the latter form representing the ’ehyeh, “I will be,” of Ex. iti. 14).” (The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume 12, s.v. Yahweh, pp. 471).
The classic 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (the 11th Edition) also notes the “Jabe” connection:
“Clement of Alexandria (d. c. 212) says that it was pronounced Ιαουε. Epiphanius (d. 404), who was born in Palestine and spent a considerable part of his life there, gives Ιαβε (one cod. Ιαυε). Theodoret (d. c. 457), born in Antioch, writes that the Samaritans pronounced the name Ιαβε (in another passage, Ιαβαι), the Jews Αἳα. The latter is probably not Jhvh but Ehyeh (Exod. iii. 14), which the Jews counted among the names of God.” (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica s.v. Jehovah; also: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Jehovah).
No Biblical Manuscript Evidence for “Yahweh”
There is no biblical manuscript evidence of “Yahweh” spelled as such. None. The academic community will try to fact-check this claim as if it were false, but the bias is preloaded in their answer. When intellectuals allege there is biblical manuscript evidence of Yahweh, they are only referring to the consonants YHWH—not the full spelling of “Yahweh.” So it is misleading. To make matter worse, they disregard the Hebrew manuscripts that actually spell out “Yehovah” in the Hebrew language.
That being said, the academic community does allege manuscript evidence of Yahweh in ancient magical texts related to Greco-Roman mysticism. (See Wikipedia, s.v. Yahweh, 4th para., last modified November 23, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yahweh&action=history. Also, Studies in the Cult of Yahweh: Volume Two, pp. 242–256, by Morton Smith, edited by Shaye J. D. Cohen (1996b), published by E. J. Brill in Leiden, The Netherlands, New York, and Cologne.) Scholars claim the name “Iao (Ιαω)” is a Greek transliteration of “Yahweh” and can be found, along with other Greek and Egyptian gods, in the Greek Magical Papyri. They also claim the name “Yaho” is a form of Yahweh that is invoked in Papyrus Amherst 63 from ancient Egypt.
Moreover, The Encyclopedia Britannica (the 11th Edition) also notes the “Yabe” and “Yahweh” connection to ancient magical texts:
"This direct testimony is supplemented by that of the magical texts, in which Ιαβε ζεβυθ (Jahveh Ṣebāōth), as well as Ιαβα, occurs frequently. In an Ethiopic list of magical names of Jesus, purporting to have been taught by him to his disciples, Yāwē is found. Finally, there is evidence from more than one source that the modern Samaritan priests pronounce the name Yahweh or Yahwa.” (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica s.v. Jehovah; this entry is also online: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Jehovah).
This all leads to some good questions: Is “Yahweh” an effort by the evil one to taint or supersede the divine name of God? Is “Yahweh” an effort by the evil one to reduce the self-existent God of Israel into a pagan god that can be cast into a trash heap with all the other pagan gods? Are we supposed to believe that God failed to preserve his own name? Are we supposed to believe that God made his people wait until 19th century skeptics (who rejected the divine inspiration of the scriptures and believed God’s name to be lost!) decided that Yahweh, nonetheless, was the “more likely” pronunciation? I don’t think so.
Jesus Is the Essence of Jehovah
People may wonder why the divine name does not show up in the New Testament. Far from being a lost name, I am of the opinion that believers did treat the divine name with respect and weren’t accustomed to using it all the time. That being said, the phrase “Alleluia” does show up four times in the book of Revelation (19:1, 3, 4, 6). “Alleluia” is the Greek form of the Hebrew word “Hallelujah,” which means “Praise Jah!” or “Praise Jehovah!” So the concept of the divine name was not lost to the early Church. Moreover, the divine name does, in fact, show up in the New Testament—“Jesus.” Jesus is the manifestation of Jehovah, coequal with the Father. In fact, the very name “Jesus” is a transliteration of the Greek name “Iēsous,” which is also a transliteration of the Hebrew name “Yeshua.” In English, “Yeshua” becomes “Joshua,” a shortened version of “Jehoshua,” meaning “Jehovah saves.” The concept of the divine name is built into Jesus’ own name! Jesus himself linked his identity to the “I AM” of the Old Testament when he declared, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58 cf. Exodus 3:14). The Jews understood the implication perfectly and tried to stone him for it.
Isaiah 45:21-23 reads: “[T]here is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” Who is speaking here? It is Jesus—Jehovah. This is made manifest in the verses that follow: “Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength” (Isaiah 45:24). “In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory” (Isaiah 45:25). The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirt, attached the Lord Jesus to this passage in Isaiah when he declared, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Philippians 2:10 cf. Isaiah 45:23). In fact, the apostle attached the Lord Jesus to this Isaiah passage a second time as well: Paul stated that “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written [in Isaiah 45:23], As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me” (Romans 14:10-11). Who is Jesus? He is “the LORD” of the Old Testament. My friend, keep trusting in Jesus. “Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). Hallelujah!
Recommended Reading
- Why ‘Jehovah’ Not ‘Yahweh’ Is the Most Accurate Pronunciation of the Divine Name. The Trinitarian Bible Society. Available online for free.
- Evidences for the Inspiration of the Hebrew Vowel Points. Thomas D. Ross. Available online for free.
