I converted to Jehovah's Witnesses

The Bible I read uses the name 'Yahweh' all the way through, and I find it quite trying, actually.

It is a term, rather than a name, imo. God doesn't need a name, to distinguish Himself from other gods. God IS -- whatever the name attached by human beings and their various faiths.

I know this is controversial but God doesn't require anyone to address Him as a named individual, except perhaps as a mark of respect -- as in Lord. God hears all sincere prayer, whatever the time or place or religion, whatever the name assigned. God doesn't have a 'name' imo

In English the 'name' should really be written as I AM. But LORD does the job, especially in parts like the Psalms.

I also do not believe it is justified to substitute the name Jehovah for LORD in the New Testament, which was written in Greek and did not even use the Hebrew tetragrammaton?
Jehovah's Witnesses originated as a branch of the Bible Student movement, which developed in the United States in the 1870s.

1530 in William Tyndale’s translation of the Pentateuch. God’s name at Genesis 15:2 He used the form “Iehouah.”.

The Authorized King James Version (1611) renders IEHOVAH at:
Psalms 83:18 That men may knowe, that thou, whose name alone is IEHOVAH: art the most High ouer all the earth.

Over time, the English language changed, and the spelling of the divine name was modernized. For example, in 1612, Henry Ainsworth used the form “Iehovah” throughout his translation of the book of Psalms. Then, in 1639, when that work was revised and printed with the Pentateuch, the form “Jehovah” was used.

This all happened long before the Jehovah's Witnesses became a group, in the 1870s.

The Hebrews may not pronounce the name of God, but they have never removed it from their Holy Scriptures In the Hebrew text, it is in there Today and it never has been removed since the time of Moses when it first was written. It is even written in the Hebrew new Testament.

IHOT (In English order)
Psalms 83:18 H3045 וידעו That may know H3588 כי that H859 אתה thou, H8034 שׁמך whose name H3068 יהוה JEHOVAH, H905 לבדך alone H5945 עליון the most high H5921 על over H3605 כל all H776 הארץ׃ the earth.




יהוה Hebrew Gospel of Matthew Chapter 1:
הִיא יֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאתָ אֶת־שְׁמוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ כִּי הוּא יוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת־עַמּוֹ מֵחַטֹּאתֵיהֶם׃ כא
וְכָל־זֹאת הָיְתָה לְמַלֹּאת אֵת אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְהוָֹה בְּיַד־הַנָּבִיא לֵאמֹר׃ כב
הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרְאוּ שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּאֵל אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר אֵל עִמָּנוּ׃ כג
וַיִּיקַץ יוֹסֵף מִשְּׁנָתוֹ וַיַּעַשׂ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֹתוֹ מַלְאַךְ יְהוָֹה וַיִּקַּח אֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ׃ כד
וְלֹא יָדַע אֹתָהּ עַד כִּי־יָלְדָה בֵּן אֶת־בְּכוֹרָהּ וַיִּקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמוֹ יֵשׁוּעַ׃ כה
 
Last edited:
Hebrews may not pronounce the name of God, but they have never removed it from their holy Scriptures In the Hebrew text, it is in there Today and it never has been removed since the time of Moses when it first was written. It is even written in the Hebrew new Testament.
Ok, but therefore in English the Hebrew tetragrammaton should be translated into English as the term I AM THAT I AM -- not retained as a proper name: Jehovah?
 
Ok, but therefore in English the Hebrew tetragrammaton should be translated into English as the term I AM THAT I AM -- not retained as a proper name: Jehovah?


I AM THAT I AM Is several Hebrew words, This is God's personal name It has nothing to do with other Hebrew words. [ it is only one word ] יהוה
This website translates hundreds of Bibles in many languages.


 
We can agree to disagree. :) I looked it up one time and I believe Yahweh is God's name in five different languages.
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever ...

Exodus 3:13-16
 
look at the way Exodus 3:13 is translated in 100 Bibles, it makes it very difficult to understand what is my name forever for all generations, when the name is taken out of the Bible in the first place, How could anyone figure out anything when the name of is removed In the first place?


 
But doesn't the Hebrew word really just mean I AM (that I am)?

The four letters written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are yodh, he, waw, and he. The name may be derived from a verb that means "to be", "to exist", "to cause to become", or "to come to pass"
From what I understand, Exodus 3:14,15 are different, and some translations have the word LORD at Exodus 3:15, while others have Yahweh or Jehovah yet others have the word LORD there.
For instance,
Holman Christian Standard Bible

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.”
American Standard Version

And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

But the verse before that at Exodus 3:14 has
New American Standard Bible
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
NASB

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

If you would like further details on this, I suggest you read the article that further details this @https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002391#h=46. Thank you.
 
you would like further details on this, I suggest you read the article that further details this @https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002391#h=46. Thank you.
Not interested in JW proselytizing links ...
 
I believe Gods of this world govern for a time and then move on to higher dimensions, to be replaced by newer Gods, who also govern then move on ...
 
@RJM - OK, what did you discern, if anything, from the previous statements in my post about Exodus 3:14 & 15? do all Bibles translate verses 14 & 15 the same way? And if not, why not, or don't you want to be bothered answering using reason?
 
OK, what did you discern, if anything, from the previous statements in my post about Exodus 3:14 & 15? do all Bibles translate verses 14 & 15 the same way? And if not, why not, or don't you want to be bothered answering using reason?
I discern that God gave a term describing 'His' nature and written in Hebrew as the Tetragrammaton. I discern that in attempting to use the Tetragrammaton as a proper name for the Almighty in English, it should be translated into English?
 
Why? If you were the translator, what would you put instead?
IAM THAT I AM -- as the proper English translation -- or just 'the Lord' to avoid getting clunky. It's not a proper name -- it's a description, imo?
 
IAM THAT I AM -- as the proper English translation -- or just 'the Lord' to avoid getting clunky. It's not a proper name -- it's a description, imo?
..or I'm told by Rabbio that "I will be what I will be" is a better translation. :)

In any case, we are all referring to the One God of Abraham .. at least, I would hope so.
 
IAM THAT I AM -- as the proper English translation -- or just 'the Lord' to avoid getting clunky. It's not a proper name -- it's a description, imo?
'the Lord' is not a proper translation though. I AM THAT I AM describes what He is and -- what He will prove to be. That is in verse 13. Verse 14 is said in some Bibles this way:
"God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations."
So what verse 13 says is different from verse 14 as to how God describes Himself. Verse 13 is a description of who he is and what he will do ("I am that I am," and verse 14 gives His name directly.
 
Not interested in JW proselytizing links ...
I am interested in getting information from a source I trust. And which explains. It was not a proselytizing link, it was a link giving information about the divine name of God and how it is translated.
 
Ask me anything about my beliefs, if you want

I will do my best to answer
Sure . . . there are 8.6 million of you but only 144,000 will go to heaven to rule with Christ in the kingdom of God.
What makes you think you will be one?
 
Back
Top