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#Post#: 133--------------------------------------------------
Tetragrammaton
By: Mentor Date: December 19, 2012, 3:45 am
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[I]rcg.org[/I]
Tetragrammaton
Hebrew: יהוה transliterated to the Latin
letters YHWH. It is derived from a verb that means "to be",and
is considered in Judaism to be a proper name of the God of
Israel used in the Hebrew Bible.
How Pronunciation Became Lost
The Hebrew language does not use vowels—only consonants and
semi-consonants. The pronunciation of “YHWH” was once well
understood among the Hebrews. (It is interesting that YHWH comes
from the root word in Hebrew HYH—an old form of the root HWH,
meaning be.”)
Israel and Judah had come to forget God’s name. They actually
came to superstitiously fear His name, choosing never to
pronounce it. This was partly because they made an idol out of
His name and partly because of their resentment against Him for
punishing them. Out of superstitious reverence and fear, they
refrained from repeating the name YHWH, though they knew how to
pronounce it. Instead, they chose to use, and say aloud, the
word Adonai, meaning “Lord” or “Master,” wherever YHWH appeared
in the text.
Thus, the correct pronunciation of YHWH was forgotten. Notice:
“I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my
name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall
this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yes,
they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think
to cause My people to forget My name by their dreams which they
tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten
My name for Baal” (Jer. 23:25-27).
Because of the false belief that the name YHWH was too holy to
be uttered, its pronunciation became forgotten. And without
knowing the vowels, one cannot possibly know how to correctly
pronounce God’s name. The precise way of pronouncing YHWH is not
known today, but its meaning is preserved in Scripture.
Hebrew will not be the language in the soon-coming kingdom of
God. God will reverse the dividing of languages that He caused
at the tower of Babel and initiate a universal language: “For
then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may
all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one
consent” (Zeph. 3:9).
If this coming pure language were to be Hebrew, this verse would
have said so. Indications are that it will be a new
language—having simplicity and clarity, free from dubious
misunderstandings due to confusion over pronunciation of terms.
This eliminates Hebrew, which, with its absence of vowels,
causes endless disputes—even among the Sacred Names groups, who
can never agree which pronunciation is the most correct or
acceptable.
However, suppose one became convinced by the Sacred Names
arguments and decided to join their movement. Would this
decision settle the matter in his mind? Not at all!
The many Sacred Names groups are hopelessly divided as to how
the Hebrew names of God should be pronounced. And, since nothing
equivalent to vowels exists in written Hebrew (oral Hebrew
generally uses them), further division among these groups will
continue.
Again, some groups use Yahveh, others Yahweh, others Yehweh,
still others Yahvah or Jehovah, and still others Joshua or
Yeshua or Joheshua—and many, many more!
It is difficult to imagine that God would decree that His names
could only be pronounced in a particular language, but leave His
would-be worshipers in utter confusion as to the right way to
pronounce them. While this entire matter is marked by confusion,
God could not be its author (I Cor. 14:33)!
God’s Names Translated in Scripture
As previously stated, all Sacred Names sects insist that only
the Hebrew names of God, properly pronounced in Hebrew, are
acceptable to Him. However, when we find God’s names translated
into different languages, their claims lose even more
credibility.
After the Babylonian captivity, Hebrew ceased to be the common
language among the Jews and was replaced with Aramaic. Five
chapters of Daniel were written in Aramaic, with the rest in
Hebrew. Four chapters of Ezra were also written in Aramaic, with
the rest in Hebrew. In these chapters, we find God’s
name—Elah—written in Aramaic, not Hebrew. Daniel and Ezra were
God’s dedicated servants, and they were not bound to only write
(or speak) the names of God exclusively in the Hebrew language.
Clearly, Daniel and Ezra, inspired by God, properly translated
His name into Aramaic. Therefore, the Hebrew names for God can
be translated into other languages, as well.
While the true names of God were often interchanged with the
names of pagan gods and idols, such acts by misguided human
beings does not taint His names. Romans 1:21-23, 28 records that
the ancients’ refusal to honor God returned upon their own
heads—yet God’s honor was not diminished. Some Sacred Names
sects actually use this weak argument to completely prohibit the
speaking of God’s names. They do this to justify their
“preservation” of hidden Hebrew terms for God in order to
maintain “purity” of His name.
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