Sacred Nomenclature

various translations

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Sacred Nomenclature

Proverbs 30:4.  Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! 

Some have never heard the name of the Almighty YHWH before.  We are sure you have heard the name Jehovah.  Up until 120 years ago or so, this was as close as the Bible translators could get to the correct pronunciation of the Father’s name.  Since then, archaeologists and scholars have uncovered irrefutable evidence that “Jehovah” is an incorrect transliteration of the sacred name; and that the correct transliteration and pronunciation is “YHWH” or “Yahuweh.”

The name “YHWH” occurs nearly 8,000 times in the Bible.  In some translations of Scripture, “YHWH” is replaced with “the LORD” to conform to the traditional translation of the King James Version, and the Jewish assumption that the name of our Father in Heaven is too holy to be uttered.

Virtually all Bibles translated since the American Standard Version (1901) have either made this correction in the text or noted the correct transliteration in the annotation. 

Here is the third Commandment from five Bible versions.  Notice the year of each translation’s publication and the name that is used:

1769 King James Version, Exodus 20:7:

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy Elohim in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

1898 Young’s Literal Bible, Exodus 20:7:

Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy Elohim for a vain thing, for Jehovah acquitteth not him who taketh up His name for a vain thing.

1901 American Standard, Exodus 20:7:

Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy Elohim in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

1965 The New Jerusalem Bible, Exodus 20:7:

You shall not misuse the name of YHWH your Elohim, for YHWH will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.

1981 Bethel Edition, Exodus 20:7: Exodus 20:7:

You shall not make wrong use of the Name of YHWH your Elohim; for YHWH will not leave unpunished the man who misuses His Name.

Houses of worship all over the world, liberal, fundamentalist and Catholic, are honoring the Father in Heaven by hallowing his name.  Now we know his name to be YHWH.  New information and understandings are slow to take hold in traditional setting (like the Church.)   However, I’m confident that future editions of Bibles, books of worship and devotionals will make better use of the resources that bible students, scholars and archaeologists have provided in these days of revelation and research.

At all times we also use the correct transliteration and pronunciation of our Savior’s name Y’SHUA.  The use of his name correctly pronounced reminds us first that he came in the name of his Father YHWH (YAH-shua) and that he came to SAVE (yah-SHUA, shua is Hebrew for save or salvation).  Y’shua means “YHWH’s Salvation” or “YHWH Saves.” 

The use of the sacred name of our Savior is also in keeping with his great prayer of unity in John 17:

I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world.  Holy Father, keep them in my name that thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we.  Righteous Father, though the world has not known thee, yet I have known thee, and these have known that thou didst send me; and I have made known to them thy name, and will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them.

It is our fervent hope that we all will be unified in the name of our Father in Heaven and his Son our Savior.