Is God's Name
"Jehovah"?
by Charlie Campbell Director of The Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry

Jehovah's Witnesses insist that God's name (YHWH in the Old Testament) is supposed to be pronounced  "Jehovah." So persuaded are they about this, they believe they are the only ones  who have earned God's favor, because they are the only ones who consistently call God by this name. Yet, Jewish and Christian scholars who are thoroughly  familiar with the Old Testament Hebrew language and how to pronounce Hebrew  words make it clear that the Hebrew word YHWH is more accurately pronounced "Yahweh" (Yaw-Way) rather than "Jehovah". Richard Abanes, a nationally  recognized authority on cults and religions, rightly points out  that:

"The origin of the word Jehovah can be traced to the late Middle Ages (around the year 1500), when Jewish scribes began inserting the vowels from the Hebrew word  adonai ("my Lord") into the name YHWH. The insertion resulted in the  hybrid term YaHoWaH. Scribes wanted this new word to remind readers that God's  name was too holy to pronounce, so they should substitute adonah for it  when reading biblical passages aloud. Then, when the term YaHoWaH was  Latinized, the "Y" and "W" were changed to "J" and "V"--resulting in  Jehovah. In other words, Jehovah is a mistransliteration,  compounded by the fact that, while "J" has a "Y" sound in Latin, it has a very  different sound in English--as in the word jam. Jehovah appears in no literature earlier than about the thirteenth century, and it began  to be popularized in the sixteenth century by well-meaning but mistaken  Christians." (Richard Abanes, The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code, p. 19, 83)

Here is what other scholars say about the name or pronunciation "Jehovah": 

The Jewish Encyclopedia: "Jehovah" -- a mispronunciation of the Hebrew YHWH the name of God. This pronunciation is grammatically impossible. The form 'Jehovah' is a  philological impossibility."

The New Jewish Encyclopedia: "It is clear that the word Jehovah is an artificial composite."

Encyclopedia Judaica:  "the true pronunciation of the tetragrammaton YHWH was never lost. The name was pronounced Yahweh. It was regularly pronounced this way  at least until 586 B.C., as is clear from the Lachish Letters written shortly  before this date."

The Universal  Jewish Encyclopedia:  "JEHOVAH is an erroneous pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton a four lettered name of God, made up of the Hebrew letters Yod He Vav He. The word "JEHOVAH" therefore is a misreading for which there is no  warrant and which makes no sense in Hebrew" 

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: "Jehovah" -- "False reading of the Hebrew  YAHWEH."

Encyclopedia  Americana: "Jehovah" -- "erroneous form of the name of the God of  Israel."

A Dictionary  of the Bible by William Smith: "Whatever, therefore, be the true  pronunciation of the word, there can be little doubt that it is not Jehovah." 
 
Encyclopedia  Britannica: ""The  pronunciation 'Jehovah' is an error resulting among Christians from combining the consonants YHWH with the vowels of ADHONAY....The  Masoretes who from the 6th to the 10th century worked to reproduce the original  text of the Hebrew Bible replaced the vowels of the name YHWH with the vowel signs of Adonai or Elohim. Thus the artificial name Jehovah came into  being."

Webster's Third New  International Dictionary: "Jehovah" -- "Intended as a  transliteration of Hebrew YAHWEH, the vowel points of Hebrew ADHONAY (my lord)  being erroneously substituted for those of YAHWEH; from the fact that in some  Hebrew manuscripts the vowel points of ADHONAY (used as a euphemism for YAHWEH) were written under the consonants YHWH of YAHWEH to indicate that ADHONAY was to be substituted in oral reading for YAHWEH. Jehovah is a Christian  transliteration of the tetragrammaton long assumed by many Christians to be the  authentic reproduction of the Hebrew sacred name for God but now recognized to be a late hybrid form never used by the Jews."

New Catholic Encyclopedia: "Jehovah" -- "false form of the divine name YAHWEH." 

The New Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia: "Jehovah" -- "is an erroneous form of the divine name of the covenant God Israel." 
 
The  Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: "Jehovah" --"is an artificial form." 

Encyclopedia  International:  "Jehovah"  --"the vowels of one  word with the consonants of the other were misread as 'Jehovah.'"

Merits Students Encyclopedia: --"is  an inaccurate reconstruction of the name of God in the Old Testament." 
 
Encyclopedia  Judiacia: "YHWH" -- "When Christian scholars of Europe first began to study Hebrew, they did not understand what this really meant, and they introduced the hybrid name 'Jehovah'...THE TRUE PRONUNCIATION OF THE NAME YHWH WAS NEVER LOST. Several  early Greek writers of the Christian church testify that the name was pronounced  'YAHWEH.' This is confirmed, at least for the vowel of the first syllable of the  name, by the shorter form Yah, which is sometimes used in poetry (e.g. Exodus  15:2)... The personal name of God of Israel is written in the  Hebrew Bible with the four consonants YHWH and is referred to as the  'Tetragrammaton.' At least until the destruction of the First Temple in 586  B.C.E. this name was regularly pronounced with its proper vowels, as is clear  from the Lachish Letters, written shortly before that date."

Nelson's Bible  Dictionary: "Jehovah" -- "The divine name Yahweh is usually translated Lord in English versions of the Bible, because it became a practice in late Old Testament Judaism not to pronounce the sacred name YHWH, but to say  instead "my Lord" (Adonai) - a practice still used today in the synagogue. When  the vowels of Adonai were attached to the consonants YHWH in the medieval  period, the word Jehovah resulted. Today, many Christians use the word Yahweh,  the more original pronunciation, not hesitating to name the divine name since  Jesus taught believers to speak in a familiar way to  God."

Ron  Rhodes (Christian apologist and author):  "If the Jehovah's Witnesses are correct that God must always be called by the  name Jehovah, then Jesus was way out of line, for He never used this  name when referring to the Father." 

Ron  goes on to explain that even though the Bible the Watchtower Society publishes  (The New World Translation) puts the word "Jehovah" in Jesus' mouth in their New Testament, the word "Jehovah" does not occur a single time in any legitimate  manuscript copy of the New Testament.

According to Isaiah 44:6 there are two LORDs or "YHWHs". Why?

"Thus said Jehovah, king of Israel, And his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: 'I am the first, and I the last, And besides Me there is no God."
Young's Literal Translation

"Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."
King James Version.

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God."
New King James Version

"Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god."
English Standard Version

"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God."
American Standard Version

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me."
New American Standard Bible.

"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God." Darby Translation

"Así dice Jehová Rey de Israel, y su Redentor, Jehová de los ejércitos: Yo soy el primero, y yo soy el postrero, y fuera de mí no hay Dios."
Reina-Valera 1960

"This is what Jehovah says,The King of Israel and his Repurchaser, Jehovah of armies:‘I am the first and I am the last. There is no God but me."
NEW WORLD TRANSLATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES (2013  REVISION)

Why did this Jehovah's Witness say, "we are not here to discuss the Bible" when the Watchtower claims to represent God? Watch as this JW hears the Biblical Gospel, possibly for the first time.

Questions for Jehovah's Witnesses

John 1:1 in various translations

King James Bible
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

New International Version   (©1984)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

New Living Translation   (©2007)
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

English Standard Version   (©2001)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

New American Standard Bible    (©1995)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

International Standard Version   (©2008)
In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

GOD'SWORD® Translation   (©1995)
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

American  King James Version
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

American Standard Version
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Bible in Basic English
From the first he was the Word, and the Word was in relation with God and was God.

Douay-Rheims Bible
IN the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Darby Bible Translation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

English Revised Version
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Webster's Bible Translation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Weymouth New Testament
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

World English Bible
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
​
Young's Literal Translation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

New World Translation
 In the beginning was the Word,  and the Word was with God,    and the Word was a god.

Why is it that the NWT (New World Translation) 
is the only one to say “a god”?