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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#CC9900" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043005a0dwnjzk.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EDWARD WATSONS WEBWORLD"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>EDWARD WATS</B><B>ON'S WEBWORLD</B></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id83.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION"><U><B>SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 1: DOES JESUS HAVE A PREEXISTENCE?"><U><B>PART 1: DOES JESUS HAVE A PRE-EXISTENCE?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 2: IS JESUS GOD?"><U><B>PART 2: IS JESUS "GOD"?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id89.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2"><U><B>2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id90.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3"><U><B>3</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id91.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4"><U><B>4</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id92.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5"><U><B>5</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id93.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6"><U><B>6</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id94.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7"><U><B>7</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id95.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8"><U><B>8</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 2: CONCLUSION"><U><B>PART 2: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id98.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 3: ARE JESUS AND JEHOVAH THE SAME?"><U><B>PART 3: ARE JESUS AND JEHOVAH THE SAME?</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id99.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1"><U><B>1</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id100.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="2"><U><B>2</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>3</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id102.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="4"><U><B>4</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5"><U><B>5</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="6"><U><B>6</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id105.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="7"><U><B>7</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8"><U><B>8</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="PART 3: CONCLUSION"><U><B>PART 3: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 2: APPENDIX"><U><B>SECTION 2: APPENDIX</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id109.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SECTION 2: CONCLUSION"><U><B>SECTION 2: CONCLUSION</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id137.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ABBREVIATIONS"><U><B>ABBREVIATIONS</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>[MORMONISM. The Faith of the Twenty-first Century. Volume 1. Edward K. Watson. (Liahona Publications. Copyright © 1998 Edward K. Watson.) pp. 321-322. MORMONISM: Section 2, Part 3, Chapter 3. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <div> <U>CHAPTER 3</U></div> <bR> <div> <B>The History of YHWH (Jehovah) in the </B><B>Hebrew Scriptures </B></div> <bR> <div>      The  Tetragrammaton (tetra-four, grammaton-letters) “YHWH” (“yod, he, waw, he”) or the alternate “YHVH” in the Hebrew scriptures which some translate as “Jehovah” consists of consonants. Written vowels weren't invented when the Lord revealed his name and when they were; it was long after the real pronunciation of YHWH had been lost for centuries,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >1</FONT> because no one was allowed to say the real name of God except the high priest once a year.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >2</FONT> The  Masoretes (around the sixth century A.D.) created a series of “vowel points,”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >3</FONT> (diacritical marks) which were dots and dashes placed under the consonants that indicated the vowel sounds,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >4</FONT> to avoid writing vowels into the Hebrew text because it was considered too sacred. The Hebrew canon that they copied and handed down became known as the Masoretic Text (MT).<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >5</FONT> </div> <div>      YHWH, was considered by the Jews to be very  sacred and must never be  pronounced out loud,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >6</FONT> or outside the temple<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >7</FONT> and whoever will say it out loud disrespectfully was worthy of death.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >8</FONT> Whenever they would read the Scriptures and come across it, instead of saying the name, they would automatically substitute it with the word  “Adonay” which means “Lord.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >9</FONT> “Jehovah” came about when they merged the Tetragrammaton and the vowels of “Adonay,”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >10</FONT> which gave the word “YAHoWaH” which gave the consonants the vocal sounds derived from a,o,a,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >11</FONT> and its English transliteration is “Jehovah.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >12</FONT></div> <div>      Yahweh is spelled Jahveh in German. The letter “Y” is spelled “J,”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >13</FONT> making German words such as “Ja” to be pronounced as “Ya.” It is because of this that we received the interpretation that “Y” in YHWH is pronounced with a “J” such as Jahveh or Jehovah. There wasn't a problem with the German scholars since when they read “Jahveh” they pronounced it “Yahweh” or “Yahveh,” but the proper pronunciation got off track when the German spelling was converted to English which caused improper usage of the German “J.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >14</FONT> This improper usage of “Jehovah” can be traced back to the early 16<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> century.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >15</FONT> Consequently, “Jehovah” is considered a misspelling by modern scholars, who prefer to use “Yahweh” instead of “Jehovah.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >16</FONT> </div> <div>      Since all the letters of YHWH are capitalized, a more correct rendering of Jehovah should be YAHoWaH. The word “Jehovah” is a composite of two words and most likely is not the exact pronunciation of the real name of the God of the OT.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >17</FONT></div> <div>      Some versions of the Bible translated all instances of YHWH as “LORD”  with all four letters capitalized but in small case [i.e. “<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >LORD</FONT>”]<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >18</FONT> instead of “Jehovah.” Adonay is translated as “Lord” with only the first letter capitalized. The discerning reader will know when the Tetragrammaton is present simply by looking at the word “Lord” in the AV and other versions. If only the first letter is capitalized (Lord) then the Hebrew word is “Adonay,”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >19</FONT> but if all four letters are capitalized, (LORD) then the Hebrew word is “YHWH.”</div> <bR> <div>      <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >LORD = YHWH.</FONT></div> <div>      Lord = Adonay.</div> <bR> <div>       Joseph Smith also understood YHWH to be spelled “Jehovah” (Moro  10:34; D&C  109:34,42,56,68;  110:3;  128:9; Abr  1:16;  2:8). This, however, doesn't necessarily mean that the  Tetragrammaton (YHWH) is actually translated as “Jehovah” because during Joseph Smith's time YHWH was understood to mean “Jehovah.” Being a good translator, he translated it into the vernacular of his time. The correct  pronunciation of YHWH was lost a very long time ago,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >20</FONT> and the Lord hasn't told us in our time the correct pronunciation of his name.</div> <bR> <div> <B>[ENDNOTES]:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1.EML. p.325; ABD. 4:1010; HFG. p.139.</div> <div> 2.MB. p. 77.</div> <div> 3.HOBCTU. p.37; NIB. 1:297; IBD. p. 1537.</div> <div> 4.TBM. p.50; ABD. 6:1011.</div> <div> 5.BAEV. p.2,26; ABD. 4:593,599; NWNTI. p. 71.</div> <div> 6.DB. p. 516; ABD. 6:1011; HGR. p. 590; TDOT. 5:500; MDB. p. 889; NIDB. p. 1078.</div> <div> 7.SBD. p. 284.</div> <div> 8.MB. p. 76-77.</div> <div> 9.DB. p.516; BJ. p.275; ABD. 4:1010; 6:392-393,1011; HFG. p.139; NIB. 1:297; NIDNTT. 2:69; HCBD. p. 736; HGR. p. 590.</div> <div> 10.ABD. 4:1010; 6:1011; HCBD. p. 736; TWBB. p. 96; HBB. p. 88; GB. p. 15; ABH. p. 426.</div> <div> 11.ABD. 1:74.</div> <div> 12.BAEV. p.28.</div> <div> 13.BJ. p.5.</div> <div> 14.In reality, there are a number of explanations as to why western society uses the word “Jehovah” for YHWH. For a sample of an alternate explanation see TDOT. 5:501.</div> <div> 15.ADB. p. 361; TEBD. pp. 561, 1075. Others see it as early as the 12<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT> century- NBD. p. 478.</div> <div> 16.TDOT. 5:500; GB. p. 15.</div> <div> 17.NSBD. p. 418 “The form `Jehovah' is impossible, according to the strict principles of Heb. vocalization.”</div> <div> 18.NIB. 1:297.</div> <div> 19.HGR. p. 590.</div> <div> 20.ABD. 6:1011.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:ewatson@shaw.ca"><U>e-mail me!</U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>