4

<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><A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3"><U><B>3</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>4</B><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. 323-326. MORMONISM: Section 2, Part 3, Chapter 4. All rights reserved.]</B></div> <bR> <div> <U>CHAPTER 4</U></div> <bR> <div> <B>A Linguistic Error </B></div> <bR> <div>      While serving a mission, my companion and I went to visit an individual who was scheduled to be baptized the following day. On our way to his home, we met two  Jehovah's Witnesses who were just leaving and said hi to them. The older one decided to have some fun at a couple of young Mormon missionaries' expense. He asked me what was God the Father's name. I confidently said, “ Elohim.” He asked me where was “Elohim” in the Bible. I looked in the Bible Dictionary and the Topical Guide of the LDS version of the Holy Bible and couldn't find it. I was stumped. I knew the church believed his name was Elohim but I couldn't prove it. I remember the frustration I felt because I assumed it was right there in the Bible and when called upon to point out where it was I couldn't do it. I studied the Scriptures for months after this incident, but no matter how much I read, I couldn't find the word “Elohim” in it. I eventually bought an Interlinear Bible and the Strong's Concordance with the Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, which solved my problem. I found out that the word “God” in Hebrew, is “Elohim,” which is plural. And “LORD” in Hebrew, is “Jehovah.”</div> <div>      To explain this topic properly, I will have to make a linguistic example. Incidentally, I lived in the Philippines and even served my mission there making me fluent in the language of Filipino. This is why I included the Filipino translation. </div> <div>      Here are three English words and their translations in different languages:</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="406" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div>  ENGLISH</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="124"><div>  HEBREW</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div>  GREEK</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="100"><div> FILIPINO </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="87"><div>    love </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="124"><div>  ahab </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div>  agapao</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="100"><div> pag-ibig</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="87"><div>    God </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Elohim/El/Eloh </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div>  Theos  </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="100"><div> Diyos</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="87"><div>    LORD</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Yahweh/Jehovah </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div>  Kurios </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Panginoon</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>      For a proper translation, it is necessary for all of the words to be in the same language. Most of the OT was originally written in Hebrew and most of the NT was originally written in Greek. It is highly improper to have a sentence in English and then insert a Filipino word in it if you can express that idea in the English language.</div> <div>      For example: “The dog is very mabagsik.” It's a correct sentence, but for those who don't know Filipino, they must wonder what “mabagsik” means. “Mabagsik” in English means, “vicious.” The proper way of writing the sentence then is: “The dog is very vicious.”</div> <div>      Sometimes a transliteration of a foreign word is necessary if the alternate language doesn't have a parallel word. Take for example the Greek word “<I>Parakl</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="WP MultinationalA Roman" ><I>‘</I></FONT><I>tos</I>” in reference to the Holy Ghost and Jesus Christ (John  14:16,26;  15:26;  16:7; 1 Jn  2:1).<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >1</FONT> The AV translates it as “Comforter” (John  14:16,26;  15:26) but it means a lot more than “Comforter.” It also means “advocate, a defender, a helper, an intercessor, etc.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >2</FONT> Since an exact parallel word doesn't exist,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >3</FONT> the best way to convey what “<I>Parakl</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="WP MultinationalA Roman" ><I>‘</I></FONT><I>tos</I>” means is to transliterate and anglicize it to  “Paraclete.” This way we don't lose the nuances of the word.</div> <div>      Transliterations are only necessary if the new language doesn't have a parallel word. There has to be a <I>need</I> to justify inserting a foreign word. Inserting “Jehovah” into an English Bible is wrong for a number of reasons:</div> <bR> <div> (1) It isn't really a transliteration since it is many steps away from what it was originally (YHWH). A more proper transliteration would be “Yahweh” instead of “Jehovah.” </div> <div> (2) The word “Jehovah” doesn't really convey <I>anything</I>. If the desire is to mention the divine name, then the only proper word to insert would be “YHWH.” </div> <div> (3) If the desire is to identify where the divine name is written, the word “LORD” fulfills such a requirement already, making any change unnecessary. </div> <div> (4) The word “YHWH” isn't consistently used as a proper name, but is mostly used as a title. If God's revealed name was “Henry,” is it then proper to refer to biblical passages such as Gen  2:4 to read: “... in the day that Henry God made the earth and heaven”? Does this make sense? Or, is it more proper to use “LORD” as in: “... in the day the LORD God made the earth and heaven”? The word “LORD” identifies the presence of the divine name and shows respect to God by not frequently mentioning his name.</div> <bR> <div>      I don't comprehend the necessity of changing the word “LORD” to “Jehovah” when one is used as the direct translation from the other as can be seen with the action of the translators (esp. the Christian translators) of the LXX. And if that's the case, why not change the word “God” to “Elohim,” thus making “Jehovah Elohim” instead of “LORD God.” And if we do that, we might as well change all the words to Hebrew. I guess, all of us better start studying Hebrew. This is like replacing “adversary” in Num  22:22 with “satan” since the Hebrew word is “<I>s</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="WP MultinationalA Roman" ><I>~</I></FONT><I>t</I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="WP MultinationalA Roman" ><I>~</I></FONT><I>n</I>.” Is it appropriate to have Num  22:22 read, “The angel of Jehovah was a satan to him”? </div> <div>      <B>The only reason why the </B> <B>Jehovah's Witnesses insist on translating every occurrence of YHWH as “Jehovah” is due to theological reasons.</B><I> </I>It isn't a desire to adhere to the historical methods of interpretation and translation that the LXX and Christian translators have followed. The word “Jehovah” can be found throughout their NT because they think contrasting Jesus with Jehovah will deny the status of Jesus as being Jehovah and God, in full equality with the Father.</div> <div>      The fact is, we simply can't insist YHWH is pronounced “Jehovah.” <I>Are we showing respect to God by constantly calling him the wrong name? </I>All we know is God's name in the OT was “YHWH.” That's it! We don't know if YHWH is pronounced “Jehovah,” but the most probable pronunciation is “Yahweh.” </div> <div>      I believe we have got to show respect to the Lord and must not use his name in vain (D&C  63:61-64). I do not call my dad by his first name because that would be disrespectful. I would call him “Dad” or “Father.” Same situation with YHWH. We call him “LORD” instead of calling him by his real name. I would prefer to refer to the Tetragrammaton as “LORD” instead of “Jehovah” because we don't know if Jehovah is absolutely accurate (it may be Jahveh, Yahweh, Yehowehua, Yahowah or whatever) and to avoid using his name in everyday situations. <I>It may not be thoroughly accurate, but at least it shows respect.</I></div> <div>      Any insistence that YHWH can only be understood as a proper noun collapses in light of the practice of the Jews. Their respect for the  Tetragrammaton was so great that they glossed over it and said “  Adonay” (Lord) whenever they read a text containing YHWH. In other words, they substituted YHWH with the word “Lord” and the biblical translators put all letters in uppercase (LORD) to differentiate YHWH with Adonay. When the Greek version was created (The LXX), many Jewish and later Christian translators substituted all instances of YHWH with the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Adonay, which was “ Kurios” [<I>Kyrios</I>] and sometimes replaced it with “God” or “Theos.”<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >4</FONT></div> <div>      Whenever the NT quotes OT passages, the quotation more often than not comes from the LXX and the quotations containing the  Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew, would instead have “Kyrios.” Because of this, it's probably wrong for the  New World Translation to have the word “Jehovah” in its NT quotations of OT passages since “Jehovah” is based upon “YHWH,” which is absent from the LXX the NT Christians relied upon, (as far as we know).</div> <div>      Not a single ancient NT book (out of over 5,000 manuscripts) used by the “orthodox” Christians contains the  Tetragrammaton which causes one to naturally ask how the  New World Translation justifies the numerous `Jehovah's in its NT in light of overwhelming opposition. A “translation” is supposed to be a translation, not an interpretation tailored after one's theology. Every Greek NT we know that was used by the early Christians has Kyrios instead of YHWH.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >5</FONT></div> <div>      When Jesus and the apostles read from OT books (Luke  4:17-18,20-22,28-29 cf. Isa  61:1-2) they never vocally mentioned the Tetragrammaton. This fact is beyond argument. One never sees the Jews accusing Jesus and the apostles of blasphemy  “for speaking the Holy Name.” If the OT books Jesus read were in Hebrew or Aramaic, he himself substituted  “YHWH” with “Adonay” to explain the absence of the charge of blasphemy for saying YHWH. Sure Jesus declared the name of God (John  17:26) but the only Divine Name ever mentioned by Jesus in the NT was “ I AM” (John  8:58) in reference to himself and “Man” in reference to the Father by his repeated usage of “Son of Man” as a self-designation.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >6</FONT></div> <div>      As I see it, there are four reasons why the proper way of writing the passages with the Tetragrammaton present in the Hebrew like Gen  2:4 should be “ LORD” instead of “Jehovah” in the English language:<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >7</FONT> </div> <bR> <div> a) It shows respect for the Lord by avoiding the frequent mention of his name (D&C  63:61-64). </div> <div> b) It doesn't import another language into an English text.</div> <div> c) The four letters in upper case identify when YHWH is present, making it unnecessary to write Jehovah.</div> <div> d) It doesn't state an assumption (YHWH is translated as Jehovah) as fact which is disputed by a lot of biblical scholars,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >8</FONT> and is considered a misreading of YHWH.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >9</FONT> </div> <bR> <div> <B>[ENDNOTES]:</B></div> <bR> <div> 1.EBD. Advocate.</div> <div> 2.SBD. p. 121.</div> <div> 3.NIDB. p. 20.</div> <div> 4.ABD. 4:1010; 6:392-393,1011; HFG. p.139. There are some LXX versions from the Dead Sea Scrolls that contain YHWH instead of Kurios, but they can't be used as the standard for all other LXXs especially the LXXs used by the early Christians since every single one we know of has Kurios instead of YHWH. If one is to argue for a Christian position, one needs to utilize the Christian action instead of an isolated Jewish one.</div> <div> 5.Some of the oldest LXX have the Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton inserted into Greek text Bibles. See ABD. 6:392-393; NIDNTT. 2:512.</div> <div> 6.The phrase “Son of Man” that Jesus used in reference to himself doesn't mean “human” or “man.” To interpret “Son of Man” to simply mean “human” or “man” can't be done in light of  John  5:27 which says Jesus (the Son of Man) received the right to judge <I>because</I> he is the “Son of Man.” Consequently, it seems possible to call the Father “Man” because of Christ's usage of the term just as some can call themselves “son of Frank,” “son of John” or “son of Billy-bob.”</div> <div> 7.ABH. p. 426.</div> <div> 8.WWB. p.22.</div> <div> 9.FHH. p.101.</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>