God’s scared name, also called the Tetragrammaton, is the topic of many discussions today. What is the ancient name for God is the question. To find the answer we must go to the oldest sources available. Below are the oldest sources that I have collected over the last several years. If you have found more ancient sources, please provide your information in the comment section. This article is not to convince you as to what you should call God; it is to let you know my research and where it has led me. Please pray about it and let the Holy Spirit lead your direction in the matter.
Almost 2000 years ago now, Flavius Josephus a first century historian does tell us there was a scared name. He states the scared name contained four vowels. Now someone has inserted [of God] into the text, however that is their opinion of what should be there. The question is whether Josephus Is referring to the sacred name of God the Father or Jesus? Or do they share the scared name since they are one?
“A miter also of fine linen encompassed his head, which was tied
by a blue ribbon, about which there was another golden crown, in which was
engraven the sacred name [OF GOD]; it consists of
four vowels.” Josephus, War.5.5.7 (235)
First, we will look at artifacts and ancient alphabets. Then we will look for insight in old
newspapers. Then we will review what the bible says.
Summary
Shown below are four places the scared name was discovered in
ancient paleo-Hebrew. Also reflected is the translation from ancient picture
Hebrew and into English including the English sound. Notice that in English there are four vowels
in the scared name as stated by Josephus.
Below are tables I used to make these translations. Do notice that these ancient alphabets did have vowels.
(you can click on the pictures to get a better view.)
Now we will review each artifact using other sources for
translating each.
Moabite
Stone 840 BC
The Tetragrammaton’s oldest place found maybe the Moabite Stone
from the 9th century, about 840 BC. The
Moabite Stone was written in a variant of the Phoenician alphabet which is
closely related to the Paleo-Hebrew script.
The Moabites were Moab’s descendants who was Lot’s son. They were Hebrews since they were descendant
to Eber just as Abraham was (see genealogy here and here). In the book of Genesis, Abraham and Lot were
both speaking the same language. Therefore,
I am sure that Lot’s son Moab also spoke the same language. So, it is not surprising that they used an
alphabet closely related to the ancient Hebrew.
The Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868.
Remember this is the translation using their alphabet. They did not pronounce those letters the way
we do in English. So, we must research
this further. If you look at the table
below you will see the H is really an E in English. The Y is really an I. Their W is either a V, U, Y or F.
The table below shows more information that can be used to
translate the scared name into Greek and Latin.
The last column provides the Greek and Roman translations of the scared
name. Notice the Roman translation shows several choices.
He is E
Researching the letter ‘E’ you find that it developed from the semitic ‘He’.
“The Latin letter 'E' differs little from its
source, the Greek letter epsilon, 'Ε'. This in turn comes from the Semitic letter hê, which has been
suggested to have started as a praying or calling human figure
(hillul 'jubilation'), and was most likely based on a
similar Egyptian hieroglyph that indicated a different pronunciation.
In Semitic, the letter represented /h/ (and /e/ in
foreign words); in Greek, hê became the letter epsilon,
used to represent /e/. The various forms of the Old Italic
script and the Latin alphabet followed this usage.”
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Sinaitic_script#Synopsis
Waw is U
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Sinaitic_script#Synopsis
Yod is J
Researching ‘Yod’ and ‘J’ letter history, I found that they are related; in fact ‘J’ is a descendant to the Phoenician and Paleo-Hebrew “Yod’.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J
Quote from Voiced Palatal Approximant on Wikipedia:
“The voiced palatal approximant,
or yod, is a type of consonant used in many spoken
languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabe [IPA] that
represents this sound is ⟨j⟩. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is j, and in the Americanist
phonetic notation it is ⟨y⟩.
Because the English name of the letter J, jay,
starts with [d͡ʒ] (voiced palato-alveolar affricate), the approximant is
sometimes instead called yod (jod), as in the phonological history terms yod-dropping and yod-coalescence.
The palatal approximant can
often be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close front
unrounded vowel [i].
They alternate with each other in certain languages, such
as French, and in the diphthongs of some languages as ⟨j⟩ and ⟨i̯⟩, with the non-syllabic
diacritic used in different phonetic transcription systems to represent
the same sound.” Quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_palatal_approximant
“In phonetics and phonology,
a semivowel, glide or semiconsonant is a sound that is
phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as
the syllable boundary, rather than as the nucleus of a
syllable. Examples of semivowels in English are the consonants y and w in yes and west,
respectively. Written /j w/ in IPA, y and w are
near to the vowels ee and oo in seen and moon, written /iː uː/ in IPA.
The term glide may alternatively refer to any type of transitional
sound, not necessarily a semivowel.” Quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semivowel
Notice above the ‘y’ is written ‘j’ and is near to the vowel
‘ee’. This ‘ee’ is in the English
translation in the summary above also. I
am not an expert in this field, this is just my understanding.
Now remember that Flavius Josephus stated the scared name was 4
vowels; see above there are lots of vowels used in the Greek and Roman possible
translations.
Sources:
Phoenician
alphabet - Wikipedia
https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4739.html
Los
Lunas Stone between 1000 BC and 600 BC
The Los Lunas Stone contains the tetragrammaton three times; twice
in the stone below and then again in a stone very close to this one. These
letters were written using Phoenician script which is the same as Paleo-Hebrew
script. The letters are exactly the same letters used in the Moabite Stone;
therefore, the same translation is applied here. They say that EUEI or IEUE translates to
Jehovah, I will explain this below.
Discovered in 1880 and again in 1933.
Source or more info:
https://www.loslunasdecalogue.org/decalogue-introduction.html
Los Lunas
Decalogue Stone - Wikipedia
Lachish
Letters 590 BC
The Lachish Letters, or Lachish Ostraca, are letters written in
carbon ink containing ancient Israelite inscriptions in Ancient Paleo Hebrew on
clay ostraca. The letters were written about 590 BC, shortly before Lachish
fell to the Babylonian army of King Nebuchadnezzar II in 588/6 BC during the
reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah (Jeremiah 34:7). These letters were written using Phoenician
script which is the same as Paleo-Hebrew script. The letters are exactly the
same letters used in the Moabite Stone; therefore, the same translation applies
here.
The Lachish Letters were discovered in 1935.
Sources:
Paleo-Hebrew
alphabet - Wikipedia
Dead
Sea Scrolls dated 200 BC
The Dead Sea Scrolls are always shown upside down on the internet so that they appear to be written from ‘right to left’; however, they are really written from ‘left to right’. Below is an example that I turned right side up:
Notice the text is now sitting on the lines. I can now make out several of the letters.
Below is how
it was reflected on the internet:
Upside down makes it hard to interrupt.
Dead Sea Scroll 11Q5 reflects the scared name. It was discovered between 1946 and 1956. The table below shows how the scared name
letters are translated from paleo-Hebrew, to Roman and then to English (see
above for more information).
Sources:
File:Tetragrammaton11Q5-1.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons
The Dead Sea
Scrolls - B-496376 (see 2nd column)
http://cpart.mi.byu.edu/home/dss/about-dss/
http://www.facsimilefinder.com/facsimiles/dead-sea-scrolls-facsimile#&gid=1&pid=2
Old
News about the Tetragrammaton
Below are old
newspaper articles that mention the Tetragrammaton. At the time these articles were written the
Dead Sea Scrolls had not been found.
1894 news
Below from Column 4 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/kyu_batman_ver01/data/sn86069161/00100481881/1894061301/0357.pdf
Regarding the Tetragrammaton JHVH.
· J - ‘Yod’ is a ‘J’ in English today.
· H - ‘He’ is an ‘E’ in English today since the ‘h’ was been dropped. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-dropping )
· V - ‘Waw’ used to be reflected as ‘V’ in English and now it is a ‘U’. In the Latin and early writing systems, the sharp letter V was used for both the vowel "u" and the consonant "v" sounds. Today you will see the word county spelt as ‘covnty’ engraved on historic county courthouses. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V#Descendants_and_related_letters_in_the_Latin_alphabet )
1896 news – The Divine Name
Below from Column 3
1910 news regarding HIS name: first four columns of this article
regarding Jehovah & Adonai http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069867/1910-07-10/ed-1/seq-3.pdf
1914 news
Notice that this article states that YHVH are four constants which is a direct contradiction to our early historian Josephus who said it was four vowels.
From column 1 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/gu_kesil_ver01/data/sn89053729/00514157157/1914011803/0996.pdf
A book was published 1923 called “Irish
Wisdom Preserved in the Bible and Pyramids”
Name Used by Jewish Newspapers – Yahweh
The Jews frequently referred to God as Yahweh in old
newspapers. The name of Yahweh comes
from YHWH of the Masoretic text and is not how we pronounce those letters
today, as shown above. The Masoretic
text was invented in 750AD; therefore, it is not an ancient source.
From column 5 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/iune_cinnabar_ver01/data/sn90053038/00332897974/1879081501/0480.pdf
From column 3 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/txdn_ferrari_ver02/data/sn89070104/00200296928/1921080501/0599.pdf
Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aleppo_Codex_(Deut).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rashi%27s_Talmud_Commentary.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint
Dating Early Bible Translations
The Masoretic text version of the bible was not invented until 8th or 9th century AD and it is the only source that used the tetragrammaton of YHWH. The earlier Greek and Latin versions of the bible never used that tetragrammaton.
The original text of these bibles are shown below so you can see
how different the Masoretic text is. This is why it is best to translate
directly into the Roman alphabet to get sounds we use today. The Greek and the Latin versions used letters
similar to our alphabet today.
Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aleppo_Codex_(Deut).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rashi%27s_Talmud_Commentary.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint
Early Christians
Several early Christians, including early Church Father Justin
Martyr, Meister Eckhart, and Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, argued that God
does not have a proper name like humans do, viewing terms like "God,"
"Father," or "Creator" as descriptions of His actions
rather than inherent names. Only things
that are born are given a name by their parents; God has no parents so HE has
no name.
- Attalus
(2nd Century Martyr): Reportedly told his persecutors that God has no
name like a human.
- Justin
Martyr (2nd Century): Stated God the Father is nameless because any
name implies an elder who bestowed it; names like Father or Creator
describe His works, not a proper noun.
- Pseudo-Dionysius
the Areopagite (5th-6th Century): A Neoplatonic Christian mystic who
believed God is beyond all names and concepts, emphasizing God's ineffable
nature.
- Meister
Eckhart (13th-14th Century): A German mystic who taught that God is
"above names and nature," asserting that naming God limits Him,
though saints' names for Him are permissible.
Source:
Abba, Father!
Jesus never used the phonetic pronunciation ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’
in the New Testament texts, instead addressing God as ‘Father’ (Abba) or
quoting Old Testament passages using terms like "Lord" (Adonai
or Kyrios). Our Father in Heaven
stated that the Israelites should call him father.
“And I said, So be it, Lord, for thou saidst I
will set thee among children, and will give thee a choice land, the inheritance
of the Almighty God of the Gentiles: and I said, Ye shall call me Father; and ye shall not turn away from me. But
as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel
dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord.” LXX Jer 3:19-20
Jesus said “Pray then like this: “Our Father
in heaven, hallowed be your name.” ESV Mat 6:9
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are
sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into
fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” ESV Rom 8:14-15
“And because you are sons, God has sent the
Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba!
Father!”
Gal 4:6
Conclusion
Our Father in Heaven has commanded us to honor our Fathers and
Mothers (Exo 20:12); this includes all of our grandparents or forefathers. In honor and respect to them we must ask
ourselves why they never developed a custom or tradition of calling our Father
in Heaven either ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’? Yahweh
started being mentioned more commonly in churches only within the last ten
years. Jehovah was rarely mentioned. Maybe
it is because they agreed with the early Christian teachings that God only had
titles and no name, since only things that are born have names.
The New Testament does not include this tetragrammaton. The New Testament is the fulfillment that God
came to earth was named Jesus when he was born. God did instruct Mary to name her son Jesus. The
God of the Old Testament is Jesus in the flesh in the New Testament. Therefore, we only need one name and not two
different names. You would need two
different names only if they were two different entities. Directly from the Dead Sea Scroll it can be
translated into Jeue, which today translates to ‘Jesus’ in English. Jesus is the current day English translation of
Iesu. Adoni (judge, ruler) and Kurios
(master, lord) are titles. Since God is
the Father, it is proper to call him Father.
It has never been proper to call our Father on earth by his name, the
same would hold true for our Father in Heaven.
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for
thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” KJV Luk 1:30-31
The ancient Levites were to wear the mitre with the scared name on
it on the Day of Atonement each year (Levitus 16). The Day of Atonement was the day that the
Israelites expected our Father in Heaven to come each year to the Holy of Holies
and was also the day of Jesus’ birth.
The scared name on the mitre was there to remind them of the expected
Savior, Jesus Christ, who was to come and atone for the sins of Israel.
Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant and the only one we are
to pray to; therefore, the only name that we really need.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.” ESV John 14:6
“Whatever you ask in my name,
this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me
anything in my name, I will do it.” ESV Joh 14:13-14
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you
should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you
ask the Father in my name, he may
give it to you.” ESV Joh 15:16
“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you,
whatever you ask of the Father in my name,
he will give it to you. Until now you
have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be
full.” ESV Joh 16:23 -24
“For there is one God, and there is one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself
as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” ESV 1Ti 2:5-6
“But as it is, Christ has
obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant
he mediates
is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” ESV Heb 8:6
“and to Jesus, the mediator of a new
covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than
the blood of Abel.” ESV Heb 12:24
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