This note takes up in discussion these questions.
- "What is the name of God?"
- "Is Jehovah the true name of God?"
- "How did the name 'Jehovah' in its form develop?"
- "What does the 1911 Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica says?
This question has been asked at least since the time Moses asked God who he (Moses) should say had appointed him to free the Isralites from Egyptian bondage. Over the centruies this discussion has evolved and revolved.
The name of God, as revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, is YHWH (the closest English equivalents to the Hebrew letters). Ancient Hebrew did not have vowels, so the exact pronunciation of YHWH is uncertain. The vast majority of Hebrew and Christian scholars believe the name to be Yahweh, pronounced /ˈyä-wā/, with Yehowah, pronounced /yi-ˈhō-və/, being the second most popular possibility.
There are movements that strongly emphasize using God’s name (and, of course, only the name of God that they believe to be correct). However, there are no biblical prohibitions against using God’s name, nor are there commands that we must do so. Anyone who says that God must be addressed only by His name, YHWH, is speaking without biblical warrant.
Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, God inspired the human authors of Scripture to refer to Him using generic terms for “God” and “Lord.” Beyond YHWH, God chose to reveal Himself using many other names and titles. So, clearly, using God’s name is not required.
YHWH is as close to a personal name as God has revealed to us. The Divine Name was revealed to Moses and was unknown before his time: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD [YHWH] I did not make myself fully known to them” (Exodus 6:3). The name YHWH seems to refer to God’s self-existence, being linked to “I AM that I AM” in Exodus 3:14. God told Moses that “this is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15; cf. Exodus 15:3). All other “names” for God, such as El Shaddai, are probably titles, rather than personal names, strictly speaking—although it is quite proper to address God by His titles. References to “the name of our God” (in Psalm 44:20, for example), are oblique references to God’s personal name, YHWH.
Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/name-of-God.html
"Is Jehovah the true name of God?"
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the name of God is recorded as YHWH. So, where did the name “Jehovah” come from? Ancient Hebrew did not use vowels in its written form. The vowels were pronounced in spoken Hebrew but were not recorded in written Hebrew. The appropriate vowel sounds of words were passed down orally. As a result, when ancient Hebrew is studied, scholars and linguists often do not know with absolute confidence how certain Hebrew words were pronounced.
This particularly becomes an issue when studying the Hebrew name of God, written in the Hebrew Scriptures as YHWH, also known as the tetragrammaton. Despite much study and debate, it is still not universally agreed upon how the Hebrew name for God YHWH was pronounced. Some prefer “Yahweh” (YAH-way); others prefer “Yehowah,” “Yahuweh,” or “Yahawah”; still others argue for “Jehovah.”
The form Jehovah, though, is very commonly used. It is used in the King James Version of the Bible (Genesis 22:14; Exodus 6:3; 17:15; Judges 6:24; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4). It is also used, and strenuously promoted by, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Jehovah’s Witnesses emphasize the use of Jehovah to the extent that any other name or title for God is viewed as borderline idolatry or outright heresy. (What is truly heresy is the JW teaching that Jehovah was a created being and became a god.)
With all of that said, it is not crucial to the Christian faith for the proper pronunciation of YHWH to be known. Both the Old and New Testaments, inspired by God, use generic terms for “God” and “Lord,” including El, Elohim, and Adonai (Hebrew); and Theos and Kurios (Greek). If the authors of Scripture, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, were allowed to use these terms, it is not wrong for us to refer to Him as “God” or “Lord,” either.
Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/Jehovah.html
"How did the name 'Jehovah' in its form develop?"
Early modern translators disregarded the practice of reading Adonai in place of the Tetragrammaton, יהוה, and instead combined the four Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton with the vowel points that, except in synagogue scrolls, accompanied them, resulting in the form Jehovah. This form, which first took effect in works dated 1278 and 1303, was adopted in Tyndale's and some other Protestant translations of the Bible. In the 1560 Geneva Bible, the Tetragrammaton is translated as Jehovah six times, four as the proper name, and two as place-names. In the 1611 King James Version, Jehovah occurred seven times. In the 1885 English Revised Version, the form Jehovah occurs twelve times. In the 1901 American Standard Version the form "Je-ho’vah" became the regular English rendering of the Hebrew יהוה, all throughout, in preference to the previously dominant "the LORD", which is generally used in the King James Version.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah
From 1911 Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica
JEHOVAH (YAHWEH 2), in the Bible, the God of Israel. "Jehovah" is a modern mispronunciation of the Hebrew name, resulting from combining the consonants of that name, Jhvh (יהוה), with the vowels of the word Adonay, "Lord," which the Jews substituted for the proper name in reading the scriptures. In such cases of substitution the vowels of the word which is to be read are written in the Hebrew text with the consonants of the word which is not to be read. The consonants of the word to be substituted are ordinarily written in the margin; but inasmuch as Adonay was regularly read instead of the ineffable name Jhvh, it was deemed unnecessary to note the fact at every occurrence. These details are scarcely the invention of the chronicler; see Chronicles, and Expositor, Aug. 1906, p. 191.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20070310135919/http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Jehovah
