God's Personal Name & New World Translation

[Brakelite]

Throughout scripture, one's name was a reflection of his/her character..
God Himself declared His own name to Moses.
KJV Exodus 34:5-7
5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

"There was a moment when Moses had the nerve to ask God what His name is. God was gracious enough to answer, and the name He gave is recorded in the original Hebrew as YHWH.

Over time we’ve arbitrarily added an “a” and an “e” in there to get YaHWeH, presumably because we have a preference for vowels.

But scholars and Rabi’s have noted that the letters YHWH represent breathing sounds, or aspirated consonants. When pronounced without intervening vowels, it actually sounds like breathing.

YH (inhale): WH (exhale).

So a baby’s first cry, his first breath, speaks the name of God.

A deep sigh calls His name – or a groan or gasp that is too heavy for mere words.

Even an atheist would speak His name, unaware that their very breathe is giving constant acknowledgment to God.

Likewise, a person leaves this earth with their last breath, when God’s name is no longer filing their lungs.

So when I can’t utter anything else, is my cry calling out His name?

Being alive means I speak His name constantly. So, is it heard the loudest when I’m the quietest?

In sadness, we breathe heavy sighs.
In joy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst.
In fear we hold our breath and have to be told to breathe slowly to help us calm down.
When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage.

When I think about it, breathing is giving him praise. Even in the hardest moments!

This is so beautiful and fills me with emotion every time I grasp the thought. God chose to give Himself a name that we can’t help but speak every moment we’re alive.

All of us, always, everywhere. are Waking, sleeping, breathing, with the name of God on our lips. Amen

By Sandra Thurman Caporale “

There's another aspect to this that makes the wrangling over semantics rather pointless. God is more concerned with your character in preparation for glory than you bring particular about what you call Him. Call Him YHWH of you will, but being semantically correct will avail you nothing of He isn't your LORD. And if He is your LORD, then you will eventually have His name in your forehead, which is His character in your mind and conscience, which is the character of Christ, the image of the Father, Christ in you the hope of glory.
KJV Romans 8:9-11
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you....."and I shall raise you up at the last day".

 

[Pearl]

God has many names: If you google 'names of God' you will find them all. Or you could buy a book of which there are many. This is the one I read: Hallowed be Thy Names: Knowing God as You've Never Known Him Before (One Pound Classics): Amazon.co.uk: Wilkerson, David: 9781905044092: Books

 

[Wrangler]

YOU are bringing up SEX in a conversation about WHAT men in society call God, AS IF, THAT was something I was talking about...
Big of you to accredit me for YOUR THOUGHTS and WORDS...
That’s on YOU, not me.

Again, I have no idea what you are referencing here. Are you referring to another thread?

 

[Wrangler]

“I” really Believe God Hears WHAT men Call Him, refer to Him, in ANY language, be it a Name, a Title, a Description...that as Taught by Gods OWN Word, that which explicitly Applies to Him.

Now, you are attempting to change the subject. The question is not what word/words people call him in any and every language. The question is what words does God use to name himself (translated into English).

 

[Wrangler]

Then you used, Biden as your example, as only ONE name being appropriate.... and Disproved your own Point of only ONE name, By using the name “Joe”, when “Joseph” is his ONE name...
And there you proved my Point...
Even though, “Joseph” is Bidens ONE explicit Name, there was no confusion when you said “Joe” instead of “Joseph”, of WHO explicitly was being mentioned.

Not at all.

I did say that a paraphrase of the ONE name (Joe v Joseph) is not the same thing as a title. This is why the 1st answer in the poll has 3 options, his name paraphrased or translated. Again this is different than his title, LORD - used in some translations as his personal name.

It's the same with the Messiah. We might call him our lord but his name is Yeshua, paraphrased or translated in English as Jesus.

 

[Wrangler]

God has many names: If you google 'names of God' you will find them all. Or you could buy a book of which there are many. This is the one I read: Hallowed be Thy Names: Knowing God as You've Never Known Him Before (One Pound Classics): Amazon.co.uk: Wilkerson, David: 9781905044092: Books

In response to this thread, I came across a whole translation called NOG - Names of God translation. Fascinating.

 

[Taken]

Now, you are attempting to change the subject. The question is not what word/words people call him in any and every language. The question is what words does God use to name himself (translated into English).

I’ll fix it.

 

[farouk]

I’ll fix it.

@Taken The NWT is bad news; so much has been changed...

 

[Bob Estey]

This thread was inspired by another great one by @Aunty Jane in the thread about your favorite English translation.



The last part proved again Hebrews 4:12, the word of God is alive; I keep thinking about the Lord's Prayer and Hallowed be thy name. And that begs the question, what is God's personal name?

I'm not sure how "I AM" became equated by many to be his personal name. As AJ said, that is WHAT he is. The VOICE translation emphasizes this with the word ETERNAL rather than LORD. The ETERNAL God, the LORD God, Jehovah God?

I generally like the NLT, which reads GE 3:15 "God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations."

Yet, earlier in GE 2, the NLT uses the title LORD (capital), as many translations do instead of his personal name. Here is how the New World Translation renders GE 2, which is consistent with EX 3:15.

4 This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time they were created, in the day that Jehovah* God made earth and heaven.c
5 No bush of the field was yet on the earth and no vegetation of the field had begun sprouting, because Jehovah God had not made it rain on the earth and there was no man to cultivate the ground. 6 But a mist would go up from the earth, and it watered the entire surface of the ground.
7 And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dustd from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life,e and the man became a living person.*f 8 Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in Eʹden,g toward the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.h 9 Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food and also the tree of lifei in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
​

This was a big eye opener and I look forward to your responses.

It seems inappropriate to me to address the Lord by his name. I always called my dad "Dad." I didn't call him "Bert." I feel most comfortable addressing the Lord as "Father."

 

[Wrangler]

It seems inappropriate to me to address the Lord by his name. I always called my dad "Dad." I didn't call him "Bert." I feel most comfortable addressing the Lord as "Father."

"Father" is not a being's name but a relationship.

 

[Bob Estey]

"Father" is not a being's name but a relationship.

I know God has a name - I've heard "Jehovah" and "Yahweh." I just don't address him by his name.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

The inspired New Testament Greek text uses “Lord” when quoting the Old Testament where the abbreviated name appears.

That’s good enough for me to have peace with using “Lord”.

I think following Jesus example is more important that what imperfect men have done by taking God's personal name out of the Bible and substituting it a title such as Lord or God.

When Jesus quoted the old testament or read from the old testament and the name of God was in those scriptures he read or quoted, he didn't substitute God name with titles such as God or Lord. So at such scriptures as, Deuteronomy 6:13, 16; 8:3; Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 61:1, 2; Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; 22:44; Luke 4:16-21 where the Tetragrammaton appeared in copies of the Hebrew text of what is often called the Old Testament, as it still does today Jesus either read the name or quoted it.
For centuries scholars thought that the Tetragrammaton was absent from manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, as well as from manuscripts of the New Testament. Then in the mid-20th century, something remarkable came to the attention of sscholar, some very old fragments of the Greek Septuagint version that existed in Jesus’ day had been discovered. Those fragments contain the personal name of God, written in Hebrew characters. So the Bible that Jesus and his Apostles used(Septuagint) before Jesus sacrifice had the four Hebrew letters that represent the personal name of the True God in it.

At Luke 4:16-21 which Jesus was handed the scroll of Isaiah, Luke 4:16-21 says, "He then went to Nazʹa·reth, where he had been brought up, and according to his custom on the Sabbath day, he entered the synagogue and stood up to read. 17 So the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and he opened the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “Jehovah’s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the crushed ones away free, 19 to preach Jehovah’s acceptable year.” 20 With that he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were intently fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them: “Today this scripture that you just heard is fulfilled.”

 

[Michiah-Imla]

…in the mid-20th century, something remarkable came to the attention of sscholar

Really?

“Remarkable”??

some very old fragments of the Greek Septuagint version that existed in Jesus’ day had been discovered

Uh huh…

Those fragments contain the personal name of God, written in Hebrew characters.

So the Bible that Jesus and his Apostles used(Septuagint) before Jesus sacrifice had the four Hebrew letters that represent the personal name of the True God in it.

The same 4 letters we are aware about already?

Stay away from cult teachings…

 

[Aunty Jane]

Really?

“Remarkable”??

Uh huh…



The same 4 letters we are aware about already?

Stay away from cult teachings…

Good grief, someone tells you an inconvenient truth and you whistle Dixie with both fingers in your ears...?
BB is correct....the Septuagint did contain the divine name with Hebrew characters in the Greek text.

Wherever the divine name was contained in the Hebrew Scriptures that were quoted by the apostles, it was assumed that Jewish tradition was followed by the first Christians and the divine name substituted by the title “Kyrios” (Lord) emulating the Jews who substituted God’s name by his titles almost 7,000 times in their scripture.
Did Jesus follow this tradition?

When Jesus taught us to pray for God’s name to be “hallowed”....how can we do that with a name we never utter? Do you think Jesus knew Jehovah’s name?

He said to his God concerning his apostles....
“I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you, because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
. . . .Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me. I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.” (John 17:6-8,25-26 - NET)

God’s name was important to Jesus and to his apostles, but it is clear that it is not important to those in Christendom, who like the unfaithful Jews before them, found excuses NOT to use God’s name in their Bible translations or in their churches.

They pray the Lord’s Prayer every week, but never think about what the words about the importance of God’s name, actually means.
Does God care about the pronunciation? Who created language? How can the true God not know his name in every language? To refrain from using it in a reverential way, is the offence.

They also pray for God’s Kingdom to “come” and yet when you ask them, they have no idea what God’s Kingdom is.....no red flags there? There was for me.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Really?

“Remarkable”??



Uh huh…







The same 4 letters we are aware about already?

Stay away from cult teachings…

I'll stay with those who think God's name should be recognized and used as Jesus did. Those four Hebrew letters represented God's personal name and today people pronounce those four Hebrew letters as Jehovah or Yahweh. Jesus pronounced the name when he read or quoted from the Septuagint Bible. He didn't pronounce the four Hebrew letters YHWH as Lord or God. I'll continue to follow Jesus example. At Luke 4:16-21 it's reasonable to conclude it originally had the name of God instead of Lord at Luke 4:16-21 since Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah which had God's personal name there in two places, he pronounced the name when he came across the four Hebrew letters. Luke would have originally recorded his book that way.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

God’s name was important to Jesus and to his apostles, but it is clear that it is not important to those in Christendom

It wasn’t written in the inspired Greek manuscripts. And your suggestion that Christians managed to eliminate God’s “personal” name in thousands of Greek manuscripts is absurd!

who like the unfaithful Jews before them, found excuses NOT to use God’s name in their Bible translations or in their churches

The Jews, The Jews. Yes, the J E W S.

What is it with you and the ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED crowd? Ya’ll constantly bring up the Jews as a piñata to bolster your cultish beliefs.

Good grief!

 

[Aunty Jane]

It wasn’t written in the inspired Greek manuscripts. And your suggestion that Christians managed to eliminate God’s “personal” name in thousands of Greek manuscripts is absurd!

I’m sorry, but what you assert is absurd. Who wrote the Greek scriptures? Jews! Those very ones of whom Jesus said he had made God’s name known to them.
The ones who copied those Greek writings adopted the practice of omitting God’s name from his own book! How offensive to it author....

The Jews, The Jews. Yes, the J E W S.

What is it with you and the ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED crowd? Ya’ll constantly bring up the Jews as a piñata to bolster your cultish beliefs.

What is it with those who claim to be Bible believers who don’t believe the Bible? :smlhmm:
A piñata?

The Jews left an indelible mark on biblical history and nothing will sanitize it. God never tried to hide their errors, but had them all recorded for us learn from their bad example, not to imitate them.

Jesus did not hold back in his condemnation of those who became responsible for his murder. (Matthew 23) They were condemned to “Gehenna” (eternal death)...the leaders and those who stuck with their teachings cursed themselves and their children with Christ’s blood. (Matthew 27:25) God took note of that. As Jesus was beginning his ministry, John the Baptist stated his view of the religious leaders and their supporters....

“But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10 - NET)
The ax fell....

Only those who come to Christ as individuals out of that nation will have an opportunity for salvation.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Really?

“Remarkable”??



Uh huh…







The same 4 letters we are aware about already?

Stay away from cult teachings…

People who don't care about the four Hebrew letters YHWH that represented the personal name of the true God, show that they think what imperfect humans have done or say is more important that what God has said and done in his word the Bible. If people acknowledge that the four Hebrew letters YHWH are in the scriptures, and that it was the true God who had his name YHWH put in scriptures, but then treat this name to be so insignificant by leaving God's name YHWH out of the scriptures, something that imperfect humans have no authority to do, then these imperfect humans show that what God did, which is put his name YHWH in the scriptures, is of no importance to them, because instead these humans show that what they have done, which is, leave God's name YHWH out of the scriptures, and replace it with words like Lord and God is more important to them. They don't follow Jesus Christ who whenever he quoted from the old testament or read from the old testament and that name YHWH was there in those scriptures he read or quoted, he didn't use words, such as Lord or God instead of what was there, which was the name YHWH. God did nothing wrong in any way or in any sense when he put his name YHWH in his Book the Bible. He wanted his name YHWH known throughout the nations, not hidden from mankind as christendom hides the name YHWH by not making that name known as Jesus made that name known. The disciple Luke wrote the book titled Luke and in this book of the Bible he was inspired to write Luke 4:16-21. In this scripture Jesus is reading from the book of Isaiah where the personal name of God YHWH is there. He didn't use words like Lord or God when he came across the name YHWH but instead he pronounced the name YHWH. Jesus didn't let the traditions of men guide him when it came to the inspired word of God. So if at that time the Jews were not pronouncing the name YHWH he wouldn't have allowed the traditions of men to influence him to not pronounce the name YHWH when he came across the name of God whenever he read or quoted scripture. I'm not saying that at this time period the Jews were not pronouncing God's name YHWH, but I'm saying that if at this time, they were not pronouncing the name YHWH Jesus wouldn't have allowed the traditions of men to guide him when it came to the name YHWH. So here in this book of Luke at Luke 4:16-21 we have evidence that God's name YHWH was in the scriptures. It was those who said they were Christians, but I think they were not, who left God's name YHWH out of scripture and replaced it with words like Lord and God. Such arrogant imperfect humans think they have more wisdom than God, more authority than God by taking God's name out of the scriptures. They judge God as wrong when he put his name in the scriptures to begin with. God gave no imperfect humans the authority to take his name out of the scriptures. Imperfect humans tell people their lame excuses why they have left God's personal name YHWH out of scripture. It doesn't matter to them that nowhere has God given any imperfect humans the authority to take his name YHWH out of scripture. I will continue to agree with those who looks upon God's name Jehovah (YHWH, Yahweh) as being the name of the true God as Jesus did. I will continue to agree with those who believe God's name YHWH (Jehovah, Yahweh) is sacred and should be made known throughout the nations. I will continue to stick with those who believe and teach that it was the True God YHWH (Jehovah, Yahweh) who sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to mankind. That Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of YHWH God (Jehovah, Yahweh) and it was YHWH God who sacrificed his only begotten son Jesus Christ for mankind, so that mankind can be saved.

 

[Michiah-Imla]

God left his name a mystery.

And why does God need to be identified by a name anyway?

There are no other gods that he needs to be distinguished from because there is no other God besides Him.

There’s only ONE name that we need to be aware of and that’s JESUS!

“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

 

[Michiah-Imla]

Who wrote the Greek scriptures? Jews!

THEY WROTE WHAT GOD TOLD THEM TO WRITE!

It is God who choose to write the 4-letters of his name! Probably just so proud men could stumble at the word straining at frivolous things!

It is the word of God!

Not the word of the Jews!