“Have
you been taught to use GOD'S NAME, JEHOVAH? IF NOT, YOUR SALVATION IS
IN JEOPARDY, for "EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF JEHOVAH WILL
BE SAVED"! -- Acts 2:21; compare Joel 2:32.” [THE WATCHTOWER,
August 15, 1997, p. 6]
Sa Filipino:
“Ikaw ba ay naturuan na gamitin ang PANGALAN ng DIYOS na JEHOVA? KUNG HINDI, ANG IYONG KALIGTASAN AY NASA DELIKADONG KALAGAYAN, dahil sa “ANG SINOMANG TUMATAWAG SA PANGALAN NI JEHOVA AY MALILIGTAS”! Gawa 2:21; ihambing ang Joel 2:32.”
Sa Filipino:
“Ikaw ba ay naturuan na gamitin ang PANGALAN ng DIYOS na JEHOVA? KUNG HINDI, ANG IYONG KALIGTASAN AY NASA DELIKADONG KALAGAYAN, dahil sa “ANG SINOMANG TUMATAWAG SA PANGALAN NI JEHOVA AY MALILIGTAS”! Gawa 2:21; ihambing ang Joel 2:32.”
“ Whoever shall worship Jehovah, call on the name of
Jehovah, and be called by the name Jehovah, as in Jehovah’s Withness, will be
saved. Is this true? Is this for real? To find out the truthfulness of this
claim, let us study……
The Jehovah’s Withness as a religious group, is indeed known for strictly using the name “Jehovah” in addressing God. Some of its zealous members, in trying to promote their faith, even go as far as claiming that one will not be saved unless he calls God by that name. Such serious assertion indeed calls for profound critical investigation as regards the use of “Jehovah” in reference to God.
What do bible scholars and historians of religion say about the use of the name “Jehovah”? As to age, the Rotherham Emphasized Bible reports, “ The pronounciation “Jehovah” was unknown until 1520, when it was introduced by Galatinus; but was contested by Le Mercier, J. Drusius, and L. Capellus, as against grammatical and historical propriety……..(pp.24-25, emphasis ours). As to form, the same reference describes the name as erroneously written and pronounced…. Which is merely a combination of the sacred tetragrammaton and the vowels in the Hebrews word for Lord” (Ibid., pp.24-25). The Harper’s Bible Dictionary corroborates by stating, “ The hybrid word “Jehovah” is a combination of the vowels of “ Adonai” with consonants of the Tetragrammaton; its appearance in the KJV was the result of the translators IGNORANCE of the Hebrew language and customs” (p.1036,emphasis ours). Hence, as the The New Schaff- Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge aptly concludes, “ JEHOVAH” is an erroneous form of the divine name of the covenant God of Israel which appears first about 1520 AD” (Vol.VI,p.16)
Explanation on the occurrence of this erroneous form of God’s name in the bible is stated in The International Dictionary of New Testament Theology :
“ The form JEHOVAH arose out of a misunderstanding which in turn arose out of the reluctance of pious Jews to pronounce the divine name(c.300 b.c.). Instead they uttered the word adonai my Lord. In the MT (Masoretic Text) the divine name was written with the consonants of YHWH and the vowels of Adonai, as a reminder to say the latter whenever the word was read. The divine name appears as y’howah in the MT. The LXX (Septuagint) reflects the Jewish reluctance to pronounce the divine name and put the word kyrios -----Lord, in its place. The RSV and other English versions also reflect the practice by giving the word Lord in capital letters whenever the name YHWH stands in the text. The Lat. Likewise gives the word Dominus, Lord, for YHWH. The form Jehovah is thus a malformation giving what is virtually a transliteration of a word which is found in the text of the Heb. OT, but which was never actually used as a word” (Vo.II, pp.69-70)
Finaly, the late Distinguished Service Professor of Talmud and Rector of the Rabbinical Schol in Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Saul Lieberman, Ph.D., identified openly how the rendition “Jehovah” came to be.
Writing for Microsoft Encarta, he expounded: “ Jehovah, name of the God of the Hebrew people as erroneously transliterated from the Masoretic Hebrew text. The word consist of the consonants JHVH or JHWH, with the vowels of a separate word, Adonai (Lord). What its original vowels were is a matter of speculation, for because of an interpretation of such text as Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 24:11, the name came to be regarded as too sacred for expression; the scribes, in reading aloud, substituted “ Lord” and therefore wrote the vowel markings for “Lord” into the consonantal framework JHVH as a reminder to future readers aloud. The translators of the Hebrews, not realizing what the scribes had done, read the word as it was written down, taking the scribal vowel marking as intrinsic to the name of their God rather than as a mere reminder not to speak it. From this came the rendition Jehovah…..” ( “ Jehovah” Microsoft Encarta” 2006
These, among others, clearly prove that the supposed name of God which “Jehovah’s Witness” alleged as His true name, is an erroneous form of the divine name of the Creator. To insist on using this term in reference to God, to say the least, is to propagate an error.
The Jehovah’s Withness as a religious group, is indeed known for strictly using the name “Jehovah” in addressing God. Some of its zealous members, in trying to promote their faith, even go as far as claiming that one will not be saved unless he calls God by that name. Such serious assertion indeed calls for profound critical investigation as regards the use of “Jehovah” in reference to God.
What do bible scholars and historians of religion say about the use of the name “Jehovah”? As to age, the Rotherham Emphasized Bible reports, “ The pronounciation “Jehovah” was unknown until 1520, when it was introduced by Galatinus; but was contested by Le Mercier, J. Drusius, and L. Capellus, as against grammatical and historical propriety……..(pp.24-25, emphasis ours). As to form, the same reference describes the name as erroneously written and pronounced…. Which is merely a combination of the sacred tetragrammaton and the vowels in the Hebrews word for Lord” (Ibid., pp.24-25). The Harper’s Bible Dictionary corroborates by stating, “ The hybrid word “Jehovah” is a combination of the vowels of “ Adonai” with consonants of the Tetragrammaton; its appearance in the KJV was the result of the translators IGNORANCE of the Hebrew language and customs” (p.1036,emphasis ours). Hence, as the The New Schaff- Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge aptly concludes, “ JEHOVAH” is an erroneous form of the divine name of the covenant God of Israel which appears first about 1520 AD” (Vol.VI,p.16)
Explanation on the occurrence of this erroneous form of God’s name in the bible is stated in The International Dictionary of New Testament Theology :
“ The form JEHOVAH arose out of a misunderstanding which in turn arose out of the reluctance of pious Jews to pronounce the divine name(c.300 b.c.). Instead they uttered the word adonai my Lord. In the MT (Masoretic Text) the divine name was written with the consonants of YHWH and the vowels of Adonai, as a reminder to say the latter whenever the word was read. The divine name appears as y’howah in the MT. The LXX (Septuagint) reflects the Jewish reluctance to pronounce the divine name and put the word kyrios -----Lord, in its place. The RSV and other English versions also reflect the practice by giving the word Lord in capital letters whenever the name YHWH stands in the text. The Lat. Likewise gives the word Dominus, Lord, for YHWH. The form Jehovah is thus a malformation giving what is virtually a transliteration of a word which is found in the text of the Heb. OT, but which was never actually used as a word” (Vo.II, pp.69-70)
Finaly, the late Distinguished Service Professor of Talmud and Rector of the Rabbinical Schol in Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Saul Lieberman, Ph.D., identified openly how the rendition “Jehovah” came to be.
Writing for Microsoft Encarta, he expounded: “ Jehovah, name of the God of the Hebrew people as erroneously transliterated from the Masoretic Hebrew text. The word consist of the consonants JHVH or JHWH, with the vowels of a separate word, Adonai (Lord). What its original vowels were is a matter of speculation, for because of an interpretation of such text as Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 24:11, the name came to be regarded as too sacred for expression; the scribes, in reading aloud, substituted “ Lord” and therefore wrote the vowel markings for “Lord” into the consonantal framework JHVH as a reminder to future readers aloud. The translators of the Hebrews, not realizing what the scribes had done, read the word as it was written down, taking the scribal vowel marking as intrinsic to the name of their God rather than as a mere reminder not to speak it. From this came the rendition Jehovah…..” ( “ Jehovah” Microsoft Encarta” 2006
These, among others, clearly prove that the supposed name of God which “Jehovah’s Witness” alleged as His true name, is an erroneous form of the divine name of the Creator. To insist on using this term in reference to God, to say the least, is to propagate an error.
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