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LORD
(THE) LORD; KJV, "Jehovah" (je-ho'va; Heb. YHWH, LXX; usually ho Kurios).
The name of God most frequently used in the Hebrew Scriptures but commonly
represented-- we cannot say rendered-- in the KJV and NIV by LORD.
Pronunciation. The true pronunciation of this name, by which God was known to the
Hebrews, has been entirely lost, the Jews themselves scrupulously avoiding every
mention of it and substituting in its stead one or other of the words with whose
proper vowel points it may happen to be written, usually the name Adonai. They
continued to write YHWH, but read Adonai. Where God is called "My Lord
Jehovah" (Heb. Adonai YHWH), Elohim was substituted to avoid the double
Adonai. When the vowel points were added to the Heb. text the rule, in the case of
words written but not read, was to attach to these words the vowels belonging to the
words read in place of them. Thus they attached to YHWH the points of 'adonay;
hence the form Yehowah and the name Yeh'v'h. The strong probability is that the
name Jehovah was anciently pronounced Yahweh, like the Iabe of the Samaritans.
This custom, which had its origin in reverence, and has almost degenerated into a
superstition, was founded upon an erroneous rendering of <Lev. 24:16>, from which
it was inferred that the mere utterance of the name constituted a capital offense.
According to Jewish tradition, it was pronounced but once a year by the high priest
on the Day of Atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies; but on this point there
is some doubt.
For the LeClerc-Haupt-Albright view that Yahweh was originally a causative finite
verb see Yahweh.
Import. The passage in <Exo. 3:14> seems to furnish designedly a clue to the
meaning of the word. When Moses received his commission to be the deliverer of
Israel, the Almighty, who appeared in the burning bush, communicated to him the
name that he should give as the credentials of his mission: "God said unto Moses, I
am that I am [Heb. 'ehyeh 'asher 'ehyeh]: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you" (KJV).
In both names 'ehyeh and YHWH, the root idea is that of underived existence. When
it is said that God's name is He Is, simple being is not all that is affirmed. He is in a
sense in which no other being is. He is, and the cause of His being is in Himself. He is
because He is. But compare the etymology that Yahweh means "He causes to be"--
"He creates" (P. Haupt and W. F. Albright's view). See Yahweh.
When Made Known. The notice in <Exo. 6:3>, "By my name Jehovah was I not
known to them" (KJV), does not imply that the patriarchs were completely ignorant
of the existence or the use of the name. It simply means that previous to their
deliverance from Egyptian bondage they had no experiential knowledge of such
redemption. Under Moses they were to experience such deliverance and have the
redemptive power of God made real to them and the redemptive name of God
vouchsafed to them. Previously, as shepherds in Palestine, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob had known God as El Shaddai ("the Almighty," <Gen. 17:1>, KJV), proving
His power, but not in redemption as such.
Bibliography
W. Eichrodt, Theology of the Old Testament (1975), 1:187-92; J. Kitto, Daily Bible
Illustrations (1981), 1:372-74. (from New Unger's Bible Dictionary) (originally published
by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (C) 1988.)
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