Jehovah's Witnesses Refuted: Yahweh Is More Accurate Than Jehovah

In the religious landscape, few subjects spark as much debate as the proper pronunciation of the divine name. The Jehovah's Witnesses, a sect known for its distinctive use of "Jehovah" to denote God, provide an interesting case study in discussion. Consider this excerpt from the Jehovah's Witnesses Watchtower Society:

“While inclining to view the pronunciation 'Yahweh' as the more correct way, we have retained the form 'Jehovah' because of people's familiarity with it since the 14th century.” (The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, 1969, p. 23).

This statement highlights their awareness of the linguistic nuances involved, but underscores a choice driven by tradition rather than philological accuracy. 

Historical Evolution and Misinterpretation:

The name "Jehovah" emerged from a combination of the consonants YHWH (known as the Tetragrammaton) and the vowels of "Adonai," a Hebrew word meaning "Lord." This form was first used in medieval Christian texts, but lacks a basis in ancient Hebrew pronunciation. The name "Yahweh" is widely accepted among scholars as a closer approximation of the original Hebrew. The synthesis of YHWH with the vowels of "Adonai" led to a linguistic amalgamation that resulted in "Jehovah," which does not align with Hebrew grammar and pronunciation rules.

Scholarly Consensus:

Confirmation from Jewish scholarship solidifies this perspective:

“A mispronunciation (introduced by Christian theologians, but almost entirely disregarded by the Jews) of the Hebrew "Yhwh," the (ineffable) name of God (the Tetragrammaton or "Shem ha-Meforash"). This pronunciation is grammatically impossible; it arose through pronouncing the vowels of the "ḳere" (marginal reading of the Masorites: = "Adonay") with the consonants of the "ketib" (text-reading: = "Yhwh")—"Adonay" (the Lord) being substituted with one exception wherever Yhwh occurs in the Biblical and liturgical books. "Adonay" presents the vowels "shewa" (the composite under the guttural א becomes simple under the י), "ḥolem," and "ḳameẓ," and these give the reading (= "Jehovah"). Sometimes, when the two names and occur together, the former is pointed with "ḥatef segol" under the י —thus, (="Jehovah")—to indicate that in this combination it is to be pronounced "Elohim." These substitutions of "Adonay" and "Elohim" for Yhwh were devised to avoid the profanation of the Ineffable Name (hence is also written , or even , and read "ha-Shem" = "the Name ")." (Emil G. Hirsch, The Jewish Encyclopedia, entry on Jehovah) 

"The reading "Jehovah" is a comparatively recent invention. The earlier Christian commentators report that the Tetragrammaton was written but not pronounced by the Jews (see Theodoret, "Question. xv. in Ex." [Field, "Hexapla," i. 90, to Ex. vi. 3]; Jerome, "Præfatio Regnorum," and his letter to Marcellus, "Epistola," 136, where he notices that "PIPI" [= ΠIΠI = ] is presented in Greek manuscripts; Origen, see "Hexapla" to Ps. lxxi. 18 and Isa. i. 2; comp. concordance to LXX. by Hatch and Redpath, under ΠIΠI, which occasionally takes the place of the usual κύριος, in Philo's Bible quotations; κύριος = "Adonay" is the regular translation; see also Aquila)." (Ibid.)

Jewish scholars, who possess a profound understanding of Hebrew linguistics and history, emphasize that "Jehovah" is a later construction. It is not a reflection of the ancient Hebrew tongue. The preference for "Yahweh" aligns more accurately with historical and linguistic evidence.

"This personal name, written with the consonants YHWH, was considered too sacred to he uttered; so the vowels for the words 'my Lord' or 'God' were added to the consonants YHWH, and the reader was warned by these vowels that he must substitute other consonants. This change having to be made so frequently, the Rabbis did not consider it necessary to put the consonants of the new reading in the margin . . YHWH was read with the intruded vowels, the vowels of an entirely different word, namely 'my Lord' or 'God'. In late medieval times this mispronunciation became current as Jehovah, and it was unwittingly taken over as Jehovah by the reformers in the Protestant Bibles.” (The New English Bible, Introduction of the Old Testament)