God's name is represented by the four Hebrew characters יהוה (YHWH or JHVH) and is known as the Tetragrammaton which appears almost 7,000 times in the original Hebrew text of what is commonly called the Old Testament.
Bible scholars acknowledge that God’s personal name appears in the Old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures. However, many feel that it did not appear in the original Greek manuscripts of the so-called New Testament.
The manuscripts of the New Testament that we possess today are not the originals. The original manuscripts written by Matthew, John, Paul, and others were well used, and no doubt they quickly wore out. So copies were made, and when those wore out, further copies were made. Of the thousands of copies of the New Testament in existence today, most were made at least two centuries after the originals were penned. It appears that by that time those copying the manuscripts either replaced the Tetragrammaton with Ku′ri·os or Ky′ri·os, the Greek word for “Lord,” or copied from manuscripts where this had been done. (For more, see: A Translation Problem; w08 8/1 pp. 18-23.)
But why did those copying the manuscripts replace the Tetragrammaton with Ku′ri·os or Ky′ri·os, the Greek word for “Lord”?
Notice what the New Encyclopedia Britannica states about the situation at that time. It says that the
"earliest Christians celebrated the Lord's Passover at the same time as the Jews, during the night of the first (paschal) full Moon of the first month of spring (Nisan 14-15). By the middle of the 2nd century, most churches had transferred this celebration to the Sunday after the Jewish feast."
From this time - "middle of the 2nd century" (180 A. D., at least) - until the blasphemous Nicene Council (325 A. D.) "Hostility against Jews and Jewish customs led to formal debates [about the date for "Easter"] in councils of the Church." - How It Started, Garrison, p. 49, Abingdon Press, 1972.
With the example of the extremely important "Easter/Passover" reaction of the Gentile "Christians" in mind we should not be surprised that these same Jewish-hating people changed the Hebrew name of the "Jewish" God during their attempts to "smooth out" "the text of Scripture" during the same time period. In fact it would be surprising if they hadn't. Remember, these "Christians" were mostly Greek (or Latin) speaking Gentiles. It was relatively easy for them to change all the instances of Yahweh and Yah to "Lord" or "God" since those words clearly stood out from the rest of the Greek writing in their Hebrew characters. But what if the hated name had been incorporated into other words and then transliterated into Greek by the original Septuagint translators? Would the name-removing Greek-speaking copyists still recognize it? Apparently not.
We find that when the shortened form of the Divine Name (Jah) was left in Hebrew characters by the original Jewish translators of the Septuagint, the "Christian" copyists always changed it to "Lord." But when the original Jewish translators had incorporated it with another word or words (as in proper names, e.g., "Elijah" [which means "God is Jehovah" - p. 674, Today's Dictionary of the Bible, Bethany House Publ., 1982] or in the phrase "Praise ye Jehovah" [Hallelu JAH]) and transliterated it into Greek characters, it became an acceptable "Greek" word (although one whose meaning they didn't wholly understand) to the "Christian" copyists, and they didn't change it (out of ignorance only). This is very obvious in the "Hallelujah" Psalms where, for some reason, the original Septuagint translators combined the two Hebrew words Hallelu ("Praise ye") and Jah ("Jehovah") and then put that new word into GREEK characters (which still had the Hebrew pronunciation of "Hallelujah").
When the 2nd century Jew-despising "Christian" copyists saw "Jah" in Hebrew characters, they always removed it entirely or changed it to "Lord" or "God" - e.g., Ex. 15:2; Ps. 68:4, 18; Is. 26:4. But when they saw the Greek characters of "HalleluJAH" they always left it unchanged:
All uses of an independent (standing alone, not attached to other words or names) Jah in the Hebrew Scriptures:
* - Ex. 15:2 ..............................................K - Ps. 118:17
* - Ex. 17:16 ............................................K - Ps. 118:18
K - Ps. 68:4 (:5 Heb.) ............................K - Ps. 118:19
* - Ps. 68:18 (:19) ..................................K - Ps. 122:4
K - Ps. 77:11 (:12) ..................................K - Ps. 130:3
K - Ps. 89:8 (:9) .....................................H - Ps. 135:1
K - Ps. 94:7..............................................K - Ps. 135:3
K - Ps. 94:12 ...........................................K - Ps. 135:4
K - Ps. 102:18 (:19) ...............................H - Ps. 135:21
H - Ps. 104:35__________ ...............H - Ps. 146:1_________
_/ H - Ps. 105:45 - Combined .........../H - Ps. 146:10 - Combined
..\ H - Ps. 106:1 in Sept.___ ..............\H - Ps. 147:1 in Sept.____
H - Ps. 106:48 ...................................._/H - Ps. 147:20 - Combined
H - Ps. 111:1 ..........................................\H - Ps. 148:1 in Sept.____
H - Ps. 112:1 ......................................._/H - Ps. 148:14 - Combined
H - Ps. 113:1 ..........................................\H - Ps. 149:1 in Sept.____
H - Ps. 113:9 ......................................_ /H - Ps. 149:9 - Combined
K - Ps. 115:17 ........................................\H - Ps. 150:1 in Sept.____
K - Ps. 115:18a ........................................K - Ps. 150:6a
H - Ps. 115:18b .......................................* - Ps. 150:6b
H - Ps. 116:19 ..........................................* - Ca. 8:6
H - Ps. 117:2 ............................................K - Is. 12:2
K - Ps. 118:5a ..........................................Th Is. 26:4
* - Ps. 118:5b ...........................................Th - Is. 38:11
K - Ps. 118:14
Key:
Key:
* - Reworded to eliminate use of Jah, "God," and "Lord" in existing Sept. MSS.
K - Jah has been replaced with Kurios (`Lord') in extant Sept. MSS.
Th - Jah has been replaced with Theos (`God') in extant Sept. MSS.
H - Jah has been transliterated into Greek letters of HalleluJAH in Sept.
Notice that everywhere Jah is used by itself (except when accompanied by hallel) it has been changed by the "Christian" copyists. However, whenever Jah was accompanied by Hallel ("Praise"), the original Septuagint translators incorporated it with Hallel into a single word and then wrote it out in Greek characters (transliterated it) keeping the Hebrew pronunciation of Hallel and JAH !
"Psalms 113-118 are traditionally referred to as the `Hallel Psalms,' because they have to do with praise to God for deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses. Because of this, they are an important part of the traditional Passover service. There is no reason to doubt that these were the hymns sung by Jesus and his disciples on Maundy Thursday when he instituted the Lord's Supper (Matt. 26:30).
"The word halal is the source of `Hallelujah,' a Hebrew expression of `praise' to God which has been taken over into virtually every language of mankind. The Hebrew `Hallelujah' is generally translated [falsely], `Praise the Lord!' The Hebrew is more technically [more honestly] translated `Let us praise Yah,' the term `Yah' being a shortened form of `Yahweh,' the unique Israelite name for God." - p. 301, - Nelson's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, Unger and White, Thomas Nelson Publ., 1980.
"Hallelujah - Praise ye Jehovah - frequently rendered [falsely] `Praise Ye the Lord" - p. 276. "Jah - a shortened form of `Jehovah,'" - p. 322, Today's Bible Dictionary, Bethany House Publishers, 1982.
"HALLELUJAH ... 'praise ye Jehovah'; allelouia .... In the NT ['Hallelujah'] is found as part of the song of the heavenly host (Rev. 19:1 ff)." - p. 1323, Vol. 2, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Eerdmans Publ., 1984 printing.
"hallelujah: (Heb., hillel, he praises; Jah, form of Yahweh-Jehovah....) Literally, Praise ye Yahweh." - p. 320, An Encyclopedia of Religion, Ferm (editor), 1945 ed.
"HALLELUJAH - HALLELOUIA [in NT Greek] signifies `Praise ye Jah.' .... In the N.T. it is found in Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6, as the keynote in the song of the great multitude in Heaven. Alleluia, without the initial H, is a misspelling." - p. 520, W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, 1980.
"ALLELUIA, the Greek form (Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6) of the Hebrew Hallelujah = Praise ye Jehovah, which begins or ends several of the psalms (106, 111, 112, 113, etc.)." – Easton's Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson Publ., 1897.
The NT Greek text does have the initial `H' sound. The "misspelling" is in certain English translations (e.g., KJV) which drop the beginning `H' sound: "Alleluia"! However, most respected modern translations do have "Hallelujah" in Rev. 19 (e.g., NIV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, ASV, REB, MLB, Mo, and Barclay).
"Hallelujah....is derived from halal, which means to praise, and Jah, which is the name of God .... here in this chapter [Rev. 19] the original Hebrew form transliterated into Greek, is retained." - p. 169, Vol. 2, William Barclay, The Revelation of John, Revised Edition, The Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster Press, 1976.
"Alleluia, so written in Rev. 19:6, foll., or more properly Hallelujah, Praise ye Jehovah ...." - p. 31. "Jah (Jehovah), the abbreviated form of Jehovah ... The identity of Jah and Jehovah is strongly marked in two passages of Isaiah - 12:2; 26:4." - p. 276, Smith's Bible Dictionary, William Smith, Hendrickson Publ.
"Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in Jehovah ['Heb. JAH' - ASV f. n.], even Jehovah [YHWH], is an everlasting rock." - Is. 26:4, ASV.
Yes, Jah is equivalent to Jehovah. Two different forms of the very same PERSONAL NAME of God. (This is likely equivalent to the way Greek manuscripts often abbreviated "God" [Qeos, 'theos'] as QS. If so, Jah would still be pronounced "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" - see the PRONOUNCE study paper.)
Psalm 68:4, King James Version - "Sing unto God, sing praises to his name; extol him...by his name JAH ['Jehovah' - ASV; LB]..."
Of course, the Gentile manuscript copyists of later centuries probably did not know that "Abijah" ("The Father is Jehovah"), "Elijah," ("God is Jehovah"), etc. are transliterations that actually use the shortened form of God's personal name ("Jah") and certainly didn't know that "Hallelujah" (Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6) is really Hebrew for "Praise Jah" or they would have surely changed them all also. However, the inspired Jewish Christians who actually wrote the original NT manuscripts certainly knew that writing or proclaiming aloud "Hallelu JAH!" (whether in Hebrew characters or Greek characters) was writing (or proclaiming aloud) God's personal name. If the Jewish Christian and Apostle John had left God's name out of the NT originally, he surely would not have then used "Hallelu JAH!" in four places in Revelation 19, for he knew exactly what it truly said: "Praise ye Jehovah"! Only the Hebrew-ignorant Gentile "Christian" copyists would be fooled by "Hallelujah" exactly as they were when they removed and changed the Divine Name in the Septuagint about the same time)!
Actually, then, "Jehovah" IS found in ALL existing MSS of the NT which include Rev. 19.
The extreme importance of this must not be overlooked or minimized. The last book of the Bible (and one of the last to be inspired and written) reasserts and re-emphasizes the extreme importance of God's only eternal personal name. In the "keynote in the song of the great multitude" worshipers of the true God are commanded to praise "our God": "Give praise to our God (ainete [to theo] hemon). Present active imperative [the form used for commands] of aineo." - p. 488, Vol. 6, A. T. Robertson's Word Pictures.
And exactly who is the God whom all are commanded to praise? "God who sits on the throne" (19:4) is the Father, Jehovah alone. See all other instances of the God seated on the throne in the Book of Revelation (e.g., Rev. 4:2, 8; 5:6, 7, 16; 7:9). "The Lord our God the Almighty [pantokrator]" (Rev. 19:6) is never used of the Son (nor anyone else), but only the Father, Jehovah alone. E.g., 2 Cor. 6:18 says: "And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty [pantokrator]." Yes, the only person called God in the Book of Revelation is always the Father. (Rev. 1:6 - "[Jesus Christ] has made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.") So how do God's true worshipers respond when commanded to praise this God Almighty seated on the throne?
"HALLELU JAH!" ("Praise JEHOVAH!").
"HALLELU JAH!" ("Praise JEHOVAH!").
"Jehovah ... This is my eternal name, to be used throughout all generations." - Ex. 3:15, LB.
If "Hallelujah" had not been, for some unknown reason, combined into a single word by the original translators of the Septuagint* (or by very early copyists) and was therefore misunderstood by the Gentile "Christian" copyists of the second century, then even this last (and most important) use of "Jehovah" would have been eliminated from all of the NT Greek Scriptures.
As it is, however, the exclusive name of God was miraculously preserved in the Hebrew manuscripts of the OT (even after the Jews finally succumbed to the superstitious practice of never pronouncing aloud that supremely important name that still appeared written in their OT manuscripts). It was miraculously preserved in the Septuagint, the ancient Greek manuscripts of the OT. (Even after later copyists changed nearly all instances into "Lord" or "God," it remained in the "Hallelujahs.") It was miraculously preserved in the Greek NT manuscripts. (Even after copyists changed nearly all instances into "Lord" or "God," it, too, remained in the single-worded "Hallelujahs.") And it was miraculously preserved in the extremely significant statement of Ps. 83:18 in the English of the King James Version which took away "Jehovah" and substituted "LORD" nearly everywhere else (nearly 7000 times).
* We can see that the source of Halleluia in existing copies of the Septuagint is really two words in the original Hebrew. For example the Hahlayloo Yah of Psalm 146:1 is obviously two separate Hebrew words: Hahlayloo [`praise ye'] and Yah [`Jehovah']. And yet, our oldest existing copies of the ancient Septuagint show these two words combined into one `new' word in Greek: Halleluia. And the same Greek word, Halleluia, which was found in the earliest copies of John's Revelation, was likewise treated by copyists of the 2nd century. Whether John himself had combined the two words into one for the benefit of those Hellenic Jews to whom he wrote (who were familiar with the term as it was found in the Septuagint) or whether early copyists had done it to conform with the Septuagint is not the point here.
More Information Concerning This Can Be Found In the Following Articles:
Jah (Insight-1 p. 1248; Watchtower Online Library)
The Fight Against God’s Name (g04 1/22 pp. 5-9; Watchtower Online Library)
"Jehovah" in The New Testament (Search For Bible Truths)
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