1D The Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures

“Jehovah.” Heb., יהוה (YHWH or JHVH)

From App 1A and 1C it is evident that the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew characters (יהוה) was used in both the Hebrew text and the Greek Septuagint. Therefore, whether Jesus and his disciples read the Scriptures in either Hebrew or Greek, they would come across the divine name. In the synagogue at Nazareth, when Jesus rose and accepted the book of Isaiah and read Isa 61:1, 2 where the Tetragrammaton occurs twice, he pronounced the divine name. This was in accordance with his determination to make Jehovah’s name known as can be seen from his prayer to his Father: “I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world. . . . I have made your name known to them and will make it known.”—Joh 17:6, 26.

There is evidence that Jesus’ disciples used the Tetragrammaton in their writings. In his work De viris inlustribus [Concerning Illustrious Men], chapter III, Jerome, in the fourth century, wrote the following: “Matthew, who is also Levi, and who from a publican came to be an apostle, first of all composed a Gospel of Christ in Judaea in the Hebrew language and characters for the benefit of those of the circumcision who had believed. Who translated it after that in Greek is not sufficiently ascertained. Moreover, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea, which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected. I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this volume in the Syrian city of Beroea to copy it.” (Translation from the Latin text edited by E. C. Richardson and published in the series “Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur,” Vol. 14, Leipzig, 1896, pp. 8, 9.)

Matthew made more than a hundred quotations from the inspired Hebrew Scriptures. Where these quotations included the divine name he would have been obliged faithfully to include the Tetragrammaton in his Hebrew Gospel account. When the Gospel of Matthew was translated into Greek, the Tetragrammaton was left untranslated within the Greek text according to the practice of that time.

Not only Matthew but all the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures quoted verses from the Hebrew text or from the Septuagint where the divine name appears. For example, in Peter’s speech in Ac 3:22 a quotation is made from De 18:15 where the Tetragrammaton appears in a papyrus fragment of the Septuagint dated to the first century B.C.E. (See App 1C §1.) As a follower of Christ, Peter used God’s name, Jehovah. When Peter’s speech was put on record the Tetragrammaton was here used according to the practice during the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.

Sometime during the second or third century C.E. the scribes removed the Tetragrammaton from both the Septuagint and the Christian Greek Scriptures and replaced it with Kyʹri·os, “Lord” or The·osʹ, “God.”

Concerning the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures, George Howard of the University of Georgia wrote in Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 96, 1977, p. 63: “Recent discoveries in Egypt and the Judean Desert allow us to see first hand the use of God’s name in pre-Christian times. These discoveries are significant for N[ew] T[estament] studies in that they form a literary analogy with the earliest Christian documents and may explain how NT authors used the divine name. In the following pages we will set forth a theory that the divine name, יהוה (and possibly abbreviations of it), was originally written in the NT quotations of and allusions to the O[ld] T[estament] and that in the course of time it was replaced mainly with the surrogate κς [abbreviation for Kyʹri·os, “Lord”]. This removal of the Tetragram[maton], in our view, created a confusion in the minds of early Gentile Christians about the relationship between the ‘Lord God’ and the ‘Lord Christ’ which is reflected in the MS tradition of the NT text itself.”

We concur with the above, with this exception: We do not consider this view a “theory,” rather, a presentation of the facts of history as to the transmission of Bible manuscripts.

RESTORING THE DIVINE NAME

Throughout the centuries many translations of parts or of all the Christian Greek Scriptures have been made into Hebrew. Such translations, designated in this work by “J” with a superior number, have restored the divine name to the inspired Christian Greek Scriptures in various places. They have restored the divine name not only when coming upon quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures but also in other places where the texts called for such restoration.

To know where the divine name was replaced by the Greek words Κύριος and Θεός, we have determined where the inspired Christian writers have quoted verses, passages and expressions from the Hebrew Scriptures and then we have referred back to the Hebrew text to ascertain whether the divine name appears there. In this way we determined the identity to give Kyʹri·os and The·osʹ and the personality with which to clothe them.

To avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis, we have been most cautious about rendering the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures, always carefully considering the Hebrew Scriptures as a background. We have looked for agreement from the Hebrew versions to confirm our rendering. Thus, out of the 237 times that we have rendered the divine name in the body of our translation, there is only one instance where we have no agreement from the Hebrew versions. But in this one instance, namely, 1Co 7:17, the context and related texts strongly support rendering the divine name.—See 1Co 7:17 ftn, “Jehovah.”

Following is a list of the 237 places where the name “Jehovah” occurs in the main text of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Supporting the rendering are various sources listed by their respective symbols. For an explanation of the symbols (“J” references), see the Introduction under “Textual Symbols.”

The following list also indicates the Greek word to be found at these locations in the Westcott and Hort Greek text. Kyʹri·os, “Lord,” and its various forms are designated by Ky. Similarly, Theʹos, “God,” and its various forms are designated by Th. An asterisk (*) preceding either of these symbols indicates that the Greek word is accompanied by the definite article in the Greek text. A plus sign (+) following the verse citation indicates that there is additional information to be found in a footnote on that verse.

MATTHEW

1:20+ Ky; J^{3,4,7-14,16-18,22-24}

1:22 Ky; J^{1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24,26}

1:24 Ky; J^{1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24}

2:13 Ky; J^{1-4,6-14,16-18,22-24}

2:15 Ky; J^{1,3,4,6-14,16-18,22-24}

2:19 Ky; J^{1-4,6-14,16-18,22-24}

3:3 Ky; J^{1-4,7-14,16-18,20,22-24,26}

4:4 Th; J^{1-14,17,18,20,22,23}

4:7 Ky; J^{1-14,16-18,20,22-24}

4:10 Ky; J^{1-14,16-18,20,22-24}

5:33 *Ky; J^{1-4,7-14,16-18,22,23}

21:9 Ky; J^{1-14,16-18,20-24}

21:42 Ky; J^{1-4,7-14,16-18,20-24}

22:37 Ky; J^{1-14,16-18,20-24}

22:44 Ky; J^{1-14,16-18,20-24}

23:39 Ky; J^{1-14,16-18,21-24}

27:10 Ky; J^{1-4,7-14,16,17,22-24}

28:2 Ky; J^{1-4,7-13,16-18,22-24}

MARK

1:3 Ky; J^{7-14,16-18,22-24}

5:19 *Ky; J^{7-10,17,18,22}

11:9 Ky; J^{7,8,10-14,16-18,21-24}

12:11 Ky; J^{7-14,16-18,21-24}

12:29 Ky; J^{7-14,16-18,20-24,27}

12:29 Ky; J^{7-14,16-18,20-24}

12:30 Ky; J^{7-14,16-18,21-24}

12:36 Ky; J^{7-14,16-18,21-24}

13:20 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,16-18,22-24}

LUKE

1:6 *Ky; J^7-17,23

1:9 *Ky; J^7-18,22,23

1:11 Ky; J^{7-13,16-18,22-24}

1:15 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,22,23}

1:16 Ky; J^7-18,22-24

1:17 Ky; J^7-18,22-24

1:25 Ky; J^7-18,22,23

1:28 *Ky; J^5,7-18,22,23

1:32 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

1:38 Ky; J^5,7-18,22-24

1:45 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

1:46 *Ky; J^5-18,22,23

1:58 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

1:66 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

1:68 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

1:76 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

2:9 Ky; J^{5,7-13,16,17,22-24}

2:9 Ky; J^{5,7,8,10-18,22-24}

2:15 *Ky; J^{5,7,8,10-18,22,23}

2:22 *Ky; J^5-18,22,23

2:23 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

2:23 *Ky; J^5-18,22,23

2:24 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

2:26 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

2:39 Ky; J^5-18,22-24

3:4 Ky; J^{7-15,17,18,22-24}

4:8 Ky; J^7-18,22-24

4:12 Ky; J^7-18,22-24

4:18 Ky; J^{7-15,20,23,24}

4:19 Ky; J^{7-18,20,22-24}

5:17 Ky; J^7-18,22-24

10:27 Ky; J^5-18,21-24

13:35 Ky; J^7-18,21-24

19:38 Ky; J^7-18,21-24

20:37 Ky; J^{9,11-18,21-24,27}

20:42 Ky; J^7-18,21-24

JOHN

1:23 Ky; J^{5-14,16-19,22-24}

6:45 Th; J^{7,8,10,14,17,19,20,22,23}

12:13 Ky; J^{7-14,16-19,21-24}

12:38 Ky; J^{12-14,16-18,22,23}

12:38 Ky; J^{7-14,16-20,22-24}

ACTS

1:24 Ky; J^7,8,10,22,23

2:20 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22-24}

2:21 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22-24}

2:25 *Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22,23}

2:34 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,21-24}

2:39 Ky; J^{7,8,10,17,18,22-24}

2:47 *Ky; J^7,8,10

3:19 *Ky; J^13-18,22,23

3:22+ Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22-24}

4:26 *Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22,23}

4:29 Ky; J^7,8,10

5:9 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22-24}

5:19 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22-24}

7:31 Ky; J^11-18,22-24

7:33 *Ky; J^11-18,22,23

7:49 Ky; J^{11-18,20,22-24}

7:60 Ky; J^17,18,22,23

8:22+ *Ky; J^18,22,23

8:24+ *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22,23}

8:25+ *Ky; J^7,8,10,17,18

8:26 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22-24}

8:39 Ky; J^{13,15-18,22-24}

9:31 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15,16,18,22}

10:33+ *Ky; J^17,18,23

11:21 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22,23}

12:7 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22-24}

12:11 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15,16,18,23}

12:17 *Ky; J^7,8,10

12:23 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22-24}

12:24+ *Ky; J^7,8,10,23

13:2 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22,23}

13:10 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22,23}

13:11 Ky; J^{7,8,10,15-18,22-24}

13:12 *Ky; J^7,8,10

13:44+ *Th; J^17,22

13:47 *Ky; J^7,8,10,22,23

13:48+ *Th; J^{7,8,10,13,15-17,22,23}

13:49 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,22,23}

14:3 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,15-18,23}

14:23 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15,16}

15:17 *Ky; J^11-18,22,23

15:17 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22-24}

15:35+ *Ky; J^17,18,22,23

15:36+ *Ky; J^{7,8,10,17,18,22,23}

15:40+ *Ky; J^17,18,22

16:14 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,17,18,23}

16:15+ *Ky; J^7,8,10

16:32+ *Th; J^{7,8,10,17,18,22,23}

18:21 *Th; J¹⁷

18:25 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15,16,24}

19:20+ *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,15-18,23}

21:14 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,17,18,23}

ROMANS

4:3 *Th; J^{7,8,10,17,20,22}

4:8 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22-25}

9:28 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,16,20,25}

9:29 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22-24}

10:13 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13-18,22-24}

10:16 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13-18,23}

11:3 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,23,25}

11:34 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13-18,20,22-25}

12:11 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,16,18}

12:19 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,22-24}

14:4+ *Ky; J^18,23

14:6 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,16,18,22,24}

14:6 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,16,22,24}

14:8 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13-16,18}

14:11 Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,22-25}

15:11 *Ky; J^{7,8,10-18,20,22,23,25}

1 CORINTHIANS

1:31 Ky; J^{7,8,10-14,16-18,22-24}

2:16 Ky; J^{13,14,16-18,22-24}

3:20 Ky; J^{7,8,10-14,16-18,20,22-24}

4:4 Ky; J^{7,8,10,17,18,23,24}

4:19 *Ky; J^7,8,10,22,23

7:17+ *Ky;

10:9+ *Ky; J^18,22,23

10:21 Ky; J^7,8,10,24

10:22 *Ky; J^7,8,10,14

10:26 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,11,13,14,16-18,20,22,23}

11:32 *Ky; J^13,16,18

14:21 Ky; J^{7,8,10-14,16-18,22-24}

16:7 *Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,14,16-18,22,23}

16:10 Ky; J^{7,8,10,13,14,16-18,24}

2 CORINTHIANS

3:16 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16,22,24}

3:17 *Ky; J^7,8,13,14,16

3:17 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16,22,24}

3:18 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16,22,24}

6:17 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22-24}

6:18 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22-24}

8:21+ Ky; J^7,8,24

10:17 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

10:18 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

GALATIANS

3:6 *Th; J^7,8

EPHESIANS

2:21 Ky; J^{7,8,13,16-18,22-24}

5:17+ *Ky; J^7,8

5:19 *Ky; J^7,8,13,16,23

6:4 Ky; J^7,8,22,24

6:7 *Ky; J^7,8

6:8 Ky; J^22,24

COLOSSIANS

1:10+ *Ky; J^7,8

3:13+ *Ky; J²³

3:16+ *Th; J^{7,8,13,14,16,17}

3:22+ *Ky; J^18,22

3:23 *Ky; J^{7,8,17,18,22,23}

3:24 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

1 THESSALONIANS

1:8+ *Ky; J^{7,8,17,18,22,23}

4:6 Ky; J^{7,8,17,18,22-24}

4:15 Ky; J^7,8,17,18,24

5:2 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

2 THESSALONIANS

2:2 *Ky; J^18,22,23

2:13+ Ky; J^13,16,24

3:1 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

2 TIMOTHY

1:18 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

2:19 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,20,22-24}

2:19 Ky; J^18,22-24

4:14 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,16-18,22,23}

HEBREWS

2:13 *Th; J^{3,7,8,17,20,22}

7:21 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

8:2 *Ky; J^{7,8,13-16,18,22,23}

8:8 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

8:9 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

8:10 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22,24}

8:11 *Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22,23}

10:16 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,22-24}

10:30 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

12:5 Ky; J^{7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

12:6 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

13:6 Ky; J^{3,7,8,11-18,20,22-24}

JAMES

1:7 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

1:12+ J^7,8,13,16,17

2:23 *Th; J^14,17,20,22

2:23 Th; J¹⁷

3:9+ *Ky; J^18,23

4:10 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

4:15 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

5:4 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22-24}

5:10 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

5:11 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16,18,22-24}

5:11 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

5:14 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22}

5:15 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

1 PETER

1:25+ Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,20,22,23}

3:12 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,20,22-24}

3:12 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,20,22,24}

2 PETER

2:9 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

2:11+ Ky; J^{7,8,13,16-18,22-24}

3:8 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

3:9 Ky; J^{7,8,13,16-18,22-24}

3:10 Ky; J^{7,8,13,16-18,22-24}

3:12+ *Th; J^7,8,17

JUDE

vs 5+ Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22,23}

vs 9+ Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22-24}

vs 14 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

REVELATION

1:8 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

4:8 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22,24}

4:11 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16,18}

11:17 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

15:3 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

15:4 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

16:7 Ky; J^{13,14,16-18,22,23}

18:8+ Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

19:6 Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24}

21:22 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,23}

22:5 Ky; J^{7,8,11-14,16-18,22-24}

22:6 *Ky; J^{7,8,13,14,16-18,22,24}

Following is a list of the 72 places where the name “Jehovah” occurs, not in the main text of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, but only in the footnotes.

Mt 22:32; Mr 11:10; Lu 1:2; 2:11, 29, 38; 4:4, 18; Joh 5:4; Ac 2:30; 7:30, 37; 10:22; 13:43, 50; 14:25; 19:23; 20:25; 22:17; 26:7; Ro 7:6; 10:17; 11:8; 1Co 7:17; 10:28; 11:23; Ga 2:6; 3:20; 5:10, 12; Php 4:1, 4, 5, 10, 18; Col 3:15; 1Th 4:9, 16, 17, 17; 5:27; 1Ti 2:2, 10; 3:16; 4:7, 8; 5:4, 8; 6:2, 3, 6, 11; 2Ti 1:16, 18; 2:14, 22, 24; Tit 2:12; Heb 4:3; 9:20; 10:30; 1Pe 2:13; 3:1, 15; 5:3; 2Pe 1:3; 2Jo 11; Re 11:1, 19; 16:5; 19:1, 2.

“Jah,” the shorter form of the divine name, occurs in the Greek expression hal·le·lou·i·aʹ, a transliteration of the Hebrew ha·lelu-Yahʹ, “Praise Jah, you people!” Re (4 times) Re 19:1, 3, 4, 6.—See Ps 104:35 ftns.