Was the Pronunciation Lost?

Because of the years-long efforts of scribes and others to conceal the sacred Name, some today believe that the pronunciation of the Name of the Heavenly Father has been lost. The evidence proves otherwise, however. The proper vocalization of the Name was perpetuated down through the centuries.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica (llth Edition, vol. 12) says of "Yahweh":

   The Rabbinic tradition that after the death of Simeon the Just (fl. 290 B.C.E.) it was no longer pronounced even on these occasions, is contradicted by the well-attested statement that in the last generations before the fall of Jerusalem (C.E. 70) it was uttered so low that the sounds were lost in the chant of the priest. After that event the liturgical use of the name ceased, but the tradition was perpetuated in the Rabbinic schools; it continued also to be employed by healers, exorcists, and magicians, and is found on many magical papyri. It is asserted by Philo that only priests might pronounce it and by Josephus that those who know it were forbidden to divulge it. Finally the Samaritans shared the scruples of the Jews, except that they used it in judicial oaths.
   The early Christian scholars therefore easily learnt the true pronunciation. Clement of Alexandria (d. 212) gives laove or laovai (or in one manuscript laov), Origen (d. 253-54) lan, and Epiphanius (d. 404) laBe (or lave in one manuscript); Theodoret (d. 457) says that the Samaritans pronounced it laBe (or lapa)...
   This new name, though at first widely known, as the Moabite Stone shows, was soon considered too sacred for daily use and confined to the Scriptures.
   Outside the Old Testament Yhwh occurs only on the Moabite Stone (c. 850 B.C.E.); the usual form is YH or Yhw, occurring in unvocalized texts of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E. These forms appear in the Old Testament sporadically as the independent Yah and regularly as Yah or Yahu at the end and Yeho or Yo at the beginning of proper names.

The Encyclopedia Judaica confirms that the pronunciation "Yahweh" was preserved: "The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced 'Yahweh.' This is confirmed, at least for the vowel of the first syllable of the name, by the shorter form Yah, which is sometimes used in poetry (e.g. Ex. 15:2)."

New archaeological finds attest to the accuracy of the Name Yahweh. The New Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia shows how important these discoveries are in regard to the veracity of the sacred Name's pronunciation:

   Yahweh: The pronuncidion Yahweh of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton need no longer be based primarily on traditions preserved in late patristic sources. Both the vocalization yahwe and yahu (a shortened for n used chiefly in personal names) are now confirmed by a variety of ancient New Eastern inscriptional materials from the first and second millennia B.C.E.
   Yahwe was originally a finite verb derived from a causative stem of the Northwest Semitic root hwy, 'to come into being.' The divine name would thus go back to a verbal form meaning 'he causes to come into existence,' or in effect, 'he creates.'
   The name Yahweh appears to have been originally the first or key word of an ancient liturgical formula which proclaimed the creative activity of the deity.
   No non-Israelite divine name 'Yahweh' has yet been identified certainly in ancient Near Eastern sources.

And the Son's Name?

From a study of the origin of letters that make up the word "Jesus" in our English Bibles, we can readily see that the name of the Savior underwent considerable change as it was brought from one language to another.

The name of the Redeemer of Israel, who has the only name through which man can find salvation (Acts 4:12), has been given a Latinized hybrid name that never existed in Hebrew and did not exist in English until 500 years ago.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance shows that the word Jesus is from the Greek "Iesous," which according to Strong's Greek Dictionary, derives from the Hebrew "**", Yahowshua. The vowel points that make this transliteration (sounding out) are much more recent than the actual Hebrew letters, being introduced between 600 and 900 C.E. Removing them to be consistent with the original letters, we get "**".

The first three letters, reading right to left, are pronounced YAHW because they are equivalent to the English vowels IAU. They are the same letters that begin Yahweh's Name ( *** ). The last two Hebrew letters ( ** ) are pronounced SHUA, as found in Strong's Concordance Hebrew Dictionary, No. 8668.

Clearly, the name of the Savior was changed from Yahshua, through contraction, to Joshua (then Jeshua). Evidence that the Y in His name took on the J is found in Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8, where translators of the King James Version inserted "Jesus" when Joshua, the son of Nun, was meant.

When transferred into Greek, by taking the termination characteristics of the language, it assumed the form Jesus as it came through the Latin. Unlike English, which uses corresponding suffixes in personal pronouns, most languages have special endings on nouns that show the case, number, and gender. The "us" ending indicates masculine nominative. Thus the metamorphosis from "Yahshua" to "Jesus" was complete.

As with the Father's Name, numerous sources easily available attest that the Name Yahshua is incorrectly rendered "Jesus."
 

Secular Scholars

Encyclopedia Americana: "Jesus Christ — ...Although Matthew (1:21) interprets the name originally Joshua, that is, 'Yahweh is salvation,' and finds it specially appropriate for Jesus of Nazareth, it was a common one at the time." (Vol. 16, p. 41)

Encyclopaedia Britannica (15th ed.): "Jesus Christ—. . .The same is true of the name Jesus. In the Septuagint it is the customary Greek form for the common Hebrew name Joshua; i.e., 'Yahweh helps.' " Vol. 10. p. 149.

Following is a photocopied extract from the Oxford English Dictionary under "Jesus":  ( Copy not included )
 

Had the Savior's Name been transliterated into Greek and Latin, the true and proper form would have been preserved.

Religious Scholars

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature: "Jesus Christ — There can be no doubt that Jesus is the Greek form of a Hebrew name. Its original and full form is Jehoshua. By contraction it became Joshua or Jeshua; and when transferred into Greek, by taking the termination characteristics of that language, it assumed the form Jesus."

Word Studies in the New Testament,' by Marvin R. Vincent —

Jesus. The Greek form of a Hebrew name, which had been borne by two illustrious individuals in former periods of the Jewish history—Joshua, the successor of Moses, and Jeshua, the high-priest, who with Zerubbabel took so active a part in the re-establishment of the civil and reUgious polity of the Jews in their return from Babylon. Its original and full form is Jehoshua, becoming by contraction Joshua or Jeshua.  Joshua, the son of Nun, the successor of Moses, was originally named Hoshea (saving), which was altered by Moses into Jehoshua (Yah~veh (our) Salvation) (Num. 13:16). The meaning of the name, therefore, finds expression in the title Savior (Luke 1:47; 2:11; John 4:42).

The Acts of the Apostles by Jackson and Lake:

Jesus—This is the regular Greek translation of the Hebrew Joshua. The latter assumed a shorter form Jeshua ~ in later times, which explains also the e in the Greek spelling. Among the Biblical instances Joshua the son of Nun, and Jeshua the son of Jehozadak, high priest in the time of Zerubbabel, are well known. The Greek spelling occurs in the LXX (with some exception) for the Hebrew name. It is included in the title of Ecclesiasticus. It is used in the New Testament at Luke 3:29, Acts 7:45, and Hebrews 4:8 of ancient Hebrews, and of Jews of the early Roman Empire at Col. 4:11, by Josephus frequently (see Niese, Index, 8.V.) and many other Jewish sources.

 Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible: (under Hebrews 4:8) "Jesus. Josue, who in Greek is called Jesus."

Smith's Bible Dictonary: "Jesus Christ — The name Jesus means Savior, and was a common name, derived from the ancient Hebrew Jehoshua."

A Dictionary of the Bible, by James Hastings: "Jesus — the Greek form of the name Joshua or Jeshua. Jeshua — Yahweh is salvation or Yahweh is opulence."

Alford's Greek Testament, An Exegetical and Critical Commentary: "Jesus — The same name as Joshua, the former deliverer of Israel."

(4 pages of text omitted - will be restored soon.)

No Other Name for Salvation

Knowing what the true names are is not enough, however. Once they are proved and accepted as correct, they must be used. James 4:17 reads, "So then, to the person who knows what is right to do and fails to do it, to him it is sin," Modern Language Bible.

The sacred Name is forever, a memorial that Yahweh says He is to be remembered by from generation to generation. "And Yahweh said moreover unto Moses, 'Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel, "Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me unto you:" this is My Name forever, and this is My memorial unto all generations,' " Exodus 3:15. (Note ALL generations)

Yahweh has revealed His Name and His Son's through a Hebrew-speaking people down through history. His Name has meaning and describes His attributes. "Yahweh" means that He will be all things to His people. He will be whatever they need of Him at the time. He will be our comforter, strengthener, guide, protector, healer, provider; in fact, He will be whatever we as His children need. He has already become our salvation through His Son, Yahshua, the salvation Yahweh has sent to earth for you and me.

We have a closer walk with Yahweh when we call upon His personal, holy Name that He has revealed to those with whom He is in covenant. Our fellowship is with those of like faith who have called upon His sacred Name down through the years, from righteous Abel to Noah, Abraham, and the Israelites of long ago. Eventually the whole family in heaven and earth will be the Name of the Father, Yahweh, Ephesians 3:l5. How can you be accounted worthy to bear the Name Yahweh, and be sealed with His Name (Rev. 14: l ), if you refuse to use it now?

We must walk in all the truth we are given. When we fully accept the truth revealed to us, it is our responsibility to act. Abundant proof exists that Yahweh and Yahshua are the correct and only names of the Father and Son, respectively. These are the names revealed in His Word through His inspired prophets. We cannot improve on the direct command to praise Him by the Name He Himself gave to us.

"Salvation comes through no one else, for there is no other Name in the whole world, given to men, to which we must look for our salvation." Acts 4:12 TCNT.