Uses in Hebrew Text Untrustworthy
The rule that other honest Bible translators have adopted for inserting God’s Name in their translations of the OT texts, is to simply use it wherever the Tetragrammaton (יהוה) appears in the oldest existing Hebrew texts (which aren’t that old). However, as we will show; the current locations of the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew texts don’t appear to be reliable.
For example, there is the instance when AbraHam was talking to three ‘men’ (in Genesis the Eighteenth Chapter), one of whom he referred to as Jehovah (יהוה) in the current Hebrew text. Yet, in this case, AbraHam was obviously not speaking to God! Rather, he was talking to a messenger from God, because as God told Moses:
‘No man can see God and live.’
So, in such instances, we have left the term ‘Lord’ unchanged, because, that is likely the same as the word that AbraHam used.
Also, in the writings of the Prophets, you will notice that they often say that they were being spoken to by one of God’s messengers, whom they respectfully referred to as the Lord (not Jehovah). For example; consider the wording of Jeremiah 2:1:
‘Then the Word of the Lord came to me again and said,
Go and yell in JeruSalem’s ears…
Tell them that thus says Jehovah:’
As you can see in this case, ‘the Lord’ (messenger or angel) was bringing a message from Jehovah (third person). So, in this Bible, you’ll see an interspersing of the term the Lord when the text appears to be referring to the angel messenger, and Jehovah when it appears to be referring to The God.
Yet, we have in fact found verses where an angel was actually addressed as though he were The God. This is the case of the person to whom Moses was speaking at the burning bush. For at Exodus 3:2, we read:
‘And there, Jehovah’s messenger (gr. aggelos kyriou) appeared to him in a flame that was burning in a bush.’
However, we read at Exodus 3:4 that יהוה (Jehovah) was speaking to him. For we read in verse 6:
‘Then He said: I am the God of your ancestors… the God of AbraHam, the God of IsaAc, and the God of Jacob.’
So, although Moses recognized that the person who was speaking to him was just a messenger (angel), he also understood that the words were coming from The God.
That the person who was speaking to Moses was truly a messenger from God is confirmed by Stephen’s testimony before the Jewish High Court (Sanhedrin), where he testified (at Acts 7:30) that Moses was speaking to an angel. Therefore, in the next verse (at Exodus 3:7), we have rendered the text as reading:
‘Then the Lord told Moses… ’ (although the Masoretic Hebrew text says that יהוה told Moses).
Why? Because you can clearly see that it wasn’t יהוה speaking, but just a messenger.
Is there any chance that Moses was just confused about who was speaking to him? That couldn’t be true, because he’s the one who wrote the previous verses that said the person was an angel.
We also find this same type of text corruption in the Bible book of Judges. For example, the American Standard Version Bible renders Judges 6:18 as saying:
‘And Jehovah (יהוה) said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.’
Yet, look at who was really talking to him. In a previous verse (12); the same Bible says:
‘And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.’
So, it wasn’t really יהוה who was speaking as the current Hebrew text says, but a messenger (angel) of יהוה!
Then notice how the Septuagint (Greek) text of Judges 6:18 reads:
‘Kai eipen pros outon ho aggelous Kyriou Kyrios, Estai meta sou, kai pataexeis ten Madiam osei andra hena,’
or,
‘And said to him the messenger (angel) of the Lord Lord (Jehovah), I/am with you, and you/shall/strike the Midianites as man one.’
So, there is a difference between what is said in the Hebrew text and what is said in the Septuagint text… and the Septuagint got it right! For the Hebrew text says that יהוה was speaking, but the Greek text shows (as the previous verse said) that it was His messenger who was speaking. Therefore, it appears as though something is wrong with the currently-available Hebrew text in this case!
The point? When we find the tetragrammaton in the currently-available Hebrew Bible text, it is questionable whether it should actually have been there!
Other Uses of the Divine Name
Also, notice that the term, the Lord (ho kyrios) would have been used by Hebrew writers whenever they were speaking of God poetically and a previous or following verse used the name Jehovah. For the rules of Hebrew poetry require the following verse to be written as a simile (using not the same, but similar words).
However, look at how the current Hebrew poetic text renders Psalm 19:9 (which is WRONG!). A word-for-word translation in English reads:
‘The/fear of/Jehovah (יְהוָ֨ה) is/clean,
Enduring through/ages;
The/Judgments of/Jehovah (יְהוָ֨ה) are/true,
Righteous altogether.’
Notice here that both verses use the Divine Name. However, Hebrew poetry would dictate that a simile (‘the Lord’) should be used in one of the verses.
You can see that the same type of error is found in the Septuagint, for it reads (as translated word-for-word into English):
‘The fear of/the/Lord (kyriou) is/pure,
Abiding into eons of/eons.
The Judgments of/the/Lord (kyriou) are/true,
Doing/justice to/the same.’
So, neither follows the rules of Hebrew poetry. But notice that we have correctly rendered the verse as reading:
‘The fear of Jehovah is pure…
It lasts through the age and through ages of ages.
And the judgments of the Lord are all true,
For they bring equal justice to all.’
Another important place where it appears as though the term the Lord should be used instead of the Name Jehovah, is where people do something in His Name, as in James 5:10, which speaks of ‘Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.’ For, since Jehovah is God’s Name (in English), they would not be speaking in the Name of Jehovah (which is His Name), but in the Name of the Lord (Jehovah).
Yes, this could be an arguable point, but where there is some question and the understanding of the verse isn’t changed, we believe it is better to take a cautious approach, since we have found too many errors in uses of God’s Name.
So, how did such corruptions get into the Hebrew texts? Notice that most removals of the Name happened during the latter half of the 1st Century. So by the time of the Masoretic scribes in the 5th Century (who are largely responsible for our modern ‘ancient’ Hebrew texts), it appears as though the Divine Name had already been removed from their scrolls, and that at some later date, these scribes simply inserted the Tetragramaton (the four sacred letters) wherever they thought it should have originally been… and they made some mistakes. This becomes obvious when you take into consideration all the points mentioned above.
Corruptions of Messianic Prophecies
We have received several letters complaining about our using the term the Lord rather than the Name Jehovah in several other places, such as at Joel 2:32 (and Paul’s reference to that same scripture at Romans 10:13). Notice how we have rendered that scripture:
‘Then, all who call on the name of the Lord (heb. יהוה) will be saved, said Jehovah (יהוה).
For, to Mount Zion and JeruSalem,
Will come a person who saves,
Announcing good news to all those,
Who have been called by Jehovah (יהוה).’
You can see that this is a clear example of how the Jewish translators (the Masoretes?) have added the Tetragrammaton to replace a reference to someone who would be sent by Jehovah to rescue and announce good news, or, the Messiah. For, God did not say, ‘who have called on MY NAME,’ but rather, the text shows that He was speaking of a third party (likely ‘the Lord’ Jesus).
Recognize that one of the problems with the corrupted Masoretic (Hebrew) text is that there are many evidences (such as this) of tampering to remove Messianic prophecies, which other Bible translators have simply overlooked. For if you read the context surrounding Romans 10:13, you will see that it was definitely speaking of Jesus, not יהוה.
Another such corruption of a Messianic prophecy can be found in the 50th and 51st Chapters of Isaiah, which are a bit confusing, because God is clearly spoken of in the third person there, but sometime later it seems as though He speaks in the first person. In fact, this Messianic prophecy continues with a shifting of tenses all the way to the end of Chapter fifty-three! To what can this be attributed? To the fact that the speaker in all cases is the same… ‘the Word of God,’ His spokesman. However, the wrong personal pronouns were later inserted by copyists who didn’t understand that these were references not to The God, but to a coming Messiah.
The Question Raised at Hebrews 1:10-12
Probably the most striking and confusing reference to the Lord is found at Hebrews 1:10-12, which says:
‘In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth, and [you] made the heavens with your hands. But they’ll pass away while you still remain; for like clothes, they will grow old. Then, as [you would do to] a robe, you will wrap them up and repair them. Yes, you’re the one and your years will never expire.’
As you can see, the reference to the Lord here appears to be speaking of The God (Jehovah). And if you go back to the scripture Paul was quoting (Psalm 102:24-27), you’ll find that the Hebrew text of verse 24 doesn’t say ‘Lord’ (gr. kyrie), but, ‘my God’ (heb. Eli).
Thus, the conclusion most have reached is that Paul was talking about The God at Hebrews 1:10. Yet, notice that the entire First Chapter of Hebrews is discussing Jesus and his special position before God. And the reason why Paul quoted Psalm 102:24-27 was to make the point that Jesus made the heavens and the earth, that he will remain through the ages, and that he will eventually rebuild (repair) them after they grow old.
So, either Paul misapplied this scripture (which seems unlikely), or the Hebrew version of Psalm 102 has been badly corrupted through the years… which our research has proven to be true.
As the result, we have deviated from our rule of capitalizing the first letter of the words You and Your in many places in Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1, and from inserting the Name Jehovah wherever its use may be in doubt. However, this opens another can of worms, for it brings into question the use of the Tetragrammaton rule altogether!
Of course, there have been attempts to find a compromise between the differences in these verses, so that the accuracy of the Hebrew text can’t be questioned. And in doing so, some have suggested that since Jesus ‘shines with the same glory, is the exact image of His (God’s) being and is responsible for everything that’s said through His power’ (as we were told at Hebrews 1:3), anything that is said about God also applies to Jesus… perhaps.
Of course, the easy answer to why Paul quoted Psalm 102 in reference to Jesus is because Jesus is actually Jehovah, as many theologians claim. But this is proven untrue by the other words in the same First Chapter of Hebrews. For, notice what these other verses say:
· Hebrews 1:3: ‘He sat down at the right hand of the Great One in the highest places.’
· Hebrews 1:4: ‘He has become so much greater than the [other] messengers [of God] and so different, that he has inherited a [special] name among them.’
· Hebrews 1:5: ‘For example; to which of His [other] messengers did He ever say, You’re my son. Today I’ve become your Father. Or, I will become his Father and he will become My son.’
· Hebrews 1:9: ‘You loved righteousness and hated wickedness. That’s why God (your God) anointed you with the oil of great joy among those who are your partners.’
· Hebrews 1:13: ‘And to which one of His messengers did He ever say, Sit here on My right until I set your enemies as a stool for your feet?’
(For more information on this subject, please see the linked document, ‘Who Was Jesus?‘)
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