YHVH: Difference between revisions

Over time, the name YHVH became considered too sacred to say aloud, and so in speaking began to be replaced with ''Adonai'' (the Lord);{{Note|{{Translit|he|אֲדֹנָי|ʾăḏōnāy}}}} as such, in English versions of the Bible, it is conventionally translated as "the <span style="font-variant:small-caps">Lord</span>," with the small capitals distinguishing uses of YHVH in the original Hebrew from uses of ''Adonai''. Another traditional way of rendering the name YHVH in English is "Jehovah"; this spelling originates from Jewish scribes putting the vowel marks for ''Adonai'' onto the Tetragrammaton in the Masoretic text{{Note|{{Translit|he|יְהֹוָה‎|*yŏhōwâ}}; actually pronounced ''ʾăḏōnāy''. The first vowel is simplified from a patach and sheva together (which makes a reduced /a/ sound) to a plain sheva.}} in order to indicate that it is pronounced ''Adonai'', after which the Tetragrammaton was transcribed into the Latin alphabet with those vowels.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=[https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3068.htm Strong's Hebrew: 3068. יְהֹוָה (Yhvh) -- the proper name of the God of Israel]|site=Bible Hub|retrieved=December 25, 2023}}</ref> When the name accompanies an already existing ''Adonai'', the Tetragrammaton is pronounced as ''Elohim'', meaning "God" as a proper noun.{{Note|{{Translit|he|יֱהֹוִה|*yĕhōwih}}; actually pronounced ''ʾĕlōhîm''.}} The scholarly consensus for the original pronunciation of the name is "Yahweh."{{Note|{{Translit|he|<span dir<nowiki>=</nowiki>"rtl">*יַהְוֶה‎</span>|*yahwê}}}}<ref>{{Cite Book|author=Robert Alter|quote=The strong consensus of biblical scholarship is that the original pronunciation of the name YHWH that God goes on to use in verse 15 was 'Yahweh.'|book=The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary|volume=3|page=p. 240|isbn={{ISBN|978-0393292503}}|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|publyear=2018}}</ref>