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The Tetragrammaton In The Bible This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy.
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- In at least two different articles that are found in the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1901-1906, the Jewish Encyclopedia states the reasons why they believe that the Masoretes used the particular vowel points that they did, when they wrote the two forms of the Tetragrammaton that are found in the Hebrew Bible.
- The Jewish Encyclopedia in its Article:' Names of God: YHWH', says:
- Of the names of God in the Old Testament, that which occurs most frequently ( 6,823 times ) is the so-called Tetragrammaton, Yhwh ( יהוה), the distinctive personal name of the God of Israel. This name is commonly represented in modern translations by the form "Jehovah," which, however, is a philological impossibility. This form has arisen through attempting to pronounce the consonants of the name with the vowels of Adonai ( אדני = "Lord" ), which the Masorites have inserted in the text, indicating thereby that Adonai was to be read (as a "Qeri perpetuum") instead of Yhwh. When the name Adonai itself precedes, to avoid repetition of this name, Yhwh is written by the Masorites with the vowels of Elohim, in which case Elohim is read instead of Yhwh. In consequence of this Masoretic reading the authorized and revised English versions ( though not the American edition of the revised version ) render Yhwh by the word "Lord" in the great majority of cases.
- in its Article: Jehova [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=206&letter=J The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1901-1906:
- A mispronunciation (introduced by Christian theologians, but almost entirely disregarded by the Jews) of the Hebrew "Yhwh," the (ineffable) name of God (the Tetragrammaton or "Shem ha-Meforash"). This pronunciation is grammatically impossible; it arose through pronouncing the vowels of the "Qere" (marginal reading of the Masorites: אֲדֺנָי = "Adonay") with the consonants of the "ketib" (text-reading: יהוה = "Yhwh")"Adonay" (the Lord) being substituted with one exception wherever Yhwh occurs in the Biblical and liturgical books. "Adonay" presents the vowels "shewa" (the composite ֲ under the guttural א becomes simple ְ under the י ), "holem," and "Qamets," and these give the reading יְהֺוָה (= "Jehovah").Sometimes, when the two names יהוה and אדני occur together, the former is pointed with "hatef segol" ( ֱ ) under the י -thus, יֱהֺוִה (="Jehovah")to indicate that in this combination it is to be pronounced "Elohim" (אֱלֺהִימ ). These substitutions of "Adonay"and "Elohim" for Yhwh were devised to avoid the profanation of the Ineffable Name.
- The use of the composite "shewa" "hatef-segol" ( ֱ ) in cases where "Elohim" is to be read, has led to the opinion that the composite "shewa" "hatef-patah" ( ֲ ) ought to have been used to indicate the reading "Adonay". It has been argued in reply that the disuse of the "patah" is in keeping with the Babylonian system, in which the composite "shewa" is not usual. But the reason why the "patah" is dropped is plainly the non-guttural character of the "yod"; to indicate the reading "Elohim," however, the "segol" (and "hireq" under the last syllable, i.e. יֱהֺוִה ) had to appear in order that a mistake might not be made and "Adonay" be repeated.
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