Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

James, I think that your answer is unfair. First of all, some "academic"
commentaries do simply transcribe the Name as either YHWH or Yahweh. But
translations aimed at the general church or synagogue-going audience don't
do so because this would alienate their audiences. Most (Engish-speaking)
Christians have been calling God "the Lord" for centuries. This is the title
they are familiar and comfortable with. Jews have traditionally refrained
from vocalizing the Name as well, using "Adonai" in worship and "Hashem" in
regular speech. For many, any attempt to vocalize the Name is sacrilege. So
some Jewish translations have replaced "Lord" (which to many Jews sounds
"Christian") with either "Adonai" or "Hashem". Why should translators force
their audiences to use something with which they are not comfortable? 

 

Yigal Levin

 

  _____  

From: James Christian [mailto:jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, December 17, 2009 3:04 AM
To: Yigal Levin
Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] adonai "my Lord" or "the Lord"

 

But, I suppose, the real question is why modern translations don't just
translate the name rather than following the most heavily testified
corruption of the original texts. I vaguely remember reading that the main
motivating factor of the translators of the NIV was that translating the
name YHWH rather than replacing it with LORD would be the surest way of
blowing the millions invested in the translation's production.

 

James Christian