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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Reading Jehovah in Psalm 16:2 and in Psalm 110:1

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  • From: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Reading Jehovah in Psalm 16:2 and in Psalm 110:1
  • Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:53:24 +0200

Dear Yigal,

I want to take issue with one word in your post, namely, with the word "known." The correct statement should be that "it is widely taught that "Jehovah" is a mistranslation." In order to know that something is wrong, one has to know what is right, and as you are aware of, we cannot today know how YHWH was pronounced in the past.

The basis for the widely held view that "Jehovah" is a mistranslation, is that the masoretes pointed YHWH with the vowels of of )DNY, because the divine name should not be pronounced. And combining these vowels with the consonants JHWH gave the form "Jehovah."This origin of "Jehovah" may or may not be true. But even if it is true, it does not rule out that YEHOWAH could be the original pronunciation, or that it could be close to the original pronunciation.

I have several times on this list pointed out that the evidence we find in the ancient Hebrew texts suggests that the name YHWH had three syllables. I have also pointed out that the two-syllabic word "Yahweh" is an artificial construction that lack any basis whatsoever in ancient Hebrew texts. This means that in any case, because of its three syllables,"Jehovah" is closer to the original pronunciation than "Yahweh."

Best regards,

Rolf Furuli

University of Oslo

Yigal Levin wrote:

I think that it is so widely known that "Jehovah" is a mistranslation, that
no-one bothered to correct it.

Yigal Levin









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