Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Michael Abernathy <mabernathy AT conwaycorp.net>]

Rolf,
I find your argument that there is "no evidence that 'adonay was used as a substitute for YHWH in the last centuries BCE" somewhat unconvincing but I wanted to give it a fair chance so I did a little research and quickly found a relevant article by a rabbi I believe is an orthodox Jew, Eric Levy.  The article on the Psalms from Qumran can be found here www.ericlevy.com/Hodayot%20from%​20Qumran%​202.doc .
Rabbi Levy notes that while the Dead Sea Scrolls often made use of the Tetragrammaton, the Qumran community “took great pains to avoid using the Tetragrammaton” (p. 13).  Adding, “The Tetragrammaton is never used in the Hodayot, although it appears in apocryphal and canonical psalms scrolls found (and perhaps copied) at Qumran” (p. 14) and that the Tetragrammaton is frequently replaced by Adonai (p. 16).
I can accept that the scribes did not always avoid using Tetragrammaton but it seems dishonest to say they did not find ways to avoid using it.
Sincerely,
Michael Abernathy