Jehovah ( /dʒɨˈhoʊvə/) is the latinization of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה, a vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible, which has also been transcribed as "Yehowah" or "Yahweh".
יְהֹוָה appears 6,518 times in the traditional Masoretic Text, in addition to 305 instances of יֱהֹוִה (Jehovih). The earliest available Latin text to use a vocalization similar to Jehovah dates from the 13th century.
Most scholars believe "Jehovah" to be a late (ca. 1100 CE) hybrid form derived by combining the Latin letters JHVH with the vowels of Adonai, but there is some evidence that it may already have been in use in Late Antiquity (5th century). It was not the historical vocalization of the Tetragrammaton at the time of the redaction of the Torah (6th century BCE), at which time the most likely vocalization was Yahweh. The historical vocalization was lost because in Second Temple Judaism, during the 3rd to 2nd centuries BCE, the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton came to be avoided, being substituted with Adonai ("my Lord").
Read more about Jehovah: Pronunciation, Hebrew Vowel Points, Early Modern Arguments, Usage in English Bible Translations, Other Usage, Similar Greek Transcriptions, Similar Latin and English Transcriptions
Famous quotes containing the word jehovah:
“Then did they to Jehovah cry
When they were in distress:
And therupon he bringeth them
Out of their anguishes.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm CVII (Bay Psalm Book)