The name of ‘the Lord’ is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV)
This is a perfect time to address the elephant in the room.
Some Background Context
The Scriptures Translation uses the Aramaic (commonly known as Modern Hebrew) character spelling:
יחוח
Many people both transcribe and pronounce this a little differently, with some of the more common being Yahweh, Jehovah, and Yahuah.
As someone who studies linguistics and has for over 15 years, none of these interpretations are inherently wrong.
First, we’re using the modern version (Modern Hebrew) of an ancient language (Aramaic) to interpret another ancient language (Biblical/Paleo Hebrew).
Then we take it even further in attempting to transpose the spelling into Modern English from Middle English (which ended roughly in the 1600’s) from Latin, whose pronunciation is, of course, different from English.
Although the letter ‘J’ wasn’t ‘invented’ until the 1620’s, the letter along with it’s counterpart ‘I’ are both pronounced as ‘Y’ in Latin. In English we pronounce the ‘J’ as, well, “J”… In Spanish (the Mexican dialect) it’s pronounced as a ‘W’ sound. (Or an ‘H’ sound if your Spanish has an accent like me– I’m working on it though!)
Back to dialect.
The word Jehovah and Yahuah, for example, are literally pronounced the same if you read the former with a Latin emphasis versus an English one. I’m not knocking anyone who’s never studied Latin. It is, after all, another ancient language– “dead,” historians call it.
Bias Disclaimer
It is my personal linguistic philosophy that spelling is not inherently significant in most common uses. Of course there are standardized spellings in Modern English but even these differ amongst the different ‘dialects’ (i.e. American versus British English; color versus colour) Furthermore, these differences don’t change the meaning or sounds of the words.
Having created my own language over the years that emphasizes phonetics over transliteration, I’m predisposed to say that spelling does not matter much. Feel free to agree or disagree.
The Name of ‘the Lord’
For these reasons mentioned above and others not mentioned, I view these spellings– Yahweh; Jehovah; Yahuah; יחוח— as the same and I pronounce them the same.
“Ya-oo-wa” (English)
Even here I transcribe this pronunciation in such a way that English readers can most likely pronounce it the way that I do. (Although typically I’d prefer a ‘u’ in place of ‘w’ or leave it out altogether.)
To my hypothetical Russian readers I would transcribe it as the following:
“Я-у-а” (Russian)
Once again, they’re both pronounced exactly the same!
One might ask: “But what about the ‘V’ in the Jehovah spelling?”
Good question, this is more a matter of dialect stemming from the age-old debate about the pronunciation of the Hebrew character ‘Vav’ (𐤅) which some pronounce ‘Waw.’ Neither is wrong. I prefer the transliteration ‘Ua’ over both– but that’s with my inclinations towards on sounds over spelling.
By Faith
I’m not here to criticize anyone’s dialectic pronunciation of an ancient language. That’s just foolish.
I did, however, find that this was a good time to share some perspective into the actual name of ‘the Lord.’
Let’s be clear of one thing, it’s definitely not “the Lord!”
As I’ve said, I have my reasons for why I pronounce it the way I do. It came mainly in a dream during a time when I was fasting about the topic. It was then supported by my understanding of linguistics, and it’s confirmed by my faith. Simple as that.
If you’re curious how I personally write it, check the cover image.
Regardless of which pronunciation you may opt for, what’s most important is to do what He says, that is:
To love him with all your heart, soul and mind; and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-40
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Have a Yah blessed day– Ciao!