Journal of Translation, Volume 1, Number 1 (2005) 47
Translating YHWH
Nico Daams
Nico Daams served as Translation Advisor in Solomon Islands for the Rennellese New
Testament translation, which was published in 1996. Since then he has consulted in a related
language, Kapingamarangi of Micronesia. The NT was published in 2000 and a major Old
Testament portion is slated for release in 2004.
Abstract
The article is best seen as a follow-up article in a series of articles about this topic that have previously
appeared in The Bible Translator (1992) and in NOT (1997). The article explores the meaning of YHWH in
various contexts, and what the implications of this analysis are for Bible translators. It concludes that there
are only two legitimate options for representing YHWH, and it provides translators with a clear set of
criteria that will help the translator to determine which one of these two representations should be used.
1. Introduction
When we began the translation of the Old Testament in the Kapingamarangi language, I knew that one of
the hardest questions to resolve would be the translation or transliteration of YHWH, the name of God.
Since the Kapingamarangi translation committee would be responsible for the final decision, I knew that
they would need to be educated on the possibilities and problems so that their decision would be well
founded. To prepare for this, I read what has been written on the subject, mostly in Notes on Translation
(NOT) and The Bible Translator (TBT), and I asked advice from colleagues with a better knowledge of
Hebrew. I also made an extensive study of the context in which YHHW occurs in the Old Testament. This
article is the result of my study.
A good summary of the history of the problem is in an NOT article “Translating the Tetragrammaton
YHWH” (1997) by Katy Barnwell, an excerpt of which follows (from p. 24):
In many English translations of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) the form “LORD,” written in small
capitals, is used to represent the four Hebrew letters YHWH. This is a proper name, the personal name of
God, not a title or a general noun.
How did the term LORD come to be used to represent the personal name of God? It seems clear that, until
about the time of the prophet Ezra, the Israelites pronounced the name of God (YHWH) freely. But
sometime after the time of Ezra, they came to feel that the name YHWH was so holy that it should not be
pronounced. So, whenever YHWH was written in the text, they read it aloud as 'adonay which means
“(my) lord/master.”
Much later, Masoretic scribes added vowels to the text to preserve the pronunciation of the words.
(Originally Hebrew was written with consonant symbols only.) But when the scribes added vowels to the
word YHWH, they added the vowels of 'adonay (“lord”) to remind people to pronounce the title as
'adonay instead of saying the personal name, Yahweh.
When the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), YHWH was represented by the Greek
word κυριος, meaning lord, still respecting the fact that the name itself was considered too holy to be
pronounced.
In the same article, Dr. Barnwell states as a general principle for the translation of YHWH that “If there is a
trade language Bible version that is prestigious and widely used, you will probably want to follow what that
translation has done”
(p. 25).
Six options for the translation of YHWH are listed by Kees F. de Blois in his 1992 TBT article “How to
Translate the Name” (here reworded and reordered):
(1) Translate the meaning of YHWH.
48 Journal of Translation, Volume 1, Number 1 (2005)
(2) Translate the title Lord.
(3) Translate YHWH and 'elohim (‘God’) the same way.
(4) Use a name from the target culture.
(5) Transliterate YHWH using a language-friendly variant of either Yahweh or Jehovah.
(6) Use a combination of the above options.
These options will be discussed in section 2.2.
In this article I restrict myself to the problem associated with the representation of God’s name, YHWH, and
combinations of that name with 'elohim (‘God’) and 'adonay (‘Lord’). The translation of 'elohim itself is
not in view here, although its co-occurrence with YHWH and the complementary way in which these terms
are frequently used mean that we must also look at the context in which these words occur together.
The translation of the name of God often seems to be predetermined by tradition. Ever since the Septuagint
used kurios to translate YHWH, most translations have followed this approach. For example, the committee
translating the Bible for the first time into Dutch (Synod of Dort in 1621) used the argument that tradition
forced them to settle for Here (the Dutch equivalent of L
ORD). The translators of the Dutch translation
currently in progress do the same, in spite of strong criticism that Here carries unnecessary male-
domination notions (see Project Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling 2001:25).
In this article I will analyze the context in which YHWH occurs and from this analysis draw conclusions as
to how YHWH should be translated. But since we do not translate in a vacuum, translators need to take into
account the opinion of the target audience (an opinion often shaped by other translations). The ultimate
rendering of YHWH will reflect both the results of contextual study and the general principle of following
the trade language Bible. Such a rendering should be not only good, but also acceptable.
2. YHWH
2.1 What does YHWH mean?
The meaning of YHWH, a name derived from the verb ‘to be’, is something like ‘He is’ or ‘He will be’ (see
the NIV Study Bible note on Exod. 3:15). This meaning is in focus in only a few verses, as in the following:
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to
you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘YHWH, the God of your fathers—the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name
by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation….” (Exod. 3:14–15, NIV, with YHWH
substituted for LORD)
In these two verses the Hebrew words for I AM WHO I AM and for YHWH are clearly related to each other,
the former being the way God talks about himself in the first person, and the latter being the third person
variant to be used by the Hebrew people.
This verse is the only place in the Old Testament where a clear
reference is made to the actual meaning of the word YHWH—in all other places the focus is on the identity
of YHWH. Let us then look at the wider context of the Old Testament to determine the identity of YHWH.
In a 1992 TBT article Noel D. Osborn examines the biblical text in Exodus for clues to the meaning of
YHWH. He says, “My studies in the book of Exodus have made me sensitive to a number of references
where understanding YHWH as a name makes a great deal of difference to our understanding of the
passage” (p. 415). He also says, “As a name, it is the person so named who is primarily referred to, not the
meaning the name may convey. The quality the name may intentionally represent is of secondary
importance” (p. 416).
In the same issue of TBT, Donald J. Slager (1992:424) quotes U. Cassuto:
the Old Testament uses Yahweh when it is speaking of the Israelite concept of God and of God’s working
in the history of Israel, while it uses Elohim when it intends to refer to the abstract idea of the deity, of the
universal God, and of the creator of the world. It uses Yahweh when the characteristics of the deity are clear
and concrete, and Elohim when they are more abstract and obscure. Yahweh suggests that God is personal
Translating YHWH 49
and that he stands in direct relationship with people and nature, while Elohim indicates the transcendent
nature of God.
It will be helpful here to think of the way in which we look at names in everyday life. When our first son
was born, my wife and I named him Samuel, for the same reason that Hannah called her son by that name:
we were thankful that God had heard our prayer. Yet when I think about my son I seldom think about the
actual meaning of his name. I think of who he is, what he means to me, or what he is doing. Other people
will know him in a more restricted way, for example, as Samuel who used to sell cheese in the supermarket
or as Samuel their classmate. Thus, depending on our perspective, or in the case of literature depending on
the context, we make a descriptive definition of a person. This is not to say that the meaning of the name is
not important, but only in certain contexts will the meaning be in focus and need to be represented in the
text.
The name YHWH is never treated as a common noun and so we do not find phrases such as ‘our YHWH’ or
‘the YHWH of Israel’. YHWH most often occurs by itself, but is also often identified by a descriptive
phrase, as in ‘YHWH, the God of Israel’. On the other hand, 'elohim frequently functions as a common
noun in phrases such as ‘our God’ or ‘the God of Israel’. In a number of Old Testament books (e.g.,
Leviticus, Joshua, Joel, and Amos) the word 'elohim does not occur by itself at all, but only in a descriptive
phrase of some sort. In other books, though it occurs by itself occasionally, the large majority of its
occurrences are in a descriptive phrase. The Book of Genesis stands out in its use of 'elohim: Of the 226
occurrences of 'elohim in Genesis only 57 occur in a descriptive phrase. Where other books have ‘YHWH
said’ Genesis has ‘'elohim said’. In fact, ‘YHWH said’ occurs 291 times
1
in the Old Testament, while
‘'elohim said’ occurs only 38 times, 31 of which are in Genesis and Exodus, before God declares his name
to Moses. That leaves seven occurrences of ‘'elohim said’ subsequent to Exod. 3:14, where we would have
expected ‘YHWH said’ (Exod. 13:17, Num. 22:12, 1 Kings 3:5 and 11, 1 Chron. 28:3, 2 Chron. 1:11, and
Jonah 4:9). For the most part, YHWH was used when God is seen in reference to his people, and 'elohim
was used when God is seen in relation to the surrounding nations.
For the people of Israel in the Old Testament, YHWH was their God. This is the primary meaning of the
term YHWH. When we look at the phrases in which YHWH is described, such as ‘YHWH the God of Israel’
and ‘YHWH your God’, we find that more than 11 percent (786) of the 6,959 occurrences of YHWH are
modified by such descriptive phrases. In these descriptive phrases ‘God’ is the nuclear or central
meaningful component, while the other, more peripheral elements of meaning serve to relate YHWH and
‘God’ in a meaningful way.
Based on Exod. 3:15 we could define YHWH as follows: YHWH is the name of the God of Israel. Although
from phrases such as YHWH Seba'ot and ‘YHWH the God of heaven’ we know that YHWH is more than
the God of the people of Israel, in the context of Israel among the nations he is primarily seen as the God of
Israel.
2
2.2 Six options for translating YHWH
2.2.1 Option 1: Translate the meaning of YHWH
While the meaning of the name YHWH is something like ‘he is’, this meaning is not in focus in most of its
occurrences. It is in focus only in Exod. 3:14–15 and possibly in Hosea 1:9. It seems, then, that to translate
it with this meaning (e.g., as ‘The Eternal One’) would be to direct the focus away from its real
1
‘YHWH said’ occurs 290 times. Additionally, in 1 Chron. 11:2, it occurs with a modifying phrase, ‘YHWH your God
said’.
2
The phrase ‘YHWH the God of heaven’ occurs five times only, two of the occurrences being in identical passages
where Cyrus charges the people of his empire to support the building of the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 36:23 and
Ezra 1:2). Of the others, two are in the passage where Abraham charges his servant to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:3
and 7), and the fifth is in the passage where Jonah reveals to the sailors that he worships “the Lord, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the land” (Jonah 1:9). All of these instances were written or spoken in a pagan context. A simple
reference to YHWH as the God of the Hebrews would not have had the required impact.
50 Journal of Translation, Volume 1, Number 1 (2005)
signification in the minds of the Hebrew people.
3
Even if we wrote it with capital letters, it would still not
sound like a name.
2.2.2 Option 2: Translate the title ‘Lord’
Since the total meaning conveyed by YHWH is ‘YHWH the name of the God of Israel’, it would be
inaccurate and misleading to render it as a title such as ‘Lord’. Not only would the name itself be lost, but a
new meaning with connotations of lordship would be introduced. This is never part of the complete
meaning of YHWH.
Most English Bibles use this option though as the result of long tradition. An attempt is made to distinguish
it from the Hebrew word 'adonay, which actually means ‘lord’, by writing the latter with lowercase letters
(Lord), while writing the name YHWH with small caps (L
ORD). The reader is supposed to realize that LORD
represents the name of God, while Lord represents 'adonay. I don’t think this method of distinguishing
between two different words would be acceptable anywhere else in translation.
Another problem associated with rendering YHWH as ‘Lord’ will be pointed out in section 4.2.
2.2.3 Option 3: Translate YHWH and 'Elohim ‘God’ in the same way
The nuclear, or main, meaning component of the phrase ‘YHWH the name of the God of Israel’ is ‘God’.
The associated components of meaning are ‘YHWH’, ‘name’, and ‘Israel’. Thus wherever in the biblical
text none of the associated meanings are in focus and YHWH is used simply as a term of reference to God,
translating it as ‘God’ will cause very little, if any, loss of meaning. Nor will it introduce wrong
components of meaning. The following are verses in which the same word used for translating 'elohim
would suffice for YHWH:
Gen. 6:6–7a God was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
So he said…
Gen. 6:8 But Noah found favor in God’s eyes.
Exod. 4:2 Then God said to him, “What is that in your hand?”…
On the other hand, in sentences where one or more of the associated components of meaning are clearly
relevant, translating YHWH as ‘God’ would not be justified, since we would have lost the associated
components of meaning. This is especially true in the many verses where YHWH is used together with a
descriptive phrase that includes ‘God’. The following example illustrates this point:
Micah 4:5 All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of Yahweh
our God for ever and ever.
In other words, we cannot use the word for ‘God’ to render YHWH in its every occurrence without serious
loss. We would not only lose the name, but also the fine distinction in usage between YHWH and 'Elohim
‘God’ in those places where YHWH occurs in the context of the Hebrew people and 'elohim in the context
of pagan people. Still another problem associated with rendering YHWH as ‘God’ will be discussed in
section 3.2.
2.2.4 Option 4: Use a name from the local culture
Since YHWH is the name by which the Hebrew people knew their God, it seems unacceptable to use the
name of a local god, no matter how grand he or she may be. YHWH is the name of the God of the Hebrews,
and another name would inevitably have other connotations. Even though it may seem desirable from a
3
For a more thorough argumentation, see the three reasons of Osborne (1992:416) for not translating the meaning of
the name: (1) “[T]here are only a few instances in the Hebrew Bible where the name is used in a context that clearly
intends to explain or bring out the meaning of the verb hayah.” (2) “[T]he associated meaning of this special name …
far outweighed any meaning it may have suggested because of its form or derivation….” (3) “[A] personal name,
simply because it is a name, should seldom be translated.”
Translating YHWH 51
missiological point of view to use the name of the local creator-god so that people can more readily identify
with the God of the Bible, there is a distinct danger that the name of the local creator-god will carry
connotations that are incompatible with the name of YHWH. While it is true that YHWH is not just the God
of the people of Israel, but also YHWH Saba'ot (‘L
ORD of Hosts’) and ‘YHWH the God of heaven’ with
much in common with creator-gods in other cultures, yet ancient Israel’s main perception of YHWH was
that it was the name of their God.
2.2.5 Option 5. Transliterate YHWH, using a language-friendly variant of either Yahweh or
Jehovah
In view of the problems of options 1–4, it seems that the best way to render YHWH would be to transliterate
it. There are three categories in which this is especially appropriate: (1) where the name is in focus, (2)
where YHWH is joined to 'elohim or 'adonay, and (3) where YHWH is in a descriptive phrase (e.g.,
‘YHWH the God of Israel’).
Where the meaning of the name is in special focus, as in Exod. 3:14–15 (see sec. 2.1), it would be good to
transliterate YHWH and add a footnote explaining the meaning of the word, as we would probably do with
other names in the Bible when the meaning of the name is in focus. In the following examples the meaning
of the name YHWH is not in focus, but the name itself is in focus:
Exod. 6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name Yahweh I
did not make myself known to them.
Ps. 83:18 Let them know that you, whose name is Yahweh—that you alone are the Most High over
all the earth.’
Exod. 5:2 Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know
Yahweh and I will not let Israel go.”
Exod. 6:3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name Yahweh I
did not make myself known to them.
Isa. 47:4 Our Redeemer—Yahweh Saba'ot is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.
For examples of category 2, in which YHWH is joined to 'elohim or 'adonay see sections 3, 4, and 5.
The third category, YHWH in descriptive phrases, would present a problem if in the phrase ‘YHWH the God
of Israel’ we were to translate YHWH as ‘God’. That would give us ‘God, the God of Israel’. The phrase
clearly demands a name before the descriptive phrase. In this context a transliteration solves the problem as
the following example illustrates:
Judg. 8:33–34 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the
Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember Yahweh their God, who had
rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
The only objection to transliterating YHWH would be the sensitivities of the target audience, which would
ultimately affect the acceptability of the translation. In many instances people of minority languages have
grown used to a Bible that have a translation of the word ‘Lord’. To replace that with Yahweh may prove to
be unacceptable. This was found to be the case when we discussed the translation of YHWH with the
Kapingamarangi translation committee. Up until recently Kapingamarangi people read the Bible either in
English or in Pohnpeian. The Pohnpeian Bible translators had used the TEV as their source text and
therefore have the Pohnpeian word Kaun ‘Lord’ for YHWH. There was considerable support for following
that tradition. Others, who were familiar with the accusation by the Jehovah’s Witnesses that Protestants
had hidden the name of God, would like to see the name Yahweh or Yihowah in the Kapingamarangi
translation. Still others wanted to use Dimaadua, an honorific term for God. Now, after presenting to them
the substance of this article, the translation committee has accepted, with complete consensus, that we will
use Yihowah in those places where God’s name is in focus. Although scholars consider Yahweh to be more
accurate than Jehovah, the Kapingamarangi translation committee was constrained in their decision by the
52 Journal of Translation, Volume 1, Number 1 (2005)
use of Jiowa as the name of God in a number of their hymns. By choosing Yihowah, we combine the actual
consonants of the Tetragrammaton with the vowels of the name used in their hymns.
2.2.6 Option 6: Use a combination of the above options
There would be no problem in applying Barnwell’s principle, “If there is a trade language Bible version
that is prestigious and widely used, you will probably want to follow what that version has used” (1997:25),
as long as the more prestigious version has some variant of Yahweh. But if it uses the name of a local god
or a translation of ‘Lord’, then we have a problem. These options are just not legitimate. Some would
recommend doing what we know to be the right thing and then teaching the target audience why their
translation is different from the one they will compare it with. In some places that might work, but in other
places it will not work.
In the Kapingamarangi Old Testament we have opted for a combination of option 5 (Yihowah, a
transliteration of YHWH) and option 3 (Dimaadua, an honorific for ‘God’).
4
We transliterate YHWH when
one of the three categories mentioned in section 2.2.5 applies:
(1) Where the name is in focus.
(2) Where YHWH is joined to 'elohim or 'adonay.
(3) Where YHWH is in a descriptive phrase such as ‘YHWH the God of Israel’.
5
In all other contexts we use Dimaadua. In languages where no honorific name for God exists, the common
translation of 'elohim ‘God’ can often be used instead.
The following two examples illustrate this two-pronged approach to the translation of the Tetragrammaton.
Each one features the name YHWH as both a simple term of reference to God and a term that includes one
or more of the associated meanings ‘YHWH’, ‘name’, and/or ‘Israel’:
Exod. 15:3 YHWH (God) is a warrior; YHWH (Yahweh) is his name.
2 Kings 19:15 And Hezekiah prayed to YHWH (God): “O YHWH (Yahweh), God of Israel,
enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have
made heaven and earth.”
3. YHWH 'elohim ‘Yahweh God’
3.1 What does YHWH 'elohim mean?
The phrase YHWH 'elohim occurs about forty times in the Old Testament, and half of these are in Genesis
2 and 3. The majority of the remaining occurrences are in the historical books and, looking at the context in
which they occur, we see some striking similarities. Many occur in prayers by David or Solomon in relation
to the establishment of the sanctuary, the place where God will dwell among his people. A typical example
is found in 1 Chron. 22:1 and 19, where David gives instructions to all the leaders of Israel to help his son
Solomon:
Now devote your heart and soul to seeking YHWH your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of YHWH
'elohim, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of YHWH and the sacred articles belonging to God
into the temple that will be built for the Name of YHWH. (1 Chron. 22:19)
4
Dimaadua is a rather peculiar word in that the (prefixed) article di is singular, while the noun maadua means
‘parents’, seen as a single unit with the exclusive meaning of ‘God’. This is not unlike the Hebrew word for ‘God’,
'elohim, which is also in the plural yet refers to the unitary God.
5
This category is only for languages which do not have another word for ‘God’. If another word, such as an honorific,
exists, the honorific or other option can be used in these phrases since there will not be the doubling of words.
Translating YHWH 53
Another occurrence of YHWH 'elohim is in David’s prayer in 2 Sam. 7:25 and 1 Chron.17:16–17 after the
prophet Nathan told him that God did not want him to build a sanctuary. We also find this phrase used in
the charge by David to Solomon in 1 Chron. 28:20:
Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the YHWH 'elohim, my
God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the
YHWH is finished.
It seems to me that the phrase YHWH 'elohim often is used in relationship to God’s dwelling with his
people. This throws a new light on the problem of the switch of reference from 'elohim in the creation
story in Genesis 1 to YHWH 'elohim in the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. Could it be that by using
the phrase YHWH 'elohim the author draws attention to the fact that 'elohim, the God who has completed
the creation of the world, now dwells with his people? But even here in this sanctuary, there is a switching
back and forth between 'elohim and YHWH. Donald J. Slager (1992:424) discusses the different references
to God in the early chapters of Genesis as follows:
In Genesis 2.4–3.24 the narrator refers to God twenty times using both Yahweh and Elohim, but when the
snake and the woman speak, they use only Elohim (Gen 3.1-5). The narrator uses the personal name
Yahweh which speaks of God’s covenant relationship with his people, followed by the generic name
Elohim which refers to the God of creation. The double name speaks to identify Yahweh as the Creator God
mentioned earlier in chapter 1. As God becomes involved intimately with mankind, initiating his
redemptive covenant (Gen 3.15…), the name Yahweh is appropriate. When the snake and the woman
speak, they only see God as the Creator who seeks to restrict them.
The final occurrence of the phrase YHWH 'elohim in the Old Testament is in Jonah 4:6. Here YHWH
'elohim provides for the vine to grow up over Jonah. Earlier on (1:19) it was YHWH who provided a great
fish to be a dwelling place for Jonah, but it is hardly the place where YHWH dwells. Jonah expresses the
contrast between the insides of the fish with the place where YHWH dwells in his prayer in 2:4: ‘I have
been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ When God provides a vine
to grow up over Jonah, the narrator uses the phrase YHWH 'elohim as the agent, thereby creating the image
of YHWH the God who dwells with his people Israel being right there with Jonah. But Jonah cannot live in
the presence of YHWH. His heart yearns for the death of these heathen people (4:2), while YHWH wants to
extend his mercy to them (4:11). So the little paradise cannot continue, and it is 'elohim the Creator God
who sends the worm and the wind, and we return to a world where YHWH 'elohim does not, according to
the record, live with his people any longer. At least not until Emmanuel comes to earth.
3.2 Translating YHWH 'elohim
Based on the above analysis, it would seem that the translation of YHWH 'elohim ought to include the
name YHWH, so that the associated meaning of that name (‘the God of Israel’) not be lost in translation.
But if we decide to translate YHWH in this phrase with the same word as 'elohim, we would end up with
the awkward phrase ‘God God’. TEV and NIV commonly translate this phrase as ‘the L
ORD God’, which
adds a component of meaning (‘lordship’) and removes the Name and the underlying connotation of the
close relationship between YHWH and the people of Israel.
It would seem, then, that YHWH in the phrase YHWH 'elohim needs to be transliterated, rather than
translated as ‘Lord’ or ‘God’, as the following examples illustrate:
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals Yahweh God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Jonah 4:6 Then Yahweh God made a plant grow up over Jonah to give him some shade, so that he
would be more comfortable. Jonah was extremely pleased with the plant.
54 Journal of Translation, Volume 1, Number 1 (2005)
4. 'adonay YHWH ‘Lord YHWH’
4.1 What does 'adonay YHWH mean?
The phrase 'adonay YHWH occurs more than 280 times in the Old Testament. The word 'adonay derives
from 'adon, meaning ‘Lord’. The most common form is 'adonay ‘my Lord. Although we are mainly
interested here in the word 'adonay in combination with YHWH, we should note that it also occurs by itself
(e.g., in Gen. 18:27), and much of what we say here about the meaning of 'adonay applies in those
occurrences as well.
The phrase 'adonay YHWH is observed in two distinct groups in the Old Testament. The first group covers
the majority of its occurrences (264) and is found in the Prophets, mostly in Ezekiel (217), where it tends to
occur in more or less fixed formulae. At the beginning of a discourse the formula is ‘This is what 'adonay
YHWH says…’; at the end of a discourse the formula is ‘…declares 'adonay YHWH.’
The second group is much smaller but more interesting. In this group the context shows us the use of
'adonay YHWH more clearly. The phrase is first used by Abram in Gen. 15:2 after YHWH tells him in a
vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward,” to which Abram replies, “O
'adonay YHWH, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is
Eliezer of Damascus?” YHWH then gives him a promise, “I am YHWH, who brought you out of Ur of the
Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it,” and Abram replies, “O 'adonay YHWH, how can I
know that I will gain possession of it?”
David uses the same expression in his response to Nathan’s revelation in 2 Sam. 7:8–17, “YHWH declares
to you that YHWH himself will establish a house for you…. Your house and your kingdom will endure
forever before me; your throne will be established forever.…” To this David responds:
Who am I, O 'adonay YHWH, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this
were not enough in your sight, O 'adonay YHWH, you have also spoken about the future of the house of
your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O 'adonay YHWH? What more can David say to
you? For you know your servant, O 'adonay YHWH.” (2 Sam. 7:18–20)
David repeats the phrase in vv. 22, 28, and 29, humbling himself again and again before his Lord, referring
to himself (ten times!) as ‘your servant’.
In quite a few other places we find that men approaching their Lord, the God of Israel, actually throw
themselves on the ground before him (e.g., in Deut. 9:25–26 and Josh. 7:6–7) as an expression of devotion.
So, we can say that it is the lordship of YHWH that is clearly in focus in the phrase 'adonay YHWH.
This casts an interesting light on the Book of Ezekiel, where this phrase occurs more than in any other Old
Testament book. The NIV Study Bible’s introduction to Ezekiel says, “[N]owhere in the Bible are God’s
initiative and control expressed more clearly and pervasively than in the book of Ezekiel. From the first
chapter … to the last phrase of Ezekiel’s vision (“the L
ORD is there”) the book sounds and echoes God’s
sovereignty” (1995:1219). Another indication of the lordship of God in Ezekiel is God’s addressing Ezekiel
as ‘son of man’ (better rendered ‘mortal man’ as in the TEV).
4.2 Translating 'adonayYHWH
If YHWH in the phrase 'adonay YHWH were to be translated as ‘L
ORD’, it would result in the clumsy
phrase ‘the Lord L
ORD’. This has actually been done in the Dutch translation of 1951 with Here HERE.
In TEV and NIV the phrase 'adonay YHWH is usually translated as “Sovereign L
ORD.” Another solution
might be to do what the rabbis did when reading this phrase: they read 'elohim for YHWH (instead of
'adonay as they would normally do). However, this means a shift in meaning from ‘Lord YHWH’ to ‘Lord
God’. Every pagan could call his god ‘Lord god’, but only the Hebrews could call their God ‘Lord YHWH’!
Therefore, it seems to me that a transliteration of YHWH in this phrase is the best way to distinguish ‘Lord’,
‘God’, and ‘YHWH’, as in the following:
Gen. 15:2 But Abram said, “O Lord Yahweh, what can you give me since I remain childless and the
one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
Translating YHWH 55
Jer. 44:26 But hear the word of Yahweh, all Jews living in Egypt: “I swear by my great name,” says
Yahweh, “that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear,
‘As surely as the Lord Yahweh lives.’ ”
Ezek. 20:3 “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord
Yahweh says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me,
declares the Lord Yahweh.’ ”
5. YHWH 'Adonay ‘YHWH Lord’
5.1 What does YHWH 'Adonay mean?
The reversal of the more frequent 'adonay YHWH occurs only five times: four times in the Psalms and
once in Habakkuk in a poetic section. There does not seem to be any difference in meaning between YHWH
'adonay and 'adonay YHWH. YHWH 'adonay is probably a marked, poetic form of 'adonay YHWH that
emphasizes YHWH by appending the descriptive phrase ‘my Lord’ to it.
5.2 Translating YHWH 'Adonay
In TEV and NIV the phrase YHWH 'adonay is usually translated as ‘Sovereign Lord’, the same as
for 'adonay YHWH. The Dutch translation of 1951 has H
ERE Here for YHWH 'adonay the reverse
of Here H
ERE for 'adonay YHWH. The fine distinction in capitalization will probably go
unnoticed by most readers, and definitely by all hearers of the Word.
Based on my analysis here, it could be translated as ‘Yahweh my Lord’ or, in the case of Ps. 68:20 and 21,
‘Yahweh, our Lord’. In Ps. 109:21 is an example: ‘But you, O Yahweh my Lord, deal well with me for
your name’s sake’. Restoring the name ‘Yahweh’ seems particularly appropriate in this verse because of
the reference to God’s name in the same sentence. Note that in TEV the reference to God’s name is
completely lost: “But my Sovereign L
ORD, help me as you have promised….”
6. Conclusion
Names have meaning, just as words do. But a name is primarily used to refer to a person, and so it is the
identity of a particular person that we think of when we hear or see a name. When the Hebrew people saw
the name YHWH they saw it as a reference to their God. In some contexts certain connotations of YHWH
are essential to the meaning of the text, while in other contexts only the central meaning, ‘God’, is in focus.
In the former contexts YHWH should be transliterated, but elsewhere the word for ‘God’ could be
substituted without any loss of meaning. I have identified three categories where we should transliterate
YHWH:
(1) Where the name is in focus
(2) Where YHWH is joined to 'elohim or 'adonay
(3) Where YHWH is in a descriptive phrase (e.g., YHWH the God of Israel)
References
Barnwell, Katy. 1997. Translating the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Notes on Translation 11(4): 24–27.
de Blois, Kees F. 1992. Translating the names of God. The Bible Translator 43(4): 406–414.
“Names of God” Study Group. 1992. How to translate the Name. The Bible Translator 43(4): 403–405.
The NIV Study Bible. 1995. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Osborn, Noel D. 1992. The Name: When does it make a difference? The Bible Translator 43(4): 415–422
Project Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling. 2001. De weergave van de Godsnaam. Haarlem: Netherlands Bible
Society.
Slager, Donald J. 1992. The use of divine names in Genesis. The Bible Translator 43(4): 423–429.
