It is true that in the AV the word "Jehovah" does not appear in the NT and occurs in only a few places in the OT (e.g., Ps. 83:18); otherwise it is translated Lord in upper case letters. But the issue here is not the translation of the Hebrew word, rendered Jehovah (AV), but the meaning of the name itself. For example, a man might use the word, "Jesus," and sing enthusiastically, "JESUS, He's the one for me," but if he does not believe that "Jesus" is the only, complete, all-sufficient, effectual Saviour of His people (Matt. 1:21), he does not really believe in "Jesus" at all. Or a person might call Jesus, "Lord, Lord," but unless by "Lord" he means Master, Owner, Redeemer, and lives in submission and obedience to Him, his using the word "Lord" is vain hypocrisy (Matt. 7:21; Luke 6:46).
What, then, does the name Jehovah mean? God Himself explained it to Moses in Exodus 3:14: "I AM THAT I AM... Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." The JW's translation, the NWT, mistranslates it this way, "I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE."
The Hebrew verb is hayah which means "to be" and its verbal form (qal imperfect) it may in itself, be translated as "I am," I shall be," or "I was." In the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation, used by the Jews in Christ's day and quoted by the apostles in the inspired NT, it is rendered in words which can only mean "I am" (ego eimi). The NWT's "I SHALL PROVE TO BE" is, therefore, hardly an accurate translation.
That God identifies Himself with a name derived from the Hebrew verb meaning "to be," best translated "I am," teaches us important truths about the Being of God. First, God is absolutely independent. He derives His Being from Himself and maintains His Being of Himself. He needs nothing outside of Himself (Rom. 11:33-36). Second, God is eternal or timeless: God is. No creature can say, "I AM." To be accurate, every creature must say, "I am becoming." In the short time that you have taken to read these lines, a large number of cells in your body have died, your blood has circulated around your body and the air your lungs has been exchanged for fresh supplies. That is not true of God. He does not need air, food, or anything else, and His divine essence never changes. Third, the name Jehovah, I AM, tells us that God is absolutely dependable. He never reneges on His promises. He is the God we can trust fully, whose purposes are always the same. Thus He came to Moses at the burning bush and declared that the lapse of over 400 years had not caused Him to change His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One Watchtower publication says that Jehovah is a God of "innumerable roles." This is not the meaning of Jehovah, I AM or eigo eimi.
The JW's claim to believe the divine, verbal inspiration of the OT and the NT. They complain that God's name, Jehovah, has been removed from the OT, and they claimed that they have restored the word to its proper place. But here is a startling fact: the word Jehovah never appears in the NT Greek, even when the writers are quoting from the OT where the Hebrew text has the word rendered Jehovah. Every time the writers of the NT Scriptures quote the OT, they use the Greek word Kurios, which means "Lord." If the Holy Spirit thought that the word "Lord" was an unacceptable translation of Jehovah, would He have not "corrected" that in the NT? After all, there are times when the writers of the NT modify the Septuagint translation from which they quote (The Septuagint translation is not inspired, you know.) Why, then, did the Holy Spirit not have the NT writers substitute the word Jehovah for Kurios, as the JW's translation, the NWT, has done?
Let me give some examples. Quoting Deut. 6:13, Christ says, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God" (Matt. 4:10). The Hebrew of Deuteronomy has Jehovah; the Septuagint has Kurios (Lord). What does Matthew write, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Kurios, Lord, not Jehovah! In Acts 2:21, Peter quotes Joel 2:32, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord." The Hebrew of Joel has Jehovah; the Septuagint has Kurios (Lord). What does Luke, the human penman of Acts, write, by the Holy Ghost? Kurios, Lord, not Jehovah! In Rom. 10:16, Paul quotes Isaiah 53:1, "Lord, who hath believed our report?" The Hebrew of Isaiah has Jehovah; the Septuagint has Kurios (Lord). What does Paul write, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Kurios, Lord, not Jehovah! If the word Jehovah must be used, why does the Holy Spirit never use it in the NT?
Moreover, the JW's translation, NWT, adds to the NT the name Jehovah, even when the OT is not being quoted. For example, the NWT translates Kurios (Lord) as Jehovah in the following passages: II Peter 3:9, "Jehovah [Kurios] is not slow respecting His promise;" Acts 13:48, "they began to rejoice and to glorify the word of Jehovah [Kurios]; Rev. 1:8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says Jehovah [Kurios] God." Other examples could be given. In the book of Revelation alone, Jehovah is added at least ten times (4:8, 11; 11:17; 15:3-4; 16:7; 18:8; 19:6; 21:22; 22:5-6).
However, when Kurios refers to Jesus Christ, it is never translated Jehovah (e.g., Phil. 4:5; I Thess. 4:15-17). This shows the bias of the NWT version. I Thess. 4 is a particularly interesting example in the NWT: "For this is what we tell you by Jehovah's [Kurios] word that we the living who survive to the presence of the Lord [Kurios] shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep in death, because the Lord [Kurios] Himself descend.. be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord [Kurios] in the air thus we shall always be with the Lord [Kurios]" (vv. 15-17). Notice, the first Kurios is translated Jehovah, but the other examples of Kurios in the same context are translated Lord. Why? Because clearly they refer to Jesus Christ and the JW's will not recognize His Deity, that Christ is Jehovah God.
Rev. Martyn McGeown
www.limerickreformed.com
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