Divine Names

D. Divine Names

The treatment of the divine name in English translations of the Hebrew Bible and in this textbook needs to be explained. The God of Israel was referred to in various ways. Sometimes God was just "God," or elohim in Hebrew. When you see "God" in the text, this typically translates Elohim. Other times God is referred to by his personal name, YHWH. It is rendered Yahweh in some versions, and the LORD in others. The letters "ORD" in LORD are in smaller-sized capital letters to distinguish it from the divine title "the Lord." Most modern translations of the Hebrew Bible employ this typographic convention to indicate when YHWH is the underlying Hebrew text.
    The four consonant divine name YHWH is referred to as the tetragrammaton. When the Hebrew text refers to Yahweh it uses the four consonants YHWH with a special configuration of vowels to signal that it should not be pronounced out loud to guard the sanctity of God's name. If the divine name is never spoken it can never be taken in vain. The name Yahweh, or Jehovah in its older pronunciation, is never spoken in Judaic contexts. In Jewish tradition the words "the LORD," adonay in Hebrew, are substituted for YHWH.
    RTOT uses the convention of including YHWH in translated biblical quotations and the scholar's Yahweh in explanatory notes. In addition to the extensively employed terms Elohim and Yahweh, the Hebrew Bible uses other divine names such as El Shaddai and El Elyon. These will be explained in appropriate places.