Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: pmafire!geoff@uunet.uu.net (Geoff Allen) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Name of God (was Re: gulf crisis, spiritual help for peace) Message-ID: Date: 27 Sep 90 07:24:33 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: WINCO Computer Engineering, INEL, Idaho Lines: 32 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Goodness, we're straying from the original subject! I guess that's what makes the net so much fun! :^) mike@turing.cs.unm.edu (Michael I. Bushnell) writes: >On an exegetic basis, there is considerable debate about the meaning >of the tetragrammaton. It is traditionally translated into most >languages elliptically rather than as a proper name. Most English >bibles use the word "LORD" written in small caps, following a >tradition started (I think) by the KJV. I'm not a Hebrew scholar, and I don't play one on TV (or the net), but it is my understanding that the tradition of translating the tetragrammaton as 'Lord' comes from the Masoretic text. The name of God is written as the consonants YHWH, and the vowel pointings (diacritical marks added above or below letters to indicate vowels -- there are only consonants in the Hebrew alphabet) for the original word are not known. The Masoretic text uses the vowel pointings for 'Adonai,' which is 'Lord.' When reading the Masoretic text, one would say 'Adonai' even though 'YHWH' is printed, so as not to attempt to pronounce the holy name of God. The tradition of translating YHWH into English as 'LORD' in all caps is to distinguish between 'YHWH' and 'Adonai.' I have no idea if it started with the KJV or earlier versions of the English Bible. If there are any Hebrew scholars out there who see anything I've said which needs to be corrected, feel free. -- Geoff Allen \ Since we live by the Spirit, uunet!pmafire!geoff \ let us keep in step with the Spirit. bigtex!pmafire!geoff \ -- Gal. 5:25 (NIV)