The Origin of the Pronunciation of “Jehovah”

Jehovah (also Yehovah or Yehowah) is a proper noun that emerged from the Latinization of the Hebrew word יְהֹוָה‎, or the Tetragrammaton (YHWH, YHVH), with added vowels. It is the name of God revered in Judaism and Christianity, and can also be translated as “Yahweh” or “Yahveh.”

Ancient Hebrew did not have vowels, only 22 consonants, so a word’s pronunciation could not be determined from the letters alone. Just like with Chinese characters, the correct pronunciation had to be taught by a teacher. According to Jewish tradition, the Hebrew four-letter divine name was considered so holy that speaking or writing it casually was a taboo. Only the High Priest was allowed to speak the Tetragrammaton directly, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement when he entered the Most Holy Place to pray.

In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, which was produced in the second century BC, the word was translated as “Lord.” Many Bible translations have continued to use “the LORD” to translate this name. In everyday conversation, Jews would use “Adonai” (Lord) instead. In writing, they were also very cautious, often adding a hyphen between the letters or altering the letters. After the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, the Jewish priestly tradition was broken, and the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was gradually lost.

In the Middle Ages, Jewish scholars added the vowel signs of “Adonai” to the four-letter divine name. In the 11th-century Masoretic text, the vowel signs of “Adonai” were placed on “YHWH,” resulting in “YaHoWaH.” Even so, the Jews still considered God’s name too sacred to be spoken lightly, so they did not say the name of God in synagogue rituals, using only “Adonai” (meaning “my Lord”) to refer to God.

During the Renaissance, Europeans combined the consonants and vowels of “YaHoWaH” to produce the pronunciation “Jehovah” (Yehowah). Modern biblical scholars, by comparing ancient Greek translations of the Old Testament that included vowel markings and descriptions of the pronunciation from non-Jewish sources of the time, believe that the pronunciation may have been “Yahweh,” which means “I AM WHO I AM.”

 Edited and compiled based on the Chinese Union Version Bible and Comprehensive Biblical Interpretation.