by Doug Mason 3 Replies latest watchtower bible
Hi,
I need to obtain scans of the following pages, and I would be deeply grateful if someone can help me.
Anchor Bible Dictionary, Volume 6 pages 392-393 ("Tetragrammaton in the New Testament", article by George Howard.)
If anyone can help me, it would probably be best to send me a pm, so I can pass on my email address.
Doug
Hi Doug,
For what it's worth --
One reference to Anchor Bible Dictionary in WT pubs follows:
*** w08 8/1 p. 22 Should the Name Jehovah Appear in the New Testament? ***
Interestingly, under the heading "Tetragrammaton in the New Testament," The Anchor Bible Dictionary makes this comment: "There is some evidence that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name, Yahweh, appeared in some or all of the O[ld] T[estament] quotations in the N[ew] T[estament] when the NT documents were first penned."
However, the very person who initiated that theory made a disclaimer directly after. The following, from Wikipedia, under heading "Tetragrammaton in the New Testament", says
"George Howard set forth this hypothesis that YHWH appeared originally in the New Testament and that "the removal of the Tetragrammaton from the New Testament and its replacement with the surrogates kyrios and theos blurred the original distinction between the Lord God and the Lord Christ."[3] The weight of this position led to its inclusion in the article of the Anchor Bible Dictionary, where it is stated: "There is some evidence that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine Name, Yahweh, appeared in some or all of the OT quotations in the NT when the NT documents were first penned."[4] As it is a relatively recent thesis on an ever-changing field of study, it has not yet found wide acceptance, and Howard has qualified it: "My theory about the Tetragrammaton is just that, a theory. Some of my colleagues disagree with me (for example Albert Pietersma). Theories like mine are important to be set forth so that others can investigate their probability and implications. Until they are proven (and mine has not been proven) they should not be used as a surety for belief."[5]"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton_in_the_New_Testament
Len
| George Howard | "Thus, Professor George Howard, of the University of Georgia, U.S.A., made this comment: 'When the Septuagint which the New Testament church used and quoted contained the Hebrew form of the divine name, the New Testament writers no doubt included the Tetragrammaton in their quotations' (Biblical Archaeology Review, March 1978, page 14). "The same thing occurred in the "New Testament," or Christian Greek Scriptures. Professor George Howard goes on to say: 'When the Hebrew form for the divine name was eliminated in favor of Greek substitutes in the Septuagint, it was eliminated also from the New Testament quotations of the Septuagint. ... Before long the divine name was lost to the Gentile church except insofar as it was reflected in the contracted surrogates or remembered by scholars.'"
| George Howard's theory has been rejected by most - if not all - modern Biblical and Textual scholars. In any case, his theory is that the New Testament authors retained the Tetragrammaton whenever they quoted verses from the Old Testament that contained it. His theory thus has no relevance to most of the 237 instances where the NWT translators inserted "Jehovah" into their "Christian Greek Scriptures." Professor Howard wrote two letters that have been made public which clarify his position: The University of Georgia College of Arts & Sciences June 5, 1989 Bob Hathaway Dear Mr. Hathaway: My conclusions regarding the Tatragrammaton and the New Testament are: 1) the N.T. writers might have used the Tetragrammaton in their Old Testament quotations, and 2) it is possible (though less likely) that the Tetragrammaton was used in a few stereotype phrases such as "the angel of the Lord." Otherwise it probably was not used at all. I disagree with the Jehovah Witness translation that uses Jehovah many times. This goes beyond the evidence. I do not believe Jesus Christ is Jehovah. If the Jehovah Witnesses teach this (I’m not aware of most of their theology) they are off the mark. Sincerely, George Howard The University of Georgia January 9, 1990 Steven Butt Dear Mr. Butt: Thank you for your letter of 3 January 1990. I have been distressed for sometime aboutthe use the Jehovah’s Witnesses are making of my publications. My research does not support their denial of the deity of Christ. What I tried to show was that there is evidence that the Septuagint Bibles used by the writers of the New Testament contained the Hebrew Tetragrammaton. I argued that it is reasonable to assume that the NT writers, when quoting from the Septuagint, retained the Tetragrammaton in the quotations. This does notsupport the JW’s insertion of "Jehovah" in every place they want. To do this is to remove the NT from its original "theological climate." My opinion of the New World Translation (based on limited exposure) is that it is odd. I suspect that it is a Translation designed to support JW theology. Finally, my theory about the Tetragrammaton is just that, a theory. Some of my colleagues disagree with me (for example Albert Pietersma). Theories like mine are important to be set forth so that others can investigate their probability and implications. Until they are proven (and mine has not been proven) they should not be used as a surety for belief. Sincerely, George Howard For a detailed evaluation of Howard's study with reference to Watchtower claims, click here. http://www.forananswer.org/Top_JW/Scholars%20and%20NWT.htm#Howard |
Some of George Howards' material is quoted here:
