Why did Jesus not use God’s name Jehovah?

by venus 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  venus

  No one doubts Jesus extensively spoke about God’s Kingdom because he said: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (Luke 4:43) Yet Christian sects are divided over the subject whether Jesus used God’s name or not.

  It is said that God’s name Jehovah was revealed to Moses. However Jesus knew Moses was not trustworthy. (Mathew 19:8) Moses born and brought up in Egypt could have been influenced by Egyptian knowledge. In Egyptian, “yah” is the moon god and “wah” means “increasing or growing.” Yah + wah = growing Moon. Yahweh/Yah-wah could then be a lunar form of the Great Mother goddess in which the “growing” represents her in her pregnant aspect. Thus knowing the root of Yah, Jesus chose to call God as “our heavenly Father.” (Mathew 6:9)

  Most well-known English versions of the Hebrew Bible translate the Hebrew "Hallelujah" (as at Psalm 150:1) as "Praise Yah" or “Praise Lord” But JWs have no doubt, hence translate as “Praise Jah!” and puts in foot note: ‘“Jah” is a shortened form of the name Jehovah.’ (Psalm 150:1)
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  smiddy

  Not meaning to be picky venus but maybe you should have titled your post using Yahweh instead of Jehovah,as JHVH and Jehovah was a 13th Century interpretation of the Tetragrammaton using vowels from Adonai.

  I believe Ancient hebrew never had a J sounding letter in their alphabet

  Thats why some bible translations have names like Yesus ,Yermiah ,Yosiah ,etc.etc.

  However you are right their is no record of Jesus Christ ever using the tetragrammaton or its greek equivalent and should I go out on a limb here and say the Aramaic equivalent of the hebrew tetragrammaton .

  Jesus never addressed GOD with a personal name and their are instances where he certainly could have but never did.

  I found your Egyptian connection with Moses "interesting" as regards Gods name .
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  venus

  smiddy,

  There are plenty of references for Egyptian connection in the Bible and in secular history. According to Dr. James Montgomery in his book, Arabia & the Bible, as well as the old Negev inscriptions, Yah was another name for Wadd, the god of the full moon. His image appears as a snake on both the Beersheba altar and the Migdal Synagogue stone as well in various cultic artifacts found throughout Israel. The 10th Century King Jeroboam of Israel marked Israel’s southern boundaries with idols of the golden calf.
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  Crazyguy

  I think there's no way to tell any of it. For instance early bible text mention a god with the title El , most people thought it just a title until the early 20th century when they found a Syrian god named El. Many similarities between the god of the Bible and this god but later it becomes obvious that some of the Bible writings indicate Baal takes on the powers and attributes of this god and so does the Bible god. But wait the Hebrew bible writtings are a mess because there clear evidence that stories like that of Noah's flood and even the creation of the earth and man or influence by Sumerian writtings. Proverbs by Egyptian writings and Job Assyrian. Other writtings are influenced from writings found at Ugarit and still again in some of the minor prophet writtings one can see clues to Egyptian gods again. Let's also not forget Babylonian gods Enki , Enlil and Marduk .

  So now who is this god that's supposed to be Jesus father out of all thIs mess of writings an Egyptian moon god that later gets ubsorbed by Osiris? Amen ? Since Jesus is referred to as the great Amen in Revelations? Is it still El or Baal or Marduk? Or is it a new god that obsorbed the older ones that some say is a god called Yah? We didn't even touch on the Greek or Persian influences.

  I think the reason Jesus father is never mentioned in the New Testament is because it's anyone's guess of who it could be and the Christians were pushing a newly named god this guy jesus who he himself was a copy of some of the older gods. This new guY was to be for all the nations so we can't be to specific on who his father is because it may favor one nation or group over the others.
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  venus

  Crazyguy

  You are right: Most of the biblical accounts are modifications from other cultures. Much of the things about Jesus would remind us of Egyptian god Horus.

  Moses himself could be a mythical figure. For example, in Exodus 2:10, the name given to him by the princess is connected with a Hebrew verb meaning "to draw out". How did she know that this child is destined “to draw out” the Israelites from Egypt through Red Sea? It shows it is the writer (not the princes) who named Moses!
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  tor1500

  Hi,

  Because it's disrespectful to call your parents by their first name......well, my parents wouldn't but I do know folks that call their parents by their first names..guess they glad the kids call them at all...

  Jesus called his Pop....Our Father who ....ummm...our Father, could that be proof that there is no Trinity....Jesus uses US a lot in that prayer...makes one think...

  Tor
  
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  eyeuse2badub

  How many 'real' people call their father by their name? Dad, daddy, poppa, even father, but not yhwh! Or maybe he didn't know exactly how to pronounce it either!

  Or, it just wasn't that important to him.

  just saying!
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  Steel

  New testament writers are looking at the oddities in the old testament when it comes to the appearances of God in the scrolls.

  God often refers to himself in the plural , or God is invisible but there is some kind of Devine manifestation that people deal with. Usually the angel of the Lord or word of the Lord.

  The general idea is Jesus is this second manifestation of God that people see and deal with but who really is just God also.

  Thus the reason Jesus never calls his father LORD, jehovah or yahwah.
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  Ding

  According to the WT, Jesus did speak the divine name often.

  The NWT inserts the name into Jesus' statements a couple of times.

  For example it quotes Jesus in Luke 4:18 as saying: "Jehovah's spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor..."
  

  But ask them to show you anywhere in the Bible where Jesus started a prayer, "Jehovah..."

  It isn't there.

  Also, if Jesus spoke the divine name in public as the WT claims, wouldn't we expect to see the Pharisees and Sadducees accusing him of blasphemy for doing so?

  If a major part of Jesus' mission was to counter the religious leaders' superstitions and restore use of the divine name, wouldn't we expect there to be a number of confrontations over this issue?

  Ask JWs to show you anywhere in the Bible where such a confrontation occurred.

  It isn't there.
  
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  waton

  Jesus, or what his biographers decades later wrote about him, was ignorant of creation reality. He too, was probably searching for the one that made it all. In deference to the great place he (and we) live, the enormity of the task of creation, ( he struggled to work with hard wood and primitive hand tools), He probably choose not to demean that possible person (like his possible father) by calling him names.