In the King James translation of the Old Testament, the name of God appears only four times – Psalm 83:18, Exodus 6:3, Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4. It is also used three times as a part of a name of an altar or place (Genesis 22:14, Exodus 17:15 and Judges 6:24). Otherwise, the name of God does not appear in the King James translation at all. Yet, the Hebrew Bible has the name of God over 6,800 times! The only other translations that keep the Divine Name intact is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures and the Divine Name King James Bible.

In modern English, the name of God is spelled Jehovah. I’ve come across many people telling me it’s not a correct/accurate pronunciation or translation – to which I agree, it is not. And there are dozens and dozens of theories online along with videos on YouTube of people trying to say they discovered the true pronunciation of Jehovah,
or they have an idea of how it was originally pronounced. But it’s what it is today because of superstition and centuries of change in language over the years.

The Superstition

So, why is Jehovah not used more often in the King James translation? This is due to the translators allowing themselves to be influenced by an ancient Jewish custom of not pronouncing the Divine Name יהוה because of a misunderstanding of the commandment at Exodus 20:6 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” So instead of saying God’s name aloud, a title had to be placed in the Biblical text when reading.

When Masorite scribes invented the Hebrew vowel system, they wanted to be sure when anyone saw the name יהוה they would pronounce it ‘adonai’ by placing the vowels for ‘adonai’ (ְ וֹ ָ) with the consonants in God’s personal name, therefore writing it יְהֹוָה. This altered pronunciation is the ye-ho-va that is now used in Modern Hebrew and Jehovah in English. This development contributed to the eventual loss of the original pronunciation of יהוה.

This substitution is shown in English translations every time the Divine Name is printed as LORD (note: it’s in all caps to distinguish it from the substition of the Divine Name with the addressing of human rulers as ‘lord’). This practice is evident throughout the King James translation, such as 1 Kings 1:36 and Exodus 4:13–14.

Spelling and Pronunciation

In the English spelling of Jehovah, the consonants J-h-v-h are derived directly from the Hebrew letters (originally, it was I-h-v-h in English, but the Hebrew letter “yod” י eventually came to be written “j” due to the French influence on English). The vowels in “Jehovah” come from the vowels in the title ‘adonai’. Thus, the name Jehovah, which is very familiar to us in English, is a transliteration of the hybrid form used in Hebrew. As I’ve mentioned before, we don’t know how it was originally pronounced before 537 B.C. Yet, the shortened form of יהוה appears in Hebrew personal names and in the Hebrew Bible (for example, JAH in Psalm 68:4, and the last syllable in “Hallelujah” – הַלְּלוּיָהּ), it is evident the first syllable of the Divine Name is pronounced “yah”, thus the popular thought of “Yahweh” being the correct pronunciation.

The Meaning of the Name

The meaning of the Divine Name? I’ve had many discussions about it, maybe a few arguments, all the way from students of Hebrew all the way up to Rabbi’s.

The name Jehovah is a verb and is related to the Hebrew verb "to be." It is usually associated with the form of the name Moses was told at the burning bush: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Exodus 3:14). It is usually translated “I am what I am”. When understood this way, it’s a pretty vague description of who he really is, easily bringing up the question “What is he?” thus causing more confusion about his name.

Looking deeper into grammar, Jehovah is in the causative form, the imperfect state, of the Hebrew verb הוה (ha·wah′, “to become”). Therefore, does not mean “I am”, or “He is . . . (something, like love or mercy),” but rather “He Causes to Become.” the more accurate translation of the Divine Name is “I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be”. This reveals Jehovah as the One who, with progressive action, causes himself to become the Fulfiller of promises, the One who always brings his purposes to realization. In order to accomplish his purpose for mankind, he can become whatever he pleases, filling whatever role is needed.

As an example: Think of a parent caring for their child. If the child gets hurt in some way, the parent acts as a nurse. If the child is hungry, the parent becomes a cook, when it comes to learning, a teacher. The parent becomes what he or she needs to be according to the need that arises.

Where Else Is Jehovah Used?

The name Jehovah is not limited to the Bible. It occurs twice in the Book of Mormon, it can be seen in many churches as יהוה, and in many famous paintings and writings.

What are we listening to in Israel this week? Here are the top 10 songs that you may enjoy. Some are not from Israeli artists, but still enjoyed by all. And, as you can see, The Idan Raichel Project is on the chart twice.

1 – Anthony Hamilton Elayna Boynton- Freedom

2 – עידן עמדי – בזמן האחרון (Idan Amedi – Bazman Haacharon)

3 – Asaf Avidan – Love It or Leave It

4 – הפרויקט של עידן רייכל – בלילה (The Idan Raichel Project – Balayla)

5 – Alicia Keys – Girl on Fire

6 – נתן גושן – מה אם נתנשק (Nathan Goshen – Ma Em Nitnashek)

7 – will.i.am – Scream & Shout (feat. Britney Spears) – Single

8 – יובל דיין – לאסוף (Yuval Dayan – Le’esof)

9 – הפרויקט של עידן רייכל – עכשיו קרוב (The Idan Raichel Project – Achshav Karov)

10 – Stay – Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko

Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, prosperity, and welfare. It can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye and it can refer to either peace between two entities, or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals.

Shalom by itself is used in Modern Israeli Hebrew as a greeting, to which the common reply is, שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם. It is also used as a farewell, making it similar to the Hawaiian aloha, the English good evening or Hindi नमस्ते (namaste).

Other uses of שָׁלוֹם

The word “shalom” can be used for all parts of speech; as a noun, adjective, verb, adverb, and interjection. When used as a noun shalom refers to welfare (health, prosperity and peace).

In the Scriptures, shalom describes the actions that lead to a state of soundness, or better yet wholeness. So to say, shalom seems not to merely speak of a state of affairs, but describes a process, an activity, a movement towards fullness.

Other greetings and expressions

The word shalom is used in a variety of expressions and contexts in Hebrew speech and writing:

Shalom aleichem (שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם) is used to greet others and is a Hebrew equivalent of “hello”. The appropriate response to such a greeting is “upon you be well-being” (עֲלֵיכֶם שָׁלוֹם aleichem shalom). On Erev Shabbat (Sabbath eve), Jewish people have a custom of singing a song which is called Shalom aleichem, before the Kiddush over wine of the Shabbat dinner is recited.

Shabbat shalom (שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם) is a common greeting used on Shabbat. This is most prominent in areas with Mizrahi, Sephardi, or modern Israeli influence. Many Ashkenazi communities in the Jewish diaspora use the Yiddish Gut shabbes in preference or interchangeably.

Alav hashalom (עַלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם; “upon him is peace”) is a phrase used in some Jewish communities, especially Ashkenazi ones, after mentioning the name of a deceased respected individual.

Oseh shalom עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם is the part of a passage commonly found as a concluding sentence in much Jewish liturgy (including the birkat hamazon, kaddish and personal amidah prayers). The full sentence is
עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו, הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עַלֵינוּ, וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן
, which translates to English as “He who makes peace in His heights may He make peace upon us and upon all Israel; and say, Amen.”

Related words in Modern Hebrew include l’shalem (לְשַׁלֵּם), “to pay” and shalem (שָׁלֵם, “complete”.

Cultural Awareness

As a Jewish religious principle

In Judaism, שָׁלוֹם is one of the underlying principle of the Torah. “Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are shalom.” The Talmud explains, “The entire Torah is for the sake of the ways of shalom”. Maimonides comments in his Mishneh Torah: “Great is peace, as the whole Torah was given in order to promote peace in the world, as it is stated, ‘Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. ‘”

Shalom as a name for people

• Shalom is commonly used as a person’s name oe surname in modern Israeli Hebrew.
• Related male names include Shlomi (Hebrew name) (“my well-being”) and Solomon (Hebrew Shlomo).
• Related female names include Shulamit, Shulamith, Shlomtzion or Shlomzion and Salome and Shlomith.
• Shalom Aleichem was the pseudonym or pen name of Shalom Rabinowitz, whose work, Tevye and his Daughters, formed the basis for Fiddler on the Roof.

Our first video for learning Hebrew. In this one we’ll be asking after someone’s health and how to reply. The vocabulary we need is:

מה – what
שלום – peace / welfare
טוב – good, well
תודה – thank you
מאוד – very

And we’ll be learning the phrases
מה שלומך? – how are you?
שלומי טוב. תודה. – I’m fine, thank you.

Extra phrases to know

מָה שׁלוֹמְכֶם? – how are you? – to more than one male or a mixed group of men and women.
מָה שׁלוֹמְכֶן? – how are you? – to more than one woman, or a group of women.

Exercises

1. You see your friend Moshe. Ask him how he is doing.
2. There’s David and Sarah, ask how they are doing.
3. You’re coming in to work. Ask your boss how he (or she) is doing.
4. Ask your girlfriend how she’s doing

Tuvya Ruebner (טוביה ריבנר‎) was born in 1924 in Bratislava, Slovakia. He was 17 years old in 1941 when he fled Slovakia to Mandate Palestine and joined a kibbutz. His parents, sisters and grandparents were sent to Poland and were killed in the Holocaust.

Following the Israel War of Independence, he became a member of Kibbutz Merhavia. In Israel he settled in Kibbutz Merchavia. Tuvya Ruebner started as a labourer in the kibbutz and then a literature teacher in the local secondary school. With relatively little formal education, he ended up as Professor of Literature at Haifa University in Israel, and the editor of a leading Israeli publishing house for literature.

His Writings

Tuvya Reubner began writing in German – his first language, and later switched to Hebrew. He published his first book of poetry in 1957 and has since published 11 more collections. His poetry blends classical and modern Hebrew, creating a unique style and translated into 14 languages.

He has also translated Goethe, Shlegel and Kafka into Hebrew, and Agnon, T. Carmi and Dan Pagis into German. Ruebner has been awarded, in Israel: the Anne Frank Prize, the Jerusalem Prize, the Prime Minister`s Prize twice and the prestigious Israel Prize (2008); abroad he has received the D. Steinberg Prize (Zurich, 1981), the Christian Wagner Prize (Germany, 1994), the Jeannette Schocken Prize (Germany, 1999), the Paul Celan Translation Prize (1999), the Jan Smrek Prize and the Theodore Kramer Prize (2008).

In February 2008 he was awarded the Israel Prize for Poetry (the highest accolade the state of Israel can bestow). The jury awarding the prize wrote: ‘Tuvya Ruebner has been one of the foremost Hebrew poets for five decades now….Ruebner’s poetry is planted in two main landscapes, those of Europe and of Israel, and in this respect embodies ‘the pain of two homelands’ and the unresolved tension between them. This is restrained, polished and intellectual poetry. It is nourished by the ancient strata of Hebrew poetry and the best tradition of Central European poetry’.

Personal Life

His first wife, with whom he had one daughter, was killed in a car accident. His second wife is the pianist Galila Yizreeli-Ruebner with whom he has two sons.

He is a member of the German academies for languages and literature at Darmstadt and Meintz, and a winner of numerous prizes for literature in Israel and in Germany.