The change first recommended in the Appendix - that which substitutes "Jehovah" for
"LORD" and "GOD" - is one which will be unwelcome to many, because of the frequency and
familiarity of the terms displaced. But the American Revisers, after a careful
consideration were brought to the unanimous conviction that a Jewish superstition, which
regarded the Divine Name as too sacred to be uttered, ought no longer to dominate in the
English or any other version of the Old Testament, as it fortunately does not in the
numerous versions made by modern missionaries. This Memorial Name, explained in Ex. iii.
14, 15, and emphasized as such over and over in the original text of the Old Testament,
designates God as the personal God, as the covenant God, the God of revelation, the
Deliverer, the Friend of his people; -- not merely the abstractly "Eternal One" of many
French translations, but the ever living Helper of those who are in trouble. This
personal name, with its wealth of sacred associations, is now restored to the place in
the sacred text to which it has an unquestionable claim.
The King James Version, followed by the Revised Standard Version and pretty much all
other modern translations, does not do this. Instead, it uses LORD, in capital letters.
This follows the practice of the Vulgate's Latin and the Septuagint's Greek, which
substituted "Lord" for י ה
ו י, in accordance with the late-Jewish custom of treating the name of God
as too sacred to be spoken.
I still wonder what is best. But I see that the New Testament is very helpful in at
least telling us what is acceptable. It uses the Greek word for "Lord" in place of
Jehovah, and often quotes the Septuagint. For example:
Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was
spoken of by the prophet
Esaias, saying, The voice of one
crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Matthew 2:19 But when Herod was dead,
behold, an angel of the Lord
appeareth in a dream to Joseph
in Egypt,
Not just the narrator, but Jesus Christ follows this usage. Here are two places:
Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is
written again, Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy God.
alluding to
Deuteronomy 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the
LORD your God, as ye tempted
him in Massah.
and
Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him,
Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.
alluding to
Deuteronomy 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by
his name.
Thus, it is at least okay to use the modern translations with their LORDs, whether it is
optimal or not. That is a relief.
In finding these passages, I used the website, Bibletools, which has links for each verse to the Matthew Henry and other commentaries. I recommend it.
[in full at 04.02.15a.htm . Erasmusen@yahoo.com. ]
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