Paragraph 5 states:

However, God has a unique name that appears almost 7,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures alone – more often than any of his titles. Some 1,900 years ago, the Jews superstitiously ceased to pronounce the divine name. Biblical Hebrew was written without vowels. Hence, there is no way to be precise about how Moses, David or others of ancient times pronounced the four consonants (יהוה) that make up the divine name. Some scholars suggest that God’s name may have been pronounced “Yahweh,” but they cannot be sure. The English pronunciation “Jehovah” has been in use for centuries and its equivalent in many languages is widely accepted today –See Exodus 6:3 and Isaiah 26:4 in the King James Version.[1]

Very true.  According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary:

The Jews scrupulously avoided every mention of this name of God, substituting in its stead, one or other of the words with whose proper vowel-points it may happen to be written. This custom, which had its origin in reverence, was founded upon an erroneous rendering of Lev. 24:16[2] from which it was inferred that the mere utterance of the name constituted a capital offence. According to Jewish tradition, it was pronounced, but once a year, by the high priest on the Day of Atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies; but on this point, there is some doubt.[3]

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII further states:

According to a Rabbinic tradition the real pronunciation of Jehovah ceased to be used at the time of Simeon the Just, who was, according to Maimonides, a contemporary of Alexander the Great. At any rate, it appears the name was no longer pronounced after the destruction of the Temple.[4]

The pronunciation of the tetragrammaton (tetragram, יהוה, YHWH, or the divine name) has long been lost to us. However, as indicated by the WTBTS in the KNOWLEDGE book quotation above, “some scholars” believe the divine name was pronounced Yahweh. Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology states: “Evidence from Greek usage in the Christian era points to the two-syllable pronunciation, ‘Yahweh.’”[5] And again, the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII states:

…the Samaritan pronunciation Jabe probably approaches the real sound of the Divine name closest; the other early writers transmit only abbreviations or corruptions of the sacred name. Inserting vowels of Jabe into the original Hebrew consonant text, we obtain the form Jahveh (Yahweh), which has been generally accepted by modern scholars as the true pronunciation of the Divine name. It is not merely closely connected with the pronunciation of the ancient synagogue by means of the Samaritan tradition, but it also allows the legitimate derivation of all the abbreviations of the sacred name in the Old Testament.[6]

The Jewish Encyclopedia further elaborates pronunciation as regards to abbreviations:

…the original pronunciation must have been Yahweh or Yahaweh. From this the contracted form Jah or Yah is most readily explained, and also the forms Jeho or Yeho, and Jo or Yo, which the word assumes in combination in the first part of compound proper names, and Yahu or Yah in the second part of such names.[7]

The Jewish Encyclopedia also indicates that יהוה is “…commonly represented in modern translations by the form ‘Jehovah,’ which, however, is a philological impossibility…”[8]  So the most likely pronunciation of יהוה is Yahweh and certainly not Jehovah.

Also, please note that the WTBTS asserts “some scholars suggest” Yahweh as the correct pronunciation of יהוה whereas the Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that the Yahweh pronunciation has been “generally accepted by modern scholars.” In my experience, among other Christians I’ve met and conversed with about this subject, nearly all have known the name Jehovah, have known that this name is an incorrect, anglicized pronunciation of God’s name and have known the generally accepted correct pronunciation is Yahweh. Pronouncing God’s name as Yahweh has been taught at all – ALL – of the churches I’ve attended as well. Frankly, I’m shocked that anyone could say “some” instead of “most” scholars accept the Yahweh pronunciation.

In any event, the precise pronunciation is generally accepted as Yahweh.

Readers who have reviewed prior sections of this site will probably be aware that I use both Jehovah and Yahweh in my treatment of God’s name in general usage. Why?

I’m not opposed to using the Jehovah pronunciation in the slightest. Granted, there is no J sound in Hebrew so Jehovah isn’t anywhere near what the original pronunciation of יהוה might’ve been, but most of the time, I pronounce Jesus’ name as the anglicized Jesus instead of Yeshua (or variations thereof) so I’m obviously not opposed to anglicizing Biblical names. I don’t cringe when fellow Believers refer to God as Jehovah. I, personally, refer to God as Yahweh. While I respect others when they refer to God as Jehovah, I also expect others to respect me when I refer to God as Yahweh. I use both Jehovah and Yahweh on this site because, in my opinion, using neither is wrong. I’m very certain, whether you call Him Jehovah or I call Him Yahweh, God knows and understands that we are speaking to and/or about Him. J

I am, however, opposed to the notion that I or anyone else must refer to God as Jehovah simply because Jehovah has been in use for many centuries and widely accepted, as so stated by the WTBTS in the KNOWLEDGE book above. By that same measure, replacing יהוה with LORD in the majority of modern versions/translations of the Old Testament would be acceptable as well. LORD, after all, has been in use for many centuries and is also widely accepted. Granted, LORD is a title and not a personal name, but LORD and Jehovah are both substitutions.

I have never understood the insistence of JWs and the WTBTS that God must be referred to as Jehovah on the grounds of general usage while lambasting modern Bible translations that use LORD, at least in part, for that very same reason – general usage.

According to the WTBTS, Believers must use God’s personal name to be saved. You must use the divine name (per the NWT translation of Romans 10:13, see below). Often. But you can use either of two names: Jehovah or Yahweh. If using God’s name is so vitally important, as the JW I study with has indicated, isn’t using the right name of equally vital importance? And if using Jehovah is acceptable, when it is certainly not the proper pronunciation since there is no J sound in Hebrew, why is referring to God as LORD not acceptable as well? They’re both incorrect.

I just don’t get it. Never have. I doubt I ever will.

Paragraph 7 & the Meaning of יהוה

The name Jehovah is a form of a Hebrew verb meaning “to become.” Thus, God’s name means “He Causes to Become.”…[9]

God reveals his personal name to Moses in the burning bush in Exodus 3:14:

Exodus 3:14

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.' " (NASB)

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (NIV)

At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, ‘I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to YOU.’” (NWT)

Of the 55 Bibles consulted[10] for Exodus 3:14, only the NWT translates the Hebrew ehyeh asher ehyeh (highlighted in red above) as “I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” 24 Bibles translate it as “I AM WHO I AM,”[11] 21 translate it as “I AM THAT I AM,”[12] and two others translate it as “I AM THAT WHICH I AM”[13] and “I AM WHAT I AM,”[14] closely adhering to the two aforementioned predominant translations. Altogether, 47 of 55 Bibles (85%) translate God’s name as “I AM WHO I AM” or “I AM THAT I AM,” with two minor variations. There are seven other Bibles that vary the translation to a greater degree,[15] but none agree with the NWT’s “I SHALL PROVE TO BE.”

The NET Bible footnote for Exodus 3:14 reads:

The very form used here is אֶהְיֶה (‘ehyeh), the Qal imperfect, first person common singular, of the verb “to be,” הָיָה (haya). It forms an excellent paronomasia with the name. So when God used the verb to express his name, he used this form saying, “I AM.” When his people refer to him as Yahweh, which is the third person masculine singular form of the same verb, they say “he is.”…[16]

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII also states:

As the Divine name is an imperfect form of the archaic Hebrew verb “to be,” Jahveh means “He Who is,” whose characteristic note consists in being, or The Being simply.[17]

The Jewish Encyclopedia continues:

In appearance, Yhwh is the third person singular imperfect “kal” of the verb (“to be”), meaning, therefore, “He is,” or “He will be,” or, perhaps, “He lives,”…With this explanation agrees the meaning of the name given in Ex. iii. 14, where God is represented as speaking, and hence as using the first person – “I am.” The meaning would, therefore, be “He who is self-existing, self-sufficient,” or, more concretely, “He who lives,”…[18]

The NET Bible footnote further reads, however, speaking very closely to the WTBTS “He Causes to Become” assertion:

Others argue for a causative Hiphil translation of “I will cause to be,” but nowhere in the Bible does this verb appear in Hiphil or Piel.[19]

And again, the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, too, speaks rather extensively about the possibility of the Hiphil interpretation:

…He uses the first person imperfect of the Hebrew verb “to be;” here the Vulgate, the Septuagint, Aquila, Theodotion, and the Arabic version suppose that God uses the imperfect qal; only the Targums of Jonathon and of Jerusalem imply the imperfect hiphil. Hence we have the renderings: “I am who am” (Vulg.), “I am who is” (Sept.), “I shall be {who} shall be” (Aquilla, Theodotion), “the Eternal who does not cease” (Ar.);…The second time, God uses again the first person imperfect of the Hebrew verb “to be;” here the Syriac, the Samaritan, the Persian versions, and the Targums of Onkelos and Jerusalem retain the Hebrew word, so that one cannot tell whether they regard the imperfect as a qal or a hiphil form; the Arabic version omits the whole clause; but the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Targum of Johnathan suppose here the imperfect qal: “He Who Is, hath sent me to you” instead of “I Am, hath sent me to you: (Vulg.); “ho on sent me to you” (Sept.); “I am who am, and who shall be, hath sent me to you” (Targ. Jon.). Finally the third time, God uses the third person of the imperfect, or the form of the sacred name itself; here the Samaritan version and the Targum of Onkelos retain the Hebrew form; the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Syriac version render “Lord,” though, according to the analogy of the former two passages, they should have translated, “He Is, the God of your fathers…hath sent me to you;” the Arabic version substitutes “God.” Classical exegesis, therefore, regards Jahveh as the imperfect qal of the Hebrew verb “to be.”[20]

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia also agrees with the NET Bible footnote, the Catholic Encyclopedia and the Jewish Encyclopedia:

It is evident from the interpretive passages (Ex 3;6) that the form is the fut. of the simple stem (Kal) and not future of the causative (Hiphil) stem…[21]

So the WTBTS assertion of the meaning of the divine name as “He Causes to Become” is incorrect.

But what does יהוה mean?

As noted previously, The Catholic Encyclopedia indicates that God’s name means “He Who Is” or “The Being” while the Jewish Encyclopedia indicates “He is,” “He will be,” “He lives,” or “He who is self-existing, self-sufficient.”[22] Strong’s defines Yehovah (H3068) as “(the) self Existent or eternal.”[23] BDB defines Jehovah as “the existing One.”[24] Easton’s Bible Dictionary agrees: “the meaning of the word appears from Exo. 3:14 to be ‘the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God,’ the “I am that I am,’ a covenant-keeping God.”[25]

The prevalent translation of יהוה is “I am who I am,” “I am that I am,” or simply “I am,” (with variations of capitalization per all) best fits the aforementioned theme of God’s eternity and self-existence.  The following Bible commentators offer this translation in the body of their work: Adam Clarke,[26] Albert Barnes,[27] Keil & Delitzsch,[28] John Gill,[29] Matthew Henry,[30] and David Guzik.[31] “I am” as the meaning of God’s name can also be found in Smith’s Bible Dictionary,[32] Easton’s Bible Dictionary,[33] Holman Bible Dictionary,[34] American Tract Bible Society Bible Dictionary,[35] Harper’s Bible Dictionary,[36] The Jewish Encyclopedia,[37] and The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.[38] Rev. C.H. Spurgeon understood that God’s name meant “I am that I am,”[39] and more contemporarily, John MacArthur translates the meaning of God’s name as “I AM THAT I AM.”[40]

J. Hampton Keathley, III, Th.M. succinctly states, “…the name Yahweh by which God revealed Himself to Israel in the Old Testament. Most scholars suggest the basic meaning of this name is ‘I Am that I Am,’…”[41]

So the Hiphil form, which reflects the WTBTS assertion that יהוה means “He Shall Cause to Become,” has been discredited in favor of the Qal imperfect and most scholars believe the basic meaning of יהוה is ‘I Am who/that I Am’ and also agree that this meaning points to Yahweh’s eternal self-existence.

Paragraph 13 & יהוה in the New Testament

Paragraph 13 states:

All who want God’s favor must learn to call upon his name in faith. The Bible promises: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)…[42]

This is the first instance in the KNOWLEDGE book displaying a unique feature of the NWT – the use of God’s name in the New Testament.

To avoid long page loads, please see the link below or the link included in the left column menu bar for my subsection on the divine name in the New Testament.

Otherwise, addressing Romans 10:13 alone, we read in context:

Romans 10:9-13

[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. [12] For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (KJV)

[9] that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; [10] for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. [11] For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." [12] For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; [13] for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." (NASB)

[9] That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. [11] As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." [12] For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, [13] for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (NIV)

[9] For if you publicly declare that ‘word in your own mouth,’ that Jesus is Lord, and exercise faith in your heart that God raised him up from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation. [11] For the Scripture says: “None that rests his faith on him will be disappointed.” [12] For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for there is the same Lord over all, who is rich to all those calling upon him. [13] For “everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.” (NWT)

Romans 10:13 quotes Joel 2:32:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (KJV)

"And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls. (NASB)

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls. (NIV)

And it must occur that everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will prove to be the escaped ones, just as Jehovah has said, and in among the survivors, whom Jehovah is calling.” (NWT)

In Romans 10:9, Paul tells us that if we confess Jesus as Lord, we will be saved and subsequently applies the Old Testament quotation of Joel, which includes יהוה , to Jesus a few verses later in Romans 10:13.

John Gill states:

This testimony is taken out of JOe 2:32 and is brought to prove the truth of what the apostle had just suggested, that all that call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, will find him…ready to dispense his grace and salvation to them…[43] (Emphasis mine.)

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown agree:

(Joe 2:32); quoted also by Peter, in his great Pentecostal sermon (Act 2:21), with evident application to Christ.[44] (Emphasis mine.)

Albert Barnes continues:

It is clear from what follows, that the apostle applies this to Jesus Christ; and this is one of the numerous instances in which the writers of the New Testament apply to him expressions which in the Old Testament are applicable to God;[45]

Adam Clarke wrote more extensively about the application of Joel 2:32 to Jesus, stating:

…for the Prophet Joel hath declared, Joe 2:32 : Whosoever shall call upon, invoke, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, shall be saved… It is evident that St. Paul understood the text of Joel as relating to our blessed Lord; and therefore his word κυριος must answer to the prophet’s word יהוה  Yehovah, which is no mean proof of the Godhead of Jesus Christ. If the text be translated, Whosoever shall invoke in the name of the Lord, which translation יקרא בשם יהוה  yikra beshem Yehovah will certainly bear, yet still the term Yehovah, the incommunicable name, is given to Christ;…[46] (Emphasis mine.)

Paul, elsewhere, also tells the church of Corinth whose name we should call upon:

1 Corinthians 1:2

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (KJV)

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: (NAS)

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and ours: (NIV)

to the congregation of God that is in Corinth, to YOU who have been sanctified in union with Christ Jesus, called to be holy ones, together with all who everywhere are calling upon the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: (NWT)

Who are we calling upon? Paul explicitly tells us in 1 Corinthians how we are to interpret the Kurios (“Lord”) we are to call upon in Romans 10:13 – we are to call upon Jesus.

Reading in the commentaries, however, we find much more about what calling on the name of the Lord means. John Gill states:

Invocation of the name of Christ not only respects prayer to him, but includes the whole of religious worship: see Rom 10:13; and this being given to Christ, and perforated in his name, is a very considerable proof of his true and proper deity; and the Ethiopic version here styles him, "God, our Lord Jesus Christ"; for none but God is to be invoked; nor can any but a divine person, one that is truly and properly God…[47]

Roberston’s Word Pictures also speaks of the phrase “call on the name of the Lord” as such:

This phrase occurs in the lxx (Genesis 12:8; Zec 13:9) and is applied to Christ as to Jehovah (2Th 1:7, 2Th 1:9; Phi 2:9, Phi 2:10)…Here “with a plain and direct reference to the Divinity of our Lord” (Ellicott).[48] (Emphasis mine.)

Vincent’s Word Studies agrees:

Compare Rom 10:12; Act 2:21. The formula is from the Septuagint. See Zec 13:9; Gen 12:8; Gen 13:4; Psa 115:17. It is used of worship, and here implies prayer to Christ.[49]

We are directed to call upon the name of the Lord, which is an expression from the Old Testament that involves prayer and worship according to the above commentaries and Paul explicitly tells us the name to which we are to call upon is Jesus. As such, also indicated by the commentaries above, calling upon Jesus’ name declares Jesus as God.

According to Richard Bauckham, in his article “Paul’s Christology of Divine Identity”:

…10:13 is the climax of Paul’s argument in Roman’s 10:1-13, and that the use of Joel 2:32 there, ‘if taken at all as instructive for the way in which Paul conceives of God’s relation to Christ, eliminates the possibility of thinking of the God of Israel, YHWH, as apart from the human being Jesus. This unitive relationship is dialectical and hinges in fact on unreserved identification of one with the other as well on clear differentiation.

…The relationship is clear in the context in Romans, where verse 12 is an emphatically monotheistic assertion: ‘For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.’ The ‘Lord’ here must be Jesus. This is clear from the relationship of the last clause (‘all who call on him’) to the quotation from Joel that follows in the next verse (‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’), as well as from the wider context of reference to confession of Jesus as Lord (v 9), belief in Jesus (v 11), and calling on the one in whom they have believed (v 14).[50]

According to the KIT footnoting apparatus and “Appendix B: Comparison of 237 ‘Jehovah’ References” in THE TETRAGRAMMTON and the CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES,[51] the earliest manuscript that uses God’s name in Romans 10:13 is dated to 1599 A.D. The earliest manuscript that uses κυριος or “Lord” is dated to the 4^th century. The manuscript evidence obviously and overwhelmingly supports “calls on the name of the Lord,” not Jehovah in Romans 10:13.

None of the 72 New Testaments I consulted for Romans 10:13 agreed with the NWT’s “calls on the name of Jehovah” translation, the context of Romans 10:9-13 clearly indicates Paul is speaking about Jesus. Paul specifically says whose name we are to call upon in 1 Corinthians: Jesus. Commentaries unanimously agree that we should call on the name of Jesus to be saved and the ancient manuscripts simply don’t support the NWT translation. Therefore, the NWT translation, “calls on the name of Jehovah,” for Romans 10:13 is without merit and should be discarded in favor of “calls on the name of the Lord,” applying the Old Testament quotation from Joel that involves Yahweh to Jesus Christ.

Paul isn’t the only apostle who quoted Joel, however. Peter did as well, during his Pentecostal speech, at Acts 2:21:

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (KJV)

`AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.' (NAS)

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' (NIV)

And everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”’ (NWT)

Here, too, the NWT translates “in the name of the Lord” as “in the name of Jehovah.” Here, too, the ancient manuscript evidence clearly and overwhelmingly support “in the name of the Lord.”

Albert Barnes states: