Must Christians Use the Name Jehovah?

Jehovah’s Witnesses say God’s personal name belongs in worship and in the Bible, and that translators who replace it with a title make a serious mistake. Their New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) prints Jehovah for the four Hebrew letters, and they say no one today can be sure of the ancient pronunciation. The name Acts 4:12 says we must be saved by, and the name Philippians 2 says is above every name, is the name of Jesus. Christians confess that Jesus is God.

Key Points

• Their Bible Teach chapter says God’s name is of the utmost importance, that Exodus 20:7 forbids worthless use and not respectful use, and that “Christians today do not hesitate to use God’s name respectfully.” (1)
• The same chapter says that replacing the name with titles is a serious mistake, because it makes God seem remote. (1)
• Appendix A4 of the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) says the Tetragrammaton appears nearly 7,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and that this translation renders it “Jehovah.” It says some feel the name was pronounced “Yahweh,” and that the Translation Committee understands it as “He Causes to Become,” while “we cannot be dogmatic about this meaning.” (2)
• The King James prints JEHOVAH in Exodus 6:3Exodus 6:3 · King James VersionAnd I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.Exodus 6:3 · King James VersionOpen source, Psalm 83:18Psalms 83:18 · King James VersionThat men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.Psalms 83:18 · King James VersionOpen source, Isaiah 12:2Isaiah 12:2 · King James VersionBehold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.Isaiah 12:2 · King James VersionOpen source, and Isaiah 26:4Isaiah 26:4 · King James VersionTrust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:Isaiah 26:4 · King James VersionOpen source, and LORD in the many other places the Hebrew name stands. What Is God’s Name? reads those verses.
• Their New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Acts 4:12Acts 4:12 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.Acts 4:12 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open source says there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must get saved. (3) The King James of Acts 4:12Acts 4:12 · King James VersionNeither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.Acts 4:12 · King James VersionOpen source says the same about the name, in a speech about Jesus.
• Their rendering of Philippians 2:9Philippians 2:9 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other namePhilippians 2:9 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)Open source says God gave him “the name that is above every other name,” and their study note says the Greek reads “every name.” (3)

What the Watch Tower Says About the Name

The Bible Teach chapter asks how important God’s name is, and it points to the model prayer, “let your name be sanctified,” and to Jesus’ prayer, “Father, glorify your name.” It says the name is of the utmost importance, and it asks why some translators left it out. (1)

The first reason it answers is pronunciation. Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels. “Therefore, no one today can say for sure exactly how people of Bible times pronounced YHWH.” The chapter compares Jesus: people use the form of his name common in their language even though the first-century pronunciation is not certain. Uncertainty, it says, is not a reason to drop God’s name.

The second reason is the Jewish tradition of not pronouncing the name. The chapter quotes Exodus 20:7, in their Bible, as forbidding taking up the name of Jehovah in a worthless way. Then it draws the line it wants:

This law forbids the misuse of God’s name. But does it forbid the respectful use of his name? Not at all.

It says the Hebrew writers used the name often, including in psalms sung aloud, and that “Christians today do not hesitate to use God’s name respectfully, as Jesus surely did.” The next paragraph states the charge against other translations: “In replacing God’s name with titles, Bible translators make a serious mistake.” The mistake, in their words, is that God seems remote, and that people kept in ignorance of the name Jehovah cannot become truly close to him. Who Is Jehovah? quotes their public page on the same name. What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe? is the wider confession: Jehovah alone is Almighty God, and Jesus is not.

Exodus 6:3Exodus 6:3 · King James VersionAnd I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.Exodus 6:3 · King James VersionOpen source in the King James says God was not known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by his name JEHOVAH. Psalm 83:18Psalms 83:18 · King James VersionThat men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.Psalms 83:18 · King James VersionOpen source says his name alone is JEHOVAH. What Is God’s Name? stays with those verses and with the titles Almighty, God, and Lord. This page is the further claim that a true worshipper must say Jehovah.

Pronunciation, and “He Causes to Become”

Appendix A4 of the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) says the divine name, four Hebrew consonants, “appears nearly 7,000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures,” and that “this translation renders those four letters, known as the Tetragrammaton, ‘Jehovah.’” It says the inspired writers use many titles, and that the Tetragrammaton is the only personal name they use to identify God. (2)

On pronunciation, the appendix says that by the time vowel points were added, many Jews thought it wrong to say the name aloud, so the pointed manuscripts “do not help in determining how the name was originally pronounced in Hebrew.” It says some feel the name was pronounced “Yahweh,” and others suggest other possibilities. It uses Jehovah because that form “has a long history in the English language,” from Tyndale’s “Iehouah” onward, and it quotes scholars who kept a familiar form for that reason.

On meaning, the appendix says the New World Bible Translation Committee understands the name to mean “He Causes to Become.” Then it limits itself: “Scholars hold varying views, so we cannot be dogmatic about this meaning.” What Is God’s Name? already refuses a vowel history this site has not fetched. The Watch Tower’s own sentence is the one to put beside that refusal. They print Jehovah. They do not claim the ancient vowels are certain, and they do not claim the English meaning is beyond dispute.

The Hebrew word page for the name is Yehovah. Does “Jehovah” Belong in the New Testament? is their choice to print Jehovah where the Greek manuscripts read Lord. Their study note at Acts 7:60, quoted on that page, says the Greek reads Lord. This page does not recount those insertions again.

The Name in Acts 4 and Philippians 2

Their New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible) of Acts 4:12, in a speech about Jesus, reads: “Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.” (3) The King James is Acts 4:12Acts 4:12 · King James VersionNeither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.Acts 4:12 · King James VersionOpen source: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” The name in the verse is the name just preached, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is not a command to pronounce the four Hebrew letters.

Philippians 2:9–11 in their New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible):

For this very reason, God exalted him to a superior position and kindly gave him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend—of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the ground—and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11 · New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible)

The King James of Philippians 2:9–11Philippians 2:9–11 · King James Version^2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ^2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; ^2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.Philippians 2:9–11 · King James VersionOpen source says God “hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name,” that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Their study note on “every other name” says a literal rendering of the Greek, “every name,” could give the impression that Jesus’ name is above God’s own name, and that the Greek word for “every” can in some contexts mean “every other.” They add “other” so the clause will not place Jesus above Jehovah. The note also says “the name” stands for the authority and position Jesus receives from his Father after the resurrection.

The text both editions share is that the exalted name is Jesus, and that the confession is “Jesus Christ is Lord,” to the glory of God the Father. Their addition of “other” is an interpretation they explain. Should Jesus Be Worshipped? is the bowing in this paragraph. Is Jesus God? is the Christian reading of “Lord” here: the name that saves, and the name at which every knee bends, is the name of the Son, who is God. A worshipper is not missing the divine name by confessing Jesus. The divine name, in these two passages, is given to him.

John 4:23–24John 4:23 · King James VersionBut the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.John 4:23 · King James VersionOpen source says the true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It does not say they must say Jehovah. The Watch Tower’s chapter says the respectful use of that name is required by the importance of the name and by the mistake of hiding it. Acts 4:12 and Philippians 2 locate the necessary name in Jesus.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Is YHWH Pronounced?

Their appendix says no one can be sure from the pointed manuscripts, that some say “Yahweh,” and that Jehovah is the English form with a long history. They also say they cannot be dogmatic about “He Causes to Become.” (2)

Do Christians Have to Say Jehovah?

Their Bible Teach chapter says leaving the name out is a serious mistake, and that Christians do not hesitate to use it respectfully. (1) Acts 4:12Acts 4:12 · King James VersionNeither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.Acts 4:12 · King James VersionOpen source says there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, and the name in that speech is Jesus.

Does the King James Use Jehovah?

It prints JEHOVAH in Exodus 6:3Exodus 6:3 · King James VersionAnd I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.Exodus 6:3 · King James VersionOpen source, Psalm 83:18Psalms 83:18 · King James VersionThat men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.Psalms 83:18 · King James VersionOpen source, Isaiah 12:2Isaiah 12:2 · King James VersionBehold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.Isaiah 12:2 · King James VersionOpen source, and Isaiah 26:4Isaiah 26:4 · King James VersionTrust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:Isaiah 26:4 · King James VersionOpen source, and in place names such as Jehovahjireh in Genesis 22:14Genesis 22:14 · King James VersionAnd Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.Genesis 22:14 · King James VersionOpen source. Elsewhere it prints LORD for the same Hebrew name. What Is God’s Name? reads both.

Keep Reading

What Is God’s Name?, Who Is Jehovah?, and Does “Jehovah” Belong in the New Testament? are the neighboring pages. Acts 4 and Philippians 2 are the chapters. Is Jesus God? is the confession.