Ideological and phonetic analysis of the Old Testament Christian and Jewish name of God יהוה

Bolbochan Denis Vladimirovich ORCID: 0009-0005-9724-9754 Master of Psychological Sciences 353460, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Gelendzhik, Gorky str., 31 denis.bolbochan@gmail.com

Introduction

The phonetic problem of the name of the Old Testament God, who communicated with Moses, Abraham and others, lies in the fact that in ancient written Hebrew there were no vocalic vowel designations, and the name of God in the surviving texts of the Torah is represented in the form of the tetragrammaton YHWH/YHWH), which, according to Jewish onomastics, is the most frequent word in the Tanakh (Holy Scripture), found 6828 times.

Instead of vowels, various systems of vocalizations were developed in Hebrew at different times (symbols located above/below consonant letters meaning vowel sounds) so that people could study the holy Scriptures. As a result, the "Tiberias" system of pronouncements for Hebrew writing became the most widespread, in addition to the Babylonian and Palestinian ones. The Masoretic tradition also includes a system of intonation signs teamim (טְעָמִים – "taste properties") developed in Tiberias (Tiberias) in the VI-VII centuries ^[1] to regulate the correct pronunciation and cantillation of the texts of the Tanakh.

The system of pronouncements, which appeared and became established in the VI–VII centuries A.D., was not used earlier when the tetragrammaton was transmitted orally, just as the preservation of the original and correct pronunciation of the tetragrammaton was complicated by the introduction of taboos by the Jewish Pharisees on the use of God's name, referring to the Commandment Exodus 20:7, Deut. 5:11 "Thou shalt not pronounce the name For God's sake, it's in vain." This prohibition on pronouncing the name of God began to be actively implemented after the Babylonian and destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem (Temple of Solomon) in 587/586 BC and the subsequent captivity of Judea. But not all Jews took this prohibition literally, for example, the Karaite community understood it differently (not to take the Name in vain, that is, to deceive and commit other sins). Therefore, it cannot be said that the Jews were completely unaware of their God's name and pronunciation.

However, this prohibition is quite ambiguous because there is a lot of evidence in the Tanakh and, accordingly, in the Christian Bible (the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments) that it is forbidden to pronounce or swear a lie / in vain / in vain, nevertheless, swearing by this name is not only not prohibited for Jews, but also strongly recommended.:

Deuteronomy 6:13 Fear your God, and serve Him [alone], and swear by his Name.

Jeremiah 12:16 And if they learn the ways of my people, that they may swear by my name, As they have taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will settle down among my people.

Isaiah 12:4 And you will say in that day, "Praise the LORD, call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the nations; remind them that his name is great.";

Leviticus 19:12 Do not swear by my name to lie.,

Modern biblical onomastics identifies two main variants of the phonetic reconstruction of the tetragrammaton: Jehovah/Jehovah, based on the Masoretic pronouncement, and Yahweh/Yahweh ^{[2, 3, pp. 792-793]}, more widespread in the academic environment, as well as, since the XVIII-XIX centuries in theological and theological circles ^{[4, 5]}. The first The variant is used in the modern translation of the Torah and is found in many translations of the Christian Bible and among various religious scholars and theologians at various times, the second variant is used in the scientific community, as a result of which it is increasingly used in secular culture and art. But before analyzing the phonetics and vocalization, let's first analyze the existence of this name in the Scriptures, in order to make it clearer what is the conflict between the absence of the name of God in modern translations of the Bible and the Tanakh.

For this reason, in Christian exegesis, the name Jehovah was mostly replaced by titles and epithets emphasizing divine greatness, such as "Lord" and a derivative of this title, "Lord", for example, the Greek version of κύριος (and the abbreviated abbreviation KS) In the Septuagint, Dominus in Latin is used in Catholicism, as well as Lord (English) or Herr (German). Perhaps this was a consequence of the Jewish taboo in early Christianity, or according to Christian apophatic theology, the name of God is the absolute limit of naming a fundamentally unnameable principle – Nomen innominabile ^[6].

Assigning a human title to God, such as "Lord", instead of using a personal name (the tetragrammaton), in Christian exegesis, simultaneously eliminated the differences between the names of God (for example, Jesus and Jehovah), but at the same time, negates the uniqueness of the divine essence, comparing it with human social status.

Historical and linguistic aspects of the Tetragrammaton

When translating the Torah and other texts of the Tanakh into Greek in the ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint, the tetragrammaton was initially preserved in Hebrew, but was later replaced by the title κύριος (Lord/The Lord), which became a characteristic feature of the translation strategy of early Christianity. The title κύριος was used to refer to pagan gods and the Roman emperor, to whom divine worship was attributed ^[7], which makes it a key element of the religious and social polemic of early Christianity. One of the reasons for the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was their refusal to recognize the cult of the emperor. This conflict was the basis for the opposition of the true Lord to other lords, i.e., to the deities of the pagan pantheon, including the deified figure of the emperor. In the early manuscripts of the Septuagint, the name of God, written in the form of the tetragrammaton, was preserved in the original Hebrew, as seen in papyrus Fuad 266, which is a unique onomastic evidence of the Hellenistic era. The manuscript dates back to the 1st-2nd century BC. As the second oldest manuscript of the Septuagint, Fuad papyrus 266 ^[8] confirms that in later manuscripts of the Greek Bible, the tetragrammaton was replaced by the titles κύριος (Lord) and θεός (God), reflecting the evolution of biblical onomastics and translation practices.

There is another problem with the widespread use of titles instead of the name of God, which give only a qualitative description of God, showing His position and abilities. For example, some of the titles applied to God are applied to another divine person, and the titles "god" and "father" are applied in the Bible to Lucifer (Satan), as seen in these verses.:

2 Kop. 4:4 For the unbelievers, whose minds the God of this world has blinded...

John 8:44 Your father is the devil... He is a liar and the father of lies.

John 12:31 Now is the time of judgment for the world, and the prince of this world will be cast out.

This is what distinguishes a personal name from a title. The tetragrammaton, as the personal name of God, performs the function of a unique onomastic identifier, unlike titles that serve to describe a social status or functional role.

In the Christian Bible, in particular in the synodal Orthodox translation, the name of God Jehovah is not often used, but it can still be found, for example:

Exodus 3:14 "God told Moses: I am who I am. And he said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, The Lord has sent me to you."

The phrase "I am who I am" – a rather free translation of the Hebrew expression אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה [Ehiye asher ehiye] ^[9]. Which literally means "I am who I am," and there is no name of God in the original Hebrew in this verse. The verse uses an ancient Hebrew idiom, implying a deliberate vagueness of the answer, and in this context, God hints to Moses that it is none of his business to know who He is.

In the Russian translation of the entire Old Testament in the Christian Bible, the name Jehovah was used in this place, thereby attempting to convey the meaning of the name, that is, "I am."

In the English translation, this verse is translated more literally – "And God said until Moses, I AM THAT I AM."

But already in Exodus 3:16 we receive an answer to the topic of the name of God. For this, it is necessary to consider the Hebrew, English, and Russian versions of this verse.

The King James Bible translates this name as Lord, and the word Elohim translates as God, that is, God (for clarity, the text is highlighted with different formatting, "Jehovah, God, Almighty" is a different name for God):

Synodal translation:

Exodus 3:16 Go, gather the elders of Israel, and say to them, "The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have visited you and seen what is happening to you in Egypt.

English translation:

Ex. 3-16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.

Hebrew:

טז לֵךְ וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֹתֵיכֶם נִרְאָה אֵלַי אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב לֵאמֹר פָּקֹד פָּקַדְתִּי אֶתְכֶם וְאֶת הֶעָשׂוּי לָכֶם בְּמִצְרָיִם:

Also in the King James Bible, Exodus 6:1-3, there is a translation of the tetragrammaton as a personal name, not a title.:

English translation:

Exodus 6:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.

Exodus 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:

Exodus 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name IEHOVAH was I not known to them.

In the original Hebrew, the name of God is used everywhere , and the word God is also present – אֱליֵי

Hebrew:

א וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָֹה אֶל משֶׁה עַתָּה תִרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה לְפַרְעֹה כִּי בְיָד חֲזָקָה יְשַׁלְּחֵם וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה יְגָרֲשֵׁם מֵאַרְצוֹ: ב וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִי אֶל משֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: ג וָאֵרָא אֶל אַבְרָהָם אֶל יִצְחָק וְאֶל יַעֲקֹב בְּאֵל שַׁדָּי וּשְׁמִי יְהֹוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם:

Literal translation from Hebrew:

Shemot 6:1 And the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. With a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."

Shemot 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him,: I am Jehovah.

Shemot 6:3 And I revealed myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as "El Shaddai," but my name "Yahweh" did not reveal itself to them.

Synodal translation:

Exodus 6:1 And the LORD said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; by the working of a strong hand he will let them go; by the working of a strong hand he will even drive them out of his land.

Exodus 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him,: I am the Lord.

Exodus 6:3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the name "God Almighty," but with my name "Lord," I did not reveal myself to them.;

In the Masoretic text of the Torah, the name of God is represented as the tetragrammaton YHWH, consisting of the consonants "yud", "hey", "vav" and "hey" with corresponding pronouncements, which is phonetically reconstructed as Jehovah, including that recorded in the English-language King James Bible of the 1611 edition.

In Exodus 6:3, the name of God is represented as El Shaddai, which translates as "God Almighty." According to the text, this is the name by which God appeared to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in contrast to the name of the first revealed to Moses and identified through the tetragrammaton.

It should also be mentioned that since in the Jewish tradition the name Jehovah is forbidden to pronounce, it is most often replaced by Adonai. But in fact, there is no such name of God in Scripture, this is again a desire to replace the true name of God with a certain "status" in relation to people such as lord. The name of God Adonai, widely used in the Jewish liturgical tradition, comes from the title "adoni" (my lord) and serves as a substitute for a personal name in accordance with the religious and legal norm of the pronouncing taboo in Judaism. This is confirmed by the example of Genesis 24:12, when Abraham's servant turned to God: "And he said, Lord, the God of my master [Adoni] Abraham! send her to meet me today and show mercy to my Lord [adoni] Abraham" In English: And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness until my master Abraham.

Hebrew: וַיֹּאמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם הַקְרֵה נָא לְפָנַי הַיּוֹם וַעֲשֵׂה חֶסֶד עִם אֲדֹנִי אַבְרָהָם:

In fact, modern Jews, as well as Christians, replace all mentions of the name of God Jehovah with the title of lord or the equivalent of Lord (Lord) in Russian, pronouncing His name as Adonai, but in the Bible the word [adoni] is not used anywhere without the name of God, and this title itself is applied only to people.

The word lord (adoni) is applied to God to enhance His status as "ADONAI Iehovah" – which can be translated as "Lord Iehovah" or "Lord Iehovah".

The Masoretic text, which takes its name from the term "masora" (tradition), is a standardized edition of the Tanakh created by the Masoretes to preserve phonetic accuracy and convey traditional pronunciation. It is not the same sacred proto-text that was written by the prophets, although it is very close to it.

In the Masoretic text of the Tanakh, there are 134 cases of replacing the tetragrammaton with the title Adonai, which is documented in marginal notes by scribes (Sofers). as an interpolation related to phonetic taboo. All these 134 places are indicated in the margins in the form of notes that Sofer ("scribe", Masoret) changed the original Hebrew text from to Adonai and in 8 places to Elohim. Some researchers, such as Christian David Ginsburg (Ginsburg C.D. ^[10]), the author of the Hebrew translation of the New Testament, wrote that in ancient manuscripts and early editions of the Torah, the name of God Jehovah was written in these 134 places; the same conclusion was reached by biblical theologian Ethelbert William Bullinger (Bullinger E.W. ^[11]) and many other researchers.

In this article, we will not delve into the evidentiary part of this fact, but based on the trend of translations of both Christian and Jewish texts, it is obvious that the name of God "Adonai" is derived from the word "Adoni", that is, Lord or Lord, and it is in this context that it is most often translated. Take Deuteronomy 10:17, for example.

Synodal translation:

17. For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, a great, mighty, and terrible God who does not look at faces or take gifts.

[Or it could be translated as "Lord over lords," based on the above verse Gen. 21:12, but this verse uses a synonym with a more significant title.]

English translation:

17. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

[English is not as flexible as Russian, so the tetragrammaton was written in capital letters LORD, Adonai was translated in its original meaning Lord using the capital first letter, and people's titles were capitalized lords.]

Literal translation from Hebrew:

17. For the LORD your God, He is God over all elohim, and Adonai over Adonai, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who does not respect persons and does not take bribes.

Hebrew:

יז כִּי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים הָאֵל הַגָּדֹל הַגִּבֹּר וְהַנּוֹרָא אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשָּׂא פָנִים וְלֹא יִקַּח שֹׁחַד:

This verse reveals the concept of a biblical nomination, where instead of the personal name of God, a wide range of addresses are used, reflecting His functions and status. The verse clearly shows why the Torah uses many addresses to God, specifically addresses, and not His names. And in each such address, the prophets conveyed a certain meaning and definition of God and His position, in turn, the translators, due to language restrictions or some ideological restrictions, all led to accepted titles that did not carry a special semantic load, this can be seen in the example of Adonai and the lord (lord), as well as in the example of translation. El Shaddai in Exodus 6:1-3, where the translation partially loses the meaning of the verse.

Pronunciation of the name

The analysis of the tetragrammaton in terms of the lexical structure and phonetic features of Hebrew makes it possible to reconstruct its possible pronunciation. There are 4 consonant letters in this word – Yod Yud + He, Hey + Vav, Vov + He, Hey, and if you do not use vocalizations, then we get YHWH or in Latin YHWH.

Let's analyze these letters with the available pronouncements.

בְ 1 (2 dots under the letter) - seam. Official transliteration: ə (IPA /ə/), short [e].

2 (dot above the letter) - holam male. Transliteration: o (IPA /o/), extended [o]. This sign is written slightly further than the left edge of the letter, that is, directly above the vav.

3 בָ(the t sign under the letter)– kamats-gadol or simply kamats. Transliteration: a (IPA /a/), extended [a]. Sometimes a vertical dash is placed to the left of this sign to distinguish it from kamats-katan.

What do we get if by direct summation:

1: The letter Y + the pronunciation E = YE, similar to the pronunciation in the English word yes, or rather, like the Old Russian letter ѣ (Yat).

2: The letter X/G + The pronunciation O = HO, can be pronounced with X and with G (like IPA /g/ and in the Ukrainian way with the fricative g IPA /ɣ/ which is closer to the sound of the Hebrew letter a)

3: Letter B + Vowel A = VA

4: The letter X/Y is unreadable

As a result, we get the generally accepted pronunciation and spelling of the Name of God as Yahova.

Russian Russian spelling "Ieho v ah" (according to the pre–reform Russian spelling - "Jehovah") was originally pronounced as "Egova", because the letter "I" at the beginning of words before vowels was used in the function of the current "y". This can be seen in the "Complete Church Slavonic Dictionary", published by Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko ^{[12, p. 234]}, in Fig. No. 1, in which he describes the name of God as "Jehovah" with the stress on the last letter, and not as many contemporaries believe that the stress in this pronunciation should be on the letter "o".

Figure No. 1. "Jehovah" in the "Complete Church Slavonic Dictionary" ^{[12, p. 234]}

A similar spelling and pronunciation, close to the original sound in Hebrew, is also found in Greek translations and philological studies by Orthodox clergymen, where the name of God was recorded as "IeχΩβά" with an emphasis on the last syllable. Given the phonetics of the Old Russian language and the presence of stress, it can be concluded that the word "Jehovah" is read in Russian, and given the modern spelling, it is as follows: "Egova", but there are discrepancies with one letter, or rather it is controversial, namely the letter "G" and in this letter lies the error as the stress and pronunciation of this name in Russian.

The Slavs as an ethnocultural community were formed in ancient times as a result of the integration of various tribal unions in Central and Eastern Europe, including the Proto-Slavs and the Wends. Gradually, the Proto-Slavic language took a dominant position, assimilating in its development elements of the grammatical structure and phonetic features of other language systems, in particular, Italian, which was used by the Veneds. Because of this, different Slavic peoples pronounce the letter "G" in different ways, on the one hand there is the pronunciation of IPA [g], as sonorous [g], on the other hand there is a softened IPA [ɣ] on exhalation, turning into sonorous [he], so the letter "g" is pronounced in the south of Russia and in Ukraine, and this pronunciation is a phenomenon of Italian origin.

Given the peculiarities of the transmission of the tetragrammaton in Latin transliteration (Jehovah/Jehovah), Greek graphics (χ[h]) and its phonetic composition in Hebrew, the most accurate Russian pronunciation corresponds to a soft sound [g], in the southern Russian or Ukrainian way, or muted [x], which is consistent with the principles of lexical phonology..

The second is most likely correct, so the most phonetically correct spelling of God's name in Russian will be "Yehova", which does not contradict Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or English. Russian Russian used the letter "G" instead of "X" in order to give more emphasis, and so that the reader would not swallow the "x" and read "Yeova" in that order, but in modern Russian this fear is no longer relevant.

The sound represented by the letter "Vav" in Hebrew is a semi-consonant connecting the elements of the consonant [v] and the vocal glide [o] or [u], which corresponds to the concept of a semivocal sound in phonetic theory. It is a cross between [v] and the softening sounds [o] or [y] and is somewhat similar to the pronunciation of the words water [ˈwɔːtər] or woman [ˈwʊmən] in English. In fact, there is no independent "v" sound, for this sound in English there is the letter "v", in turn, "w" is combined with a vowel and read as a single sound, this is how "Vav" should be read./WWII" in Hebrew.

By the way, the generally accepted spelling in modern English is also erroneous, because it was taken from the Latin version of Jehova, which eventually gave the spelling of Jehovah the first sound instead of the Latin "Ie", it turned out to be "Ji" (the same thing happened with Jesus, who is pronounced as [Jesus] with a soft "j"). but in modern English, the closest–sounding spelling should be through "y" and the letter "v" can be replaced with w for a softer pronunciation of "b" and with more emphasis on the last syllable, as in Hebrew - "Yehowah", while symbolically getting all the Latin letters YHWH from the tetragrammaton.

Jehovah or Yahweh

As mentioned at the beginning, there are two accepted ways of spelling and voicing the name of God, like Iehovah/Yehova and Yahweh/Yahweh. In the academic environment, preference is given to the variant "Yahweh" ^[13], which is confirmed by the references of ancient Greek authors such as Diodorus Siculus and Epiphanius of Cyprus, who in their texts provide reconstructions of pronouncements, including "Yao", "Yahweh" and "Java", reflecting onomastic and hermeneutic traditions. Diodorus Siculus (90-30 BC) writes: "But among the Jews, the God of Moses, called Yao (Ἰαὼ)" ^[14]. The meaning of this name, as well as the meanings of the other names of God, was explained in the IV century by Epiphanius of Cyprus in the book "Panarion" ^[15]: "Yave (Ἰαβέ) is the One Who was and is, and always Is."

In turn, in the religious environment, one of the first texts of the Bible in which the name appears in the form of Jehovah was the Geneva Bible (1560) ^[16], but before that moment there were earlier evidences of writing this name in Latin in the form of Jehova.

For example, the work "Pugio Fidei" from 1270 (by Raymund Martin) ^[17]. In the presented passage, Raymund Martin examines the issue of replacing the name of God with Adonai and its Latin counterpart Dominus.

There is a linguistic hypothesis according to which the Masoretic sophists imposed pronouncements from the title אֲדֹנָי (Adonai) on the consonants of the tetragrammaton, resulting in the phonetic form Iehowah, which became the basis for Latin transliteration. There are two possible inconsistencies with this hypothesis. First of all, there is no identity even in Latin letters in the pronouncements, if this were done, then we would get just the same Yahova./The widow. Secondly, it is obvious that the Jewish scribes used Hebrew in such a theoretical combination of names. And in Hebrew, we get the following construction: Adonai (ad-o-noy') and Yehowa ’ye-ho-vaw'). That is, to get the first letter A, the first consonant had to be pronounced kamats בָ or patakh בַ or hataf-patakh חֲ - all this gives the sound of a (IPA /a/) long [a] / short [a] / ultra-short [a]. The word Adonai uses the latter (hataf-patah) and, by analogy, the same pronunciation should be used in the pronunciation of Yahweh or Yahweh, since there are no letters "I", "E", "Yu" in Hebrew. There are analogues in the form of a combination of the consonant letter "yod" (y/y) and the subsequent pronouncement: Ya, Ye, Yu, etc. It turns out that religious Jews of the 5th and 7th centuries got confused in their own system of pronouncements and could not write a similar pronouncement for Jehovah identical to Adonai?

Most likely, ancient Greek authors and representatives of the Byzantine theological tradition received a distorted transcription of the tetragrammaton from unreliable sources, which is explained by the pronouncing taboo in Judaism and the prohibition on mentioning the name in vain or in vain. It becomes obvious that those Jews who knew the pronunciation of this name simply did not speak, or could have distorted it on purpose so that the Gentiles would not desecrate this holy name. The same applies to other ethnic groups, the ancient scrolls and manuscripts of which were found by archaeologists and dated to the I-VII centuries AD. For example, let's analyze a manuscript in the Slavic language of the 9th century.

In the 9th century, the Byzantine monk George compiled a "chronograph" or "time book", setting out the world history from the "creation of the world" to 842. In the Greek title, he is referred to as "the sinner" (Greek: ἁμαρτωλός), therefore the work is usually called "The Chronicle of George Amartol" or "The Chronicle of George Mnich" in Old Slavonic ^[18]. The Chronicle was translated into Church Slavonic, and the text existed in two editions, demonstrating different approaches to adapting the Byzantine historiographical tradition. In addition to the Russian (or Bulgarian) translation of the Chronicle (see Fig. No. 2) the Serbian translation is also known (see Fig. 3).

The story "Alexandria" ^[19], which played a significant role in medieval historiography, describes Alexander the Great's meeting with the Jewish high priest, where the tetragrammaton is mentioned as the ineffable name of God. After a detailed description of the priest's robes, it says:

"On his head, he wore a gold-woven hood, which is called "mitre" and "kidar". And from him there was a golden plate on the crown of his head, on which the name of God was depicted in sacred letters, as He Himself revealed this name of God to Moses, saying: "I am who I Am" (Exodus 3.14). The Jews call it "ineffable" because they are forbidden to put it on their tongue. It is written in four letters, therefore it is called "four-letter". And the Samaritans call him "jabe," while the Jews call him "aiyah."

Figure No. 2. George Amartola's temporary assistant. Foundation 173.I. The fundamental collection of the library of the Moscow State University. Sheet 28.

Figure No. 3. Transcription of the tetragrammaton in Slavic religious and secular literature of the X-XVI centuries.

Representatives of the ancient Greek and Christian traditions, including writers, historians, and theologians, transcribed the tetragrammaton YHWH based on their own onomastic research and cultural interpretations, which led to a variety of phonetic reconstructions of the consonants of the Hebrew name. (Figure 3 shows some variants in Old Slavonic). Historical data indicate the preferred use of the letter "I" at the beginning of the tetragrammaton, however, such reconstructions should be considered in the context of an onomastic hypothesis that does not have sufficient verification from a linguistic point of view. This only proves that the Slavic peoples: Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Russians, etc. understood and read the tetragrammaton through the first letter "I", no more, no less, and themselves, most often, emphasized the fact that the Jews did not pronounce this name.

If you omit the accepted pronouncements and simply pronounce the consonants, relying on other Jewish names, for example, with the first letter "yod" in the name (of which there are many):/Jeremiah, Yesaiah/Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joshua– Joshua, Yehuda, Judah. In the linguistic tradition, the pronunciation of the letter "Yod" at the beginning of words is mainly rendered as "Ye" or "Yi", with the exception of names such as Yakov, where the pronunciation "Ya" is fixed, which reflects the peculiarities of Jewish morphology.

To prove the validity of pronouncing "Ya" instead of "Ye", we can cite the well-known word "Hallelujah", which is used in worship as a call to praise God (with reference to the name of the Lord). And interestingly, this word came to Christianity from Judaism, without translation, which also contributes to the loss of meaning for people who are not familiar with Hebrew. An example of the intertextual use of God's name is the expression "Hallelujah" mentioned in Revelation 19:1-6, where it is a liturgical tracing paper from the Hebrew, literally translated as "praise." The generally accepted pronunciation of the letter "Yod" is represented here with "kamats", which, according to all the rules of Hebrew, gives the pronunciation of Yaa and then the letter "He". And this can be taken as a hypothesis for why ancient Greek religious scholars used the pronouncing of the name of God through "Ya" as a basis. In this representation, only half of the tetragrammaton is indicated, which is most likely an abbreviated form, for consonance in worship and a reference to the name of God, instead of writing it directly.

One of the controversial issues remains the use of the word "o" in the tetragrammaton, as, for example, in the writing of the name of God Ἰαὼ (Yao) by the ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, which illustrates the peculiarities of the transmission of Semitic names in the Greco-Roman Onomastic tradition. There is also even more ancient evidence of the spelling of the name in this way, such as the translation of the Bible into ancient Greek in the Dead Sea Scrolls dating back to the III-I century BC (Leon Levy Electronic Library of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. URL: https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il )

Figure No. 4. The Dead Sea Scroll "4Q120 – 4Q papLXXLevb". Leviticus 4:27 ^[20]

The table below shows the reconstruction of this papyrus (see Fig. No. 4) and the translation:

The tetragrammaton was mentioned and interpreted by many ancient Greek historians and Christian theologians, including Irenaeus of Lyon (II century), Origen (III century), Hieronymus of Stridon (IV century) and Theodoret of Cyrus (V century). The phonetic reconstruction of "Yave" was widespread in both the Greek and Slavic exegetical traditions (see Fig.

To understand the reasons for the ancient Greeks' use of the word "o" in the transmission of the tetragrammaton, it is useful to consider the lexical and phonetic features of the name of Jesus Christ, which in Hebrew sounds like Yeshua and has a complex historical and philological development. This name of God has undergone many collisions of various translations and is quite different in pronunciation from the Hebrew version.

The name Ἰησοῦς (Yesous), known in Russian as "Jesus" (eng. Jesus, etc.-Russian. Isѹc, art.-slav. Jesus), is the Greek transcription of the Hebrew name Yeshua, and is a classic example of cultural onomastic adaptation. "Yesous" is how the name Ἰησοῦς or the familiar "Jesus" sounds in Greek. Isѹc, art.-slav. Jesus). In Russian, this name migrated to us from Greek, and almost completely lost its original sound, having changed beyond recognition for Jews. In Hebrew, the name Yeshua is a truncated form of the name Yeshua, which illustrates the process of shortening theophoric names in Jewish onomastics to facilitate their use in everyday speech. This name has been known and used throughout the history of the Jewish people, and it is also found in the Tanakh.

The name Yehoshua was given mainly in memory of the disciple of Moses and the conqueror of the Land of Israel, Yehoshua bin Nun (XV–XIV centuries BC) (bin Nun – translated as the son of Nun), whom the Synodal translation of the Bible into Russian also calls Jesus – Joshua. The original name (Yehoshua) is of theophoric origin, combining the tetragrammaton (Jehova) with the root (salvation), which gives the name the meaning "Jehovah saves" or "Jehovah's help." In turn, this name appeared long before the appearance of Jesus Christ.:

Synodal translation:

Numbers 13:17 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hosea, the son of Nun, Joshua.

Direct translation from Hebrew:

Bemidbar 13:16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moshe named Hoshea (salvation), the son of Nun– Yehoshua.

Hebrew

טז אֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח משֶׁה לָתוּר אֶת הָאָרֶץ וַיִּקְרָא משֶׁה לְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ:

If we remove the pronouncements from the Hebrew version, then in this name we get 3 main letters from the four tetragrammaton YHW (the last H is not readable in any languages). And if you voice the name of Joshua/Yeshua is dry, based on the ancient manuscripts of ancient Greek writers, it should begin with "Yahweh", however, since the Jews did not have a ban on pronouncing this name, everyone read and pronounced it perfectly at all times and the difference was only in different translations from one language to another. For this reason, Joshua was transformed into Jesus in Russian, and, for example, in English, through Latin, it turned out even more interesting: Joshua is spelled Joshua (Latin Iosue), and Jesus Christ is Jesus (Latin Iesus).

Synodal translation:

Exodus 17:9. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us men, and go and fight with the Amalekites; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, and the rod of God will be in my hand."

10. And Joshua did as Moses had told him, and went to fight against the Amalekites; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Direct translation from Hebrew:

Shemot 17:9. And Moses said to Joshua: "Choose our husbands and go fight Amalake. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand."

10. And Joshua did as Moses had told him about the battle with Amalek. And Moshe, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Hebrew

ט וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּחַר לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם בַּעֲמָלֵק מָחָר אָנֹכִי נִצָּב עַל רֹאשׁ הַגִּבְעָה וּמַטֵּה הָאֱלֹהִים בְּיָדִי: י וַיַּעַשׂ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמַר לוֹ משֶׁה לְהִלָּחֵם בַּעֲמָלֵק וּמשֶׁה אַהֲרֹן וְחוּר עָלוּ רֹאשׁ הַגִּבְעָה:

Figure No. 5. The Sassoon Codex of the 9th–10th centuries, the Book of Yehoshua (Jesus) Naveen. — Tel Aviv: ANU Museum of the Jewish People, 2023.

In the Latin Vulgate [21], based on translations by St. Jerome of Stridon (380-420), the name of the monastery is represented as [yəhôšu'a], which is confirmed by data from the Orthodox Encyclopedia and reflects the lexico-phonetic adaptation of Hebrew names in the Christian tradition.

The Qumran manuscripts, containing fragments of Exodus 17:9, are one of the earliest textual evidence of the name (Yehoshua), preserved with minor graphical deviations. There are inaccuracies and illegible letters in them, in particular, the letter "Vav" is confused, which stands after "Sin", and not vice versa, as it should be (see Fig. № 6).

Figure No. 6. Qumran manuscripts, Exodus 17:9 ^[22].

The name "Judah", like "Yehoshua", includes the first three letters of the tetragrammaton, which emphasizes its theophoric character and reflects the features of Hebrew onomastics. Yehuda [yəhûḏah] - –the praise of Jehovah." Similarly, in this name we get "Yeh" instead of "Yah", and not Yah. Since this name has an additional vowel "Dalet", the letter "Vav" was transformed into the sound [y], and at the end of the name, the letter "Het" was also transformed into [ah].

An analysis of the phonetics of Hebrew names such as Yeshua and Yehuda, which are free from pronunciation taboos, suggests that the variant "Yehova" more closely corresponds to the Jewish phonological tradition than "Yahweh."

It should also be noted that in Orthodox Christianity, unlike Judaism, the one God is divided into 3 entities: God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit, who in turn make up the Christian trinity and are considered to be essentially one God.

For example, consider a quote from the Bible John 14:4-12

4. And where I'm going, you know, and you know the way.

5. Thomas said to him, "Lord! We don't know where you're going, and how can we know the way?

6. Jesus said to him: I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

7. If you had known Me, you would have known my Father. And from now on you know Him and have seen Him.

8. Philip said to him, "Lord! Show us the Father, and that's enough for us.

9. Jesus said to him, "How long have I been with you, and you don't know me, Philip?" Whoever saw Me saw the Father; how do you say, show us the Father?

10. Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works.

11. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; and if not so, then believe Me in the very works.

12. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do, he also will do, and greater than these will he do, because I go to my Father.

In Christian theology, in the triadic view of God, there is a connection between the names of God the Father (Yehova) and God the Son (Yehoshua) It becomes obvious both at the lexical level and in the semantic aspect, where the Son's name integrates the Father's name, emphasizing his theophoric origin.

But there is also a judgment, based on ancient biblical texts, about the later introduction of the concept of the Trinity in Christian ontology, based on the doctrines adopted at the first Christian Ecumenical Councils ^[23], which, according to many researchers, contradicts the texts of the Bible ^[24]. However, regardless of the essence of the personality of Jesus Christ, whether it is the Son of God or the Messiah of God, or whether it is an identical person with the Old Testament God, it is not so important in this study, but the connection between these two Divine personalities is obvious.

The adaptation of the names of characters in the Christian Bible can be justified within the framework of linguistic transformation, however, the adaptation of theonyms such as Yechowa and Yechoshua raises questions from the point of view of onomastic identity and religious authenticity.

For centuries, the name of God Jesus Christ has been holy and saving for all Christians, which is why, of course, there is no need to change the established Greek-Latin adaptation of the name Joshua, but it is important to know the root and origin of this name, despite any ideological and linguistic transformations.

Conclusions

In all major Christian denominations and in Judaism, at various times it was customary to conceal the personal name of the Jewish God (tetragrammaton), replacing it with titles such as Lord/The Lord/Adonai. This decision led to the gradual oblivion or distortion of the original pronunciation, which caused a lot of discussion among theologians, historians and philologists. Over the centuries, hypotheses have been put forward about the correct phonetic reconstruction of the tetragrammaton, including the variant "Yahweh", which has become dominant in the scientific community based on manuscripts and scrolls, mainly in Greek. At the same time, the Jewish Masoretic pronouncements suggesting the "Yehova" variant are often disputed, due to their distortion from the point of view of a scientific approach.

This article focuses on facts based on modern archaeological and historical data that allow an objective assessment of the significance of the name in the Bible. This helps not only to avoid losing the meaning of verses due to the substitution of God's personal name for titles, but also to confirm the authenticity of the Masoretic pronouncement so that the Christian world can also apply the original pronunciation of this name. However, the claim that "Yahweh" is the most correct reading remains controversial, as it is based on the interpretations of Christian religious scholars of antiquity and the Middle Ages, without due regard for Hebrew and Judaism, which contradicts the historical roots associated with the life and work of Jesus Christ in Judea, when the generally accepted languages of the region were Hebrew (Hebrew) and Aramaic is very close to it. At the same time, it is important to take into account that with all the lexical and phonetic transformation, the names are they retain an internal semantic connection. This obvious similarity reflects the deep theological connection between the Old Testament, the Jewish God, and the son of God in Christianity. Understanding this relationship allows for a more complete assessment of the cultural and religious context.

In Christianity, there is a generally accepted version of Rus. "Yehova" or Yeh ova (with a guttural G), in English "Yehowah", which, in the author's opinion, is more correct, since it originates from Hebrew and Judaism, then making confusion with different pronunciation of the name of God only leads to the oblivion of this name and this fact is very interesting From a historical point of view, why have they been trying to remove/forget/distort the name of God for centuries? But this is another issue that requires a separate study.

Moreover, due to this kind of oblivion and concealment of this name, various sects and denominations are formed in the religious world, speculating on the depth of knowledge of Scripture, proving their uniqueness and chosenness, thereby discrediting the originally correct name of God, with phonetic distortions of "Jehovah", forcing modern philosophers and theologians to refute the authoritarian totalitarian regimes of these sects. including challenging the basis of their teachings, the knowledge of the name of God, and persistently offering their own version – "Yahweh."

The scientific community should not allow the pronunciation of the tetragrammaton to be distorted under the pretext of protecting society from totalitarian sects, as this undermines the objectivity of textual analysis and increases speculation around the sacred name of the God of Judaism and Christianity.