The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

THE TETRAGRAMMATON

and the
CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES

A comprehensive study of the

divine name (mrr) in the original writings of

the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament).

First Edition, 1996

Second Edition 1998

Released for internet, 2000

"In turn he that loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I will love him and
will plainly show myself to him."

John 14:21

Jesus, I want to be loved by the Father ... I want to
be loved by you, too.
And Jesus, I want you to show me who you really are.
But Jesus, most of all, I want to really love you!

This book is not Copyrighted.

It is the desire of both the author and original publisher
that this book be widely copied and reproduced.

Copyright notice for quoted materials. Material which is quoted from other
sources belongs solely to the copyright owner of that work. The author of this
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by any publisher from all liability resulting from reproduction of quoted
material in any form.

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For more information including free downloadable and large-print books visit:

www.tetragrammaton.org

All general Scripture quotations in this book are from either the

New World Translation or the

Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

Both are published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

of New York.

In certain instances which are identified as such,

quotations are made from either the Hebrew or English portions of

Hebrew versions. Unless otherwise identified, the Hebrew

version used is I 18 , Greek Scriptures in Hebrew.

CONTENTS

Overview: The Subject of this Book
PROLOGUE

1
viii

SECTION 1: The Tetragrammaton, inspiration, and a study of the Christian Greek
Scriptures.

Chapter 1: What is the Tetragrammaton? 3

Chapter 2: Inspiration and the Christian Scriptures 20

Chapter 3: A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 1) 29

Chapter 4: A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 2) 44

SECTION 2: Hebrew manuscripts and their place in the inspired Christian Greek
Scriptures.

Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew

The Textual Source of Hebrew Versions

The Limit of Inspiration

57
72
83

SECTION 3: Greek manuscripts and other historical and textual considerations which
bear on the Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Chapter 8: The Greek Text in the First Century 95

Chapter 9: Manuscript Publication Dates 105

Chapter 10: Removal of the Tetragrammaton from Early Greek Manuscripts 119

Chapter 11: The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary 137

SECTION 4: A final summary and application concerning the evidence for the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15

EPILOGUE

LORD, Jehovah, and Inspiration
But if not Heresy, Then What?
The Indistinct Meaning of K yrios
What K yrios Means to Me

SECTION 5: Appendices

Appendix A: "J" Reference Sources

Appendix B: Comparison of 237 Jehovah References

Appendix C: K yrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures

Appendix D: The George Howard Study

Appendix E: The Greek Text of the Hebrew Versions

Appendix F: Facsimiles of Early Greek Manuscripts

Appendix G: J 20 — mil" in the Greek Concordance

157
164
181
193

200

205
217
225
236
245
252
258

Appendix H: A Second Hebrew Version

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla

Appendix K: Nomina Sacra

Appendix L: The Magdalen Papyrus

Appendix M: Jehovah in Missionary Translations

Appendix N: Correspondence with the Society

Appendix O: A Reply to Greg Stafford

262
263
276
297
302
304
306
313

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
GLOSSARY

SCRIPTURE INDEX
SUBJECT INDEX

317

327
333
336

Note regarding index page numbers. In order to preserve the
usefulness of the index references from the original book format,
page number flags have been inserted into the text. For example,
any index reference to page 3 will be found in the text between page
number flags ••3»» and ••4»». The forward material is identified
with Roman numeral page number flags as ••iv»», ••v»», etc. In
some instances, a figure, table or other portion of text may be moved
out of sequence in order to fit the page format. The out of sequence
material will show the page number in parenthesis, for example,
(• *33* •). The index page numbers never refer to the document page
numbers located on the upper right- or left-hand corner of the
header.

A Comment Regarding Terminology. This book was primarily written for Jehovah's

Witness readers. Consequently, terminology common to Watch Tower publications is

used rather than terminology more familiar to the average reader of religious

materials. Specifically, the term Christian Greek Scriptures (or Christian Scriptures)

is used rather than New Testament, and the term Hebrew Scriptures replaces the more

familiar Old Testament. The divine name Jehovah is used rather than the more
universally familiar Yahweh. Inspired Christian writers is the term used to identify

the New Testament writers. In a more technical area, the Greek word for Lord is

transliterated as Kyrios following the spelling preference of the Watch Tower Society

rather than the common transliteration Kurios.

Reference material was limited to those publications familiar to the average Witness

reader. For this reason, there are few references to books or research topics published

by other than the Watch Tower Society.

Overview: THE SUBJECT OF THIS BOOK

T

his book ••[•• examines the use of the Tetragrammaton by the inspired writers of the Christian
Greek Scriptures. But why study the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Scriptures now? Hasn't
the presence of the Tetragrammaton already been established?

Identifying growth in biblical knowledge

Is biblical knowledge static, remaining the same today as it was a thousand years ago? Or does
biblical knowledge grow with each successive generation, deriving benefit from discoveries made in its
own time? Without doubt, biblical knowledge grows.

Witnesses worldwide strongly defend the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. The inspired
Christian Greek Scriptures were complete when John finished writing in 98 C.E. 1 Thus, Scripture itself
does not change. On the other hand, as more is learned of biblical history, culture, and ancient
manuscripts, our knowledge of Scripture grows.

The New World Bible Translation Committee understood that biblical knowledge grows when i t
searched for evidence of God's name (mil") in Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts between 1947 and
1949. Again today, with an ever increasing availability of biblical information, we must re-examine
the same question of the Tetragrammaton's presence in the Christian Scriptures.

This book explores the fascinating world of ancient second and third century documents, though i t
was written for the reader who does not have specialized training in Hebrew or Greek languages.
However, it does not discuss the Tetragrammaton from the perspective of theology. This is a study of
the ancient Greek manuscripts themselves.

Contemporary trends in manuscript research

Even the experienced Bible student is often surprised by the contemporary advances made in the
study of ancient Bible manuscripts.

An example of this developing new light is evident in recent publications. The first Greek text used
by the International Bible Students Association was the Emphatic Diaglott. In the foreword of the
1942 edition, the translator (Benjamin Wilson) credits the King James Version of 1611 with only eight
Greek manuscript sources from the tenth century and later (p. 6, 1942 edition). In contrast, Wilson lists
••ii»» the known Greek manuscripts of his day (the 1860's) as "nearly 700" (the Emphatic Diaglott
p. 6, 1942 edition). By the publication date of the 1983 edition of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and
Beneficial," the editors state, "...there are more than 4,600 manuscripts in the original Greek" (p. 315).
This number grew to "...over 5,000 manuscripts" 2 by the time of the 1990 edition of the same book
(p. 316).

How can ancient manuscripts "come to light" throughout the 20th century? Two examples illustrate
the process.

The first example began in 1947. A Bedouin shepherd threw a rock into the narrow opening of a
cave above the Dead Sea and heard a pottery jar break. The jars of manuscripts he subsequently found
are a part of the collection now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. (A total of 11 caves containing
manuscript material were eventually discovered. See the photo of these caves on page 322 of Insight on
the Scriptures, Volume 1.)

Today, there are 225 Dead Sea Scroll documents containing either Hebrew Scriptures or
commentaries on Bible books. In the 1950's, initial translations of the Dead Sea Hebrew Scripture
documents were published. (For an example of the material which has been published since the late
1950's, see the discussion under the heading, "Papyrus manuscripts," in Insight on the Scriptures,
Volume 2, pages 315-16.)

1 Scripture writing dates are not precisely known. In order to establish a consensus throughout this book, we will
use the writing dates given in the table "Christian Greek Scriptures (C.E.)," Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1, p. 310.

2 Other publications including Reasoning from the Scriptures [1989, p. 64] and The Bible — God's Word or Man's?
[1989, p. 59] also give the number as 5,000.

ii The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

A second example comes from manuscripts which contribute to our understanding of the
Tetragrammaton's use in early copies of the Septuagint. In spite of the Watch Tower Society's
insistence to the contrary, many questioned the claim that the Tetragrammaton was used in early
copies of the Septuagint. Today, however, we know that the Watch Tower Society was correct.
Important finds in a Cairo synagogue confirmed the place of mil" in both the pre-Christian Septuagint
and Origen's Hexapla. In 1959, P.E. Kahle published The Cairo Geneza describing the use of the
Tetragrammaton in Jewish copies of the Septuagint. In 1958, Giovanni Mercati's study of the
Tetragrammaton in a Hexapla copy from the same synagogue was published. Then, beginning in 1944
with an article by W. G. Waddell and continuing into the 1970's, other scholars such as Kahle, J. A.
Emerton, Sidney Jellicoe, and Bruce Metzger wrote articles in theological journals and published books
verifying the existence of the Tetragrammaton in Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. 3

• • iii • • Thus, 2,000-year-old manuscripts which contribute new information to our understanding of
Jehovah's Scriptures have been published since the release of the Christian Greek Scriptures in 1950.

We live in an exciting age of Bible manuscript study. In the past 150 years, many ancient Bible
manuscripts have been discovered. Just as important, however, has been the scholarly work of
publishing these manuscripts. In the end, the two examples of the discovery of new manuscripts and
the publication of existing material converge into the single result of a more accurate English Bible as
seen in the following example.

Aleph (X ), one of two primary Greek manuscripts on which the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's
Greek text is based, was discovered in 1859. (This is recent when we realize that the manuscript itself
was copied in the fourth century.) Because of the problems encountered in obtaining the manuscript
from its original owners, 4 it was not until 1911 that the first photographic reproductions were made
available to biblical scholars. It was even later (1933 to 1938) that the manuscript was finally housed
in the British Museum in England and carefully studied. Westcott and Hort published their Greek text
in 1881 from a hand-copied reproduction of the manuscript. Thus, there was a substantial time interval
between the discovery of this fourth century manuscript and the time when it could make a significant
contribution to biblical understanding.

Emerging manuscript evidence today

Though many ancient manuscripts have come to light in the last 150 years, the discovery of new
manuscript material will diminish with time. Will another cave be found with ancient manuscripts
comparable to those from the environs of the Dead Sea? Probably not. How then can the number of
Greek Scripture manuscripts increase from "nearly 700" in the 1890's to "more than 4,600" by 1983, and
finally to "over 5,000" 5 in 1990? The answer is not measured by new documents ••iv»» discovered in
heretofore unknown caves or monasteries. For the most part, the disclosure of new manuscripts
represents the scholarly work of publishing previously unknown ancient documents allowing them to
become usable resources for Bible translators.

A scroll with Greek writing may have value as a curiosity piece, but it has little value as a textual
resource. Before such a manuscript can make a contribution to Greek Scripture translation, its age, its
place of origin, its relationship to other manuscripts of its day, and many other factors must be
determined. In short, it will be subjected to an intense study for evidences of its authenticity. As we
have seen in the previous examples, there is often a considerable time interval between the discovery
of the actual manuscript and its placement within the body of texts used for Bible translation. We will
see in a later chapter that 18 ancient papyrus manuscripts have been published since 1950. Thus, the

3 These sources are identified in the Bibliography.

4 The manuscript was discovered in the monastery library of a religious order on Mount Sinai. The original edition
contained both the complete Septuagint and Christian Scriptures. The monastics had actually used a substantial
number of sheets from the Septuagint Hebrew Scripture portion to start fires! However, when they realized its
value, they were reluctant to release it until a sizable price was paid. See Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1 , p. 323
for photos of both the manuscript and St. Catharine's Monastery. Also see the photo of the manuscript in Insight on
the Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 31 7.

5 These numbers are used merely for the sake of illustration. Full documentation of the actual manuscripts is
found in the work of Kurt and Barbara Aland as cited in The Bible — God's Word or Man's?, p. 59.

Overview: The Subject of This Book Hi

cited references to the growth of available manuscripts encompass the entire process so that by 1990
over 5,000 Greek Scripture manuscripts had been discovered and published.

The primary focus of this book is not new manuscript discoveries since 1950, though the chapters
reporting the papyri published since 1950, new information concerning the Tetragrammaton, and the
work of George Howard 6 certainly constitute new manuscript information. Nonetheless, the study of
biblical manuscripts is a dynamic process. Material which was unobtainable 50 years ago is available
to a Bible scholar or translator today. Just as the New World Bible Translation Committee evaluated
the known biblical manuscripts of its day, so again, we must re-evaluate the entire body of
contemporary textual and historical evidence. 7

The work of the New World Bible Translation Committee

• •v»» In order to maintain the highest standards of Bible translation integrity, the translation
itself must be continually evaluated against the most current manuscript information. In October, 1946,
Watch Tower Society president Nathan H. Knorr proposed that the Society produce a translation of
the Christian Greek Scriptures. The work began in December, 1947. The Christian Greek Scripture
portion of the New World Translation was presented to a joint meeting of the boards of directors of the
Society's New York and Pennsylvania corporations on September 3, 1949. It was released for general use
in a dramatic moment on August 2, 1950 before an assembly of 82,075 of Jehovah's Witnesses in New
York's Yankee Stadium.

The Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation was deemed necessary because of
emerging biblical scholarship. Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom (pages 608-609)
says,

Furthermore, older and more reliable Bible manuscripts were becoming available. The Greek
language of the first century was becoming more clearly understood as a result of archaeological
discoveries. Also, the languages into which translations are made undergo changes over the years.

Jehovah's Witnesses wanted a translation that embodied the benefits of the latest scholarship,
one that was not colored by the creeds and traditions of Christendom, a literal translation that
faithfully presented what is in the original writings and so could provide the basis for continued
growth in knowledge of divine truth, a translation that would be clear and understandable to
modern-day readers. The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, released in
1950, filled that need.

Our task today

Since 1950, however, many advances have been made in the study of the Greek text. Just as it was
necessary to evaluate Bible translations of that day in the light of emerging textual scholarship, so
again today, the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation must be re-evaluated using
the textual, historical, and scholarly understanding which has become available in the past 45 years.

We must take seriously a statement of the writers of Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's
Kingdom found on pages 146-148. Though the topic of discussion is prophesy, their comments can
equally be applied to the new light emerging from ancient Greek manuscript discoveries and research:
• •vi»» As reflected in their modern-day history, the experience of Jehovah's Witnesses has

6 George Howard's work with the Shem-Tob Matthew Gospel in Hebrew, which is reported in Chapter 5, would
certainly describe the scholarly work dealing with manuscript identification. If it is finally substantiated, the result
of Howard's identification is almost as significant as if a new manuscript had been discovered.

7 The distinction between a new understanding from existing textual evidence and the discovery of new
manuscripts may be more easily illustrated than explained. The Watch Tower Society has long recognized that
biblical understanding is progressive, though this certainly does not imply a continuous process of manuscript
discoveries. An interesting series of examples of this awareness can be seen in Chapter 1 0, "Growing in Accurate
Knowledge of the Truth," from the book Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom. The entire chapter is
worth reading. On page 1 21 , this comment is made:

Did [Charles Taze Russell and his associates] believe that they had all the answers, the full light of truth? To
that question Brother Russell pointedly answered: "Certainly not; nor will we have until the 'perfect day.'" (Prov.
4:18, KJ) Frequently they referred to their Scriptural beliefs as "present truth" — not with any idea that truth
itself changes but rather with the thought that their understanding of it was progressive.

iv The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

been like that described at Proverbs 4:18: "The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light
that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established." The shining of the light has been
progressive, just as the light of early dawn gives way to sunrise and the full light of a new day.
Viewing matters in the light that was available, they have at times had incomplete, even inaccurate,
concepts. No matter how hard they tried, they simply could not understand certain prophecies until
these began to undergo fulfillment. As Jehovah has shed more light on his Word by means of his
spirit, his servants have been humbly willing to make needed adjustments.

Such progressive understanding was not limited to the early period of their modern-day history.
It continues right down to the present...

In recent years a greater diversity of Bible study material has been provided to satisfy the needs
of both mature Christians and new students from many backgrounds. Continued study of the
Scriptures, along with fulfillment of divine prophecy, has in many instances made it possible to
express Bible teachings with greater clarity. Because their study of God's Word is progressive,
Jehovah's Witnesses have spiritual food in abundance, even as the Scriptures foretold would be
true of God's servants. (Isa. 65:13, 14) Adjustments in viewpoint are never made with a view to
becoming more acceptable to the world by adopting its declining moral values. On the contrary, the
history of Jehovah's Witnesses shows that changes are made with a view to adhering even more
closely to the Bible, being more like the faithful first-century Christians, and so being more
acceptable to God.

This book will present a comprehensive study of the current understanding of historical and textual
evidence which has a bearing on the Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures. To that end,
this study again asks the same question raised by the translators of the New World Translation started
their work in 1947: "Did the original inspired Christian writers use the Tetragrammaton in 237
instances while writing the Christian Greek Scriptures?" 8

A personal study

The material in this book is primarily the result of a personal study. More than ten years ago, as a
result of a very pleasant contact ••vii»» with two of Jehovah's Witnesses, the author began an
intensive Scripture search to determine the identity of Jesus. It was much more than a study of the
Greek text; it was a study with momentous personal consequences in the author's faith. Almost two
years were spent in a meticulous study from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. Early in that study,
the importance of the Tetragrammaton (or K yrios) in the Christian Greek Scriptures became apparent.

The material in this book represents some of the answers discovered in the author's personal study.

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation published by the Watch Tower Society in 1969 and 1985 is an
indispensable resource for this study. If possible, obtain both editions. This interlinear Greek-English
Bible will give you first-hand information for the verification of much of the material contained in
this book.

May Jehovah bless your study.

For the sake of credibility, the author was identified in the second edition of this
book. As this material becomes generally known, there is no longer need for that
precaution. The author has been in repeated contact with the Governing Body of the
Watch Tower Society. If you need additional information, they can supply it to you a t
their discretion.

8 We do not wish to imply that this question is an actual statement made by the New World Bible Translation
Committee. The use of the divine name within the Christian Greek Scriptures, however, implies that this question
was asked in some form, and was subsequently answered affirmatively.

Prologue

••viii»» "Did the original inspired Christian writers use the Tetragrammaton in 237 instances
while writing the Christian Greek Scriptures?" is not an innocuous question. The answer will have
momentous consequences on your life as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

The author has talked with elders and publishers who believe that their faith is unaffected by
the inspired Christian writers' use — or lack of use — of mil" in the original Greek manuscripts.

Their perception of the importance of mil" in the Christian Scripture text is profoundly inadequate!

The ancient biblical documents you will examine in this book will confront you with the most
fundamental challenge to your faith as a Witness which you will ever encounter.

As a single example, if the Apostle John used the Tetragrammaton at Revelation 11:17, he wrote,

Ei>xapioroi)|iev aoL,(niITy 6 Qeog, 6 TravTOKpdTwp

We thank you, (Cehovafi) God, the Almighty... (NWT).

On the other hand, if John did not use mil", then he wrote,

EiixapLoraOiiev aoL,(Kl3pie^6 Geo?, 6 TTavTOKpaTup

We are giving thanks to you, ^Lord^the God, the Almighty... (KIT).

The one addressed in this verse is clearly "God. ..the Almighty." Did John write this of Jehovah
(miT), or did he write it of the Lord (K yrios)?

The answer to this question is not found in theology. Nor is it found in personal conviction or even
loyalty to an organization. The answer is found through a careful examination of the ancient Greek
manuscripts of the Christian Scriptures.

With the help of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, this book will examine the earliest known
Greek manuscripts and their surrounding context, in order to determine whether the inspired Christian
authors wrote mil" or KiipLos (K yrios) in 237 specific instances in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Your faith is unavoidably dependent on the answer which comes from the early Greek manuscripts
themselves!

SECTION 1

The Tetragrammaton, inspiration, and a study
of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Page 3 Chapter 1: WHAT IS THE TETRAGRAMMATON?

Page 20 Chapter 2: INSPIRATION AND THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES

Page 29 Chapter 3: A GREEK INTERLINEAR STUDY (Part 1)

Page 44 Chapter 4: A GREEK INTERLINEAR STUDY (Part 2)

Chapter 1: WHAT IS THE TETRAGRAMMATON?

Regular readers of Watch Tower publications already understand the meaning of the word
Tetragrammaton. However, it is worthwhile to give some background information for the
benefit of those who are unfamiliar with the term.
• •3«« The Tetragrammaton is the divine name as it is written in Hebrew letters. In English, God's
name is written in its various forms as Jehovah or Yahweh.

Before going further, however, it will be of interest to look at the meaning of the word
Tetragrammaton^ itself. The Greek word tetra (TeTpd) is used as a prefix designating the number four.
We find this word at Luke 3:1 where it refers to Herod as a district ruler or tetrarch as noted in the
New World Translation Reference Edition footnotes. The tetrarch shared a kingdom area; he was one
of four rulers. (In contrast, a single ruler is called a monarch.) The Greek word gramma (ypd|ipa) means
writings or letters. Galatians 6:11 says, "See with what large letters (ypdp.pa) I have written YOU
with my own hand." Thus, Tetragrammaton means four letters? The term Tetragrammaton itself is not
a word found in the Bible, but is a useful word describing the four Hebrew characters used in God's
name.

Formation of the letters

The orthography (letter formation) of
all written languages gradually develops
over a period of time. That is especially
true of Hebrew which has been written for
thousands of years from ancient to modern
times. The Tetragrammaton as first written

The divine "<5^4< / <5v :: t"

name as

actually written by the earliest

Hebrew Scripture writers.

The divine name "r *s "r •?
as written by the
Hebrew Scripture writers
printed in modern Hebrew
characters.

in the Hebrew Scriptures is depicted in the box on this
page. The Watch Tower publication The Divine Name
That Will Endure Forever (1984) gives two excellent
illustrations of the divine name in its early written form.
The first illustration on page 12 shows two occurrences found
on a ••4»» pottery shard from the second half of the
seventh century B.C.E. The second illustration on page 13
shows two occurrences from the Moabite Stone inscribed
about 850 B.C.E. By carefully studying the examples given
in that publication, slight differences in character 3

formation can be detected between the two specimens. In both cases, however, the Tetragrammaton of

this period of time has the general appearance of <^\<^-^r.

In the article "Hebrew II" found in Insight on the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1072) the writers say,

The earliest Hebrew inscriptions known are recorded in an ancient script considerably different in
form from the square-shaped Hebrew letters of later documents, such as those of the early centuries
of the Common Era. The square-shaped style is often called "Aramaic," or "Assyrian." It is believed
that the change from ancient Hebrew characters to square Hebrew characters took place during the
Babylonian exile. However, as Ernst Wurthwein says: "For a long while the Old Hebrew script remained
in use beside the square script. The coins of the period of Bar Kochba's revolt (A.D. 132-135) bear
Old Hebrew letters. Among the texts found in the Dead Sea caves are some written in the Old Hebrew
Script."

Even though the formation of the characters has changed over time, the Hebrew spelling of the

1 The word may properly be written either Tetragrammaton or Tetragram. Throughout this book we will use
Tetragrammaton.

2 Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 882.

3 The word character is more correctly used of written Hebrew than letter. We will generally use letter to refer to
written Greek or English and character in reference to written Hebrew.

2 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

divine name itself has not. That is, both <?\\<i^r and miT are transliterated into English as YHWH.
Since Hebrew is written from left to right, the ancient Hebrew character •**• and the modern Hebrew
character ' are both Y (Yohdh); <3^ and H are both H (He'), and \ and 1 are both W (Waw).

The designation palaeo-Hebrew is occasionally encountered in technical descriptions of written
Hebrew. This term identifies the ancient style characters as represented by <S^<5^-=t\ 4 ••5"

In the remainder of this book, we will follow the general practice of the Watch Tower Society in
representing the Tetragrammaton of the early Hebrew Scripture writers with modern Hebrew
characters. Thus, irrespective of the time period under consideration, we will use the four Hebrew
characters HUT to represent the Tetragrammaton. The reader should understand, however, that at any
time prior to the Babylonian exile, the divine name would have been written <5^<5^-=t\

The Tetragrammaton in its Hebrew background

We encounter the divine name early in the Hebrew Scriptures. At Genesis 2:4 and 16, Moses wrote
God's personal name for the first time when he said, "This is a history of the heavens and the earth in
the time of their being created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven." When Moses
wrote this verse, he penned the name of God with four Hebrew characters as HIIT.

Because Genesis 2:4 is the first reference to the divine name in the Bible, the New World
Translation Reference Edition (p. 17) gives the following information in a footnote to this verse:

"Jehovah." Heb[brew], niPP (YHWH, here vowel-pointed as Yehwah), meaning "He causes to
Become" (from Heb[rew], mn [hawah', "to become"]); LXX (Gr[eek]) Ky'rios; Syr[ian], Marya';
Lat[in], Do'minus. The first occurrence of God's distinctive personal name, mrp (YHWH); these four
Heb[rew] letters are referred to as the Tetragrammaton. The divine name identifies Jehovah as the
Purposer. Only the true God could rightly and authentically bear this name. See App[endix] 1 A [in
the Reference Bible].

Though the Tetragrammaton is God's most holy name, it is derived from a common Hebrew
grammatical structure. Again, the New World Translation Reference Edition (p. 1561) gives us the
following information:

"Jehovah" (Heb[brew] mrp YHWH), God's personal name... is a verb, the causative form, the

imperfect state, of the Hebrew verb mn
{ha-wah', "to become").

This is further amplified in A Hebrew and
English Lexicon of the Old Testament by William
Gesenius (1865, pp. 249-250) wherein three primary
English equivalent uses of the Hebrew verb H1H
(ha-wah', "to ••6»» become") are listed. Gesenius
identifies the following English meanings: 1) to come to pass, to happen, to be; 2) to begin to be, i.e. to
become, to be made or to be done; and 3) to be. These uses of the verb Hlil give us a sense of the meaning
behind the divine name.

A related topic is the pronunciation of the divine name. To understand pronunciation, we must
consider Hebrew vowel points.

Until well after Jesus' time, the Hebrew language was written using only consonants. Sometime
after 400 C.E. a group of Jewish scholars called Masoretes added vowel points in order to standardize
pronunciation. We need to give an illustration of a written language without vowels. We can use the
sentence, "Moses wrote the five books of the law." If we write the sentence without vowels, it looks

The divine name J~r "] J~r *?
written with ' ' j' ' :
vowel points.

4 The reader interested in pursuing the subject of the Hebrew language further would profit by the useful
information found under the heading "Hebrew II" in Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 1068-1077. A complete
table of Hebrew character formation from the ninth century B.C.E through modern Hebrew (including the time of
Christ) is given on page 344 of the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. In most instances, according to this table,
the Hebrew character formation of Jesus' day is closely akin to the later square characters which are the
predecessors to modern Hebrew.

What is the Tetragrammaton? 3

like this:

mss wrt th fv bks f th lw

English, of course, uses regular vowel letters. However, later Hebrew script added points to identify
vowel pronunciation. The points are marks under (or over) the consonants which inform the reader of
the connecting sound (vowel). If we used our existing English vowels as points, the above sentence might
look something like this:

mss wr t th f.v b ks f th 1 w

oe o el o o e a

(In this example, double letters and vowels at the end of words were eliminated. Vowel function is
found only in pronounced language components.)

The Hebrew Scriptures were originally written without vowel points. Therefore, during the time
of the Septuagint and the early Christian era, the divine name contained only the Hebrew consonants
without vowel markings, and was written mil". (The English phonetic equivalent is YHWH.) After
vowel points were added, the name of God was written HI IT. The English phonetic equivalent with
vowel points is most likely transliterated into English as YeHWaH — or very probably YeHVaH as we
will soon see. 5 • »7» •

(The exact pronunciation of any Hebrew Scripture word is equally uncertain. As stated, the entire
Hebrew Scriptures were devoid of vowel markings until centuries after the last books were written.
Presumably, when vowel points were added, the pronunciation of proper names was subject to greater
uncertainty than more common words.)

From the above illustration of missing vowels, it should be obvious why we do not know the precise
pronunciation of the divine name during Moses' day. We can be more confident of the pronunciation of
the consonant portion (YHWH or YHVH) of the word. However, we cannot be certain of the vowel
pronunciation because no corresponding written information was preserved. As a written word, the
divine name without vowel points is the form we are concerned with in this study.

How did YHWH become Jehovah? Again, we quote from the New World Translation Reference
Edition (p. 1561) which says,

To avoid the risk of taking God's name (YHWH) in vain, devout Jews began to substitute the word
'adona{y) for the proper name itself. Although the Masoretes left the four original consonants in the
text, they added the vowels e (in place of a for other reasons) and a to remind the reader to
pronounce adona{y) regardless of the consonants.

The Masoretic Jews added the vowels found in the name Adonay (which is properly translated in
the English Hebrew Scriptures as Lord b ) to the consonants of the Tetragrammaton in order to obtain a
circumlocution 7 for the divine name. The book Aid to Bible Understanding (pp. 884-885) says,

By combining the vowel signs of 'Adhonay' and 'Elohim' with the four consonants of the
Tetragrammaton the pronunciations Y e howah' and Y e howih' were formed. The first of these
provided the basis for the Latinized form "Jehova(h)." The first recorded use ••8»» of this form
dates from the thirteenth century C.E. Raymundus Martini, a Spanish monk of the Dominican
Order, used it in his book Pugeo Fidel of the year 1270.

5 The pronunciation of the vowel points are only known within modern Hebrew. The book Reasoning from the
Scriptures, p. 195 gives this further explanation.

No human today can be certain how [the divine name] was originally pronounced in Hebrew. Why not?
Biblical Hebrew was originally written with only consonants, no vowels. When the language was in everyday
use, readers easily provided the proper vowels. In time however, the Jews came to have the superstitious
idea that it was wrong to say God's personal name out loud, so they used substitute expressions. Centuries
later, Jewish scholars developed a system of points by which to indicate which vowels to use when reading
ancient Hebrew, but they put the vowels for the substitute expressions [Adonay] around the four consonants
representing the divine name. Thus the original pronunciation of the divine name was lost.

6 It is correctly written as Lord, but not in small capitals as Lord. In other words, Lord is the translation of Adonay
and should not be confused with the faulty English Bible tradition which translated the Tetragrammaton as Lord.
The New World Translation properly translates Adonay as Lord.

7 The pronounceable expression which replaces an ineffable (unpronounceable) word.

4 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The reader should also be aware that there is uncertainty regarding the early pronunciation of the
"W" consonant. The Hebrew character represented as "W" in the English transliteration of YHWH is
waw (1). (This Hebrew character's name is pronounced vav, though when identified in English letters,
it is often written as waw. s Interestingly, newer biblical Hebrew language texts actually transliterate
the character in English as vav to reflect the preferred pronunciation.) In all likelihood, the above
combination of characters from the Tetragrammaton and Adonay becomes YaHoVaH. Aid to Bible
Understanding (p. 882) says, "These four letters (written from right to left) are mil" and may be
transliterated into English as YHWH (or, according to some, YHVH)." If the more appropriate
phonetic reproduction of the divine name as pronounced in Moses' day is truly YHVH, the English word
Jehovah more closely reproduces the ancient Hebrew character waw (1) than does the English
transliteration Yahweh.

For further reading concerning the divine name, consult Appendix 1A in the New World Translation
Reference Edition (1984). Also, see Appendix 3A in the Reference Edition for a brief introduction to
both Hebrew and Greek characters. The section contains a particularly useful description of Hebrew
vowels. For a comprehensive study of the divine name, refer to the heading "Jehovah" in Aid to B ible
Understanding, beginning on page 882, or under the same heading in Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2,
beginning on page 5.

The Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew Scriptures

God's personal name occupies a place of prominence in the Hebrew Scriptures. The Tetragrammaton
occurs 6,961 9 times in the Hebrew text.

The perspective of this book is a current historical and textual understanding for the use of the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. As such, we are not emphasizing the place of the
Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew Scriptures. However, the reader must remember throughout this book
that God's name is used extensively in ••9»» the Hebrew Scriptures, and that the textual evidence
supporting its presence is beyond any doubt. The New World Translation is to be commended for its use
of the divine name in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint (LXX)

Because there is sometimes confusion between the Septuagint and the Christian Greek Scriptures
when the Tetragrammaton is being discussed, a brief introduction to the Septuagint is in order.

We are familiar with the history of the nation of Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures. During the
periods of the judges and the theocracy under such leaders as Samuel, the nation of Israel was moving
toward occupation and consolidation of the land. This consolidation as a united kingdom reached its
climax in the days of King David and his son Solomon. However, because of King Solomon's
disobedience to God, the kingdom was divided and weakened. Though good kings occasionally came to
power, divine judgment eventually fell. The divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel were finally
conquered, with each being led into captivity.

Without going into any of the details of the military and political defeats of Israel, we are aware
that a typical form of conquest for that time was deportation of the populace to the conquering nation's
homeland. Thus, colonies of Jews 10 were established in various areas of the Mediterranean world.
Alexandria (Egypt) became an important center for expatriate Jews. Alexandria was also the leading
center of learning and Greek culture from about 350 B.C.E. until its conquest by Rome.

The Jewish religious leaders were confronted with a problem which they had not encountered
before the days of national captivity. Many Jews living in Greek-speaking cultures could no longer read

8 New World Translation Reference Edition, p. 1570.

9 The book Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 885 says, "The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,961 times in the original-
language text of the Hebrew Scriptures (this includes 134 times where the Masoretic text shows that ancient
copyists [Sopherim] had changed the primitive Hebrew text to read 'Adho-nay'or 'Elo-him' instead of Y e howah)."

10 Strictly speaking, descendants of Abraham were not called Jews until post-exilic times. (See Insight on the
Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 73 under the heading "Jew(ess)" for more complete information.) In this book, however, we will
use the term "Jew" in the generally accepted sense.

What is the Tetragrammaton? 5

and understand the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, in approximately 280 B.C.E., 11 a group of Hebrew
scholars began translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. There are some interesting — though
uncertain — traditions surrounding that translation project. The least credible tradition says that the
translators were supernaturally empowered and completed the entire work in 70 days. A more probable
tradition is that 72 Hebrew scholars did (or at least began) the work. Whatever the truth is, the
translation became known as the Seventy. Thus, we have ••10»» the name Septuagint, which is
abbreviated with the Roman numerals LXX (70). (The name Septuagint is an Anglicized form of its
early Latin name secundum septuaginta interpretes.)

However, regarding the Septuagint itself, we must make five statements which have a bearing on
our study of the Tetragrammaton:

1. We must recognize the importance of the Septuagint. The Septuagint occupied an important place in
both Jewish and Christian thought. It was a monumental and far-reaching translation. Among
other things, it represented an understanding on the part of the Jews who used it that God's
revelation was not confined to the Hebrew language. There is much to be learned from the study of
its history and development. Though outside the scope of this book, a study of the Tetragrammaton
in the Septuagint is an interesting and worthwhile subject.

2. We must differentiate between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Scriptures from which it was
translated. The Hebrew Scriptures were written in Hebrew. (However, Daniel 4 was originally
written by King Nebuchadnezzar — and then included in Daniel's prophetic book — in Aramaic.
Portions of Ezra and Esther also contain Aramaic. See Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, page 1070
under "When Did Hebrew Begin to Wane?") As we have noted earlier, the Septuagint was a
specific translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language. The term Septuagint should
never be used as a synonym for early Hebrew Scripture manuscripts written in Hebrew.

3. We must differentiate between the Septuagint and other ancient Greek translations of the Hebrew
Scriptures. The Septuagint was not unique as a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. 12
However, the Septuagint version was widely accepted by both the Greek-speaking Jews and
Gentiles Christians. By the end of the third century C.E., however, a number of Greek translations
of the Hebrew Scriptures were available. Three widely used translations were done by Aquila,
Theodotion and Symmachus. Aquila's translation of the Hebrew Scriptures is of particular interest.
••11»» Although many manuscripts are available today which contain K yrios rather than the
Tetragrammaton, a recent discovery was made in Cairo in which mil' is clearly used within Aquila's
Greek text.

4. We must identify which editions of the Septuagint most likely contained the Tetragrammaton. The
Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which was widely circulated
throughout the Greek-speaking world of its day. Today we know that the Tetragrammaton was
generally used in copies of the Septuagint which were intended for Jewish readers. 13 On the other
hand, the Septuagint which was circulated in the Gentile world used the Greek word K yrios
(KupLOs) 14 as a translation of the divine name. In Chapter 13 we will discuss this further, including
the interesting problem of why so few copies of the Septuagint containing the Tetragrammaton have
survived until today. Aid to Bible Understanding (p. 886) quotes Dr. Kahle from The Cairo Geniza

1 1 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 307.

12 Appendix J shows Origen's use of three — and sometimes as many as five — distinct Greek versions of the
Hebrew Scriptures. These versions were all available by the end of the third century C.E. Early studies erroneously
concluded that Origen's Hexapla used only the Greek word K yrios. Today, however, we know that both the original
Hexapla, as well as Aquila's version, did contain the Tetragrammaton in the Greek text. (See Insight on the
Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 9 for more information regarding Aquila's version. Appendix J gives a complete explanation of
Origen's use of iTIiT in the Hexapla.))

13 According to "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," (pp. 307 and 310) the Septuagint manuscripts
containing the Tetragrammaton are principally the Fouad papyrus collection dating around the second or first
century B.C.E. For a more complete discussion of the Septuagint, see the entry in Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2,
p. 9 under the heading, "In the Christian Greek Scriptures." For a photographic reproduction of the Fouad
manuscript showing the Hebrew lettering, see Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1 . pp. 324 and 326.

14 See the New World Translation Reference Edition (pp. 1562-1564) for a partial list of these manuscripts.

6 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

as saying,

We now know that the Greek Bible text [the Septuaginf\ as far as it was written by Jews for Jews
did not translate the Divine name by Ky'rios, but the Tetragrammaton written with Hebrew or
Greek letters was retained in such MSS [manuscripts]. It was the Christians who replaced the
Tetragrammaton by ky'rios, when the divine name written in Hebrew letters was not understood
any more.

5. Finally, we must make a clear distinction between the Septuagint and the Christian Greek
Scriptures. The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The translation work began in
approximately 280 B.C.E. 15 The books of the Law (the writings of Moses) were probably completed
by 180 B.C.E.; the translation of the entire Hebrew Scriptures was probably not complete until the
second century C.E. On the other hand, the Christian Greek Scriptures were written no earlier than
41 C.E. (Matthew) and no later than 98 C.E. ••12»» (the Gospel of John and 1,2, 3 John). 16 Despite
the fact that the early Christian congregation extensively used the Septuagint, the two Scriptures
are distinctly separate. One cannot surmise that if a true statement can be made of one, it will be
equally true of the other. Stating that the Tetragrammaton was used in certain Septuagint versions
is not proof per se of the Tetragrammaton's presence in the Christian Greek Scriptures in the absence
of a thorough study of ancient Greek Scripture manuscripts themselves. However, this
distinctiveness of the two Scriptures does not imply that the Septuagint did not greatly influence
the Christian Scriptures. Both Jesus and the Christian Scripture writers extensively quoted the
Septuagint.

The Septuagint was the Bible of the early Christian congregation. In most cases when the
Christian Scripture writers quoted Hebrew Scripture, they used the Septuagint version rather than
Hebrew documents. However, important as the Septuagint is to the history and study of the Christian
Greek Scriptures, it is inaccurate to treat textual variations which are true of one as though they must
also be true of the other. The two documents are entirely independent entities, separated in time by
over 200 years, and set apart by different cultures.

The Tetragrammaton in the teaching of the Watch Tower Society

The use of the Tetragrammaton in the original writings of the Christian Greek Scriptures is a
central teaching of the Watch Tower Society. The Society teaches that Jehovah's name — written as
the Tetragrammaton — was used by the original writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures, and that the
present content of the Greek text took form because of heresy and changes which were made by the
scribes who copied the Scriptures. These scribes presumably changed the four Hebrew characters
(YHWH) to the Greek word K yrios. 17

A concise summary of this teaching is given in Appendix ID of the New World Translation
Reference Edition (p. 1564). We quote in part:

Matthew made more than a hundred quotations from the inspired Hebrew Scriptures [in his
gospel written in Hebrew 18 ]. ••13»» Where these quotations included the divine name he would
have been obliged faithfully to include the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew Gospel account. When
the Gospel of Matthew was translated into Greek, the Tetragrammaton was left untranslated within
the Greek text according to the practice of that time.

Not only Matthew but all the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures quoted verses from the
Hebrew text or from the Septuagint where the divine name appears. For example, in Peter's

1 5 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 307. Also see Insight into the Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 1 1 52.

16 Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 318.

17 In this study, we will repeatedly refer to the Greek word Kupios. However, rather than using Greek letters, we
will transliterate it as K yrios with English letters in a distinctive type face. For a more complete discussion of the
use of the Greek word K yrios, see The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society,
1984. Note especially the article starting on page 23, "God's Name and the 'New Testament.'"

18 In this same section, Jerome is quoted as stating that there was a gospel written in Hebrew by Matthew. The
testimony of Jerome must be accepted as reliable. There would be no reason to doubt that Matthew wrote a parallel
gospel in Hebrew. We will evaluate Matthew's Hebrew Gospel in a later chapter.

What is the Tetragrammaton? 7

speech in Ac 3:22 a quotation is made from De 18:15 where the Tetragrammaton appears in a
papyrus fragment of the Septuagint dated to the first century B.C.E. As a follower of Christ, Peter
used God's name, Jehovah. When Peter's speech was put on record the Tetragrammaton was
here used according to the practice during the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E.

Sometime during the second or third century C.E. the scribes removed the Tetragrammaton
from both the Septuagint and the Christian Greek Scriptures and replaced it with Ky'rios, "Lord" or
Theos', "God."

Concerning the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures, George Howard 19
of the University of Georgia wrote in Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 96, 1977, p. 63: "Recent
discoveries in Egypt and the Judean Desert allow us to see first hand the use of God's name in pre-
Christian times. These discoveries are significant for N[ew] T[estament] studies in that they form a
literary analogy with the earliest Christian documents and may explain how N[ew] T[estament]
authors used the divine name. In the following pages we will set forth a theory that the divine name,
mrr (and possibly abbreviations of it), was originally written in the NT quotations of and allusions to
the 0[ld] T[estament] and that in the course of time it was replaced mainly with the surrogate k<?
[abbreviation for ky'rios, "Lord"]. This removal of the Tetragram[maton], in our view, created a
confusion in the minds of early Gentile Christians about the relationship between the 'Lord God' and
the 'Lord Christ' which is reflected in the MS [manuscript] tradition of the NT text itself."

We concur with the above, with this exception: We do not consider this view a "theory," rather, a
presentation of the facts of history as to the transmission of Bible manuscripts.

As we saw in the Overview to this book, the above quotation represents the perspective of the
translators of the New World Translation based on the textual and historical perspective of the late
••14»» 1940's. Today, we are faced with the need to re-evaluate any Bible translation on the basis of
the most recent understanding of the Greek manuscripts on which it is based. It would be the desire of
all — whether we are talking of the Watch Tower Society as a whole or individual Witnesses — to
have a copy of the Christian Greek Scriptures which faithfully reproduces exactly that which the
apostolic authors wrote.

Throughout the remainder of this book we will be evaluating the most current textual and
historical information available while asking a central question, "Did the original writers of the
Christian Scriptures use the Tetragrammaton?" If so, what evidence remains today which will verify
this claim?

The format of this book

Throughout this book, our study of the Tetragrammaton's presence in the Christian Greek
Scriptures is based on historical and textual considerations. The final answer to the place of the
Tetragrammaton in the original Christian Scripture writings will be based on ancient manuscript
evidence. These manuscripts should indicate to us whether the original writers of the Christian
Scriptures wrote the Hebrew word m!T (the Tetragrammaton) or the Greek word Kupios ( K yrios) in 237
instances within the Christian Greek Scriptures.

When we attempt a historical study of Greek manuscripts, we are not doing light reading.
Therefore, in order to make this material as informative as possible, the following format will be used:
general information is found within the main chapters, supplementary information is added in footnote
form, and finally, highly technical material has been placed in the appendices. This appendix
information deals with the form of the Greek text itself, the translation footnotes from the New
World Translation, information concerning the Hebrew versions which substantiates the 237 Jehovah
references, and much more on which this study was based. Though this information is necessary for a
proper study of the historical Greek text, it has been separated from the main chapter material in
order to simplify reading.

Keeping our focus

We will frequently refer to certain subtopics throughout this book. In the interest of being as
accurate as possible, four of these subtopics need a brief explanation.

19 See Appendix D for a partial reproduction of the George Howard paper.

8 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Two of these subtopics (the pronunciation of God's name and the Septuagint version in relationship
to the Tetragrammaton) need attention now in order to avoid unnecessary qualifying statements.* «15« •

A third subtopic (the use of God's name today) deserves a brief comment in order to avoid
misunderstanding. The fourth subtopic dealing with K yrios and T heos is a mere technicality which is
important only because we need to be precise in our description without continually referring to
superfluous details.

THE PRONUNCIATION OF GOD'S NAME

The most cumbersome of these first two subtopics is the proper pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton
itself. Neither m!T nor YHWH (or YHVH) is entirely satisfactory. The Hebrew characters are
accurate, but they are meaningless to all but the most informed Bible student. There is no debate by
either the author or the Watch Tower Society that mil" is best represented by the English consonants
YHWH, unless it would be to represent it as YHVH. It is the attempt to expand these consonants to a
pronounceable name that makes the topic cumbersome in a book such as this. The English consonants are
an acceptable written transliteration, but they are unpronounceable. Adding vowels further
complicates the problem. Fortunately, F.W. Carr makes an observation which will simplify the
debate,

A common trap some translators fall into is thinking that an attempt is being made to closely
approximate the more commonly accepted Hebrew term "Yahweh" with the English form
"Jehovah." Many fail to realize (or chose to ignore) the fact that "Jehovah" is the English translation,
not the Hebrew approximation. 20

If we can be content with an English translation of all other Bible names (including Jesws rather
than Iesous), we can be comfortable with Jehovah.

A study of the pronunciation of God's name is not our intent. It is a worthwhile topic, but it is
outside the context of this book. We will alternate between the term divine name and the translated
English name Jehovah because they are familiar. The important issue is reverence and obedience to
this wonderful God, rather than a specific Anglicized pronunciation of his name. The issue of
pronunciation of God's name may best be summarized by a statement from Insight on the Scriptures,
Volume 2, page 6:

Hebrew Scholars generally favor "Yahweh" as the most likely pronunciation. They point out that
the abbreviated form of the name is Yah (Jah in the Latinized form), as at Psalm 89:8 and in the
expression Halelu-Yah (meaning "Praise Yah, you people!"). (Ps 1 04:35; 1 50:1 , 6) Also, the forms
Yehoh', Yoh, Yah, and Ya'hu, found in the Hebrew spelling of the names of Jehoshaphat, ••16»»
Joshaphat, Shephatiah, and others, can all be derived from Yahweh. ..Still, there is by no means
unanimity among scholars on the subject, some favoring yet other pronunciations, such as
"Yahuwa," "Yahuah," or "Yehuah."

Since certainty of pronunciation is not now attainable, there seems to be no reason for
abandoning in English the well-known form "Jehovah" in favor of some other suggested
pronunciation.

On the other hand, substitution of LORD for the divine name is a more important issue than mere
pronunciation. Within the English Bible tradition, the Hebrew Scripture translators have often used
the capitalized word LORD to represent mil". The author feels that the removal of God's proper name
from Scripture is a regrettable practice. Even though every translation which attempts to bring the
divine name into the written Hebrew Scriptures will encounter the problematic choice of an
appropriate form, we commend the translators of the New World Translation for their effort in moving
away from the tradition of translating miT as LORD.

There is currently a trend within some evangelical Protestant groups to acknowledge and use the
divine name in their teaching and singing. It is the author's opinion that the consistent emphasis on
the reverent use of God's name by the Watch Tower Society has borne fruit in these branches of the
Christian congregation. It would be impossible to quantify that influence on a large scale, but the
author is aware of the contribution Witnesses have made to his own life in this regard.

20 The Divine Name Controversy, Firpo W. Carr, p. 104.

What is the Tetragrammaton? 9

THE SEPTUAGINT AND THE TETRAGRAMMATON

A second subtopic deserving a brief comment is the degree to which the Tetragrammaton was used in
the Septuagint version. The Tetragrammaton, rather than K yrios, was most certainly used in early
translations of the Septuagint. The Tetragrammaton continued to be used through the third century
C.E. in Septuagint copies used by Jews. Gentile Christians, on the other hand, translated iTliT as Kiipios
(K yrios) in their copies of the Septuagint. (We will discover why this was true in Chapter 13.) Though
we will refer to the Septuagint within the remaining chapters of this book because it has a bearing on
our study of the Tetragrammaton, we wish to avoid lengthy qualifications. We must simply remember
that new evidence today substantiates that miT was used in Jewish copies of the Septuagint while
K yrios was used in • »17» • Gentile copies. (Again, for the student interested in further study of the use
of the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint, we would recommend the material suggested earlier in
Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, page 9 under the heading "In the Christian Greek Scriptures," or
the parallel reference in Aid to Bible Understanding, on page 386. In addition, there is a section in the
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY which lists material substantiating the Tetragrammaton in early Greek
translations of the Hebrew Scriptures.)

It may serve our purpose here to include a single quotation regarding the presence of the
Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint.

On the transcription of the Divine Name [in the LXX] B.J. Roberts wrote in 1951: "The problem
still remains unsolved and is under discussion." If any change has taken place over the past decade
it is in a movement still further away from the position of Baudissin. This scholar had maintained that
right from its origins the LXX had rendered the Tetragrammaton by Kupios [Kyrios], and that in no
case was this latter a mere substitute for an earlier' AScovai [Adonai]. Thus he denied the evidence
of Origen that in the more accurate manuscripts the Divine Name was written in ancient (palaeo-
Hebrew) script and the later testimony of Jerome to the same effect. As Waddell pointed out,
Baudissin's summary statement is "flatly disproved" by the Fouad Papyrus, and now a Qumran
fragment of Leviticus ii-iv, written in a hand closely akin to Fouad 266, has been found to render the
Tetragrammaton by IAfi. Kahle is also of the opinion, and claims the concurrence of C.H. Roberts,
that in the Rylands Papyrus Greek 458, at Deuteronomy xxvi.17 where the text breaks off just
before the appearance of the Divine Name, the original bore not Kupiog as Roberts originally
supposed, but the unabridged Tetragrammaton. It would seem therefore that the evidence most
recently to hand is tending to confirm the testimony of Origen and Jerome, and that Kahle is right in
holding that LXX texts, written by Jews for Jews, retained the Divine Name in Hebrew Letters
(palaeo-Hebrew or Aramaic) or in the Greek imitative form mm, and that its replacement by Ki3piog
was a Christian innovation. 21

With this information in hand, we can avoid repeated qualifications concerning confirmed
evidence of the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint. However, statements relating to the
Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint should not be understood as applying to the Christian Greek
Scriptures. As pointed out earlier, the reader must be aware that ••18 ,# the Septuagint and the
Christian Greek Scriptures are entirely different documents.

USING GOD'S NAME TODAY

In order to avoid misunderstanding, we need to clarify our position concerning the use of God's name
today. On the one hand, we are examining the historical and textual occurrences of the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. We could never advocate either adding or
removing words from Scripture because of personal or theological preferences. Therefore, our viewpoint
must be that the occurrence of the Tetragrammaton within the Christian Scriptures today must reflect
the exact usage by the original writers. If the Tetragrammaton was used by the original writers, it
must not be removed. If it was not used by the original writers, it must not be added.

On the other hand, do we feel that it is appropriate to use God's personal name today? Most

21 From The Septuagint and Modern Study, Sidney Jellicoe, 1968, pp. 271-272. See also the two books Studies in
the Septuagint: Origins, Recensions, and Interpretations, edited by Sidney Jellicoe and Essays in Biblical Greek:
Studies on the value and use of the Septuagint, Edwin Hatch, 1 970, p. 1 49.

10 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

certainly! It is the author's personal practice to do so.

We ask that the reader keep in mind that the subject of this book is limited to the historical and
textual evidence for the Tetragrammaton within the Christian Greek Scriptures. Nonetheless,
regarding the use of God's personal name in either public or private worship, we feel that it is entirely
appropriate and pleasing to God to use it freely with the highest sense of his holiness.

JEHOVAH REFERENCES

The name Jehovah appears 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World
Translation. In 223 instances, Jehovah is used in place of the Greek word Kupios (K yrios). In 13
instances, Jehovah is used in place of Geo? (T heos), and in one instance (James 1:12), Jehovah is derived
from a specific Greek grammatical construction.

Generally, we will use the English transliteration K yrios rather than the Greek word itself. At
times, we will distinguish between K yrios and T heos in the interest of completeness or technical
necessity. In most cases, however, when there is no need for the precision, we will use K yrios to include
the 13 instances of T heos, the single case in James 1:12, and the 223 instances of K yrios proper.

Furthermore, the Greek language requires agreement between parts of speech, depending upon the
grammatical usage of a word in its sentence. For that reason, the Greek word KtJpios may have any one
of eight spellings. (See Appendix C for a discussion of the various forms of this Greek word.) Again, we
will let K yrios stand inclusive of all grammatical forms. ••19»»

CHAPTER SUMMARY. The Tetragrammaton is the four-character Hebrew name of God. Until 400 C.E.,
Hebrew writing did not contain vowel points. Prior to the addition of vowel points, the divine name
was written iTliT. The Tetragrammaton is widely used throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, giving ample
textual evidence to support the use of God's personal name in the Hebrew Scripture portion of English
translations.

1. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which was begun in Alexandria

about 280 B.C.E. It is a distinctly different document from the Christian Greek Scriptures. The two
should not be confused, though the Septuagint was extensively used by the early Christian
congregation.

2. The name of God should be frequently and respectfully used in both corporate and private meetings.

Addendum to Chapter 1

Just prior to the publication of this book, an important and scholarly work by Greg Stafford entitled Jehovah's
WITNESSES DEFENDED an answer to scholars and critics was released by Elihu Books (1998). On pages 1-8 Stafford gives
another example of current thinking regarding the pronunciation of the divine name. Stafford, in turn, refers to earlier
studies done by F.W. Carr.

The book by Firpo W. Carr, The Divine Name Controversy (Stoops Publishing, 1991) must also be consulted. Dr.
Carr has done important work with computer searches to reconstruct the pronunciation of the divine name from
ancient Hebrew manuscripts.

Both Stafford and Carr favor Yehowah as the closest English approximation to the ancient Hebrew pronunciation
of the divine name. In both cases, they agree that the word Jehovah is an appropriate English translation.

We will gladly defer to the scholarship and opinion of these two men regarding the pronunciation of the divine
name. However, because the type for this book has already been set, additional comments regarding Stafford or Carr's
favored pronunciation will not be added. Nonetheless, this book is in complete agreement with the positions of
Stafford and Carr that the divine name most certainly should be used in English translations of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Either book is available from Stoops Manufacturing Co., 10 N. Elliott Ave., Aurora, Missouri, 65605.

11
Chapter 2: Inspiration and the Christian Scriptures

Before going further in our study of the Tetragrammaton, we must consider the inspiration of
Scripture. We are primarily concerned with the Christian Scriptures in this study.
••20»» It should be obvious that the inspiration of Scripture is of paramount importance.
Logically, if the Bible were not inspired (and thus, infallible), the Tetragrammaton in the Christian
Scriptures would merely become a historical and textual topic of scholarly interest. However, to those
of us who hold a view of inspiration which acknowledges that God had purpose for each word the
inspired writers used, the inspiration of Scripture itself becomes a foundation on which we must build
our study of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The author concurs with the
Watch Tower Society in the view that God inspired each word of the original Christian Scriptures.

The study of the inspiration of Scripture is not an all-or-nothing discussion. It is not simply
divided between those who believe in full inspiration and those who categorically reject any
involvement by God in the human writing of the Bible. Christendom has introduced much confusion
into the discussion of inspiration by way of debates regarding partial inspiration, faulty human
authorship, and the like.

The author appreciates the position taken by the Watch Tower Society regarding inspiration and
inerrancy. 1 Before going further, we need to review the meaning of the inspiration of Scripture, 2 for
this will characterize the Greek texts with which we are dealing. Much of this discussion can be
verified in the book "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial."^

The meaning of inspiration

The term inspiration is frequently used in reference to the Bible. In the book already mentioned, we
read,

• •21»» "All Scripture is inspired of God." These words at 2 Timothy 3:16 identify God, whose
name is Jehovah, as the Author and Inspirer of the Holy Scriptures. [And further that] Jesus. ..set
the highest value on God's word, declaring, "Your word is truth." 4

Though often not addressed as such, the fundamental question in a study of inspiration is the
character of God. We must ask ourselves, "What kind of book would Jehovah write?" It would be a
book entirely free of error. Furthermore, because successive generations would read it, the Author
would carefully protect his book so that it might be read in the most accurate form possible. Regarding
its survival, The Bible — God's Word or Man's? says,

[The Bible] says: "The saying of Jehovah endures forever." (1 Peter 1 :25) If the Bible really is
the Word of God, no human power can destroy it. And right up into this 20th century, this has been
true. (p. 24)

"All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," continues by saying,

All the words of the inspired Scriptures are "faithful and true," bringing immeasurable benefits to
those who heed them. — Rev. 21 :5.

How do these benefits come about? The complete expression of the apostle Paul at 2 Timothy
3:16, 17 supplies the answer: "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for
reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be
fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." The inspired Scriptures, then, are
beneficial for teaching right doctrine and right conduct, setting things straight in our minds and lives,

1 Inerrancy describes Scripture's freedom from error. Strictly speaking, inerrancy applies to the original
manuscripts rather than later copies or translations. Nonetheless, we can use our Bible today with the confidence
that the Hebrew and Greek text is totally reliable.

2 Just as does the Watch Tower Society, we limit our use of the word inspiration to the 66 canonical books of the
Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. That is, we do not include the Apocrypha.

3 This is an excellent book dealing with the accuracy of both the Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures. For a
more complete study than we can present here, we recommend the material from Study Four to the end of the book.
Study Six, "The Christian Greek Text of the Holy Scriptures," is particularly helpful.

4 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 7.

12 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

and reproving and disciplining us so that we may walk humbly in truth and righteousness. 5

Because we understand that the source of Scripture is Jehovah himself, we do not expect a faulty
Bible. However, we need to be careful that we correctly understand what we mean when we say that
Scripture is without error. The original writings were free of error. Could copies — and translations — of
the original writing contain errors? History shows us that this has happened. That does not mean we
cannot have confidence in our Bible, but it means that we must remember that we are talking about the
original Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures when we say there is no error.

To this point, we have only talked about the result of inspiration; that is, that God as an Author
would not make mistakes. But we still ••22* • have not explained the process called inspiration. We
understand the process when we learn the definition of the word inspiration. To quote our previous
source, "The expression 'Inspired of God'. .is translated from the Greek T he-op'neu-stos, meaning 'God-
breathed.'" 6 For the most part, we do not know how God gave his revelation to each of the original
writers. (In some cases, however, the writer tells us. Daniel is an interesting example of a Scripture
writer explaining how God communicated various revelations to him. John also describes the process in
the book of Revelation as, "A revelation by Jesus Christ. . . And he sent forth his angel and presented [it]
in signs through him to his slave John" [1:1].) Yet, irrespective of the individual process God used, we
believe that God gave each writer his thoughts in such a way that they wrote the very words which
Jehovah intended to communicate to the readers.

Inspiration and scribal errors

Prior to the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1456, all documents were hand
copied. Needless to say, hand copied texts contained errors. 7

There is a fascinating history regarding the reproduction of ancient manuscripts which is too long to
tell here. However, a study of that history will indicate the inadequacy of making simple
generalizations about the resulting manuscripts or the scribes who produced them. In some cases, the
procedures used for hand copying texts were followed with extreme care and resulted in few scribal
errors. The Jewish scribes who copied the Hebrew Scriptures probably developed the highest
standards for accuracy by counting numbers of lines and characters of a copied section. However, because
of this intensive labor, fewer old manuscripts were kept, 8 reducing the number of texts available for
study today. On the other hand, Greek texts copied by Gentiles were ••23 ,# often copied more
hurriedly, resulting in more frequent scribal error. Nonetheless, though they are somewhat less
accurate, there are many more of these copies available for study.

Nor was scribal error always accidental. Copying mistakes probably account for the bulk of the
manuscript errors. Yet, there were also errors which were intentionally inserted into the text, having
the objective of either introducing or removing theological biases. Origen (who lived between 182 and
251 C.E.) was a leading writer in the early Christian congregation era. He wrote regarding intentional
alteration of manuscripts in his day:

Nowadays, as is evident, there is a great diversity between the various manuscripts, either
through the negligence of certain copyists, or the perverse audacity shown by some in correcting
the text, or through the fault of those, who, playing the part of correctors, lengthen or shorten it as
they please (In Matth. torn. XV, 14; P. G. XIII, 1293). 9

5 Ibid., p. 7.

6 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, "p. 9.

7 Printing presses do not eliminate all errors. However, it is easier to identify an error when it is identically repeated
in all copies from a single press run. Hand copied manuscripts produce random errors which are unique to a single
copy and thus are more difficult to locate. Of course, printed documents are also more recent.

8 In many cases, when a Hebrew Scripture text became too worn to be used in public synagogue reading, it was
reverently buried after copies were made. In some cases, before burial, it was kept in a special room of the
Synagogue called a Geniza. (The word may also be spelled Genizah.) Some of the richest finds of ancient
manuscripts have come from these Genizas when scrolls destined for destruction were misplaced. A famous such
find was from a Geniza in Cairo. (See the reference to the book, The Cairo Geniza in Insights on the Scriptures,
Vol.2, p. 9.)

9 Quoted in The Identity of the New Testament Text by Wilbur Pickering, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1977, p. 42.

Inspiration and the Christian Scriptures 13

As ones who love and respect God's written word, we would strongly denounce any attempt to alter
Scripture. We would correctly demand a faithful reproduction of God's revelation by both the scribal
copyists in early centuries and a translator's rendering of the text into another language today.

Inspiration and a correct text

If we believe that Scripture was inspired by God, then we want to know the exact words he caused
the Scripture authors to write. For this reason, we desire Scripture manuscripts which are free of all
scribal error and corruption. Will we ever obtain these perfect documents?

Far from being a hopeless dilemma, the probability of reconstructing the Christian Scripture text
as originally written by its human authors is high — and, in fact, has already been largely completed.
This is true because a large number of early Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts have been
discovered. First, however, we need to briefly review a branch of scholarly study called
textual criticism. 10 Textual criticism is the study of the text (the written words themselves) to
determine the most likely wording of the original ••24»» writers. These scholars work with the
oldest obtainable Greek manuscripts.

"All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" succinctly defines textual criticism on page 318.
The authors say, "Textual criticism is the method used for reconstruction and restoration of the original
Bible text." 11

(We must clearly differentiate between the terms textual criticism and higher criticism. As we
have already indicated, textual criticism is concerned with the reconstruction of the original text. This
is very different from the similar sounding term higher criticism which describes a literary study of
the Scriptures. Higher criticism has often been extraordinarily speculative and used by some to
discredit the reliability and inspiration of Scripture. 12 Textual criticism, however, is an important
ally of those who love Scripture and desire to know what Jehovah originally communicated to man.)

Textual criticism is probably best understood by using the following illustration. Say, for instance,
that the original edition of an important historical document had been destroyed. Imagine that
printing presses did not exist before its loss. Thus, only copies — or copies of the copies — of the document
would be available for examination. As you would expect, there would be errors made in the copying
process. If you were assigned the responsibility of establishing the most accurate reproduction of the
original document, could you do it? You certainly could. First, you would look for as many copies as you
could find. Secondly, you would attempt to establish the date when each copy was made, looking for
the oldest manuscripts. Then you would establish some guidelines to determine the reliability of each
copy. Finally, you would compare all the copies to each other in order to reconstruct the original
document.

The oldest manuscripts would probably be the most accurate because fewer copies would be
interposed between them and the original. A very old copy could be a copy made from a copy of the
original. If very old, it could be a copy made from the original itself. A more recent copy, however,
may have a large number of copies between it and the original. The greater the number of copies
between it and the original, the greater the probability of error. In the same way, the older the
••25* • manuscript of any portion of Scripture, the more likely is its accuracy. (We say likely because
there could be exceptions. If, for example, it could be shown that a more recent copy had been made
from a very early copy, then the recent copy might be more accurate than other older copies.)

Returning to the subject of Bible manuscripts, we find that many ancient copies of the Greek
Scriptures exist today. 13 Furthermore, a significant number are available with dates in the third
century C.E. Some of these manuscripts are referred to in the footnotes of the New World Translation

10 See the Bibliography for two excellent books describing textual criticism and the transmission of the Greek
text: The Text of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger, and Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism by
Harold Greenlee.

11 Strictly speaking, textual criticism as indicated by this quotation is a branch of study which is distinct from
inspiration. However, for our purposes in maintaining brevity, we are combining the subjects of the purity of the
Greek Scripture text and the study of textual criticism under the heading of inspiration.

12 See the comments on higher criticism in the book The Bible — God's Word or Man's? pp. 31 -32 and 38-43.

13 See the table on page 31 3 in "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial."

14 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

and are extremely important references in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (See Appendix F for
actual reproductions of an early Greek manuscript.)

Today biblical scholars actually possess copies of the Christian Greek Scriptures made between 201
and 300 C.E. The original writers wrote between 41 C.E. (Matthew) and 98 C.E. (the Gospel and
Epistles of John). 14 This means that the oldest extant (currently existing) copies were made within a
relatively few years — to at most 150 years — of the Christian Scriptures' writing. In one case, a very
small manuscript portion of the Gospel of John is available which was copied about 125 C.E. This was
about 25 years after the original was written. 15

Again, consider the illustration above. How would you compare the copies after you had
assembled them chronologically? Could you actually determine what the original said? Again, the
answer is yes. Say, for instance, that each copy had ten copying errors. You would soon find that each
copy had dissimilar errors. That is, the errors in each copy would be random — the errors would not
always be in the same word or location in each manuscript. (On the other hand, if you found a repeated
and identical error in a series of manuscripts, you could assume that they were copies from a common
source containing the identified error.) Now you would tabulate the highest frequency of ••26 ,#
agreement (that is, copies which were the same for a given sentence or word) for determining the most
likely possible reading of the original. (Again, there are exceptions. One exception to the highest
frequency of agreement is made when a large number of copies can be traced to an earlier copy with
errors.)

Needless to say, we have oversimplified the problem of identifying errors. In practice, there are
many steps which must be taken to determine the authenticity of any variation within a Greek
manuscript. The process is not done simply or casually; however a high degree of certainty can be
attained.

In this way, biblical scholars (such as Westcott and Hort, the textual critics who produced the
Greek text used in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation) have been able to compare the available
manuscripts and determine the content of the original Christian Scriptures with amazing accuracy.
This is aided by the fact that there are over 5,000 ancient manuscript portions in the original Greek
language available today. 16 A very accurate summary of the reliability of our Greek text is given in
the reference cited:

F.J.A. Hort, who was co-producer of the Westcott and Hort text, writes. . . "If comparative
trivialities. . . are set aside, the words in our opinion still subject to doubt [in the Greek text] can hardly
amount to more than a thousandth part of the whole New Testament. ..." Sir Frederic Kenyon [says]
"The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant evidence becomes
so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come
down to us substantially as they were written has now been removed." 17

Inspiration and today's Bible

Before leaving the subject of inspiration, we need to apply the truth of inspiration to the Bible we
possess today. The subject of inspiration forces us to recognize the intervention of Jehovah himself in
the entire process. Not only has he revealed his message to inspired Scripture writers, but he has made
provision throughout history to assure its availability to each generation as a trustworthy guide to
faith.

14 Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 318.

15 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," pp. 316-317. From other sources (Metzger) we have a
description of this very small manuscript portion. (It measures only about 2 1 / 2 by 3 1 / 2 inches and contains portions
of John 18:31-33 on one side and 18:37-38 on the other.) It is called the John Rylands fragment, and is classified
as P 52 . Its importance comes from its date and location. It was written — as determined by the style of its script — in
the first half of the second century and was discovered in the Nile River area of Africa. Contrary to claims
propagated by German scholarship during the first half of this century, it establishes that the Gospel of John was
written early enough to have been circulated from Ephesus and copied in Africa by this early date. See Insight on
the Scriptures, Vol. 1 , p. 323 for a color photograph of P 52 .

16 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 31 6.

17 Ibid., p. 319.

Inspiration and the Christian Scriptures 15

Jehovah's concern with Scripture did not stop after he gave it to the inspired writers. We often fail
to recognize Israel's great care for its preservation. In spite of their times of idolatry and careless walk
with Jehovah, they nonetheless possessed a consuming passion for the accurate safeguarding of their
Scriptures. The Hebrew Scriptures we ••27»» possess today owe much to countless Jews throughout
history who sacrificed their lives for it. God himself intervened in that process so that his Word was
not lost during Israel's wanderings, their military defeats and captivities, and the times of their
political turmoil.

Jehovah continues to intervene in the transmission of his inspired writings since the completion of
the Christian Greek Scriptures. Throughout the history of the early Christian congregation, the rise of
the political church of Rome, the dark ages in Europe, and the awakening of both secular and religious
scholarship in our own cultural history, God has preserved the Scriptures so that we can know him in
truth today.

Jehovah has used men and women of diverse callings and interests to assure accurate transmission of
the biblical text. There have been martyrs willing to risk their lives in order to hide precious scrolls.
There have been unknown copyists who devoted their lives to accurately reproducing Scripture in spite
of the pressure of the political and religious institutions to produce a "Bible" in support of sectarian
dogma. There have been scholars who combed the monastery libraries of the Sinai Peninsula and
Northern Africa for ancient manuscripts, always in search of older and more reliable copies of the
Greek Scriptures.

However, as important as the means of preservation is, we must never overlook the author of
Scripture himself. The God who inspired Scripture will certainly take the necessary precautions to
preserve it.

Thus, we can be certain today that we have a faithful reproduction of the very words the apostolic
writers penned almost 2,000 years ago. On page 64, Reasoning from the Scriptures says,

In the introduction to his seven volumes on The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Sir Frederic
Kenyon wrote: "The first and most important conclusion derived from the examination of them [the
papyri] is the satisfactory one that they confirm the essential soundness of the existing texts. No
striking or fundamental variation is shown either in the Old or the New Testament. There are no
important omissions or additions of passages, and no variations which affect vital facts of doctrines.
The variations of text affect minor matters, such as the order of words or the precise words
used. ..But their essential importance is their confirmation, by evidence of an earlier date than was
hitherto available, of the integrity of our existing texts."

Is the Greek Scripture text trustworthy?

No better conclusion for this chapter can be given than a brief quotation from the book The
Bible — God's Word or Man's? found on pages 59 and 60 under the heading, "Is the Text Trustworthy?"

••28»» Is it possible that these eyewitness testimonies [of the disciples] were accurately
recorded but later corrupted? In other words, were myths and legends introduced after the original
writing was completed? We have already seen that the text of the Christian Greek Scriptures is in
better condition than any other ancient literature. Kurt and Barbara Aland, scholars of the Greek text
of the Bible, list almost 5,000 manuscripts that have survived from antiquity down to today, some
from as early as the second century C.E. The general Testimony of this mass of evidence is that the
text is essentially sound. Additionally, there are many ancient translations — the earliest dating to
about the year 1 80 C.E. — that help to prove that the text is accurate.

Hence, by any reckoning, we can be sure that legends and myths did not infiltrate into the
Christian Greek Scriptures after the original writers finished their work. The text we have is
substantially the same as the one that the original writers penned, and its accuracy is confirmed by
the fact that contemporaneous Christians accepted it.

• ■

CHAPTER SUMMARY. The question of inspiration and the reliability of the Greek text of the Christian
Greek Scriptures has been the primary concern of this chapter.

16 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

1. The source of the Scriptures is Jehovah himself. We can be certain that God would not give us a Bible

with errors. By this we mean that the original writings were without error.

2. The process of inspiration is best understood from the definition of the word. Inspired of God comes

from the Greek word T he-op'neu-stos, meaning God-breathed. Jehovah gave the original writers his
thoughts in such a way that they wrote the words that he intended to communicate to mankind.

3. The Greek text of the Christian Greek Scriptures which we have today is essentially error-free. We

can verify this because:

a. We have many early manuscripts — some dating little more than a hundred years after the time

when the originals were written.

b. We have a large number (over 5,000) of ancient Greek manuscripts to study.

4. Inspiration must also consider the intervention of Jehovah in the continued faithfulness of his
written revelation to man. We believe that the God who is capable of inspiring Scripture is also
capable of assuring its preservation.

17

Chapter 3: A GREEK INTERLINEAR STUDY (Parti)

We have reached a point in our discussion of the Tetragrammaton at which we must examine
each of the 237 1 Jehovah citation references in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
• •29»» The translation work on the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation was
started in December, 1947 and completed in September, 1949. 2 Consequently, the footnote references
supporting the Tetragrammaton are now more than 45 years old. 3 In Chapters 3 and 4, we will re-
examine these references in the light of present understanding of textual and historical information
published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.

These two chapters will also give the reader a concise explanation of the footnote reference system
employed in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (Surprisingly, the footnote references are not well
understood by most Witnesses who use this helpful interlinear edition for study.)

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation and its footnotes

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures^ contains an immense amount of
information regarding the 237 occurrences of the name Jehovah in the New World Translation's
Christian Greek Scriptures. The bulk of the information in the following chapters comes from the 1969
edition because it is the more comprehensive of the two. However, the 1985 edition includes additional
Hebrew version citations which are not found in the earlier edition.

The footnote and reference system used in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is comprehensive
and easy to use. Nonetheless, a brief ••30 ,# explanation is necessary in order to enhance their
usefulness. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation contains three complete Christian Scripture texts.
The main section contains both a faithful reproduction of the original Greek text and an interlinear
word-for-word English translation. The right-hand column consists of a parallel New World
Translation text.

Each time the divine name appears in the New World Translation text, an attached asterisk (i.e.
Jehovah*) identifies a footnote for that verse. Within each footnote, the reader is given a first group
of citations consisting of Hebrew translations containing the Tetragrammaton, and a second group of
citations identifying early Greek manuscripts which use K yrios (Lord ).

1. The first group of textual sources consists of Hebrew translations which use the Tetragrammaton in

that verse. These occurrences of iTliT substantiate the English translation Jehovah. The Hebrew
translations are identified as J , J , J , and so on, continuing to J-" . Each of the letter and superscript
symbols are known as "J" references because they support the name Jehovah in the New World
Translation.

2. The second group of textual sources consists of a select number of early Greek manuscripts and

Armenian, Syriac, and Latin versions which substantiate the Greek word K yrios (or, on occasion,
T heos ). The Greek manuscripts are identified by a unique symbol assigned to each as A, A, B, C, D, 5
L, P 45 , P 46 , P 47 , P 66 , P 74 , and P 75 . The Latin and other language versions are identified as Arm,
It, Sy, SyP, Sy c , Sy h , Sy hi , SyP, Sy s , Vg, Vg c , and Vg s . These manuscripts support the word Lord
(from K yrios) in both the Greek and English portions of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (Refer

1 Appendix 1D of the New World Translation Reference Edition (1984) lists an additional 72 references where the
name Jehovah appears in the footnotes of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, but not in the main text. For the
sake of brevity, these references will not be included in the final study summary of Appendix B.

2 See "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " (1 990), p. 324.

3 We do not mean to imply that the footnote reference material has not been edited since 1949. The publication of
the 1969 and 1985 editions of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation are themselves significant examples of more
recent editing.

4 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1969 and 1985. After using the Kingdom Interlinear Translation in personal
study for a number of years, the author has developed a great appreciation for this publication.

5 D (the Bezae Codices) is identified in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as including both a Greek and Latin
text. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote does not differentiate between a Greek or Latin citation.
Presumably the reference is parallel in both texts.

18

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

to Appendix A for identification of each notation symbol.)

In a helpful introductory section of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, each of these footnote
reference texts is enumerated with a brief description and publication date. For example, y of group 1
above (which is the document cited most frequently) is listed as the "Greek Scriptures in Hebrew."
This is a translation (version) of the original Greek Scriptures into Hebrew published by Elias Hutter
of Nuremberg in 1599. Thus, the footnote reference "J 7 " in the New World Translation tells us that the
choice of the name Jehovah in a particular verse is based on the use of God's name in this 1599 Hebrew
translation.

••31«« This same Jehovah footnote also lists Greek manuscripts identified in group 2 which
support the choice of Westcott and Hort in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In most cases, their
choice from the best extant manuscripts was the Greek word K yrios ( Kupios) and is translated Lord. If,
for example, the footnote lists "B" as the Greek manuscript evidence, it is referring to a Greek Scripture
manuscript called the Vatican MS. No. 1209 which is a fourth century Greek manuscript. (That is, the
evidence supporting the Greek word used in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation shows that K yrios
was known to have been used as early as the fourth century — between 301 to 400 C.E.)

In almost all cases, both the "J" references and the K yrios references will cite multiple Hebrew
versions or Greek manuscripts.

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation format

It is possible that some readers are unfamiliar with the format of an interlinear Bible. Though we
will be referring to Matthew 1:24 in ••32»» the following chapter, it may be helpful to the reader to
see a reproduction of the actual format consisting of the Greek text, the word-for-word English
translation beneath each corresponding Greek word, and the New World Translation column on the
right. The footnotes for all verses are grouped together at the bottom of the page. Figure 1 shows
Matthew 1:22-24 as these verses appear in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

22 toi3to 8e 6\ov yeyovev Iva

This but whole has happened in order that

TT\T|p(jj9fj TO pT|9<EV IJTTO KupiOU

might be fulfilled the (thing) spoken by Lord

8id toO Trpo<t>iiTou Xeyovros 23 T8oi>
through the prophet saying Look!

f) TrapOevos ev yaaTpi e£ei Kai

The virgin in belly will have and

Te£eTca uiov, Kai Kakeaovaiv to

will give birth to son, and they will call the

6vop,a chjtoO ' E|ipxivourj\ 6 ecmv

name of him Immanuel; which is

|ie9eppT|vei>6p;evov Me9 t]pxov 6 9eog.
being translated With us the God.

24 Eyep9eL5 8e 6 Idiofitj) otto

Having been awakened but the Joseph from

toO ijttvou eTTOLT|aev cos TrpoaeTafev aiiTO 6
the sleep did as directed to him the

dyyeXos Kupiou Kai Trape\apev ti)v ywalKa
angel of Lord and he took along the woman

aujtou'
of him;

22 All this actually
came about for that
to be fulfilled which
was spoken by
Jehovah* 23 "Look!
The virgin will
become pregnant
and will give birth to
a son, and they will
call his name
Immanuel," which
means, when
translated, "With Us
Is God."

24 Then Joseph
woke up from his
sleep and did as the
angel of Jehovah*
had directed him,
and he took his wife
home.

22* Jehovah, J 1 ' 4 ' 7 ' 14 ' 16 ' 18 ' 22 " 24 ' 26 ; Lord, AB. 24* Jehovah, J 1 " 4 ' 7 ' 14 ' 16 "
18,22-24. Lord/ AB.

Figure 1 : Format of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 1) 19

The study and its headings

Before reading further, look carefully at the example of the study shown on the following page.
You will see that each of the 237 Jehovah references occupies a horizontal line. On that single line, you
will find the various categories of information (represented by the individual column headings) which
are true of that verse. Six headings (including the verse reference) come directly from the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation. The remaining four columns are derived from Hebrew Scripture quotations.

There are ten headings in the study. We will briefly explain the meaning of each of these
categories which are shown on page 33 before looking at the information in greater depth. (The
complete study is given in Appendix B.)

(1) GREEK SCRIPTURE REFERENCE. This column identifies the 237 references which use the name
Jehovah in the New World Translation. They are listed in many sources, such as Appendix ID of
the Reference Edition. 6 (Also refer to Appendix A.)

(2) GREEK WORD USED IN KIT. This column exactly reproduces the Greek word used in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation. It is generally a form of the word K yrios , though there are some exceptions.
Spelling is not always identical because the final letters of certain words must be in agreement with
corresponding grammatical functions according to the word's use as an object or a subject, and whether
it is used with a preposition or is possessive. Refer to Appendix C for a complete description of the
Greek word K yrios.

(3) ENGLISH TRANSLATION IN KIT. This column lists the English word used to translate K yrios in the
Greek portion of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

(4) EARLIEST MANUSCRIPT DATE SUPPORTING "LORD" (OR "GOD"). This column lists the date of the
earliest Greek manuscript footnote ••34»» citation using K yrios. 7 In most instances, more than one
manuscript is cited. The date is usually identified by century in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation's footnote. For the sake of comparison, century dates are transposed to year dates. (That
is, the fourth century is listed as 301 to 400.) Only a single citation from the manuscript bearing the
earliest date will be shown. All dates are from the Common Era.

(5) EARLIEST VERSION DATE SUPPORTING "JEHOVAH." This column gives the date of the earliest
known Hebrew translation which uses the Tetragrammaton. In many cases, multiple references are
cited in the actual footnote. Again, only the earliest date will be shown. (Note that in category 4
above, the evidence cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is always a Greek manuscript. In
the case of the evidence cited for the Tetragrammaton, the Kingdom Interlinear Translation always
cites a Hebrew translation [version].) Again, all dates are from the Common Era.

(6) NAME USED IN THE NEW WORLD TRANSLATION. This column lists the name used in the
New World Translation. Because this is a compilation of the 237 occurrences of the divine name, it
will in all cases be Jehovah. The divine name is included at this point so that a full comparison can
be made with other information in the study.

(7) HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION USING THE DIVINE NAME. In certain cases, the writer of the
Christian Greek Scriptures quoted a Hebrew Scripture verse in which the divine name is a part of
the verse itself. In cases where the divine name was directly quoted as a part of the particular
Hebrew Scripture passage cited, the Hebrew Scripture passage is identified in this column. The
primary source used by the translation committee for Hebrew Scripture references was 1^0 A
Concordance to the Greek Testament by Moulton and ••35»» Geden. When the Hebrew entry is

6 The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, pp. 1 565-1 566.

7 The New World Bible Translation Committee used a limited number of Greek manuscripts as the basis for its
footnote citations. Five manuscripts with somewhat later dates (A, A, B, C, and D dated between 301 and 600 C.E.)
are generally cited. A small, additional group of earlier manuscripts (P 45 , P 46 , P 47 , P 66 , P 74 , and P 75 which are
dated as early as 200 C.E.) are listed in the EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS USED section of the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation, 1985 edition. However, these important earlier manuscripts are not cited in the Jehovah footnotes in
the books represented by these manuscripts (the Gospels of Luke and John, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, or Revelation).
In addition to the manuscripts listed, numerous older Greek manuscripts are currently available. Consequently, the
dates in this column are not the earliest dates known but merely represent the earliest dates used in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation footnotes. See the footnote references numbered 8, 10, 13, and 14 in Appendix B. Also see
Appendix I for a comprehensive tabulation of early Greek Scripture manuscripts.

20

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

A comparison of the 237 Jehovah references

(••33««)

Inform

ation from the

Kingdom Interlinear Translation

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

h-

"O

h-

ic

03 O

c

2

co L_

_

C

■

"O o

c-

o

CD

cz

.4_J

03 CO

Q_ -

CO

CD

CI
CD

cz
o

"co

° o

CO o

en

CD C

- .5

Q_

Z3

en

cz

ra g 5

c» co

— "O

O
CO
_^

CD

~0

o

co

C/3

rliest m
upporti

est ve
pportin

CD o
03 ^

03

m

CD

cc en

-c: =3

E 03

s —

iZ

LU

CO en

CO S

(3

o

LU

LU

-z.

Hebrew Scripture references

o

TO

.9 CM

iS 03 _,

%u

03 03 3

B -1=5

C3 CDc
CO _sz o

CDT3
O

P c= -2

-g co

CO £=

o as

Z3 e=

°" _>

03 T3

=j ">

CO CD

5 §

03 ^

o

Matthew

03 a.

o

H — ■

CD

CO

CD

C )

CD

CO

O

*—

<r>

cz

CD

CD

O

CD

CO

T

o

(13

c

O

o

o

1:20

KupLOD

Lord

301-400 1

1537

Jehovah

X

1:22

Kupiou 2

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Is 7:14

1:24

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

2:13

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

2:15

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ho 11:1

2:19

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

3:3

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Is 40:3 3

4:4

6eo0 4

God

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt8:3

4:7

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt 6:16

4:10

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt 6:13

5:33

Kuptcp 7

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Lv 19:12

21:9

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

21:42

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 118:23

22:37

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt 6:5

22:44

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 110:1

23:39

KuplOU

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

27:10

Kuptos

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Zc 11:13

28:2

KuplOU

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

Mark

1:3

KuplOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:3

5:19

KUpiOS"

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 18:8

Mark 11:9 and following is found in Appendix B.

1

Early Greek manuscripts do not bear precise dates. The section entitled Explanation of the Symbols Used in

the foreword of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation lists the most probable date of each given Greek manuscript.
(Generally the listing is by century, though in rare cases it is more precise.) To give a more understandable
comparison with the adjacent column which precisely dates Hebrew versions, the century designation is given as a
date range. That is, the fourth century C.E. is written as 301-400.

2"° See Appendix B for other footnotes found in this section.

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 1) 21

found in J 20 , the Hebrew Scripture reference is entered in bold font. A standard font in this column
indicates that the Hebrew Scripture reference was found in the center column of the New World
Translation Reference Edition or other resource materials.

(8) HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION REFERRING TO THE DIVINE NAME. In many cases, the Greek
Scripture writer cites a Hebrew Scripture verse in which the divine name is not found in the verse
itself, though Jehovah is clearly identified in the Hebrew Scripture context as the subject of the
cited verse. In these instances, the Hebrew Scripture passage will be identified in this 8th column.
(Notice the difference between columns 7 and 8. In column 7, the actual name of Jehovah appears in
the quotation. In column 8, the name Jehovah is not a part of the Hebrew Scripture quotation, yet
the name of Jehovah is clearly included in the context of the verse.)

(9) CROSS REFERENCE CITATION ONLY. Our primary source of Hebrew Scripture quotations for this
study was the center column cross references of the New World Translation Reference Edition.
Consequently, a distinction must be made between a true Hebrew Scripture quotation by an apostolic
writer, as against mere cross references to subject- or parallel-thought citations in which the divine
name occurs. The center column reference does not identify the form of cross references employed. The
latter are informative citations, yet for our purposes, they must be segregated from those of column 8
above. As we will see later in this chapter, the mere presence of a parallel subject in the Hebrew
Scriptures does not indicate that the inspired Christian writer was quoting that verse. In some
cases, the cross reference is to a subject entirely distinct from the divine name. In these instances, an
"X" indicates that the Hebrew Scripture verse is not applicable. No entry is made when the
citation refers to a Christian Scripture verse.

(10) NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. In a certain number of the 237
Jehovah references, the inspired Christian Scripture writer was not quoting the Hebrew Scriptures.
All passages which lack a Hebrew Scripture source will be identified in this final column with an
"X."

The study and its background

In the actual study done by the author, all K yrios ( KiipLos) references in the entire Christian Greek
Scriptures were evaluated. The complete K yrios list was obtained from the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation J-^O reference. However, since there are a number of column entries which apply only to
those passages in which K yrios has been ••36»» translated as Jehovah in the New World Translation,
the total study has been divided. Thus, the 237 Jehovah references appear in Appendix B with the
above ten columns of tabulated information. The total 714 occurrences of K yrios in the Greek Scriptures
appear in Appendix C in which the English translation found in the New World Translation is given. 8
For the sake of contrast, Appendix C also includes the Jehovah references with the exception of those
instances where Jehovah was translated from T heos (God).

Obtaining the manuscript dates for the respective wording is relatively simple. The footnote for
each Jehovah passage found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation always gives a "J" reference
identifying one or more Hebrew translation(s) which have a known publication date. In addition, the
footnote usually gives an ancient Greek manuscript reference with a Lord reading. With this
information, the reader can consult the EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS section in the foreword material of
the Kingdom Interlinear Translation to find the manuscript date.

Completing the section on the Hebrew Scripture references is more time-consuming, though it is not
complicated. First, each Jehovah verse is examined in the New World Translation Reference Edition
Bible. When there is a quotation from a Hebrew Scripture source, its reference is given in the center

8 As a matter of reference to the original study, the Greek portion of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation uses the
word K yrios 714 times. Of these occurrences, the New World Translation renders the word as Lord 405 times, as
Jehovah 223 times, as Master (or master) 53 times, as Sir (or sir) 1 7 times, as lord 7 times, as owner 5 times, as
God once, and in one instance the word is not translated. Plurals and possessives of the same word are counted
as a single category. In a small number of cases, not all upper case Lord citations refer to Jesus. In the Greek
language, quotations commence with an upper case letter. Therefore, in a few instances where a quotation
includes an address to someone other than Jesus as Sir, the word K yrios may be capitalized. (For an example, see
Luke 13:25.)

22 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

column. The Hebrew Scripture passage is then read, allowing its subsequent placement in the proper
category. If the Greek Scripture writer quoted a verse which employed the divine name in the Hebrew
Scripture verse, the reference is noted in the column entitled HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION USING
THE DIVINE NAME. Special notice should also be taken of the references set in bold type. The bold type
indicates citations from J^O which show the Tetragrammaton in a Hebrew Scripture verse quotation.
These citations represent the most decisive evidence of a quotation source containing ••37«« miT, and
are always given precedence over other cross reference citations. 9

In many cases, the divine name is not a part of the verse quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures by the
Greek Scripture writer, although Jehovah is clearly identified in the Hebrew Scripture context. In
these instances, the passage is identified in the column HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION REFERRING
TO THE DIVINE NAME. The division between actual citation of the divine name and contextual
reference to the divine name was made for the sake of interest and precision. The two categories do not
represent a difference of importance. The Greek Scripture writer is able to faithfully attribute a
quotation to Jehovah when the divine name is contextually understood, even though the Hebrew
Scripture source does not use the divine name in the actual verse itself. In the study summary, these two
categories will be counted as a single entity.

Some further explanation is required for the column heading CROSS REFERENCE CITATION ONLY.
The New World Translation Reference Edition has a complete, multi-function cross reference column in
the center of the page. As is common practice, this type of cross reference system will include numerous
classes of cross references depending on the subject of the verse. As would be expected, when a Jehovah
verse is quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Hebrew Scripture reference is given. 10 However, there
can be confusion if the intent of the cross reference system is not understood. In frequent cases, Hebrew
Scripture references are given which refer to a subject- or parallel-thought which contains the divine
name, but is not a Hebrew Scripture verse from which a quotation was made. Numerous examples could
be given. At Mark 5:19, Jesus tells the man who had been called Legion to "Go home ••38 , » to your
relatives, and report to them all the things Jehovah* c has done for you..." The "c" footnote cites
Exodus 18:8 which says, "And Moses went to relating to his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to
Pharaoh and Egypt on account of Israel." This is a useful comparison to the phrase, "All that Jehovah
had done," but it is certainly not to be understood as a direct quotation. 11 In other cases, the footnotes
are mere parallels in subject matter. At Romans 14:6 Paul says, "...and he who does not eat does not eat
to Jehovah*"..." with the "b" footnote referring to Leviticus 11:8 which says, "YOU must not eat any of
their flesh, and YOU must not touch their dead body. They are unclean for YOU."

There are two further qualifications which must be made regarding this column heading CROSS
REFERENCE CITATION ONLY. In some cases, cross references are given to Greek Scripture verses. Since

9 Few differences exist between the New World Translation cross references given as the primary quotation
source and J 20 . When differences in citations for a given quotation between Bible editors do exist, however, it
indicates no sense of discrepancy or confusion. Frequently, an important passage will be quoted numerous times
throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Even Moses reiterated what he himself had written; the book of Deuteronomy
summarizes much of which was given in Exodus and Leviticus.

10 In most cases, the actual cross reference to the Hebrew Scripture quotation is not directly linked to the word
Jehovah, but is attached to a separate word within the verse. As an example, Matthew 3:3 says, "Listen! Someone
is crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of Jehovah,* you people! Make his roads straight.'" In this case,
the quotation source of Isaiah 40:3 is given in footnote "f" rather than the asterisk following Jehovah. The asterisk
(*) merely identifies the textual sources authenticating the divine name. Some care is needed when using these
references so that Hebrew quotation sources are not overlooked.

11 We would certainly not be justified in substituting the name Jehovah in place of the Lord Jesus in each
occurrence throughout the Greek Scriptures for the idea expressing, "...something that the Lord did..." based on
this statement regarding an event in Moses' life! Many similar examples from other parallel references would show
the error which would be introduced by taking a common phrase in the Hebrew Scriptures which used Jehovah's
name to introduce the name of Jehovah into the work of Jesus in the Greek Scriptures. The phrase "Following
Jehovah fully..." illustrates how subject- or parallel-thought cross reference citations could be misused. This
phrase with slight alteration is found at Numbers 32:12, Deuteronomy 1 :36, and Joshua 14:8, 9, and 14. It would
completely violate the biblical meaning at Luke 9:61 to introduce the name Jehovah into the passage making the
man Jesus asked to follow him say, "I will follow you, Jehovah; but first permit me to say good-bye to those in my
household."

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 1) 23

these verses are outside the purview of our search for Hebrew Scripture quotations, the category is left
blank. (For example, see 1 Corinthians 16:7.) In a few cases, the cross reference to the Hebrew Scripture
has insufficient bearing on the divine name to justify its exclusion — though the cross reference remains
valuable for other purposes. (For example, see 1 Corinthians 7:17 and Psalm 143:10 with Isaiah 46:11.)

In many cases, however, the Greek Scripture passages have no quotation source in the Hebrew
Scriptures. When this is the case, the verse is noted under the column, NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE
TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES.

In our final summary, we will combine the results of the two columns CROSS REFERENCE CITATION
ONLY and NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES. Inasmuch as the focus of this
portion of our study is the determination of genuine Hebrew Scripture quotations, it would be erroneous
to include mere parallel references in the count. Both of these columns, in fact, represent the ••39 ,#
absence of a direct quotation in the Greek text from the Hebrew Scriptures which uses the divine name.

The reader must be aware that assigning quotation sources is not a precise science. In some cases, a
certain objectivity may be employed; the J^O references can be directly counted, and many of the N ew
World Translation footnote references to Hebrew Scripture verses are clear enough to indicate obvious
quotation. In other cases, however, any decision regarding selection of verses allowed as a quotation
source is subjective. For this reason, the figures given in these categories must be regarded
tentatively — it is not the author's intention that they be viewed as absolute numbers. The best solution
to this dilemma is for the reader to do his own evaluation of each of the 237 Jehovah references.
Notwithstanding this difficulty, the policy followed in this research was to recognize a cross reference
as an allowable quotation source whenever possible. If error was made, it was on the side of allowing
use of uncertain cross references rather than excluding them.

For an example of the first entries from Matthew, refer to page 33. You will notice that the first six
columns of information come from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. That means that all dates and
information regarding the original Greek words recorded in the study are dates and textual information
established by the Watch Tower Society.

A surprising discovery

We are uncertain of the expectations of readers in the early 1950's when they first began studying
their new translation. Today, however, experience indicates that readers of the

New World Translation presume that the majority of the 237 occurrences of Jehovah's name in the
New World Translation's Christian Greek Scriptures come from passages where the inspired Christian
writer inserted a quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures. However, this is not the case. As seen in
Appendix B, the New World Translation introduces the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures
125 times in which there is no quotation source(s) from the Hebrew Scriptures. That is, only 112
references in the Greek manuscripts are quotations of the Hebrew Scriptures which contain the divine
name. Thus, a majority of the occurrences of the name Jehovah in the Christian Greek Scriptures will
be listed in either the category, NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES, or
CROSS REFERENCE CITATION ONLY.

The discovery that more than half of the Jehovah references in the Greek Scriptures are not
quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures may be surprising to many. The following quotation from the
New World ••40»» Translation Appendix ID may leave the reader with the impression that all 237
Jehovah references come directly from the Hebrew Scriptures: 12

To know where the divine name was replaced by the Greek words Kuvrio" and Qeov", we have
determined where the inspired Christian writers have quoted verses, passages and expressions
from the Hebrew Scriptures and then we have referred back to the Hebrew text to ascertain whether
the divine name appears there. In this way we determined the identity to give Kuvrio" and Qeov"
and the personality with which to clothe them.

To avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis, we have been most
cautious about rendering the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures, always carefully
considering the Hebrew Scriptures as a background. We have looked for agreement from the

12 The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, pp. 1 564-1 565.

24 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Hebrew versions to confirm our rendering. 13

A second surprising discovery

There is a second discovery which may also surprise the reader. From today's vantage point of
more than 45 years after the original textual materials were gathered, there is an apparent disparity
between the dates supporting the Tetragrammaton and those supporting evidence that the original
writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures used K yrios. Of the 237 Jehovah references, 232 are
documented by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes as using the word K yrios in extant Greek
manuscripts as early as the fourth century C.E. When information from the foreword of the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation is used in conjunction with "All Scriptures is Inspired of God and
Beneficial," (1983 edition, p. 312), seven 14 of these references are affirmed to the year 200 C.E. as using
K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton. Said another way, if the Tetragrammaton had been used by
the original writers, all indications of its use had disappeared ••41»» within 100-200 years (at most)
of the time the apostolic authors wrote. In seven instances substantiated by the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation (1985 edition, p. 15 in reference to P 46 and P 75 ), evidence of the Tetragrammaton would
have been lost a mere 102 years after its writing. In the thousands of manuscript remains which are
now available, we realize that there is an absence of even a single example of iTliT in the Greek
Scriptures. Secondly, we now see that evidence for the Tetragrammaton is extremely late. The earliest
Hebrew manuscript containing the Tetragrammaton is from 1385 C.E. with the most frequently cited
evidence coming from 1599 C.E.

It is interesting to note the specific dates and frequency of citation for several of the more important
documents used in the 1947-1949 translation. The earliest Hebrew language version of the Greek
Scriptures used to document the Tetragrammaton dates from 1385 C.E. This version is y- and is cited 16
times in the "J" footnotes. (In Chapter 5 we will find evidence that y- may have greater weight than
merely being a version.) The most frequently cited version — y — is the Elias Hutter translation dating
from 1599 C.E. with 181 references. The two earliest Greek manuscripts indicating that K yrios is the
original reading cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's footnotes date from the fourth century
C.E. These are Vatican MS. No. 1209 and A (Aleph)-Sinaitic MS. 15 These two documents account for
232 references in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. With today's availability of textual evidences,
if we consider only the date as the basis of comparison, the Greek manuscripts give by far the stronger
evidence that K yrios (rather than the Tetragrammaton) was used by the original Greek Scripture
writers inasmuch as these two Greek manuscripts predate the y- and y documents by at least 1,000
years.

Because of its length, the complete study is not duplicated in this chapter. It is reproduced in its
entirety in Appendix B.

Remember the objective which prompted this study: our goal was to evaluate our new
understanding of the textual and historical evidence supporting the Tetragrammaton in the original
Christian Greek Scriptures which may not have been readily available to the New World Bible
Translation Committee 45 years ago. From our study thus far, we have discovered that the most current
information — researched •• 42* • entirely from Watch Tower Society documents — does not give clear
documentation for early Hebrew or Greek sources containing mil". The only sources cited by the

13 In the quotation above, the reader must note that the "agreement. . .which confirms our rendering," does not
come from the Hebrew Scriptures, but rather from Hebrew versions (translations) which are dated 1385 C.E. and
later.

14 Luke 10:27 and 13:35, and John 1:23, 6:45, 12:13, and 12:38 (twice), are represented in P 75 . John 1:23, 6:45,
12:13, and 12:38 (twice) are also represented in P 66 . Both of these composite manuscripts are dated circa
200 C.E., which places them a mere 1 02 years after John wrote his epistle. K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton
is used throughout these very early Greek manuscripts. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," 1983
edition, p. 312).

15 Because this particular manuscript is cited frequently in this study, a brief explanation of its textual notation is
in order. The textual notation used to identify this Greek manuscript is the Hebrew letter Aleph (X). The identifying
name of the manuscript itself is Sinaitic, and MS is the notation for manuscript. The parenthetical notation "(Aleph)"
is merely supplying the English pronunciation for the Hebrew letter X.

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 1) 25

translation committee are relatively recent versions done since 1385 C.E. On the other hand, the Greek
manuscripts supporting K yrios are easily documented to a very early date.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. A study of the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures
must evaluate the earliest and most reliable texts from which our present Bible comes. This is
particularly true in light of our progressive understanding of the textual and historical material which
has become available since the completion of the New World Translation more than 45 years ago. The
Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives substantial information in the following areas:

1. For a given passage using the divine name Jehovah in the New World Translation, the footnotes

will direct the reader to both "J" translation documents which cite uses of the Tetragrammaton, and
to ancient Greek manuscripts which cite K yrios.

2. The introductory portion, EXPLANATION OF THE SYMBOLS USED IN THE MARGINAL REFERENCES

from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, will give a brief history and location of each document
cited in the footnotes. This information will include the date of writing.

3. The majority of the 237 instances in the New World Translation in which the divine name is used in

the Greek Scriptures are not derived from the Hebrew Scriptures. Only 112 of these instances have a
traceable source in the Hebrew Scriptures. The remaining 125 Jehovah instances rely solely on
Hebrew translations made after 1385.

4. The earliest Hebrew language version of the Greek Scriptures used to document the Tetragrammaton

in the Christian Greek Scriptures dates from 1385 C.E. and is cited 16 times in Jehovah footnote
references. The most frequently cited version dates from 1599 C.E. and is cited 181 times in the
Jehovah footnote references.

5. All extant Greek Scripture manuscripts use K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton. The two early

Greek manuscripts which are most frequently cited in the Jehovah footnotes date from the fourth
century C.E. These Greek manuscripts are Vatican MS. No. 1209 and ••43»» A (Aleph)-Sinaitic MS.
These two manuscripts alone are cited 232 times. Thus, the footnote references from the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation themselves give substantially stronger support for
K yrios than rnn\

26 26

Chapter 4: A GREEK INTERLINEAR STUDY (Part 2)

In Chapter 3, we introduced a study of the word K yrios ( KupLo?) from the Christian Greek Scriptures.
The study specifically evaluates the 237 instances in which the New World Translation renders
K yrios as Jehovah.

• •44«« In this chapter we will complete the study with particular attention to the "J" footnote
nomenclature given in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

The "J" reference footnotes

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives interesting reference and footnote material for each
occurrence of the divine name. We are particularly interested in the footnote form and references for
two types of information: first, specific ancient Greek manuscript sources and, secondly, later Hebrew
versions. For example, the interlinear portion at Matthew 1:24 reads:

24 'EyepGels 8e 6 TuoT|(j) cxtto toO xmvov

Having been awakened but the Joseph from the sleep

eTTOiriaey us TrpoaeTa£ev avrQ 6 dyyeXos' Kupiou
did as directed to him the angel of Lord

rat TrapeXaPev tt\v ywaiKa oujtou '
and he took along the woman of him;

In the right hand margin, the New World Translation reads:

24 Then Joseph woke up from his sleep and did as the angel of Jehovah* had directed him, and he
took his wife home.

Because the divine name is used, footnote "24*" is added at the bottom of the page. 1 The footnote
reads:

24* Jehovah, ji -4,7-14,1 6-18,22-24. Lordi AB.

A description of all Greek manuscript and "J" symbols is included under the heading EXPLANATION
OF THE SYMBOLS USED in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. The approximate date in which the
Greek manuscripts were written and the publication date of the Hebrew translations are given. For the
sake of brevity within the recorded information for the study itself, we only cite the earliest or most
concise ••45* 'textual references. 2 That is, in the case of the Hebrew translations, we will cite the
publication date of the earliest entry given. In the case of the Greek manuscripts cited, we will give
the date range of only the oldest manuscript identified in the footnote. (The complete list of Greek
manuscripts and Hebrew translations cited within the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is summarized
in Appendix A.)

The Matthew 1:24 footnote cites 18 Hebrew translations and two Greek manuscripts. For the sake of
illustration, we will look at two of these entries. The Hebrew translation ]? and the Greek manuscript
A (Aleph) Sinaitic MS are explained on pages 26 and 29 of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, 1969
edition, as follows: 3

1 The center column of the New World Translation Reference Edition refers the reader to Appendix 1 D which gives
only the Hebrew version information. In Appendix 1D, the Hebrew translations j1 -4,7-1 4,1 6-1 8,22-24 are c jf ec |
though the Greek manuscripts AB are not.

2 The earliest "J" document used in this verse is J 2 which bears a date of 1385. Because J 2 , J 3 , and J 4 are all
related documents, it is clearer to use J 7 for this illustration. (J 7 is the earliest complete Hebrew version.) In the
main study, however, the date from the earliest manuscript is always the date given.

3 The same entries within the 1985 edition read as:

J 7 Christian Greek Scriptures in 12 languages, including Heb., by Elias Hutter, Nuremberg, 1599.

X ('A'leph) Codex Sinaiticus, Gr., fourth cent. C.E., British Museum, H.S., G.S.

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 2) 27

J 7
Greek Scriptures in Hebrew. In 1599 Elias Hutter of Nuremberg, Germany, published his
translation of all the Christian Greek Scriptures into Hebrew. This was the first complete Hebrew
version of all the canonical Christian Greek Scriptures, forming a part of Hutter's Polyglott New
Testamento\ 1 599. (A copy is found at the New York Public Library.)

X (Aleph)

SinaiticMS. An uncial Greek manuscript of the 4th century in codex form. Originally it evidently
contained the whole Bible, including all the Christian Greek Scriptures. It is at present possessed
by the British Museum, London, England.

The footnotes in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation are concise and easy to read, though a basic
understanding of their format is first necessary. The footnote reading "24* Jehovah, jl-4, 7-14,16-18,22-
24 ; Lord, SB." contains the following information. The "24*" refers to the asterisk after Jehovah in
verse 24. Following the verse identification, the word Jehovah indicates the list of documents which
support the use of the divine name in the New World Translation. The documents are given as jl~ 4 ' 7 ~
14,16-18,22-24 This tells us that the Hebrew translations J 1 , J 2 , J 3 ' J 4 , and each of J 7 to J 14 , J 16 to J 18 ' and
J 22 to J 24 all contain the Tetragrammaton in this verse. The footnote then cites two Greek manuscripts
••46»» identified by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation which substantiate K yrios (Lord) for this
same verse. The Greek manuscripts are K (Aleph) Sinaitic MS and B (Vatican Manuscript No. 1209).

The reader should be aware that the Greek manuscripts used as footnote references in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation are merely representative of a select few early examples. We have
already referred to the statement on page 319 of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,"
which tells us that over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the Christian Scriptures exist. The Watch Tower
Society does not document any of these Greek texts as using the Tetragrammaton rather than K yrios. 4

A brief comment regarding version citations is in order. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation
footnotes also include citations of ancient versions (Christian Scripture translations into Latin, Syriac
or other early languages) in support of Lord. This is a common and useful practice within ancient
textual studies. Even though the version is not a Greek text, it can be a valuable resource in determining
the original wording of the Greek text. The case for the Tetragrammaton as against K yrios serves as a
useful illustration.

The Latin Vulgate by Jerome is one of the citations frequently used in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation in support of Lord. (It is identified as Vg.) The Latin word used by
Jerome gives an indication of the reading of the Greek text he used for his translation. Since Jerome
originally published his Vulgate in 400 C.E., his Greek text was from this date or earlier. Had the
Greek text contained the Tetragrammaton, Jerome would have either transcribed the Hebrew letters or
translated the divine name into Latin. On the other hand, if the Greek text used the word K yrios,
Jerome would have translated it as Dominus. In either case, an early version gives strong
indication — though not proof — of the Greek words used in early manuscripts.

Manuscript dates in the Jehovah footnotes

The Jehovah footnotes also direct us to meaningful information regarding manuscript dates.

By this point in the book, the reader must be aware that the age of a manuscript is of great
importance. The axiom, "Older is better" is seldom more appropriate than in biblical manuscript
studies. This is ••47»» true because older manuscripts are closer in time to the original inspired
Scriptures than more recent manuscripts. 5

A careful review of any given Jehovah footnote reveals an interesting comparison of textual dates.
Revelation 4:11 is one of the important Jehovah verses. Later in this book, we will return to this verse.
For now, however, it will give us an important illustration of the manuscript writing (or publication)
date available from the footnotes.

4 The Watch Tower Society documents occurrences of the Tetragrammaton in only the Septuagint. See Appendix
1 c, New World Translation Reference Edition.

5 However, this statement recognizes the qualifications made in Chapter 2 under the heading "Inspiration and a
correct text."

28 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The verse appears in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as follows:

11 "Agios' el, 6 KiipLO? ml 6 Geog

Worthy you are, the Lord and the God

\a(Mv tt\v 86£av Kai tt\v Ti(if|v mi

to receive the glory and the honor and

rpiov,
of us,

tt|v 8vva\iiv,
the power,

otl av
because you

Kai Sid to

and through the

eicnaas Ta rravTa,
created the all (things)

Qe\r\[id aov r\oav

will of you they were

Kai eKTLa9r|CTay.

and they were created

The New World Translation quoted in the right hand margin translates the verse:

11 "You are worthy, Jehovah,* even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power,
because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created."

At the bottom of the page, the Jehovah footnote is given:
11* Jehovah, j7,8,13,14,16,18 ; Lordi X AVgSy h .

The "11*" verse footnote lists six Hebrew versions (J 7 ' 8 '13, 14,16,18) w hj c h substantiate Jehovah,
and two early Greek manuscripts (X Sinaitic MS and A Alexandrine MS) and two versions (the Latin
Vulgate and a Syriac version) which substantiate Lord. Though the dates of the various versions and
manuscripts are not given in the footnote itself, we can acquire this information from the section
entitled EXPLANATION OF THE SYMBOLS USED in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation where the
publication dates of 1599, 1661, 1838, 1846, 1866, and 1885 C.E. respectively are given for these Hebrew
versions. The early Greek manuscripts are dated from the fourth and fifth centuries (300 to 499 C.E.)
and the two versions are given dates of 405 and 464 C.E. respectively.

As a further illustration of the information given in the footnotes, it will be helpful to identify
each of the references given for both the ••48 ,# Tetragrammaton and Lord in this verse. They are
listed by reference symbol, identification of the version or Greek manuscript, and by date as listed in
the introductory material in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In Table 1, we start with the
information listed for various versions of the Greek Scriptures translated into Hebrew, each of which
uses the Tetragrammaton.

J 7

Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew;
Elias Hutter.

1599

J 8

Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew;
William Robertson.

1661

J 13

Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew;
A. McCaul and others.

1838

J 14

Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew;
John Christian Reichardt.

1846

J 16

Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew;
John Christian Reichardt and Joachim H.
R. Blesenthal.

1866

J 18

Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew;
Isaac Salkinson.

1885

Table 1 . The Hebrew versions substantiating Jehovah at Revelation 4:1 1 .

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 2)

29

From this same verse, a similar (though shorter) list 6 is given for the word K yrios which is
generally translated as Lord. This is shown in Table 2.

K

Sinaitic MS; an uncial Greek
manuscript.

4th cent.

A

Alexandrine MS; an uncial
Greek manuscript.

5th cent.

Vg

Latin Vulgate; a revision of
Old Latin by Eusebius Jerome.

405 C.E.

Sy h

Syriac Peshitta Version.

464 C.E.

Table 2. The Greek word Kupios (K yrios) substantiating Lord at Revelation 4:1 1 .

• •49«« The Kingdom Interlinear Translation cites six Hebrew version sources for Revelation 4:11.
The date of the earliest version is 1599 C.E., while the latest version is dated 1885 C.E. By way of
contrast, two Greek manuscripts of the fourth and fifth centuries (301-400 C.E., and 401-500 C.E.
respectively) are cited for this verse in support of the Greek word K yrios.

A frequent oversight

It is easy to lose sight of small but significant details when dealing with a research project. For
several years in his own research, the author overlooked the importance of the discrepancy in dates
between the Hebrew versions and the Greek manuscripts.

Consider what these dates tell us. The translators of the New World Translation chose to use the
divine name in 237 select verses on the basis of supporting evidence from Hebrew translations of 1385
C.E. and later. By way of contrast, the earliest evidence available for the Greek word K yrios ( Lord),
referred to in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's footnotes, was from reliable Greek manuscripts
dating as early as 300 C.E.

The new understanding we now have of textual and historical information which has come to light
since the translation of the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation forces us to ask an
important question. Why are Hebrew translations published in 1385 C.E. and later considered to be
more reliable textual sources for the ••50 ,# Christian Scriptures than the Christian Scriptures
themselves which can be verified to the third or fourth century C.E. with approximately 5,000
manuscripts?

A summary of our study

It is time to summarize the data from our study. This information is taken from the complete study
recorded in Appendix B and the summary at its conclusion. Reference is also made to the original study
of the 714 K yrios references reproduced in Appendix C.

The New World Translation uses the divine name Jehovah 237 times in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. The summary of each of these instances according to the footnotes in the

6 The number of references to K yrios (or Lord) passages are fewer in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation only
because the editors have chosen to cite so few of the existing Greek manuscripts available today. These
manuscripts are uniform in their use of K yrios (or Theos) rather than the Tetragrammaton. The United Bible
Societies' Christian Greek Scripture textual apparatus (see the Bibliography for the Textual Commentary on the
Greek New Testament) , which shows all textual variants in cited Greek manuscripts, was consulted for each of the
237 Jehovah references. This volume lists all major Greek Scripture manuscript variations from which translators
must choose. The following tabulation was made for each of the Jehovah references. Seventy one of the 237
references are specifically discussed in this textual apparatus. The presence of the Tetragrammaton is never
mentioned for any of these 71 verses, and is therefore not considered as a textual variant in any known Greek
manuscript. Further, because the remaining 166 references are not mentioned, we are assured that no basis for
textual variants exists in any of the 237 Jehovah references. A discussion of K yrios (Kiipios) [Lord] and T hfflS
(Geos) [God] as the choice for the specific verse occurs 31 times. The discussion of the textual preference for
K yrios at Revelation 18:8 and 19:6 is particularly noteworthy, and should be consulted.

30 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Kingdom Interlinear Translation is as follows:

Total occurrences of the name Jehovah in NWT 237

Occurrences quoted from Hebrew Scriptures 112 7

Occurrences without a Hebrew Scripture source 125 8
Corresponding Greek word in
Kingdom Interlinear Translation

K yrios (Kupio?) 223

T heos (Geo?) 13

Other (James 1:12) 1
Corresponding English word in
Kingdom Interlinear Translation

For K yrios (Kupios) Lord

For T heos (Geos) God

Other (James 1:12) he

Date range of Hebrew Translations supporting iTliT 1385 to 1979

Date range of manuscripts supporting Kiipiog 200 to 400 C.E. 9

• «51« • For the sake of evaluation, it is of interest to compare the above information with the total
occurrences of the word K yrios in the entire Christian Greek Scriptures. The following summary

information is derived from the comprehensive study of the word K yrios found in Appendix C and

evaluates the English translation of the Greek word in both the Kingdom Interlinear Translation and
the New World Translation.

Kingdom Interlinear Translation

K yriOS translated as Lord. 651

K yriOS translated as lord or lords. 62

K yriOS translated as Lords. 1

Total occurrences of K yriOS (KupLog) in KIT. 714

New World Translation

K yriOS translated as Lord. 10 406

K yriOS translated as Jehovah. 223

K yriOS translated as Master, master, or masters. 53

K yriOS translated as Sir, sir, or sirs. 17

K yriOS translated as lord. 8

K yriOS translated as owner or owners. 5

7 This includes 92 quotations in which the divine name is directly found in the Hebrew Scripture verse, and 20
references in which the divine name is clearly used in the context but is not found in the verse itself. (The 92
references include 42 definitive citations from J 20 .) In all cases, however, the entire number of 1 12 instances are to
be regarded as a proper quotation of the divine name.

8 The total of 125 instances in which the divine name appears in verses which are not quotations of Hebrew
Scripture references includes 58 instances in which the New World Translation Reference Edition cross reference
indicates a Hebrew Scripture passage as a subject- or parallel-thought reference and six instances in which the
cross reference merely includes other subjects related to the Christian Greek Scripture verse. This leaves a total
of 61 instances in which the name Jehovah appears in the Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation in which
there is no cross reference source of any kind to a Hebrew Scripture quotation source.

9 All six instances at the Gospel of John and two instances at Luke are dated by "All Scripture Is Inspired of God
and Beneficial," (1983 edition, p. 312) as early as circa 200 C.E. Each of the three instances at 1 Peter, the six
instances at 2 Peter, the three instances at Jude, and four instances at Revelation are dated — by the same
source — between 201 and 300 C.E.

10 Initial capital letters for "Lord" (in both KIT and NWT) or "Master," and "Sir" (in NWT) do not necessarily indicate
reference to Jesus. In a small number of cases, the word occurs at the beginning of a sentence (in English) or the
beginning of a direct quotation (in Greek). In these cases, the grammatical structure of the respective sentences
requires a capital letter.

A Greek Interlinear Study (Part 2) 31

K yriOS translated as God. 1

K yri OS not translated. 1

Total representation of K yriOS (Kupios) in NWT. 714

It is particularly interesting to note the variety of English words used by the
New World Translation for the 714 occurrences of the word K yrios throughout the Christian Greek
Scriptures. However, since we are primarily concerned with the English words Lord and Jehovah, we
will confine our comments to these two words.

A simple evaluation of the material from Appendix C indicates that Lord is the preferred
translation choice for K yrios in the New World Translation. It appears as Lord 406 times. With only
rare exceptions as noted, these 406 occurrences are references to Jesus Christ. The reader is encouraged to
carefully study the material in Appendix C, paying particular attention to John's use of the word in the
book of Revelation. John uses the Greek word K yrios 23 times in which the ••52«« Kingdom
Interlinear Translation gives the English translation as Lord 20 times and as lord(s) three times. On
the other hand, the New World Translation gives the English translation as Jehovah 12 times, as Lord
eight times, and as lord(s) three times.

Making the study personal

This book is a study of textual and historical information. Consequently, it is appropriate that a
synopsis expressing the author's personal conclusions from his own research be given. At this point,
however, a misapplication of the information-gathering process often follows.

Some will read the information just given with a positive bias. Because they are predisposed to
agree with the author, they will pronounce the information as trustworthy and will accept its veracity
with no further personal study.

Their response is faulty. An author's conclusions do not make the information true. The conclusions
must be verified against the factual foundation of the study. In all probability, neither time nor
resources permit the reader to examine every document used in the original research. But a careful
study of the information given in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation should be conducted by the
reader before endorsing the author's conclusions.

In this regard, the information in Appendices A, B, and C should be carefully examined by
consulting the actual text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. When all information has been
verified, then the reader may safely form his own conclusions without depending on the author's
opinion. With this degree of verification by the reader, the information the author gives merely
supplements the information-gathering process of the reader, and the conclusions formed become those
of the reader himself.

On the other hand, others will read this same information with a disapproving bias. Because this
second group of readers may have a predisposition to disagree with the author, they will likely
pronounce the information as inaccurate and may dismiss its possible merit without further study.

Their response is also faulty. In all likelihood, this second group of readers will also have
insufficient time or resources to duplicate the entire research done by the author. This group of readers,
however, must carefully examine the footnote references in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
Again, the final conclusion must result from a personal study of the primary data rather than from a
hasty response to the author's statements.

• «53« • Either group of readers will profit from the empirical content of this study. By design, this
study is not based on an interpretation of Scripture. It is based on historical and textual data. (We
certainly understand, however, that history and biblical manuscript studies can be distorted.) Ancient
Greek manuscripts exist today which can be examined for their content. Do these manuscripts contain
mil" or KupLos? This is the question each reader must ultimately determine for himself.

At this point, the reader would profit greatly by temporarily laying this book aside in order to do
a careful personal study of each Jehovah footnote in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. Even better,
a complete search of the 714 K yrios passages including each Jehovah footnote reference would give the
reader a valuable insight into the use of this word in the Christian Scriptures. Appendices B and C can
be used to obtain verse locations, but the conclusions should be the reader's. With Jehovah God's help,
the reader may draw his own conclusions regarding the presence of the Tetragrammaton within the

32 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Christian Greek Scriptures. 11

••54»» On this note we close this chapter, but look ahead to the remainder of the book. Neither
accept nor reject the forthcoming information on the basis of what you think the correct answer should
be. Whenever possible, directly evaluate the primary sources of information for yourself and then
draw your own conclusion regarding the place of the Tetragrammaton in the inspired Christian Greek
Scriptures.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. The footnote information supplied with each Jehovah reference in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation leads to the following conclusions:

1. In all 237 Jehovah references found in the New World Translation, the

Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives two sets of dates. The earliest dates verify that K yrios (
Lord) was in all Greek manuscripts between 301 and 400 C.E. The later dates support the
Tetragrammaton in Hebrew versions dated 1385 C.E. and following.

2. In most instances outside of the 237 Jehovah references, the Greek word K yrios (when used as a title)

is identified with the person of Jesus Christ by the New World Translation. (K yrios is translated as
Lord 406 times. See Appendix C for further explanation.)

3. The suitability of the Tetragrammaton for the 237 Jehovah passages is derived only from later

Hebrew translations. The earliest supporting evidence comes from 1385 C.E., with the bulk of the
evidence coming from 1599 C.E. and later. In fact, no direct textual evidence showing the
Tetragrammaton in the original Christian Greek Scriptures is given by the Watch Tower Society.

4. The translators of the New World Translation used the word Jehovah rather than Lord in 237

selected references. Thus, 26 Hebrew versions dating from 1385 C.E. are given more importance than
are the approximately 5,000 Greek manuscripts, dating from the fourth century C.E., which use the
word Lord.

11 For some, this may be difficult because of inexperience with personal Bible research. If this is the case, the
following suggestion may be helpful. Do a personal study of the footnotes for each of the 237 Jehovah references
in the New World Translation, looking for evidence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. You
only need the New World Translation Reference Edition and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (No knowledge of
the Greek language is necessary for this study. You will merely be identifying a form of KiipLOS or Geos which is
always written over the English world Lord or God.) The Reference Edition gives you the 237 Jehovah references in
Appendix 1d (on page 1565) and ample cross reference material for the Hebrew Scripture quotations in the center
column. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives you the complete "J" footnote and the explanation of the
nomenclature and dates for each Greek manuscript and Hebrew version. Be certain to read the foreword material in
the Kingdom Interlinear Translation before starting your study. Establish the columns for data which you feel are
necessary for your own particular study and enter the material from each of the 237 Jehovah references in the
appropriate column. You could duplicate some or all of the 10 headings used in Appendix B. However, you may
wish to simplify the information you enter in your personal study. (For example, you may not wish to identify J 20
quotations since not all citations of Hebrew quotations are found in the "J" references.) However, once you have
started your study, make it your own. Do not merely copy Appendix B. (After you have started your study, do not
even consult Appendix B until you are completely finished!) Do not be concerned if your study differs from the
results in this book. In many cases such as Hebrew Scripture quotations, there are a number of possible verse
references from which you may choose, inasmuch as the verse — or parallel thought — may appear in numerous
Hebrew Scripture references. Whatever you do, make it your own personal study.

SECTION 2.

Hebrew manuscripts and their place in the
inspired Christian Greek Scriptures.

Page 57 Chapter 5: MATTHEW'S GOSPEL IN HEBREW

Page 72 Chapter 6: THE TEXTUAL SOURCE OF HEBREW VERSIONS

Page 83 Chapter 7: THE LIMIT OF INSPIRATION

33
Chapter 5: MATTHEW'S GOSPEL IN HEBREW

Hebrew language and manuscript studies are important for an accurate understanding of the
Christian Greek Scriptures. Both the Hebrew language and culture strongly influenced the
Greek words and **57** thought patterns used in the Christian Scriptures. Though the
majority of the Hebrew Scripture quotations come from the Septuagint, by no means is this always true.
In some instances, such as the book of Hebrews, the writer translated directly from Hebrew to Greek
when quoting Scripture.

Thus, a comprehensive study of the Christian Scriptures must also consider Hebrew language
documents. In the case of this present study, however, there is even greater need to become acquainted
with Hebrew texts, inasmuch as verification of the divine name in the New World Translation
Christian Greek Scriptures comes directly from Hebrew sources. 1

In this and the following two chapters, we will consider three topics dealing with Hebrew
language manuscripts.

An early Hebrew Gospel

The August 15, 1996 The Watchtower introduced an important book by George Howard. 2 Howard's
book, The Gospel of Matthew According to a Primitive Hebrew Text, 3 evaluates the final section
(identified as a book) within a work published by Shem-Tob ben-Isaac ben-Shaprut in the 1380's.
This Jewish physician, whom we will identify simply as Shem-Tob, published a polemic 4
entitled ••58»» Even Bohan (flTD pX, "The Touchstone") which consisted of 17 sections or books. On
the first page of the introduction, Howard describes Shem-Tob's work.

Of the original books the first deals with the principles of the Jewish faith, the next nine deal with
various passages in the Bible that were disputed by Jews and Christians, the eleventh discusses
certain haggadic [commentary] sections in the Talmud used by Christians or proselytes to
Christianity, and the twelfth contains the entire Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew along with polemical
comments by Shem-Tob interspersed throughout the text.

Howard's book is concerned with the final portion of Shem-Tob's work in which this Jewish
apologist reproduced a complete Gospel of Matthew in the Hebrew language.

The basis of our interest

We are interested in Howard's work for two reasons. First, Howard presents persuasive evidence
that this is a late recension of the actual Hebrew Gospel written by Matthew. If this is true, then this
Hebrew Gospel should not be ranked as a Hebrew version, but as an actual descendant of the work of the
Apostle himself.

Howard states that further scholarly work must be done to establish the validity of this claim.
Nonetheless, should this Hebrew Gospel of Matthew be fully authenticated as a recension of the lost
first century Hebrew Gospel, it will shed important textual light on Christian Scripture manuscript

1 On page 12 in the Foreword of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation (1985 edition) the New World Bible Translation
Committee says:

We have looked for some agreement with us by the Hebrew versions we consulted to confirm our own
rendering [of the divine name]. Thus, out of the 237 times that we have restored Jehovah's name in the body of
our translation, there is only one instance wherein we have no support or agreement from any of the Hebrew
versions. But in this one instance, namely, at 1 Corinthians 7:17, the context and related texts strongly
support restoring the divine name.

2 The reference appears on page 13 in the article, "Jesus' Coming or Jesus' Presence — Which?"

3 Permission has been granted from Mercer University Press, Macon, Georgia, 31207 to reproduce material in this
chapter from The Gospel of Matthew According to a Primitive Hebrew Text by George Howard, 1987. This includes
the Hebrew and English quotations from Shem-Tob's Matthew and miscellaneous citations throughout this chapter
taken from Howard's book.

4 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines a polemic as, "An aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions
or principles of another."

34 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

studies. This is an exciting discovery!

Secondly, the Shem-Tob manuscript is one of the "J" documents listed in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes. J 2 is the actual Shem-Tob Matthew, while J 3 and J 4 are
identified as revisions. 5 The ••59 ,# summary of these three "J" references as given in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation (1969 edition, pages 28-29) reads,

J 2

Matthew in Hebrew. About 1385 a Jew named Shem Tob ben Shaprut of Tudela in Castile,
Spain, wrote a polemical work against Christianity entitled Eben Bohan in which he incorporates
Matthew in Hebrew as a separate chapter. (Cursive manuscripts of Shem Tob's Eben Bohan are
found at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York City.)

J 3
Matthew and Hebrews in Hebrew. Sebastian Munster revised and completed an imperfect
manuscript copy of Shem Tob's Matthew. This he published and printed in Basel, Switzerland, in
1537. Later, in 1557, MGnster published his Hebrew version of the Epistle to the Hebrews. (A
copy is found at the New York Public Library.)

J 4

Matthew in Hebrew. A revision of Munster's Matthew made and published by Johannes
Quinquarboreus, Paris, France, 1 551 . (A copy is found at the New York Public Library.)

Identification of Shem-Tob manuscripts

Howard identifies nine Shem-Tob manuscripts used in his study. (That is, nine separate
manuscripts of the Shem-Tob Matthew text were available for comparison.) One of the nine is
presumably the actual J 2 manuscript used by the New World Bible Translation Committee and is
housed in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York.

Earlier we discussed textual criticism and the study of variant manuscripts. The nine Shem-Tob
manuscripts give an example of this process. On pages x and xi (Roman numerals 10 and 11) of his
introduction, Howard identifies all these manuscripts as 15th to 17th century copies. Of these, some are
identified as being of fair quality, though they evidence considerable revision in regard to the
improvement of grammar and were edited with the view of bringing them into agreement with the
wording of the Greek Gospel of Matthew. Other manuscripts he classifies as being of mediocre quality.
Some of the manuscripts are incomplete. Two manuscripts are identified as being of high quality with
the least amount of copyist editing. Howard generally relied on these latter two high-quality
manuscripts for the translation of the Gospel of Matthew included in his book.

The testimony supporting Matthew's Hebrew Gospel

••60 ,# There is abundant and early evidence that Matthew wrote a Gospel in the Hebrew
language. Jerome, writing in the fourth century, is quoted in the reference edition of the
New World Translation as follows:

"Matthew, who is also Levi, and who from a publican came to be an apostle, first of all composed a
Gospel of Christ in Judaea in the Hebrew language and characters for the benefit of those of the
circumcision who had believed. Who translated it after that in Greek is not sufficiently ascertained.
Moreover, the Hebrew itself is preserved to this day in the library at Caesarea, which the martyr

5 On pages 160-162 in the book cited, Howard argues against Munster's work being a revision of Shem-Tob.
However, whether or not J 2 is a revision of Shem-Tob is moot from the perspective of its use as a "J" reference. The
concern of the New World Bible Translation Committee was the wording used in this Hebrew text, not its source. The
use of miT (oril) in J 2 remains unaltered. Nonetheless, Howard identifies Munster's work as coming from an older
Hebrew tradition rather than from a translation of the Greek text (pp.1 60-1 76). Therefore, J 3 probably correctly
stands as an authentic Hebrew language Gospel and should not be classified as a version. In the same section,
Howard identifies Jean du Tillet's Hebrew Matthew as also coming from a Hebrew Gospel source rather than being a
translation from Greek. Thus, J 1 would also be listed as a Hebrew Gospel rather than a Hebrew version. Re-
defining J 1 , J 2 , J 3 , and J 4 as Hebrew Gospels originating from an original Hebrew text gives the New World Bible
Translation Committee a considerably stronger position than merely identifying these "J" documents as Hebrew
versions.

Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew 35

Pamphilus so diligently collected. I also was allowed by the Nazarenes who use this volume in the
Syrian city of Beroea to copy it." 6

There is no reason to doubt the veracity of Jerome's statement. In all likelihood, Matthew, a Jew
employed by Rome as a tax collector, was capable of writing in Hebrew, 7 Greek, and Latin. It is
certainly probable that he wrote a Gospel account to his fellow Israelites in the spoken language of the
day. It is entirely possible that the Gospel we have today was a translation 8 by Matthew himself
from his Hebrew ••61«« Gospel. Jerome's statement implies that the Hebrew text he copied was
identifiable by him as a parallel of the Greek Gospel of Matthew.

In the book we are consulting by George Howard, he gives further evidence of Matthew's Gospel in
Hebrew (pp. 156-157). The following quotations from early writers merely represent a few of the better
preserved references:

Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.1 .1
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect while Peter and
Paul were preaching at Rome and laying the foundations of the Church.

Origen as quoted by Eusebius, H.E. 3.24.6
As having learnt by tradition concerning the four Gospels, which alone are unquestionable in the
Church of God under heaven, that first was written that according to Matthew, who was once a tax
collector but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, who published it for those who from Judaism
came to believe, composed as it was in the Hebrew language.

Eusebius, H.E. 3.24.6
Matthew had first preached to Hebrews, and when he was on the point of going to others he
transmitted in writing in his native language the Gospel according to himself, and thus supplied by
writing the lack of his own presence to those from whom he was sent.

From the abundant evidence available, there would be no reason to doubt that the Apostle
Matthew did, in fact, compose a Gospel written in Hebrew. Further, we can be certain that this Hebrew

6 New World Translation Reference Edition, 1984, p. 1564.

7 It has long been held that the conversational language of Palestine in Jesus' day was limited to Aramaic rather
than Hebrew. However, based on manuscripts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, Howard gives evidence that biblical
Hebrew was used as a spoken language in Jesus' day (Op Cit, pp. 1 55 to 1 56). Consequently, Matthew could just
as well have written in Hebrew as in Aramaic. The reader should be aware, however, that Hebrew and Aramaic are
closely related languages. They use a similar script and vocabulary, and primarily differ in areas of grammatical
structure.

8 Howard presents convincing evidence that the Shem-Tob Matthew (which is J 2 ) is actually a copy of this early
Matthew Hebrew Gospel. He then makes the following comments on pages 225 to 226 (Op cit),

If the conclusion to this study is correct, namely, that the old substratum to the Hebrew Matthew found in the
Even Bohan [J 2 ] is an original Hebrew composition, the question of the relationship of this old Hebrew
substratum to the canonical Greek text is of great importance. As stated before, three basic possibilities
exist: (1) The old substratum to Shem-Tob's text is a translation of the Greek Matthew. [A conclusion from an
earlier discussion], in the judgment of this writer, rules out this possibility. (2) The Greek Matthew is a
translation of the old Hebrew substratum. This likewise does not appear to be a possibility. Although the two
texts are accounts of the same events basically in the same order, careful analysis of their lexical and
grammatical correspondences fails to support the Greek as a translation. (3) Both the old Hebrew substratum
and the Greek Matthew represent compositions in their own respective languages. This latter appears to be
the best explanation of the evidence. It implies that the two texts are two editions in different languages of the
same traditional material with neither being a translation of the other.

There is evidence from ancient times that this sometimes occurred. Josephus tells us that his work, The
Jewish War (75-79 C.E.), was first written in Aramaic or Hebrew and then translated in Greek (Josephus, War
1 .3). The evidence suggests, however, that Josephus did not actually translate, in a literal sense, the Semitic
original, but, in fact, virtually rewrote the whole account. The Aramaic/Hebrew original apparently served only
as a model for the Greek version to follow.

In regard to the Hebrew and Greek Matthew, their similarity in arrangement and wording suggest that one, as
in the case with Josephus, served as a model for the other.. .Any conclusion in regard to the priority of the
Hebrew Matthew vis-a-vis the Greek, or vice versa, must not be hastily drawn. Which one came first will be
determined conclusively only after much further study and accumulation of evidence.

36 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Gospel was copied and circulated for an extended period of time among Hebrew-speaking readers.
Shem-Tob as a recension of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel

••62»» We are unable to give an adequate representation of Howard's valuable work in this brief
chapter. At the very least, we will over-simplify the complexity of identifying Shem-Tob's Matthew
as a recension of the original Hebrew Gospel. Howard has done a great deal of textual work leading to
his conclusions which require appropriate qualification rather than a simple statement identifying y-
(Shem-Tob's Matthew) as the Hebrew Gospel written by Matthew himself.

Nonetheless, we are left with the fascinating possibility that in y- we possess a copy of the Apostle
Matthew's Hebrew Gospel despite the fact that it has passed through successive generations of
unknown copyists and editors. Even though this editing weakens the full impact of the Gospel, it gives
us much greater insight into Matthew's work in Hebrew than does any other source known today.

After a series of comparisons of Shem-Tob's Hebrew text with the Greek canonical Matthew,
Howard makes this comment on pages 176-177:

These examples show that in some way the First Gospel in Shem-Tob fits into a process of
textual evolution that began in primitive times and culminated in du Tillet [J 1 ] in the sixteenth
century, or possibly later if our survey should include subsequent Hebrew texts of Matthew. The
suggestion made here is that the gospel text incorporated into the Even Bohan was not a freshly
made translation of the first Gospel by Shem-Tob, but was a reproduction, possibly with some
revision by Shem-Tob himself, of an already existing literary Hebrew tradition that had been in the
process of evolution for some time.

On page 223 Howard adds this comment:

The text also is written in a kind of Hebrew one would expect from a document composed in the
first century but preserved in late rabbinic manuscripts. It is basically composed in biblical Hebrew
with a healthy mixture of Mishnaic Hebrew and later rabbinic vocabulary and idiom.

In these summary statements, Howard is saying that Shem-Tob's Matthew was copied — and
possibly further edited by Shem-Tob himself — from a series of manuscripts which traced their origin
back to the original Gospel the Apostle Matthew had written in the Hebrew language. Even as we now
understand the variations introduced in a text from successive hand copying through generations, we
understand the significance of Howard's terminology stating that the present Shem-Tob Matthew "fits
into a process of textual evolution." 9 ••63 ,# Nonetheless, the importance of the work leading up to
this statement (assuming that it can be fully substantiated with additional scholarly efforts) ranks the
work of Howard among the dramatic textual advances in Christian Scripture studies. 10

It is intriguing to realize that this book published in 1987 changes our thinking from regarding
Shem-Tob's work as a mere translation, to the realization that it may be an actual copy — albeit
flawed — of the work of the Apostle himself!

The divine name in Shem-Tob's Matthew

In the context of this study, our interest in Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew is the use of the
Tetragrammaton. Does Shem-Tob use the divine name?

Howard transcribed the entire Hebrew Gospel according to the most trustworthy extant
manuscripts. Of this transcription he says,

The printed [Hebrew] text preserves the British Library manuscript and D in their relevant

9 The reader may well ask why it is so difficult to be certain of the original wording of this text when we are so
confident of the wording of the Christian Scriptures. The answer is found in the limited number — and recent age — of
extant Hebrew manuscripts available for comparison. There are a limited number of Hebrew Gospels coming from
this tradition which are available for study. (That is, only manuscripts which evidence transmission of the original
work of Matthew could be used. Hebrew versions must be entirely excluded.) Secondly, of the potential
manuscripts which fall into this category, all are recent copies, presumably dating from the 13th century and later.
In contrast, we have some 5,000 partial to complete manuscripts of the Christian Scriptures some of which date to
the second and third centuries.

10 It is evident from the footnote references in The Gospel of Matthew According to a Primitive Hebrew Text that
others have contributed to this study as well.

Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew 3 7

sections along with their errors and inconsistencies in spelling and grammar. Periods and question
marks have been added editorially to the printed Hebrew. In a few instances where the base text
has a lacuna [a missing part within the text], the text of another manuscript is printed within
parentheses.

In addition to the Hebrew text, Howard gives a parallel English translation on the facing page.
The line format and verse numbers allow the reader who is unfamiliar with Hebrew to scan the text for
the divine name with reasonable certainty.

Before evaluating the Hebrew text itself, we must review an interesting section of Howard's book
under the heading, "The Divine Name" found on pages 201-203. On page 201, he says:

A set of interesting readings in the Hebrew Matthew of Shem-Tob is a series of passages
incorporating the Divine Name ••64»» symbolized by "n (apparently a circumlocution for DDn, "The
Name"). This occurs some nineteen times. (Fully written D0n occurs at 28:9 and is included in the
nineteen.) Usually the Divine Name appears where the Greek reads kuvio" [Lord], twice (21:12
mss, 22:31 ) where the Greek reads qeov" [God], and twice where it occurs alone (22:32; 27:9). (1 )
It regularly appears in quotations from the Hebrew Bible where the M[asoretic] T[ext] contains the
Tetragrammaton. (2) It occurs in introductions to quotations as, for example, at 1 :22, "All this was to
complete what was written by the prophet according to the LORD "; and at 22:31, "Have you not
read concerning the resurrection of the dead that the LORD spoke to you saying." (3) In narratives
apart from quotation it occurs in such phrases as "angel of the LORD" or "house of the LORD ." Thus,
2:13, "As they were going, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto Joseph saying"; 2:19, "It
came to pass when King Herod died the angel of the LORD appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt"; 21:12, "Then Jesus entered the house of the LORD "; 28:2, "Then the earth was shaken
because the angel of the LORD descended from heaven to the tomb, overturned the stone, and
stood still."

We should also consider the information in a footnote from page 202 which says in part,

By incorporating the Hebrew Matthew into his Even Bohan, Shem-Tob apparently felt compelled
to preserve the Divine Name along with the rest of the text, "n in Shem-Tob's Matthew should not
be viewed as a symbol for both Adonai and the Tetragrammaton as was customary for Hebrew
documents copied during the Middle Ages. The author of the Hebrew Matthew uses Adonai and "n
discriminately. He uses Adonai in reference to Jesus and "n only in reference to God. Since '3HS
(often itself abbreviated as'vtx) refers to Jesus, not God, throughout the text, the author's use of "n
is a symbol only for the Tetragrammaton and in all probability stands for the circumlocution D0H, "The
Name."

The following passages have been reproduced from the Shem-Tob Matthew in George Howard's
The Gospel of Matthew According to a Primitive Hebrew Text. The English translation taken from the
same book is reproduced under the Hebrew text. The first passage from Matthew chapter one shows two
examples within verses 22 and 24 of the surrogate H which replaces the circumlocution D0H meaning
The Name. (In the remainder of the chapter, we will generally identify either the surrogate or a
longer written form as simply the circumlocution.) This passage also shows an interesting instance in
which there is a variance between the New World Translation and Shem-Tob. At verse 20, the
New World Translation reads, "Jehovah's ••65»» angel," whereas Shem-Tob reads, "an angel."
Where applicable in the following examples, the reading from the New World Translation is inserted
into the English text in brackets. The divine name is circled and connected to its corresponding
translation in the English text.

Matthew 1:20-23

epr "mi m'xa r^x. nxm -[*6d mm in^n imn nn norm 20
.mmuD kti cnpn mine nno -|ncx nnpb *cvn ^n ~rn p

20 While he thought on this matter in his heart, behold an [Jehovah's A/1/1/7] angel appeared unto him
in a dream and said: Joseph son of David do not fear to take your wife Mary because she is pregnant
by the Holy Spirit.

.nmnan 'ni> nx irtov xin o s$w iod x-prn n nbm 21

38

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

21 She will bear a son and you will call his name Jesus because he will save my people from their sins.

S^dJtj) ^run pxq nrac no Tab nr bo 22

22 All this was to complete what was written by the prophet according tothe^Lord) [Jehovah NWT\.

.wpbx i]oy iiv bums iq2j ruopi p ibm rnn no^n ran 23

23 Behold the young woman will conceive and bear a son and you will call his name Emmanuel, that
is, God with us.

.irrox nx np v i Qy^fca mix m^ ntox bis tojn lrutoo spv fp v i 24

24 Then Joseph awoke from his sleep, did according to all which the angel of the (LorcT) [Jehovah
NWJ] commanded him and took his wife.

In the following two examples, we encounter variations in the circumlocution within the Shem-Tob
manuscript itself. The reference at Matthew 5:33 adds the Hebrew letter Lamedh (b) which is the
preposition "to" in combination with the circumlocution for the divine name. The reference at Matthew
28:9 shows the circumlocution written in full.

Matthew 5:33

Ttorn ipvb 'nen TOton xb wnmpb naxstz) no nnaot!) ma 33

33 Again you have heard what was said to tho cQ of. long a r Y i ii u IihII FTol sweaTby my name falsely,
but you shall return to ihe(Cor<i) [Jehovah NWJ] your oath.

••66»»

Matthew 28:9

vbx imp am .pjrtov Coon

noix nrviEib inr fen mr^m nam 9
,t> nnnen ib np'i

9 As they were going Jesus passed before them saying: May the ( Name ) deliver you ["Good day!"
NWJ]. They came near to him and bowed down to him and worshippecThim.

In the last example, we see a reference using the circumlocution within the Shem-Tob Matthew
whereas the New World Translation does not use the divine name.

Matthew 21:12

mm 1 ? "pan 1 ! .n ,- Diom Dmpn nw m|V)m fer kti 12

a i 3rrm5TQliin^iQm D^n^ton

12 Jesus entered the house of the (Lord) [temple NWJ] and found there those who buy and sell.
He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

The divine name is used 18 times in the Gospel of Matthew within the New World Translation. In
contrast, the circumlocution which stands for the divine name (including all variants of its written
form) is used 19 times in the Shem-Tob Matthew. Table 3 compares these references in the two
Matthew Gospels.

As one can see, there are no discrepancies in the translation sense between the use of the
circumlocution in Shem-Tob's Matthew and the divine name in the same locations of the
New World Translation. The variants are merely textual alterations in wording. (We must add,
however, that in dealing with textual variations between manuscripts, we may make the statement
that certain differences are inconsequential. This does not imply that we are not concerned with the
end result of textual studies. When the work is completed, it is our goal to obtain the exact wording of
the inspired Scripture writers.) For example, in some instances (1:20, 2:15, and 4:4) Shem-Tob does not
include the divine name, whereas the Westcott and Hort text uses Kyrios (Kuvrio"). The reverse is also

Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew

39

true at 27:9. In one instance (27:10) Shem-Tob uses Adonai rather than the circumlocution for The Name.
In two instances (22:31-32) the New World Translation uses God rather than Jehovah. At 28:9 Shem-
Tob uses "The Name" as a form of greeting whereas the Westcott and Hort Greek text uses the word
chairete (Caivreteae) which is a greeting derived from the word Rejoice.

Shem-Tob NWT

vlatthew

1:20

Jehovah

1:22

"n

Jehovah

1:24

"n

Jehovah

2:13

"n

Jehovah

2:15

Jehovah

2:19

"n

Jehovah

3:3

"n

Jehovah

4:4

Jehovah

4:7

"n

Jehovah

4:10

"n

Jehovah

5:33

"nb

Jehovah

Shem-Tob

NWT

21:9

"n

Jehovah

21:12

"n

temple

21:42

"n

Jehovah

22:31

"n

God

22:32

"n

God

22:37

"n

Jehovah

22:44

"n

Jehovah

23:39

"n

Jehovah

27:9

"n

27:10

mix

Jehovah

28:2

"n

Jehovah

28:9

D©n

Good day

Table 3. The divine name in Shem-Tob's Matthew compared with the New World Translation.

"67" In and of themselves, these are not significant textual differences. What is bothersome,
however, is that there is variation of any kind in light of the presumption that the
New World Translation represents a corrected text which better reflects Matthew's original Gospel.

Before leaving this section, it will be of interest to compare the frequency of the footnote citations
in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation for each of the four "J" references which come from this Hebrew

tradition. The four are: jl — Matthew by Jean du Tillet (1555), y- — Shem-Tob's Matthew (1385),

j3 — Matthew by Munster (1537), and J 4 — a revision of Minister's Matthew by Quinquarboreus (1551).
Table 4 indicates the presence (j/es) or absence (no) of a footnote citation to the Tetragrammaton in the
Hebrew text. (Note that the Shem-Tob text does not actually contain the Tetragrammaton, but contains

a circumlocution as indicated. In the cases of J-*-' J^/ and J 4 , we are citing the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote without reference to the actual document for verification.)

If each of the four recensions were perfect transmissions of the original Hebrew Gospel of Matthew,
we would see identical yes or no responses across each line. Of course, no hand copies separated from the
original by 1300 years are perfect. Thus, the above table gives an idea of the textual variation which
has crept into these recensions during this period of time.

Table 4 is included merely for its interest in comparing the four Hebrew recensions from this early
Hebrew manuscript tradition. The • •68* • variations in no way cast doubt on the veracity of the Shem-
Tob manuscript.

Shem-Tob

J 1

J 3

J 4

Matth

2W

1:20

no

no

yes

no

1:22

yes

yes

yes

no

1:24

yes

no

yes

yes

2:13

yes

no

no

no

2:15

no

no

no

no

2:19

yes

no

no

yes

3:3

yes

yes

no

yes

4:4

yes

yes

yes

yes

4:7

yes

yes

yes

yes

Shem-Tob

J 1

J 3

J 4

4:10

yes

yes

yes

yes

5:33

yes

yes

yes

no

21:9

yes

no

no

yes

21:42

yes

yes

yes

yes

22:37

yes

yes

no

no

22:44

yes

yes

no

yes

23:39

yes

yes

yes

yes

27:10

yes

yes

no

yes

28:2

yes

no

no

yes

Table 4. The divine name in Shem-Tob's Matthew (J 2 ) compared with the use of the divine name in J 1 !
J 3 , and J 4 .

40 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The crucial issues

The differences between the Shem-Tob Matthew and the representation of Matthew in the
New World Translation Christian Scriptures are not great. Nonetheless, two areas of comparison
between a probable recension of Matthew's ancient Gospel and the New World Translation's Matthew
surprise us in light of the assertion that the New World Translation reinstates the divine name which
was removed by carelessness and heresy.

1. We would expect that an accurate restoration of the Gospel of Matthew would parallel the use of the

divine name in a recension of Matthew's Hebrew language Gospel with high precision. However, as
we have seen in Table 3, this is not the case. In spite of the fact that there is precise correspondence
in 15 instances where Shem-Tob uses The Name (or a related form) and the New World Translation
uses Jehovah, we are, nonetheless, left with eight instances in which one or the other does not
exactly correspond in the use of the divine name. Considering the claim that the
New World Translation restores the wording of the Christian Scriptures to its original written form,
this variation is too large to be acceptable. Stated in mathematical terminology, we have only a
0.65 correlation, whereas we would expect close to a 1.00 correlation for a true restoration. (That is,
of a total of 23 occurrences of the divine name in either or both the Shem-Tob Matthew and the
Gospel of Matthew ••69»» in the New World Translation, there is agreement in 15 instances. Thus,
15 divided by 23 equals 0.65, whereas the ideal of 23 divided by 23 equals 1.00.)

2. In and of itself, the presence of a circumlocution meaning The Name ( H) rather than the
Tetragrammaton (mil'') itself is not of great significance considering typical textual variants found
within textual criticism studies. In this case, however, it is cause for concern. The New World Bible
Translation Committee assures us that Matthew used the Tetragrammaton. This is in sharp contrast
to Matthew's use of a circumlocution. 11 If Matthew wrote "il in its surrogate form, or even D0H
(The Name in written form), he did not, in fact, write the Tetragrammaton. As we have already
seen, Shem-Tob's Matthew is a recension which "fits into a process of textual evolution." We may
speculate that Matthew himself used the Tetragrammaton and it, too, was changed in time.
However, we are nonetheless confronted with the reality that the current text we possess which
gives indication of Matthew's Hebrew writing does not use the Tetragrammaton.

New light on Christian Scripture studies

Our search in this book is for new light on ancient Christian Scripture manuscripts. We are
particularly looking for information ••70 ,# which was unavailable to the New World Bible
Translation Committee in the late 1940's. Most certainly the discovery that Shem-Tob's work is no
longer considered a Hebrew version is new light indeed! In the 1969 edition of the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation (page 16), the New World Bible Translation Committee is quoted as
saying,

There is evidence that various recensions of the Hebrew and Aramaic versions of Matthew's

11 In the "Questions from Readers" from the August 15, 1997 The Watchtower, the following question and answer is
given:

Is the Tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters of God's name) found in the Hebrew text
of Matthew copied by the 14th-century Jewish physician Shem-Tob ben Isaac Ibn
Shaprut?

No, it is not. However, this text of Matthew does use hash-Shem' (written out or abbreviated) 19 times, as
pointed out on page 13 of The Watchtower of August 15, 1996.

The Hebrew hash-Shem' means "the Name," which certainly refers to the divine name. For example, in Shem-
Tob's text, an abbreviated form of hash-Shem' appears at Matthew 3:3, a passage in which Matthew quoted
Isaiah 40:3. It is reasonable to conclude that when Matthew quoted a verse from the Hebrew Scriptures where
the Tetragrammaton is found, he incorporated the divine name in his Gospel. So while the Hebrew text that
Shem-Tob presented does not use the Tetragrammaton, its use of "the Name," as at Matthew 3:3, supports the
use of "Jehovah" in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

...Shem-Tob's text of Matthew included "the Name" where there is good reason to believe that Matthew
actually used the Tetragrammaton. Thus, since 1950, Shem-Tob's text has been used as a support for
employing the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures, and it still is cited in The New World Translation of
the Holy Scriptures — With References.

Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew 41

account persisted for centuries among the early Jewish Christian communities of Palestine and
Syria. Early writers, such as Papias, Hegesippus, Justin Martyr, Tatian, Symmachus, Irenaeus,
Pantaenus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Pamphilus, Eusebius, Epiphanius and Jerome, give
evidence that they either possessed or had access to Hebrew and Aramaic writings of Matthew.

How delighted these men would be today to see this confirmation in George Howard's book of their
early statement. In 1950, they could only look back to evidence of the use of these Hebrew and Aramaic
recensions of Matthew's account. In all probability, today we are able to look at a reconstructed Hebrew
Gospel of Matthew itself!

If this document is ultimately verified as a late copy of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel, we will, for the
first time in modern biblical studies, have limited access to his lost Hebrew Gospel. Of course,
editorialized changes over the centuries have reduced its precision. Yet, it remains a valuable research
tool.

The work of Shem-Tob has been known among Jewish and Christian scholars since it was published
in the late 14th century. As such, it was cited 16 times in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes
as a Hebrew version with the identification nomenclature of J 2 . With Howard's recent research,
however, we have an entirely new insight into the reading of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel which was
available only through speculation to those working on the New World Translation between 1947 and
1949.

We now know that the best surviving recension from the work of the Apostle Matthew verifies the
use of the divine name in the 20 instances indicated in Table 3. We also know that these same 20
instances use a circumlocution rather than the Tetragrammaton and that they differ in verse location
from the 18 references to Jehovah in the New World Translation.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. Shem-Tob, a Jewish physician writing in the 1380's, included a Hebrew Gospel of
Matthew as the last book in his polemic against Christianity. There is convincing evidence that this
••71»» old Hebrew Gospel is a revision (passing through many copyists and editors) of the Hebrew
Gospel written by the Apostle himself. If this ultimately proves to be true, then the "J" reference used
in the footnotes of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation identified as J 2 , is, in fact, the closest
reproduction of this early work.

1. There should no longer be any reasonable debate that Matthew wrote a Hebrew language Gospel.

Early writers such as Jerome, Irenaeus, Origen, and Eusebius have left ample testimony to this work.

2. The evidence presented by George Howard indicates that Shem-Tob's Matthew was not a translation

from Greek sources. Rather, it contains a Hebrew writing style which marks it as a document which
was composed in the first century using biblical Hebrew and subsequently edited in the following
centuries.

3. Shem-Tob's Matthew uses the divine name. However, it is not in the form of the Tetragrammaton,
but is rather a surrogate form of the circumlocution The Name ( H). Though it is impossible to tell
from the present form of this Gospel whether or not Matthew actually used the Tetragrammaton,
the substantial evidence remaining today gives no support for this claim.

4. The correlation between the use of the circumlocution for the divine name in Shem-Tob's Matthew

and the use of Jehovah in the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation is not strong.
There are 15 instances in which the two agree, and eight in which there is a variance. This gives a
correlation of a mere 0.65, in contrast to an ideal 1.00. It would be expected that a restored Gospel of
Matthew would more closely approximate a recension of the work of the Apostle himself.

5. The Shem-Tob Matthew gives a wonderful example of new light in biblical texts. This knowledge
regarding the Hebrew Christian Scriptures was not available to the Bible Translation Committee
prior to the publication of the New World Translation in 1950.

42

Chapter 6: The Textual Source of Hebrew Versions

b

ecause of the central **72** position given to the Tetragrammaton within Hebrew versions, our
study of the Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures must evaluate these
translations and the textual source from which they are derived.

A Hebrew version is found!

In the early stages of this Tetragrammaton study, a search was made for available "J" documents.
As a result, the Hebrew version J 18 was discovered in a local library. 1 However, it was only after re-
reading the title page of J 18 some two years later that its significance became clear. A second version
was found several years later in a second library.

The Watch Tower Society universally uses the word version to mean translation. More typically,
the action of rendering a text from one language into another is called translation, while the resulting
book is called a version. An English Bible is one in which the biblical ••73»» languages (Hebrew,
Aramaic, and Greek) have been translated into English. Thus, every English Bible is a version,
including both the King James Version and the New World Translation. Similarly, any Hebrew
version consists of the Christian Greek Scriptures translated into the Hebrew language. (Obviously,
only the Christian Greek Scriptures could be translated into a Hebrew version. The Hebrew Scriptures
in the Hebrew language is not a version.)

That is what J 18 is. It is a translation! ft 8 is a translation from Greek into Hebrew.

As a Hebrew version, J 18 is not unique. It is merely one of many Hebrew versions cited in the "J"
footnotes. However, it is important because it is a Hebrew version which became available for study.

Evaluating J 18

J 18 is one of the Hebrew versions used by the New World Bible Translation Committee to
substantiate its use of the Tetragrammaton. The 1969 edition of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
gives the following information on page 29 regarding this version:

J 18
Greek Scriptures in Hebrew. In London, England, in 1885, a new Hebrew translation of the
Christian Greek Scriptures was published. This new translation was commenced by Isaac Salkinson
and completed after his death by Christian David Ginsburg. Our oldest copy is of the third edition
published in 1891 . This has been compared with the small edition published by the Trinitarian Bible
Society, London, England, in 1939, and also with the Hebrew-English New Testament published in

1 Three separate editions of this Hebrew translation are grouped together as the single "J" reference identified as
J 18 . As indicated by the New World Bible Translation Committee, each edition contains the same Hebrew text. The
first edition was published in 1885. The second edition was published in 1939. The third edition was published in
1941 and included an English side text. Though the imprint date is not given, the edition used for this study was
published by the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and includes the English side text.

In spite of the lack of a publication date in the Hebrew version used for this study, it can be definitively
identified as J 1 8 by two unique footnote references. At Acts 22:1 7 the Apostle Paul says, "But when I had returned
to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance*..." The asterisk (*) in the New World Translation
Reference Edition takes us to the footnote which says,

"17* "I fell into a trance," NAB; ji 3,14.17.22^ "Jehovah's hand was upon me"; J 18 , "Jehovah's spirit clothed

me."
As cited in this footnote reference, this version we are using clearly has this identifying phrase at Acts 22:17
which says,

'men 1 ? n)n' nm

me clothed Jehovah (of) spirit (the) and

This version which we are using is also identifiable as J 18 by the solitary J 18 citation in the footnote at Romans
14:4 since this version uses iTIiT at this verse. (See footnote 12 in Chapter 14.)

Needless to say, the references at Acts 22:17 and Romans 14:4 amply identify this version as J 18 . The
attention to detail also gives us an insight into the exacting effort made by the New World Bible Translation
Committee in its work.

The Textual Source of Hebrew Versions 43

1 941 by the same Society. [The 1 985 edition of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation lists no dates.]

Based on the footnote reference material found in the New World Translation, we anticipate
finding the Tetragrammaton in this Hebrew version. When we study the 237 Jehovah references, a
large number of the footnotes cite J . As expected, we will find confirmation of the Tetragrammaton
exactly as listed in the New World Translation. Look carefully at the passage from Luke 1:16-34
reproduced on page 77. Luke 1:16, 17, 25, 28, and 32 all contain Jehovah references. 2 In each of these
verses, the use of the Tetragrammaton can be verified. The footnotes ••74»» appear in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation for these verses as follows:

16*, 17 # Jehovah, j7-18,22-24 ; Lordi sAB
25* Jehovah, j7-18,22,23 ; Lordi jj AB
28* Jehovah, j5,7-18,22,23 ; Lordi X AB.
32* Jehovah, j5, -18,22-24. Lordi xAB

Fortunately for us, J-*-° includes an English text on each facing page, allowing us to identify the
Tetragrammaton and other material within the Hebrew text. The reader must be aware, however,
that since all of these versions were translated into modern Hebrew, the Tetragrammaton in all of the
"J" reference versions contains Hebrew vowel points. Consequently, the written form is somewhat
different from what we are accustomed to seeing in Watch Tower publications. (The Watch Tower
Society generally reproduces the Tetragrammaton without vowel points. For an explanation of Hebrew
vowel points, refer again to Chapter 1. Refer also to the New World Translation Reference Edition,
page 1570, Appendix 3A for more complete information.)

However, we must look at the flyleaf information from the Hebrew Christian Scripture version
identified as J . It is important enough that the title page has been reproduced on page 76.

THE
NEW TESTAMENT

OF

OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR

JESUS CHRIST

Translated out of the original Greek: and with

the formertranslations diligently compared

and revised, by His Majesty's special command

Did you notice the lines giving reference to the source material for the Hebrew version? Read them
again!

Translated out of the original Greek: and with
the former translations diligently compared . . .

As we observed earlier, the word version simply means translation. Yet, while studying the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Scriptures of these Hebrew versions, it seldom occurs to us that we are
talking about translations from the ancient Greek text.

Hebrew versions come from the Greek Scriptures

••75 ,# Hebrew versions are merely translations from another language into Hebrew. 3 (In almost

2 These passages were randomly chosen simply because of the large number of times the Tetragrammaton was
represented on a single page. Any other Tetragrammaton footnote references in this version would also verify the
use of the Tetragrammaton in the J 18 version.

3 In the August 15, 1996 The Watchtower article entitled, "Jesus' Coming or Jesus' Presence — Which?" the writers
cite an example of contrasting Hebrew words. (The article is not, however, dealing with the divine name.) In the
article on page 13, this comment regarding Hebrew versions is made: "Bear in mind that modern Hebrew versions
are translations that may not present exactly what Matthew penned in Hebrew." (Italics theirs.)

44

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

all cases, the Hebrew version was translated from Koine Greek, though J^ was translated from the
Latin Vulgate. In Chapter 5, we considered the intriguing possibility that the Shem-Tob Matthew [J 2 ]
is a late recension of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel. If this is true, then J 2 must be classified as an original
document rather than a translation. Further, the revisions of Shem-Tob's Matthew would be classified
as revisions of an original Hebrew document rather than revisions of a translation. These revisions
may include J^ and J .) Of course, it is of interest that these particular Hebrew translators used the
Tetragrammaton in their Hebrew versions. However, we are not primarily concerned with a Hebrew
translator's choice of words, but the specific word used by the writers of the original text from which
the Hebrew version was translated. While writing the Christian Greek Scriptures, did the inspired
writers use the Tetragrammaton (written in Hebrew as mil") or did they use the Greek word K yrios
( Kupios) in such passages as Luke 1:16, 17, 25, 28, and 32?

This particular Hebrew version tells us from which text it was translated. J-*-" was "Translated out
of the original Greek." Where, then, must we look for evidence that the original writers of the
Christian Greek Scriptures used the Tetragrammaton 237 times? We must look in the Greek Scriptures
themselves! Yet, as we have already discovered, the most reliable Greek text possessed by the Watch
Tower Society uses K yrios in each of these 237 instances. In no case does the Tetragrammaton appear in
the Westcott and Hort Greek text} In 223 instances, this Greek text clearly uses the Greek word K yrios

(••76««)

NEW TESTAMENT

FE&BS- CHRIST

T1EE TPUETAEIAN I3HL2 SOCIETY

lucinLcd 'li LontSni :n1^ie V*nr ■ It

DJtPOJITOttV

nennn rman

ir^.\iwy. p- inrtt jiB-irr npnnr .

■THtTR]rC[TAPlAN tltt^E SOCIETY
■T":TTOILY : FLACS v LOMEI^ w.c I

Figure 2. The English and Hebrew title pages from the Hebrew version identified as J 18 . Note the
credit stating that the text was TRANSLATED OUT OF THE ORIGINAL GREEK.

4 There is another possibility which must be pursued regarding the reliability of the Greek text itself. Is the
Westcott and Hort text on which the New World Translation based the most accurate Greek text? Is it possible that
the translators of these Hebrew versions had a more reliable Greek text in the 14th to 16th centuries than exists
today? Refer to Appendix E for an evaluation of the Greek texts wherein we discover that the primary text available
to these Hebrew version translators was the work of Erasmus.

The Textual Source of Hebrew Versions

45

( Kupiog) in one of its cognate forms. 5 In 13 instances, the Greek word T heos (9eog) is ••78" used, and in
one instance it comes from grammatical agreement in the sentence which again refers to K yrios
(KupLog). 6

(••77»»)

*!*■

1 »?■ ii

r'

4,,, j.ph . r p^ , ^ 6 tf ^ .^ ,yy

■T1-! "Sei.:i. J<J>F |->1 l^r TJU UTtfTT^tyi^W-

-rrirc ™," Tut fT ratf in* r"iai ' f35a?i -Sh

.v ■ f« F^i"^ !l

".^TS"^ -jjj 1 .-
C.17K -"jsia T^? ^3; n;t ; ■■i'^i tfntai *

■f, y.hy -pp.-. ;-^^-| ^^ rto,-. rii<-, -'-i-i-. „

■ .■ i

■!1

Shi k^i :^tt]J^ np-i^i rjir^i nyj ^?
iTJ*f~ ?w;i "i^ ^K'^j-'nR ip-ii -iawr; ;pp ps ■■

ftnm bl". irwyibi-

■.[.'A

l3 .

i JaJ mv.-r or il
- fy.j»J ibElr [hid.
i fllra be ihjL J 13 I

Bey dT iIli -nllilrcr. aTlrnEl flTill hp- i

■ irn :a -h»

J 13 hir'zvE :d 33 hr. ■'-.£ iplr!i EnL rnmr lTITIbiiv
■ u liri [x ±n::i«^itaE l*3Li.h=Ei :■■ :elc -nf lwn_ Hod :hc
tjpe. c- l=u' i'J i ^t .,.-, -i-j-nf ■ hr lam: 1 id iuipj: luccy l
ji=i^-k i:: fjl'll CL"A c Llrf ^.j. -^

lil .^B'l 2ilL±Jtl 13 31. U 'JMLiTIaC K.IE: r 'lA'bERtV sfalil T '■"

ijlj > jlt J jun ej i L' — - •

...*■ JRI-BUOD LPIIfli 'Ej«£On3JE3ll3MC^ 1* dkpfriid. r* bJl iHi

"J jicil *1b3T \twmt 3Ei* tta -|LI» U I north iot\-iiIt*«, pece 111
hirtr.1 H.t isscicdlHrJi rL3|L
"^ — Vliup In ii. i.Nj..|Lrn:iT,ijTTir w\lk m» lr ttT iiyr ^l»nm It

.11 Ard +n iT-f ihrr mrtni i iv *r±r-. rdh r l^l biiii kf nr ii*m

CftHl unin- ■ f'E>* nr HpMIpvv nrw : rivMTi-i'i.
Ji 'l"n > vlrf in chp supiri IT' ■ iiihi. vhrpi mnm mi Jni"nT, nf

lil c Iidjoe ji 1 "uvirf: i:aJ iIie TLrnLn't iianH usee Marji_
-i jV .1 III' ■ i.hi-1 lilud . y. i-*mi .iici. ix bLl;. EIiIL. ii' 1U l*d£

tiil Vttili H ~— nil!. ■ — ■' ■ jjr ■ nj::,il,.>M*»n»plij-> tLuii
_ ^- v:Mr-r^B-jr . _ . "—

17 iuc4 ^b^ai iek saw hirn> ieu? VEh ir^D^lcd il- bis lEyinE.

■ ■hJ Nk-H ib btr WtjW. v-^AE 'MpHii' rf r^N-jtiiB. tnli

Ihldl IjHL

>"■ ArJ Oh eeijil-eieeL un'.* r.ip, JHivr evI., Miwj i *i-p ribf ji hue

Brv.nL lEt^ar ^itb U^i
T. Ae.4. tHb:U 1brj ibi J r-pEUHhi- Id Up> w-iot. End IrlEf

hiio.ii k* sbd ihclLalL jlhEojEoaJdilLi;.
71 H* rtHfll Cx trytrlH +hpil M EElM-1 bia 3-3TJ oL' «■

J4DI.J ElW LBlD .UEL VlV LbKdH

n-dcrn: mi^tt^i up

■ : Of I'L'J-E IJ 'wTl!

n jltd »" JF.K--.I PiMtfl'MHt IJ*o«Etli4E >tt*e LlE'4'MrEEnjl 3f

PI* PJilftllWS IMK IM.U Ubtt rna'-
hi i rp» lEiirl Mgty que.] [H LBUI^ rtt^ IHILLL ii:p tm.

Figure 3: Luke 1 from the Hebrew version identified as J 18 .

Consider the implications of Hebrew texts as versions. With the exception of Shem-Tob's Mattheiv
and its revisions, all Hebrew textual sources which the New World Translation uses to substantiate
that the Tetragrammaton was in the original writings of the Christian Greek Scriptures are
themselves translated from the Greek text itself.

There would be no reason to doubt that all Hebrew versions, unless otherwise noted, came from
Greek manuscripts. However, in the absence of doing independent research on each "J" document, we can
make the following statement: First, with the possible exception of the Shem-Tob Matthew and its
revisions, no ancient Hebrew Christian documents are known to exist today. Secondly, the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation (in both its 1969 and 1985 editions) lists the following: J 5 is "translated from
the Greek;" J 7 is a "translation from Greek Scriptures;" J 6 , J 11 , J 13 , J 15 , J 17 , J 18 , J 19 , and J 24 are
"translations;" J 8 , J 12 , J 14 , and J 16 are "versions;" J 2 , J 22 , J 23 , J 25 , J 26 , and J 27 are listed without a source; J 3 ,
J 4 , and J 10 are revisions of another "J" reference; J 9 is a "translation from the Latin Vulgate;" J 1 is listed
as "a version ...from an ancient manuscript of Matthew in Hebrew;" J 21 , is the Emphatic Diaglott, a
Greek text which uses K yrios (Kupios) in the Greek text but introduces Jehovah in the English text; and
J 20 , the Concordance to the Greek Testament, which lists all entries under the heading KYPIOZ (Kupios).

5 The word cognate means one of numerous forms of a word having a single root. The English words sitting, sit,
and sat are cognate forms of the English verb infinitive to sit. See Appendix C for the cognate forms of K yrios
(Kuvrio").

6 This information is given in Appendix B.

46 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The reader of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" is left with no doubt that all of these
versions (with the exception of J 9 ) have the Greek texts as their source.

From at least the 14th century onward, translations of the Greek Scriptures into the Hebrew
language have been produced. These are of interest in that a number of them have made
restorations of the divine name into the Christian Scriptures. The New World Translation makes
many references to these Hebrew versions under the symbols "J" with a superior number (page
319).

On page 309 of the same text, a box on the chart describing the New World Translation says, "23
Hebrew Versions ...translated either from the Greek or from the Latin Vulgate..." As already
mentioned, however, J 2 may be a recension of an actual Christian Hebrew Gospel, and J 3 and J 4 may be a
revision of this recension.

As a result of our present evaluation of textual material, we now realize that 26 (or possibly 23)
Hebrew translations used to verify the ••79" presence of the Tetragrammaton were themselves
translated from a known Greek text which does not contain the Tetragrammaton.

Evidence used to support the Tetragrammaton

Since we no longer possess the original Christian Greek Scripture documents, we must reconstruct the
text from the approximately 5,000 extant manuscript copies currently available. Some system must be
devised to accomplish this task. In a general sense, this is done with a system of reciprocal
relationships between the best ancient texts and the presently accepted Greek text. This can most
simply be illustrated as a textual source line moving in time from the ancient manuscripts to the present
Greek text, in which the most reliable of these manuscripts become the source of the accepted modern
Greek text. However, the modern Greek text must be evaluated for its accuracy. This is done through a
return supporting evidence line moving toward textual affirmation from the current Greek text back to
the most reliable Greek manuscripts.

Does this reciprocal relationship between the most ancient extant Greek manuscripts and the
modern Greek text result in a reliable reproduction of the writings of the inspired Christian authors? It
must be obvious that our entire faith in the Christian Scriptures is dependent on this system for
gathering evidence. The subject of this book is the Tetragrammaton, and not the entire body of
Scripture writings. Yet, we must recognize that the certainty of any one part of the Christian
Scriptures is no greater or lesser than the certainty of the whole. We cannot bring the textual
transmission of K yrios in 237 instances into doubt without bringing the textual transmission process of
the entire Christian Greek Scriptures into question. Conversely, if we find the Christian Greek
Scriptures to be a trustworthy communication from God to man, we cannot make an exception wherein
only the Tetragrammaton was removed leaving no trace in any known manuscripts today. We are not
suggesting that the reliability of God's Word depends on personal understanding. We are saying,
however, that if the textual transmission process has been vindicated through careful study of ancient
manuscripts for the whole of the Christian Greek Scriptures, it must be accepted as equally reliable for
237 instances of the Tetragrammaton.

Figure 4 graphically represents this system of evidence. The textual source line for both Erasmus' 7
Greek text and the more recent ••80»» Westcott and Hort Greek text comes from ancient Greek

7 We will refer here and later to Erasmus' Greek text rather than precisely identifying a number of texts resulting
from his work. Erasmus was a Dutch theologian who lived from 1 466-1 536. He published the first printed Greek text
in 1516. His first edition was based on inferior manuscripts ranging from the tenth to the 15th centuries. He later
published revisions in 1519, 1522, 1527, and 1535 with increased use of better and older manuscripts. Following
Erasmus, others published Greek manuscripts which were largely based on his text, though they incorporated even
earlier manuscripts. These later scholars included Robert Estienne Stephanus who published editions from Paris in
1546, 1549, 1550, and 1551. Theodore Beza published nine Greek texts in Geneva between 1565 and 1604. The
Textus Receptus on which later editions of the King James Version is based is the 1550 edition of Stephanus. A
later but very important text was produced by Johann Griesbach between 1 796 and 1 806. Its significance lies in its
system of manuscript classification and the degree of his critical textual work. This is the text of the Emphatic
Diaglott published by the Watch Tower Society. The Greek text of Erasmus and his immediate successors was a
great advancement for that time. However, the 1881 edition of Westcott and Hort found in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation is a far superior Greek text. (Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, pp. 313-31 4.)

The Textual Source of Hebrew Versions

47

manuscripts. 8 As indicated in this figure, the earliest available Greek texts use the Greek word K yrios
in the majority of the 237 Jehovah passages found in the New World Translation. In no case do any of
the copies of the Greek writings use the Tetragrammaton (miT). We can also see in the figure that the
supporting evidence line for K yrios (Kupios) in the Westcott and Hort text goes back to the earliest
available copies of the Greek writings.

However, the figure shows us something quite different regarding the textual source line for the
divine name as found in the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation. (The reader must be
aware that this figure shows only the textual source and supporting evidence lines for the
Tetragrammaton in the New World Translation. With the exception of the Tetragrammaton, the
textual source and the supporting evidence for the remainder of the New World Translation is through
the reliable Westcott and Hort Greek text which is traceable to the earliest copies of the Greek
Scriptures.) The New World Translation uses 26 (or 23) Hebrew versions as the textual source for the
Tetragrammaton in 236 of the 237 instances which use the divine name in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. As a result, the textual source and the supporting evidence are the same Hebrew versions.
There is no outside supporting evidence. But notice that these versions ••81 ,# were translated from
Erasmus' Greek text. One can clearly study the Erasmus text in each of these 237 passages to determine
whether or not the Tetragrammaton is used. Today we know that it is not! (See Appendix E for
reproductions of Erasmus' Greek text.)

From our present perspective of textual and historical evidence, we now realize that the
translators of the New World Translation should have asked, "What word does the original Greek
manuscript use in each of these 237 instances?" The answer is easily determined. The Kingdom

ORIGINAL GREEK

MANUSCRIPTS

Now Lost

textual source for Kupios

Erasmus'
Greek text

KUpiOS

textual source
for mrr

Westcott, Hort
Greek text Ktjpios

\

5000 ANCIENT
GREEK MANUSCRIPT
COPIES contain
Kupios (Kyrios)

Hebrew
Versions

mrr

New World
Translation
"Jehovah"

Kingdom Interlinear
Translation

KlipiOS

(Kyrios)

supporting evidence

for mm

supporting evidence
for Kiipios

Figure 4: The textual sources for K yrios (Kvipios) and the Tetragrammaton (mm) as used in the New
World Translation.

8 The reader should understand that neither Erasmus nor Westcott and Hort had access to the original Christian
Greek Scriptures. Of course, they were working from copies of copies. The Westcott and Hort text, however,
represents very early manuscripts. It relies heavily on the Greek manuscripts identified as $,(Aleph) and B
(Vatican MS. 1209), both of which are highly reliable fourth century manuscripts. (See Appendix A for a description
of these two manuscripts.)

48 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Interlinear Translation shows us that the original Greek Scripture writers used the word K yrios
(Kupios) in 223 of the 237 instances in which Jehovah has been inserted into the Christian Greek
Scriptures of the New World Translation.

After evaluating the textual evidences, we also discover that it cannot be argued that the Hebrew
Christian Scriptures came from more reliable ancient sources which have now been lost. All the
Hebrew Christian Scriptures used as "J" references were translated since 1573 9 C.E., and the most
frequently quoted early Hebrew translation was published in 1599 C.E. These were not translations
done from ancient, • »82» • lost texts. These Hebrew translations came from the same Greek texts which
were used for the King James Version translated in 1611.

As we evaluate our personal understanding of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek
Scriptures, we often discover that we have failed to grasp the significance of the Hebrew versions as
being mere translations. We frequently fail to realize that the footnote evidence used for the
"restoration of the divine name" in the New World Translation is ultimately based on the very Greek
texts which the translators are disputing.

We have raised an important area of inquiry in this chapter. If the Hebrew versions were based on
early Greek manuscripts which have now been lost, we would need to carefully pursue a study to
reconstruct these ancient texts. In so doing, we would determine whether the Hebrew versions contain
manuscript evidence supporting the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton.

In contrast, however, we have discovered that the Hebrew versions are based on Greek manuscripts
which are readily examined today. These Greek manuscripts clearly substantiate the use of K yrios
rather than the Tetragrammaton.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. Hebrew Christian Scriptures have two sources; they are either recensions or
translations. In Chapter 5 we evaluated a recension of an early Hebrew gospel. In this chapter, we
have considered an important topic when evaluating Hebrew versions. Of necessity, Hebrew versions
are translated from manuscripts of another language. Consequently, it will be these source language
manuscripts which will give us important information regarding the inspired Christian writers' use of
the Tetragrammaton.

All Hebrew versions trace their source to ancient Greek manuscripts of the Christian Greek
Scriptures. (The only exception is J 9 which comes from the Latin Vulgate.) Inasmuch as these versions
were published in the 16th century and later, we are able to verify the Greek text used as their source.
In 223 instances, the Greek word K yrios (Kupios), rather than the Tetragrammaton, is found in the Greek
text. The Tetragrammaton used in these Hebrew translations was never derived from mil" in the Greek
text.

9 This omits J'~^ which we are counting as recensions and revisions rather than translations. J^ is dated from
1385.

49

Chapter 7: The Limit of Inspiration

We discussed ••83»» the meaning of inspiration in Chapter 2. As we come to the end of this
section dealing with Hebrew manuscripts, we must return to a related subject. In 237 selected
instances, the New World Bible Translation Committee has given greater authority to 26
Hebrew versions than to the best extant Greek manuscripts. This forces us to re-evaluate what we will
call the limit of inspiration. Because inspiration includes only certain writings as Scripture, it has
consequently excluded all others.

The technical term for the limit of inspiration is canon. 1 The canon of Scripture identifies the 66
books comprising the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. 2 In this chapter we will use both terms.
However, we will generally use the term limit of inspiration because it is more descriptive to those
who are less familiar with the term canon.

The need to define the limit of inspiration was mandatory for the first century Christian
congregation. 3 Early in the history of the Christian congregation, the scope of the inspired writings
was debated. Marcion (born about 100 C.E.) was the first to publish a definitive list of sacred writings.
To accommodate his heretical teachings, he restricted his full acceptance of Scripture to Paul's
Epistles. In so doing, he excluded all books of the Hebrew Scriptures and modified the Gospels to fit
his own teaching.

••84»» At a later period, Gnostic Gospels (such as those found in 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt)
were circulated as authoritative guides for faith. (These writings are Coptic translations made about
1,500 years ago from Greek manuscripts of 350 to 400 C.E. The first Gnostic writings probably were
known as early as 120 to 150 C.E.)

In more recent times, men like Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion, have proffered
writings claimed to be latter revelations of inspired truth from God.

It is imperative, therefore, that each of us come to a firm understanding of the limit of inspiration.
We must know what is inspired Scripture. We must also know what is outside the limit of inspired
writing. On what basis do we reject the writings of Joseph Smith, the Gnostic Gospels, or even the early
non-canonical writings of the Christian congregation as non-authoritative?

General considerations of canon

Scripture as a whole — including both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures — is identified by
established prerequisites. An introductory lesson to the canon of Scripture in "All Scripture Is Inspired
of God and Beneficial" says: 4

What are some of the divine indications that have determined the canonicity of the sixty-six
books of the Bible? First of all, the documents must deal with Jehovah's affairs in the earth, turning
men to his worship and stimulating deep respect for his work and purposes in the earth. They must

1 The word canon comes from the Latin word kanon, which refers to a measuring rod. The idea in English is the rule
or standard by which something is measured. Specifically, the Bible canon came to denote the catalog of inspired
books worthy of being used as a straightedge in measuring faith, doctrine, and conduct. (Aid to Bible
Understanding, p. 290). The canon, as used here, is the list of books accepted as inspired Scripture.

2 Not all groups within Christendom recognize the same canon. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
traditions add the books of the Apocrypha to their canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. However, a canon of the
Christian Greek Scriptures comprised of the 27 books as they appear in the New World Translation is recognized by
most Christian groups.

3 During the persecution of the Christian congregation by Rome at the end of the first century, it was a serious
crime to possess either the Hebrew or Greek Scriptures. (Possessing hidden scrolls could result in death.) As a
result, it was important for late first century believers to determine which writings they were willing to risk their lives
to protect. A ruse was occasionally used to elude Roman authorities. Early Christians would relinquish a scroll
which was not viewed as Scripture (such as the Shepherd of Hermas or the Epistle of Clement) to the authorities for
its destruction in order to protect an inspired Gospel or Epistle. Thus, early persecution contributed to the
recognition of the canon.

4 From pages 299-300. The reader should review the entire chapter for a more complete account of the canon of
Scripture. "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" Study Four — The Bible and Its Canon.

50 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

give evidence of inspiration, that is, be products of holy spirit. (2 Pet. 1:21) There must be no
appeal to superstition or creature worship, but, rather, an appeal to love and service of God. There
would have to be nothing in any of the individual writings that would conflict with the internal
harmony of the whole, but, rather, each book must, by its unity with the others, support the one
authorship, that of Jehovah God. We would also expect the writings to give evidence of accuracy
down to the smallest detail.

Beyond these general considerations, however, the Christian Scriptures depend on somewhat
different criteria for canonicity from those of the Hebrew Scriptures. In the case of the Hebrew
Scriptures, the writings were produced over a protracted period of time from Moses to the post-exilic
writers. Though dealing with God's program for Israel, these writings come from numerous contextual
settings including wilderness wanderings, entering and conquering a new land, a stable ••85 ,# kingdom
period under David and Solomon, the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and the time of exile and
return. In contrast, the Christian Scriptures have a setting consisting of three distinct divisions. The
first division is the ministry of Jesus to the Jewish nation (the Gospels). The second records the spread
of the Kingdom message to the Gentile world. (This includes both the historical account in Acts and
the resulting Epistles.) The final division consists of a future prophesy given in the book of Revelation.
With the exception of the future scope of Revelation, the Christian Greek Scriptures are confined to a
brief period of time. The entire 27 books were written between 41 C.E. (Matthew) and 98 C.E. (the
Gospel of John) by authors who lived during Jesus' ministry. Consequently, the limit of inspiration of
the Christian Greek Scriptures considers both the men who wrote and the date at which the Scriptures
were complete.

The men who wrote

Fundamental to the canonicity of the books of the Christian Greek Scriptures are the credentials of
the writers themselves. It is clearly understood that each writer was either a direct participant in the
ministry of Jesus, or was, at the least, a contemporary of the events and in direct contact with those who
were participants.

Matthew, John, James, Peter, and Jude were direct participants, though neither James nor Jude were
among the 12 disciples. We are not certain of Mark's role, though it is often suggested that he was in
the Garden during Jesus' arrest.

When Jesus was arrested at Gethsemane and the apostles fled, he was followed by "a certain
young man wearing a fine linen garment over his naked body." When the crowd tried to seize him
too, "he left his linen garment behind and got away naked." This young man is generally believed to
be Mark. ( "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 1 81 .)

On the other hand, Luke undoubtedly did not witness Jesus' public ministry, as he was probably raised
in Antioch. However, he was later in direct contact with individuals who closely followed Jesus. On
page 187, "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" says,

Luke was not, of course, an eyewitness of all the events he records in his Gospel, not being one
of the 12 and probably not even a believer until after Jesus' death. However, he was very closely
associated with Paul in the missionary field.

Paul, of course, was a contemporary of the events, but was certainly not sympathetic during the
early years of the Christian congregation. Before his ••86 ,# conversion, Paul (Saul) was its most
determined foe. However, Paul describes his apostleship at 1 Corinthians 15:8-9, "But last of all he
appeared also to me as if to one born prematurely. For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not fit to
be called an apostle, because I persecuted the congregation of God."

We thus understand that the period of time during which inspired Christian Scriptures were
written was confined to the lifetimes of the Apostles. On page 410 of Insight on the Scriptures, Volume
1, the writers say,

The apostles clearly had divine accreditation and they spoke in attestation of such other writers
as Luke and James, the half brother of Jesus. By holy spirit the apostles had "discernment of
inspired utterances" as to whether such were of God or not. (1 Co 1 2:4) With the death of John,
the last apostle, this reliable chain of divinely inspired men came to an end, and so with the
Revelation, John's Gospel, and his epistles, the Bible canon closed.

The Limit of Inspiration 51

The canon of Scripture is closed

In the last sentence of the material quoted above, we see another characteristic of the Christian
Greek Scripture canon. The canon was closed when the last Apostle died. The Christian Scriptures do
not include writings of devout men of the second century. On pages 409-410 of Insight on the Scriptures,
Volume 1, the writers say,

By the end of the second century there was no question but that the canon of the Christian
Greek Scriptures was closed.

The canon, including the list of books making up the Christian Greek Scriptures, was already
settled [before the Council of Carthage in 397 C.E.], not by the decree of any council, but by the
usage of Christian congregations throughout the ancient world.

(For a very complete discussion of the canon, see the article in Aid to Bible Understanding
beginning on page 290. Particularly note the section under the heading CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES.
Also see the comparable material in Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 406-410.)

Therefore, our understanding of the limit of inspiration leads us to a single conclusion. No
supplementary information can be added to the inspired revelation of the Christian Greek Scriptures
beyond that which was written by the inspired Christian writers themselves. This is the reason why
we categorically dismiss the writings of Joseph Smith, the Gnostic Gospels, or even the early non-
canonical writings of the Christian congregation as being outside the limit of inspiration. 5

• »87» • We must be careful, therefore, that we do not unwittingly re-open the canon of Scripture by
claiming that there are other inspired texts. We do not accept the later revelations of Gnostic Gospels
or hidden writings on gold tablets as coming from God. We believe God has closed additions to
Scripture since the apostolic authors' deaths. Therefore, we must be careful that we do not give
Hebrew translations of the 14th century and following the status of recent additions to the Christian
Scripture canon. We must accept the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of the Christian Greek
Scriptures as being the best representation of the inspired Scripture which Jehovah gave to his early
followers. 6

The subject of canon deals with more than merely which books are to be included in the Bible. It
also includes every part of the text, including the words themselves. The translators of the
New World Translation reflect their understanding of this important truth when they deal with
problematic Christian Greek Scripture texts such as the final chapter of Mark. 7 They most certainly
identified a spurious (false) addition to the Textus Receptus (King James Version) at 1 John 5:7b which
says, "the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." 8 The Westcott and Hort
text does not include this final portion of the verse.

• »88 # • Equally, the canon must determine which words are to be included in a given passage. It is
a question of the limit of inspiration (or canon) when Hebrew translations completed in the 14th
century and later are granted a greater status of inspiration than the verifiable Greek texts of the

5 There are many reasons we dismiss the writings of Joseph Smith and the Gnostic Gospels. Among these
reasons is their lack of harmony (agreement) with the 66 canonical books. On the other hand, The Gospel of
Clement is rejected as non-canonical even though the content is in agreement with Scripture as a whole.

6 We must allow, of course, for the careful scrutiny of textual evidence as described in the second chapter.

7 Look carefully at Mark 16 in the New World Translation Reference Edition, page 1239. The translators give the
textual support for each of the endings. The reader can appreciate both the necessity and difficulty of dealing with
these textual issues.

8 This addition gives an interesting illustration of intentional error in the Greek text. Though the error was
introduced into the Greek text at a very late date (around 1520 C.E.), the change was so important to the
proponents of this wording that a copyist reproduced the entire Christian Scriptures in order to plant this one error.
Erasmus did not believe the text was correct, but as promised, he included the added words in his 1522 Greek
Scripture edition. Nonetheless, he included a lengthy footnote expressing his reservation concerning its
authenticity. After further research, Erasmus removed it from his subsequent edition of the Greek text. Today, the
error is quite traceable to a particular family of Latin versions. It is only found in four Greek manuscripts and
appears in no current English versions other than those in the King James tradition. (See Metzger, The Text of the
New Testament, p. 1 01 . For confirmation also see "The Word" Who is He? According to John, p. 9)

52 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

second to fourth centuries C.E. 9

The search for the Greek Scriptures Inspired of God

It is our desire today to possess the most accurate reproduction possible of the original writings of
the inspired Christian authors. We want each word in our Greek text to be exactly those words which
the authors themselves used. Specifically, in each of the 237 instances in which the
New World Translation uses Jehovah in its translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, we want to
know if the original authors wrote Kupios or mil". However, since the original writings have long since
been lost, we must resolve this question from copies of their writings.

Epistles and gospels from many authors were circulated among the growing first century
congregations. There were many more writings than the 27 in the canon of the Christian Greek
Scriptures we accept today. Paul himself wrote a letter to Laodicea (Colossians 4:16) which is not
included in the canon. However, among all the numerous writings of the first two centuries, it is only
the 27 "books" found in the New World Translation Christian Greek Scriptures which have been
acknowledged for two millennia as the written revelation of God. 10

The limit of inspiration is the dividing line between the writings we will accept as inspired by
Jehovah and writings which do not carry the weight of inspiration. Other early Christian writings
may give insight into the words of the original writers. For example, The First Epistle of Clement may
give valuable information regarding the wording of the Septuagint Scriptures. However, these extra-
biblical sources can never have greater textual importance than the canonical writings themselves.
Therefore, a Hebrew translation which uses the ••89 , » Tetragrammaton (mil") cannot be used to alter
the original Greek manuscript text. This is particularly true in that we can determine that the
Tetragrammaton was not used in the Greek manuscript from which any given Hebrew version was
translated. 11

Figure 5 indicates the process used by the New World Bible Translation Committee to bring the
Tetragrammaton (mil 1 ) into the Christian Greek Scriptures. To do so, it cited 26 Hebrew translations
from a considerably later era. By using this method, the reality of ••90 ,# inspired Scripture is
seriously undermined by claiming that recent Hebrew versions are a better indication of the intent of
the divine author than are the best preserved Greek manuscripts copied only a century after the
original writings.

Bringing the issue into focus

We all share a deep commitment to God's inspired Scriptures wherein we fully accept the absolute
reliability of the original writings of the inspired Christian authors. We must, then, be careful that
we do not lose our focus. We give allegiance to the original writings, not mere translations of those
writings.

The "J" reference Hebrew versions are not early apostolic texts. They are not even writings of the
early Hebrew Christian congregation. They are late Hebrew translations; a Gospel of Matthew was
available as early as 1385; 12 the remainder were published in 1537 and later from the Greek texts of
Erasmus and the Textus Receptus. 13

9 Generally speaking, both passages and words are the domain of textual criticism rather than canon. However, in
this chapter we are identifying them as issues of canon because the question extends to which ancient texts
should be acknowledged as inspired because of their unique use of the Tetragrammaton. The precedent of
accepting isolated wording within Hebrew translations as being more authoritative than the Greek texts from which
they were translated presents unique and complicated issues within both textual criticism and the canon of
Scripture.

10 Of course, we include the Hebrew Scriptures within the writings we accept as canonical. However, this chapter
is considering only the Christian Greek Scriptures.

11 See Appendix E for the Greek text used in the early Hebrew translations.

12 As noted in Chapter 5, this may be a recension of an earlier Gospel written by Matthew in Hebrew.

13 Erasmus' Greek text was generally favored at this time, however other similar texts reflecting Erasmus' editions
were also available. In the above comments we are using both Erasmus' Greek text and the Textus Receptus as
general terms rather than attempting to give precise source identifications.

The Limit of Inspiration

53

The Hebrew versions are not a canonical source of verification for the original inspired writings of
the apostolic writers. They are merely late translations from a known Greek text.

I
I

Authors inspired by God wrote a total of 27 Gospels and
Epistles. These writings were completed by 98 C.E.

The early Christian congregation attests to the
inspiration of these writings by their acceptance,
obedience, and willingness to endure persecution for their
preservation.

The limit of inspiration. The canon of Scripture is established
by general acknowledgment of the early Christian
congregation. It may be affirmed by later church councils, but
it cannot be altered.

-Death of the last inspired Christian writer.-

After the close of the first century, all copies of the
original writings were lost. As a result, later
scholarly research is conducted to determine the
precise words used by the apostolic writers. No new
material is added; the sole objective is to
authenticate the original writings.

t
t

There is no indication that miT was used in the original Greek
writings. It is found only in 14th century (and later) Hebrew
translations made from the Greek text which contains Kupios'.
It is a violation to the canon of Scripture to add mil" to the
inspired text.

Figure 5. The canon of the Christian Greek Scriptures and its subsequent verification.

The weight of the evidence

Figure 5 is a summary of our prior discussion of the original Greek Scripture text, its transmission
through two millennia, and our belief in its divine inspiration.

It is the objective of this book to look at the textual and historical evidence for the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Insofar as it is humanly possible, each of us must
step aside from our theological positions and return to a simple evaluation of the text itself. It must
never be our objective to force Scripture to say what we want it to say. We must allow the divine author
to say what he intended to say through the original, inspired writers.

We must objectively evaluate the evidence for the original Greek word in each of the 237 instances
in which the New World Translation reads Jehovah in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Our final
conclusion must be based on the supporting evidence of textual and historical information.

••91 ,# Clearly, the 26 "J" reference Hebrew versions contain the Tetragrammaton. However, we
must then pursue the source of the Hebrew translators' original texts. With the possible exception of
the Shem-Tob Matthew and the Hebrew versions derived from this source, we must accept the
statement of the New World Bible Translation Committee that the remainder of the these Hebrew

54 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

versions are translations of the Greek text itself. 14

As we have seen earlier, the writers of Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 15 view
the Greek text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as a reliable reproduction of the written Greek
of the inspired writers. From this interlinear translation we see both the early evidences for the Greek
word K yrios and a complete body of information describing the Hebrew versions, their recent dates of
publication, and their textual source in translation.

From this information, each of us must come to a personal conclusion regarding the place of the
Tetragrammaton in the original Christian Greek Scripture writings. In light of our strong belief in the
inspiration of Scripture, we must strongly object to any claim which alters Jehovah's Word merely
because certain Hebrew versions use the Tetragrammaton when translating K yrios from a known Greek
text. To accept late Hebrew translations as a higher authority than the best preserved Greek
manuscripts from which they were translated violates our understanding of the canon of the Christian
Greek Scriptures.

In closing this chapter on the limit of inspiration, we are left with a startling question. With all of
Jehovah's care in producing and preserving his inspired Scriptures, is it reasonable to think that h e
allowed the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures — and the important truth i t
conveys — to be entirely lost from all extant Greek manuscripts? Was the presence of the
Tetragrammaton lost so completely that it is only found in Hebrew translations made since 1385?

CHAPTER SUMMARY. The importance of Scripture is directly attributable to its affirmation as being
inspired by God. We obey Scripture because it comes from God, not because of its literary or ••92»»
historical quality. For inspiration to have any meaning in application, it must have a limit. This
limit identifies those writings which are inside the boundaries of inspiration (and thus qualify as
God's Word) as opposed to those writings which are outside these boundaries (and thus cannot be
authoritatively claimed as inspired). Our use of the designation limit of inspiration is synonymous
with the more technical term canon.

1. The limit of inspiration, more technically known as the canon of Scripture, is the dividing line

between the writings we will accept as inspired by Jehovah and writings which do not carry the
weight of inspiration.

2. The limit of inspiration includes only those writings which are directly attributable to the apostolic

writers. Later revelations or manuscripts of any kind must be excluded.

3. The objective of each Christian reader of Scripture is to possess a reproduction of the Christian Greek

Scriptures which is as faithful to the wording of the original writers as possible. Each reader needs
to know if the original authors wrote K yrios ( Kupios) or the Tetragrammaton (mil") in the 237
instances in which the New World Translation inserts the divine name Jehovah.

4. To accept late Hebrew translations as a higher authority than the best preserved Greek manuscripts

from which they were translated violates our understanding of the canon of the Christian Greek
Scriptures.

14 On page 78 the Hebrew versions which were translated from a Greek text were identified.

15 See Chapter 27 entitled "Printing and Distributing God's Own Sacred Word" in Jehovah's Witnesses Proclaimers
of God's Kingdom. For a description of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, refer to page 610 in this same book.

SECTION 3

Greek manuscripts and other historical and textual

considerations which bear on the Tetragrammaton

and the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Page 95 Chapter 8: THE GREEK TEXT IN THE FIRST CENTURY

Page 105 Chapter 9: MANUSCRIPT PUBLICATION DATES

Page 119 Chapter 10: REMOVAL OF THE TETRAGRAMMATON FROM EARLY GREEK MANUSCRIPTS

Page 137 Chapter 11: THE TETRAGRAMMATON OR LORD QUANDARY

55

Chapter 8: The Greek Text in the First Century

In the previous • *95* • section we evaluated Christian Scriptures which were written in the Hebrew
language. In the present section, we will consider evidence dealing with the Tetragrammaton
which comes from Greek language sources. The present chapter looks at the Greek text and writing
materials of the first century.

Written Greek in the first century

Most readers are familiar with the form of the Greek text used by the early Christian
congregation. However, a brief recapitulation of written Greek and textual materials is pertinent to our
discussion of the Tetragrammaton inasmuch as the question at hand is one of textual transmission.

Alexander the Great dreamed of a unified empire under his rule using a common language. Though
he died in 323 B.C.E. at the age of 32 with many unfulfilled aspirations, his legacy to the world of his
day was the Greek language. 1 Following Alexander's vast military conquests, Greek was widely
spoken until about 500 C.E. at the end of the Roman empire. 2

Greek in the first century was known in two forms. Classical Greek was the language of literature
and formality. The everyday street language was called Koine (common) Greek. God chose Koine
Greek as the vehicle of communication for the latter portion of the Bible.

Both vellum (animal skin) and papyrus were used as writing materials during the time of the early
Christian congregation. Though vellum was used prior to the first century, its cost and scarcity
prevented its widespread employment. It is not hard to imagine why an impoverished and imprisoned
Paul would choose the more readily available and less expensive papyrus reed paper for his epistles.

At the time of the early Christian congregation, the customary written document was a scroll
rather than a codex in leaf or book form. However, by the early part of the second century, the Greek
Scriptures ••96 ,# were collected into codices because it allowed the convenient assembly of a greater
quantity of written material.

Up to this point in the book, the reader may have wondered how ancient manuscripts are dated.
For example, how can scholars determine that one manuscript "comes from the fourth century" or, in
another case, "from about 200 C.E.?" The answer is determined by script style, writing materials, and,
in some cases, circumstances surrounding the manuscript.

Greek script style

The simplest classification of Greek manuscripts is by letter style. From the first century until the
ninth century, the letters used were a form of upper-case called uncials. The uncial script did not
separate words and used no accent or punctuation marks. Though this crowded style of writing seems
foreign to us today, it was expedient in order to conserve scarce writing materials.

In Chapter 4 we gave the following English-Greek citation at Revelation 4:11 in modern Koine
Greek with punctuation and accent marks:

"Agios

el, 6 KupLos

Kai 6 Geos f]|ic3v,

Worthy

you are, the Lord

and the God of us,

XafMv

Tr|v 86£av kcu ttjv

Tqrf|v kol ttjv 8uvan.iv

to receive

the glory and the

honor and the power,

OTl

ail eKTicras' Td

TTCtVTa,

because

you created the

all (things)

1 See Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1 , pp. 70-71 for a more complete description of Alexander the Great. Also see
page 9 of the article, "How the Bible Came To Us," in the August 15, 1997 The Watchtower.

2 Interestingly, even the Roman empire was forced to accept Greek as the international language. Official affairs
of state in Rome and all military communication was conducted in Latin. However, Greek was used as the common
diplomatic and trade language within the Roman provinces. Nonetheless, indigenous languages were also
preserved as evidenced on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:71 1 )

56 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

When John wrote this passage in uncial script with joined letters, it appeared as, 3

X2,lO(;eiORqKMO-e^HMa)NAXBeiNTHNAOa,XNKMTHNTlMHN
KMTHNAYM^MlNOTlCY©KTlC\(;T^n^NT^

In the sixth century, a new writing style called the cursive or minuscule manuscript was beginning to
develop. By the ninth century, this writing style was fully implemented and used what we call lower-
• »97» • case script today. The same passage quoted above was written in minuscule Greek letters as,

a^LoseLOK5 : KaLO05 : r||a.ojyXaPeLyTr|y8o^ayKaLTr|yTL|a.r|y
KaiTT]y8wa |iiyoTiaue KTiaagTomayTa

Other features in the writing itself may also give an indication of its date. Not all penmanship
changes are as noticeable as that from uncial to minuscule letters. Small changes such as letter
formation can often be observed over time and become a means of dating manuscripts. Details such as
accents, column arrangement, or capitalization may also give indication of a manuscript's date of
writing.

Ancient Christian Scripture manuscripts do not give a calendar date indicating when the
manuscript was copied, though in some later manuscripts scribes added a footnote giving the copy date
and even the location where the copy was made. Nonetheless, a particular Greek Scripture manuscript
may use unique letter formations which are identifiable in secular documents. If a comparison with
secular documents can be made which shows the same writing style, a date may be established i f
historically verifiable contemporary events are mentioned.

Writing materials

A second aid in classifying early Greek manuscripts is the type of writing materials used. This
generally involves the material on which the manuscript was written. The sheet material used was
either papyrus or vellum (animal skins). In the first century, reed papyrus from Egypt was commonly
used because of its lower cost. Knowing the source and method of papyrus manufacture for a given
period of time may lead to the assignment of a manuscript date which is written on an identifiable
papyrus material. Vellum also evidenced variation over time in its manufacturing process and the
manner in which sections were joined. (Vellum scrolls consisted of smaller sections of skin laced
together, whereas parchment scrolls could be manufactured in continuous lengths.)

In some cases, the type of ink used can also be identified. Though more difficult to determine, ink
composition or a determination of its permanence may also give an indication of date and manuscript
origin. 4

Circumstances surrounding the manuscript

••98 ,# This third step used for dating manuscripts is simply a catch-all category. Many
manuscripts may have unique circumstances associated with their discovery which help identify them
chronologically. Relative dating techniques are often used whereby an archaeological find may be
assigned a date based on its close proximity to a feature or strata with a known date. For example, a
coin may be found in situ (at the same location) with a manuscript. Generally, coins have inscriptions
or an emperor's image which establish a precise range of possible minting dates for the coin. The close
proximity will give the manuscript some chronological identification.

The same may be true in the study of ancient manuscripts. For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls can be

3 This illustration was generated by removing the spaces and accents from the Greek text and substituting an
uncial font. In all likelihood, the orthography is extremely close to that which John used. However, this illustration
was not copied from a reproduction of an early uncial manuscript. The following illustration showing minuscule
script was again done on the computer by using font substitution rather than consulting an actual ancient Greek
manuscript. We do not have any indication that the original writers used surrogates. However, by the second
century both K yrios (Kupios) and T heos (9eos) were written in their surrogate forms as k<? and &<?. See the Glossary
for a definition of surrogates.

4 The bulk of the material regarding the form of the Greek text has come from Aid to Bible Understanding , pp. 11 06-
1 10, with supplementary information from The Text of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger and Introduction to New
Testament Textual Criticism by J. Harold Greenlee.

The Greek Text in the First Century 57

dated, in part, because it is known that the entire area was conquered by the Romans in 69 and 70 C.E.
These scrolls, of necessity, were hidden prior to that time. (For other reasons, they could not have been
hidden after the Roman destruction.)

Manuscripts may also be dated on the basis of non-biblical margin comments or art accompanying
the text. The form of the document may also give indication of its date. Though there is a significant
overlap between scrolls and codices, a manuscript in codex form (bound leaves) would date from the
early second century or later. As the codex became more common, its binding presumably also changed.

In all of the above mentioned means of dating manuscripts, it must also be borne in mind that
geographical differences also existed. For example, the Greek penmanship in Africa may have
exhibited unique characteristics as against the penmanship in Europe during the same period of time.
It is these types of evidences which also help establish the geographical source of a manuscript.

Assigning dates to manuscripts, however, is never highly precise. For that reason, we generally see
dates given for ancient manuscripts by century. That is, it is impossible to date a manuscript with any
higher precision than somewhere within a 100 year span of time. In a few rare cases, some identifiable
feature allows a manuscript to be dated more precisely, and for this reason a date such as "circa 200
C.E." may occasionally be given.

Unchanged wording

We must make a brief comment in order to avoid misunderstanding. Penmanship most certainly has
changed from the time the apostolic writers recorded their gospels and epistles. However, the words
themselves have not been altered.

The modern writing of Koine Greek as found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation has separated
words and has added accent ••99 ,# marks, punctuation, and upper-case letters at the beginning of
quotations. However, the text exactly reproduces the spelling of the Greek words as recorded by the
apostles themselves. 5

The abundance of extant Greek manuscripts

The intent of this brief section is to emphasize the large number of Greek manuscripts which are
available today. First, however, we need to offer this brief explanation. In reference works such as
"All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," and Insight on the Scriptures, abundant recognition is
given to this large quantity of extant Greek manuscripts. The limited footnote references to Greek
manuscripts in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation are not in any way disparaging of this manuscript
evidence. Rather, the Westcott and Hort Greek text primarily concerned itself with two reliable
manuscripts and did not frequently cite other textual evidence. 6

Nonetheless, when using the footnote materials in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, a reader
will often gain a first impression that there is scant Greek manuscript evidence for the use of K yrios in

5 Recovering the exact text as written is, of course, the objective of textual criticism. Only in this way can the
reader today know the precise tenses of verbs, subjects and objects of sentences, and the like. Unlike
contemporary language study, the student involved in biblical Hebrew or Greek study is attempting to retrogress in
time to the actual language of the Bible characters themselves.

6 There is a reason why these two Greek manuscripts justifiably receive such prominent attention. The Greek text
of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is the work of two textual critics: Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901) and
Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-92). In 1881 they published their work, the most noteworthy critical edition of the
Greek Scriptures ever produced by British scholarship. It was the opinion of Westcott and Hort that the two
complete Greek manuscripts codex Vaticanus (identified as "B") and codex Sinaiticus (identified as "X")
represented the available texts which were the most similar to the original apostolic writings. Their own
commendation of these two texts states:

It is our belief (1) that the readings of XB should be accepted as the true reading until strong internal
evidence is found to the contrary, and (2) that no readings of SB can safely be rejected absolutely, though it
is sometimes right to place them only on an alternative footing, especially where they receive no support from
Versions or Fathers.

For obvious reasons, the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's footnotes will strongly reflect these two Greek
manuscripts at the exclusion of others. (Both the information and quotation are from The Text of the New
Testament, Bruce Metzger, pp. 129-133.)

58 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

the 237 Christian Scripture Jehovah references. A typical footnote may list five to ten Hebrew
translations supporting Jehovah, and only two Greek ••100* • manuscript sources (with two
supplementary Latin or Syriac translations) supporting Lord.

At first glance, this will often indicate that there is substantially more support for the
Tetragrammaton in the early texts than there is for the Greek equivalent of Lord.

It is not the intent of this section to review earlier statements substantiating the fact that the
original authors did not use the Tetragrammaton in their writings. However, we must emphasize the
abundant early Greek manuscript evidence which is available today. On page 443, Volume 1 of Insight
on the Scriptures says,

There are available for comparative study more than 13,000 papyrus and vellum manuscripts
containing the whole or apart of the Christian Greek Scriptures, dating from the 2nd to the 16th
century. Of these, some 5,000 are in Greek, and the remainder in various other languages. More
than 2,000 of the ancient copies contain the Gospels and more than 700, the letters of Paul. While
the original writings themselves are not currently extant, copies date back to the second century,
which is very close to the time the originals were written. This vast number of manuscripts has
enabled Greek scholars in the course of years to produce a highly refined Greek text of the
Scriptures, confirming In many respects the dependability and integrity of our present-day
translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Appendix I (A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts) has been included in the back of the book to show the
reader the massive amounts of textual evidence on which the present Christian Greek Scriptures rest.
Carefully review the information given in that appendix. The reader should not neglect to scan this
voluminous list of early Greek manuscripts. The New World Translation cites only a total of 12 Greek
manuscripts and eight early versions to substantiate the Greek word K yrios (Kiipic^), whereas there are
754 Greek manuscripts, 86 versions, and 149 lectionaries cited in Appendix I alone.

For understandable reasons, the Westcott and Hort text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
does not make abundant reference to many extant Greek manuscripts beyond Vatican Manuscript No.
1209 (B) and Sinaitic MS (X). However, there is massive early textual evidence available today
which substantiates the entire Greek Christian Scriptures. Included in these Greek manuscripts is
unanimous evidence supporting the use of the Greek word K yrios (Kupios) for 223 instances wherein
Jehovah is used in the New World Translation Christian Scriptures.

Unorchestrated distribution of manuscripts

• • 101* • We now encounter an interesting question in our study of the Tetragrammaton in the
Christian Greek Scriptures. That question is simply, "Why did some ancient manuscripts survive
while others were lost?" If we have thought to ask this first question, then it would occur to us to ask a
second question with the Tetragrammaton manuscripts in mind. "Is it probable that none of the
Tetragrammaton manuscript copies survived, while 5,000 K yrios manuscript copies remain?"

The history of manuscript transmission to successive generations is a portrayal of two
unorchestrated processes. One is the process of copying manuscripts. The other is the process of
distributing and preserving these same manuscripts. Each of these two processes is so unsupervised and
uncontrollable that they take on the appearance of random events.

Most of us have had some contact with the notion of random events or probability. It is helpful to
understand that we are actually talking about an application of probability when we compare variant
readings within extant ancient Greek manuscripts. Of the total copies made in the early centuries, only
a small percentage of these copies survived. Surviving copies of ancient Christian Scripture
manuscripts represent a random selection of the original number of manuscripts. 7

There was most likely a random distribution of manuscript accuracy when the first copies of the
original Greek Scripture documents were made. While making the very first copies, most scribes paid
close attention to detail and made nearly flawless copies. On the other hand, there were undoubtedly

7 We are fully confident that Jehovah God has carefully guarded his written word and did not allow its destruction
outside of his control. This does not mean that random probability is not operative, but it means that God is in
control of the process. It is interesting, however, to realize that a statement saying that all copies of the correct
text were lost is a direct affront to the ability of God to care for the Christian Greek Scriptures through time.

The Greek Text in the First Century 59

some scribes who carelessly made early copies which had more than an average number of copying
mistakes. These copies, from the most accurately copied to the most carelessly copied were potentially
recopied and carried to remote locations of the Roman empire.

What kind of copies have survived to our day? Again, we would expect a random distribution of
the most accurate to the most carelessly reproduced copies. Preservation was not particularly
conditioned by the precision exercised by scribes or copyists. Preservation was determined by factors
such as the absence of early invading armies, a warm, dry climate, or preservation in a forgotten
monastery. 8

••102»» We do not discount Jehovah's supervision in the preservation of the Greek manuscripts.
However, we are suggesting that there are at least two types of random processes which have produced
the copies of early Greek manuscripts which we possess today. The first random process dealt with the
factors which reproduced either good or poor copies of the original Greek Scriptures. The second
random process concerns factors which caused certain manuscripts to survive while the rest were lost or
destroyed.

We can state the problem in a slightly different way. We can only conjecture as to some unknown
number representing the total number of Christian Greek Scripture portions produced in the first ten
centuries of the Christian era. (Most certainly the actual number would be in the hundreds of
thousands, inasmuch as copying Scripture was an ongoing process.) Of this number, some manuscripts
were destroyed soon after they were copied. Some had a long and useful life and were copied many
times, producing further generations of copies duplicating their unique idiosyncrasies. A small number
of these copies were carried to geographical locations whose climatic conditions aided in their
preservation. Of the huge number of possible early Greek manuscripts, only a small number of the total
would eventually be preserved and located so that they could come to light for scholarly research in
the period of time between the 16th century and today. 9

In order to explain the Tetragrammaton's removal from the Christian Greek Scriptures, we must
superimpose over this first set of random probabilities a second condition requiring a very carefully
planned, non-random series of events. What would be required in order to obliterate the presence of the
Tetragrammaton from the original writings of the Christian Greek Scriptures? The entire train of
events would need to be altered. No longer could we allow a random process of copying and preserving
documents. We would be forced to believe that in all other aspects concerning the preservation of Greek
Scripture ••103 ,# documents, a true random distribution took place. 10 Yet, only in this one area
concerning the removal of the Tetragrammaton, would we accept the fact that both the copy process
and the preservation of the text became completely uniform. Though we see no evidence of that fact
today, we are asked to believe that all inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton. Then we
would need to acknowledge that all third century copyists used only K urios. We would next need to
believe that all copies containing the Tetragrammaton were subsequently lost at a precise point in time
so that they were never again copied. Finally, we would need to believe that there was total
agreement among all patristics 11 from the second century on that this new corrupted text represented

8 This is exactly the fascinating story behind the Greek manuscript X (Aleph) cited so frequently in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation. As mentioned earlier, it was found in 1859 by the German textual critic Friedrich von
Tischendorf at the monastery of St. Catharine on Mount Sinai.

9 Interest in preserving the Scripture text is in no way confined to the 16th century and later. Before the time of
Christ, Jewish scholars had developed extremely precise means of insuring faithful transmission of the Scriptures.
Later Jewish Masoretic scholars devoted their entire lives to this primary pursuit. Again, Origen gives us an
outstanding example of textual work done in the third century. (See Appendix J.) Countless other examples
throughout early history can also be given. Nonetheless, from the time of Erasmus (during the 16th century) until
the present time, there has been a concerted effort to identify the most reliable biblical texts. The invention of the
printing press and the discovery of numerous important manuscripts in this later period of history have contributed
much to a renewed effort in the study of textual criticism.

10 This is not a hypothetical model. A study of textual criticism will show exactly this random distribution of textual
variants in the history of the text. In fact, it is this discernible randomness which makes the entire study of textual
criticism viable.

11 Patristics identifies those men of the early Christian religious community who are known today by their writings. In
other religious literature they are often called the church fathers.

60 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

the true apostolic writings.

All the while, we would need to ignore the countless early Christians who suffered daily for their
faith, many to the point of martyrdom. We would need to believe that they would give their lives to
protect their precious Scriptures from the Romans, but when heretics forcefully acquired all scrolls
containing the Tetragrammaton, they willingly acquiesced with such unanimity and silence that no
protest was ever recorded!

This would be a most unprecedented event within the history of the early Christian congregation.
For a heresy of this magnitude to take place so soon after the Apostles' deaths is most difficult to
believe. That it could be so well controlled that not a single reference to its existence has been
preserved is beyond reasonable belief. 12 That all traces of the ••104»» supposed early documents
which contained the Tetragrammaton could be completely expunged in the short interval required,
however, becomes a statistical impossibility.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. This chapter has evaluated the Greek text of the first century Christian
congregation.

1. The Greek text of the early Christian congregation was written in joined letters without word

separation called an uncial text. No punctuation or accent marks were used. Nonetheless, as both
writing itself and the form of the text changed through time, the actual words of the Greek
Scriptures have survived without alteration.

2. The New World Translation cites only 12 Greek manuscripts and eight early versions in support of

the Greek word K yrios (Kupios) in the 237 Jehovah passages. On the other hand, the United Bible
Societies' Greek New Testament actually cites 754 Greek manuscripts, 86 versions, and 149
lectionaries in support of the K yrios passages within the Christian Greek Scriptures. In all, there
are a total of over 5,000 extant Christian Greek manuscripts.

3. We fully acknowledge that the transmission of the Sacred Scriptures was under the careful plan and

supervision of Jehovah. Nonetheless, there was an apparent randomness in the method he used to
preserve these texts. The accuracy of the various texts which have been safeguarded, and their
geographical location which made preservation possible, were random events. On the other hand,
removal of all traces of the Tetragrammaton would, of necessity, have been a deliberate and
planned undertaking. It would represent a statistically impossible series of events for the
Tetragrammaton to have been removed from copies of the original writings, leaving no trace of that
heresy today.

12 In truth, it is even more difficult to imagine because of the fourth century controversy over the person of Christ.
(The controversy is generally known in history as Arianism, named after Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria who died in
336 C.E.) It is not our intent to evaluate the theological position of either group in that debate. Nonetheless, this
event of history most certainly gives us an insight into the presumed presence of the Tetragrammaton in the
Christian Greek Scriptures. One group maintained that the Son was not of the same substance as the Father,
understanding him to be a created being, though preexistent to the created world. There is considerable writing of
the early patristics dealing with this controversy from both sides of the argument. We must ask ourselves a very
important question. If, as is claimed, there was evidence of any kind that the Tetragrammaton was used 237 times
in the Christian Greek Scriptures by the original authors, why did those advocating a created Jesus never bolster
their argument with this information? No single logical argument would have supported their cause more eloquently
than the citation of the Tetragrammaton from within the Greek Scriptures' texts. Or are we to believe that men living
in 350 C.E. had never read Greek Scripture manuscripts which still existed from the apostolic times? In fact, Origen
contributed substance to this controversy by his teaching that the Father and the Son possess a separate
essence, calling Jesus "a secondary God," and the Father "the God" (Schaff-Herzog, Vol. 1, p. 278). Most
certainly, the writings of Origen himself would have provided the textual evidence necessary to substantiate the
presence of the Tetragrammaton, had it been available.

61

Chapter 9: Manuscript Publication Dates

In the preceding • • 105 • • chapters of this book, we have only referred to manuscripts by their
probable date of origin. Because this book is concerned with new manuscript light which has
become available since the work of the New World Bible Translation Committee was completed,
wemustnow consider a distinctly different date. We must also determine the manuscript publication
date. The manuscript publication date is important because it is the earliest date at which a
particular Greek manuscript becomes available for Bible translation.

This chapter is solely concerned with papyrus manuscripts. Generally speaking, the papyrus
documents represent the oldest extant Greek Scripture documents available for study. Vellum (animal
skin) documents of the Greek Scriptures are more recent.

Before a manuscript has value in Scripture translation, its authenticity must be identified. We
must show how a Greek manuscript goes from being an unknown scroll to becoming a credible biblical
document.

Manuscripts are found

The dry and arid regions of Palestine, the Sinai Peninsula, and North Africa have preserved
countless ancient manuscripts. For simplicity's sake, we can characterize the discovery of biblical
manuscripts in one of three ways.

Manuscripts found by untrained indigents. In the Overview, we told the story of the Bedouin
shepherd who found the first scrolls in the Qumran caves. This story has been repeated many times in
the history of manuscript discovery. In this first instance, a local resident of the area accidentally
discovered an ancient document without understanding its significance. Documents discovered in this
way are usually poorly handled or stored — many times merely hidden in a house — resulting in
regrettable damage to the fragile pages. At some point, the documents may be speculatively sold for a
small amount of money, passing into the hands of an antiquities dealer.

The contents of such a document may be entirely unknown. The antiquities dealer, however, will
vaguely ascertain the document's contents in order to enhance its value for sale. He may attempt to
copy a portion of the writing to show to a language professor, or may actually display a portion of it by
removing damaged pages. The antiquities dealer often acts covertly, because many governments forbid
private ownership and sale of ancient documents.

••106 ,# At some point, the antiquities dealer may sell the document to an intermediary who
surreptitiously removes the document from the country of origin. Eventually, the document may become
part of a foreign library or personal acquisition such as the Chester Beatty or Bodmer collections.

Needless to say, by the time the document is ready for scholarly study, much of the history of its
location and association with other parts of the archeological site has been lost. Nor can it be assumed
that every document found in this way will prove to have value. Only a small number of manuscripts
eventually attain recognition as authentic ancient documents which make a contribution to biblical
studies. (Many such documents have proven to be inconsequential personal correspondence between
unknown individuals or inventory lists of a long-forgotten villa.)

Manuscripts discovered by trained collectors. The story of the discovery of the important
Codex Sinaiticus manuscript (Aleph) by Tischendorf in 1844 at the St. Catharine Monastery is an
example of an independent collector making an important manuscript discovery. As we have already
seen, some of the leaves of the Hebrew Scriptures were already in a wastebasket, destined to start
fires. Because of the urgency expressed by Tischendorf for their preservation, the amount ultimately
paid to the monastic order for the almost complete Bible was considerably higher than the price of
paper used to start morning fires!

In the past 150 years, many important biblical manuscripts have been discovered through the
painstaking — and sometimes fortuitous — efforts of scholarly or wealthy collectors. In many instances,
these finds have resulted in some preservation of the details surrounding the document's original
location and association with other written materials or artifacts.

62

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Manuscripts discovered by archaeologists. Not all manuscripts have been randomly discovered by
untrained shepherds or townspeople. The Dead Sea Scrolls actually represent a significantly larger
number of documents and artifacts which have been discovered by trained archaeologists than by the
early fortune hunters. (The early finds, however, represented the important Isaiah Scroll and other
major manuscripts.)

(••107««)

r l H r r 1\l. ; b. m * •. i.n-: l •_ p.l-i.-.^ *-p« trrSl T „ nT . .

...i§^

-•

?• C Cy >-n r-\ r-M lMC.VTT?r> v, - wl I ,jl1j ^^ aT

■ Xi-- * j A-Y~ T >*-'' *-■• "■!' IT "'" r '" : "'

• »_S ^ U I-'J.-T 1 '

I I.M#\ .'

rz:! : : ' *f*M**r»j^-J"-i*''v«,Vje*i ^v?"a^ j_*vfH*.

-«r

Si: : : :

."j+T 1 J. H ,_i_l h ^ c ^ ^ r-.-[-\ 1, f^ jj^. ^f-.^-i-r* 1 1 Tn^*' _
,- Y- J ' i , - * ■■- ■• •■"> ■'•■^- ■■ ■■'■ • _:

Figure 6. Hebrews 1 0:8-20 from P 46 , a manuscript dated about 200 C.E. Note the surrogates for ihcoy
(TRy) [Jesus] and KpiCToy (Rpy) [Christ] at 10:10; -e-eoy (-SY) [God] at 10:13, and KpiCTq (RC)
[Christ] at 1 0:1 6 (Jehovah in the New World Translation).

Manuscript Publication Dates 63

It has often been through the efforts of governments wanting to protect these manuscript and
archaeological materials that trained personnel have been allowed to conduct archaeological
explorations throughout the area in which ancient biblical documents are best preserved. Biblical
archaeological sites such as Masada, the Qumran caves, and the environs of Jerusalem itself, have all
been sources of

••108 ,# biblical documents found by work crews under the supervision of professional archaeologists.
(However, North Africa, rather than the three geographical areas just given, is the primary source of
the papyrus manuscripts.) When trained archaeologists and manuscript experts are involved in the
recovery process, optimum preservation of the contextual information surrounding a manuscript is
maintained. This information may facilitate establishing the copy date of the manuscript itself.

Two interesting examples

The papyrus document identified as P^2 represents an interesting example of a scrap of papyrus
which became a major Greek Scripture manuscript discovery. 1 The entire manuscript consists of a small
and irregularly shaped fragment of the Gospel of John, measuring about 2 17 2 by 3 !/ 2 inches. It was
acquired by Bernard P. Grenfell in Egypt in 1920. In 1934, C. H. Roberts of the Oxford University in
England was sorting through hundreds of mixed unidentified Greek manuscripts which belonged to the
John Rylands Library at Manchester. He recognized and identified this small scrap as coming from
John 18:31-33 and 37-38. (Verses 31-33 are on the front of the scrap, verses 37-38 are on the back.) More
importantly, after careful study of the script style, he identified the manuscript as coming from the
first half of the second century. In 1935, Roberts published an important booklet entitled, An
Unpublished Fragment of the Fourth Gospel in the John Rylands Library, in which he identified this
portion as a copy from this early date. Pages 316-317 of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and
Beneficial" identify the date for this manuscript fragment as 125 C.E. (For a photo reproduction of the
manuscript, see Insight On the Scriptures, Volume 1, page 323.)

This small scrap is now the oldest known copy of the Christian Scriptures, dating to within 30
years of the original writing by the Apostle himself. By its early date, this small manuscript
definitively disproves the higher criticism contention that the Gospel of John was written by an
unknown author in 160 C.E. (See footnote 12 in Chapter 2.)

In this chapter we are primarily concerned with new light on Greek manuscripts which have been
published since 1950. 2 As we will see, P"" gives us this type of example.

• •109* • A Genevan bibliophile by the name of M. Martin Bodmer acquired a number of important
biblical manuscripts. Among them is the papyrus manuscript P"" which consists of six quires (a large
page which is folded and slit to form what is today called a bindery stitch) measuring about 6 by 5 XI i
inches. It contains John 1:1-6:11 and 6:35b-14:15. In 1956, Victor Martin, Professor of Classical
Philology at the University of Geneva, published his study of this manuscript identifying the date of
its production as circa 200 C.E. Later, an additional 46 pages of this same manuscript was acquired by
M. Bodmer and subsequently published by Martin in 1958.

The copy date and the publication date

With the examples given above, we can now differentiate between copy date and publication date.
By copy date, we mean the approximate time at which a particular manuscript was produced by a
scribe or copyist. Thus, for example, P"" is judged to have been copied by a scribe about 200 C.E. This
does not tell us, however, when this manuscript became available for scholarly study. This latter
information we will express as the manuscript's publication date. From the example above, we see
that the scholarly work done by Professor Martin to establish the date in which this manuscript was
copied was made available (published) in 1956 and 1958.

1 Unless otherwise noted, all information in this chapter regarding papyrus manuscripts comes from The Text of the
New Testament by Bruce Metzger. The general information comes from pages 36-42. The tabulated information
comes from pages 247-256.

2 The 1985 edition of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation identifies p 66 , P 74 , and P 75 in its footnote citations.
However, this was not material available to the original translators, as these manuscripts were published in 1958,
1961, and 1961 respectively.

64 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The difference between copy date and publication date is important to the work of the Bible
translator. The textual critic works toward assembling the most exact reproduction possible of the
apostolic authors' Greek writing. The translator works toward conveying the exact sense of the
apostolic writers' words into understandable modern language. The final translation represents the
combined efforts of both the textual critic and the modern Bible translator. However, the translator is
dependent on the work of the textual critic because the translator has access to a Greek text only after
the textual critic has completed his work. It is thus the published results of the textual critic which
gives the translator the most reliable wording of the Greek text. (Some textual critics have also acted
as translators. In the case of the New World Translation, however, the Translation Committee was
primarily dependent on the work of the textual critics Westcott and Hort. The Committee availed
itself of supplemental assistance from other textual critics as well.) Presumably, unless the translator
is also working as a textual critic on unpublished documents, he will be unaware of new Greek
manuscript discoveries until after their publication date.

••110 ,# The papyrus identification system indicates the dissimilarity between copy date and
publication date. Ostensibly, the first papyrus Greek Scripture manuscript which was identified was
assigned the symbol P* which stands for Papyrus c l ass i" cat i° n . The second papyrus was classified as
P , with each successive classification following.

Needless to say, ancient documents are not discovered in their chronological order. The first
papyrus placed in this classification system (pi) was from the third century C.E., the second (P^) was
from the sixth century, the third (P^) was from either the sixth or seventh century, the fourth was an
early copy from the third century, and so on for each of the classified papyri numbered through P . In
fact, some of the latest papyri to be classified are some of the earliest. P , P , P , and P"' are all
dated circa 200 C.E.

Papyri publication dates roughly correspond with their individual discovery date. Consequently,
papyrus manuscripts found early tend to have early publication dates, while later manuscripts carry
more recent dates. However, there are exceptions. For one reason or another, a manuscript may not be
classified immediately after it is found. As we will see in the following tabulated information, the
dates of discovery represented by the superscript on the "P" symbol do not coincide with an exact
sequence of publication dates. Classification often results from the presumed importance of the
manuscript or the availability of individuals who are qualified to do the necessary research. In the
example above, P" was overlooked for many years merely because its insignificant size and mix with
numerous other small manuscript portions obscured its great importance.

Papyrus manuscripts and the 237 Jehovah references

In this chapter, we are primarily concerned with new light which has become available in
Christian Greek Scripture studies since 1950. Specifically, we want to determine what bearing this
new light has on the issue of whether K yrios or the Tetragrammaton was used in the Greek Scriptures.

In the following tabulation of papyrus manuscripts, information will be given for those manuscripts
classified as P* through P^° which contain one (or both) of two types of information.

I. Information will be given for any classified papyrus manuscript which was published after the

completion of the Christian Scriptures portion of the New World Translation in 1950.

II. Information will be given for any classified papyrus manuscript which contains one or more of the
237 Jehovah passages cited in the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation.

• • 111 • • Before evaluating the information tabulated from these 76 extant papyrus manuscripts in
Table 5, a brief explanatory comment should be made regarding the information presented:

1. The headings are as follows: No. identifies the individual papyrus by its classification
number; Extant portions lists the passages found in the manuscript; Date Copied identifies the
time period in which the ancient manuscript was produced; Published identifies the date at which
the manuscript's contents and assigned date of copy was released to the scholarly community for
study; "/" Ref. Kupios identifies those passages from the 237 Jehovah references in the
New World Translation in which a form of the Greek word Kupio? was used in the papyrus

Manuscript Publication Dates

65

manuscript; Papyrus HUT indicates the number of occurrences of the Tetragrammaton within these
papyrus manuscripts for any of the 237 Jehovah passages; NWT Jehovah indicates the number of
Jehovah references in the New World Translation found in the cited papyrus.

2. Specialized information is included under the heading Extant portions.

a. The chapter and verse citations are to be read consecutively with the hyphen read as through. For

example, in P n the entry, "1 Cor 1:17-23; 2:9-12, 14; 3:1-3, 5-6; 4:3-5:5, etc.," is understood to mean,
"the manuscript includes 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 17 through 23, chapter 2 verses 9 through
12, chapter 2 verse 14, chapter 3 verses 1 through 3, verses 5 and 6, and chapter 4 verse 3 through
chapter 5 verse 5," and so on.

b. Within each series of entries, a bold parenthetical number indicates one of the 237 Jehovah entries
in the NWT. In several instances such as P , multiple occurrences of Jehovah are each shown with
an individual verse number such as (8), (8), (8), indicating that Jehovah occurs three times at
Romans 14:8.

c. An entry identified with a dagger ( + ) indicates that the manuscript is fragmentary or words are

missing from the text.

d. A book name with no reference citations indicates that the book is complete in the manuscript.
Notice the entries for P 46 which indicate that 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians,
Colossians, and Hebrews are complete. Nonetheless, these entries may show bold citations of
Jehovah references. (For example, "Col (1:10), (3:13)," etc.)

e. The book order is given according to the English Bible. In some cases, the actual papyrus manuscript

will include books in a different order.

3. Information ••112»» regarding the Greek word used in any papyrus manuscript is readily available

from The Greek New Testament published by the United Bible Societies. For this study, the third
edition was used. The verse was consulted in the UBS text for each of the 237 Jehovah references
contained in any papyrus manuscript. These are the references identified within bold typeface
parentheses. If there is a variant (changed wording) in any credible Greek manuscripts, the UBS
apparatus (textual footnote) lists the manuscripts and their wording. 3 All K yrios (KupLo?) entries
were verified. All entries identifying any of the 76 papyrus manuscripts were noted. From this
information, the two columns "/" Ref. Kupios and Papyrus mil' were derived. The discrepancies
between the columns "J" Ref Kupios and NWT Jehovah are accounted for in the footnotes.

A simple summary of this information will be given in Table 6. The reader may wish to move
ahead to that summary. For completeness, however, the information is given in full as follows:

(••112-115**)

No.

Extant portions

Date
Copied

Pub-
lished

"J" Ret. Papyrus
Kupios ^^ ,

NWT
Jehovah

Pi

Mt 1:1-9, 12, 14-20 (20),
23.

3rd

1898

1

none

1

P2

Jn 12:12-(13)-15.

6th

1906

1

none

1

3 1 Corinthians 10:9 says "Neither let us put Jehovah to the test...." The UBS text uses neither the
Tetragrammaton nor KiipLog. Rather, it uses the word Xpiorov [Christ] with a footnote reference to the textual
apparatus. In the textual apparatus, we find that the word Xpiorov [Christ] has a {C} rating which means that "there
is a considerable degree of doubt whether the text. ..contains the. ..reading selected for the text." Subsequently, a
large number of manuscripts (including P 46 ), versions, lectionaries, and patristics using the word XpiaTov are cited
as the first choice of the editors. A second choice is the word io3piov [Lord] which includes both X (Aleph) and B
from the Westcott and Hort text. A third choice is Geov [God] with two supporting manuscripts and one patristic.
The final choice, with only a single supporting manuscript, eliminates the words tov XpioTov [the Christ] altogether.
The complete UBS footnote entry is as follows:

{CJXplOTOV P 46 DGK*88 330 451 614 629 630 1241 17391881 1 984 2492 2495 Byz Lect ipr.d.dem.e.f.g.x.z vg
sy r P' h cop sabo Marcion Theotecnus lrenaeus lat Clement Origen Ambrosiaster Ephraem Epiphanius
Chrysostom 3 ' 4 Pelagius Augustine Ps-Oecumenius Theophylact // Kupiov X B C P 33 104 181 326 436 1877
2127 syr hms arm eth Chrysostom 1/4 Theodoret Cassiodorus John-Damascus Sedulius-Scotus // 9eov A 81
Euthalius // omitTov XpioTov 1985

66

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

No.

Extant portions

Date
Copied

Pub-
lished

"J" Ret. Papyrus

NWT
Jehovah

P 3

Lk 7:36-45; 10:38-42.

6th or
7th

1882
1885
1963

none

none

none

P 4

Lk l:58-(58)-59, 62-
(66)-(68)-(76)-2:l , 6-7;

3rd

1938

3 4

none

4

3 8-38; 4:2, 29-32, 34-35; 5:3-8, 30-38; 6:1-16.

P 5

Jn l:23-(23)-31, 33-41;
16:14-30; 20:11-17, 19-
20, 22-25.

3rd

1898

1

none

1

P7

Lk 4:1-2.

5th

1957

none

none

none

P 8

Act 4:31-37; 5:2-9 (9);
6:1-6, 8-15.

4th

?

1

none

1

pll

1 Cor 1:17-23; 2:9-12, 14;
3:1-3, 5-6; 4:3-(4)-(19)-

7th

1868
1957

2

none

2

5:5, 7-8; 6:5-7, 11-18; 7:3-6, 10-14.

P 13

Heb 2:14-5:5; 10:8-(16)-
22, 29 - (30) - (12:5) -
(12:6)-12:17.

3rd or
4th

1951

4

none

4

p45

Mt 20:24-32; 21:13-19;
25:41-46; 26:1-39; Mk

3rd

1933

21

none

21

4:36-40; 5:15-(19)-26, 38-6:3, 16-25, 36-50; 7:3-15, 25-8:1, 10-26,
34-9:8, 18-31; 11:27-33; 12:1, 5-8, 13-19, 24-28; Lk 6:31-41, 45-
7:7; 9:26-41, 45-10:1, 6-22, 26-(27)-ll:l, 6-25, 28-46, 50-12:12,
18-37, 42-13:1, 6-24, 29-14:10, 17-33; Jn 10:7-25, 31-11:10, 18-36,
43-57; Act 4:27-(29)-36; 5:10-(19)-20, 30-39; 6:7-7:2, 10-21, 32-
(33)-41, 52-(60)-8:l, 14-(22)-(24)-25 (25), 34-(39)-9:6, 16-27, 35-
10:23, 31-(33)-41; 11:2-14, 24-12:5, 13-(17)-22; 13:6-(10)-(11)-

(12)-16, 25-36, 46-(47)-(48) 5 -(49)-14:3 (3), 15-23 (23); 15:2-7,
19-26, 38-(40)-16:4, 15-(15)-21, 32-(32)-40; 17:9-17.

p46

Rom 5:17-6:3, 5-14; 8:15-
25, 27-35, 37-9:(28)-

c. 200

1934
1936

64

none

64

(29)-32; 10:l-(13)-(16)-ll:(3)-22, 24-33, 35-(12:ll)-(19)-14:(4)-

(6), (6), (6)-8 (8), (8), (8), 9-(ll)-15:9 + , ll-(ll)-33; 16:1-23, 25-

27; 1 Cor + (1:31), (2:16), (3:20), (4:4), (4:19), (7:17), (10:9) 6 ,
(10:21), (10:21), (10:22), (10:26), (11:32), (14:21), (16:7), (16:10),

2Cor + (3:16), (3:17), (3:17), (3:18), (3:18), (6:17), (6:18), (8:21),

(10:17), (10:18), Gal + (3:6), Eph + (2:21), (5:17), (5:19), (6:4),

(6:7), (6:8), Phil + , Col + (1:10), (3:13), (3:16) 7 , (3:22), (3:23),
(3:24), ITh 1:1, 9-10; 2:1-3; 5:5-9, 23-28; Heb. (2:13), (7:21),
(8:2), (8:8), (8:9), (8:10), (8:11), (10:16), (10:30), (12:5), (12:6),
(13:6).

4 P 4 omits KupLos (K yrios) at Luke 1 :68.

5 P 45 j plA^ and x (Aleph) [Westcott and Hort] use Kupiog (K yrios) whereas B (Vatican MS. No. 1209) [Westcott
and Hort] uses Geo? (theos).

6 P 46 uses Kpiorov (Christ) whereas X (Aleph) [Westcott and Hort] uses Kupiov (Lord).

7 P 46 , X (Aleph) [Westcott and Hort], B (Vatican MS. No. 1209) [Westcott and Hort] all use Geog (theos).

Manuscript Publication Dates

67

No.

Extant portions

Date
Copied

Pub-
lished

"J" Ret. Papyrus
Kupios ^^"

NWT
Jehovah

p47

Rev 9:10-(11:17), (15:3),
(15:4), (16:7)-17:2. +

end of

3rd

1934

4

none

4

p49

Eph 4:16-29, 31-5:13.

end of

3rd

1958

none

none

none

p50

Act 8:26-(26)-32; 10:26-
31;

4th or
5th

1937

1

none

1

p59

Jn 1:26, 28, 48, 51; 2:15-
16; 11:40-52; 12:25, 29,

7th

1950

none

none

none

31, 35; 17:24-26; 18:1-2, 16-17, 22; 21:7, 12-13, 15, 17-20, 23.

p60

Jn 16:29-19:26. +

7th

1950

none

none

none

p61

Rom 16:23, 25-27; 1 Cor
1:1-2,4-6; 5:1-3,5-6, 9-

c. 700

1950

1

none

1

13; Phil 3:5-9, 12-16; Col 1:3-7, 9-(10)-13; 4:15; 1 Th 1:2-3; Tit
3:1-5, 8-11, 14-15; Phlm 4-7.

p63

Jn 3:14-18; 4:9-10.

c. 500

1953

none

none

none

p64

Mt 26:7, 10, 14-15, 22-
23, 31-33.

c. 200

1953

none

none

none

p65

1 Th l:3-(8)-10; 2:1, 6-
13.

3rd

1957

1

none

1

p66

Jn l:l-(23)-6:ll, 35-(45),
(12:13), (38), (38)-14:26,

29-21:9. +

c. 200

1958

5

none

5

p67

Mt 3:9, 15; 5:20-22, 25-
28.

c. 200

1956

none

none

none

p68

1 Cor 4:12-17, 19-(19)-
21; 5:1-3.

7th (?)

1957

1

none

1

P 72

lPt, (1:25), (3:12), (12),
2 Pt (2:9), (11), (3:8),

3rd or
4th

1959

12

none

12

(9), (10), (12); Jude (5) 8 , (9), (14).

p74

Act 1:2-5, 7-11, 13-15,
18-19, 22-(24)-25; 2:2-4,

7th

1961

30

none

32

6-(20)-(21)-(25)-(34)-(39)
29 (29)-(5:9)-(19)-(7:31

(39) - (9:31) - (10:33) 9 - (

(18:21) 12 -(19:20)-(21:14)-

25, 27-2:15, 18-22, 25-3:1,
12-14, 19-20; 1 Pt 1:1-2, 7
24; 3:4-5; 2 Pt 2:21; 3:4, 1
25-26; 3:1-2, 8, 14, 19-20;
6-7, 12-13; 3 Jn 6, 12; Jude

-(47)-3:(19)-(22)-26; 4:2-6, 8-(26)-27,
)-(33)-(49)-(60)-(8:22)-(24)-(25)-(26)-
13:44) 10 - (13:47) - (13:49) - (16:32) n -

27:25, 27-28:31; Jas 1:1-6, 8-19, 21-23,
5-6, 10-12, 14, 17-4:8, 11-14; 5:1-3, 7-9,
-8, 12-13, 19-20, 25 (25); 2:7, 11-12, 18,
1, 16; ljn 1:1, 6; 2:1-2, 7, 13-14, 18-19,
4:1, 6-7, 12, 16-17; 5:3-4, 10, 17; 2 Jn 1,
3, 7, 12, 18, 24-25.

8 P 72 uses Geo? XpiCTTog (theos christOS) [God Christ] whereas X (Aleph) [Westcott and Hort] uses Kupios
(K yrios).

9 P 74 uses Geo? (theos) whereas P 45 uses Kupio? (K yrios).

10 Both P 74 and X (Aleph) [Westcott and Hort] use Kupios (K yrios) whereas B {Vatican MS. No. 1209) [Westcott
and Hort] uses Geo? (theos).

11 P 45 j P 74 and x (Aleph) [Westcott and Hort] use Kupios (K yrios) whereas B {Vatican MS. No. 1209) [Westcott
and Hort] uses Geo? (theos).

68

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

No.

Extant portions

Date Pub- "J" R e f _ Papyrus N]AJT
Copied lished K)3 p L0? ' mrr Jehovah

p75

Lk 3:18-22, 33-4:2, 34-
5:10, 37-6:4, 10-7:32, 35-

early
3rd

1961

7

none

7

43, 46-(10:27)-(13:35)-18:18; 22:4-24:53; Jn l:l-(23), (6:45),
(12:13), (12:38), (12:38)-13:10; 14:8-15:8. +

p76

Jn4:9, 12.

6th

1959 none none none

Table 5. A comprehensive list of papyrus manuscripts published since 1950 which give new light
on the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures. In no instance is mrr represented.

• • 115* • In addition to the above published papyrus manuscripts, there are a small number of
manuscripts which have been assigned numbers but have either not been published, or have had
incomplete work done ••116 ## regarding their copy date. These include P 73 , P 77 , P 78 , P 79 , P 80 , and P 81 .
There is one additional fourth century fragment from 1 Peter which has not been assigned a number. 13

New manuscript light since 1950

We can now summarize our findings. At the beginning of the book we asked, "Did the original
apostolic writers use the Tetragrammaton in 237 instances while writing the Christian Greek
Scriptures?" We then explored whether new light from studies of ancient Christian Scripture
manuscripts would help answer this question.

The summary information in Table 6 gives valuable new insights into the presence of the
Tetragrammaton in some of the earliest Greek manuscripts. Eighteen of these manuscripts were
unknown to the New World Bible Translation Committee when it completed its work in 1950.
(However, both P^ and P 11 had been published in some form at an earlier date.)

These new manuscripts represent very early dates. Three manuscripts were actually copied circa
200 C.E. Another five manuscripts were copied within the first four centuries, three of which are
clearly from the third century. However, of these eight very ancient manuscripts, not all contain
passages among the 237 Jehovah references. Nonetheless, there are 29 occurrences of the Greek word
K yri OS represented in these new documents from the third — to the latest — fourth century. If all newly
published manuscripts are counted, there are a total of 63 occurrences of K yri OS in these same passages in
which Jehovah has been inserted into the English text of the New World Translation Christian
Scriptures.

The most significant question we can ask, however, is this: "In these very old, yet recently
published manuscripts, do we find the Tetragrammaton?" The answer is, "No, we do not." In these 18
manuscripts published since 1950, there are a total of 65 passages in which we would expect to find the
Tetragrammaton in the earliest manuscripts. (These passages are identified in the following summary
as the "Total number of NWT Jehovah passages since 1950.") Yet, there is not a single occurrence of the
Tetragrammaton in any of these passages. If we evaluate the same information for all 237 passages of
which we find 163 represented within these papyri (these 163 passages are identified as the "Total
papyri passages where NWT inserts ••118 ,# Jehovah") we again find the complete absence of any
manuscript reference to iTliT.

With a significant increase today in the new light on very early Greek manuscripts, we find
overwhelming evidence that the Tetragrammaton is not used in any extant copies of the Greek
Scriptures since 200 C.E.

12 All texts use Geos (theos).

13 The above information comes from Metzger (op. cit.). However, inasmuch as the book we are citing was
published in 1 968 (and reprinted in 1 978), some of this publication work may now have been completed.

Manuscript Publication Dates

69

(••117««)

No.

Date Copied

Published

"J" Ref.
Kupios

Papyrus

mrr

NWT
Jehovah

P 3

6th or 7th

1882
1885
1963

none

none

none

P7

5th

1957

none

none

none

pll

7th

1868
1957

2

none

2

P 13

3rd or
4th

1951

4

none

4

p49

end of 3rd

1958

none

none

none

p59

7th

1950

none

none

none

p60

7th

1950

none

none

none

p61

c. 700

1950

1

none

1

p63

c. 500

1953

none

none

none

p64

c. 200

1953

none

none

none

p65

3rd

1957

1

none

1

p66

c. 200

1958

5

none

5

p67

c. 200

1956

none

none

none

p68

7th (?)

1957

1

none

1

p72

3rd or 4th

1959

12

none

12

p74

7th

1961

30

none

32

p75

early 3rd

1961

7

none

7

p76

6th

1959

none

none

none

Total of all papyri published

75 14

Total papyri published since 1950

18

Earliest papyrus date

c. 200

Total papyri passages where NWT inserts Jehovah

163

Total number of NWT Jehovah passages since 1950

65

Total uses of K yrios (Kupios) in all papyri

160

Total uses of K yrios (KOpios) since 1950

63

Total uses of iTliT in all papyri

none

Table 6. A summary of papyrus manuscripts published since 1950 which give new light on the
Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures. In no instance is mrr represented.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. In the time since the completion of the New World Translation Christian
Scriptures, there has been a significant increase in new light and knowledge of biblical manuscripts. Of
the total 75 earliest copies of the Scriptures represented in the papyri, 18 have been published for
scholarly study since 1950.

1. The new light we now possess includes some of the earliest known copies of the Greek Scriptures.

14 The number of consecutively numbered papyri is 76. However, P 73 has not yet been published.

70 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Three of these new manuscripts were copied in approximately 200 C.E. Another three were copied
by the end of the third century, and another two no later than the fourth century.

2. Within this group of eight new manuscripts which were copied no later than the fourth century,

there is not a single appearance of the Tetragrammaton. With only two exceptions, K yrios is clearly
used in the text. (The two exceptions are found in P 74 , and both use theos rather than the
Tetragrammaton.)

3. The evidence now available from the earliest Greek Scripture manuscripts (the papyri) gives a

combined witness of 160 occurrences of K yrios and two occurrences of theos in 163 of the 237 Jehovah
passages. The remaining Jehovah references are not substantiated by these earliest papyri
manuscripts, yet no later Greek manuscript evidence gives any indication of the use of the
Tetragrammaton.

71

Chapter 10: Removal of the Tetragrammaton from Early Greek Manuscripts

The New • • 1 19 • • World Bible Translation Committee believed that the Tetragrammaton was
used by the original Greek Scripture writers, but then removed by scribes and copyists by the
forth century. This possibility requires careful scrutiny inasmuch as verification of the
Tetragrammaton' 's removal is the sole condition justifying restoration of Jehovah's name to the
Christian Scriptures.

This chapter considers the textual evidence which will confirm or refute the claim that the
Tetragrammaton was removed from the original Greek Christian Scripture manuscripts.

Needless to say, a description of the Tetragrammaton's removal is not found in the writings of the
Christian Scriptures themselves for the obvious reason that an altered text would not report the process
of its own corruption. Rather, the issue of removal will be resolved through an examination of
historical and textual material bearing on the original Greek manuscripts. The reader must also be
aware that this chapter addresses the presence of the Tetragrammaton only in the Christian Greek
Scriptures and not in the Septuagint.

The position of the Watch Tower Society

By way of introduction, the teaching of the Watch Tower Society is summarized in this quotation
from the New World Translation Reference Edition, 1984, page 1564:

Matthew made more than a hundred quotations from the inspired Hebrew Scriptures. Where
these quotations included the divine name he would have been obligated faithfully to include the
Tetragrammaton in his Hebrew Gospel account. When the Gospel of Matthew was translated into
Greek, the Tetragrammaton was left untranslated within the Greek text according to the practice of
that time.

Sometime during the second or third century C.E. the scribes removed the Tetragrammaton
from both the Septuagint and the Christian Greek Scriptures and replaced it with Ky'rios, "Lord" or
Theos', "God."

[Quoting George Howard] "In the following pages we will set forth a theory that the divine name,
mrr (and possibly abbreviation of it), was originally written in the N[ew] T[estament] quotation of and
allusions to the 0[ld] T[estament] and that in the course of time ••120* • it was replaced mainly with

the surrogate Kg [abbreviation for Ky'rios, "Lord"]."

We concur with the above, with this exception: We do not consider this view a "theory," rather, a
presentation of the facts of history as to the transmission of Bible manuscripts.

Defining the search for the Tetragrammaton

Irrespective of one's view regarding the existence of the Tetragrammaton in the original Christian
Greek Scriptures, a study exploring its presence should evaluate six specific issues.

These six topics are given in descending order of importance. If the first statement can be
substantiated, the remaining evidence is merely corroborative. If it cannot be substantiated, each of
the descending statements must give appropriate degrees of confirming evidence. 1

1. The majority of the earliest extant Christian Scripture manuscripts should show the

Tetragrammaton or a reasonable derivative embedded in the Greek text.

2. Early and abundant extant manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures should show evidence of

the Tetragrammaton's removal.

1 The first statement would establish the Tetragrammaton as a reality in the Christian Greek Scriptures with no
other supporting evidence needed. In its absence, the second would give strong evidence of its original existence.
The third and fourth statements are natural consequences which must be observable had the original Scriptures
been so radically changed in the second or third century. The fifth statement is merely corroborative if we hold the
Greek manuscripts of the Greek Scriptures to be those which are inspired of God. The sixth is simply a practical
concern which addresses geographical diversity. In no case, however, can later evidence alone establish the
Tetragrammaton's presence if substantial indication is not attestable in early manuscripts.

72 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

3. The writings of the early patristics should record a debate ensuing from the Tetragrammaton's

removal.

4. Early non-canonical writings should include reference to the Tetragrammaton.

5. The Tetragrammaton should be identifiable in Christian Scriptures written in the Hebrew language

during the apostolic or early Christian congregation era.

6. The geography of the area establishes the setting to be considered in the Tetragrammaton's removal.

Christian Greek Scriptures which use the Tetragrammaton must be substantiated

The Watch Tower Society teaches that the original Christian Greek Scriptures used the
Tetragrammaton in the 237 instances in ••121* • which the name Jehovah has been inserted into the
New World Translation. If this is true, one of two conditions must exist, and preferably both should be
true for appropriate verification.

1. The majority of the earliest extant Christian Scripture manuscripts should show the
Tetragrammaton or a reasonable derivative embedded in the Greek text.

Our previous discussions of the inspiration of Scripture and its inerrancy is based on an important
premise. For any portion of Scripture to be accepted as authoritative, it must be verified by authentic,
ancient manuscripts. We cannot validate the original words of Scripture on any basis other than the
most exacting manuscript study. Were we to allow mere speculation to dictate the words of the text,
the door would be opened to a plethora of sectarian Bibles of all types. If the Tetragrammaton was
used in the original writings of the apostolic authors, we must be able to find the Hebrew letters iTliT
embedded 2 in the earliest extant copies of these Greek manuscripts. There is no other source of
information or tradition which can take precedence over the earliest and most accurate Greek copies of
the Christian Scriptures.

The reader must be aware that there are no extant Greek manuscripts which contain the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. We can appropriately require the same degree of
evidence for the Tetragrammaton which we demand for any other correction of variants in the Greek
text. In the absence of a single occurrence of the Tetragrammaton in any of the 5,000 extant Greek
manuscripts of the Greek Christian Scriptures, we can conclude that all discussion of the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures is mere speculation. 3

Furthermore, neither is there any evidence of Greek lettering used as a substitution for the Hebrew
letters mil". No Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts are reported by the Watch Tower Society to
contain a derivative such as the Greek letters nini (PIPI) which are found in certain copies of the
Septuagint and Origen's Hexapla.

Finally, as we close this first topic dealing with the presumed removal of the Tetragrammaton
from the Christian Greek Scriptures, • • 122 • • we must be reminded of an essential reality. Within t h e
Greek text used today, whether this be the Westcott and Hort text used in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation, or the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament, there is not a single instance of a
word which has been reinstated to the Greek text without textual support in ancient Greek manuscripts.
Could the Hebrew letters iTliT represent the first and only case in which this is permissible?

2. Early and abundant extant manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures should show evidence of
the Tetragrammaton's removal.

No originals of the Greek Scripture writings remain. For that reason, all evidence for the content of
the Greek Scriptures comes from subsequent and successive copies.

Irrespective of the word used by the original writers in these 237 instances, the word would be
formidably established in the manuscripts after the first 30 or more years of the Christian

2 Embedment precisely expresses this Hebrew word's placement into a Greek text. It would not be a translation
because it would be an exact importation of the Hebrew word, including its meaning and orthography, into the Greek
text. The upper-case Greek letters nini (PIPI) would be a graphic symbol of the Hebrew name of God.

3 Of the total 5,000 whole or partial Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts which are known to exist, the Watch
Tower Society does not identify a single document in which the Tetragrammaton was used.

Removal of the Tetragrammaton 73

congregation. 4 Because of the great travel distances between congregations and their individual need
for manuscripts, many copies of the originals came into existence in this brief time interval. There is no
basis for accurately estimating the number of copies which were in circulation 30 years later. However,
considering the fact that the congregations were dispersed by severe persecution, that rapid growth
was experienced, and that both congregation- and privately-held copies were in use, the numbers must
have been in the hundreds, if not thousands, of individual copies for each book within this short period
of time.

Presuming now that the passages containing the Hebrew word iTliT were changed to Kupios, what
would have needed to occur? In the first place, it would have been impossible to gather all existing
manuscripts containing miT for destruction at a single time. There would simply have been too many
manuscripts with too wide a distribution for this to take place. Initially, only a few manuscripts in
selected locations could have been destroyed. Willful destruction of manuscripts would have been even
more difficult because many Christians had preserved them through perilous times of persecution and
personal risk.

Thus, what is called a textual variant would have resulted rather than an abrupt and complete
change. That is, there would have ••123 ,# emerged a mix of manuscripts with some using miT and
others using KiipLos. 5 As time went on, assuming a consensus among a strong element advocating the
heresy, a larger percentage of manuscripts would have now contained the variant form Ki3pios\
However, because of the resistance to alterations and the diversity of geographical location, copies
containing the original iTliT would have remained in circulation.

There are examples of manuscript longevity which we have already seen. Jerome, who died in 420
C.E., reports having personally used Matthew's Hebrew Gospel. Needless to say, this document (or
copies of it) was available for at least 300 years after its writing.

Therefore, if miT was altered to KOpios, we would expect to see a progressive change wherein older
documents contained the original, while newer copies contained the variant. 6 The distribution would
have been further commingled because more recent copies would have occasionally been made from
older documents, and miT' would have randomly reappeared.

However, the change would not always have been as simple as going from mil" to Kupios. Because
the Christian Greek Scriptures were primarily circulated in Gentile territory, we would expect to see
variants prompted by language confusion rather than theological bias. Thus, we would probably find
early variants with a form of derived Greek lettering such as the niffl (PIPI) variant found in the
Septuagint, or the Greek phonetic reproduction IAQ (YAW). Further, if the original miT had been
corrupted, it would not have universally changed to Kupios. We would expect to find a variety of Greek
words which could have been traced back to the miT source, but which would have differed from the
Greek word chosen in other manuscripts. For that reason, in each of these 237 references, we would find
a variety of Greek words in extant manuscripts rather than the single word KiJpios.

Consequently, we would expect a change of the Tetragrammaton to K yrios in the second and third
centuries to leave identifiable manuscript evidence. Even if all copies containing the Tetragrammaton
itself were lost, significant evidences of the alteration would remain in extant Greek manuscripts.

The Watch Tower Society teaches that prior to the copying of any manuscripts of the Christian
Greek Scriptures which are known today, ••124»» the Tetragrammaton was changed to K yrios by
copyists and scribes. This argument encounters a formidable obstacle. The rapidity and completeness of
such a change would have been unprecedented. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation amply

4 We have stated 30 years as an absolute minimum time simply because the Apostle John wrote at least 30 years
after the first manuscripts of Matthew and Paul were circulated. Most certainly, at least John's epistles would have
reflected a warning if the early use of the Tetragrammaton had been altered in his lifetime. The reader must
understand, however, that both the 30 year period of time and the presupposition that John would have commented
on the alteration are outside of any verifiable data available.

5 In actuality, there would also be a mix expected within a single manuscript. Not all of the 237 passages would be
uniformly altered in each manuscript.

6 Because subsequent users of a manuscript frequently made corrections, we would also expect to find a small
number of manuscripts in which the Tetragrammaton was overwritten with K yrios or a Greek substitution for the
divine name.

74 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

establishes that Greek manuscripts of the fourth century (300 C.E. and later) carried only the word
K yrios with no reference to the Tetragrammaton. In the book "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and
Beneficial" (p. 313), several examples of leading papyrus manuscripts are cited which move the date
of known uses of K yrios even closer to apostolic times. As we saw in the last chapter, P^ 7 includes four
passages from Revelation 9:10-17:2 which are translated as Jehovah in the New World Translation.
This manuscript was copied by 300 C.E. The book of Revelation was written by John about 96 C.E. so
that these four uses of K yrios are verified to within 204 years of the original writing.

Another manuscript from the third or fourth century identified as P 7 ^ contains 12 K yrios passages
translated as Jehovah in the New World Translation. This manuscript, which contains Jude and
1 and 2 Peter, was copied between 201 and 399 C.E.

A third manuscript which the Watch Tower Society uses as a reference, is identified as P . It
contains five K yrios passages which are translated in the New World Translation as Jehovah. This
manuscript is identified as circa 200 C.E. Since these five passages come from the Gospel of John
(which was written about 98 C.E.), these copies were made approximately 102 years after the original
writing. 7 The inescapable truth is that, as early as 102 to not more than 204 years from the writing of
the Christian Greek Scriptures, we have substantial evidence that the Christian congregation fully
accepted K yrios (Lord) as the appropriate word in these passages.

According to the information published by the Watch Tower Society, it is left entirely to
speculation as to how the original Greek Christian Scriptures could have been written using the
Tetragrammaton, and then to have been so completely changed within a mere 102 to 240 years, leaving
no trace of the corruption. (That is, to use the best dates available to us, John probably wrote
Revelation in 96 C.E. and his Gospel in 98 C.E. Paul's last epistles were written in 61 C.E.) That leaves
a period of time between 98 and 200 C.E. in which the entire heresy would have needed to arise,
altered all documents which have remained today, altered all documents of which we have copies
today, and so completely established itself as the corrupted theology that there was no surviving
written debate between the patristics. Yet the book "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and ••125»»
Beneficial," moves the dates even closer together when it says,

...but discoveries of older Bible manuscripts during the past few decades take the Greek text back
as far as about the year 125 C.E., just a couple of decades short of the death of the apostle John
about 100 C.E. These manuscript evidences provide strong assurance that we now have a
dependable Greek text in refined form (p. 319).

That a heresy of such radical proportions could have swept the entire Roman Empire during the
short period between even 96 and 300 C.E., and that it could have been so complete as to remove all
traces of the change, is difficult to imagine. Could we then imagine that it happened "just a couple of
decades" after the death of the apostle John?

Early non-biblical writings must reflect the controversy

The early non-biblical writings of the Christian congregation consisted of commentaries and
polemics of numerous writers as well as non-canonical devotional writings. We would expect these two
important sources to mention the presence of the Tetragrammaton within the original apostolic
writings.

3. The writings of the patristics should record a debate ensuing from the Tetragrammaton' s removal.

The development of the Christian congregation was marked by writing. In many cases, this writing
was in the form of letters or epistles. (The Christian Greek Scriptures owe much to letter writing. The
Gospel of Luke, the book of Acts, all of Paul's writings, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, and the
three epistles of John are all addressed as letters to congregations or individuals. Even the book of
Revelation is addressed to "the seven congregations that are in the [district of] Asia." [Revelation

1:4.])

By the second century, however, the writing of letters of instruction as well as considerably longer

7 Refer to the footnote section of Appendix A for this information.

Removal of the Tetragrammaton 75

works of philosophy and theology became an accepted part of the new Christian congregation. A
significant amount of that writing has been preserved for us today. 8

In 325 C.E. the First Council of Nicaea was convened. For our purposes, the content of that council is
not important. However, the writings of the patristics are categorized on the basis of this ••126 ,#
council. A group called the Ante-Nicene fathers wrote before 325 C.E. 9 The writers before 325 C.E. can
be considered to be reliable reporters of the theological debates following the establishment of the
early Christian congregation between 100 and 325 C.E., though we would in no way be obligated to
accept their individual points of view. (The writings of the patristics are widely recognized by the
Watch Tower Society. The testimony of Jerome regarding Matthew's Hebrew Gospel, the work and
commentary of Origen concerning the Septuagint, and the reluctance of the Jews to pronounce the divine
name are examples of information reported by the Ante-Nicene writers. A cursory glance through Aid
to Bible Understanding shows numerous quotations from both secular and Christian writers of that era.
Examples abound from Tacitus and Josephus [cf. page 317], Origen [cf. page 456], Jerome [cf. page 520],
Irenaeus, Africanus, and Eusebius [cf. page 640], Augustine [cf. page 671], and many others.) 10

Through these writings, much is known about the early Christian congregation and the world in
which it existed. It is reasonable to assume that the importance of any issue in the life of the early
congregations would be displayed by the amount of contemporary material written.

Before going further, we need to understand the amount of written material and subject matter of
these writers. The author evaluated a standard encyclopedic reference which is available in most
large public libraries. The nine-volume set is entitled, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, and is published by
Charles Scribners' Sons. These volumes contain writings by men living in the Common Era. Among them
were Justin Martyr (who lived from 110 to 165), 11 Irenaeus (120 to 202), Polycarp (? to 155), Tatian (a
student of Justin), Theophilus (? to ?; one book was known to be written in 181), Tertullian (150 to 220),
and many others.

These nine volumes make an important contribution to the study of the Tetragrammaton. First,
notice that these men typically wrote within 20 to 120 years of the original writing of the Greek
Scriptures. • »127» • (Polycarp was actually a student of the Apostle John.) These men would certainly
have been aware of a heresy as great as a corruption of the Tetragrammaton to K yrios. This would have
been particularly true if this alteration had caused them to recognized Jesus as having possessed the
essential nature of Jehovah himself (by using K yrios as an all-inclusive term) rather than having been
a created being (by distinguishing between K yrios and iTIiT).

Secondly, the volume of their writings gives us an idea of the probability of mentioning such a
heresy. The nine-volume set to which we have referred has a total of 5,433 pages of translated
material. (Indices and biographical material were not included in this count.) With some 1,000 words
per page, these writers have given us approximately 5,400,000 words. For the sake of comparison, the
1984 reference edition of the New World Translation has 1,494 Scripture pages with approximately
750 words per page. Consequently, there are about 1,120,000 words in the entire
New World Translation Bible. Therefore, the writings of the patristics between the apostolic period
and 325 C.E. represented in this encyclopedic set alone amount to the equivalent of approximately five
complete Bibles. There are other known writings which are not included in these volumes such as the
extensive Commentaries by Origen. Certainly, in this many pages, the heresy of the Tetragrammaton's
removal would have been mentioned.

By way of example, one section of these nine volumes was evaluated. An important early writer
named Irenaeus wrote a book (it was actually a scroll) in the second century entitled Against Heresies.

8 All the writings of the early patristics were transmitted to us today in the same manner as the Christian Greek
Scriptures. That is, we have only copied materials, never original writings.

9 Ante-Nicene simply means, "Before the Nicene council," which was convened in 325 C.E. This is a simple
chronological classification of the writers rather than a statement of their theological position. The writings of the
patristics are divided by the time of writing into Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene.

10 Examples of this familiarity with the writings of the patristics and secular authors from the era are common in
readily available publications as well. For example, see the reference to Josephus' writings on page 11 in the
Wa ten to wer magazine, April 15, 1996.

11 Most birth and death dates for these writers are approximations.

76

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

This work has 258 pages in the English translation. Conveniently, the publisher of this nine-volume
set included a comprehensive Scripture index for each volume. Thus, reference to a particular Scripture
passage cited by any of the patristics can be located. Consequently, some of the pertinent 237 Jehovah
passages were located in Irenaeus' Against Heresies to ascertain his awareness of the presumed
substitution of K yrios for the Tetragrammaton. No indication was found that Iranaeus expressed concern
with the presumed change in the verses he quoted. Instead, he quoted these verses with full acceptance
of the word Lord. 12

••128 ,# The following citations give examples of Irenaeus' work. The Scripture paraphrases and
brief commentary by Irenaeus in the left-hand column are from Against Heresies as translated into
English and published in The Ante-Nicene Fathers by Charles Scribners' Sons, copyright 1899. In the
right-hand column the verse which Irenaeus cited is quoted from the New World Translation.

Against Heresies

New World Translation

The Lord then, exposing him [the devil]
in his true character, says, "Depart,
Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve."

(Vol. 1,p. 549)

Then Jesus said to him: "Go away,
Satan! For it is written, 'It
is Jehovah your God you must
worship, and it is to him alone you
must render sacred service.'"

(Matthew 4:10 NWT)

For in no other way could we have
learned the things of God, unless our
Master, existing as the Word, had
become man. For no other being had
the power of revealing to us the things
of the Father, except His own proper
Word. For what other person "knew
the mind of the Lord," or who else
"has become His counselor?"

(Vol. 1, p. 526)

For "who has come
Jehovah's mind, or
become his counselor?"

(Romans 11:34 NWT)

to know
who has

Then again Matthew, when speaking of
the angel, says, "The angel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in sleep."

(Vol. 1, p. 422)

But after he had thought these things
over, look! Jehovah's angel
appeared to him in a dream.

(Matthew 1 :20 NWT)

When he says in the Epistle to the
Galatians: "...Even as Abraham
believed God and it was accounted
unto him for righteousness."

(Vol. 1, p. 492) 13

••129««

For Peter said "...For David speaketh
concerning Him, I foresaw the Lord
always before my face."
(Vol. 1,p. 430)

Just as Abraham "put faith in
Jehovah and it was counted to
him as righteousness."

(Galatians 3:6 NWT)

For David says respecting him, "I
had Jehovah constantly before
my eyes."
(Acts 2:25 NWT)

12 The volume used for this study was in English not Greek. (A search for a Greek copy proved futile.) Therefore,
we can only assume that K yrios or its equivalent was used. (For complete substantiation of K yrios in Greek, see
the preceding comments regarding First Clement, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Didache.) However, our objective
at this point is to discern any comment by Iranaeus as to the impropriety of a word substitution for the
Tetragrammaton. He makes no such comments. Rather, he uses the passages as they appear in the Kingdom
Interlinear Translation and adds no comments regarding an alleged Tetragrammaton corruption.

13 This is an interesting example of agreement. Irenaeus and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation both use God
(theos), whereas the New World Translation uses Jehovah.

Removal of the Tetragrammaton 77

Iranaeus indicates no awareness that copyists and scribes conspired to remove the divine name from
the Christian Greek Scriptures, even in those instances where the New World Translation inserts the
name of Jehovah. 14 Thus, a man writing a mere 50 years after the death of the Apostle John was
content with Jesus' title K yrios for the same passages which the translators of the New World
Translation believe were altered from the Tetragrammaton by carelessness or fraud.

4. Early non-canonical writings should include reference to the Tetragrammaton.

Numerous early devotional writings are available from the first century. An interesting example is
the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. This epistle is regarded as a genuine writing of the Apostle
Paul's companion Clement who is mentioned at Philippians 4:3. 15 The epistle was written sometime
between 75 and 110 C.E., with the greater probability that it was written shortly after 100 C.E.
Therefore, Clement's use of either the Tetragrammaton or K yrios would reflect both the practice of the
first century Christian congregation, and presumably that of Paul himself. (Based on the date of this
epistle, this assertion would be true of at least the practice of the early Christian congregation even i f
the author was not the companion of the Apostle Paul.)

Clement universally used K yrios as the designation for Jesus when he referred to him as Lord.
However, he also frequently quoted (or ••130 ,# alluded to) Hebrew Scripture references in which the
New World Translation inserted Jehovah. The following quotations from the Epistle of Clement to the
Corinthians 1 ^ are taken from the book entitled The Apostolic Fathers}" 1 which gives the Greek text
with an English translation. Where Clement used a word which was translated into English as Lord,
the actual Greek word will be shown parenthetically. The chapter- and verse designation within First
Clement precedes the quotation. The Hebrew Scripture reference is given following the quotation. The
Hebrew Scripture verse is quoted from the New World Translation in the right-hand column.

First Clement New World Translation

1 Clement 8:2 And even the Master of Say to them, "As I am alive," is the

the universe himself spoke with an oath utterance of the Lord Jehovah, "I take

concerning repentance; "For as I live, said delight, not in the death of the wicked

the Lord (Kupios), I do not desire the one, but in that someone wicked turns

death of the sinner so much as his back from his way." (Ezek. 33:11)
repentance." (Ezek. 33:11)

14 We believe this to be an accurate portrayal of Iranaeus' work. However, the few brief quotations we are able to
give in this limited space are far from comprehensive. The reader would do well to evaluate these citations for
himself in a local library. In this way, entire sections can be checked for content.

15 The historical and textual evidence strongly attributes the authorship of the First Epistle of Clement to the
Corinthians to Paul's companion. We will accept the author as this Clement. On the other hand, the reader should
understand that the biblical Clement is not accepted unequivocally among all historians as the true author. Further
background on the book and author is abundantly available in the preface material to this epistle. A so-called
Second Epistle of Clement is generally regarded as being the work of another (and later) author rather than Clement
himself. Therefore, only the first epistle can be relied upon for our purposes here.

16 This is not to be confused with the canonical book of 1 Corinthians.

17 Published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., copyright 1912. The English translator is Kirsopp
Lake. The following information on pages 143-144 of this book regarding the Epistle of Barnabas and the Didache is
also taken from The Apostolic Fathers.

78

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

1 Clement 8:4 "Come and let us reason
together, saith the Lord (ia>pios): and if
your sins be as crimson, I will make them
white as snow..."
(Isa. 1:18)

1 Clement 13:5 "I know assuredly that
the Lord God (io>pios 6 Geos) is
delivering to you this land. . . " (Josh. 2:9)

1 Clement 15:5-6 "May the Lord (Kupios)
destroy all the deceitful lips . . . Now will I
arise, saith the Lord (Kupios), I will place
him in safety."
(Ps. 12:3,5)
••131««

1 Clement 16:2-3 For it says, "Lord
(Kiipie), who has believed our report, and
to whom was the arm of the Lord (Kupiou)
revealed?"
(Isa. 53:1)

"Come, now, you people, and let us set
matters straight between us," says
Jehovah." Though the sins of you
people should prove to be as scarlet,
they will be made white just like snow. . . "
(Isa. 1:18)

"I do know that Jehovah will certainly
give you the land..." (Josh. 2:9)

"Jehovah will cut off all smooth lips... I
shall at this time arise," says Jehovah. "I
shall put [him] in safety. . . " (Ps. 1 2:3, 5)

"Who has put faith in the thing heard by
us? And as for the arm of Jehovah, to
whom has it been revealed?"
(Isa. 53:1)

In no case did Clement use the Tetragrammaton in his Epistle to the Corinthians. Thus, we know
that Clement — a first century leader of the Christian congregation and presumably a disciple and

companion of the Apostle Paul consistently used K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton when

quoting the Hebrew Scriptures. 18

We are left with the conclusion that either Clement — notwithstanding his probable leadership
role in the first century Christian congregation and his association with the Apostle Paul — was a
heretic because he abandoned the use of the Tetragrammaton, or that the Gentile first century
Christian congregation did indeed use K yrios in their Greek Scriptures.

Was Clement alone, or did others follow his use of K yrios when quoting from the Hebrew
Scriptures?

We find a similar pattern among other writers of the time. Another epistle from the end of the
first century or early part of the second is called the Epistle of Barnabas. Though this epistle is
traditionally held to be a work of Paul's companion, Barnabas, it most certainly is not an authentic
work of this man. Nonetheless, it was held in high esteem by the early Christian congregation. At
this point we are not debating inspiration. Our only concern is whether K yrios or the Tetragrammaton
was used in these early writings when the Hebrew Scriptures were quoted. Again, the Epistle of
Barnabas followed the same pattern as First Clement. The writer of the epistle quoted Isaiah 1:11 as
saying:

"What is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?" saith the Lord (iciipios). "I am full of burnt
offerings. . ." (Barnabas 2:4)

••132»« This same verse is given in the New World Translation as,

"Of what benefit to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" says Jehovah. "I have had enough
of whole burnt offerings. . ." (Isaiah 1 :1 1 NWT)

Many similar example are found in this epistle where verses such as Psalm 118:24, Jeremiah 7:2, Isaiah
1:10, Isaiah 45:1, and Deuteronomy 5:11 are quoted using the Greek word K yrios rather than the
Tetragrammaton. We have used a single example because of the need for brevity. However, the reader

18 In addition to the 5 passages from the Hebrew Scriptures given above, Clement also quoted 17 verses using
K yrios in which the New World Translation uses Jehovah (Ex. 32:31 ; Deut. 4:34; Deut. 32:9; Ps. 22:6-8; Ps. 24:1 ;
Ps. 32:2; Ps. 32:10; Ps. 34:11, 15, 16, 17; Ps. 69:31; Ps. 118:20; Prov. 3:12; Prov. 20:27; Isa. 6:3; and Isa.
40:10). Clement quoted two additional verses which the New World Translation renders as Jah (Ps. 1 18:18 and 19).

Removal of the Tetragrammaton 79

is encouraged to study the Epistle of Barnabas and the Didache mentioned below for himself.

A similar pattern of using K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton is found in a document called the
Didache, or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. This writing comes from the first half of the second
century. It was written as the teachings of the 12 disciples of Christ, however, the anonymous author
did not claim that it was written by them. Again, we are not referring to the Didache because it has
any merit as Scripture. However, it does reflect the understanding and practice of the early Christian
congregation. The Didache quoted Hebrew Scripture passages using K yrios rather than the
Tetragrammaton in a manner similar to First Clement and Barnabas.

The question might be asked, "In this grand heresy of the Tetragrammaton's removal, could all the
writings of the patristics have been altered?" As we will see in the final discussion of geography in
this chapter, the enormity of the task would have made alteration of the writings of these men
impossible. A second, but more formidable objection, however, would have been the foresight necessary
to anticipate such an undertaking. The need to change the writings of the patristics so a future
generation would not know of the heresy would never have occured to a group of copyists in the second or
third century. After all, if it had been a theological controversy , contemporaries would have been
aware of it. It is totally unreasonable to think that such a concerted effort would have been made to
recopy vast quantities of manuscripts in order to hide a controversy which was already common
knowledge. Even more, it would be ludicrous to think that these scribes and copyists could have planed
such an undertaking solely for the purpose of beguiling future generations of scholars!

From this brief examination of early non-canonical devotional writings we find that the writers
never used iTliT in Hebrew Scripture citations which contain the Tetragrammaton.

5. The Tetragrammaton should be identifiable in Christian Scriptures written in the Hebrew language
during the early Christian congregation era.

••133«« We have already evaluated the J 2 reference identified as the Shem-Tob Matthew in
Chapter 5. In that chapter we recognized the important contribution George Howard has made in a
tentative identification of this manuscript as a recension of an original Hebrew Gospel written by
Matthew himself. We hope that further work will be done on this important subject. In the mean time,
with all due caution pending further textual study, we will acknowledge Howard's work as the best
example available of the presumably lost Hebrew Matthew which was reported by Jerome.

In this chapter, we are evaluating six issues which merit exploration in order to discern the
Tetragrammaton's presence in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Inasmuch as the Watch Tower Society
cites the presence of the Tetragrammaton in Matthew's Hebrew Gospel as evidence for the restoration
of Jehovah in the Christian Scriptures, we must turn to the Shem-Tob Matthew for evaluation.

In Chapter 5, we discovered that the Shem-Tob Matthew does not, in fact, use the
Tetragrammaton. Rather, it uses the surrogate H (for DOH, which means "The Name") as a
circumlocution replacing the Tetragrammaton (mil"). This does not mean that Matthew himself may
not have used the Hebrew letters ITliT. 19 It merely means that any indication that he did so is now lost.

Inasmuch as J 2 is the only potential extant Hebrew language Gospel or Epistle from the apostolic
era, we must conclude this heading by acknowledging that the Tetragrammaton is not presently
identifiable in any Christian Scriptures written in the Hebrew language during the apostolic or early
Christian congregation era. The single extant manuscript cited, however, used a surrogate for a
circumlocution meaning "The Name."

19 We need to be careful, however, that we not too quickly assume that Matthew would have used the
Tetragrammaton because he was a Jew writing to fellow Jews. In fact, Matthew was the only gospel writer who used
a circumlocution for the word "God" in the expression "kingdom of God." (Matthew used the circumlocution
"kingdom of the heavens" 32 times. He used the expression "kingdom of God" only four times [12:28, 19:24, 21:31,
and 21:43] and the expression "kingdom of my Father" [26:29] once.) The other three Gospels, which were
addressed to Gentiles, used the same expression without the circumlocution as the "kingdom of God." (Parallel
passages most clearly show this difference between the Gospel writers' use of the "kingdom of God" and the
"kingdom of the heavens." See Matthew 5:3 with Luke 6:20, Matthew 13:31 with Luke 13:19, and others.) In
reference to this expression, "the kingdom of God," we see that Matthew tended to avoid using the word "God"
presumably because he was writing to Jews.

80 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Removal of the Tetragrammaton must reflect the setting in which it occurred

••134»» This last topic is not a major issue since many manuscript anomalies may fall outside of
expected parameters. Therefore, this topic does not bear heavy weight, but it must be considered
because any removal of the Tetragrammaton from the written Christian Scriptures would have occurred
in a physical context.

6. The geography of the area establishes the setting to be considered in the Tetragrammaton's removal.

To this point in the book, our study has focused on the manuscripts themselves. We will now
consider a practical matter in the preservation of these manuscripts. A cursory evaluation of the
earliest manuscripts and the geographical locations where they were found will reveal an obvious
relationship between climatic conditions and manuscript preservation. As we have already seen, the
common writing material in the first century was papyrus. It was made in Egypt from reeds and
exported throughout the Roman empire. Papyrus was a fragile material and did not survive in the
cold, wet climates of the early Gentile congregations. 20 The oldest known Christian Greek manuscripts
have almost always come from warm, dry climates. For this reason, the oldest surviving Greek
Scripture manuscripts have largely come from northern Africa and the Sinai peninsula.

The papyrus fragments of the Chester Beatty collections (P , p46^ ant j p47) came f ro m this area.
As mentioned earlier, they have been dated circa 200 C.E.

All of this has an important bearing on our discussion of the presumed removal of the
Tetragrammaton from the original writings. Even though Christianity spread quickly in the Roman
world (which included parts of the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa), there is a significance
to both the geographical and cultural isolation of northern Africa. The early Christian congregation in
Africa developed a unique character and experienced the rise of its own leaders. It did not necessarily
duplicate the ecclesiastical perceptions and events of the congregations in the Middle East, Europe, and
Asia Minor.

Consider what the presumed removal of the Tetragrammaton implies. It requires that the early
congregations in Africa understood and ••135 ,# acted upon the distinction between Kupios and JTliT in
their Scriptures. (This is true unless it could be argued that the African congregations were not true
Christian congregations because they did not know God's name as Jehovah. However, because of the
early date of the establishment of the Christian congregation in Africa, that argument would require
that the Tetragrammaton was lost in the lifetime of the Apostles!) It then requires that this
distinction was lost in the African congregations with no mention in the surviving biblical and non-
canonical writings which have survived to today. Further, it requires that this unprecedented change
took place so quickly that HUT came to Africa and was then lost a mere 104 years after the Apostle John
wrote!

More than anything else, however, the loss of the Tetragrammaton would require us to believe that
this divisive heresy could have been orchestrated so thoroughly that all traces of the original
teaching of the Apostles could have been eliminated from three continents by 200 C.E.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. We have considered six topics in our query concerning the presumed loss of the
Tetragrammaton from the original Greek Scripture writings. Each of these topics has been influenced in
some way by our current understanding of textual and historical evidences which have become
available since the late 1940's.

1. There are no known Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts which use the Tetragrammaton. Yet
there are 5,000 extant manuscripts which use K yrios, with the oldest reliably dated between 201

20 Parchment (animal skin) was used long before the time of Christ. However, the Egyptian trade in less costly
papyrus assured this less durable material's predominant place as the common writing material until the third or
fourth century. The oldest manuscripts from Europe and Asia have survived on parchment (also known as vellum)
because of its greater durability.

Removal of the Tetragrammaton 81

and 300 C.E. This fact alone represents an insurmountable obstacle to the inclusion of the
Tetragrammaton into current translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

. No textual change of the Christian Greek Scriptures could happen universally and instantaneously.
Any change in which Kupios would have been substituted for miT would have left a mix of early
manuscripts showing both forms. Further, such a change would have left variants in the Greek
wording representing parallel but not exact substitutions.

An alteration in the Christian Greek Scriptures from mil" to Kupios would have had a profound
influence on the theology of the first century Christian congregation. Had these 237 references been
changed from the Tetragrammaton to K yrios, the understanding of the persons of Jehovah and Jesus
would have been radically altered. It is inconceivable that such an extreme change could have
occurred with ••136 ,# no objection on the part of the early Christian congregation writers and no
championing of divergent views by its proponents.

The frequent issues of heresies and controversies which surfaced in the early history of the
Christian congregation are known today because of the literary exchanges made in the writings of
the patristics. (In many cases, the writings of both the heretical faction and the defenders of the
faith are represented.) Thus, the debates of the Gnostics, Nominalists, Donatists, Marcionists,
Manichaeans, the Arian controversy, and many others are well known and documented for us today.
Yet in all of this, a debate concerning the removal of the Tetragrammaton was never once
addressed. 21 Most certainly, considering the magnitude of the supposed alteration, it would have
been mentioned had it occurred.

, There are numerous early writings apart from Scripture. These non-canonical Greek writings
frequently quoted passages from the Hebrew Scripture. There is no evidence that the writings of the
earliest Christian congregation era used the Tetragrammaton in these quotations. Rather, these
writings freely used the Greek word K yrios when quoting or alluding to Hebrew Scripture passages.
The earliest of these writings would have been no more than 10 to 30 years after the last Gospel was
written. It is inconceivable that within 10 to 30 years of the final writing of Scripture these
corrupted writings could have freely circulated in the early Christian congregation if they
contained a heresy as serious as the misrepresentation of the nature of Jesus.

, There is the possibility of an original Christian Scripture gospel written in Hebrew which remains
from the apostolic era. This Shem-Tob Matthew used the surrogate' H (for DCH, which means "The
Name") as a circumlocution. If Matthew used the Hebrew letters miT, any indication that he did so
is now lost.

. The geographical spread of the early congregations mitigates against a uniform heresy which could
expunge all written evidence of an earlier teaching without any trace.

21 Considering their massive contents, the author has done only a cursory reading in these volumes. However,
this statement can be made based on the lack of evidence given by the Watch Tower Society. It is safe to assume
that evidence in the writings of the patristics describing the removal of the Tetragrammaton, were it available, would
have quickly been brought to the attention of their readers. As previously noted, the book Aid to Bible
Understanding frequently cites the writings of the patristics. It is obvious that the editors were conversant with the
majority of these early works.

82

Chapter 11: The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines ••137* • a quandary as "A state of perplexity or
doubt." In this chapter, we encounter five topics with potential opposite and conflicting
answers. The urgency of our quandary, however, is that inspired and inerrant Scripture does
not allow contradictory answers regarding the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. The Tetragrammaton was either used in the original writings and is subject to textual
verification at each of its appearances, or it was not, and therefore cannot be inserted into the
translated text.

We must recognize, however, that Jehovah God did not introduce our present quandary. It was
never his intent to give us Scriptures which contained perplexity or doubt about its written content. Nor
has he allowed the process of manuscript preservation to produce uncertainty regarding the original
words used by the inspired Christian writers. 1 Our quandary today is a result of conflicting reports
regarding the contents of the historical Greek manuscripts which we now possess. Confusion will result
when speculative wording is introduced into the inspired Christian writers' texts. The
Tetragrammaton cannot be added to the Christian Greek Scripture text without perplexing results in
the absence of any manuscript or historical evidence showing that it was used by the original writers.

The quandary of HIPP or Kwpio?

The goal of this book is to evaluate the textual and historical evidence supporting the
Tetragrammaton in the original Christian Greek Scriptures. We are particularly concerned with
textual information which has come to light since the Christian Scriptures of the
New World Translation was completed in the late 1940's. In this examination we have successfully
avoided theological and subjective discussions of Scripture or the person of God.

••138 ,# However, without losing sight of our goal and its objective approach, we must eventually
confront the reason we are studying the Tetragrammaton in the first place. The presence — or
absence — of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures is not a trivial exercise to determine
irrelevant wording of ancient Greek manuscripts. Rather, the Tetragrammaton's presence — or
absence — confronts us with momentous implications to our faith. Consequently, we must evaluate five
topics from the Tetragrammaton or K yrios debate which contain inherent quandary.

QUANDARY #1: A TRANSLATION DISCREPANCY

A conflict between the two Christian Greek Scriptures published by the Watch Tower Society
introduces our first quandary. The word K yrios is the choice of the Greek text and is translated as Lord
in the interlinear portion of the Watch Tower's Greek text, while the New World Translation uses the
divine name Jehovah for the same passages. Thus, there seems to be simultaneous endorsement for two
contradictory assertions. The first assertion by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation Greek text is that
the Tetragrammaton was not used by the original writers. 2 The second assertion is that the
New World Translation properly restores the Tetragrammaton 237 times.

If the Greek text published by the Watch Tower Society is authentic, then the appropriate word is

1 This statement does not disallow the need for textual criticism. The real foundation of the quandary of this
chapter, however, goes beyond the issues of textual criticism. This quandary exists because accepting the
presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures is contingent on elevating a hypothetical body of
first-century Greek manuscripts to the status of primary inspiration. These hypothetical first-century manuscripts
which purportedly contain the Tetragrammaton have never been specifically identified, have never been reported by
the early patristics, and have left no copies preserved as extant manuscripts.

2 This is the obvious assertion of the text inasmuch as the Westcott and Hort Greek text purports to reproduce the
exact wording of the original documents.

The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary 83

K yrios. Generally, K yrios is translated as Lord in reference to Jesus Christ. Lord is the preferred
translation choice of the New World Translation in 406 cases. 3 On the other hand, the
New World Translation uses the divine name Jehovah in 237 instances. If Jehovah is indeed correct,
then the Greek text is in error. 4

This conflict between the use of K yrios and the Tetragrammaton at a single location presents a
unique disparity. Thus, we encounter three assertions which cannot coexist without compromise:

1. First, we concur with the authors of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" that "The

Greek Scriptures we have today are substantially the same as when they were written. ..Sir
Frederic Kenyon [is quoted as saying] 'The interval then between the dates of original composition
and the earliest extant evidence becomes so ••139 ,# small as to be in fact negligible, and the last
foundation for any doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were
written has now been removed.'" 5

2. The text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation clearly demonstrates that K yrios is the Greek word

used and that the manuscripts substantiating its occurrence originated between the second, and never
later than the fourth century C.E. Manuscript evidence given in the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation clearly demonstrates that K yrios was fully accepted by the Christian congregation as
early as 104 years — to no later than 301 years — from the time of its original writing.

3. On the other hand, the "J" footnotes substantiating the use of the Tetragrammaton (translated as

Jehovah in the New World Translation) are also given as evidence that the inspired Christian
writers used mil", though this evidence is from a much later period of time. The earliest date given
is 1385. If the third assertion is true, then the first assertion is compromised and the second becomes
highly improbable as we have seen earlier. If the second assertion is true, the first assertion
remains true, but the third assertion is invalidated.

We struggle with this apparent discrepancy. If the Greek text is reliable, then all of its words
must be reliable, and the preeminence given to the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew translations made in the
14th century C.E. cannot be justified.

We understand the limitations the translators faced with the textual information which was
available in the late 1940's. With the greater availability of manuscript information today,
however, we must strive for a reconciliation of the above discrepancy. If we do not reach a satisfactory
solution, we would have a Greek text which would be highly reliable at all other points, and yet
would be consistently at fault in the single area of its transmission of the Tetragrammaton. That is, the
Greek word K yrios would be regarded as the correct reading and should be translated as Lord in all
cases where it refers to Jesus' human ministry. Yet, in selected cases where the passage is referring to
divine attributes, the Greek word K yrios would be regarded as an error.

Therefore, we must answer this first quandary. We are told that the Greek text of the Christian
Scriptures is trustworthy for faith. Do we accept these Scriptures as published in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation, or do we acknowledge the alternate wording of the ••140* •
New World Translation in these 237 instances as having precedence over the Greek text?

This first quandary we encounter is particularly troubling for those of us seeking Jehovah's guidance
in our lives from the Scriptures. The presence of K yrios in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation and
Jehovah (derived from the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew versions) in the New World Translation is not
merely an issue of translation wording. The presence of either K yrios or the Tetragrammaton represents
a disparity in authenticity between the two texts. 6 One of the two texts must be accepted as
authoritative, while the other is rejected as inferior in these 237 instances. Both cannot be authentic.

3 Refer to Appendix C.

4 Obviously, the original manuscripts were not written in English. The most accurate statement above would be "If
miT is indeed correct, then the Greek text is in error."

5 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, "p. 319.

6 The Greek text of Westcott and Hort is identified as a single text. Properly stated, however, verification of the
Tetragrammaton does not come from a single text but from a composite of multiple Hebrew translations.

84 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

QUANDARY #2: WHICH TEXT IS INSPIRED?

In the first quandary, we encountered the problem of two contradictory texts. We now encounter the
important implication of the inspiration of the text.

How do we delineate the biblical text we accept as the inspired revelation of God? Is God's
revelation in the Christian Scriptures confined to the best available Greek texts? Or do we
acknowledge that sources other than the earliest Greek manuscripts, such as Hebrew translations
created since the 14th century, carry greater authority?

We agree among ourselves that the text we will accept as authentic is that which most closely
reproduces the actual words of the original inspired Christian writers. Therefore, the trustworthiness
of inspired Scripture is demonstrated by a historically verifiable text.

We must first evaluate the Greek text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In the book
JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, the writers describe the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation on page 610:

As part of the earnest effort of the New World Bible Translation Committee to help lovers of God's
Word to get acquainted with the contents of the original Koine (common Greek) text of the Christian
Greek Scriptures, the committee produced The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek
Scriptures. This was first published by the Watch Tower Society in 1969 and then updated in 1 985.
It contains The New Testament in the Original Greek, as compiled by B. F. Westcott and F. J. A.
Hort. At the right-hand side of the page appears the New World Translation text (the 1 984 revision
in the updated edition). But then, between the lines of Greek text, there is another translation, a
very literal, word-for-word ••141* • rendering of what the Greek actually says according to the basic
meaning and grammatical form of each word. This enables even students who cannot read Greek to
find out what is actually in the original Greek text. [Italics added.]

On the same page, Thomas Winter is quoted from "The Classical Journal" as saying of the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation:

This is no ordinary interlinear: the integrity of the text is preserved, and the English which
appears below it is simply the basic meaning of the Greek word. Thus the interlinear feature of this
book is no translation at all. A text with instant vocabulary more correctly describes it. 7

There can be no debate that the Greek text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation uses the word
Greek K yrios (Kiipiog) 714 times throughout the Christian Greek Scriptures. This includes the entire
223 8 instances in which the New World Translation renders K yrios as Jehovah. 9

On what basis can the divine name be reinstated to the Greek Scriptures of the
New World Translation? There is only one acceptable justification for this translation choice. Since
the inspired Christian Scriptures is the written record of the original authors, there would need to be
incontrovertible evidence that the apostles themselves used the Tetragrammaton in their original
writings. Further, this evidence would be admissible only if it could be textually verified in the most
authoritative extant Greek manuscripts. Speculation regarding possible use cannot be employed to
alter Jehovah's inspired Scriptures.

We are thus faced with a second quandary. In regards to the 237 Jehovah references, is the most
accurate reproduction of the inspired Word of God represented in the earliest and most reliable Greek
manuscripts of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, or is it to be found in Hebrew translations from the
14th century and later?

This second quandary is imposing. When we deny the authenticity of any portion of the best
textual evidence for the Greek Scriptures, and when, in its place, we substitute the wording of a group of
Hebrew translations which were based on those same Greek texts, we have redefined inspiration. We
have denied the inspiration of the Greek texts in these 237 instances, and have given specific wording
found in certain Hebrew versions a superior status of divine inspiration. Are we free to redefine
inspiration in this way with no textual evidence of the Tetragrammaton in the original inspired
Christian writings?

7 See a similar endorsement on the cover of The Watchtower, Feb. 1 , 1 998.

8 Not all Jehovah references are derived from K yrios. (See pages 18-19.)

9 See the summary information on pages 50-51 .

The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary 85

QUANDARY #3: BLASPHEMY AND THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

• »142» • A third quandary is encountered in the inspired Christian writers' use of Hebrew Scripture
quotations governed by laws forbidding blasphemy. This prohibition would prevent the Greek
Scripture authors from citing a Hebrew Scripture verse which is true only of Jehovah and subsequently
applying that verse to a mere created being. Yet, we frequently see a pattern in the Christian Greek
Scriptures where the inspired Christian writers quoted a Hebrew Scripture verse which is true of
Jehovah and then applied it to Jesus.

Using Jehovah's holy name falsely is blasphemy and was met with serious consequences. (See
Deuteronomy 5:11 and Leviticus 24:15-16.) The writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures knew this.
The book A id to Bible Understanding tells us that it constituted blasphemy if Jehovah's attributes
were ascribed to another being. On page 239, under the heading "BLASPHEMY" IN CHRISTIAN GREEK
SCRIPTURE TIMES, the authors say,

Blasphemy includes the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of God, or ascribing these
to another person or thing. (Compare Acts 1 2:21 , 22.)

Thus, in all instances where Hebrew Scriptures using the divine name were quoted in the Christian
Greek Scriptures and then were applied to Jesus, the inspired Christian writers could have done only
one of three things. (We are talking about the original writers — not later scribes and copyists):

a) They could have copied 10 the Hebrew Scripture passage word-for-word in the Greek language and

then inserted the Hebrew letters of ••143»» the Tetragrammaton into the Greek text when the
divine name was found.

b) The original writers could have intentionally blasphemed by copying the passage which referred
to Jehovah, replacing the divine name with K yrios . (This possibility is obviously unacceptable.)

c) Finally, they could have copied the Hebrew Scripture passage and intentionally inserted the title

K yrios in the place of the Tetragrammaton with the full understanding of the early Christian
congregation that the action was appropriate and did not constitute blasphemy.

We must object to the second possibility! To those of us who love and reverence Jehovah's
revelation to man in the Holy Scriptures, the second possibility is neither worthy of Jehovah himself
nor of the writers he chose to convey His message to mankind. We believe that "All Scripture is
inspired of God..." (2 Timothy 3:16). We could never concede that God's chosen writers intentionally
manipulated the text.

Thus, we are left with only two possibilities. The first is that the original writers used the
Tetragrammaton and, subsequently — either through negligence or through intentional manipulation of
the text by later scribes and copyists — the Tetragrammaton was changed to K yrios to make a direct
reference to Jesus. The second possibility is that the writers themselves intentionally — and with the
early Christian congregation's full knowledge and approval — used the title K yrios (which frequently
identified Jesus) in place of the Tetragrammaton. By doing this, they ascribed the attributes of
Jehovah's name to Jesus. 11

10 ln most instances, the inspired Christian writers quoted Hebrew Scripture verses from the Septuagint (which was
already written in Greek) rather than translating them into Greek from the original Hebrew language. Insight on the
Scriptures says, "In a number of cases the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures evidently made use of the
Greek Septuagint translation when quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures." (Vol. 1, p. 1206). In some cases — the
book of Hebrews is one example — the inspired Christian writer actually translated the verses into the Greek
language as he wrote. We are reporting the three possibilities above as though the inspired Christian writers were
transcribing the Hebrew Scripture verses from the Greek language Septuagint. The effect of this argument would
have been the same in those cases where the inspired Christian writers were translating from the Hebrew
Scriptures, though it would have also involved the translation process. In addition, merely for the sake of this
argument, we will also assume that the Septuagint copy which was used employed the Hebrew letters of the
Tetragrammaton rather than the Greek word K yrios.

11 We have not said that the original writers substituted K yrios for the Tetragrammaton. The idea of strict
substitution is too rigid as a category. If the third possibility were true, then it would also be the case that the title
K yrios was applicable to either Jehovah or Lord [Jesus]. Certainly, many verses could be read using the divine
name as found in the New World Translation. Jesus' statement to the Devil is a good example: "It is Jehovah your
God you must worship..." (Luke 4:8). However, this flexibility of application would imply an equality between HUT

86 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Consider the importance of these two possibilities. First, if the original writers did use the
Tetragrammaton, then we must be able to find strong manuscript evidence of its use in early Greek
Scriptures. We cannot imagine that Jehovah would allow confusion between his divine name and the
title of a mere created being without sufficient evidence to correct the error. On the other hand, what
if the original writers did use Jesus' title in place of the Tetragrammaton? It was either the ••144»»
highest form of blasphemy or it was the strongest statement possible of the unique and total equality of
Jesus with Jehovah.

The importance of the final alternative should be clear. For example, consider Isaiah 45:21-24
which says:

"Is it not I, Jehovah, besides whom there is no other God... By my own self I have sworn. ..that to
me every knee will bend down, every tongue will swear, saying, 'Surely in Jehovah there are full
righteousness and strength.'"

If the Apostle Paul used the Tetragrammaton in this quotation, Romans 14:11 would read as it does in
the New World Translation:

'"As I live,' says Jehovah, 'to me every knee will bend down, and every tongue will make open
acknowledgment to God.'"

On the other hand, if the Apostle Paul was referring to Jesus when he used the title K yrios (which is
the choice of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation), then the verse would read:

'"As I live,' says the Lord (Jesus), 'to me every knee will bend down, and every tongue will make
open acknowledgment to God. '"[NWT wording] 12

If Paul himself used Jesus' title K yrios, then either Paul was guilty of blasphemy, or, under the
inspiration of God, he was identifying Jesus (K yrios) with Jehovah.

A logical question could be asked, "Can we know whether the original writers intended to use the
Tetragrammaton or whether they purposely replaced the divine name with K yrios when quoting these
Hebrew Scriptures?" Without a statement from either the writers themselves or other reliable
historical documents, we can know nothing of their decision process while writing. However, we can
infer what they decided to do from the evidence we find in their writing. If the ••145* 'writers
intended to use the Tetragrammaton, we would expect to find ample evidence within Greek manuscripts
to substantiate its use in the original Christian Greek Scriptures. On the other hand, if they did not
intend to use the Tetragrammaton, then we would expect to find clear evidence that they used the title
K yrios which is most frequently applied to Jesus. If the evidence shows that the original writers used
K yrios in these verse locations, then we know that they copied the Hebrew Scripture passage,
intentionally inserting Jesus' title for the Tetragrammaton. By extension, we know that whatever the
inspired Christian writers wrote was done under inspiration, with the full understanding of the early
Christian congregation, and their action did not constitute blasphemy.

More simply stated, the inspired Christian writers wrote exactly what they intended to write.
When the addressee received the original letter, each word contained in the scroll was precisely the
word the writer intended the congregation or individual to read. The textual process does not debate
the author's intention. It is aimed only at restoring the words of the original document. When we have
exactly reproduced the contents of the original document, we can be assured that we have the precise

and K yrios which is found in this third possibility rather than an inequality between them which requires that the
separate identities be maintained. We will fully develop this idea in Chapter 14.

12 It is interesting to note that the same author (the Apostle Paul) quotes Isaiah 45:21-24 in Philippians 2:10-11:
"So that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend... and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus
Christ is K yrios (Lord) to the glory of God the Father." However, with the same wording and the same human author,
the New World Translation renders K yrios as Lord in one case (Philippians 2:10-1 1), and as Jehovah (with added
quotation marks) in the other (Romans 14:11). This introduces an interesting contradiction. If the Isaiah passage
is read in context, it is very clear that Jehovah is saying, "Is it not I, Jehovah, besides whom there is no other
God... There being none excepting me?... By my own self I have sworn... that to me every knee will bend down,
every tongue will swear..." In these two verses, the Greek text published in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
has both Jehovah and the Lord (Jesus) receiving the worship which the Isaiah passage has reserved solely for
Jehovah. A careful reading of the 3 passages in their entirety — using the Kingdom Interlinear Text where
applicable — is encouraged.

The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary 87

word which the author intended to communicate.

For a complete perspective of the significance of this issue, the reader is encouraged to carefully
study each reference in the two columns of Appendix B titled Hebrew Scripture quotation using the
divine name and Hebrew Scripture quotation referring to the divine name. First, read the passage in its
complete context from the Hebrew Scripture. Then, using a Kingdom Interlinear Translation, read both
the English interlinear portion and the verse from the New World Translation. You will discover that
the few examples given in this section inadequately illustrate how extensively the divine name from
the Hebrew Scriptures was used in these verses.

We must carefully examine the Hebrew Scripture verses cited by the writers of the Christian Greek
Scriptures. Many of these verses contain statements which are applicable only to Jehovah God. When
these verses are cited by the inspired Christian writers as applying to K yrios, they have committed
blasphemy if K yrios is a created being. Under inspiration, the Apostles would not blaspheme by
applying a verse to another which was true only of Jehovah God. We face an insurmountable quandary
when we introduce a condition 13 which causes the inspired Christian writers to blaspheme in their use
of Hebrew ••146 ,# Scripture citations. As we have seen throughout this book, this problem is
alleviated (though not eliminated) if the original manuscripts used the Tetragrammaton. If, however,
there is no textual evidence for the Tetragrammaton in the original manuscripts, then we must reconcile
the full impact of this quandary without resorting to inserting the Tetragrammaton into the text where
it was not originally written.

QUANDARY #4: THE S UBJECT IS IDENTIFIED WITH "GOD... THE ALMIGHTY"

A fourth quandary deals with the context of numerous passages referring to "God. ..the Almighty."
If the inspired Christian writer used the Tetragrammaton in these verses, identification of HUT with
"God. ..the Almighty" is straightforward. However, if the inspired Christian writer used the word
K yrios , we are faced with the quandary wherein K yrios is identified as God Almighty.

When the Apostle John was on the Isle of Patmos, he was given a vision which we now know as the
book of Revelation. John extolled a divine being numerous times throughout the book. At Revelation
1:8 he quotes this One as saying:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says [then John wrote either "Lord" 14 or "Jehovah" 15 whom he
identified as "God"], "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."

Again, at Revelation 11:17 John wrote,

"We thank you, [again, John wrote either "Lord" or "Jehovah" whom he again identified as
"God"], the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and
begun ruling as king."

We need to see the sharp contrast between these two textual choices. We can compare the sense of
the verse in the New World Translation and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (The quotation
from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation comes directly from the interlinear portion. Consequently,
the word order is that of the Greek sentence itself.)

..147..

New World Translation Kingdom Interlinear Translation

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," I am the Alpha and the Omega,
says Jehovah God, "the One is saying Lord, the God, The

who is and who was and who is (one) being and the (one) was

coming, the Almighty." and the (one) coming, the

Revelation 1 :8 Almighty. Revelation 1 :8

13 We introduce a condition foreign to the Scriptures' intent when we redefine Jesus' person outside of the
understanding and intent of the inspired Christian writers.

14 Lord is the translation choice of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation at both Revelation 1 :8 and 11:17.

15 Jehovah is the translation choice of the New World Translation at both Revelation 1 :8 and 11:17.

88 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

"We thank you, Jehovah God, We are giving thanks to you,

the Almighty, the One who is Lord, the God, the Almighty,

and who was, because you have the (one) being and the (one)

taken your great power and was, because you have taken

begun ruling as king." the power of you the great and

Revelation 11:17 you reigned. Revelation 11:17

If John used the Tetragrammaton when he wrote these two verses, then it is clear that God and the
Almighty refer to Jehovah. On the other hand, if John used the Greek word K yrios, 16 then the subject
of these two verses is the one to whom the title K yrios applies. Since John consistently used the title
K yrios to refer to Jesus throughout the book of Revelation, 17 then it would be proper to understand that
John was identifying the Lord (Jesus) with "God" and the "Almighty." This is particularly true for
Revelation 1:8 because Revelation 1:17-18 (quoted below) identifies Jesus with the title First and Last
which is identical in meaning with the title Alpha and Omega, which are the first and last letters of
the Greek alphabet. Rev. 17:14 7:14 11:4 fn

"Do not be fearful. I am the First and the Last, and the living one; and I became dead, but, look! I
am living forever and ever..."

There are other similar examples in the book of Revelation. Notice each of the following verses as
quoted from the New World Translation and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation:

• •148"

New World Translation Kingdom Interlinear Translation

And I heard the altar say: "Yes, And I heard of the altar saying

Jehovah God, the Almighty, Yes, Lord, the God, the

true and righteous are your Almighty, true and righteous

judicial decisions." the judgment of you.

Revelation 16:7 Revelation 16:7

"Praise Jah, YOU people, Hallelujah, because reigned

because Jehovah our God, Lord the God of us, the

the Almighty, has begun to rule Almighty. Revelation 19:6
as king." Revelation 19:6

Similar instances are found in the book of Revelation where the subject, whether Lord or Jehovah,
is identified with God. (See Revelation 4:8 and 11, 15:3, 18:8, 19:6, 21:22, and 22:5-6.) Identical
patterns are found in other portions of the Christian Greek Scriptures as well. The important issue to
notice is this: if the Tetragrammaton was used by the original author in the verses cited, then the
reference was to Jehovah, whom John was referring to as "God. . . the Almighty." On the other hand, i f
the Apostle John wrote the Greek word K yrios (as given in the Greek text of the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation and 5,000 ancient Greek manuscripts), then the Lord Jesus was
identified with 18 "God. . .the Almighty."

16 The Greek word K yrios (Kupios) meaning Lord, is the word used in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

17 According to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation Greek text, the Apostle John used the word K yrios 19 times
when referring to Lord. In addition, John used K yrios twice in which the context identified another personage. (One
instance is the second occurrence of "lord" in the phrase, "Lord of lords," [K yrios of kyrios] found at 17:14. The
other is John's address to one of the older persons at 7:1 4 which is translated as lord.) A third instance is unclear.
(At 1 1 :4 K yrios appears as "lord of the earth" in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, and "Lord of the earth" in the
New World Translation.) For a complete reference to all uses of the Greek word K yrios in the book of Revelation,
see the second section of Appendix C.

18 The wording concerning Jesus as being "identified with," or "included with the subject as 'God . . .the Almighty,'"
is adequately self-explanatory at this point. We will make an important qualification in Chapter 14 regarding the dual
usage of the word K yrios. For now we will continue to use the statement as it reads. When referring to the Kingdom

The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary 89

Whether or not the original authors of the Greek Scriptures used the Tetragrammaton is of great
importance to each of us. In the examples we have observed, if John did not use the Tetragrammaton at
Revelation 1:8 or 11:17, then John, under inspiration, said that Jesus himself was included in the
address with "God. ..the Almighty." Though the writers of the article "Salvation, What It Really
Means" (The Watchtower, August 15, 1997, p. 6) reached their conclusion apart from the Greek text at
these verses, they certainly understood the importance of the issue when they said,

Has your church taught you the true relationship between God and Christ? Or have you been
led to believe that Jesus himself is ••149* • Almighty God? Your salvation depends upon having
the correct understanding. (Emphasis added.)

The fourth quandary was created by the absence of any textual evidence supporting apostolic use of
the Tetragrammaton in the original writings. The title K yrios is inextricably linked with the person of
Jesus. Yet, such writers as John in the book of Revelation identify the title K yrios with God Almighty.

QUANDARY #5: CERTAIN PASSAGES ASSIGN THE SUBJECT ATTRIBUTES OF GOD HIMSELF

Though similar in result to passages which identify the subject of a verse with "God... The
Almighty," there is a fifth quandary dealing with attribution rather than identification. Many
passages unique to the Christian Greek Scriptures give the subject equality with the Father by
attributing qualities to him which are reserved for Jehovah God. These include many passages in the
Greek Scriptures where K yrios (Lord) is translated Jehovah. These verses say something about the
subject which could only be true of Jehovah. If the verse is not a quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures,
then the passage must be carefully studied to see to whom the verse is referring in the Greek Scripture,
because the subject is being given attributes which belong to Jehovah himself.

Of the 237 occurrences of the name Jehovah in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World
Translation, only 112 are quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures in which the name of Jehovah is found
in either the verse quoted or in its context. 19 For example, Isaiah 45:23 says, "Is it not I, Jehovah... that
to me every knee will bend down..." This is quoted in Romans 14:11, "As I live,' says Jehovah, 'to me
every knee will bend down...'" This is a direct quotation because the name of Jehovah is part of the
citation.

On the other hand, 125 20 of the 237 occurrences do not cite any Hebrew Scripture passages. They are
merely passages which use K yrios (Lord) — or occasionally Theos (God) — in the Christian Greek
Scripture text. It is this last group of 125 occurrences of the name Jehovah in the
New World Translation's Christian Greek Scriptures in which there is no quotation source in the
Hebrew Scriptures which concern us here.

••150 ,# From the perspective of the Watch Tower Society, there are many passages in the
Christian Greek Scriptures in which the Tetragrammaton must be the original word used — otherwise,
in many cases, the passage would be giving Jesus attributes of Jehovah God. Earlier in this chapter we
briefly examined Philippians 2:10-11. This passage in Philippians equally illustrates this present
quandary. Clearly, the quotation from Isaiah 45 is saying that every knee will bow to Jehovah. This
devotion and worship is reserved for him alone. Yet Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus also will receive
worship and devotion which belongs to Jehovah. Paul the Apostle ascribes to Jesus this same devotion
which belongs to Jehovah God.

Another example of attributes belonging to Jehovah is given at Revelation 4:11. This verse would
read quite differently, depending on whether the Tetragrammaton or K yrios was used.

When we look at the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's Greek and English portion of this verse,
we quickly understand the inherent conflict of this passage. The interlinear portion reads:

Interlinear Translation's use of K yrios, we will simply report it as saying: "Jesus is identified with," or "Jesus himself
is included with the subject as 'God . . . the Almighty.'"

19 In some cases, the category into which a verse should be placed may be uncertain. For that reason, it is best to
use these numbers as approximations rather than as exact figures. The reader may wish to do his own count. See
footnote 7 on page 50.

20 See footnote 8 on page 50.

90 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

"A^os el, 6 KupLO? ml 6 Geos f]|itov,

Worthy you are, the Lord and the God of us,

XafBelv tt\v 86£av Kai rf\v Ti|if|v Kai tt\v 8uva|iiv,
to receive the glory and the honor and the power,

otl av eKTiaas i"d TTavTa, Kai 8id

because you created the all (things) and through

to Qe\r\[ia crou f\oav Kai eKTioQr\oav.

the will of you they were and they were created.

The New World Translation quoted in the right hand margin renders the verse:

"You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power,
because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created."

However, if we use the English word order of the New World Translation, the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation would have us read the verse:

"You are worthy, K yrios, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power,
because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created."

The magnitude of this final quandary should be quite apparent. If the original writers used the
Greek title K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton for such verses, then, under inspiration of God,
K yrios is vested with attributes which belong to Jehovah God himself.

Resolving the quandary

••151 •• Each of the preceding five topics result from an expectation that the Tetragrammaton was
used by the inspired Christian writers. In the absence of textual evidence that the Tetragrammaton
was included in the original writings, we feel a tension. In some cases this tension results from the
conflict generated by the presence of both K yrios and the Tetragrammaton for the same passage when
comparing the New World Translation and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In other instances,
the tension results from the absence of the Tetragrammaton in passages where it is anticipated.

In both cases, the tendency is to resolve the Tetragrammaton or Lord quandary with a theological
or logical explanation. Yet, neither of these responses are correct.

In reality, these five topics represent a solitary quandary which is resolved with a single solution.
We must determine historically and textually the exact word used by the inspired Christian writers,
whether it is the Tetragrammaton or K yrios . Subsequently, our understanding of the subject of each
verse, whether it is Jehovah or Lord, must be based on the inspired wording of Scripture itself. We
cannot force the text to say what the apostolic authors did not write in order to protect our theological
position.

Concluding the Tetragrammaton or Lord debate

This book asked the same question raised by the translators of the New World Translation when
they began work in 1947: "Did the original inspired Christian writers use the Tetragrammaton in 237
instances while writing the Christian Greek Scriptures?" 21

In order to answer that question, we avoided theological discussions or sectarian interpretations of
Scripture. We turned to the only proper sources of information; the Greek Scripture manuscripts
themselves.

We carefully studied the best and oldest Greek manuscripts available today. We evaluated the
entire Jehovah footnote system in the Westcott and Hort Greek text. In no case is there any indication
in the earliest Greek manuscripts that the Tetragrammaton was ever used by the original Greek
Scripture writers.

We then evaluated numerous Hebrew version sources. Though we can easily find the
Tetragrammaton used in these translations, we quickly realized that these translations were made
from the very Greek text which has been demonstrated to contain K yrios in 223 of the 237 Jehovah

21 This question was introduced in the Overview on page vi.

The Tetragrammaton or Lord Quandary 91

references. We also discovered that the probable Hebrew ••152»» Gospel of Matthew written by the
Apostle himself contained a circumlocution for The Name rather than the Tetragrammaton.

Finally, we returned to questions related to Greek manuscripts and historical documents. We
discovered that one portion of the Greek text of the Christian Scriptures is verifiable to within 25
years of its writing by the Apostle John. In many cases, the actual verses supposedly containing the
Tetragrammaton can be verified as actually containing K yri OS to within little more than one hundred
years of the original writing. We examined corroborative evidence and discovered that there was no
mention of the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures by any early patristic. We also discovered
that the time interval was too short to establish a heretical removal of the Tetragrammaton from the
early Christian Scriptures, and that the ideological and geographical diversity would make such an
effort impossible without leaving telltale traces.

After exhaustive study, we must conclude that there is not a single trace of evidence in the Greek
manuscripts themselves, or in the voluminous writings of the early patristics, to indicate that the
Tetragrammaton was ever used in the first century manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The Tetragrammaton was not used by the inspired Christian writers of the Christian Greek
Scriptures. Not one Greek manuscript has ever been produced as evidence to indicate otherwise.

Today, with the additional new light of manuscript evidence which has become available since
1950, 22 we must conclude that the Greek word K yrios rather than the Tetragrammaton was used in each
of the 223 K yri OS-based Jehovah references in the New World Translation. To rely on any other source
to confirm the presence of the Tetragrammaton requires that we deny the authority and inspiration of
the Greek text and seek another text to which we will ascribe higher authority.

• ■

CHAPTER SUMMARY. ••153»» The claim that the Tetragrammaton appears in the Christian Greek
Scriptures in conjunction with the evidence that it does not, creates five distinct areas of uncertainty.

1. A conflict between the two Christian Greek Scriptures published by the Watch Tower Society

creates a significant quandary. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation uses the word K yrios in the
Greek text at 223 Jehovah references and translates the word as Lord in the interlinear English
portion. On the other hand, the New World Translation inserts the divine name Jehovah in those
same passages. Thus, there is a simultaneous endorsement of two contradictory assertions.

2. A second quandary is introduced because we now must determine which biblical text best represents

the inspired revelation of God. If the presence of the Tetragrammaton is to be acknowledged in the
New World Translation, we must then concede that Hebrew translations based on early Greek
manuscripts carry greater authority than do these same Greek manuscripts themselves.

3. We encounter a third quandary in dealing with the subject of the improper use of Jehovah's name.

The inspired Christian writers most certainly could not be guilty of blasphemy when they used
K yrios (Lord) rather than the Tetragrammaton when they were quoting certain Hebrew Scripture
passages.

4. The context of numerous passages forces us to deal with a fourth quandary of identification. In

certain instances, the inspired Christian writers used the title K yrios (which identifies Jesus), in a
context referring to "God. ..the Almighty."

5. Finally, we encounter a similar quandary wherein numerous Christian Greek Scripture references

22 Throughout this book we have given the benefit of the doubt to the New World Bible Translation Committee
regarding the textual information available to it. As we have suggested, there is certainly new light today which
allows us to re-examine the inspired Christian authors' use of the Tetragrammaton. In fairness, however, it must be
pointed out that from the standpoint of textual information alone, there was no Greek manuscript evidence available
when work was begun on the New World Translation in 1947, which suggested the propriety of introducing the
Tetragrammaton into the Christian Greek Scriptures. The willingness of the translators to give greater authority to
Hebrew versions than to the known Greek text of their day raises grave concerns regarding their translation
process. Nonetheless, we have been gracious on this point because we understand the perspective of those who
are ones of Jehovah's Witnesses.

92 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

give the subject K yrios equality with Jehovah by attributing qualities to him which are reserved for
God alone.

The only viable solution to these five quandaries is to determine historically and textually the
exact word used by the inspired Christian writers in each of the 237 Jehovah references. In summary of
our search of Greek manuscripts and surrounding historical data, we conclude that no evidence exists
indicating that the Tetragrammaton was used by the inspired writers of the Greek Scriptures. To bring
the Tetragrammaton into the Christian Scriptures requires that we deny the inspiration and authority
of the Greek Scriptures themselves and seek a higher authority in Hebrew translations.

SECTION 4

A final summary and application concerning the evidence for the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Page 157 Chapter 12: LORD, JEHOVAH, AND INSPIRATION

Page 164 Chapter 13: BUT IF NOT HERESY, THEN WHAT?

Page 181 Chapter 14: THE INDISTINCT MEANING OF K Y R I OS

Page 193 Chapter 15: WHAT K Y R I OS MEANS TO ME

Page 200 EPILOGUE

93

Chapter 12: LORD, JEH OVA H, AND INSPIRATION

T

he issue of ••157* • inspiration underlies all that has been said in this book. If we hold a high
view of the inspiration of Scripture, we must require of our translators that they faithfully
reproduce exactly that which Jehovah directed the inspired authors to write.

Inspiration and the translators' obligation

We would all agree that we desire the most accurate Scripture possible. Ideally, we would read
the exact words written by the inspired authors. However, because we speak modern English rather
than Biblical Hebrew or Greek, there are two steps which separate today's reader from the original
writings.

The first step is the reconstruction of an accurate text. As we saw in Chapter 2, this is the work of
the textual critic. These men and women 1 have carefully examined ancient manuscript evidence in
order to reconstruct the text of both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The textual critics Wescott
and Hort produced the Greek text which is used in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the
Christian Scriptures.

The second step is the work of the translator. Today's English reader does not read the
reconstructed copy of the Hebrew or Greek text. Rather, we must use an English translation of both
texts.

Thus, the English reader seeking Jehovah's truths through the Bible may rightfully have two
expectations. The first is that those working with the Hebrew or Greek text will produce a faithful
reproduction of the writing of the original authors, and secondly, that the translators will produce a
readable English translation which conveys the exact meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek text.

In no case can the reader allow either the ones working in the area of the original language text, or
the translators themselves, to alter the text to suit a theological bias. To do so would be to allow the
textual scholar or the translator to tamper with Jehovah's inspired writing.

An "Old Testament" application

In the first chapter we mentioned the problem of "Old Testament" translations which omit the
name of God in favor of the capitalized word LORD. This is a serious omission and serves as a starting
point for • »158» • our discussion.

In the case of the substitution of LORD for the divine name, the problem is not the fault of the
textual critic. Almost all modern "Old Testament" translations today are based on Rudolph Kittel's
Biblica Hebraica. The Hebrew Scripture portion of the New World Translation is based on this same
text. 2 If the reader were to obtain a copy of the Biblica Hebraica, the divine name with vowel points
as HilT is readily apparent. 3

So why has the divine name been eliminated in most English translations? The fault lies with the
translation process. (In reality, it must be a shared fault between both the translator and the
publisher.)

1 Though much fewer in number, women have also been involved in the important work of textual criticism. The
book The Bible — God's Word or Man's? identifies Kurt and Barbara Aland as scholars of the Greek text of the Bible
(p. 59). Barbara Aland is recognized in her own right at an acclaimed textual critic.

2 New World Translation, Reference Edition, 1984, p. 6.

3 It is a bit puzzling why F.W. Carr's antidotal book Search for the Sacred Name indicates great difficulty in locating
Hebrew texts containing the divine name. The author owns a 1959 copy (which is a revision of the 1937 edition) of
Kittle's Biblica Hebraica. The volume is readily available in most theological seminary libraries and book stores.
The divine name is clearly reproduced throughout this text which is based on Codex Leningrad B 19 A , the same text
Carr apparently traveled to Russia to examine.

94 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The 1971 New American Standard Bible preface under the heading "The proper Name for God"
says in part,

It is inconceivable to think of spiritual matters without a proper designation for the Supreme Deity.
Thus the most common name for deity is God, a translation of the original Elohim... There is yet
another name which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four
letters YHWH...This name has not been pronounced by the Jews because of reverence for the
great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore, it was consistently pronounced and translated
LORD.

It is known that for many years YHWH has been transliterated as Yahweh... However, it is felt by
many who are in touch with the laity of our churches that this name conveys no religious or spiritual
overtones. It is strange, uncommon, and without sufficient religious and devotional background.
No amount of scholarly debate can overcome this deficiency. Hence, it was decided to avoid the
use of this name in the translation proper, (page ix)

The above statement is signed "Editorial Board."

To begin with, as every Witness knows, "God" is not God's name. His personal name is represented
by the Tetragrammaton. The Tetragrammaton must then be pronounced in Hebrew or translated (or
transliterated) into another language.

But it is not the issue of pronunciation which is most disturbing about the above statement.
••159 ,# Consider what the Editorial Board is really saying.

1. First, they acknowledge that their Hebrew language text (Biblia Hebraica) contains YHWH in its
fully identifiable form HIIT. There is no suggestion that the divine name cannot be recognized.

2. They then identify the transliterated form Yahweh as one that has been known for many years.

3. But now they tell us that this name conveys no religious or spiritual overtones. They say it is strange,
uncommon, and without sufficient religious and devotional background. (Would the divine name be
"strange," "uncommon," or with "no religious or spiritual overtones" in a Kingdom Hall? Most
certainly not!)

What is the real issue in this statement? It is the affront to the inspiration of Scripture which
bothers us most.

The Editorial Board has fully acknowledged that under inspiration, the writers of the Hebrew
Scriptures have written the Tetragrammaton. However, because the laity would not recognize God's
personal name, the Editorial Board has assumed the authority to insert a substitute word. It cannot be
argued that the word LORD is merely an alternate pronunciation of T\)T\\ It is a distinctly different
word than that used by the inspired writers. The word LORD is deliberately used by the Editorial
Board (or translators, as the case may be) to replace what Jehovah himself directed the Hebrew
Scripture authors to write.

It makes little difference why this decision was made. Some may defend it with a historical
rationalization claiming the precedent set by the Septuagint, the King James Version, or agreement
among most modern Bible versions.

The sad truth may be that Scripture translation has been swayed by marketing considerations — if
the customer wants LORD rather than Yahweh, their wish will be accommodated for the sake of Bible
sales. 4

The issue at stake is very simply stated, but it has important implications. No translator (or
Editorial Board) is free to change the wording of Scripture for any reason. No reason is acceptable
whether it ••160»» is the most lofty of ideals to protect a theological position or simply the desire to

4 See the comments in The Divine Name Controversy by Firpo Carr, p. 124, which ostensibly quotes an Executive
Secretary for a well known translation committee as saying,

...Jehovah is a distinctive name for God and ideally we should have used it. But we put [2.5] million dollars
into this translation and a sure way of throwing that down the drain is to translate, for example, Psalm 23 as,
"Yahweh is my shepherd."... It is far better to get two million to read it. ..and to follow the King James, than to
have two thousand buy it and have the correct translation of Yahweh... It was a hard decision, and many of our
translators agree [that it should be the divine name].

LORD, Jehovah, and Inspiration 95

increase Bible sales. The translator is obligated to convey the exact meaning of the original Scripture
author's writing.

This does not mean that a translation cannot use modern language to communicate the sense of
Scripture. It must also admit that the process of translation from one language to another will always
have areas of uncertainty. But it does mean that the sense of the Hebrew or Greek text must be
conveyed to the reader, and that the translator is never free to deliberately alter the meaning of the
original text.

The practice of using LORD rather than the divine name in the "Old Testament" is a long-standing
English Bible tradition. The tradition's longevity, however, does not justify its continued use. It is
time for modern English translators (and editors) to confront this error and make the necessary
correction. 5 It is an affront to the inspiration of Scripture to remove the divine name and replace it
with LORD.

The New World Bible Translation Committee has appropriately used the divine name in the
Hebrew Scriptures. They are to be commended for that effort. 6

The New World Translation and the Christian Scriptures

The above "Old Testament" example is easily understood. When a translator knows the wording of
the Hebrew or Greek Bible text, he is not free to change the wording in his translation to accommodate
any other purpose.

May we suggest that the same requirement applies to the Christian Greek Scriptures within the
New World Translation?

Again, we must look first at the work of the textual critic. We have already closely examined the
work of Westcott and Hort. Their Greek text is the basis of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In no
case does the Kingdom Interlinear Translation Greek text use the Tetragrammaton. As we have
repeatedly pointed out, the Greek word K yrios is traced to reliable ancient Greek manuscripts in 223 of
the 237 Jehovah references. (All but one of the remaining instances use T heos, but never the
Tetragrammaton.) The change to Jehovah in the New World Translation Christian Greek Scriptures
was made by the New • • 161* • World Bible Translation Committee in contradiction to the evidence of
the Greek text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

It is particularly alarming to realize that this change was made on the basis of late Hebrew
versions which contain the Tetragrammaton. By this choice of textual sources, the translators show
their higher regard for these relatively recent Hebrew translations than they do for the inspiration of
the Christian Greek Scriptures themselves.

We have already examined this change in other parts of the book. Nothing more needs to be said
here.

Our concern in this chapter is to focus on the primary issue underlying this deliberate alteration
from K yrios to the Tetragrammaton. The primary issue is not that the Tetragrammaton in the
Septuagint was changed during the second and third centuries C.E. The issue is not that the Apostles
read the Tetragrammaton in their copies of the Septuagint. Nor is it an issue that Matthew wrote a
Gospel account in Hebrew. The important issue is not how many Hebrew versions use the
Tetragrammaton. Nor is the inspired writers' quotation of Hebrew Scripture verses which use the
divine name even the primary issue. All of these things are true and verifiable.

The primary issue is the word which the Christian Greek Scripture authors actually wrote under
inspiration of God. All translators must faithfully represent the exact words written by the inspired
authors. If the Greek Scripture writers used the Tetragrammaton, then the divine name must be used in
each of those instances. If the Greek Scripture writers used K yrios, then the passage must be translated

5 It should interest the reader to know that there is an increasing use of the divine name within evangelical
churches. On occasion, one hears the "Old Testament" read publicly with the name Yahweh rather than Lord.

6 Some readers who might not be Witnesses may question the appropriateness of Jehovah as against Yahweh.
Simply remember that Jehovah is an English translation (conveying meaning) while Yahweh is an English
transliteration (substituting English letters for Hebrew characters). Either is acceptable. We translate the name of
Jesus rather than transliterate it as lesous with no sense of impropriety.

96 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Lord. 7

Conjecture concerning what may have happened cannot be used to replace evidence from ancient
Scripture documents themselves. The answer to the entire debate between Jehovah or Lord in the 237
Christian Scriptures passages of the New World Translation will be found solely in the most reliable
Greek manuscripts.

As we have documented throughout this book, no manuscript evidence of any kind indicates that
the Tetragrammaton was used in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

A surprising parallel

The reader — whether one of Jehovah's Witnesses or one with an Evangelical persuasion — would be
surprised at the parallel between the "Old Testament" example in the first part of this chapter and
the ••162»» introduction of the divine name into the Christian Scriptures of the New World
Translation.

Firpo Carr gives the following information on page 17 in his book The Divine Name Controversy

In 1530 William Tyndale first restored the divine name to the English text of the Bible when he
published the first five books of Moses. Though Jehovah's name is used a few times Tyndale wrote
the following in a note to this edition:

"lehovah is God's name... Moreover, as oft as thou seist LORD in great letters (except there be
any error in printing) it is in Hebrew lehovah."

Thus was the start of translators substituting "LORD" or "GOD" where the Tetragrammaton
occurs in Hebrew. "Jehovah" was barely used.

Tyndale's translation greatly influenced subsequent English Bible editions, including the King
James Version first published in 1611. The continued use of LORD in the "Old Testament" has since been
defended, in part, on the presence of K yrios in the Septuagint.

Notice the parallel between removing the divine name from the "Old Testament" and adding the
divine name to the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation:

1. All Hebrew texts contain miT rather than A donai 8 ; all Greek Scripture texts contain Kupios rather

than mrr.

2. The English Bible tradition substituted LORD for mil"; the New World Bible Translation Committee

substituted mil" for KOpios.

3. The English Bible tradition justified its substitution on a Greek version (the Septuagint); the New
World Bible Translation Committee justified its substitution on multiple Hebrew versions.

4. The translators of the "Old Testament" gave the Septuagint Greek version (as well as English Bible
tradition) greater weight than the inspired Hebrew text when substituting LORD for miT; the New
World Bible Translation Committee gave Hebrew versions greater weight than the inspired Greek
Scriptures when substituting mil" for Kupios.

The foundation of Bible translation is neither tradition nor conjecture

"Old Testament" translators have relied on tradition (and reader response) in taking on themselves
the responsibility of removing the divine name from the Hebrew Scriptures. In consequence, they have
allowed the casual reader unfamiliar with the meaning of the ••163 ,# capitalized LORD notation to
mistakenly understand the Hebrew Scriptures as referring to Jesus rather than miT.

The New World Bible Translation Committee has opened the possibility of dangerous sectarian
abuse by adding the divine name to the Christian Scriptures. By its own admission, no manuscripts
exist today which use the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Yet, on the basis of pure

7 This is true even when the Hebrew Scriptures are clearly being quoted. The translator must reproduce for the
English reader exactly that which the inspired author wrote. The work of the translator is not that of a commentator
trying to explain the inspired writers' sources. If the inspired writer wrote K yrios in reference to a Hebrew Scripture
quotation using the divine name, the translator must render the English as Lord.

8 As noted earlier, the Hebrew word A donai appears in the Hebrew Scriptures and is appropriately translated by
both the New World Translation and "Old Testament" Bibles as Lord. However, in this instance, we are talking about
the almost 7,000 occurrences of miT in the Hebrew text.

LORD, Jehovah, and Inspiration 97

conjecture, the Committee is willing to take on itself the responsibility of giving Hebrew versions a
higher status of inspiration than the Greek text.

All Bible translations must be based solely on verifiable Hebrew and Greek texts. This is the only
way to preserve the truths which Jehovah communicated through his inspired Scripture.

CHAPTER SUMMARY Any purposeful omission of a verifiable word in ancient Biblical manuscripts for
a translation preference demeans inspiration. Any translator can objectively evaluate ancient
manuscript evidence in order to determine the inspired writers' use of a given word. If the translator or
editorial board then chooses to use another word with a different meaning in its place, they have
shown their disregard for inspiration. It makes little difference whether the purpose is to promote
personal interests or a theological bias, the result is still a corrupted Scripture text.

We evaluated two illustrations which have produced opposite — yet erroneous — results. In the
first instance, most "Old Testament" translators have disregarded the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew
Scripture text and have substituted the word LORD because it is purportedly more widely known. The
result is a Bible which removes the identity of God even though he was named by the inspired writers.

The second illustration is found in the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation. These
translators used verifiable information regarding the Septuagint to justify selective substitution of the
divine name for K yrios. This was done in spite of the best Greek manuscript evidence verifying the use
of K yrios to within 100 years of the original Christian Scripture writers. The result is a Bible which
adds the name of God where it was not used by the inspired writers.

98

Chapter 13: BUT IF NOT HERESY, THEN WHAT?

In the previous • • 164 • • chapters, we asked — and answered — the important question, "Was the
Tetragrammaton removed from the Christian Greek Scriptures during the third and fourth
centuries?"

We have thoroughly documented the presence of K yrios in the earliest Christian Greek Scripture
manuscripts. There is no possibility that the Tetragrammaton was used by the inspired Christian
writers and then removed at a later date.

There is no evidence from either the earliest Christian Scripture manuscripts or the writings of the
patristics of a united heresy directed at inserting K yrios into the Christian Scriptures. As we saw in
Chapter 10, if the removal of the Tetragrammaton was a heretical effort encompassing three
continents, we would most certainly know of the controversy from early writers. Instead, there is
silence.

On the other hand, there is substantial evidence that the Tetragrammaton was used in copies of
Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures for Jews. (This included the Septuagint as well as other
translations by Aquila and Theodotion.) Furthermore, there is incontrovertible evidence that
Christians intentionally changed mil" to K yrios in their copies.

Clearly iTIiT was used in identifiable Septuagint^ versions — yet the same citations appear as
K yrios in later Christian copies.

If this transformation from mil" to K yrios in Hebrew Scripture translations was not evidence of
heresy, then what was it?

Are we credible?

Throughout this book we have made a distinction between the Septuagint and the Christian
Scriptures. Nonetheless, the Septuagint was the Bible of the early Christian congregation and
remained so even after it was supplemented by the writings of the inspired Christian authors. Even as
the Christian Greek Scriptures were added, the Septuagint was repeatedly copied and circulated
among the early congregations. It was the early Christian congregation — and not Judaism — which was
responsible for the widespread propagation of the Hebrew Scriptures in the ancient Gentile world.

To many readers, it appears as though we are denying that the Tetragrammaton was changed to
K yrios in certain Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures when we discount this change in the
Christian ••165 ,# Scriptures. Yet, there certainly was a change occurring between the second and
third centuries C.E. in the number of Septuagint Scriptures using iTIiT. (More correctly stated, the
change we see today is in the number of copies containing iTT which have survived. As we will see,
there was a concerted effort by the Jews in the fourth century to destroy Hebrew Scriptures in Greek.)

Very simply, we will not be credible if we do not make a distinction between our conclusion that the
Christian Greek Scriptures did not show evidence of change from the Tetragrammaton to K yrios, and
that the Septuagint and similar versions of the Hebrew Scriptures did show this same change.

The Jewish Septuagint

We have avoided an exhaustive study of the Septuagint and other Greek versions of the Hebrew
Scriptures in this book. Consequently, we will merely affirm that the Tetragrammaton was often
changed to the Greek word K yrios in the early centuries of the Christian congregation.

This process is shown by comparing a standard reference encyclopedia with an entry from Aid to
Bible Understanding. The illustration concerns Aquila's translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which

1 In this chapter we will generally use the term Septuagintto represent all Greek versions of the Hebrew Scriptures
including Aquila and Theodotion.

But If Not Heresy, Then What? 99

was completed in the early second century. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia (Vol. 2, p. 120) says,

In 1 897 for the first time a continuous portion of [Aquila's] translation came to light in a palimpsest
of the Cairo Synagogue, showing the tetragrammaton written in Old Hebrew letters. The statement
of Jerome that Aquila made two versions, "a second edition, which the Hebrews call 'the accurate
one,'" seems to be correct.

Then, on page 886 of Aid to Bible Understanding, a clear illustration is given of the palaeo-Hebrew
characters <S^<cV=f- (which appear twice in the passage) embedded in Aquila's Greek translation of
the Hebrew Scriptures. (The illustration, however, is typeset rather than photographically
reproduced, and the Scripture passage is not identified.)

On the same page of Aid to Bible Understanding, the editors quote Dr. Kahle as saying,

We know that the Greek Bible text [the Septuaginf\ as far as it was written by Jews for Jews did not
translate the Divine name by ky'rios, but the Tetragrammaton written with Hebrew or Greek letters
was retained in such MSS [manuscripts]. It was the Christians who replaced the Tetragrammaton by
ky'rios, when the divine name written in Hebrew letters was not understood any more. {The Cairo
Geniza, pp. 222, 224.)

••166 ,# We will allow the above quoted material to replace an independent investigation. We
can be certain, however, that the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew characters (as either iTIiT or <S^<5^-=fr)

was regularly used in Jewish copies of Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. This was
particularly true as a result of the non-messianic Jewish response to the Christian's use of the
Septuagint.

Consequently, it is apparent that a change took place in the early centuries of the Christian
congregation. The translated Hebrew Scriptures were copied by Gentile Christians in ever greater
numbers. Because they did not understand Hebrew and the written name of God, they translated 2 iTIiT
as KupLos (K yrios).

The Scriptures of the Greek-speaking Christian congregation

Between 41 and 98 C.E., 27 books were added to the Scriptures. By no means, however, does this
imply that the first century congregations lacked sufficient Scriptures until this writing process was
completed.

Jesus himself, from "Moses and all the Prophets... interpreted to [Cleopas and his traveling
companion] things pertaining to himself in all the Scriptures." (Luke 24:27.)

On the festival day of Pentecost, Peter's talk was from Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11, and 2 Samuel
7:12 with references to Psalms 89 and 132.

Throughout the book of Acts, Paul taught Jews and Gentiles alike from the Hebrew Scriptures.
After Priscilla and Aquila "took [Apollos] into their company and expounded the way of God more
correctly to him," Apollos "thoroughly proved the Jews to be wrong publicly, while he demonstrated by
the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." (Acts 18:26, 28.)

Paul reminded Timothy to "continue in the things that you learned and were persuaded to
believe. ..and that from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through the faith in connection with Christ Jesus." Paul then asserted that "All Scripture is
inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in
righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work."
(2 Timothy 3:14-17.)

These are all references to the Hebrew Scriptures. The Christian congregation did not wait until
Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, James, Peter, Jude, and finally, John, wrote before they possessed the
Scriptures. They had the Scriptures at the very beginning of the Christian congregation.

••167* • While the Christian congregation remained in Jerusalem, the Scriptures were available
in either the Hebrew language or the Septuagint translation. Certainly, many Jews who used the
Greek Septuagint were familiar with the presence of the Tetragrammaton embedded in the Greek text
as mn'. However, after Stephen was stoned, "On that day great persecution arose against the

2 We will clarify the ideas of word-for-word translation and dynamic translation later.

100 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

congregation that was in Jerusalem; all except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of
Judea and Samaria." (Acts 8:1.) Finally, in Acts 10, Jehovah used Peter to openly give the good news to
Gentiles. "[Peter] said to them: "YOU well know how unlawful it is for a Jew to join himself to or
approach a man of another race; and yet God has shown me I should call no man defiled or unclean.
Hence I come, really without objection, when I was sent for." (Acts 10:28-29.)

As the Christian congregation spread to the pagan Gentile world, Christians carried the
Septuagint with them. The Greek text was understandable to men and women in Antioch, Iconium, and
all the cities Paul and Barnabas would subsequently visit after "Jehovah... laid commandment upon
[them] in these words, 'I have appointed you as a light of nations, for you to be a salvation to the
extremity of the earth.'" (Acts 13:47.) Undoubtedly, there were Gentiles who saw — and even
understood — the divine name ITiT in the Greek text. In time, however, it was no longer Jews who were
making contact with pagan Gentiles. Gentiles began the task of proclaiming the good news to their
fellow countrymen. They were Gentiles who did not have a Jewish heritage and who did not
understand the Hebrew characters ITliT.

On page 887, Aid to Bible Understanding gives us this account:

In a letter written at Rome, 384 C.E., Jerome relates that, when coming upon these Hebrew
letters of the Tetragrammaton (iTIT) in copies of the Septuagint, "certain ignorant ones, because of
the similarity of the characters... were accustomed to pronounce Pi Pi [mistaking them for the Greek
characters mm]."

The form of the Jewish Scriptures

Aid to Bible Understanding and other Watch Tower Society reference books frequently quote the
important book, The Cairo Geniza, by Paul I. Kahle. He has carefully studied the Hebrew Scripture
texts in both Hebrew and Greek.

Origen's well-known Hexapla, in which he produced a six-column study of the Septuagint,
contained a second column which was a transliteration of the Hebrew Scripture text written in Greek
letters. On page 158 of his book, Kahle makes this observation,

There can hardly be any doubt that this work [of transliterating the Hebrew text into Greek letters]
was done by Jews who from ••168»» childhood had read the Bible and knew it almost by heart.
The Jews created this text for those of their fellow believers who could not read the non-vocalized
Hebrew text.

Then, on page 162, Kahle makes this application,

For reading the Hebrew original the transcription in Greek letters would surely have suited all
Christians and most Jews. This theory also gives a plausible reason for the existence of a Greek
transcribed text; it allowed both Jews and Christians to read the lessons from the Old Testament in
Hebrew during the service, and this explains why this transcribed text was composed so carefully
and consistently....

This text, like all the others assembled in the Hexapla, was adopted by Origen from the Jews. A
clear proof of this is to be found in the fact that in all the five columns preserved to us the divine
name is regularly given as the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew square letters. (Emphasis added.)

One of the important Greek translations made for Jews during the second century was done by
Theodotion. Again, on page 254, Kahle makes these comments,

One of the characteristics of Theodotion's text is the transliteration of Hebrew words in Greek
letters.

...How can we expect that Theodotion, in the second Christian century, should have replaced
good Greek translation by transliterated Hebrew words or that such newly-made transliterations
should have been substituted for Greek words in some parts of the 'Septuagint'? Obviously the
transliterated Hebrew words were used in translations made for Jews. Greek-speaking Jews were
familiar with such Hebrew words even if they were not generally able to speak
Hebrew. ...Theodotion made his revisions for Jewish circles. He did not replace transliterated
Hebrew words by Greek translation for he had no cause to fear that the Jews would not understand
them.

On the other hand, it is obvious that in Mss [manuscripts] of the Greek Bible written for the use of

But If Not Heresy, Then What? 1 01

Christians such transliterated Hebrew words had to be eliminated and replaced by Greek
equivalents.

Clearly, Kahle is directing our attention to the importance of Greek translations made for Jews in
the time period between the commencement of the Septuagint (circa 280 B.C.E.) through the second
century C.E. Many Jews living outside of Palestine either did not know any Hebrew, or they recognized
spoken Hebrew but could not read Hebrew characters.

Thus, any study of the Septuagint and other Greek translations of the time period, must consider
their relationship to Jewish linguistic ••169 ,# and social culture. Many times, these translations were
done by Jews for a Jewish audience. We would expect, therefore, to find the transcription of the divine
name — as either iTliT, or even <5^<5^-=t- — in these Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures made for

Jews.

Again, Kahle says,

All Greek translations of the Bible made by Jews for Jews in pre-Christian times must have used,
as the name of God, the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew characters and not Kupios, or abbreviations of it,
such as we find in the Christian LXX [Septuagint codices. 3

Transliteration, translation, or duplication?

All Bible translators experience a quandary when dealing with the divine name. It was certainly
an issue which early translators and editors of the Septuagint faced. How was the name to be conveyed
to Jewish readers? How was the name to be conveyed to readers who did not understand Hebrew?
Which was more important: form or meaning? This was also a quandary which the New World Bible
Translation Committee faced when it began its work on the Hebrew Scriptures.

There are a number of options available to a translator when dealing with the divine name from
the Hebrew text. (In the following illustrations, we will use only an English text. Obviously, the
Septuagint translators encountered the same problems with their Greek text.) The simplest option is to
merely transcribe the four Hebrew characters. That is, the translator would use the Hebrew characters
rather than letters used in the target language. 4 This choice would render verses such as Psalms 7:1, 3,
6, and 8 as follows:

mrp my God, in you I have taken refuge.

Save me from all those persecuting me and deliver me...

mrp my God, if I have done this, If there exists any injustice in my hands...

Or, using the older Hebrew script style,
Do arise, <S^<S^, in your anger;
Lift yourself up at the outbursts of fury of those showing hostility to me...

• •170»» <Z\\<Z\-*t himself will pass sentence on the peoples.
Judge me, <5^<S^, according to my righteousness...

Needless to say, transcription is the most precise action the translator can take from the
perspective of the original text. There is no possibility of error because the Hebrew word is transported
intact into the new text. On the other hand, transcription is meaningless unless the reader also
understands written Hebrew. 5

A second option which is open to the translator is to visually duplicate iTliT by using letters
familiar to the reader. This was done in certain Greek copies of the Septuagint with the letters n (P)

3 P.E. Kahle, Journal of Biblical Literature, "The Greek Bible Manuscripts Used by Origen," Volume LXXIX, 1960.

4 The term target language identifies the language into which a text is translated. The term parent language
identifies the language from which the text originates.

5 It could be argued that with proper instruction, the reader would learn the full meaning of the transcribed letters.
That would be true only if the instruction were complete and conveyed the full meaning of the Hebrew language
context. If such training were anything less than complete, then iTiT would merely become a symbol for a concept
coming from the target language. In that case, the written word in the target language would become an equal — and
more readily pronounceable — symbol.

102 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

and I (I). By duplicating these Greek letters, the reader saw nini (or mm in lower-case). English
letters do not lend themselves well to this option, though something like nin' might be used. It is
obvious, however, that such a symbol does nothing to preserve the divine name. Were this scheme
attempted, God's name in English would simply become Nin, as it became Pipi in Greek. This would
reduce Psalm 11:1 to an extremely unsatisfactory,

In nin' I have taken refuge.

The translator may choose to transliterate the characters miT into four letters in the target
language. This was apparently not done in extant Greek manuscripts of the Septuagint, but it is
occasionally done in English by using YHWH. Though this is an accurate representation of the four
Hebrew characters, it lacks a reasonable guide to pronunciation because it contains no vowels. Further,
it will be meaningless to a reader who does not know its function. Psalm 15:1 would become,

YHWH, who will be a guest in your tent?

Another possibility is for the translator to phonetically duplicate the name in the target language.
Some copies of the Septuagint used this approach with the Greek letter combination IAQ (IAO).
(When written in lower-case Greek, a breathing mark is added to the iota. The word is written loco,
which gives the name two vowel sounds.) When read in Greek, this approximately duplicated the
presumed ••171»» pronunciation of miT as Yaho. 6 Phonetic duplication in English is achieved when
the divine name is written as Yahweh (or, as we saw in Chapter 1, as Yahvah). With this phonetic
duplication, Psalm 18:1-2 can be read,

1 shall have affection for you, Yahweh my strength.

Yahweh is my crag and my stronghold and the Provider of escape for me.

The translator may choose to translate the divine name. At this point, he will choose between a
word-for-word translation or a dynamic translation. A word-for-word translation does not consider the
sense of the parent language word combination in relationship to the target language, but simply
renders each word according to a lexical (dictionary) definition. A word-for-word translation of miT
into English is simply He Is. (If the translator wants to be interpretive 7 in his translation, he may add
English words which reflect the tense of the Hebrew verb. In this case, the translated name becomes
He Causes to Become.) On the other hand, a dynamic translation will consider the sense of the word
combination in the parent language and find words to express the same meaning in the target language.
When the Septuagint was translated, the sense of !TliT in the Greek language was the word KiJpios
(K yrios) or Lord (with the sense of Sovereign Master). If the translator chose a word-for-word
translation of Psalm 20:1, it would read,

May He Is answer you in the day of distress.
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

(There is another complication if the translator chooses not to do a word-for-word translation. The
Israelite of Moses' day was not hearing a unique name when mm was spoken. If the derivation of the
divine name is as described in the New World Translation Reference Edition, page 1561, which says,

• •172* • "Jehovah" (Heb[brew] mm YHWH), God's personal name... is a verb, the causative
form, the imperfect state, of the Hebrew verb mn {ha-wah', "to become"),

then the listener was merely hearing the third person, singular, masculine conjugation he is. It was
only the context in which miT was used which defined it as the divine name rather than as a commonly
used verb form.)

6 Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, Metzger, p. 35, footnote 66.

7 Many languages contain significantly more information in a verb tense than does English. However, an English
example will illustrate what we mean by interpretation. If a group is asked, "Who is ready to do such-and such?" a
respondent from within the group may answer, "I am." Yet, the meaning of the present tense in English is literally, "I
presently am." This is understood by the English listener even when the word presently is not included. However, if
this dialogue was translated into another language, the translator might need to insert the word presently in order to
interpret the full meaning of the respondent to the foreign language reader. This would be particularly true if the
respondent's answer was dependent on a time sequence in which the respondent would not be ready at a later time.

But If Not Heresy, Then What? 1 03

If the translator considered the tense of the verb 8 and added some degree of interpretation, the
word-for-word translation of Psalm 26:1 would be,

Judge me, He Causes to Become, for I myself have walked in my own integrity,
And in He Causes to Become I have trusted, that I may not wobble.

If a dynamic translation were chosen, Psalm 21:1 would read, 9

LORD, in your strength the king rejoices;

and in your salvation how very joyful he wants to be!

Finally, the translator might choose a modified designation. As we saw in Chapter 1, the New
World Bible Translation Committee chose to use a "well-known form" rather than one which was a
strict phonetic duplication. They say in part in Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, page 6:

Hebrew Scholars generally favor "Yahweh" as the most likely pronunciation. ...Still, there is by no
means unanimity among scholars on the subject, some favoring yet other pronunciations, such as
"Yahuwa," "Yahuah," or "Yehuah."

Since certainty of pronunciation is not now attainable, there seems to be no reason for
abandoning in English the well-known form "Jehovah" in favor of some other suggested
pronunciation.

If the translators chose the "well-known form 'Jehovah,'" 10 Psalm 27:1 would read,

Jehovah is my light and my salvation.

••173" Needless to say, each of the above means of rendering the divine name in a translation
has both merit and objection, with some being better choices than others.

In this chapter, we are considering the options available to the translators and editors 11 of the
Septuagint and similar ancient Greek translations. Their choices were determined by the recipients of
the translation. If the translation was for Jewish readership, then use of Hebrew characters would be
completely understandable; they could embed iTliT in the Greek text. On the other hand, when the
Septuagint was used in the Gentile world where little was known of the Jewish heritage and language,
a Greek language form of the divine name was preferable. It was not a simple choice.

Nor was it a simple choice for the New World Bible Translation Committee. In the end, it chose
not to transcribe, transliterate, or phonetically duplicate the Tetragrammaton. Rather, it made the
choice on the basis of popular recognition.

Faced with a similar kind of decision, the editors (copyists) of the Christian Septuagint
manuscripts made their choice on the basis of a dynamic translation when they used K yrios for the
divine name.

Are there manuscript examples?

Is there any evidence that different forms of the divine name were used simultaneously? Can we
point to any instance in which both mil" and K yrios are used in a single ancient Septuagint manuscript?
If, in fact, the appearance of K yrios in Septuagint manuscripts was the result of a heresy or schism in
the early centuries, one would not expect to find competing forms of the divine name in a single
manuscript.

8 The New World Translation Reference Edition (Appendix 1A, p. 1561) identifies this as the causative form and
imperfect state of the Hebrew verb, translating it as He Causes to Become. The verb is identified in this appendix
as to become, which is the future tense of the infinitive to be. He Is is the third person, singular form of the English
verb infinitive to be.

9 Remember our comments in the last chapter, however, regarding the removal of God's name and its inappropriate
replacement with Lord in English translations of the Hebrew Scriptures.

10 See the addendum at the end of Chapter 1 for W.F. Carr's comment that Jehovah is an English translation rather
than a Hebrew approximation.

11 Prior to the invention of the printing press, each copy of a manuscript could be edited. In the early centuries, of
course, this frequently happened. In some cases, it was done carefully to correct previous errors. In the case at
hand, we are looking at the single editorial process wherein either iTIiT or Kupios was copied with the intended
reading audience in mind.

104 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Throughout this book we have been concerned with manuscript material which has become
available since the New World Bible Translation Committee completed its work on the Christian
Scriptures in 1949. There is an interesting example in the area of our immediate concern of just this kind
of manuscript being published.

In 1894, Giovanni Mercati was studying a 13th or 14th century C.E. service-book of the Greek
Orthodox Church. The manuscript was a palimpsest, meaning that an older book had been erased, and
a liturgical text had been written over the faint early manuscript. After carefully recovering the
material which was first written on the ••174»» parchment, Mercati discovered an important example
of Origen's Hexapla containing approximately 150 verses from the Psalms. His findings were
eventually published in 1958. In this manuscript — known as the Ambrosianae O 39 — we have
conclusive evidence that Origen used iTliT extensively in the Hexapla. Interestingly, however, we also
find that Origen used Kupiosv ks, lu, and mm in the same text. In his other writings (such as his
commentary on Psalm 2) we also find that Origen used Kupios extensively in place of the divine name.

Origen, it seems, used either the Tetragrammaton or Kiipiog (or one of its variant forms) within the
text of the Septuagint. This would not have been possible if one form or the other was perceived as the
result of heresy. Nor would it have been possible if the earlier Tetragrammaton had become unknown.

(Because of its importance to the subject of a presumed heresy in the third and fourth centuries,
Origen's Hexapla, his commentary on Psalm 2, and Mercati's work are all evaluated in Appendix J.)

The greater issue

In this book we have continually emphasized that the Septuagint and the Christian Greek
Scriptures are distinct writings. We must reiterate that emphasis regarding translation of the
Tetragrammaton. Whether we are talking about the Greek Septuagint, or a modern English version of
the Hebrew Scriptures, the translators must take special care in translating the Tetragrammaton. In
the Christian Greek Scriptures, however, the translator does not have license to introduce the
Tetragrammaton into the text if it was not placed there by the inspired Christian writers.

The translators of any Hebrew Scripture must determine the best way to communicate the meaning
and/or pronunciation of miT to the target language reader. No single word, however, will adequately
convey both meaning and pronunciation. Thus, every translator must make a choice regarding which of
the two he wishes to emphasize.

The Septuagint was a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Though the large majority
of extant Septuagint manuscripts contain the Greek word Kupios, a number of ancient manuscripts which
use miT incontestably remain. (The Christian Greek Scriptures are an entirely different matter. There
is no textual or historical data to suggest that the Tetragrammaton was ever used by the inspired
Christian writers.)

We will not repeat the material from earlier chapters. Nonetheless, we must be aware that the
issue with the Christian Scriptures is one of inspiration. Any discussion of translation must be limited
to that which the inspired Christian authors actually wrote. ••175»» We cannot bring the
Tetragrammaton into the Christian Scriptures merely because it occupied such a prominent place in the
Hebrew Scriptures.

Heresy or translators' choice?

We must return to the central question of this chapter. How is the variation between miT and
K yrios in extant Septuagint manuscripts explained?

We can find no evidence that there was ever a heresy identified with the replacement of the
Tetragrammaton with K yrios in the first four centuries C.E. The writings of the patristics are entirely
silent on the subject.

At the same time, we find ample evidence that there were at least seven different representations
of the divine name used in extant Septuagint and Greek Hebrew Scripture manuscripts.

1. The dynamic translation of the Tetragrammaton as Kiipios (translated into English as LORD) is the

most frequent representation of the divine name.

2. A variation of Kupio? is the surrogate (or abbreviation) of the divine name which was written as icg.

3. Less frequently found — but of great significance — are those manuscripts which embed miT into the

But If Not Heresy, Then What? 1 05

Greek language text.

4. A variation of the divine name written with square Hebrew characters is found in manuscripts

wherein the palaeo-Hebrew characters '<\\-<s.- < ^r are embedded into the Greek text.

5. A Greek visual duplicate form mill (PIPI) is found in some extant Septuagint manuscripts.

6. A Greek phonetic duplicate form IAQ (IAO) is occasionally encountered.

7. Finally, a surrogate form of IAQ (or law in lower-case) is encountered which was written as loj.

What is surprising, however, is that none of these forms are confined to a single era as though there
was a development from one form to the other. Origen himself used five forms (mil", Kupios, ks, ioj, and
nini ) in the Hexapla P- In stark contrast to debating the propriety of one over the other, Origen used
each of the five in specific contexts. In his commentary on Psalm 2:2 he referred to a sixth form
'?s&<2x** saying,

• •176* • "In the most accurate manuscripts, the name occurs in Hebrew characters — yet not in
today's Hebrew [characters], but in the most ancient ones." 13

If that were not enough, an Ezekiel scroll carrying IAQ (IAO) notations comes from the Dead Sea
caves. (The scroll could have been written no later than 69 C.E. because they were buried prior to the
Roman invasion beginning in 69 C.E.) The Qumran community was a strict group of Essenes which
highly revered the divine name. (They most certainly were not Christian.) Yet, one of their scrolls
carries two margin notes using a lower-case iaw as a Greek phonetic duplicate of mil". 14

We are left with a simple conclusion. There was no heresy which removed mil" and replaced i t
with K yrios . There was no ensuing controversy. Rather, the intended audience of any particular copy
of the Septuagint dictated the translated form of the divine name. In the regions of Palestine, or when
a Septuagint copy was intended for an expatriate Jewish community, miT (or even <S^<cV=fr) could be
used. When the Septuagint manuscript was deep in Gentile territory, KOpios (or ks) would be used. On
some intermediate level, where Jewish influence was still exerted, the form nini (or even IAQ or iw)
could be found.

Then why does the frequency of third century and later Septuagint copies existing today which use
miT decrease? 15

Rome conquered Palestine with two campaigns. The siege was started in 69 C.E. by Vespasian and
finished by his son Titus in 70 C.E. The Jews attempted one last revolt in 132 C.E. By 132 C.E., Rome
was so incensed by Jewish insurgency that they obliterated almost every evidence of Jewish community
life in Palestine. Temple worship was completely disbanded.

By 70 C.E. — and certainly after 132 C.E. — Jewish hostility toward Rome was also directed toward
Jewish Christians. The link between synagogues and Jewish Christians was irrevocably broken.

The Jewish Christians were so hated that even their Hebrew Scriptures were scorned. The
Septuagint was rejected by the Jewish community as being Christian, and exclusively became a Gentile
book. (It was precisely for this reason that the two Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures were
made by Aquila and Theodotion in the second ••177* • century.) 16 It is for the very reason that the
Septuagint became identified with the Christian congregation that Aquila's translation reintroduced
the Tetragrammaton. It is not surprising, then, to find an extant copy of Aquila's translation with iTirp
(and even the older form <S^<5^-=fr) embedded in the Greek text.

In The Cairo Geniza, Kahle gives a further insight into the reason so few extant copies of
Septuagint or other Greek Hebrew Scripture versions are available which contain the
Tetragrammaton. On page 246 he says,

12 As shown in both Origenis Hexaplorum, edited by Fridericus Field (showing four forms), and Mercati's
Ambrosianae O 39 showing all five.

13 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 31 0.

14 Ibid. Metzger. The breathing mark was not used in the first century.

15 At this point we are specifically evaluating the Septuagint. Both Aquila's and Theodotion's translations were
done in the second century C.E. to counteract the "Christianization" of the Septuagint.

16 Unless otherwise noted, the historical information in these paragraphs is taken from New Testament History,
F.F. Bruce, pp. 368-392.

106 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

The proper examination of the actual conditions is made so difficult because one usually does
not take into account that, after Christianity had become the religion of the State under
Constantine, the Jews endeavored with success systematically to destroy all their literature in
Greek, including the Greek texts of the Bible. Greek Bible texts written by Jews have only been
preserved in so far as they were taken over and revised by Christians.

It is understandable why the Septuagint became an exclusively Christian text circulating in the
Gentile congregations. A Septuagint intended only for Gentile readers would have little reason to
transcribe a foreign Hebrew word into its text.

There is no indication that any patristics in the early congregations acknowledged the change from
the Tetragrammaton to K yrios as a heresy. No writer reports a controversy over this issue. 17

At an earlier period, it seems to have been viewed as a translator's (or editor's) choice to use K yrios
or the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew Scriptures based solely on the intended readers' cultural
heritage. Later, during the third and fourth centuries C.E. after Jewish copies containing mil" were
largely removed, the Septuagint containing only K yrios continued to circulate among the Gentile
congregations which had incorporated Jewish believers separated from their Jewish heritage.

It was no more an issue of heresy or conspiracy to replace mil" from the Hebrew Scriptures
(Septuagint) with a term familiar to Greek ••178»» readers in the third and fourth centuries C.E. than
it was for the New World Bible Translation Committee to use a word familiar to English readers in
place of the Hebrew characters iTliT.

An interesting perspective

Is a translator permitted to decide which form of God's name he will use in his translation? Our
first response is to say, "No." But look at the options from which a translator must choose. He has no
alternative but to decide how to best communicate God's name to his reading audience.

We often assume that first century Gentile readers understood miT when it was embedded in their
Greek language Scriptures. Consider, however, how uncomfortable a householder would be reading the
Hebrew Scriptures if the New World Translation presented Psalm 113:1-2 as follows:

Praise IT, YOU people!

Offer praise, YOU servant of mrp,

Praise the name of mn\
May mrp's name become blessed

from now on and to time indefinite.

The New World Bible Translation Committee could have made another choice. Say it wanted to
preserve the characters from earlier Hebrew manuscripts. Psalm 113:3-5 would continue as,

From the rising of the sun until its setting
<5^<S^-=»-'s name is to be praised.

<2\\<2x** has become high above all the nations;

His glory is above the heavens.
Who is like <S^<5^-=»- our God,

Him who is making his dwelling on high?

We agree that it would be difficult to show interested individuals the God of the Hebrew
Scriptures if his name could not be read in the reader's language.

But now that the translator has chosen not to merely transcribe the divine name, he faces
additional complex choices. If the Greek translator had transliterated the divine name, he could have
used IAQ; the English translator could have used YHWH. But neither could be correctly pronounced. So
the Greek translator could have added a breathing mark in lower-case letters (Law); the English

17 This was not equally true in the Jewish community, though the debate was not directed toward the
Tetragrammaton perse. In the time period from the translation of the Septuagint circa 280 B.C.E. until well beyond
the second century C.E., there was considerable debate regarding language among Jewish scholars. The
permissibility of translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek — as well as the use of other languages (as against
Hebrew) in various portions of the synagogue service — was carefully scrutinized. See J. A. Emerton, The Journal of
Theological Studies, "A Further Consideration of the Purpose of the Second Column of the Hexapla," Vol. 22, 1 971 .

But If Not Heresy, Then What? 1 07

translator could add vowels to make the name Yahweh.

Or the Greek translator could have chosen a known Greek word which expressed the same meaning
as mil'' and would have translated ••179* • the divine name as Kupios (K yrios). The English translator
could use Master or Lord. The English translator could also use capital letters to show that it was a
translation of mil". He would then write the name as MASTER or LORD.

On the other hand, some alternate choice could be made. The Greek translators at times used mm.
The New World Bible Translation Committee chose "the well-known form" Jehovah which is neither
a transliteration nor a translation.

In each case, the translator made a choice, though not all are equally satisfactory.

But what if?

What if the inspired Christian writers had used the Tetragrammaton? In many cases, their
accounts were written to Gentiles. (Luke and Acts were written to Theophilus. Most of Paul's epistles
were written to congregations deep in Gentile territory. Revelation was written to seven Gentile
congregations.) If iTliT was used in these Greek texts to Gentiles, then it could be forcefully argued that
God intended to communicate his name in this singular, Hebrew form.

If that precedent had been established by the inspired Christian writers when writing to Gentiles
who did not understand Hebrew — and who could certainly not read the written characters — then there
would be no allowance today within an English translation of the Christian Scriptures to use any word
with English letters. Only niPP would be acceptable.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. After having established that the best manuscript evidence from the first
centuries of the Christian congregation shows no heresy involving a removal of the Tetragrammaton
from the Christian Greek Scriptures, we are forced to explain the change during the same period of
time in the Septuagint.

Seven means of representing the divine name in the Septuagint (and similar Greek translations of
the Hebrew Scriptures) were used in the early Christian era. These included translation of miT' into
the Greek word Kupios (K yrios); surrogates such as Kg or iw; embeddment of mil" (or an older form
<2k\<2x**t) into the Greek language text; insertion of the visual duplicate form mill, or insertion of the
phonetic duplicate form IAfi, into the text.

Inclusion of these various forms were not specific to a period of time, and may even have been
represented in a single manuscript. In general, • •180* • one was not used to the exclusion of another as a
sole means of representing the divine name in a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Inasmuch as there is no indication that this open — and sometimes interchangeable — use of Greek
words elicited any objection, we conclude that the early Christian congregation accepted this variation
of forms as being an acceptable translation (and editorial) expression of the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus,
we see no indication of a heresy in the shift from miT to Kupiog, but rather, an understanding that
K yrios represented a proper translation for non-Hebrew speaking Gentiles.

Our conclusion is further reinforced by evidence from two early sources. First is an extant copy of
Aquila's translation which contains the palaeo-Hebrew characters <5^<S^-=»- in a Greek text. Aquila's
translation was done for the express purpose of producing a Greek translation for Jews to replace the
Septuagint. Copies of this version are now known which contain <S^<cV=t-, miT", and Kg. Secondly, in
the late third century Origen clearly used five forms (mil", Kupios, ks, no, and mm) within his
Hexapla, and refers to a sixth (<5^<S^-=fr) in other writings.

The first centuries of the Christian congregations had Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures
which were intended for distinctly different audiences. Hebrew Scriptures which were intended for
Greek speaking Jews who understood their Jewish heritage could freely use either miT or <$^<5v^=!-. 18
Greek translations of Hebrew Scriptures intended for a Gentile audience used K yrios.

18 We are glossing over the animosity of the Jewish community after Christians began using the Septuagint. As we
noted earlier, it was precisely because the Christians were using the Septuagint that non-messianic Jews produced
translations of their Hebrew Scriptures during the second and third centuries C.E. which contained the
Tetragrammaton embedded in the Greek language text.

108

Chapter 14: The Indistinct Meaning of K Y R I OS

We have completed ••181* • an extensive study asking whether the original Greek Scripture
writers used the Tetragrammaton (iTIiT) or the word K yrios (Kijpios) in 237 specific instances
within the Christian Greek Scriptures. This search was primarily confined to textual and
historical data. Particular emphasis was drawn to the new light available today which was
unavailable to the translators of the New World Translation in the late 1940's.

From the accumulative textual and historical evidences reported in the previous chapters, we
conclude that the Tetragrammaton was never used in the Greek text by the inspired Christian writers.

Since the Tetragrammaton was not used, we are forced to recognize that the word K yrios carries
indistinct meaning by design. In this chapter, we will examine the Greek Scripture writers' apparent
use of K yrios to refer to both Jehovah and the Lord Jesus.

Defining indistinct meaning

We must explain why we are using the words indistinct meaning to describe the use of K yrios in
many Greek Scripture passages. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines indistinct in part as "Not
sharply outlined or separable: Uncertain."

Because God's Word is inspired, it always contains the exact meaning which Jehovah intended.
Generally, precise wording is readily apparent when the text is being read. However, there are
exceptions. (We will consider an exception regarding the word witness in a moment.) Yet, we are all
familiar with details in prophesy which were shrouded in "uncertainty" until their fulfillment. For
example, many of the events regarding Jesus' death and subsequent incidents in the life of the early
Christian congregation are now recognized to have been prophetic statements from the Hebrew
Scriptures. Yet, in spite of the clarity of their meaning today, the meaning of these same verses was
less certain to a devout Jew living prior to Jesus' birth. Compare the prophesy of Zechariah [see
NWT Reference Edition footnote regarding Jeremiah] concerning the 30 pieces of silver and the price of
the potter's field at Zechariah 11:13 with its fulfillment at Matthew 27:9-10. Or the statement of
Jesus saying, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" at Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 with
the quotation source at Psalm 22:1. Of particular interest is Peter's declaration at Acts 1:20-21 that
Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8 were fulfilled in Judas when Peter said, '"Let his lodging place become
desolate...' and His office of oversight let someone else take.'" Yet, before Peter explained their
••182* • fulfillment, the fuller meaning of these passages was certainly indistinct to the Jews of
Christ's day. No Jews living prior to Jesus' death applied these verses to this reprobate disciple.

Jesus himself stated that his illustrations allowed some to see and others not to see.

The disciples... said to him: "Why is it you speak to them by the use of illustrations?" In reply he
said "To YOU it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, but to
those people it is not granted. ..This is why I speak to them by the use of illustrations, because
looking, they look in vain, and hearing, they hear in vain, neither do they get the sense of it."
(Matthew 13:10-11, 13.)

All languages — including Koine Greek — use indistinct meanings to broaden the sense of certain
words. 1 There is an interesting illustration of an indistinct word used in the Christian Greek Scriptures

1 We are somewhat arbitrarily making a distinction between words which are indistinct and words which have
multiple meanings. The description of K yrios under the heading The meaning of K yrios during apostolic
times on the following pages describes multiple meanings. The distinction we are attributing to Kyrios as
indistinct may merely be one of degree in which this latter usage has a specialized meaning. If the reader prefers,
our category of indistinct may be regarded as the extreme within a single category multiple meanings. Nonetheless,

The Indistinct Meaning of K yrios 109

which gives added meaning because of its "uncertain... indistinctness." 2 We have purposely chosen this
illustration because it is outside our present discussion of K yrios.

The single Greek word martyreo ( piapTupew) is assigned two quite different English meanings. Its
primary meaning was always "[To] bear witness, or [to] be a witness." But it had a second meaning, and
was used accordingly in the Greek Scriptures. It also meant, "[To] testify, [to] be a witness (unto death),
[to] be martyred." 3

This word was used in its noun form at Acts 22:20. Most English Bibles translate the passage with
the same English sense as found in the New World Translation:

••183»» And when the blood of Stephen your witness (martyros [|idpTUTos]) was being spilled, I
myself was also standing by and approving and guarding the outer garments of those doing away
with him.

A few versions translate the word as martyr. The King James version says,

And when the blood of thy martyr (martyros [|idpTirr6s]) Stephen was shed, I also was standing
by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
Finally, the Amplified Bible, which gives shades of meaning when a Greek word includes a broader
sense than can be conveyed by a single English word, translates the verse,

And when the blood of Your (martyr) witness Stephen was shed, I also was personally standing
by and consenting and approving, and guarding the garments of those who slew him.

By using this broader word martyreo ( iiapTupeu), the inspired Greek Scriptures convey something
deeper than merely the English word witness. In the same chapter, Ananias says to Saul who is fasting
and praying,

...The God of our forefathers has chosen you to come to know his will and to see the righteous
One and to hear the voice of his mouth, because you are to be a witness (martys [jidpTus]) for him to
all men of things you have seen and heard.' (Acts 20:1 4-1 5.)

An understanding of the meaning of martyreo gives added insight into the message conveyed to Saul
by Ananias at Acts 9:15-16.

But the Lord said to [Ananias] "Be on your way, because this man [Saul] is a chosen vessel to me
to bear my name to the nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel. For I shall show him plainly
how many things he must suffer for my name." (Italics added.)

Paul understood the cost of his apostleship. He understood from the very beginning that he was not
merely to tell others of Jesus the Messiah, but that his testimony could cost him his life. When Paul
later described his ministry to the Ephesians (Acts 20:17-24), or when he stated his willingness to die
in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-13), or expressed his desire to know and suffer for Christ (Philippians 3:10), we
realize that he fully understood the meaning of the Greek word martyreo (|iap-rupeio) at the time
Ananias first prayed for restoration of his sight.

Through this same indistinct meaning in the word witness-martyr, we also gain an insight into
Jesus' words at Acts 1:8 when he said,

• •184* • "But YOU will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon YOU , and YOU will be
witnesses (martyres [p.dp-rupes]) of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the
most distant part of the earth."

Thus, by example, we can see that an indistinct word may be used to give language a broader
meaning. At the same time, greater breadth may also obscure precise meaning. This characteristic of
all languages wherein indistinct meaning gives greater breadth with obscured precision is equally true

we will retain the definition as indistinct because of the specialized sense in which K yrios is identified with the
divine name.

2 The reader will realize that this was clearer to the Greek reader of the day than it is to an English reader in
translation. The Greek reader understood the breadth of meaning and allowed the context to define the appropriate
sense. In translation, the English reader must be pointed in the direction of understanding the word as either
witness or martyr.

3 A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Arndt and Gingrich, pp. 492-493.

110 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

within the inspired Scriptures. This was Paul's experience with the word martyreo ( ^apTDpeco). He was
not told specifically that he would be a witness or a martyr. With less precision, he was told that he
might be one, or the other, or both.

We must add, however, that all languages have a means of restoring precision lost in indistinct
meaning. Generally speaking, the context of the word — or in some cases, grammatical structure — can be
used to reinstate precision. The reader will realize that this option of either restoring or withholding
precision is a useful tool in communication. At times, a speaker or writer may wish to convey a precise
meaning with a word which is inherently indistinct. In this case, he may qualify it with the context or
grammatical function so that the word will be understood with a single meaning. On the other hand,
there are times when a dual meaning serves a useful function because the broader sense is exactly that
which is intended. The meaning becomes all-inclusive.

It is precisely this intentional all-inclusive meaning of the word K yrios which catches our attention
in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The meaning of K yrios during apostolic times

The word K yrios was a common secular word in the Koine Greek language of the day. It is
translated as Sir [Mark 7:28], owner [Matthew 21:40], master [Matthew 25:26], a protocol form of
address for an emperor [Acts 25:26], and slave master [Ephesians 6:5]. Jesus also used the word when he
was directly quoting the Hebrew Scriptures [Luke 4:8 and 12]. K yrios is used 714 times from Matthew to
Revelation. The New World Translation uses it 406 times of Jesus. 4 Disallowing, as we now must, the
presumed presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures, K yrios is translated as
Lord with the ••185»» function of a proper noun 651 times 5 within the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation.

The title K yrios is also (though infrequently) used of the Father. Jesus prayed in Luke 10:21 saying:

I publicly praise you, Father, Lord (K yrios [ia>pie]) of heaven and earth, because you have
carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones...

As a designated title, however, K yrios (Lord) is customarily used for Jesus in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. Just as Jehovah called himself by name in the Hebrew Scriptures, so he gave Jesus two titles
in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord (K yrios) and
Christ, this Jesus whom YOU impaled. (Acts 2:36)

1 Corinthians 8:6 says that in the same way there is only one God, there is one K yrios (Lord).

There is actually to us one God the Father. ..and there is one Lord (K yrios), Jesus Christ...

Also consider two other passages, both of which refer to Jesus as being "our only. ..Lord (K yrios)" (Jude 4)
or, just as there is but "one Lord (K yrios)," there is but "one God" 6 (Ephesians 4:5).

The importance of the discovery that the Tetragrammaton was not used by the apostolic authors
should be clear. In many passages, the presence of K yrios (when the context is referring to Jesus)
identifies Jesus with Jehovah as we have already seen at Revelation 1:8.

4 This total includes all occurrences of Lord spelled with an upper case "L," indicating its use as a proper noun.
Lord may be capitalized at the beginning of a quotation in the Greek text, and, in rare instances, may not identify
Jesus. We did not verify each reference as directly identifying Jesus. See the summary at the end of Appendix C.

5 This total comes from the Lord entries in Appendix C which used an upper-case "L." (See the qualification in the
footnote above.)

6 1 Corinthians 8:6 and Jude 4 have been used purposefully because they include the phrase "one God." In spite
of the fact that Watch Tower publications make the biblical teaching of one God and Jesus' full identification with
God seem to be far-fetched, the opposite is actually the case. (See, for example, the publication Should You
Believe in the Trinity? Though in some cases there are knowledgeable quotations from outside sources, the reader
frequently encounters attempts by the Watch Tower writers to reduce the subject to ludicrous and confusing
proportions.) However, because this book is focusing on the Tetragrammaton, we have avoided numerous areas
where a study of the person of God could appropriately be included. Nonetheless, for a complete understanding of
the Scriptures, this truth must be resolved. We would encourage the reader to personally study this important
subject using only the Scriptures.

The Indistinct Meaning of K yri os 111

"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says K yrios God, "the One who is and who was and who is
coming, the Almighty."

Instances which refer to Jehovah

••186»» Under this subheading, we are looking for citations in the Christian Scriptures which
refer exclusively to Jehovah. This is best done by finding examples of verses where K yrios is clearly
used by a Scripture writer in reference to a divine being other than Jesus. Our first example comes from
Luke 5:17. (In the following illustrations, we will insert the critical phrase from the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation, including both the Greek and English wording. The

New World Translation entry is placed in brackets.) Luke 5:17 says:

In the course of one of the days [Jesus] was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law
who had come out of every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem were sitting there; [and
Jehovah's power — NWT]

rat Swapxs Kupiou

and the power of Lord [KIT]

was there for him to do healing.

Clearly, this verse is not saying that Jesus' own power was there in order that he could heal. That
would be an unlikely statement inasmuch as Jesus' power (whatever its extent in his human existence)
was always present with him. 7 Luke is drawing our attention to the presence of Jehovah's power. Luke
intended to convey exactly the meaning of the New World Translation which says, "... and Jehovah's
power was there for him [Jesus] to do healing."

There are many references throughout the Christian Greek Scriptures which fall into this category
in which Jehovah is the intended subject. 8 We will quote just two additional verses in which this is
the case. Matthew l:22-23a (with an identifiable quotation from Isaiah 7:14 attributable to Jehovah)
says:

All this actually came about for that to be fulfilled which was [spoken by Jehovah — NWT\

pr|9ev UTTO KupLOU

spoken by Lord [KIT]

through his prophet, saying: "Look! The virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son. . . "

Again, the sense of the New World Translation which says, "which was spoken by Jehovah. .." was
certainly Matthew's intent.

••187»» The third illustration of a K yri OS reference clearly referring to Jehovah also comes from
Luke. When the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary with the announcement of the birth of Jesus, she
responded affirmatively according to Luke 1:38:

Then Mary said; "Look! [Jehovah's slave girl — A/1/1/7]!

r\ 8oi3Xr| Kupiou
The slave girl of Lord [KIT]

May it take place with me according to your declaration."

There is every reason to believe that Luke was reporting Mary as addressing Jehovah with her
statement of servitude as his obedient child. It would be most unusual to explain this passage by saying
that Mary was addressing her yet unborn son.

These verses show us that in certain instances, Christian Greek Scripture writers used K yrios to
refer to Jehovah. That is, since there is no historical or biblical record that they used the
Tetragrammaton in the inspired writings, we know that they used the Greek word Kiipios rather than
the Hebrew word iTliT 9 when referring to Jehovah.

7 We need to leave this as a simple statement of logic. We are not discussing Jesus' attributes.

8 The reader understands that we are not excluding the person of Jesus from this statement. As will be shown, the
dual meaning of K yrios identifies Jesus with Jehovah.

9 Again, at this point we must make a strong statement affirming the inspiration of Scripture. As we have seen,
there is no evidence that the original manuscripts contained the Tetragrammaton. Therefore, unless we deny the

112 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Instances which contextually equate Jesus with deity

We are now confronted with the full import of the original Greek Scripture writers' indistinct
meaning for the word K yrios . Frequently within the Greek Scriptures, there are instances in which the
writer was referring to Jesus as Lord, but was ascribing to him attributes or actions reserved for deity.

The few examples we have used from the book of Revelation are by no means the only examples
found in the Christian Greek Scriptures. We will give only two additional illustrations at this point.
The reader should be aware, however, that many more could be cited. At Romans 14:3-9, Paul was
teaching regarding the Roman believers' error in judging each other for what they were eating. Paul
said:

Let the one eating not look down on the one not eating, and let the one not eating not judge the
one eating, for God has welcomed that one. Who are you to judge the house servant of ••188* •
another? To his own master (Kupicp) he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for
[Jehovah can make him stand — NWJ].

SuyaTei yap 6 idipio? orfjam airrov.

is powerful for the Lord to make stand him [KIT].

... He who observes the day [observes it to Jehovah — NWJ].

Kupiw <j)povet.

to Lord he is minding [KIT].

Also, he who eats, [eats to Jehovah — NWJ],

Kuptw eaBiei,

to Lord he is eating, [KIT]

for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat [does not eat to Jehovah — A/1/1/7],

KUpLCj) Ol)K ea9iei

to Lord not he is eating [KIT]

and yet gives thanks to God. None of us, in fact, lives with regard to himself only, and no one dies
with regard to himself only; for both if we live, [we live to Jehovah — NWJ],

T(3 Kupiw £wpev,

to the Lord we are living, [KIT]

and if we die, [we die to Jehovah — NWJ].

T(3 KDpLCp dTTo9vfj(TKOp:ev.

to the Lord we are dying [KIT].
Therefore both if we live and if we die, [we belong to Jehovah — NWJ].
toO KDpLou ea\iev.
of the Lord we are [KIT].

For to this end Christ died and came to life again, that [he might be Lord — NWJ]
Kvpievar\.
he might be lord [KIT].

over both the dead and the living.

This lengthy passage illustrates several important issues we must confront. First, as we readily
observe, the context alternates between K yrios and God as being synonymous. 10 The context is not
alternating between iTIiT and God. Look at the following alternating phrases:

• •189* • for God has welcomed that one.
... for K yrios (loipios) can make him stand.

innerrancy and inspiration of the Greek Scriptures, we are left only with the alternative that God directed the
apostolic writers to use the Greek word Kupios rather than the Hebrew word HUT. If — in our desire to protect a
theological position — we still must insist that the Tetragrammaton from Hebrew versions will have precedence, then
we must be willing to dismiss our claim that the Scriptures we have today are "inspired of God."
10 The translators of the New World Translation would not disagree that this passage is alternating between
synonyms for God. Their agreement is evident in its present reading as Jehovah.

The Indistinct Meaning of K yri os 1 13

He who observes the day observes it to K yrios (Kupito).

he who eats, eats to K yrios (icupiw),
... for he give thanks to God;

and he who does not eat does not eat to K yrios (Kupiw),
... yet gives thanks to God.

if we live, we live to K yrios (Kupiw),

if we die, we die to K yrios (Kupiw).

Therefore both if we live and if we die, we belong to K yrios (Kupiou).

Then the verses summarize the purpose as being in Christ himself:

For to this end Christ died and came to life again, that [he might be Lord — NWJ] K yriuse (Kupiewri)
over both the dead and the living.

Whomever Paul was acknowledging, the subject 11 of this passage was most certainly identified as
possessing the attributes of God. Yet the subject is K yrios and not mil". 12 No translator is justified in
altering the inspired wording of the text in order to preserve a doctrinal viewpoint. In this passage,
Paul clearly wrote K yri OS in its various cognate forms.

When we consider the broader context starting with the statement that we are to "put on the Lord
(Kupiov) Jesus Christ, and do not be planning ahead for the desires of the flesh" (13:14), and finishing
with the summary that "Christ died and rose that he might be Lord K yrieose (Kupieiian) over both the
dead and the living" (14:9), we understand that Paul was dealing with Christ in this passage. At the
very least, Paul failed to make a precise distinction between K yrios and God. 13

• •190* • We can now look at a second illustration which contextually equates Jesus with deity. At
Romans 11:34-35, Paul quoted Isaiah 40:13, saying:

Or, "Who has come to [know Jehovah's mind — NWJ],
eyvw vovv Kupiou
knew mind of Lord [KIT]

or who has become his counselor?" Or, "Who has first given to him, so that it must be repaid to
him?"

In the passage above, Paul was quoting a Hebrew Scripture verse, and yet he was using K yrios.
Clearly Isaiah 40:13 used the divine name in the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet, as Paul quoted the passage
at Romans 11, he used the word K yrios, which he most frequently used to refer to Lord. Again we
encounter a difficulty with this passage in that Paul did not give us a clear indication of whether h e
was referring to Lord or Jehovah. This ambiguity indicates to us that the Apostle Paul did not make a
distinction of eternal standing between them. Rather, he indicated by the lack of precision that what
was true of Jehovah in Isaiah was true of Jesus in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

A significant number of the 237 Jehovah passages found in the New World Translation fall directly
into this last category wherein Jesus was contextually equated with deity. That is, the writer (or
speaker) often introduces an indistinct meaning by failing to establish a clear demarcation between the
Lord (in reference to Jesus) and Jehovah. This becomes a fact of great significance when the word K yrios
is studied in the Christian Greek Scriptures. God does not make a precise distinction between Jesus and

11 Grammatically, K yrios can be either a subject or an object. In this passage: 1 . K yrio ( Kupico) is an indirect
object; 2. K yrios (Kupios) is a subject; 3. K yriou (Kupiou) is possessive; and 4. K yriuse (Kupieuari) is a
subjunctive verb.

12 The reader should study the Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes for these verses. He would be surprised
at the limited number of Hebrew translations found to support Jehovah. Verse 4 cites only one footnote reference
(J 18 ). Verse 6 cites four for the first occurrence (J 7 < 8 < 13 < 18 ) and three for the second occurrence (J 7,813 ). Both
instances in verse 8 cite the same six (J7,B,13-15,1B)_ | n review, the reader should also evaluate the contrasting
dates of the earliest Greek manuscripts and those of the later Hebrew versions.

13 We are referring to an indistinct meaning within the Greek text which uses K yrios. Obviously, when the word
Jehovah is inserted into the passage, the distinction is well defined, though it is imposed on the text from the
outside.

114 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Jehovah in terms of their eternal status.

This indistinct meaning has an important practical application for Bible translation. Inasmuch as
the Tetragrammaton is not used in the Greek Scriptures, all passages which were translated as
Jehovah in the New World Translation must rightfully now be translated as Lord where K yrios is found
in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (We must reiterate our earlier statement. No translator is
free to change the wording of inspired Scripture simply because it does not fit a preconceived
theological notion. If certain verses were written as K yrios (Kupios), then a translator must render that
as Lord and not Jehovah. From the textual information available today, we know the inspired writers
intended to say Kupios; they did not intend to say mil''!) 14

An inescapable conclusion

• • 191* • In our discussion of the word choice given to the original writers of the Greek Scriptures in
Chapter 11, we listed three options they could have exercised. In that chapter, we suggested that only
two valid options were available to them. They either used quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures
and copied the Tetragrammaton, or else they used K yrios in place of the divine name. Because the focus
of this book has been the use of the Tetragrammaton, to this point we have basically let the
explanation stand which says that the original writers used K yrios in place of the divine name.

By this point in the book, we understand that the Tetragrammaton was not used by the original
writers. (We understand, however, that not all will accept the textual and historical information
given in this book as correct.) Therefore, we must consider purposeful indistinct meaning as the writing
method used by the apostolic writers in these instances.

We now need to reach a final conclusion regarding the actions of the inspired Christian Scripture
writers, not only when they were quoting Hebrew Scripture, but in their general use of the term K yrios
and their intended meaning.

We are faced with the inescapable conclusion that the Greek Scripture writers, under inspiration,
purposely allowed K yrios to have a broader meaning. In certain places, they used K yrios to refer to
Jehovah. In other instances, they used the same word to refer to a title of Jesus. Sometimes the context
makes its intended meaning clear. Many times it could include either. Most often the title was applied
specifically to Jesus.

No inspired Christian Scripture writer ever explained this indistinct meaning within the
Scriptures. We do not have a chapter-and-verse reference saying that this is what they did. We
simply have a Greek manuscript (which we believe to be inerrant and inspired) which uses the word
K yrios to refer to both Jehovah and Jesus. Only if that indistinct meaning was acceptable to the divine
author could it be allowed to exist. As we now know, God did not have the original writers insert the
Tetragrammaton in order to distinguish between the persons of Jesus and the Father.

Every indication is that the Christian Greek Scripture writers saw no conflict in using K yrios to
represent both the divine name and to ••192»» identify Jesus. We are left with the conclusion that
they did so because they understood Jesus himself to share Jehovah's eternal attributes.

This does not mean that the inspired Christian writers understood Jehovah and Jesus to be a single
entity. 15 It means that the inspired Christian writers could say of Jesus regarding his eternal
characteristics that which they also understood to be true of Jehovah.

CHAPTER SUMMARY. The findings of previous chapters established that the Christian Greek
Scripture writers did not use the Tetragrammaton (iTliT) in their Greek writings. That finding leaves us

14 It is important that we not be misunderstood. The Tetragrammaton is incontestably verifiable in the Hebrew
Scriptures. The author holds in high regard those translators who have made the effort to use a proper translation
ofmiT rather than Lord. However, inasmuch as the Tetragrammaton is not found in any existing manuscripts of
the Greek Scriptures, it is a violation of inspiration to insert the name where there is no evidence that the original
writers used it.

15 There was a heresy called Modalism from the third century which made exactly this assertion claiming that the
Father, Jesus, and the Spirit were merely separate modes of manifestations representing a single being.

The Indistinct Meaning of K yri os 115

with the reality that the word K yrios was used by the Greek Scripture writers to refer to both Jesus and
Jehovah.

1. In some instances, the word K yrios was clearly used in reference to Jehovah. Passages such as Luke

5:17 set Jesus apart from K yrios.

2. In other cases, Jesus was contextually equated with Jehovah. In Romans 14:3-9, the early and late

context talks about Christ. However, in the main body of the verses, within the context of teaching
about Christ, Paul used K yri OS and God as functional synonyms. In these passages, K yrios was often
given attributes belonging only to God.

3. In the absence of a distinctive contrast between K yrios and the Tetragrammaton (mil"), we are left

with the inescapable conclusion that the inspired Christian Scripture writers, under inspiration of
God, used the word K yri OS with a dual meaning. They allowed the word to represent either the
person of K yrios (Jesus) or the one identified as HIPP (God). They did not differentiate between the
attributes or prerogatives of one or the other in such indistinct cases.

116
Chapter 15: WHAT K Y R I OS MEANS TO ME

I

n the Overview, the ••193* • reader was told that this book began as a personal study. Explaining
more now will help you understand why this book was written and the effect of the study on my life.

God sent two Witnesses

In 1983, two Witnesses came to our home. They were gracious and articulate gentlemen, well-
informed and knowledgeable concerning their beliefs. They favorably represented the Watch Tower
Society, and expressed a willingness to maintain contact through study.

At the time, I had been active in Christian churches for many years. However, I knew little of the
Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrine. At first, I was primarily interested in learning about Witnesses. (Of
course, as any Witness who has spent time in field service understands, I also wanted to defend my
"evangelical Protestant" point of view.)

In our early discussions, we went through a familiar process of exchanging theological opinions,
each of us attempting to persuade the other with our favorite verses. The conversations were enjoyable,
but neither they, nor I, were convincing the other.

Two personal decisions

At this point, I made two decisions which completely altered the way I responded to these two
Witnesses as well as the subject itself.

1. First, I decided that I would learn from Witnesses themselves. That meant that I would study from
the New World Translation, I would read other Watch Tower publications, I would occasionally
attend Kingdom Hall meetings, and, above all, I would not find my answers in books written to
criticize the teachings of the Watch Tower Society.

2. Secondly, and most importantly, I decided that I would be open to God and allow him to direct me

into truth. That was a frightening — yet liberating — decision. I decided that if, after my study, I
discovered that Jesus was who the Watch Tower Organization claimed him to be, then I would
acknowledge him as such. 1

The Tetragrammaton study begins

••194»» Through reading the Watch Tower literature given to me, I realized that the Society's
teaching concerning the Tetragrammaton was of paramount importance. I obtained a copy of the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation and began an exhaustive study of each occurrence of the word K yrios
( Kwpios') in the entire Christian Greek Scriptures. The initial study took almost two years. Much
additional study on Tetragrammaton-related material was done after that.

The initial study from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation was guided by its footnote references
which are shown in Appendix A. I then located all the K yrios (Kupios) verses with the help of J 20 .

1 Simply stated, I believed with less certainty then — as I believe now with great assurance after my study of the
biblical information associated with the Greek word K yrios — that Scripture fully identifies Jesus with Jehovah God
himself. Witnesses merely believe that Jesus is God's first and highest creation. The contrast is immense when
one considers that, in salvation, we have God's righteousness through Jesus. (See Romans 4:24-5:2 and 2
Corinthians 5:20b-21 .) The difference is whether, because of Christ's death and resurrection, the one who believes
receives merely the righteousness of the highest of God's created beings, or infinitely greater, the full
righteousness of Jehovah God himself. In the first instance, that righteousness would cover only the sin of Adam,
because Jesus' righteousness would be the righteousness of one who was also created. In the latter, the gift of
Jesus' righteousness is the righteousness of "the Lord God Almighty," which assures a secure eternity with him
requiring no additional saving work on the believer's part.

What K yrios Means to Me 117

(Appendix G shows only the mil" entries from J^O. The actual K yrios references from J^O are reproduced
in Appendix C.) 1^0 also gave me the information identifying the Hebrew Scripture quotations which
used the divine name. Finally, the entire list of K yrios verses (and the remaining T heos verses included
in the 237 Jehovah references) was organized in the form of Appendix B. After the K yrios study was
completed, I examined other areas relating to the Tetragrammaton such as the writings of the
patristics (the material in Chapter 10), the George Howard paper (Appendix D), and studies of actual
ancient Greek manuscripts themselves (Chapter 8, Appendix E, Appendix F, Appendix H, Appendix I,
and others). In addition, a considerable amount of time was spent reading in the area of textual
criticism and related subjects dealing with the Greek text and its manuscripts.

My first area of concentration, however, was the K yrios study which has been described in
Chapters 3 and 4, with the resulting entries reproduced in Appendix B. For almost two years I spent as
much as an hour a day, three or four days a week, locating and cross-referencing verses from the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation and the New World Translation. Week after week as I located each
K yrios reference, I began to see a pattern develop. This was particularly true in those verses with a
cross reference to the Hebrew Scriptures in the column entitled Hebrew Scripture quotation using the
divine name or the following column Hebrew Scripture quotation referring to the divine name
(Appendix B). A trend was becoming unmistakably clear. ••195 ,# The Hebrew Scripture quotation
was clearly talking about Jehovah. Yet, when a Christian Greek Scripture writer used the same
passage, he often ascribed the verse to Jesus 2 using the title Lord. For example, Isaiah 45:22-24 says:

For I am God, and there is no one else. By my own self I have sworn... that to me every knee will
bend down, every tongue will swear, saying 'Surely in Jehovah there are full righteousness and
strength.'

But when the Apostle Paul quoted these verses at Romans 14:11 according to the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation Greek text, he attributed the quotation to the Lord. The passage
appears as follows in both Greek and English in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation:

yeypaTrrai yap Zco eyu, Xeyei Kiipios,

it has been written for Am living I, is saying Lord

otl 6|iol Kd(xi|jeL Tray yovu, kcu. Traaot yXcoaaa
that to me will bend every knee, and every tongue

e£op,oXoyrjo"eTai tc3 9eio.
will confess to the God.

A memorable conversation

Throughout the time I was involved in the initial parts of my study, the two Witnesses mentioned
earlier graciously maintained contact with me.

A conversation took place in our living room in which an Overseer said that his faith was not
dependent on the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. When I heard his
statement, I was aware of the remark's inconsistency. I had already learned enough to know that his
statement could not be true. Much of my study since then has been cognizant of the seriousness of his
lack of understanding. Whether or not he knew it, his faith was absolutely dependent on this single
teaching of the Watch Tower Society.

• •196* • Without the Tetragrammaton in the original Greek Scriptures, this Overseer must
acknowledge that the one bearing the title K yrios (Kupios) stands as fully identified with mil 1 .

2 This needs to be carefully stated so that it is not misleading. In the strictest sense, the Greek Scripture writers
did not usually quote a Hebrew Scripture passage and insert the name of Jesus. (There are exceptions such as
Philippians 2:10-11. However, the Philippians passage does not identify Isaiah as the source of quotation.) What
the Greek Scripture writers did do was quote a Hebrew Scripture verse which identified Jehovah. Then they used
the Greek word K yrios (which was clearly a Greek title of Jesus) in place of the divine name. This was done
repeatedly with no attempt to clarify whether they were referring to Jehovah or the Lord Jesus. It is this dual
meaning introduced by the Greek Scripture writers themselves which led me to realize that they were not concerned
with making a distinction of substance between Jehovah and Lord Jesus. This was the subject of Chapter 14.

118 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

My personal realization

The pattern was clear. The Hebrew Scripture writers spoke of Jehovah. Yet, when quoting the
same passages, the Christian Greek Scripture writers used the Greek word Lord (Kupios). Ultimately,
this left me with only one of two possible options.

The first option would be to recognize that the Greek text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
was faulty, but that it could be explained by the removal of the Tetragrammaton in the second or third
centuries. Though the thought of a faulty Scripture text was troubling, it was a question which could be
answered through a careful search for evidence of the Tetragrammaton in the original Greek
documents.

The second option was that, under inspiration of God, the K yrios (Lord) of the Greek Scriptures was
identified with Jehovah of the Hebrew Scriptures by the original Greek Scripture writers themselves.

I looked at every possibility which would show me that these verses used the Tetragrammaton, but
there was none. However, if these verses did not use the Tetragrammaton, then I was left with only one
conclusion. The Jesus of the Christian Greek Scriptures is none other than the One identified with HUT
(Jehovah) in human form. Without any fear of blaspheming the name of Jehovah, the writers of the
Christian Greek Scriptures could say of Jesus as Lord exactly what the Hebrew Scripture writers said of
Jehovah. The Apostle John could include Jesus as "God, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8, 4:11, and
others).

The Lord's Evening Meal

I attended a Memorial service during the time I was completing this book. The Elder giving the
talk emphasized the symbolism in the bread and the wine. As I saw the emblems passed, however, I
could not help but see another symbolism poignantly displayed.

It was as if each publisher received the bread or wine, then reviewed his life before passing the
emblem to the person next to him. Although he knew the answer in advance, it was as if he asked
himself the following question in that brief interval:

I have averaged ten hours a month in field service for many years of my life. I faithfully attend five
meetings each week. I have given time for temporary pioneering. I have sacrificed many things to
be one of Jehovah's Witnesses; it has cost me much in my education and employment, it has taken
much of my life's energy and free time. It has even separated me from dear family members.

• •197»» Now, having done all of that, as I look at this bread and wine, has Jehovah God
established a covenant relationship with me so that I can joyfully partake of it? Do I know that I am "in
union with Christ Jesus hav[ing] no condemnation?" (Romans 8:1 )

No. I cannot say that of myself. I have been left out. I must pass this bread and wine to the
person next to me and let him decide if he has a covenant relationship with God.

What a graphic display of defeat! 3

Yet, at Romans 8:2, 10-11, and 14-17, God's Word says,

For the law of that spirit which gives life in union with Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of
sin and of death. ..But if Christ is in union with YOU, the body indeed is dead on account of sin, but
the spirit is life on account of righteousness. If, now, the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the
dead dwells in YOU, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also make YOUR mortal bodies

3 Interestingly, the Watch Tower Society even publishes the extent of this defeat in its Yearbook. Each year, the
"Worldwide Memorial Attendance" is reported in conjunction with the "Memorial Partakers Worldwide." However,
because of the large number of visitors to the Memorial service, a more accurate comparison must be made by
using the number of "Peak of Publishers in Kingdom Service" with those partaking. If we choose any year as an
example (1997 was used for this illustration), and reduce these two numbers to a percentage figure, we find that for
this year's memorial service, 99.84 percent of the publishers were defeated followers of Jehovah in spite of their
1,179,735,841 hours spent in field service. (8,795 Memorial Partakers divided by 5,599,931 Peak of Publishers
equals 0.16 percent who claim a covenant relationship with God. 100 percent minus 0.16 percent equals 99.84
percent of Witnesses worldwide who have been excluded from this covenant relationship.) (1998 Yearbook of
Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 31.) Similar figures are published each year. The Lord's evening meal was given to
believers to eat and to drink (not merely to observe and to pass) in celebration of their participation in Christ's
victory on their behalf as "Heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17; see also 1 Corinthians
11:23-26).

What K yri os Means to Me 119

alive through his spirit that resides in YOU...

For all who are led by God's spirit, these are God's sons. For YOU did not receive a spirit of slavery
causing fear again, but YOU received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: "Abba,
Father!" The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God's children. If,
then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with
Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together.

Nothing Paul wrote in the book of Romans leads us to believe that these wonderful truths apply
only to a special class of Christians. 4 ••198 ,# Rather, these truths are a reality for all who place
their faith in Christ Jesus. (Carefully read the entire book of Romans. Pay particular attention to
chapters 3 through 8.)

The power of salvation is in the person of the Savior himself. If Jesus is fully identified with
Jehovah God in all his attributes and power, then the salvation he offers gives to us the righteousness
of Almighty God himself.

The one who did not know sin he made to be sin for us, that we might become God's
righteousness by means of him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Wonderful changes in my life

In the years following the completion of my K yrios study, two marvelous changes began to take
place in my life from this Scriptural understanding of Jesus. First, I began to experience a life in which
the power of Jesus in me was, in reality, the power of Jehovah God himself. It is the One who is fully
identified with Jehovah God, and who lived in human form who says to me, "I am with you all the
days until the conclusion of the system of things" (Matthew 28:20).

A second change began, and continues to grow with new delights each day of my life. Jesus gave me
a great love for himself. I love him deeply. It has been the most moving experience of my life. I spend
much time with him because I love him. I trust him implicitly because ••199»» I love him. I can love
and trust him because I know who he truly is. 5 What a joy it is to know him and to serve him because I
love him. I am not compelled to serve him merely to secure a future reward.

As I write the paragraph above, I want you to know that I have no sense that this great love for
Jesus is anything which I deserve or have earned. Nor is it anything which I am capable of producing
by my own effort. It is a love which he has given to me by his undeserved kindness. I do not deserve it,
yet he has given it to me as a free gift. 6

the depth of God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable his judgments [are]
and past tracing out his ways [are]! (Romans 1 1 :33)

Has your faith as a Witness led you into a deep love for Jesus? Do others in your Kingdom Hall

4 Romans 9:1-33 is certainly addressing Jehovah's right to determine whom He will choose. But notice that the
choice is between those who will receive his ultimate blessing and those who will be rejected by him. The first 16
verses contain Paul's lament for Israel's refusal to acknowledge Messiah. Thus, "not all who [spring] from Israel are
really 'Israel.'" (vs 6) resulting in "the children in the flesh [who] are not really the children of God." (vs 8) In verse 17
Paul uses Pharaoh as an example of one Jehovah has chosen to demonstrate his power, "For this very cause I
[Jehovah] have let your remain, that in connection with you I may show my power, and that my name may be
declared in all the earth." (vs 17) From these two examples, Paul establishes two categories; those to whom mercy
is shown and those who remain obstinate. "So, then, upon whom he wishes he has mercy, but whom he wishes he
lets become obstinate." (vs 18) Paul then elaborates the theme showing that Jehovah may choose like a potter
between "vessels of wrath made fit for destruction" and "vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
namely us." (vss 22-23) Verses 24-29 again apply Jehovah's choice to Israel in contrast to Sodom and Gomorrah.
The chapter concludes by applying Jehovah's choice to the "people of the nations, although not pursuing
righteousness, caught up with righteousness, the righteousness that results from faith." (vs 30)

This entire passage is dealing with Jehovah's choice between those who will be either rejected or those who will
receive righteousness through faith. There is no suggestion of any kind from this passage that Jehovah is
choosing between two classes of Christians.

5 Of course, I will never know everything about Jesus. I am simply attempting to communicate that, until I
understood his identity with Jehovah, I could not fully appropriate his greatness and blessing in my life.

6 You also need to understand that this love for Jesus in no way replaces my love for the Father. In fact, as Jesus
has given me a love for himself, he has also given me a deeper love for the Father. Notice what John 14:21 really
says: the Father loves me precisely because I love Jesus.

120 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

serve him because they truly love him?

Do you long to have a relationship with Jehovah based on a deep mutual love; an unshakable
assurance of his compassionate love for you, and a daily joy in your love for him?

May I suggest, that you simply ask him for that which he truly wants you to have?

7 esus, show me who you really are. I don't deserve it, but I want you to give me a deep love for
yourself. I want to enjoy loving you."

Ask him daily for his gift. He wants to give this great love for himself to you. In fact, he wants
this for you so much that he died and came back to life so that you might have it. 7

"In turn he that loves me will be loved by
my Father, and I will love him and
will plainly show myself to him."

•■••"■•■••""•John 14:21

7 Do you realize that when Jesus was asked to state the greatest commandment in the law he did not tell the
Pharisee asking the question that the greatest commandment involved doing Kingdom ministry? Instead, Jesus
said, '"You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind'"
(Matthew 22:34-40). Is a deep love for Jehovah your greatest area of service?

121

Epilogue

••200 ,# There are numerous questions which remain unanswered because they are outside the
historical and textual evidence we used for our study of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. Yet one question must be considered, if only briefly.

If the Tetragrammaton is not in the Christian Greek Scriptures, has God's name been forgotten?

God's name is not esoteric

God's name is not obscure in its meaning, nor limited to a select few. When God gave his name to
Moses in Exodus 3:14-15, we read:

At this God said to Moses: "I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be (rrrm -\m n:rm)."
And he added: "This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, 1 SHALL PROVE TO BE (rPHK) has
sent me to YOU.'" Then God said once more to Moses: "This is what you are to say to the sons of
Israel, 'Jehovah (fnrr) the God of YOUR forefathers. . . has sent me to YOU. . . '"

In all probability, God used a common verb for his name. 1 The word rPHK is the first person
singular form of the verb to be. God used the verb in the imperfect tense, implying that the action of
the verb is continuous; I AM [BEING], or I SHALL PROVE TO BE.

A striking omission

Why did God choose to convey his name through a language without vowel markings? The absence
of vowel identification in written Hebrew almost certainly assured that the pronunciation (though not
the accuracy of the written information) would be lost. God could have provided a written language
vehicle in order to preserve pronunciation had it been his purpose!

Does God's choice of a (presumably) common verb for his name, and his choice of a language vehicle
with no written vowel markings tell us something? Is it possible that, to God himself, the importance
of his ••201 ## name is not to be found in its exact spelling or pronunciation, but in the meaning and
reverence which it commands?

God's name in the Christian Greek Scriptures

After a careful evaluation of the best manuscript evidence, we must now conclude that, in fact, God
did not introduce iTliT into the Christian Greek Scriptures. Rather, just as he had done in Moses' day,
he again used a common word to convey his name and his identity. He chose the everyday Greek word
K yrios . For the Greek speakers of the day, this word could be used to describe a despised slave master.
It could also serve as a polite form of address. To the devout Jews who knew the Septuagint, it was used
to identify Jehovah himself!

Is God's personal name found in the Christian Greek Scriptures? It most certainly is! The Messianic
(Christian) Jews of the first century understood K yrios in the early pages of the Gospel of Matthew and
Luke to be referring to Jehovah God. These same Jews read Romans, Hebrews, or the other epistles
wherein the writer quoted Hebrew Scriptures and also understood K yrios to be a reference to Jehovah.
But by God's own design, these Jews who acknowledged Jesus to be the promised Messiah, also
understood the complete identification of Jesus in the word K yrios. God's name in the Christian Greek
Scriptures was no longer restricted to its previous form.

1 Not all scholars agree. The Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, (p. 210) says, "Therefore we may well
hold that YHWH does not come from the verb hawa [HIH] which is cited in the first person 'ehyeh "I will be," but is an
old word of unknown origin which sounded something like what the verb hawa sounded in Moses' day. In this case
we do not know what the pronunciation was; we can only speculate." However, our example is in agreement with the
New World Translation Reference Edition (1984, p. 1561) which states, "The divine name is a verb, the causative
form, the imperfect state, of the Hebrew verb mil (ha-wah', "to become")."

122 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Readers and hearers of the original inspired Christian writings understood the word K yrios to be an
ordinary term used in everyday language. It was a common form of address — and sometimes, of
derision. As they heard the word read in the Greek Scriptures, they allowed the context to define its
meaning.

From their early familiarity with the Septuagint, Gentile and Messianic Jews alike understood
that K yrios could also identify Jehovah God. Thus, with the full reverence due their Sovereign God,
Messianic Jews could understand K yrios to mean mil" of their Hebrew Scriptures. At the same time, the
Gentile believers could understand K yrios to be T heos (9eog), the Almighty God of the Septuagint.

The early Christian Jews and Gentiles alike, however, understood that K yrios was also a title of
Jesus who was unmistakably identified with mil'', the God of heaven.

The Apostle Paul — the most prominent Messianic Jew in all of history — could identify both Jesus
and miT with the inclusive title K yrios when he wrote to the Hebrew Christians. Quoting Psalm 118:6,
which used the divine name (mil"), he said,

So that we may be of good courage and say: K yrios (Kupios) [Jehovah — NWJ] is my helper; I will
not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 1 3:6).
• »202» • Yet, in the same chapter, Paul said of Jesus at Hebrews 13:20:

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with
the blood of an everlasting covenant, our K yrios (Kupiov) [Lord — NWJ] Jesus, equip YOU with every
good thing to do his will.

The Gospel writer Luke used the same word to identify both Jesus as Lord and the God of the
Septuagint. Addressing the Gentile official Theophilus, he wrote at Luke 1:76-77 while quoting the
Septuagint form of Malachi 3:1:

But as for you, young child, you will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go in
advance before K yrios (laipiou) [Jehovah — NWJ] to make his ways ready, to give knowledge of
salvation to his people by forgiveness of their sins.

Yet, throughout his Gospel, Luke used the same Greek word to identify Jesus as Lord to this Greek-
speaking nobleman. Immediately following the verses quoted from Malachi, Luke wrote at Luke 2:10-
11:

But the angel said to them: "Have no fear, for, look! I am declaring to YOU good news of a great
joy that all the people will have, because there was born to YOU today a Savior, who is Christ the
K yrios (Kupios) [Lord — NWJ] in David's city.

So, also, each of the Christian Greek Scripture writers used K yrios most frequently as a title for
Jesus. Yet, they also identified Jesus with God the Almighty by using the same word.

Does God have a name in the Christian Scriptures?

The purpose of this brief epilogue is to suggest a tentative answer to the necessary question, "Does
God have a name in the Christian Greek Scriptures if m!T was not used in the original Greek
manuscripts?"

How did the early Gentile Christians address the Sovereign God? If the Tetragrammaton was not
used by the inspired Christian writers — as we have seen that it surely was not — how was God known?

The earliest Greek manuscripts indicate to us that the original writers, under inspiration,
identified him as K yrios to the Gentile world! 2

2 This in no way mitigates against use of the divine name. It does, however, recognize the difference between the
Hebrew language Tetragrammaton (mil") and a different Greek word used in the Christian Scriptures (K y Tl OS). Both
God's personal name from the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Title Lord from the Christian Greek Scriptures should be
freely used today.

SECTIOT-sT 5

APPENDICES

Page 205 Appendix A: "J" Reference Sources

Page 217 Appendix B: Comparison of 237 Jehovah References

Page 225 Appendix C: K yri OS in the Christian Greek Scriptures

Page 236 Appendix D: The George Howard Study

Page 245 Appendix E: The Greek Text of the Hebrew Versions

Page 252 Appendix F: Facsimiles of Early Greek Manuscripts

Page 258 Appendix G: 120 — miT in the Greek Concordance

Page 262 Appendix H: A Second Hebrew Version

Page 263 Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts

Page 276 Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla

Page 297 Appendix K: Nomina Sacra

Page 302 Appendix L: The Magdalen Papyrus

Page 304 Appendix M: Jehovah in Missionary Translations

Page 306 Appendix N: Correspondence with the Society

Page 313 Appendix O: A Reply to Greg Stafford

Page 317 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 327 GLOSSARY

Page 333 SCRIPTURE INDEX

Page 336 SUBJECT INDEX

123
Appendix A: "J" Reference Sources

• • 205 • • The New World Translation replaces the Greek word K yrios (and occasionally Theos) with
the divine name Jehovah 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. (Infrequently, Jehovah appears
multiple times in a single verse.) In each of these 237 instances, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
Society has published documentation supporting the translators' selection of Jehovah. Anyone wishing
to investigate the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures will want to consult
firsthand the two information sources summarized in this appendix.

1. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, copyrighted in 1969 and 1985 by the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, is a valuable and primary source of information. In each
instance where Jehovah has been inserted into the New World Translation text, the footnote
material cites occurrences of the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew language translations. The footnotes
also include representative material concerning the respective Greek word found in the earliest
Greek manuscripts. (The 1969 edition gives more complete information for the document sources i t
lists. However, the more recent 1985 edition adds new material in references J 22 through J 2 ' and
lists additional early Greek manuscripts and version sources.) The Kingdom Interlinear Translation
must be consulted firsthand for any comprehensive investigation of the Tetragrammaton in the
Christian Greek Scriptures. The information under the first heading in this appendix, Explanation
of the Symbols Used in the Marginal References, is summarized from pages 26-31 in the 1969 edition
and from pages 13-15 of the 1985 edition.

2. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition (copyrighted in 1984) is a

second source of information for this study. In addition to the biblical text, this edition contains
further explanations of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's position regarding the
Tetragrammaton in numerous appendices. This appendix information includes each of the 237
Jehovah references in the New World Translation and a comprehensive list of all "J" references to
the Tetragrammaton. The information in the second heading of this appendix, The 237 "Jehovah"
references in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation, is a summary of this
latter information. (The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, pp.
1565-1566.)

Explanation of the Symbols Used in the Marginal References

••206 #, A11 Jehovah footnotes in various editions of the New World Translation use uniform
symbols or identification entries. Ancient Greek manuscripts are identified by a symbol designation
such as X, A, B, etc. Hebrew translations are identified with a "J" followed by the appropriate
superscript and thus appear as J , J , J 3 , through J .

The following material summarizes each of the ancient Greek manuscripts, Hebrew versions, or
supplementary sources cited in the footnote section of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. The
headings for this section are used as follows: Greek (or Hebrew) text identifies the contents of the
manuscript. For Greek manuscripts, the heading Date identifies its approximate age. Hebrew versions
are identified by Publication date. Ancient versions are identified under the heading Version. The
heading Modern Greek identifies contemporary publications of the Greek Scripture text. The heading
Reference identifies miscellaneous reference works cited as "J" references.

Early Greek Manuscripts.

The following entries are ancient Greek X (Aleph)

documents which are regarded as primary Greek text: Greek Scriptures

sources for the Christian Greek Scripture text. Date: 4th century

124

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Sinaitic MS (Latin: codex Sinaiticus) is an
uncial Greek manuscript of the 4th century. It
is in codex form. It is housed in the British
Museum, London, England.

Greek text: Greek Scriptures
Date: 5th century

Alexandrine MS is an uncial Greek
manuscript of the 5th century. It is in codex
form, and originally contained the entire
Bible. It remains largely intact, containing all
but Matthew 1:1 to 25:6; John 6:50 to 8:52; and,
2 Corinthians 4:13 to 12:6. It is housed in the
British Museum, London, England.

B
Greek text: Greek Scriptures
Date: 4th century

Vatican MS. 1209 (Latin: codex Vaticanus)
is an uncial Greek manuscript from the 4th
century. It is in codex form, and originally
contained the whole Greek Bible. It presently
lacks Hebrews 9:14 to 13:25; 1 and 2 Timothy,
Titus, and Revelation. It is presumably in the
Vatican Library in Rome.

C
Greek text: Greek Scriptures
Date: 4th century

Codex Ephraemi rescriptus is a palimpsest
manuscript of the ••207»» 5th century. It
contains parts of the Gospels, Acts, the
Epistles, and Revelation. It originally
contained the entire Greek Bible, but was
erased and overwritten in the 12th century. It
is in the National Library in Paris, France.

D
Greek text: Partial Gr. Scrtps.
Date: 6th century

Codex Bezae. This symbol includes both
the Cambridge and the Clermont manuscripts.
Both are from the 6th century. A portion
containing the larger part of the Gospels,
parts of Acts, and a Latin translation of 3 John
11 to 15 is in the University of Cambridge,
England. The second portion containing the
letters of the apostle Paul with a Latin
translation is in the National Library in
Paris, France.

Greek text: Greek manuscript
Date: 9th century

Listed as Greek Uncial manuscripts from
the 9th century, Rome, G.S.

Greek text: Greek manuscripts
Date: 200 C.E. to 3rd century

This collection includes papyrus fragments
of the Chester Beatty collections Nos. 1, 2, and
3. They are designated as P 45 , P 46 , and P 47 .

P 45 (Chester Beatty 1) includes manuscript
fragments assigned to the 3rd century. These
fragments consist primarily of Gospel portions.
They are located in London, England.

P 46 (Chester Beatty 2) includes manuscript
fragments assigned to the 3rd and 4 th
centuries. These manuscripts include Romans,
1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and
Hebrews. These fragments are located in both
London, England, and Ann Arbor, Michigan,
U.S.A.

P 47 (Chester Beatty 3) includes manuscript
fragments assigned to the 3rd century. The
fragments include Revelation, chapters 9 to 17.
They are located in London, England.

P 66 (Papyrus Bodmer 2). These Greek
manuscript fragments contain portions of the
Gospel of John and are dated circa 200 C.E.
They are housed in Geneva, Switzerland.

P 74 (Papyrus Bodmer 17). These Greek
manuscript fragments contain distributed
portions of the Greek Scriptures. They are
from the 7th century and are housed in
Geneva, Switzerland.

P 75 (Papyrus Bodmer 14). These fragments
contain portions from Luke and John and are
• »208» • dated circa 200 C.E. They are housed
in Geneva, Switzerland.

"J" reference documents.

These reference works use the
Tetragrammaton (miT) in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. They are used as verification for
Jehovah in the Greek Scriptures of the NWT.
The 1969 edition of KIT lists J 1 through J 21 .

The 1985 edition adds J 22 through J 27 P a 8 es
210-213

Appendix A: "/" Reference Sources

125

J 1
Hebrew text: Matthew
Publication date: 1555

In 1555, Jean du Tillet published Matthew
in Hebrew in Paris. The original was from an
ancient manuscript found in Rome, and edited
by J. Mercerus. A copy is in the New York
Public Library.

J 2
Hebrew text: Matthew
Publication date: circa 1385

Matthew in Hebrew. This version was
completed about 1385 by Shem-Tob-ben-
Shaprut in Castille, Spain. It was part of a
work against Christianity. His Matthew in
Hebrew is included as a separate chapter. A
copy is in the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America, New York City. (Also see the
Bibliography for The Gospel of Matthew
according to a Primitive Hebrew Text by
George Howard.)

J 3
Hebrew text: Matthew
Publication date: 1537

In 1537, Sebastian Munster published a
revision of Shem-Tob's Matthew and Hebrews
in Hebrew. It was published in Basel,
Switzerland. In 1557, Munster published his
Hebrew version of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
A copy is in the New York Public Library.

J 4
Hebrew text: Matthew
Publication date: 1551

In 1551, Johannes Quinquarboreus published
a revision of Munster's Matthew in Hebrew in
Paris, France. A copy is in the New York
Public Library.

J 5
Hebrew text: Liturgical Gospels
Publication date: 1574

In 1574, Frederick Petri published a
Hebrew version of the Liturgical Gospels,
translated from Greek. It was revised in 1581
byC. Plantin at Antwerp, Belgium. A copy is
in the New York Public Library.

J 6
Hebrew text: Gospels
Publication date: 1576

In 1576, J. Claius published a translation of
the ••209* • Liturgical Gospels in Hebrew. A
copy is in the New York Public Library.

J 7
Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1599

In 1599 Elias Hutter published a
translation of his Greek Scriptures in Hebrew
in Nuremberg, Germany. This was the first
complete Hebrew translation of the entire
canonical Christian Greek Scriptures. A copy
is in the New York Public Library.

J 8
Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1661

In 1661, William Robertson published a
revision of Hutter's translation of the
Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew. A copy
is in the New York Public Library.

J 9
Hebrew text: Four Gospels
Publication date: 1639

In 1639, John Baptist Jonah completed a
translation of the four Gospels into Hebrew
from the Latin Vulgate. The work was
published in Rome in 1668. A copy is in the
Union Theological Seminary, New York City.

jlO

Hebrew text: Four Gospels
Publication date: 1800

In 1800, Dr. Richard Caddick published a
revision of the Hutter-Robertson translation of
the Gospels. A copy is found at the New York
Public Library.

jll

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1817

In 1817, T. Fry, G. B. Collyer and others
published a new translation of the Greek
Scriptures in Hebrew for the London Jewish
Society in London, England. A copy is in the
New York Public Library.

126

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

jl2

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1831

In 1831, W. Greenfield published a Hebrew
translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures.
A copy of the 1851 edition is in the library of
the American Bible Society, New York City.

jl3

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1838

In 1838, A. McCaul, J. C. Reichardt, S. Hoga
and M. S. Alexander published another
Hebrew translation of the complete Greek
Scriptures for the London Jewish Society. A
copy of the 1872 edition is in the library of the
American Bible Society, New York City.

jl4

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1846

In 1846, John Christian Reichardt
published a translation ••210* • of the
Christian Greek Scriptures in London,
England. A copy of the 1853 edition is in the
library of the American Bible Society, New
York City.

J 15
Hebrew text: Select books
Publication date: 1855

In 1855, Joachim Heinrich Raphael
Biesenthal published Luke, Acts, Romans and
Hebrews in Hebrew in Berlin, Germany. A
copy is in the New York Public Library.

J 16
Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1866

In 1866, the London Jewish Society
published a third Hebrew version of the
Christian Greek Scriptures by John Christian
Reichardt and Joachim Heinrich Raphael
Biesenthal. A copy is in the New York Public
Library.

J 17
Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1877

In 1877, Franz Delitzsch translated the
Christian Greek Scriptures into Hebrew in
Leipzig, Germany. By 1892, ten editions

containing his revisions had been published
posthumously. The editions consulted for the
NWT were printed in Germany in 1892 and in
1937 for the British and Foreign Bible Society,
London, England. The 1985 KIT edition lists a
further 1981 edition.

jl8

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1885 & other

In 1885, the Trinitarian Bible Society of
London, England, published a new translation
of the Greek Scriptures in Hebrew. The
translation work was started by Isaac
Salkinson and completed after his death by
Christian David Ginsburg. The oldest copy
used as a Tetragrammaton source is the third
edition published in 1891. The 1939 and 1941
editions were also consulted.

jl9
Hebrew text: John
Publication date: 1930

In 1930, T. C. Horton translated the Gospel
of John into Hebrew. It was published by the
British Jews Society of Haifa, Palestine. [The
1985 KIT lists this reference as a work by
Moshe I. Ben Maeir in 1957.] A copy is housed
in the library of the American Bible Society,
New York City.

J 20
Reference: A Concordance to the Greek
Testament

Note: See the Reference heading below for
the complete entry. • •211* •

J 21
Modern Greek: The Emphatic Diaglott

Note: See the Modern Greek heading below
for the complete entry.

j22

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1979

The entire Christian Greek Scriptures in
Hebrew. Published by the United Bible
Societies, Jerusalem, Israel, 1979.

j23

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1975

Appendix A: "]" Reference Sources

127

The entire Christian Greek Scriptures
translated by J. Bauchet, Rome, Italy, 1975.

j24

Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1863

In 1863 Herman Heinfetter published A
Literal Translation of the New
Testament. ..From the Text of the Vatican
Manuscript in London, England.

j25

Hebrew text: Romans
Publication date: 1900

St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans was
published by W.G. Rutherford in London,
England, 1900.

j2 6

Hebrew text: Matthew
Publication date: 1533

Anton Margaritha published the Psalms
and Matthew 1:1 through 3:6 in Leipzig,
Germany, in 1533.

J 27
Hebrew text: Greek Scriptures
Publication date: 1796

Dominik von Brentano produced Die
Heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments (third
edition) in Vienna, Austria, and Prague,
Czeckoslovakia, in 1796.

Version references.

The following entries are ancient versions
used as reference to substantiate the Greek
word K yrios in the KIT Jehovah footnotes.

Arm
Version: Greek Scriptures
Date: 4th or 5th cent, (origin)

This is an Armenian Version from either
the 4th or 5th century. The present copies,
however, are from the 9th to 13th centuries.
Copies are found in Moscow, Russia, Istanbul,
Turkey, Venice, Italy, and Armenia.

It
Version: Old Latin
Date: 4th to 6th centuries

Old Latin Versions existed among Latin-
speaking Jews and Christians. Jerome

produced the widely circulated Latin Vulgate.
Three Old Latin version families are
identified: (1) the African, ••212* • (2) the
European, and (3) the Italian. Some versions
were in existence as early as the 2nd century,
though most are derived from the 4th to 6th
centuries.

Sy
Version: Syriac versions
Date: 464 C.E. to 6th cent.

Syriac Peshitta Version. [Sy, SyP] A
Hebrew Scripture translation for Syriac
Christians. It was translated directly from
the Hebrew text. An extant manuscript may be
dated as early as 464 C.E.

Sy c identifies the Curetonian Syriac. This
version contains parts of the four Gospels.

Syh is a 7th century Philoxenian
Harkleian revision which Thomas of Harkel
made of the 6th century version of Philoxenus
of Mabug, Eastern Syria.

Syhl identifies the Jerusalem

(Hierosolymitanum) version. It is assigned to
the 6th century.

Sy s identifies the Sinaitic Syriac codex,
assigned to the 4th and 5th centuries C.E. It
contains the Gospels.

Vg
Version: Vulgate
Date: 405 C.E.

Vulgata Latina or Latin Vulgate.
Originally revised from the Old Latin text by
Eusebius Jerome. It makes reference to the
original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. It was
begun in 383 C.E. and finished in 405 C.E.

Modern Greek.

The following references are used as
citations by the translators of the NWT in
support of the modern Greek text and related
topics:

j21
Modern Greek: Interlinear
Date: 1942 edition

This reference work has the lengthy title
The Emphatic Diaglott containing the
Original Greek Text of what is commonly
styled the New Testament (according to the

128

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Recension of Dr. }. J. Griesbach) with an
Interlineary Word for Word English
Translation — A New Emphatic Version. It
was produced by Benjamin Wilson, a
newspaper editor in Geneva, Illinois. In 1902,
the copyright and plates were given to the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The
1985 edition of KIT lists the 1942 reprint by
the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society.

Nestle-Aland
Modern Greek: Greek Scriptures
Date: 1979

The standard Christian Greek Scripture
reference Novum Testamentum Graice, 26th
ed., published in Stuttgart, Germany, 1979.

••213««

UBS
Modern Greek: Greek Scriptures
Date: 1975 Edition

The Greek New Testament, by the United
Bible Societies. Third edition, 1975.

Reference.

The following is a reference work cited by
the translators of the NWT in support of iTIiT
in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

j20

Reference: Greek concordance
Date: 1963 edition

A Concordance to the Greek Testament,
published by W. F. Moulton and A. S. Geden.
It was published by T. & T. Clark in 1897 in
Edinburgh, Scotland. The 1963 edition was
consulted. The headings of interest are the
Scripture references under ©EOT (Theos) and
KY'PIOZ (K yrios) wherein it quotes parts of the
Hebrew text containing the Tetragrammaton

(mrr).

The 237 Jehovah references in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation

• »213» • This list identifies both the Greek word found in the Westcott and Hort Greek text and the
documentation supporting its translation as Jehovah. The Greek word used in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation is designated in the center column as either K yrios {Lord ) or Theos
{God). These two words are written in Greek as KupLog and Geos respectively. The "J" and superscript
column refers to the Hebrew translations used to document mil". (See the previous section in this
appendix for identification of the superscript.) For more complete information on this listing, see the
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, pp. 1565 and 1566.

Matth
1:20
1:22
1:24
2:13
2:15
2:19
3:3
4:4
4:7
4:10
5:33
21:9
21:42
22:37
22:44
23:39
27:10
28:2

ew

Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq

Oeoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq

j3,4, 7-14,16-18,22-24

Tl-4, 7-14, 16-18, 22-24, 26
jl-4, 7-14, 16-18, 22-24
Tl-4, 6-14, 16-18, 22-24
yl, 3, 4, 6-14, 16-18, 22-24
jl-4, 6-14, 16-18, 22-24
jl-4, 7-14, 16-18, 20, 22-24, 26
jl-14,1 7,18,20,22,23
yl-14, 16-18, 20, 22-24
yl-14, 16-18, 20, 22-24
yl-4, 7-14, 16-18, 22, 23
yl-14, 16-18, 20-24
jl-4, 7-14, 16-18, 20-24
Tl-14, 16-18, 20-24
yl-14, 16-18, 20-24
yl-14, 16-18, 21-24
yl-4, 7-14, 16, 17, 22-24
jl-4, 7-13, 16-18, 22-24

Mark

1:3

Kvptoq

T7-14, 16-18, 22-24

5:19

Kvptoq

17-10,17,18,22

11:9

Kvptoq

j7, 8,10-14, 16-18, 21-24

12:11

Kvptoq

T7-14, 16-18, 21-24

12:29

Kvptoq

T7-14, 16-18, 20-24, 27

12:29

Kvptoq

y7-14,16-18,20-24

••214*

•

12:30 Kvptoq j7-l 4,1 6-1 8,21 -24
12:36 Kvptoq j7-l 4,1 6-1 8,21 -24
13:20 Kvptoq j7, 8, 10, 13, 16-18, 22-24

Luke
1:6
1:9
1:11
1:15
1:16
1:17

Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq

j7-17,23

y7-18,22,23
T7-13, 16-18, 22-24
|7, 8, 10-18, 22, 23
T7-18, 22-24
T7-18, 22-24

Appendix A: "/" Reference Sources

129

1:25

Kvpioq

t7-18,22,23

1:28

Kvpioq

t5, 7-18, 22, 23

1:32

Kvpioq

T5-18, 22-24

1:38

Kvpioq

t5, 7-18,22-24

1:45

Kvptoq

T5-18, 22-24

1:46

Kvptoq

t5-18,22,23

1:58

Kvptoq

t5-18, 22-24

1:66

Kvptoq

j5-18, 22-24

1:68

Kvptoq

|5-18,22-24

1:76

Kvptoq

t5-18, 22-24

2:9

Kvptoq

t5, 7-13, 16, 17, 22-24

2:9

Kvptoq

j5,7,8, 10-18,22-24

2:15

Kvptoq

j5, 7, 8, 10-18, 22, 23

2:22

Kvptoq

t5-18,22,23

2:23

Kvptoq

t5-18, 22-24

2:23

Kvptoq

15-18,22,23

2:24

Kvptoq

y5-18, 22-24

2:26

Kvptoq

T5-18, 22-24

2:39

Kvptoq

t5-18, 22-24

3:4

Kvptoq

t7-15, 17, 18,22-24

4:8

Kvptoq

T7-18, 22-24

4:12

Kvptoq

T7-18, 22-24

4:18

Kvptoq

T7-15, 20, 23,24

4:19

Kvptoq

T7-18, 20, 22-24

5:17

Kvptoq

y7-18, 22-24

10:27

Kvptoq

t5-18, 21-24

13:35

Kvptoq

T7-18, 21-24

19:38

Kvptoq

T7-18, 21-24

20:37

Kvptoq

t9, 11-18, 21-24, 27

20:42

Kvptoq

T7-18, 21-24

John

1:23

Kvptoq

T5-14, 16-19, 22-24

6:45

Oeoq

t7, 8, 10, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23

12:13

Kvptoq

y7-14, 16-19, 21-24

12:38

Kvptoq

T12-14, 16-18, 22,23

12:38

Kvptoq

T7-14, 16-20,22-24

Acts

1:24

Kvptoq

t7, 8,10, 22, 23

2:20

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-18, 20, 22-24

2:21

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-18, 20, 22-24

2:25

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-18, 20, 22, 23

2:34

Kvptoq

y7, 8, 10-18, 21-24

2:39

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 22-24

2:47

Kvptoq

t7,8,10

3:19

Kvptoq

yl 3-18,22,23

3:22

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-18, 20, 22-24

4:26

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-18, 20, 22, 23

4:29

Kvptoq

t7,8,10

5:9

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18, 22-24

5:19

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18, 22-24

7:31

Kvptoq

yll-18, 22-24

7:33

Kvptoq

yll-18,22,23

7:49

Kvptoq

yll-18, 20, 22-24

7:60

Kvptoq

t17,18,22,23

8:22

Kvptoq

t1 8,22,23

8:24

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18, 22, 23

8:25

8:26

8:39

9:31

10:33

11:21

12:7

12:11

12:17

12:23

12:24

13:2

13:10

13:11

13:12

13:44

13:47

13:48

13:49

14:3

14:23

15:17

15:17

15:35

15:36

15:40

16:14

16:15

16:32

18:21

18:25

19:20

21:14

••215««

Romans
4:3
4:8
9:28
9:29
10:13
10:16
11:3
11:34
12:11
12:19
14:4
14:6
14:6
14:6
14:8
14:8
14:8
14:11
15:11

Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq

Oeoq
Kvptoq

Oeoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq
Kvptoq

Oeoq

deoq
Kvptoq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq

Oeoq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq
Kvpioq

y7, 8, 10, 17, 18

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18, 22-24

yl3, 15-18, 22-24

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22

jl 7,18,23

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16

t7,8,10

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

t7,8,10,23

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

y7,8, 10, 15-18,22

y7,8,10

t17,22

t7, 8, 10, 22, 23

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15-17

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

y7, 8, 10, 15-18, 23

t7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16

jll-18, 22,23

t7,8, 10-18, 20,22

jl 7,18,22,23

y7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 22

jl 7,18,22

t7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 23

t7,8,10

t7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 22

J 17

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16

y7, 8, 10, 13, 15-18

t7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 23

22,23

22-24
18,23

22-24

22,23
22,23
24

22,23
22,23

24

2 3

2 3

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10-

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10-

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10-

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10-

t18,23

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10,

t7,8,10

t7,8,10

17,20,22

18,20,22-25

13,16,20,25

18,20,22-24

13-18,22-24

13-18,23

18,23,25

13-18,20,22-25

13,16,18

18,22-24

13,16,18,22,24

13,16,18,22,24

13,16,22,24

13-16,18

13-16,18

13-16,18

18,22-25

18,20,22,23,25

1 Corinthians
1:31 Kvpioq

t7, 8, 10-14, 16-18, 22-24

130

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

2:16

Kvptoq

jl3,14,16-18,22-24

3:20

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-14, 16-18, 20, 22-24

4:4

Kvptoq

y7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 23, 24

4:19

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 22, 23

7:17

Kvptoq

See footnote in
NWT Ref. Edition.

10:9

Kvptoq

yl8,22,23

10:21

Kvptoq

t7,8,10,24

10:21

Kvptoq

t7,8,10,24

10:22

Kvptoq

t7,8,10,14

10:26

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16-18,

20,22,23

11:32

Kvptoq

jl 3,16,18

14:21

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10-14, 16-18, 22-24

16:7

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16-18, 22, 23

16:10

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16-18, 24

2 Corii

ithians

3:16

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 22, 24

3:17

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16

3:17

Kvptoq

j7,8,13,14,16,22,24

3:18

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 22, 24

3:18

Kvptoq

j7,8,13,14,16,22,24

6:17

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 11-14, 16-18, 22-24

6:18

Kvptoq

t7,8, 11-14, 16-18,22-24

8:21

Kvptoq

t7,8,24

10:17

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

10:18

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22, 23

Galatians

3:6

Oeoq

J7,8

Ephesians

2:21

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 16-18, 22-24

5:17

Kvptoq

J7,8

5:19

Kvptoq

t7, 8,13, 16,23

6:4

Kvptoq

j7,8,22,24

6:7

Kvptoq

J7,8

6:8

Kvptoq

j22,24

Colossians

1:10

Kvptoq

J7,8

3:13

Kvptoq

J2 3

3:16

Oeoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 17

3:22

Kvptoq

jl 8,22

3:23

Kvptoq

t7,8, 17,18,22, 23

3:24

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

1 Thessalonians

1:8 Kvptoq j7, 8, 17, 18, 22, 23

4:6 Kvptoq j7, 8, 17, 18,22-24

4:15 Kvptoq j7, 8, 17, 18, 24

5:2 Kvptoq j7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

2 Thessalonians

2:2 Kvptoq jl 8,22,23

2:13 Kvptoq jl3, 16,24
3:1 Kvptoq j7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22,23

2 '

rimothy

1:18

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

2:19

Kvptoq

y7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 20, 22-24

2:19

Kvptoq

t18, 22-24

4:14

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 16-18, 22, 23

Hebrews

2

13

Oeoq

t3, 7, 8, 17, 20, 22

7

21

Kvptoq

t3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

8

2

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13-16, 18, 22, 23

8

8

Kvptoq

t3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

8

9

Kvptoq

y3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

8

10

Kvptoq

y3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

8

11

Kvptoq

t3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22, 23

10:16

Kvptoq

t3, 7, 8, 11-18, 22-24

10:30

Kvptoq

t3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

12:5

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

12:6

Kvptoq

y3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

13:6

Kvptoq

y3, 7, 8, 11-18, 20, 22-24

••216««

James
1:7
1:12
2:23
2:23
3:9
4:10
4:15
5:4
5:10
5:11
5:11
5:14
5:15

Kvptoq |7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22, 23

y7, 8, 13, 16, 17

Oeoq jl4, 17, 20,22

Oeoq Jl7

Kvptoq Jl8,2 3

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22, 23

Kvptoq |7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22, 23

Kvptoq y7, 8, 11-14, 16-18, 22-24

Kvptoq j7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 14, 16, 18,22-24

Kvptoq j7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18,22

Kvptoq T7,8,13, 14, 16-18, 22,23

1 Peter

1:25 Kvptoq

3:12 Kvptoq

3:12 Kvptoq

2 Peter
2:9
2:11
3:8
3:9
3:10
3:12

Jude

5
9

14

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 20, 22, 23
y7, 8, 11-14, 16-18, 20, 22-24
y7,8, 11-14, 16-18, 20, 22,24

Kvptoq j7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 16-18,22-24

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 16-18,22-24

Kvptoq J7, 8, 13, 16-18,22-24

9eoq j7,8,17

Kvptoq J7, 8, 11-14, 16-18,22,23
KvplO |7, 8, 11-14, 16-18, 22-24
Kvptoq y7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

Revelation
1:8 Kvptoq

4:8 Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24
t7, 8, 11-14, 16-18, 22, 24

Appendix A: "/" Reference Sources

131

4:11

Kvptoq

17,8,13,14,16,18

11:17

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18,22, 23

15:3

Kvptoq

t7,8, 13, 14, 16-18,22, 23

15:4

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18,22, 23

16:7

Kvptoq

Tl3, 14, 16-18,22, 23

18:8

Kvptoq

t7,8, 13, 14, 16-18,22-24

19:6

Kvptoq

t7,8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22-24

21:22

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 13, 14, 16-18, 22, 23

22:5

Kvptoq

t7, 8, 11-14, 16-18,22-24

22:6

Kvptoq

|7,8, 13, 14,16-18,22, 24

Appendix B: Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References

• •217-222* •

132

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O 01

2! = —

J3 W *

3 -C

01 3 LU

01 $>

£

I

I £

u

E

Matthew

1:20

Kupiou

Lord

301-400 1

1537

Jehovah

X

1:22

Kupiou 2

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Is 7:14

1:24

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

2:13

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

2:15

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ho 11:1

2:19

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

3:3

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Is 40:3 3

4:4

9eou 4

God

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt8:3

4:7

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt 6:16

4:10

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt 6:13

5:33

Kupiw 5

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Lv 19:12

21:9

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

21:42

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 118:23

22:37

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Dt 6:5

22:44

KuplOS

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 110:1

23:39

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

27:10

KuplOS

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

Zc 11:13

28:2

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1385

Jehovah

X

Mark

1:3

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:3

5:19

KUpLOS 6

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 18:8

11:9

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

12:11

KuplOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 118:23

12:29

KuplOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 6:4

12:29

KuplOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 6:4

12:30

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 6:5

12:36

KlIpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 110:1

13:20

KlipLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 1:9

Note 1: All footnotes appear at the end of this entry (pp. 222-224).
Note 2: Refer to pages 32-35 for an explanation of column headings.

Appendix B: Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References

133

Luke

1:6

KUpioU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Le 18:5

1:9

KUpioU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X 7

1:11

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

1:15

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

1:16

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ml 4:6

1:17

Kupiw

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:3

1:25

KupiOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Gn 30:23

1:28

KUpiOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jr 1:19

1:32

KupiOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

2 Sa 7:12

1:38

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

1 Sa 1:11

1:45

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

1:46

KuplOV

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

1 Sa 2:1

1:58

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

1:66

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

1:68

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

1:76

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ml 3:1

2:9

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2:9

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2:15

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2:22

KUpLCJ

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2:23

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 13:2

2:23

KUpLCJ

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 13:2

2:24

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Lv 12:8

2:26

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2:39

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

3:4

KupLov

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:3

4:8

KupLov

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 6:13

4:12

KupLov

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 6:16

4:18

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 61:1

4:19

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 61:2

5:17

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

10:27

Kupiov 8

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt6:5

13:35

Kupiou°

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah'

Ps 118:26

19:38

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

20:37

KupLov

Lord

301-400

1639

Jehovah

Ex 3:2

20:42

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 110:1

John

1:23

Kupiou 10

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:3

6:45

GeoO 10

God

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 54:13

12:13

Kupiou 10

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 118:26

12:38

Kupie 10

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

Is 53:1

12:38

Kupiou 10

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 53:1

Acts

1:24

Kupie

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2:20

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jo 3:4

2:21

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jo 3:5

2:25

KUpiOV

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 16:8

2:34

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 110:1

2:39

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jo 2:32

2:47

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

3:19

KUpioU

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

X

3:22

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 18:15

4:26

KUpioU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps2:2

4:29

Kupie

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 37:17

134

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Acts

5:9

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 17:2

5:19

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps34:7

7:31

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1817

Jehovah

Ex 3:6

7:33

MjpiOS'

Lord

301-400

1817

Jehovah

Ex 3:10

7:49

KupLOS

Lord

301-400

1817

Jehovah

Is 66:1

7:60

KupLe

Lord

301-400

1877

Jehovah

X

8:22

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1885

Jehovah

Is 55:7

8:24

KUpLOV

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 8:8

8:25

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

8:26

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

8:39

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

1 Ki 18:12

9:31

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 86:11

10:33

KUpLOU

Lord

201-300

1877

Jehovah

X

11:21

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

12:7

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 34:7

12:11

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 34:7

12:17

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

12:23

Kup[ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

2 Sa 24:17

12:24

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

13:2

KUpLCp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

13:10

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

13:11

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

13:12

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

13:44

9eo0

God

301-400

1877

Jehovah

X

13:47

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 49:6

13:48

9eo0

God

201-300

1599

Jehovah

Is 66:5

13:49

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

14:3

KUpLW

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

14:23

KUpLCp

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

X

15:17

KUpLOV

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

Am 9:12

15:17

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Am 9:13

15:35

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1877

Jehovah

X

15:36

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

15:40

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1877

Jehovah

X

16:14

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

16:15

KUpLCJ

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

16:32

9eo0

God

201-300

1599

Jehovah

X

18:21

9eo0

God

301-400

1877

Jehovah

X

18:25

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

19:20

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

21:14

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

Romans

4:3

9eo0

God

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Gn 15:6

4:8

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 32:2

9:28

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 10:23

9:29

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 1:9

10:13

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jo 2:32

10:16

KupLe

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 53:1

11:3

KupLe

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

I Ki 19:10

11:34

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:13

12:11

KUpLCJ

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

12:19

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 32:35

14:4

KUpLOS

Lord

c. 200

1885

Jehovah

Jr 35:19

14:6

KUpLCp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

Appendix B: Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References

135

Romans

14:6

KUpLlp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 92:1

14:6

KUpllp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Lv 11:8

14:8

KUpLlp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 146:2

14:8

KUpLlp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Es 4:16

14:8

KUpLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

14:11

KupLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 45:23

15:11

KUpLOV

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 15:11

1 Corinthians

1:31

Kuptip

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 9:24

2:16

KupLOU

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

Is 40:13

3:20

KupLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 94:11

4:4

KUpLOS

Lord

3 rd C.E.

1599

Jehovah

Pr 21:2

4:19

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

7:17

KUpLOS

Lord

c. 200

0"

Jehovah

X

10:9

KUpLOV

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Nm 21:6

10:21

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 116:13

10:21

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ez 41:22

10:22

KlipiOV

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ez 34:14

10:26

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 24:1

11:32

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

Pr 3:11

14:21

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 28:11

16:7

KUpiOS'

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

16:10

Kuptou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

2 Corinthians

3:16

Kupiov

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 34:34

3:17

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

3:17

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 61:1

3:18

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 138:5

3:18

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

6:17

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 52:11

6:18

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 43:6

8:21

Kup(ou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

10:17

KupLio

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jr 9:24

10:18

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Pr 29:26

Galatians

3:6

9ec3

God

201-300

1599

Jehovah

Gn 15:6

Ephesians

2:21

KUpLCj)

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Zc 6:12

5:17

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

X

5:19

KUpLCj)

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 33:2

6:4

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 6:7

6:7

KUpLCj)

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

6:8

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1863

Jehovah

Ps 24:5

Colossians

1:10

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

Mc 4:5

3:13

KUpLOS

Lord

c. 200

1975

Jehovah

Jr 31:34

3:16

9eip

God

c. 200

1599

Jehovah

1 Ch 16:23

3:22

KupLoy

Lord

301-400

1885

Jehovah

Pr 8:13

3:23

KUpLO)

Lord

201-300

1599

Jehovah

Ps 9:1

3:24

KUpLlp

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

136

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

1 Thessalonians

1:8

KUplOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 39:5

4:6

KlIpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 94:1

4:15

KUplOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

5:2

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Zp 1:14

2 Thessalonians

2:2

KupLOD

Lord

301-400

1877

Jehovah

Zp 1:14

2:13

KlJplOU

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

3:1

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 38:4

2 Timothy

1:18

KUpLOD

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Zp 2:3

2:19

KlIpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Nm 16:5

2:19

KUpLOD

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

Is 52:11

4:14

KlIpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 62:12

Hebrews

2

13

Qed'S

God

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 8:18

7

21

KOpio?

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 110:4

8

2

KUpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 25:9

8

8

KOpio?

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 31:31

8

9

Kupio?

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 31:32

8

10

KupLog

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 31:33

8

11

KUpLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 31:34

10:16

KOpios

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 31:33

10:30

KOpiO?

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 135:14

12:5

Kupiou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Pr 3:11

12:6

Kupios

Lord

301-400

1574

Jehovah

Pr 3:12

13:6

Kupio?

Lord

301-400

1537

Jehovah

Ps 118:6

James

1:7

KlipLOU

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

1:12

€TTr|YYe-
LXaTO 12

he

301-400

1599

Jehovah

2:23

9e<3

God

301-400

1846

Jehovah

Gn 15:6

2:23

9eo0

God

301-400

1877

Jehovah

Is 41:8

3:9

MJplOV

Lord

301-400

1885

Jehovah

Ps 34:1

4:10

KupLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

2 Ch 7:14

4:15

Kupios'

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 143:10

5:4

KupLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 24:15

5:10

KupLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

2 Ch 36:17

5:11

KupLOU

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

Job 42:10

5:11

Kupios'

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 103:8

5:14

KlipLOU

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

5:15

KUpLOg

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ho 6:11

1 Peter

1:25

KupLou

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 40:5

3:12

KupLOU 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 34:16

3:12

KupLOU 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 34:17

2 Peter

2:9

Kupios 13

Lord

301-400

1661

Jehovah

Ps 34:19

2:11

Kupixo 13

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

Zc 3:2

3:8

Kuptcj) 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 90:4

3:9

Kupios 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

X

3:10

KlJpLOU 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jo 2:3

Appendix B: Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References

137

2 Peter

3:12

9eoiJ 13

God

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jo 2:3

Jude

5

Kxipios 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 12:41

9

KlJpLOS 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Zc3:2

14

Kiipios 13

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Dt 33:2

Revelation

1:8

KlipLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 48:12

4:8

KlipLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 6:3

4:11

KUpiOS'

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Gen 2:3

11:17

' 14

KDpie

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 6:3

15:3

Mjpie 14

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ps 111:2

15:4

Mjpie 14

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 10:7

16:7

icupie 14

Lord

301-400

1838

Jehovah

Ex 6:3

18:8

KuplOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Jer 50:3^

19:6

KlIpLOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 6:3

21:22

KUpiOS'

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Ex 6:3

22:5

KuplOS

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

Is 60:19

22:6

KUpLO?

Lord

301-400

1599

Jehovah

2 Sa 23:2

Totals

237

K=223
0=13

Ld=223
Gd=13

200 to
400 C.E.

1385 to
1979

Jehovah

=237

J20 = 42 3
Othr = 50

2 15

5 8 11

6 4"

61 17

Summary

NWT

Heb. Scrip, quote

None

237

112 1

125'

Early Greek manuscripts do not bear precise dates. The section entitled Explanation of the Symbols Used in the
foreword of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation lists the most probable date of each Greek manuscript. (Generally
the listing is by century, though in rare cases it is more precise.) To give a more understandable comparison with
the adjacent column which precisely dates Hebrew versions, the century designation is given as a date range.
That is, the 4th century C.E. is written as 301-400.

In keeping with recognized Greek capitalization style, the Westcott and Hort Greek text of the Christian Greek
Scriptures uses an upper-case (capital) letter only for a proper noun (a name) and the beginning of a quotation.
The capitalization style of the Westcott and Hort text used in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation text has been
followed in the appendix.

Bold type identifies the reference as coming from J^0 wherein the divine name is listed. In all cases, where

multiple cross references are possible, preference is given to the citation found in J . For this reason, not all
references will correspond to those given in the center reference column of the New World Translation Reference

Edition. Not all Hebrew Scripture quotations shown in J^0 are cited in the KIT footnotes or Appendix 1D in the NWT
Reference Edition. (For example, see Mark 1 :3.)

138 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

4 Refer to footnote 2 for an explanation of capitalization of Greek words. The Greek word qeou' (God) is written with

a lower-case theta (9). Though not occurring in any of the references cited in this appendix, the upper-case theta
is written 0.

••223* •

5 /

The noun identified in the English text as K ynos is shown in this appendix with five spelling variations (KUpiOU,

KUpiog, KUpiCp, Kl)pie, and Kl)piOV). In the Greek language, the noun must agree (or be identified) with its
function in the sentence. This is achieved by spelling variations in the suffix (ending letters) of the word. Thus,
each of the forms of the word K yrios in this appendix is the same root word in the Greek language, though the
spelling is altered according to the grammatical function of the word in the Greek sentence. The same is true of the
variations in the spelling of Theos (BeOS [God]). (See Appendix C for an identification of the function of each of
these Greek word forms.)

Refer to footnote number 2 regarding upper- and lower-case first letters.

7 The "X" indication in this column denotes that the Hebrew verse cited does not support or offer any
parallel thought to the Jehovah wording. No cross reference is indicated for Greek Scripture citations.

This passage is shown in the Bodmer 14 and 15 (P^) manuscripts showing a date of circa 200 C.E. The Bodmer
14 and 15 manuscripts record no use of the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Greek entry of K yrios as shown was used
in approximately 200 C.E. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," p. 312, 1983 edition. Also see the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation, 1985, p. 15.) The date of 301-400 C.E. used in this appendix reflects the date
shown in the footnote of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation which is restricted to Greek manuscripts aAB.

9

Possessive forms are not indicated in this appendix. In all cases, "Jehovah's" is indicated as "Jehovah." This
entry procedure has been followed inasmuch as the English sentence may express the possessive as either
"Jehovah's" or "of Jehovah."

This passage is shown in both the Bodmer 14 and 15 (P ) manuscripts (see footnote 8 above) and the Bodmar 2

(p66j manuscript also showing a date of circa 200 C.E. The Bodmer 2 manuscript records no use of the
Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Greek entry of K yrios as shown was used in approximately 200 C.E. as attested by
multiple ancient Greek manuscripts. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 31 2, 1 983 edition. Also
see the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, 1985, p. 15.) The date of 301-400 C.E. used in this appendix reflects the
date shown in the footnote of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation which is restricted to Greek manuscripts NAB.

See footnote in the New World Translation Reference Edition for this verse.

The suffix ...OITO (from the Greek word eTrpyyeiAaTO) is the third person singular, masculine, past (aorist)
tense ending for the Greek verb which is translated "promised" in the text. The verb ending agrees with the subject
KUpiOU in verse 8 which is translated as "Jehovah." Thus, eTTT|yyei.AaTO is translated in verse 12 as "Jehovah
promised."

13 79

This passage is shown in the Bodmer 7 and 8 manuscripts (together classified as P'^) dating from the 3rd century
C.E. Bodmer 7 and 8 manuscripts record no use of the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Greek entry of K yrios is verified

by P 72 as dating from 201 to 300 C.E. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," p. 313.) The date of 301-
400 C.E. used in this appendix reflects the date shown in the foreword material of the Kingdom Interlinear
Translation.

This passage is shown in the Chester Beatty 3 (P^ 7 ) manuscript dating from the 3rd century C.E. The Chester

Beatty 3 manuscript records no use of the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Greek entry of K yrios is verified by P^' as
dating from 201 to 300 C.E. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," p. 313.) The date of 301-400 C.E.
used in this appendix reflects the date shown in the foreword material of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

15

The total number of Hebrew Scripture quotations appearing in the 237 Jehovah references includes inclusively

the 42 J 2 ^ citations, the 50 other citations, and the 20 references in the following column citing verses which refer
to the divine name even though the name is not found in the particular Hebrew Scripture verse perse. Thus, 112 is
the correct total for this category.

The total of 58 includes all instances of subject or parallel-thought Jehovah cross references.

17

The New World Translation "reinstates the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures" on the basis that the
Tetragrammaton is found in a verse quofec/from the Hebrew Scriptures. This is quite different from a criteria which

Appendix B: Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References 139

would allow reinstating the divine name on the basis of parallel thought or wording cross references. Thus, when
considering only the criteria of verses quoted which employed the divine name, the 64 and 61 of the last two
columns can be combined, giving a total of 125 references which use Jehovah in the Greek Scriptures of the New
World Translation without a quotation source in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The total of 64 includes all instances of Jehovah cross references irrespective of the content of that citation, and
inclusive of the 58 previously tabulated.

Note 1: The summary totals expressed in footnotes 14 and 15 must be used cautiously. Aside from the J^O
citations which can be counted with certainty, the distinction between such categories as, 1) Hebrew Scripture
quotation using the divine name, 2) Hebrew Scripture quotation referring to the divine name, 3) Cross reference
citation only, and 4) No quotation or reference to the Hebrew Scriptures are difficult to assign with certainty.
Consequently, the numbers given in summary of these categories do not represent absolute values. The reader
is encouraged to do his own search to determine the appropriateness of the assignment of each of the 237
references to any one of the various tabulated columns.

••224* •

Note 2: The value of the number 20 in footnote 13 is as significant as the values of the figures 42 and 50 in the
previous column. That is, a Greek Scripture writer is able to faithfully attribute a quotation to "Jehovah" when the
divine name is contextually understood, even though the Hebrew Scripture source does not actually use the divine
name in the verse itself. Thus, the number of times a Hebrew Scripture verse containing the divine name is quoted
by a Greek Scripture writer is 112. The division between the two columns was made for interest and precision, but
does not represent a difference in importance.

140

Appendix C: K yrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures

The New World Translation renders ••225* • the Greek word K yrios (Kupios) with a variety of
English nouns. In this appendix, all occurrences of K yrios in the Greek text of the Christian Greek
Scriptures are listed. (A Concordance to the Greek Testament by Moulton and Geden, which is
cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as J 20 , was used to locate the Greek noun K yrios. The
Greek text is from Westcott and Hort as found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.) The
English equivalent listed in the right-hand column is the translation as it appears in the
New World Translation. Because of its special interest, this appendix has also included those
instances in which K yrios is translated as Jehovah in the New World Translation. By including
all K yrios words in this appendix, the student is able to compare the variety of English words
employed by the translators. 1

In this appendix, the upper- and lower-case letters for K yrios have been reproduced exactly as
written in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (For example, Matthew 7:21 uses both Kuvrie
and kuvrie.) The modern Greek text uses an upper-case (capital) letter for only a proper noun (a
name) and the beginning of a quotation. Possessive forms are not indicated in the appendix. The 's
(apostrophe s) has been omitted in all cases where it is used in translating K yrios in the
New World Translation. No precision would be gained by identifying this Greek word function,
inasmuch as the English sentence may read either "the Lord's work," or "the work of the Lord."
Both are appropriate translations. In the infrequent instances where a plural form of K yrios is
employed, the plural English form is given in the ••226 ,# appendix. For examples, see Matthew
6:24 (which is written Kupiois' rather than Kupiu), 1 Corinthians 8:5 (which is written Kupioi rather
than Kiipios), or Revelation 17:14 (which is written Kupuov rather than Kupiou).

Discounting capitalization, the noun identified in the English text as K yrios is shown in this
appendix with eight spelling variations (iciipios, Kupioi, io>pie, Kupuo, Kupiois, Kupiov, Kupiou, and
Kupuov). (Take note in the table below that two grammatical functions use a similar spelling.) In
the Greek language, the noun must agree with (or be identified by) its function in the sentence.
This is achieved by spelling changes in the suffix (ending letters) of the word. Thus, each of the
forms of the word K yrios in this appendix is derived from the same root word in the Greek
language, though the spelling is altered according to the grammatical function of the word in the
Greek sentence. Only the noun functions of the root word K yrios have been reproduced in this
appendix. Related forms such as to lord [something] over, lordship, etc. have not been included.
Only those grammatical forms which are included in this appendix are identified in the table.
The following table is not comprehensive.

KlIpLOS

K yrios

The subject of the sentence in
singular form.

For Lord of the sabbath is what
the Son of man is. (Matt. 12:8)

KUpLOL

kyrioy

The subject of the sentence in
plural form.

When her masters saw that
their hope of gain had left, they
laid hold of Paul. (Acts 16:19)

1 The New World Translation's use of multiple English words for the single Greek word K yriOS is interesting in
light of the statement on page 7 of the New World Translation Reference Edition, which says,

Taking liberties with the texts for the mere sake of brevity, and substituting some modern parallel when
a literal rendering of the original makes good sense, has been avoided. Uniformity of rendering has been
maintained by assigning one meaning to each major word and by holding to that meaning as far as the
context permits. At times this has imposed a restriction upon word choice, but it aids in cross-reference
work and in comparing related texts. [Emphasis added.]

In spite of the apparent difficulty this variety brings to the translators' stated translation philosophy, the
author feels that the use of words such as "owner," "master," and "sir," adds clarity to the Christian Greek
Scripture illustrations and historical accounts. The terms "Master," and "Sir," when used by individuals
addressing Jesus are appropriately used by the translators, and give breadth to the Gospel narration.

Appendix C: K yrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures

141

Kupie

kyrie

The singular object of direct
address.

Lord, let me recover sight. (Luke
18:41)

KUplOl

kyrioy

The plural object of direct
address. (Uses the same
ending as plural subject.)

Sirs, what must I do to get saved?
(Acts 16:30)

KUplW

kyrio

The singular indirect object
("to" something, or "for"
something).

But you must pay your vows to
Jehovah. (Matt. 5:33)

• •227"

KUpLOlS'

kyrioice

The plural indirect object
("to" some things, or "for"
some things).

No house servant can be a slave
to two masters. (Luke 16:13)

Kupioy

kyrion

The singular direct object
(answers "who" or "what").

If anyone has no affection for the
Lord, let him be accursed. (1 Cor.
16:22)

KUplOU

kyriou

The singular possessive
(something "of" someone).

A slave is not greater than his
master. (John 15:20)

KUpLWV

kyrion

The plural possessive
(something "of" two or
more).

He is Lord of lords. (Rev. 17:14)

Table 8. The grammatical function of K yrios in Greek sentences.

The following list of references includes the total occurrences of the noun form of the word K yrios
(kuvrio") as found in the Christian Greek Scriptures:

Key: KIT identifies the Greek word (column 2) and the English translation (column 3) found
in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. NWT identifies the English translation from
the New World Translation. Lord in italics (lord) indicates that the word is spelled
with a lower-case letter in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. 2

••227-235* •

KIT

KIT

NWT

Matthew

1:20

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

1:22

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

1:24

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

2:13

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

2:15

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

2:19

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

3:3

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

4:7

Kupioy

Lord

Jehovah

4:10

Kupioy

Lord

Jehovah

5:33

Kupiw

Lord

Jehovah

6:24

Kupiois

lords

masters

KIT

KIT

NWT

7

21

Kupie

Lord

Lord

7

21

Kupie

Lord

Lord

7

22

Kupie

Lord

Lord

7

22

Kupie

Lord

Lord

8

2

Kupie

Lord

Lord

8

6

Kupie

Lord

Sir

8

8

Kupie

Lord

Sir

8

21

Kupie

Lord

Lord

8

25

Kupie

Lord

Lord

9

28

Kupie

Lord

Lord

9

38

Kupiou

Lord

Master

10:24

Kupiou

lord

lord

10:25

KUpiOS

lord

lord

11:25

Kupie

Lord

Lord

1

2:8

KUpiOS

Lord

Lord

2 Not all capitalized Lord citations refer to Jesus. The verse context must be considered. (For example, see Matt.
25:24.) The Gospels contain the greatest number of references wherein Lord is used of someone other than Jesus.
Equally, the Gospels contain the largest number of lord citations in lower-case.

142

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

KIT

KIT

NWT

13:27

Kupie

Lord

Master

14:28

Kupie

Lord

Lord

14:30

Kupie

Lord

Lord

15:22

Kupie

Lord

Lord

15:25

Kupie

Lord

Lord

15:27

Kupie

Lord

Lord

16:22

Kupie

Lord

Lord

17:4

Kupie

Lord

Lord

17:15

Kupie

Lord

Lord

18:21

Kupie

Lord

Lord

18:25

KUpiOS'

lord

master

18:27

KUpiOS'

lord

master

18:31

KUplCp

lord

master

18:32

KUpiOS'

lord

master

18:34

KUpiOS'

lord

master

20:8

KUpiOS

lord

master

20:30

Kupie

Lord

Lord

20:31

Kupie

Lord

Lord

20:33

Kupie

Lord

Lord

21:3

KUpiOS'

Lord

Lord

21:9

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

21:29

KUpie

lord

sir

21:40

KUpiOS

lord

owner

21:42

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

22:37

Kupiov

Lord

Jehovah

22:43

KUpiOV

Lord

Lord

22:44

Kupios

Lord

Jehovah

22:44

KUplCp

lord

Lord

22:45

KUpiOV

Lord

Lord

23:39

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

24:42

KUpiOS'

Lord

Lord

24:45

KUpiOS'

lord

master

25:46

K^pLOS

lord

master

24:48

KUpiOS

lord

master

24:50

KUpiOS

lord

master

25:11

Kupie

Lord

Sir

25:11

KUpie

lord

sir

25:18

KUplOU

lord

master

25:19

KUpiOS

lord

master

25:20

Kupie

Lord

Master

25:21

KUpiOS'

lord

master

25:21

KUplOU

lord

master

25:22

Kupie

Lord

Master

25:23

KUpiOS'

lord

master

25:23

KUplOU

lord

master

25:24

Kupie

Lord

Master

25:26

KUpiOS'

lord

master

25:37

Kupie

Lord

Lord

25:44

Kupie

Lord

Lord

26:22

Kupie

Lord

Lord

27:10

Kupios

Lord

Jehovah

28:2

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

Mark

1:3

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

2:28

KUpLOg

Lord

Lord

5:19

KUpiOS'

Lord

Jehovah

7:28

Kupie

lord

sir

11:3

KUpiOS'

Lord

Lord

11:9

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

12:9

KUpLOg

lord

owner

12:11

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

12:29

Kupios

Lord

Jehovah

KIT

KIT

NWT

12:29

Kupios

Lord

Jehovah

12:30

Kupiov

Lord

Jehovah

12:36

Kupios

Lord

Jehovah

12:36

KUplCp

Lord

Lord

12:37

KUpiOV

Lord

Lord

13:20

KlIpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

13:35

KUpiOS

lord

master

16:19

Kupios

Lord

Lord

16:20

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

^uke
1:6

KUplOU

Lord

ehovah

1:9

KUplOU

Lord

ehovah

1:11

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

1:15

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

1:16

Kupiov

Lord

ehovah

1:17

Kupicp

Lord

ehovah

1:25

Kupiog

Lord

ehovah

1:28

Kupiog

Lord

ehovah

1:32

Kupiog

Lord

ehovah

1:38

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

1:43

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

1:45

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

1:46

Kupiov

Lord

ehovah

1:58

Kupiog

Lord

ehovah

1:66

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

1:68

Kupiog

Lord

ehovah

1:76

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

2:9

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

2:9

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

2:11

Kupiog

Lord

Lord

2:15

Kupiog

Lord

ehovah

2:22

KUplCp

Lord

ehovah

2:23

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

2:23

KUplCp

Lord

ehovah

2:24

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

2:26

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

2:39

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

3:4

Kupiov

Lord

ehovah

4:8

Kupiov

Lord

ehovah

4:12

Kupiov

Lord

ehovah

4:18

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

4:19

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

5:8

Kupie

Lord

Lord

5:12

Kupie

Lord

Lord

5:17

Kupiou

Lord

ehovah

6:5

Kupiog

Lord

Lord

6:46

Kupie

Lord

Lord

6:46

Kupie

Lord

Lord

7:6

Kupie

Lord

Sir

7:13

KUpiOS

Lord

Lord

7:19

Kupiov

Lord

Lord

9:54

Kupie

Lord

Lord

9:61

Kupie

Lord

Lord

10:1

KUpiOS

Lord

Lord

10:2

KUplOU

Lord

Master

10:17

Kupie

Lord

Lord

10:21

Kupie

Lord

Lord

10:27

Kupiov

Lord

ehovah

10:39

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

10:40

Kupie

Lord

Lord

10:41

Kupiog

Lord

Lord

11:1

Kupie

Lord

Lord

Appendix C:

KIT

KIT

NWT

11:39

KUplOg

Lord

Lord

12:36

KUpLOV

lord

master

12:37

KUpLOS

lord

master

12:41

KupLe

Lord

Lord

12:42

Kupiog

Lord

Lord

12:42

KUpLOS

lord

master

12:43

Kupiog

lord

master

12:45

Kupiog

lord

master

12:46

Kupiog

lord

master

12:47

KUpLOU

lord

master

13:8

KupLe

Lord

Master

13:15

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

13:23

KupLe

Lord

Lord

13:25

KupLe

Lord

Sir

13:35

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

14:21

KUpiU

lord

master

14:22

KupLe

Lord

Master

14:23

KUpLOS

lord

master

16:3

KUplOS

lord

master

16:5

KUpLOU

lord

master

16:5

KUpiU

lord

master

16:8

KUpLOS

lord

master

16:13

KUpLOLS

lords

masters

17:5

KUpiU

Lord

Lord

17:6

Kupios

Lord

Lord

17:37

Kiipie

Lord

Lord

18:6

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

18:41

KupLe

Lord

Lord

19:8

KupLov

Lord

Lord

19:8

KupLe

Lord

Lord

19:16

Kupie

Lord

Lord

19:18

Kiipie

Lord

Lord

19:20

KupLe

Lord

Lord

19:25

Kupie

Lord

Lord

19:31

Kupiog

Lord

Lord

19:33

KUpLOL

lords

owners

19:34

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

19:38

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

20:13

Kupiog

lord

owner

20:15

Kupiog

lord

owner

20:37

KupiOV

Lord

Jehovah

20:42

Kupios'

Lord

Jehovah

20:42

KUpiU

lord

Lord

20:44

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

22:33

KupLe

Lord

Lord

22:38

Kupie

Lord

Lord

22:49

KupLe

Lord

Lord

22:61

KUplOS

Lord

Lord

22:61

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

24:3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

24:34

KUpLO?

Lord

Lord

ohn

1:23

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

4:1

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:11

KupLe

Lord

Sir

4:15

KupLe

Lord

Sir

4:19

KupLe

Lord

Sir

4:49

KupLe

Lord

Lord

5:7

KupLe

Lord

Sir

6:23

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

6:34

KupLe

Lord

Lord

6:68

KupLe

Lord

Lord

K yrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures

143

KIT

KIT

NWT

8:11

KUpLe

lord

sir

9:36

KUpLe

lord

sir

9:38

KUpLe

Lord

Lord

11:2

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

11:3

KupLe

Lord

Lord

11:12

KupLe

Lord

Lord

11:21

KupLe

Lord

Lord

11:27

KUpLe

Lord

Lord

11:32

KupLe

Lord

Lord

11:34

KupLe

Lord

Lord

11:39

KupLe

Lord

Lord

12:13

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

12:21

KupLe

Lord

Sir

12:38

KupLe

Lord

Jehovah

12:38

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

13:6

KupLe

Lord

Lord

13:9

KupLe

Lord

Lord

13:13

KUpLO?

Lord

Lord

13:14

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

13:16

KUpLOU

lord

master

13:25

KupLe

Lord

Lord

13:36

KupLe

Lord

Lord

13:37

KupLe

Lord

Lord

14:5

KupLe

Lord

Lord

14:8

KupLe

Lord

Lord

14:22

KupLe

Lord

Lord

15:15

KUpLOS

lord

master

15:20

KUpLOU

lord

master

20:2

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

20:13

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

20:15

KupLe

Lord

Sir

20:18

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

20:20

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

20:25

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

20:28

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

21:7

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

21:7

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

21:12

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

21:15

KUpLe

Lord

Lord

21:16

KUpLe

Lord

Lord

21:17

KupLe

Lord

Lord

21:20

KupLe

Lord

Lord

21:21

KupLe

Lord

Lord

\cts
1:6

KupLe

Lord

Lord

1:21

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

1:24

KUpLe

Lord

Jehovah

2:20

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

2:21

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

2:25

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

2:34

Kupiog

Lord

Jehovah

2:34

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

2:36

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

2:39

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

2:47

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

3:19

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

3:22

KupLog

Lord

Jehovah

4:26

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

4:29

KUpLe

Lord

Jehovah

4:33

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5:9

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

5:14

KUpLCO

Lord

Lord

144

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

KIT

KIT

NWT

5:19

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

7:31

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

7:33

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

7:49

Kiipiog

Lord

Jehovah

7:59

Kwpie

Lord

Lord

7:60

Kwpie

Lord

Jehovah

8:16

KupCou

Lord

Lord

8:22

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

8:24

KlJpiOV

Lord

Jehovah

8:25

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

8:26

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

8:39

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

9:1

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

9:5

Kupie

Lord

Lord

9:10

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

9:10

Kupie

Lord

Lord

9:11

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

9:13

Kijpie

Lord

Lord

9:15

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

9:17

KVipLOS

Lord

Lord

9:27

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

9:28

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

9:31

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

9:35

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

9:42

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

10:4

KDpL6

Lord

Lord

10:14

KDpL6

Lord

Lord

10:33

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

10:36

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

11:8

KUpL6

Lord

Lord

11:16

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

11:17

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

11:20

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

11:21

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

11:21

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

11:23

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

11:24

KUpL6

Lord

Lord

12:7

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

12:11

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

12:17

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

12:23

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

12:24

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

13:2

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

13:10

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

13:11

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

13:12

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

13:47

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

13:49

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

14:3

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

14:23

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

15:11

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

15:17

KDpLOV

Lord

Jehovah

15:17

Kiipiog

Lord

Jehovah

15:26

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

15:35

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

15:36

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

15:40

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

16:14

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

16:15

KDpLCO

Lord

Jehovah

16:16

KVipLOS

lords

masters

16:19

KDpLOL

lords

masters

16:30

KDpLOL

Lords

Sirs

16:31

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

KIT

KIT

NWT

17:24

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

18:8

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

18:9

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

18:25

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

19:5

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

19:10

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

19:13

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

19:17

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

19:20

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

20:19

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

20:21

KljpLOV

Lord

Lord

20:24

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

20:32

KDpLCO

Lord

God

20:35

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

21:13

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

21:14

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

22:8

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

22:10

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

22:10

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

22:19

Kupie

Lord

Lord

23:11

KUpiOS

Lord

Lord

25:26

KDpLCO

lord

Lord

26:15

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

26:15

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

28:31

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

Romans

1:4

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:7

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

4:8

KiJpios

Lord

Jehovah

4:24

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

5:1

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

5:11

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

5:21

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

6:23

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

7:25

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

8:39

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

9:28

KiJpios

Lord

Jehovah

9:29

Kilpios

Lord

Jehovah

10:9

KiJpios

Lord

Lord

10:12

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

10:13

Kuptou

Lord

Jehovah

10:16

Kupie

Lord

Jehovah

11:3

Kwpie

Lord

Jehovah

11:34

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

12:11

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

12:19

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

13:14

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

14:4

KDpLCp

lord

master

14:4

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

14:6

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

14:6

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

14:6

KDpLCO

Lord

Jehovah

14:8

KDpLU

Lord

Jehovah

14:8

KDpLCO

Lord

Jehovah

14:8

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

14:11

KlipLOS

Lord

Jehovah

14:14

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

15:6

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

15:11

KDpLOV

Lord

Jehovah

15:30

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

16:2

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

16:8

KDpLCO

Lord

Lord

Appendix C:

KIT

KIT

NWT

16:11

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

16:12

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

16:12

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

16:13

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

16:18

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

16:20

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

16:22

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

. Corinthians

1:2

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:7

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:8

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:9

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:10

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:31

KupLCp

Lord

Jehovah

2:8

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

2:16

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

3:5

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:20

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

4:4

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

4:5

KUpiOS

Lord

Lord

4:17

KUpLCO

Lord

Lord

4:19

KUpiOS'

Lord

Jehovah

5:4

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5:4

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5:5

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

6:11

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

6:13

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

6:13

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

6:14

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

6:17

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

7:10

KUpLOS'

Lord

Lord

7:12

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

7:17

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

7:22

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

7:22

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

7:25

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

7:25

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

7:32

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

7:32

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

7:34

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

7:35

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

7:39

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

8:5

KUpLOL

Lord

lords

8:6

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

9:1

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

9:1

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

9:2

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

9:5

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

9:14

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

10:9

KUpLOV

Lord

Jehovah

10:21

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

10:21

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

10:22

KUpLOV

Lord

Jehovah

10:26

KDpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

11:11

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

11:23

KDpLOU

Lord

Lord

11:23

KljpiOS'

Lord

Lord

11:26

KDpLOU

Lord

Lord

11:27

KDpLOU

Lord

Lord

11:27

KDpLOU

Lord

Lord

11:32

KDpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

K yrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures

145

KIT

KIT

NWT

12:3

Kiiptos

Lord

Lord

12:5

KljpiOS'

Lord

Lord

14:21

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

14:37

Kuptou

Lord

Lord

15:31

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

15:57

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

15:58

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

16:7

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

16:10

Kuptou

Lord

Jehovah

16:19

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

16:22

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

16:23

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

'. Corinthians

1:2

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:14

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

2:12

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:16

Kupioy

Lord

Jehovah

3:17

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

3:17

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

3:18

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

3:18

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

4:5

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

4:14

KUpLOV

Lord

5:6

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5:8

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

5:11

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

6:17

KupLog

Lord

Jehovah

6:18

KupLog

Lord

Jehovah

8:5

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

8:9

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

8:19

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

8:21

KupCou

Lord

Jehovah

10:8

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

10:17

Kuptco

Lord

Jehovah

10:18

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

11:17

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

11:31

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

12:1

KupCou

Lord

Lord

12:8

KUpLOV

Lord

Lord

13:10

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

13:14

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

Palatial
1:3

IS

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:19

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

4:1

KUpLOS

lord

lord

5:10

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

6:14

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

6:18

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

iphesians

1:2

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:15

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

1:17

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

2:21

KUpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

3:11

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:1

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:5

KUpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:17

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

5:8

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

146

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

KIT

KIT

NWT

5:10

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

5:17

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

5:19

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

5:20

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

5:22

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

6:1

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

6:4

Kup[ou

Lord

Jehovah

6:5

KDpLOLS

lords

masters

6:7

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

6:8

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

6:9

KDpLOL

lords

masters

6:9

KDpLOS

Lord

Master

6:10

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

6:21

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

6:23

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

6:24

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

-Tiilipp
1:2

ians

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:14

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

2:11

Kdplos

Lord

Lord

2:19

KUpLCp

Lord

Lord

2:24

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

2:29

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

2:30

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

3:1

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:8

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

3:20

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

4:1

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:2

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:4

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:5

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:10

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:23

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

Colossi
1:3

ans

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:10

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

2:6

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

3:13

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

3:17

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

3:18

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:20

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:22

KDpLOLS

lords

masters

3:22

KDpLOV

Lord

Jehovah

3:23

KDpLCp

Lord

Jehovah

3:24

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

3:24

KDpLCp

Lord

Master

4:1

KDpLOV

Lord

Master

4:7

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:17

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

. Thessalonians

1:1

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

1:3

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:6

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:8

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

2:15

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

2:19

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

3:8

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:11

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:12

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:13

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

KIT

KIT

NWT

4:1

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

4:2

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

4:6

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

4:15

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

4:15

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

4:16

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:17

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

4:17

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

5:2

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

5:9

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

5:12

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

5:23

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

5:27

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

5:28

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

'. Thessalonians

1:1

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

1:2

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:7

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:8

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:9

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:12

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:12

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

2:1

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

2:2

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

2:8

KDpLOS'

Lord

Lord

2:13

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

2:14

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

2:16

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:1

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

3:3

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:4

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:5

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:6

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

3:12

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

3:16

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:16

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

3:18

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

. Timothy

1:2

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:12

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

1:14

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

6:3

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

6:14

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

6:15

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

I Timothy

1:2

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:8

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

1:16

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

1:18

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

1:18

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

2:7

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

2:19

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

2:19

KDpLOD

Lord

Jehovah

2:22

KDpLOV

Lord

Lord

2:24

KDpLOD

Lord

Lord

3:11

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:8

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:14

KDpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

4:17

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

4:18

KDpLOS

Lord

Lord

Appendix C:

KIT

KIT

NWT

4:22

KVipiOS'

Lord

Lord

Philemon

3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5

KlJpiOV

Lord

Lord

16

KUplW

Lord

Lord

20

KDpLU

Lord

Lord

25

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

Hebrews

1

10

KUpie

Lord

Lord

2

3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

7

14

KVipLOS

Lord

Lord

7

21

KlIpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

8

2

KljpiOS'

Lord

Jehovah

8

8

KlIplOS

Lord

Jehovah

8

9

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

8

10

KlIpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

8

11

KlJpiOV

Lord

Jehovah

10:16

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

10:30

KlIpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

12:5

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

12:6

KlIpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

12:14

KlJpiOV

Lord

Lord

13:6

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

13:20

KlJpiOV

Lord

Lord

James

1:1

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:7

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

2:1

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

3:9

KlJpLOV

Lord

Jehovah

4:10

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

4:15

KUpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

5:4

KUplOU

Lord

Jehovah

5:7

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5:8

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

5:10

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

5:11

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

5:11

KUpLOg

Lord

Jehovah

5:14

KUpLOU

Lord

Jehovah

5:15

KUpLOg

Lord

Jehovah

1 Peter

1:3

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:25

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

2:3

KUpLOg

Lord

Lord

2:13

KUplOV

Lord

Lord

3:6

Kl3pLOV

lord

lord

3:12

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

3

12

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

K yrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures

147

KIT

KIT

NWT

3:15

KlJpiOV

Lord

Lord

2 Peter

1:2

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:8

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

1:11

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

1:14

KUpiOS'

Lord

Lord

1:16

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

2:9

KlIplOS

Lord

Jehovah

2:11

Kupiio

Lord

Jehovah

2:20

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

3:2

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

3:8

Kupiip

Lord

Jehovah

3:9

KlIpLOS

Lord

Jehovah

3:10

Kupiou

Lord

Jehovah

3:15

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

3:18

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

Jude

4

KUplOV

Lord

Lord

5

KlIplOS

Lord

Jehovah

9

KlIplOS

Lord

Jehovah

14

Kiipios

Lord

Jehovah

17

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

21

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

25

KUpLOU

Lord

Lord

Revelation

1

8

KlIplOS

Lord

Jehovah

4

8

KiipLO?

Lord

Jehovah

4

11

KupLog

Lord

Jehovah

7

14

Kupie

Lord

lord

11:4

KUplOU

lord

Lord

11:8

KUpiOS'

Lord

Lord

11:15

KUplOU

Lord

Lord

11:17

Kupie

Lord

Jehovah

14:13

KDpLCp

Lord

Lord

15:3

Kupie

Lord

Jehovah

15:4

icupie

Lord

Jehovah

16:7

Ktjpie

Lord

Jehovah

17:14

KVipLOS

Lord

Lord

17:14

KUpiOJV

lords

lords

18:8

Kupie

Lord

Jehovah

19:6

Kupie

Lord

Jehovah

19:16

KiJpios

Lord

Lord

19:16

KUpilOV

lords

lords

21:22

KVipLOS

Lord

Jehovah

22:5

Kupie

Lord

Jehovah

22:6

KVipLO?

Lord

Jehovah

22:20

icupie

Lord

Lord

2

2:21

KUpiOU

Lord

Lord

148

Information summary

••235« •

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Kingdom Interlinear Translation

Translated as "Lord."

651

Translated as "lord" or "lords."

62

Translated as "Lords."

1

Total occurrences of K yriOS (loipios) in KIT.

714

New World Translation

Translated as "Lord." 3

406

Translated as "Jehovah."

223

Translated as "Master," "master," or "masters."

53

Translated as "Sir," "sir," or "sirs."

17

Translated as "lord" or "lords."

8

Translated as "owner" or "owners."

5

Translated as "God."

1

Not translated.

1

Total representation of K yriOS (KupLog) in NWT.

714

Table 9.

Summary of all occurrences of K yrios in both the Kingdom Interlinear Translation and
the New World Translation.

3 Initial capital letters for "Lord" (in both KIT and NWT) or "Master," and "Sir" (in NWT) do not necessarily
indicate reference to Jesus. In a small number of cases, the word occurs at the beginning of a sentence (in
English) or the beginning of a direct quotation (in Greek).

149
Appendix D: The George Howard Study

••236* • The Watch Tower Society relies heavily on a study by George Howard 1 which supports
the Tetragrammaton's 2 presence in the Christian Greek Scriptures. It would be helpful to the
interested reader to evaluate the entire manuscript. However, its length does not allow reproduction in
this appendix. (Copies are available from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Brooklyn, NY.)
Therefore, only pertinent quotations and summaries of the study will be given here. Quoted materials
are set in a distinctive type face. Where needed, Greek and Hebrew words are translated in brackets
added to the Howard text. In the opening paragraph, George Howard says:

Recent discoveries in Egypt and the Judean Desert allow us to see first
hand the use of God's name in pre-Christian times. These discoveries are
significant for NT 3 studies in that they form a literary analogy with the
earliest Christian documents and may explain how NT authors used the
divine name. In the following pages we will set forth a theory that the
divine name, tlliT (and possibly abbreviation of it), was originally written
in the NT quotations of and allusions to the OT and that in the course o f
time it was replaced mainly with the surrogate i<s[Lord]. 4 This removal of
the Tetragram, in our view, created a confusion in the minds of early
Gentile Christians about the relationship between the "Lord God" and the
"Lord Christ" which is reflected in the MS [manuscript] tradition of the NT
itself. In order to support this theory we will describe the relevant pre-
Christian and post-NT evidence for use of the divine name in written
documents and explore its implications for the NT.

Observations: It is important that the reader understand the scope of the Howard study.

1. The textual ••237* • basis of the study is the use of God's name in pre-Christian times. That is,
Howard's study examines only Hebrew Scripture manuscripts. (As we will see, all his textual
examples are taken from the Septuagint [LXX] version which is the Hebrew Scriptures translated
into Greek. The Septuagint version does not include the Christian Greek Scriptures.)

2. Howard's study does not deal with all 237 of the Jehovah references in the New World Translation.

Rather, Howard says that "...[he] will set forth a theory that the divine name was originally written in
the NT quotations of and allusions to the OT." That is, Howard's theory focuses only on the 112 5 direct
and indirect Hebrew Scripture quotations.

Sections one and two of Howard's study

In the first section of his study, Howard evaluates the use of the Tetragrammaton in numerous

1 This material was originally presented at the University of Georgia (Atlanta) and subsequently appeared in the
Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 96, #1, March 1977, pp. 63-83 entitled "The Tetragram and the New Testament."
Permission to quote from this article has been granted by the Society of Biblical Literature.

2 Both "Tetragrammaton" and "Tetragram" are appropriate designations for the Hebrew form of God's name miT.
The Howard study uses the term "Tetragram."

3 Howard uses NT for "New Testament" (the Christian Greek Scriptures) and OT for "Old Testament" (the Hebrew
Scriptures). Additionally, MS is used for "manuscript" and MSS for "manuscripts" throughout the study.

4 The term "surrogate" designates an abbreviated shorthand notation used by the Greek copyist for a common
word. The two most common surrogates used in this study are k— "— for kuvrio" (Lord), and q— "— for qeo" (God).

5 The number of direct and indirect Hebrew Scripture quotations is taken from the summary on page 50 of this
book.

150 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Hebrew Scriptures and extrabiblical sources. The content of this material can best be understood by
partially quoting Howard's own summary of this section:

Before entering the post-NT era, a brief summary of the data gathered
thus far should be helpful.

(1) In pre-Christian Greek MSS [manuscripts] of the OT, the divine name
normally appears not in the form of Kupio? [Lord], as it does in the great
Christian codices of the LXX known today, but either in the form of the
Hebrew Tetragram (written in Aramaic or paleo-Hebrew letters) or in the
transliterated form of IAW [IAO].

(2) In the Hebrew documents from the Judean Desert the Tetragram
appears in copies of the Bible, in quotations of the Bible, and in biblical-
type passages. ..and biblical paraphrases.

(3) The most commonly used word for God in the non-biblical Hebrew
documents from the Judean Desert is 7K [God] (or D'n^K [God]). In the
Qumran commentaries the Tetragram regularly appears in the lemma-
quotations from Scripture; in the following commentary on the text the
word / K [God] is used as a secondary reference to God.

(4) There is some evidence from the Hebrew documents from the Judean
Desert that the word 'DIX [my Lord] was pronounced where the Tetragram
appeared in the biblical text.

(5) There are two unusual abbreviations for God's name that appear i n
the scrolls from the Judean Desert: one is the use of four or five dots; the
other is the use of the Hebrew pronoun K1H [he].

(6) Although it is improbable that Philo varied from the custom o f
writing the Tetragram when quoting from Scripture, it is likely ••238 ,# that
he used the word Kupios [Lord] when making a secondary reference to the
divine name in his exposition.

Perhaps the most significant observation we can draw from this pattern
of variegated usage of the divine name is that the Tetragram was held to b e
very sacred. One could either use it or a surrogate for it within non-
biblical material depending on one's individual taste. But in copying the
biblical text itself the Tetragram was carefully guarded. This protection
of the Tetragram was extended even to the Greek translation of the biblical
text.

In the second section of his study, Howard briefly addresses the issue of God's name within
Christian usage of the Septuagint (the use of the Septuagint by the Christian congregations in the first
and second centuries).

This material from George Howard is given in order to show the reader the information used by the
Watch Tower Society in support of its teaching that the Tetragrammaton was used in the Christian
Greek Scriptures. It is not our intent to delve into a study of the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint.
The reader can review that discussion elsewhere in this book.

Regarding God's name within Christian writings, Howard says:

When we come to Christian copies of the LXX, we are immediately struck
by the absence of the Tetragram and its almost universal replacement b y
Kupio? [Lord]. This means that sometime between the beginning of the
Christian movement and the earliest extant copies of the Christian LXX a
change had taken place. Just when the change occurred is impossible to
date with absoluteness. But by the time we reach the Christian codices o f
the LXX the Tetragram is not to be found. Instead the words Kupio? [Lord]
and occasionally Geo? [God], stand for the divine name and are abbreviated
as ic? and 0"s.

In all probability the Tetragram in the Christian LXX began to be

Appendix D: The George Howard Study 151

surrogated with the contracted words Kj and 9s at least by the beginning of
the second century. For our purposes the point that is most important i s
that these same abbreviated words appear also in the earliest copies of the
NT. These abbreviations, as we will argue, are important for understanding
the use of God's name in the New Testament.

From all that we know, the Tetragram was the most sacred word in the
Hebrew religion. We know for a fact that Greek-speaking Jews continued to
write mil' within their Greek Scriptures. Moreover, it is most unlikely that
early conservative Greek-speaking Jewish Christians varied from this
practice .

It is much more likely that the contracted ics and 9s go back to Gentile
Christians who lacked the support of tradition to retain the Tetragram i n
their copies of the Bible.

Observations: The reader ••239 ,# should be aware that:

l.In all cases where Howard refers to Scripture manuscripts containing the Tetragrammaton, the
Scripture portion is that of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Septuagint (which Howard identifies as
the LXX) is the Hebrew Scriptures which was translated into Greek in approximately 280 B.C.E. As
we have historically and textually demonstrated throughout this book, no known Christian Greek
Scripture manuscripts contain the Tetragrammaton.

2. The "Judean Desert manuscripts" are the Palestinian cave documents found in 1947 which we know as

the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Qumran settlement where the scrolls were found was an Israelite
community (as opposed to Gentile) which religiously and culturally understood the meaning of the
Tetragrammaton. Verifiably, some Septuagint manuscripts from Palestine and Jewish settlements in
Egypt used the Tetragrammaton rather than the Greek word Ki'jpios [Lord]. That is, the
Tetragrammaton was often embedded in the Hebrew Scriptures for the sake of Jewish readers. For
Gentile readers, however, the name of God was translated from the Hebrew word iTliT to the Greek
word Kijpios [Lord]. 6

3. Within the Hebrew Scripture (Septuagint) manuscripts, the surrogates (abbreviations) ic§" and 0s"

replaced the words Kxipios [Lord] and Geos [God] early in the Christian era.

The historical and textual material presented in this book generally agrees with the conclusions of
Howard in his first two sections. Though our book has not dealt with the Septuagint in great detail,
there is no apparent disagreement with Howard to this point. The reader must be aware, however,
that the subject of Howard's comment is the manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures which were ••240* •
translated into the Greek language. In his first two sections, Howard is not talking about the Christian
Greek Scripture manuscripts which are the subject of this book.

The concluding section of Howard's study

The final (and brief) portion of Howard's study focuses on the Christian Greek Scriptures. We will
quote extensively from this portion so that the reader will better understand what Howard is saying.
(We have underlined certain phrases to emphasize the degree of probability which Howard
introduces.)

6 Gentile Scriptures did not use the Tetragrammaton for the same reason that English Bibles do not print God's
name as mil 1 . Rather, all English Bibles (including the NWJ) transform it into a meaningful English equivalent.
(That is, neither "Yahweh" [or "Yahvah"] nor "Jehovah" is the Tetragrammaton. Yahweh [Yahvah] is, at best, an
approximate transliteration of the Tetragrammaton.) At the meridian of time, Hebrew language and writing were as
foreign to the average Greek Gentile reader as it would be to the average English reader today. We often overlook
this reality when we presume that there would have been a natural recognition of the divine name had the
Tetragrammaton been inserted into the "ancient" biblical texts. Because of Alexander the Great's legacy and the
subsequent power of the Roman Empire, the Greek language was widely used in the Gentile world. This was not the
case, however, with Hebrew. Hebrew was a highly parochial language dialect. Nonetheless, for today's English
translations, the choice of an Anglicized form of the divine name is far preferable in the Hebrew Scriptures to the
traditional "LORD" written in capital letters used in most English versions.

152 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

When we come to the NT, there is good reason to believe that a similar
pattern evolved. Since the Tetragram was still written in the copies of the
Greek Bible which made up the Scriptures of the early church, it i s
reasonable to believe that the NT writers, when quoting from Scripture,
preserved the Tetragram within the biblical text. On the analogy of pre-
Christian Jewish practice we can imagine that the NT text incorporated the
Tetragram into its OT quotations and that the words Kupio? [Lord] and 8eos
[God] were used when secondary references to God were made in the
comments that were based upon the quotations. The Tetragram in these

quotations would, of course, have remained as long as it continued to be
used in the Christian copies of the LXX. But when it was removed from the
Greek OT, it was also removed from the quotations of the OT in the NT.
Thus somewhere around the beginning of the second century the use o f
surrogates must have crowded out the Tetragram in both Testaments. Before
long the divine name was lost to the Gentile church altogether except
insofar as it was reflected in the contracted surrogates or occasionally
remembered by scholars.

The removal of the Tetragram in the NT of the Gentile church obviously
affected the appearance of the NT text and no doubt influenced the
theological outlook of second century Gentile Christianity; just how much
we may never know . But if we permit our mind's eve to compare the
original OT quotations in the NT with the way they appeared after the
Tetragram was removed, we can imagine that the theological change was
significant. In many passages where the persons of God and Christ were

clearly distinguishable, the removal of the Tetragram must have created
considerable ambiguity .

It is interesting to note that the confusion that emerged from such
passages in the second century is reflected in the MS [manuscript]
tradition of the NT. A large number of variants in the NT MS tradition
involve the word Geo? [God], Kupio? [Lord], 'IncroOs [Jesus], XpicrTO? [Christ], ulos
[son] and combinations of them. The theory we sugges t to explain the origin
of many of these variants (though, of course, not all) is that the removal o f
the Tetragram from the OT quotations in the NT created a confusion in the
minds of scribes as to which person was referred ••241 ,# to in the
discussion surrounding the quotation. Once the confusion was caused b y
the change in the divine name in the quotations, the same confusion spread
to other parts of the NT where quotations were not involved at all. In other
words once the names of God and Christ were confused in the vicinity o f
quotations, the names were generally confused elsewhere.

The following examples illustrate this scribal confusion over the divine
personages within the area of quotations. [At this point, Howard includes a
brief discussion of Romans 10:16-17, Romans 14:10-11, I Corinthians 2:16, I Peter
3:14-15, I Corinthians 10:9, and Jude 5. Howard conjectures that the
Tetragrammaton may have been used in these verses. In no case, however,
does he give any textual evidence substantiating the Tetragrammaton in any
ancient Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts.]

(2) Concluding Observations . The above examples are, of course, only
exploratory in nature and are set forth here programatically. Nevertheless,
the evidence is sufficiently strong to suggest that the thesis of this paper
is quite possible. We have refrained from drawing too many conclusions
due to the revolutionary nature of the thesis. Rather than state

conclusions now in a positive manner it seems better only to raise some

Appendix D: The George Howard Study 153

questions that suggest a need for further explanation.

(a) If the Tetragram was used in the NT, how extensively was it used? Was
it confined to OT quotations and OT paraphrastic allusions, or was it used
in traditional phrases, such as "the word of God/Lord" (see the variants i n
Acts 6:7; 8:25; 12:24; 13:5; 13:44, 48; 14:25; 16:6, 32), "in the day of the
Lord" (cf. variants in I Cor 5:5), "through the will of God" (cf. variants i n
Rom 15:32)? Was it also used in OT-like narratives such as we have in the
first two chapters of Luke?

(b) Was the third person singular pronoun ever used in the NT as a
surrogate "God"? The quotation of Isa 40:3 in Mark 1:3; Matt 3:3; Luke 3:4
ends with evQeias iroietTe Tpifiovs oiitoO [make straight the roads of him]. Auto€
[of him] stands for im^tf'? [our God] in the MT and toO 9eo0 r\[LU>v [the God o f
us] in the majority of the LXX MSS. The fact that in IQS 8:13 the elongated
pronoun SHKIH [of him] is used in a reference to this exact phrase suggests
that aOTOU [of him] is possibly an abbreviation in the Synoptics.

(c) How great was the impact of the removal of the Tetragram from the NT?
Were only those passages affected in which God and Christ were confused
by the ambiguity of the immediate context; or were other passages, which
reflected a low christology even after the change, later altered to reflect a
high christology? Did such restructuring of the text give rise to the later
christological controversies within the church, and were the NT passages
involved in these controversies identical with those which in the NT era
apparently created no problems at all?

(d) What part did heresy play in the formation of the NT text? Did the
removal of the Tetragram play a role in the split between the Ebionites and
the Gentile church; and if so, did the Ebionite ••242 ,# movement cause the
Gentile church to restructure even more its NT toward a higher christology?

(e) What are the implications of the use of the divine name in the NT for
current christological studies? Are these studies based on the NT text a s
it appeared in the first century, or are they based on an altered text which
represents a time in church history when the difference between God and
Christ was confused in the text and blurred in the minds of churchmen?
Can it be that current scenarios of NT christology are descriptions o f
second- and third-century theology and not that of the first?

Observations: The reader must pay careful attention to the wording and content of the portion of
Howard's study dealing with the Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament).

1. In the first sections, the reader has been given verifiable textual evidence of the Tetragrammaton in

known manuscripts of the Septuagint (LXX). Without careful attention, the reader could be led to
assume that the change of focus to the Christian Greek Scriptures in Howard's study also contains
textual evidence for the use of the Tetragrammaton. This is far from being true. A careful reading of
this portion will indicate that no citation of a single Christian Greek Scripture using the
Tetragrammaton is given.

2. The reader should also note that, in the absence of any textual evidence, the entire premise for
Howard's discussion of the Tetragrammaton's use in the Christian Greek Scriptures is based on such
phrases as "...there is good reason to believe...," "...we can imagine that...," "...the use of surrogates
must have crowded out...," "...just how much we may never know...," "...if we permit our mind's eye to
compare...," and, "...we can imagine that...." These statements can hardly be construed as assertions of
empirical evidence.

3. Howard suggests that confusion of the Tetragrammaton within the Septuagint (Hebrew Scriptures)

of the second century is then transferred to the scribes copying of the Christian Greek Scriptures.
This is a legitimate inquiry to pursue. However, as we have seen in our book, this question must be
answered with a historical and textual examination of the evidence. The earliest extant

154 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

manuscripts, rather than conjecture, must establish the wording of all Greek Scriptures passages.
4. The reader must, finally, be aware that Howard's conclusion does not give a summary statement of
textual evidence for the Tetragrammaton. The concluding observations merely consist of five
questions. They are, in fact, pertinent questions. But they must be answered with evidence from
known ancient Christian Greek • »243 # • Scripture manuscripts. In the absence of such evidence, they
are merely speculative questions.

Conclusion: It is not our intent to demean the research done by George Howard. His work evaluates
necessary data pertinent to a study of the Tetragrammaton's presence in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
Nonetheless, it is necessary that we carefully note the limitations of the evidence within his study.
(In all probability, our view of Howard's work is more strongly conditioned by the Watch Tower
Society's interpretation of it than by a careful study of the material itself.) The required evidence
which will bear most strongly on George Howard's study is the same evidence which we must use in our
own study. In all cases, the verification of the presumed use of the Tetragrammaton within the
Christian Greek Scriptures must be securely founded on historical and textual evidences, not on
presumption or allusions to the Septuagint text. In summary:

1. No textual evidence is given wherein ancient Greek manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures

use the Tetragrammaton.

2. The passages used by Howard when he conjectures use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek

Scriptures are verses which allude to Hebrew Scripture quotations. Though this use of these verses
merits study, it leaves completely unanswered the appropriateness of the choice of Jehovah in the
majority of the 237 New World Translation references which have no Hebrew Scripture source. Even
if textual evidence for the Tetragrammaton in verses quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures could be
established, no transfer of that premise can be carried to verses such as Revelation 1:8, 4:8 and 11,
11:17, 16:7, 18:8, 19:6, 21:22, 22:5 and 22:6, which have no allusions to Hebrew Scripture. These
verses all address Kwpios [Lord] as God and in most cases further identify KOpios [Lord] as the
Almighty.

3. Howard introduces an ambiguity regarding the Tetragrammaton into his study which is often shared

by Watch Tower publications. A discussion will often commence with references to the
Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint and then be extended as though the Christian Greek Scriptures
were the same document. The Septuagint and the Christian Greek Scriptures are separated by some
300 years and represent distinctly separate manuscript traditions. What can correctly be said of one
is not necessarily true of the other, despite the use of the Septuagint in the early Christian
congregation period. In a similar manner, a discussion of quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures is
often confused with other Jehovah references in ••244* • the New World Translation. A statement
may properly be made regarding an original writer's use of a Hebrew Scripture quotation which uses
the divine name, whereas an extension of that statement to the other 237 Jehovah references would
be inaccurate. The reader must carefully separate the Septuagint and the Christian Greek
Scriptures. Equally, the reader must differentiate between a passage which originates from (and
quotes) the Hebrew Scriptures and a statement being made by a Christian Scripture writer in which
there is no quotation source.

4. Howard concludes with a series of questions, two of which are of great importance to us here:

"If the Tetragram was used in the NT, how extensively was it used?" This is a question of paramount
concern to anyone reading the Christian Greek Scriptures. Our understanding of Jehovah and the Lord
Jesus will be greatly influenced by the answer. The answer is so important that we would expect the
divine Author to give ample evidence in the textual integrity of his Word. Certainly, if the
Tetragrammaton was used 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures, there should be ample ancient
Greek manuscripts confirming that for us. There are none!

"What are the implications of the use of the divine name in the NT for current christological studies?"

The question is well asked because the implications are immense! The subject of numerous verses in
Revelation is clearly "God. ..the Almighty." If the Tetragrammaton was not used, then John wrote that
"Kiipiog" [the Lord] is "God. ..the Almighty."

155
Appendix E: The Greek Text of the Hebrew Versions

• • 245 • • A reader may verify the Greek word used in any of the 237 Jehovah references of the New
World Translation by consulting the Greek text portion of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. This is
further verified in Appendix ID of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (pages 1565-
1566) showing that in 223 instances, the Greek word K yrios (Kupios) in one of its principle forms
(including idJpie, idJpiov, Kupiou, or Kupiw) is the word used in the Westcott and Hort text.

On the surface, it would seem that K yrios, rather than the Tetragrammaton, is the best textual
choice in each of these instances. However, there is an alternate possibility which must be considered.
The evidence supporting the restoration of Jehovah in each of these passages is found in 25 Hebrew
versions. Therefore, we must consider the Greek textual source for these versions.

Are there older, more reliable Greek manuscripts from which these Hebrew versions were
translated? That is, did translators of very early Hebrew versions have access to first century Greek
manuscripts containing the Tetragrammaton? If so, we may expect to find the needed evidence to
support the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures in these older texts.

The translation date of any given Hebrew version will suggest the Greek text which was available
at the time of its translation. (For example, the translator of a Hebrew version completed in the first
century C.E. would have had access to Greek manuscripts which pre-date those which are available
today.)

The earliest complete Hebrew version of the Christian Scriptures is J^ which was completed by
Elias Hutter in 1599. ^ This late date entirely eliminates the possibility of an earlier Greek text
unknown to today's translators. The Greek text of 1599 was essentially the same text which was used in
the 1611 King James version. Several pages of this Greek text are reproduced in the following pages.
Furthermore, according to the foreword in the Emphatic Diaglott New Testament published by the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (1942 edition), only about eight manuscripts of the entire
Christian Greek Scriptures were known in 1599:

[The] KING JAMES BIBLE, or the Authorized Version, was published in 1611. ..It has been
convicted of containing over ••246* • 20,000 errors. Nearly 700 Greek MSS are now known, 2 and
some of them very ancient; whereas the translators of the common [King James] version had only
the advantage of some 8 MSS, none of which was earlier than the tenth century.

The following pages contain copies of the Greek text from which the earliest Hebrew versions were
translated. Notice that the Tetragrammaton is nowhere found in these Luke passages, nor does it
appear elsewhere in the entire manuscript. (Luke 1:6, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 25, and 28 are all Jehovah
references.)

The subject of Greek manuscripts used in the Hebrew translation "J" references suggests an oversight
on the part of the translators and editors of the New World Translation. Clearly, the objective of
supporting texts for Greek manuscript verification is early evidences. That is, the older the
manuscript, the more accurately it should reflect the original writing. Therefore, the more highly
sought manuscripts are the oldest manuscripts.

Nonetheless, in the 1985 edition of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, the editors have added
new "J" references to further support the argument favoring the Tetragrammaton. These include the
following:

j22 Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew by 1979

the United Bible Societies
j23 Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew by J. 1975

Bauchet

1 We have not included J 2 because this may be a recension of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel.

2 Today this number stands at 5,000.

156

T24

j25
j26

J 27

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

1863

A Literal Translation of the New

Testament. ..From the Text of the Vatican

Manuscript

St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans

Psalms and Matthew

Die heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments

1900
1533
1796

j22 and J" are particularly interesting. The editors have literally used Hebrew translations from
current United Bible Societies' printed Greek New Testaments to establish the existence of the
Tetragrammaton over Greek manuscripts of the second and third century. To verify the Greek text for
j22 and J , one must merely purchase the United Bible Societies' current Greek New Testament!

••247««

H KAiNH

AlAflHKH

THE NEW

TESTAMENT

THE GREEK. Tfc* i
UNUtKLYlHtj TE1C ENGLISH
A1JTHUR1SRD VERSION
lift] tit

I HE TRJMTiMttAN BIBLE SOCIETY

Figure 8. The title page of an edition of the Greek text used for the 1 61 1 King James version.

Appendix E: The Greek Text of the Hebrew Versions

157

• •248"

PREFACE

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158

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

• •249"

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Figure 9. The preface of this same edition of the Greek text used for the 1 61 1 King James version.

Appendix E: The Greek Text of the Hebrew Versions

159

••250* •

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160

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

••251««

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Figure 10. Two pages of text from of this same Greek edition used for the translation of the 1611 Kin^
James version. The Tetragrammaton was not used in the Greek text.

161

Appendix F: Facsimiles of Early Greek Manuscripts

• • 252 • • Many early Greek manuscripts are available for examination in facsimile form. (Facsimile
copies are photographically reproduced plates of the actual manuscripts themselves. Generally, the
manuscripts are in page format.) One of the earliest Greek Scripture manuscripts available today is
known as the Chester Beatty Papyri and is cataloged as P . This manuscript has been dated as a copy
made about 200 C.E. Therefore, these copies were made not more than 150 years after the Apostle Paul
wrote between 50 and 61 C.E.

The material in this appendix comes from the book entitled, The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri,
Descriptions and Texts of Twelve Manuscripts on Papyrus of the Greek Bible. The editor is Frederic G.
Kenyon; the book was published by Emery Walker Ltd. of London in 1937.

Our best description comes from the Preface of the volume itself:

This [volume] contains a complete photographic reproduction of the papyrus of the Pauline
Epistles, the ownership of which is divided between Mr. Chester Beatty and the University of
Michigan. ..Since the complete codex [book] appears to have consisted of 104 leaves (of which the
last five may have been blank), the student now has a reproduction of a nearly complete copy of the
Epistles of St. Paul (apart from the Pastorals [1-2 Timothy and Titus]), at least a century older than
any MS. [manuscript] previously known. It seems certain that the papyrus is not later than the first
half of the third century; and Prof. Ulrich Wilcken, the first living authority on papyrology, would date
it 'round about A. D. 200.' It thus has a strong claim to be considered the earliest extant MS. of the
New Testament [Christian Greek Scriptures] of any substantial size, and to have been written not
more than a century and a half after the death of St. Paul.

The Watch Tower Society recognizes P 46 from "circa 200 C.E." 1 Thus, from the following
reproductions of this copy of the Greek Scriptures, we can see that the use of the Greek word K yrios
(rather than miT) can be established not later than this very early date.

The following summary of P 46 lists 28 instances in which the New World Translation uses Jehovah
as its translation of K yrios (or T heos). Plate No. : the papyrus leaf identification number (marked as "r"
for recto [front] and "v" for verso [back]). Plate Contents: the verses found on the papyrus leaf. Verse
Cited: Jehovah reference from the New World Translation. Entry: the surrogate (abbreviation) found
in P 46 . KIT : the word entry in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

••253* •

Plate No.

Plate Contents

Verse Cited

Entry

KIT

f.l6.r.

Rom 12:11-13:1

Rom 12:11

Km

KUpLlp

f.l9.v.

Rom 15:11-19

Rom 15:11

FcfT

KUplOV

f.23.v.

Heb 2:2-3:3

Heb 2:13

— 2

Seos

f.28.r.

Heb 7:28-8:8

Heb 8:2

KS

KUpLO?

f.31.r.

Heb 10:8-20

Heb 10:16

KS

KuplOS'

{.37. v.

Heb 13:3-11

Heb 13:6

KS

Kwpios'

f.40.r.

1 Cor 2:11-3:5

1 Cor 2:16

KY

Kupiov

f.41.r.

1 Cor 3:16-4:3

1 Cor 3:20

KS

Kupios

f.42.v.

1 Cor 4:4-10

1 Cor 4:4

KS

KUpLOS

f.45.r.

1 Cor 7:12-19

1 Cor 7:17

KS

KUpLO?

f.50.r.

1 Cor 10:21-30

1 Cor 10:21

KY

Kupiou

1 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, p. 313.

2 The final sigma (S) in manuscript entries is formed like the English lower-case c.

162

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Same citation as above

1 Cor 10:21

KY

Kupiou

1 Cor 10:22

KN

KUplOV

f.56.r.

I Cor 14:16-23

I Cor 14:21

KS

Kupios

Plate No.

Plate Contents

Verse Cited

Entry

KIT

f.60.r.

I Cor 16:2-12

I Cor 16:7

KS

KUpLOS

Same citation as above

I Cor 16:10

KY

Kupiov

f.64.r.

2 Cor 3:14-4:3

I Cor 3:16

KN

KuplOV

Same citation as above

I Cor 3:17

?

KUpLO?

I Cor 3:17

KY

KuplOU

I Cor 3:18

KY

KuplOU

I Cor 3:18

KY

KUplOU

f.67.r.

2 Cor 6:14-7:4

2 Cor 6:17

KS

Kupios

Same citation as above

2 Cor 6:18

KS

KuplOS

f.71.r.

2 Cor 10:11-11:2

2 Cor 10:17

KU>

KuplCp

Same citation as above

2 Cor 10:18

KS

KUpLOS

{.77. t.

Eph 2:21-3:10

Eph 2:21

KU>

KUpilp

f.80.v.

Eph 6:8-18

Eph 6:8

KY

KUplOU

f.83.r.

Gal 3:2-15

Gal 3:6

■G-U)

Geu

••254* •

Catalog identification: P 46 : plate f.40.r.

Greek manuscript date: circa 200 C.E.

Plate contains: 1 Corinthians 2:11 through 3:5.

Reference cited: 1 Corinthians 2:16.

Significance of this example: 1) Use of the Greek word K yrios (Kupiou) in place of the divine name

within a direct quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures. 2) Use of a surrogate (abbreviation) form

of both the word Kupiou (Lord) and Xpiorou (Christ). Kupiou is abbreviated K~y and XpiaTou is

abbreviated XpY-
Hebrew Scripture location: Isaiah 40:13.
Translation used in New World Translation: "Jehovah."
Translation used in Kingdom Interlinear Translation: "Lord."
Earliest date reference for the translation choice:

New World Translation — "Jehovah": A Hebrew version; 1838.

Kingdom Interlinear Translation — "Lord": This manuscript; circa 200 C.E.
Textual form. Manuscripts from this period did not use spacing between words, and broke words at

the end of a line. No accent or punctuation marks were used. Various additional surrogates are

evident throughout the page. The script is uncial.

1 Corinthians 2:16 from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation

English translation reads:

showing both the Greek text and the

. tls yap eyvco vouv
Who for knew mind

Kupiou, 6s auv(kpdaei

of Lord, who will make go together

cxutov; filets 8e vow XpiaToO e\o[i.ev.

him? We but mind of Christ are having.

1 Corinthians 2:16 from the Chester Beatty Papyri.

Note: We have reproduced the text below with the Greek wording, spelling, and script from the

Westcott and Hort Greek text; this may vary from the actual P 4 " text. In the case of the surrogates K~y

Appendix F: Facsimiles of Early Greek Manuscripts

(Lord) and Xpy (Christ), we have added spacing to facilitate identification.

163

Location: This phrase is found in lines 14 and 15 of the facing page and is identified by a bracket ( ] ) in
the right margin. The surrogates Ky and Xpy are circled.

...TiqrxperNtuNoyN Ky oc^cjnbibx
cei^YTONHMeiqAeiioyN Xpy ©tcomsn

••255* •

Plate f.40.r.

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Plate 1. A facsimile copy of P 46 which contains 1 Corinthians 2:11 through 3:5. The manuscript was
copied about 200 C.E.

164 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

••256* •

Catalog identification: P 46 : plate f.83.r.

Greek manuscript date: circa 200 C.E.

Plate contains: Galatians 3:2 to 15.

Reference cited: Galatians 3:6.

Significance of this example: Use of a surrogate (abbreviation) form of the word T heos (God). The

word ©eu is abbreviated as Qw .
Translation used in New World Translation: "Jehovah."
Translation used in Kingdom Interlinear Translation: "God."
Earliest date reference for the translation choice:

New World Translation — "Jehovah": A Hebrew version; 1599.

Kingdom Interlinear Translation — "God": This manuscript; circa 200 C.E.
Textual form. Manuscripts from this period did not use spacing between words, and broke words at the

end of a line. No accent or punctuation marks were used. Surrogate examples are evident.

Galatians 3: 6 from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation showing both the Greek text and the English
translation reads:

. . . raGios 'A|3pad(i emoreuaev to 0ec3, rat

According as Abraham believed to the God, and

eXoyiaGvri aura els 8iK0tioawr|v . . .

it was reckoned to him into righteousness.

Galatians 3:6 from the Chester Beatty Papyri.

Note: We have reproduced the text below with the Greek wording, spelling, and script from the
Westcott and Hort Greek text; this may vary from the actual P 4 " text. In the case of the surrogate Qw,
we have added spacing to facilitate identification.

Location: This phrase is found in lines six and seven of the facing page and is identified by a bracket ( ]
) in the right margin. The surrogate ©w is circled.

...Kx-G-iuqxBp^xMeniCTeYceNTtu 0tu km

GAOriC-e-NHXYTCUeiqAlKMOCYNHN . . .

Appendix F: Facsimiles of Early Greek Manuscripts

165

••257* •

Plate f.83.r.

:.".xvjrt."."

.-Hi-.

hTl" A 1 S-W r ■. (—«■■"<■■ OVr" T S «1 ^i Jf ' 1 -t Jif J- 111 IT f«. ■
V^-vr "^££^T f'A.^'Up-i.ly-t^TTlT^ctT^.^Mt^.Mjt.T,

i 5c> ]je*^r ;-

'■ -t;a;Vi~l J .^4>j^-» ~. >U ":_._:_ --sr^ ' "^i^cit*

'ij-Jf'S* ^»™. ^ ^r v: 1 *!. 1 !^* ^■" >-

$8v

*^r u -i^r«' , »

^J)'*t- £-■'

. : ^"*."\

Plate 2. A facsimile copy of P 46 which contains Galatians 3:2 to 1 5. The manuscript was copied about
200 C.E.

166
Appendix G: J 20 — 1TI1T in the Greek Concordance

••258* • A Concordance to the Greek Testament by W. F. Moulton and A. S. Geden (4th ed.,
Edinburgh, 1963) is identified in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as "J" reference J 20 . (See
Appendix A for a further description.) This reference is used by the New World Translation because it
identifies Hebrew Scripture quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures.

Two categories of Hebrew Scripture references are cited. First, and most importantly, are those
instances which are substantiated with a Hebrew Scripture reference which uses the Tetragrammaton.
In these cases, the entry in the Concordance quotes the passage from the Hebrew Scriptures. In the
following tables, we have included both the divine name as it appears in the Concordance entry and
the Scripture reference. (Notice that the entries use vowel points and are consequently written niiT
rather than miT'.)

In the second category of references, only the verse is cited without the quotation appearing from the
Hebrew Scriptures. In this case, we have included only the reference, and the column containing the
divine name will be blank.

J 20 lists all of the K yrios references contained in Appendix C. In this appendix, however, only the
entries which cite a Hebrew Scripture reference are given. (J 2 ^ cites no Hebrew Scripture references for
2 Peter, any of John's Epistles, Jude, or the book of the Revelation.)

This is a definitive reference in our study of the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures. / 2 "
precisely identifies each instance in the Greek Scriptures in which there is specific Hebrew Scripture
use of the Tetragrammaton in the passage quoted in the Christian Greek Scripture. We have not
included the references which contain Jah from Hallelujah (of which there are only four in the Greek
Scriptures, all in Revelation). That is, only the 44 occurrences of niiT as found in this reference would
clearly fulfill the criteria of the New World Translation when they state (Reference Edition,
Appendix Id):

To know where the divine name was replaced by the Greek words Kupios and 9e6s, we have
determined where the inspired Christian writers have quoted verses, passages and expressions
from the Hebrew Scriptures and then we have referred back to the Hebrew text to ascertain whether
the divine name appears there. In this way we determined the identity to give Ky'rios and Theos'
and the personality with which to clothe them.

• •259* • To avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis, we have
been most cautious about rendering the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures, always
carefully considering the Hebrew Scriptures as a background. We have looked for agreement from
the Hebrew versions to confirm our rendering. Thus, out of the 237 times that we have rendered
the divine name in the body of our translation, there is only one instance [1 Co 7:1 7] where we have
no agreement from the Hebrew versions. (Emphasis ours.)

Notice that, according to this source quoted by the translators of the New World Translation, only 42
Jehovah renderings are supported by the Hebrew Scriptures. (The number could be as many as 50
including the 42 mil" and 8 other names of God cited as "Note 1.") This leaves the remaining 191 (or
183) to be supported by much later Hebrew versions.

Because the material from Appendix B was taken from an English source
(The New World Translation), verse references may differ from the present list.

The reader should pay particular attention to the entries for 1 Peter 2:3 and 3:15.

Appendix G: J 20 — miT in the Greek Concordance

167

Matthew

KIT KIT j20 Documentation

Heb. Script. Hebrew word

NWT

1:22

Kupiou

Lord

Is 7:14

Jehovah

2:15

Kupiou

Lord

Ho 11:1

Jehovah

3:3

Kupiou

Lord

Is 40:3

rfirp

Jehovah

4:7

Kupiov

Lord

Dt 6:16

rfirp-nx

Jehovah

4:10

Kupiov

Lord

Dt 6:13

rfirpTix

Jehovah

5:33

KuplCi)

Lord

Lv 19:12

Note 1

Jehovah

21:9

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:26

niir

Jehovah

21:42

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:23

niir

Jehovah

22:37

Kupiov

Lord

Dt6:5

niir

Jehovah

22:44

Kupios

Lord

Ps 110:1

rfirp

Jehovah

23:39

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:26

Jehovah

27:10

KupiOS

Lord

Zc 11:13

Jehovah

Mark

••260««

1:3

Kupiou

Lord

Is 40:3

niir

Jehovah

11:9

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:26

Jehovah

12:11

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:23

Jehovah

Mark

12:29

Kupios

Lord

Dt6:4

nin 1

Jehovah

12:29

Kupios

Lord

Dt6:4

nin"

Jehovah

12:30

Kupiov

Lord

Dt6:5

niir

Jehovah

12:36

Kupios

Lord

Ps 110:1

Jehovah

Luke

2:23

Kupiou

Lord

Ex 13:2

Notel

Jehovah

2:23

KUpiW

Lord

Ex 13:2

Notel

Jehovah

2:24

Kupiou

Lord

Lv 12:8

Jehovah

3:4

Kupiov

Lord

Is 40:3

niir

Jehovah

4:8

Kupiov

Lord

Dt 6:13

Jehovah

4:12

Kupiov

Lord

Dt 6:16

Jehovah

4:18

Kupiou

Lord

Is 61:1

niir

Jehovah

4:19

Kupiou

Lord

Is 61:2

niir

Jehovah

10:27

Kupiov

Lord

Dt6:5

Jehovah

13:35

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:26

Jehovah

19:38

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:26

Jehovah

20:42

Kupios

Lord

Ps 110:1

Jehovah

John

1:23

Kupiou

Lord

Is 40:3

Jehovah

12:13

Kupiou

Lord

Ps 118:26

Jehovah

12:38

Kupie

Lord

Is 53:1

Notel

Jehovah

12:38

Kupiou

Lord

Is 53:1

niir

Jehovah

Acts

2:20

Kupiou

Lord

Jo 3:4

niir

Jehovah

2:21

Kupiou

Lord

Jo 3:5

niir

Jehovah

2:25

Kupiov

Lord

Ps 16:8

niir

Jehovah

2:34

Kupios

Lord

Ps 110:1

Jehovah

3:22

Kupios

Lord

Dt 18:15

niir

Jehovah

! Note 1: Other Hebrew entry; this entry does not include niir

168

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

••261««

KIT

KIT

/ 20 Documentation

NWT

4:26

KUpLOD

Lord

Ps2:2

n'm'-'pu

Jehovah

7:49

KupiOS

Lord

Is 66:1,2

niir-ntf]

Jehovah

15:17

KUpiOV

Lord

Am 9:12

Notel

Jehovah

15:17

Kiipios

Lord

Am 9:13

niir

Jehovah

Romans

4:8

Kupios

Lord

Ps 32:2

niir

Jehovah

9:28

KupiOS

Lord

Is 10:23

niir

Jehovah

9:29

KupiOS

Lord

Is 1:9

rfirp

Jehovah

10:16

Kupie

Lord

Is 53:1

Jehovah

Romans

11:3

Kijpie

Lord

1 Ki 19:10

Notel

Jehovah

11:34

Kupiou

Lord

Is 40:13

niir

Jehovah

12:19

Kupios

Lord

Dt 32:35

Notel

Jehovah

14:11

KupiOS

Lord

Is 14:23

Jehovah

15:11

KlipLOV

Lord

Ps 67:1

niir-nx

Jehovah

1 Corinthians

1:31

Kupico

Lord

Jr 9:23

Jehovah

2:16

Kupiou

Lord

Is 40:13

Jehovah

3:20

Kupios

Lord

Ps 44:11

niir

Jehovah

10:26

KUpiOU

Lord

Ps 24:1

nin^

Jehovah

14:21

KupiOS

Lord

Is 28:12

Notel

Jehovah

2 Corinthians

6:17

KlipLOS

Lord

Is 52:11

Jehovah

10:17

KupLio

Lord

Jr 9:23

Jehovah

2 Timothy

2:19

Kiipiog

Lord

Nm 16:5

niir

Jehovah

2:19

Kupiou

Lord

Is 52:11

Jehovah

Hebrews

1

26

Kupie

Lord

Ps 110:4

Notel

Lord

7

21

KupiOS

Lord

Ps 110:4

niir

Jehovah

8

8

KupiOS

Lord

Jr 31:31

niir-nx]

Jehovah

8

9

KupiOS

Lord

Jr 31:32

niir-nx]

Jehovah

8

10

KupiOS

Lord

Jr 31:33

niir-nx]

Jehovah

8

11

KUpiOU

Lord

Jr 31:34

niir-nx

Jehovah

10:16

KupiOS

Lord

Jr 31:34

Jehovah

10:30

KlipLOS

Lord

Ps 135:14

niir

Jehovah

12:5

Kup(oi)

Lord

Pr 3:11

niir

Jehovah

12:6

KlipLOS

Lord

Pr 3:12

rfirp

Jehovah

13:6

KlipLOS

Lord

Ps 118:6

niir

Jehovah

1 Peter

1:25

Kupiou

Lord

Is 40:5

niir

Jehovah

2:3

KlipLOS

Lord

Ps 34:8

niir

Lord

3:12

KupLOD

Lord

Ps 34:16

niir

Jehovah

3:12

Kup(oi)

Lord

Ps 34:17

nin"

Jehovah

3:15

Kupiov

Lord

Is 8:13

nin"-nx

Lord

169

Appendix H: A Second Hebrew Version

••262* • The following flyleaf information comes from a second Hebrew translation. (The
information given is a composite copy of both the English and Hebrew title pages.) This version gives
the translator's name as Professor Fanz Delitzsch. Though a date is not give, this must then be J-*-' '.

The importance of this Hebrew translation is the wording on its title page which says:
"TRANSLATED OUT OF THE ORIGINAL GREEK:"

All Hebrew versions have Greek — not Hebrew — textual sources. Thus, the New World
Translation's use of mil" is derived from a Hebrew translation and not from an original ancient
document.

THE

NFW TESTAMENT

fr* OUR rORFt AN!) SAVIOUR
JESUS CHRIST

TIH\'JI.,<-1!0 OUT 01 U:F UfJCI-'.L CULkr

-s :-- a -Ai-ir tml 'opmcr TPAMiATPOni

G ! L LG I. :l 1 L 'I LCMPr'.f ;0- AMD H'-'lIlp.
Bl HIS J-I^Jf VTTI Iflil-'L 4&MI-VHD-

'-»

nunnn nmn

•.T>'.j-Sf r

u^xn pj'st-s -k*ciwt£> u-"--

TEIFL SOCIETY FOR, Dt&TH !JB<„TIi- G
Thl! ElOLV SCEUPTtRES
TO TTIE lEWS
1 (tUCTfipv L*NB.

Fm<iWAJif? r MlDDLlSI^Jt HA* 7 LP
FrrtOLAND

170

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts

• • 263 • • This appendix is included for the purpose of comparison. When reviewing the Greek
manuscript information cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, the reader may be left with the
impression that relatively few reliable ancient Greek manuscripts are available for textual study.
That is far from true.

The Greek New Testament, Third Edition, 1 prepared by the United Bible Societies is a source
reference used by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation editors and is identified as "UBS." As does the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation itself, the UBS lists in footnote form ancient Greek manuscripts and
other sources consulted when the Greek wording is questionable. (We also note from the UBS list that
versions can be used to authenticate a Greek wording. However, the verification comes from similarity
of the translation to the original Greek language source. Versions are never used to replace the reading
of a word in the Greek text itself.)

Ability to understand and use a textual apparatus is a worthwhile skill for the advanced Bible
student. For that reason, we will demonstrate the use of the UBS apparatus with one example of a
problematic verse.

In the first section of this appendix, we will briefly compare the footnote material found in the UBS
reference for Revelation 1:8 with that of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation for the same verse. We
have chosen this verse merely because we are already familiar with its use in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation and because it represents a textual problem in another part of the
wording.

In the second section, we will give the UBS list of manuscripts and other sources used to substantiate
the wording of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The manuscripts, versions, and lectionaries listed in the second section are the footnote citations used
in the UBC "Greek New Testament" to confirm variant readings. Note their number!

••264»» In addition to the material included in this appendix, the UBS also includes citations from
the patristics. Over 200 names are included in this latter catalog of patristics, and each may be cited
multiple times in support of the Greek text.

(Refer to the Glossary for word definitions used in this appendix.)

Is the UBS acceptable to Witnesses?

As a reference source, the UBS must be acceptable to Witnesses. First, it must be acceptable for the
simple reason that it is a citation source in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (However, we fully
understand that mere citation does not imply that all information contained therein is wholly
endorsed by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation editors.) Secondly, though this is a more recently
updated Greek Scripture text than that of the Westcott and Hort source used for the
New World Translation, the text is substantially the same. Rejection of the UBS text would be
tantamount to rejection of the Greek textual basis for the New World Translation! (That is, with the
exception of the 237 K yMOS passages, the Greek text relied upon by the New World Translation must,
of necessity, align itself with the best Greek texts available today.)

The Revelation 1:8 footnotes compared

We have referred to Revelation 1:8 numerous times. This verse is interesting because there are
textual variants which must be reconciled. However, as we will see in the extensive textual apparatus,
none of the variants deal with the Tetragrammaton. (The textual apparatus is the footnote citation
system which presents evidence for the best Greek wording from early manuscripts and related

1 The Greek New Testament, Third Edition (Corrected), © 1966, 1968, 1975, 1983, published by the United Bible
Societies. All textual citations in this appendix have come from either this edition or the companion volume, A
Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, © 1 971 . (Three manuscript dates have been added from another
edition.) Because of the constant revision process on the UBS text, each new edition will contain supplementary
material. Comparison of textual apparatus material will not always be identical between subsequent editions.

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts 171

documents.) The New World Translation renders the verse,

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says Jehovah* God, "the One who is and who was and who is
coming, the Almighty."

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote reads, "8* Jehovah, j7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24. L rd,
NAVgSy ," thus citing ten Hebrew translations supporting Jehovah followed by two Greek manuscripts
and two versions supporting Lord.

However, from other ancient Greek manuscripts, we discover that there are at least two additional
possible wordings for this verse. (As we will see, the readings are merely restatements of
"Alpha. ..Omega," and present no theological difficulties.)

Notice the contrast with the UBC footnote for the same verse. (The footnote has three sections; the
first cites textual evidences, the second cites various English translation renderings, and the third cites
biblical ••265* • [including Septuagint] cross references which, in turn, cite similar uses of Greek
wording or structure.) The footnote portion for this verse will be reproduced verbatim without
explanation of the symbols used.

3 8 {B}'Qx a AC P 046 94 1006 1611 1859 2020 2042 2053 2138 it h syrP h > h arm eth Ambrose

Diadochus Primasius Arethas // 'Q dpxf| mi -reXos (see 21.6) x*. b 1 1828 1854 2065 2073 2081*

(2344 to -reXos) 2432 itar,c,dem,div,gig,haf,t,z vg Origen lat Andrew bav > c /Pfi f| dpxf| mi to teXo?

(see 21 .6) 2081 c Andrew 3 cop DO

cc 8 c none, c minor: BovBF 2 RVASV RSV NEB ZurLuthJer Seg // c minor, c none: RV m 9 // c
minor, c minor: WH // different text: TR AV

8Eyw . . :o Re 21 .6; 22.13 6 civ Ex 3.14; Re 1.4; 4.8; 11.17; 16.5 6 uv...epx6|ievo<? Is 41.4; Re
1.4; 4.8 Xeyei ...TravTOKpdTwp Am 3:13 LXX;Am4:13 LXX; Re 4.8; 11.17; 15.3; 16.7, 14; 19.6,
15; 21.22

The wording in question is shown in the following three possibilities. Their order indicates the
strength of the Greek manuscript support from greatest to least:

1 . "I am the Alpha and the Omega, is saying the Lord, the God... "

2. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, beginning and ending, is saying the Lord, the God..."

3. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, is saying the Lord, the
God..."

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives the following Greek and English entry:

'Eyw elp.i to "AXcfxi kcu to Q Xeyei Kupios,

I am the Alpha and the Omega, is saying Lord,

6 Geo?,
the God,

The UBS footnote tells us that the following sources give the first reading as it is found in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation:

••266* •

X a 2 Aleph, an important 4th cent, manuscript cited

frequently by KIT

A Codex Alexandrinus, an important 5th cent.

manuscript cited frequently by KIT.
C Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, a 5th century

manuscript quoted by KIT.
P A 9th cent. Greek manuscript.

2 X designates Codex Sinaiticus which is a fourth century manuscript. However, in the sixth and seventh centuries,
margin notes were added, supplying alternate readings. These margin notes are identified with superscript letters as
X a 'D' c , and so on. In this instance, the margin notation X a does not alter the wording, whereas K° adds the words
"beginning and ending."

172

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

046 A 10th cent. Greek manuscript.

94 A 12th cent. Greek manuscript.

1006 An 11th cent. Greek manuscript.

1611 A 12th cent. Greek manuscript.

1859 A 14th cent. Greek manuscript.

2020 A 15th cent. Greek manuscript.

2042 A 14th cent. Greek manuscript.

2053 A 13th cent. Greek manuscript.

2138 An 11th cent. Greek manuscript,

h A 5th cent. Old Latin version.

Includes both 6th and 7th cent. Old Latin versions.

A 13th cent. Armenian version cited by KIT.

A 6th cent. Ethiopic version.

A quotation from a writing by a patristic who died

in397C.E.

A quotation from a writing by a patristic who died

in468C.E.

A quotation from a writing by a patristic who died

in552C.E.

it

r ph.h

syrt-
arm
eth
Ambrose

Diadochus

Primasius

Arethas A quotation from a writing by a patristic who died

in914C.E.

A variant wording of Revelation 1:8 is familiar to us from the King James Version. (The KJV adds
the article the to make a smooth English sentence.) The wording of this variant is:

'EyweLiiL to "A\<|>a rai to Q &PXA k<xl

I am the Alpha and the Omega, beginning and

TeXos Xeyei Kupios, 6 Beos,
ending is saying Lord, the God,

The UBS footnote tells us that the following sources give this second reading. This list of sources
carries less weight than the first group:

••267* •

1

1828

1854

2065
2073
2081
2344
2432
uar,c,dem,div,

gig,haf,t,z

Origen

lat

Aleph, a 4th cent, manuscript. (See footnote 2 on

the previous page.)
A 12th cent. Greek manuscript.
A 12th cent. Greek manuscript.
An 11th cent. Greek manuscript.

A 15th cent. Greek manuscript.

A 14th cent. Greek manuscript.

An 11th cent. Greek manuscript.

An 11th cent. Greek manuscript.

A 14th cent. Greek manuscript.

A family of Old Latin versions between the 8th

and 13th cents. A total of 8 individual versions

are represented.
The Latin Vulgate cited by KIT.
A quotation from a writing by Origen, a patristic

who died in 254 C.E. It is of note that he did not

use ITliT. (Origen was thoroughly competent in

Hebrew.)

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts 173

Andrew'- ,av ' c Two separate quotations of a patristic who died in
614 C.E.

A final variant wording of Revelation 1:8 adds an article before the words beginning and ending :

'EyojeL(iL to "AXcjxi mi to Q r\ apxA KaL

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and

to TeXos Xeyei Kupios, 6 9eos,
the ending is saying Lord, the God,

The UBS footnote tells us that the following sources give this third reading. Again, this list of
manuscripts carries less weight than either of the preceding two possibilities:

2081 An Uth century Greek manuscript.

Andrew a A quotation — distinct from the above

citation — of a patristic who died in 614.
cop* 30 A Coptic version from the 4th cent.

Textual Commentary information

The United Bible Societies publishes a companion volume to the Greek New Testament entitled A
Textual Commentary on The Greek New Testament. This volume gives further explanation of the
textual apparatus. The entire entry for Revelation 1:8 is as follows:

1.8 "Q {B}

After T Q the Textus Receptus [the Greek text from which the King James Version was translated],
following n* 1 (2344) it9'9-61 vg a/, adds dpxf) mi teXos, and twenty other minuscules add f)dpxf)
Kai to teXos. If the longer text were original no good reason can be found to account for the shorter
text, whereas the presence ••268* • of the longer expression in 21.6 obviously prompted some
copyists to expand the text here.

This brief quotation is interesting primarily in that it gives us insight into the use of the UBS
textual apparatus. In this case, we are not particularly concerned with the argument against including
the "beginning and ending" clause. There is a second area of interest, however, because once again we
see no evidence of a textual discussion concerning Greek manuscripts which contain iTIiT.

Importance of variant information

The variants of Revelation 1:8 are interesting illustrations for several reasons. First, we can see an
example of a wording variant which must be resolved because we desire an accurate text. Yet neither of
the two variants change the theological content of the verse. The phrase in question, "[the] beginning
and [the] ending," adds nothing to that which the original author said. It is redundant inasmuch as
"A" (alpha) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and "Q" (omega) is the last.

Secondly, because of the variant, there has been heightened study of early Greek manuscripts to
determine the original word used by the Apostle John in this verse. With all this attention to the
manuscripts, not a single citation is made indicating the presence of the Tetragrammaton. Most
certainly, if a heresy of such catastrophic proportions as the removal of the Tetragrammaton had
taken place in the second century, it would have come to light in the study of the Greek Scripture
manuscripts or writings of the early patristics.

Thirdly, the very Greek manuscripts used by the UBS to substantiate the preferred reading are the
same Greek manuscripts used by the translators of the New World Translation as citations for K yflOS
(Lord) in this verse. It is only by reference to much later Hebrew translations that the word Jehovah
can be brought into the verse.

Finally, it is interesting to realize that Origen himself is one of the early patristics cited. Most
certainly, if Origen had written the Tetragrammaton in this verse, a citation of his comment for the
present wording could not be used without recognition of iTIiT as being the greater variant. The inference
by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society that Origen used the Tetragrammaton in the Christian

174

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Greek Scriptures must be completely reevaluated. In this one instance, he most certainly did not use
mrP! Thus, in at least this verse, Origen recognized that K yMOS could properly be identified with
"God... the Almighty."

UBS textual apparatus citations

••269 ,# The UBS includes two tables of information listing the early Greek manuscripts,
lectionaries, and versions cited in support of readings within the Greek text. (Lectionaries are portions
of Scripture organized for daily — or church service — readings. They are Scripture portions, but they
are not organized chronologically in book form.) The first table contains the identification of all
citations irrespective of frequency. The second list contains only the principle sources for citation.

It will be of interest to the reader to see the large number of Greek manuscripts and related material
which are used to substantiate the wording of the Greek Scriptures. Within this appendix, we have
included all of the entries in the Papyri section because these represent the earliest documents
available. Under the headings for Uncials, Minuscules, Lectionaries, and Versions, we have generally
given only those which are included in the UBS's shorter list.

For interest's sake, in Table 10 we have tabulated the information of all UBS references at the close
of this appendix.

The following material is noted as the PRINCIPAL MANUSCRIPTS AND VERSIONS CITED IN THE
TEXTUAL APPARATUS from the Third Edition of The Greek New Testament by the United Bible
Societies. The first column headed, No. identifies the document in question with its universally
recognized letter or number identification. The heading, Content identifies the portion of the
Christian Greek Scriptures which is contained in the document. (See the KEY below.) The heading,
Date identifies the approximate century of the Common Era in which the manuscript was produced. In
the case of the writings of an early patristic, the date is the time (or best approximation) of death.
The section headings, Papyri, Uncials, Minuscules, Lectionaries, and Versions, refer to a specific type of
manuscript. (See the Glossary for definitions.)

KEY Content: e-Gospels; a-Acts; p-Pauline Epistles; c-General Epistles; r-Revelation. Date:
early; L-late; c. -circa.

Papyri

••270* •

No.

Content

Date

Papyri

P 1

e

3rd

No.

Content

Date

P 2

e

6th

p21

e

4th/5th

P ?

e

6th/7th

p22

e

3rd

P 4

e

3rd

p23

c

E3rd

P- R

e

3rd

p24

r

4 th

p6

e

4th

p2 5

e

L4th

p8

a

4 th

p26

P

c. 600

plO

P

4th

p27

P

3rd

pll

P

7th

p30

P

3rd

pi?

P

3rd/4th

p33

a

6th

pi 5

P

3rd

p36

e

6th

pl6

P

3rd/4th

p37

e

3rd/4th

pl8

r

3rd/4th

p38

a

c. 300

pl9

e

4th/5th

p39

e

3rd

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts 175

Papyri

Uncials

No.

Content

Date

No.

Content

Date

p40

P

3rd

Y 034

e

9th

p41

a

8th

Z 035

e

6 th

p45

ea

3rd

r 036

A 037

e
e

10th
9th

p46

P

c. 200

9 038

e

9 th

p4 7

r

L3rd

A 039

e

9 th

p48

a

L3rd

S 040

e

8 th

p4 9
p5

P
a

L3rd
4th/5th

n 041

X 042
<D 043

e
e
e

9th
6th
6 th

p51

P

c. 400

* 044

eap

8th/9th

p5 8

a

6th

Q 045

e

9 th

p5 9

e

7th

046

r

10th

p60

e

7th

047
048

e
ape

8 th
5th

p61

P

c. 700

049

ape

9th

p6?

e

c. 500

050

e

9th

p64

e

c. 200

051

r

10th

p65

P

3rd

052
053

r
e

10th
9th

p6 6

e

c. 200

054

e

8 th

p67

e

c. 200

056

ape

10th

p64

P

7th?

058

e

4 th

p70

e

3rd

059

e

4th/5th

p71

e

4 th

060
061

e

P
P

6th
5th

P 72

c

3rd/4th

062

5th

p74

ac

7th

063

e

9th

p75

e

E3rd

064

e

6th

p76

e

6th

065
••271««

e

6 th

Uncials

066

a

6th

No.

Content

Date

067

e

6 th

068

e

5 th

X 01

eapcr

4 th

070

e

6th

A 02

eapcr

5th

071

e

5th/6th

B 03

eapc

4th

073

e

6th

C 04

eapcr

5th

074

e

6th

D 05

eac

5th/6th

076

a

5th/6th

D 06

P

6th

078

e

6 th

rjabs

P

9th

079

e

6 th

E 07

ac

6th

081

P

6 th

E 08

a

6th

082

P

6th

F 09

e

9th

083

e

6 th /7th

F 010

p

9th

084

e

6 th

G Oil

e

9th

085

e

6th

G 012

p

9th

086

e

6 th

H 013

e

9th

087

e

6th

H 014

a

9th

088

P

5th/6th

H 015

P

6th

090

e

6th

I 016

p

5th

091

e

6th

K 017

e

9th

092b

e

6 th

K 018

ap

9th

093

ac

6th

L 019

e

8th

095

a

8 th

L 020

ap

9th

096

a

7th

M 021

e

9 th

097

a

7th

N 022

e

6th

099

e

7th

O 023

e

6th

0100

e

7th

P 024

e

6th

0102

e

7th

P 025

apr

9th

0105

e

10th

Q 026

e

5th

0106

e

7th

R 027

e

6th

0107

e

7th

S 028

e

949

0108

e

7th

T 029

e

5th

0109

e

7th

U 030

e

9th

0110

e

6 th

V 031

e

9th

0111

P

7th

W 032

e

5th

0112

e

6 th /7th

X 033

e

10th

0113

e

5th

176

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Uncials

Uncials

No.

Content

Date

No.

Content

Date

0115

e

9th/10th

0236

a

5th

0116

e

8th

0237

e

6 th

0117

e

9th

0238

e

8 th

0119

e

7th

0242

e

4 th

0120

a

9th

••272* •

0121a
0121b
0122
0124

P
P
P
e

10th

10th

9th

6th

0243
0246
0250

P
c
e

10th
6th
8 th

0125
0126
0128
0129

e
e
e

p

5 th
8 th
9th
9th

No.
f 1

Miniscules
Content
e

Date
12th-14th

0130

e

9 th

f 13

e

llth-13th

0131

e

9th

1

r

12th

0132

e

9th

28

e

11th

0134

e

8th

33

eapc

9th

0136

e

9th

81

ape

11th

0138

e

9th

88

apcr

12th

0141

e

10th

94

r

12th

0142

ape

10th

104

apcr

11th

0143

e

6th

181

ape

11th

0146

e

8th

326

ape

12th

0148

e

8th

330

eapc

12th

0150

P

9th

436

ape

11th

0151

P

9th

451

ape

11th

0155

e

9 th

565

e

9th

0156

c

8th

614

ape

13th

0159

P

6th

629

ape

14th

0162

e

3rd/4th

630

ape

14th

0165

a

5th

700

e

11th

0170

e

5th/6th

892

e

9th

0171

e

4 th

945

eapc

11th

0172

P

5th

1006

er

11th

0175

a

5th

1009

e

13th

0176

P

4th/5th

1010

e

12th

0177

e

10th

1071

e

12th

0179

e

6th

1079

e

10th

0180

e

6th

1195

e

12th

0181

e

4th/5th

1216

e

11th

0182

e

5th

1230

e

12th

0186

P

5th/6th

1241

eapc

12th

0187

e

6th

1242

eapc

13th

0189

a

2nd/3rd

1253

e

15th

0190

e

6th

1344

e

12th

0191

e

7th

1365

e

12th

0193

e

7th

1505

eapc

11th

0196

e

9th

1546

e

13th

0197

e

9th

1611

apcr

12th

0201

P

5th

1646

eapc

12th

0202

e

6 th

1739

ape

10th

0206

c

4 th

1828

apcr

12th

0207

r

4 th

1854

apcr

11th

0208

P

6th

1859

acr

14th

0209

pc

7th

1877

ape

14th

0210

e

7th

1881

ape

14th

0214

e

4th/5th

1962

p

11th

0216

e

5th

1984

p

14th

0217

e

5 th

1985

p

16th

0220

P

3rd

2020

r

15th

0221

P

4th

2042

r

14th

0223

P

6 th

2053

r

13th

0225

P

6th

2065

r

15th

0226

P

5th

2073

r

14th

0229

r

8th

2081

r

11th

0230

P

4 th

2127

e

14th

0232

c

5th/6th

2138

apcr

11th

0234

e

8th

2148

e

14th

0235

e

6th/7th

2174

e

14th

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts

177

No.

2344

2412

2432

2492

2495

No.

,10

l 12

l 32
l 59

l 69
l 70

j8
1147
jl 5
jl 8 4
V211
j292
j2 9 9
V3 3
J3 9
V313
V3 3 3
13 74
T3 81
J490
r547
J5 9 7
T5 9 8
j599
j603
J680
j8 9
J8 4 7
J9 5
jl 021
[1127
Jl 153a

••273* •

Miniscules

Content

apcr

ape

r

eapc

eapcr

Lectionaries
Content
e
e
e

ape
eapc
e
e
e

ape
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e
e

ape
ape
ape
ape
eapc
ape
e
e

eapc
e
ape

1231

e

1298

ape

1356

ape

1364

ape

1365

ape

1439

ape

1441

ape

1443

ape

1579

e

1590

ape

1599

c

1610

e

1627

e

1634

e

1642

e

Date
11th
12th
14th
13th
14th/15th

Date
13th
13th
11th
12th
11th
12th
12th
12th
12th
10th
14th
12th
9th
13th
12th
10th
14th
13th
11th
11th
9th
8 th
10th
11th
11th
11th
13th
12th
10th
13th
12th
12th
14th

10th
11th
10th
12th
12th
12th
13th
11th
14th
13th
9th
15th
11th
12th
13th

Lectionarie.

No.

Content

Date

11663

e

14th

J1761

e

Versions
Old Latin

15th

Abb.

Content

Date

it a

e

4 th

it a2

e

5th

it"

eaper

9th

it aur

e

7th

it b

c

5th

itP

c

7th

it c

eapcr

12th/13th

it d

eac

5th

it d

P

5th/6th

jfdem

apcr

13th

j+div

per

13th

it e

e

5th

it e

P

9th

it'

c

6th

it'

P

9 th

it"

c

lOth/llth

it'' 1

eac

10th

it" 2

e

5 th

its

P

9 th

its 1

eapcr

9th

itS'8

eapcr

13th

its ue

P

6 th

it h

e

5th

it h

acr

5th

it haf

r

10th

it 1

e

5 th

it)

e

6 th

it k

e

4th/5th

it 1

e

7th/8th

it 1

eapcr

7th

it m

eapcr

4th-9th

:*mon

P

10th

it n

e

5th

it°

e

7th

itP

e

8 th

itP

eapcr

13th

itP h

a

12th

it

e

7th

ifl

e

7th

itl

c

7th

if

a

7th /8th

it' 1

e

7th

it' 2

e

8th/9th

it' 3

P

7th

itP

e

7th/8th

it s

e

5th

it s

ac

6 th

it 1

eapcr

11th

it 1

e

6 th

it v

P

8th/9th

it w

P

11th

178

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Versions

Old Latin

Abb.

Content

Date

it x

pd

9th

it z

per
Vulgate

8 th

Abb.

Content

Date

vg

eapcr

4 th /5th

Vgd

eapcr

16th

vg ww

eapcr
Syriac

19th-20th

Abb.

Content

Date

syr s
syr c
syrP

e

e

eapcP

4th
4th
5th

syrP al
syrP h

eapc
cPtr

5th
6th

syr 11

eapcr
Coptic

7th

Abb.

Content

Date

CO pSa

cop b0

eapcr
eapcr

3rd
4th

co P fa y

cop ach

eapcr
e

4th
4 th

••274* •

Gothic

Abb.

Content

Date

goth

eap
Armenian

4 th

Abb.

Content

Date

arm

eapcr

5 th

Abb.

Ethiopic

Content

Date

eth
eth r0
ethPP
eth ms

eapcr
eapcr
eapcr
e

Versions
Georgian

6 th
16th
19th
13th

Abb.

Content

Date

geo

geo 1

geo 2

A

geo
geo B

ea

e

e

e

e

Nubian

5th

9 th

10th

10th

10th

Abb.

Content

Date

Nub

ep

8th?

cop

ach2

4 th

Summary of UBS citations

The following table summarizes the early Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, early versions, and
writings of the patristics used to verify the original wording of the Christian Greek Scriptures in the
United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament. The manuscripts which were available as of 1976 are
listed in the Total available column. No total number is given for versions.

Manuscript type

Earliest/Latest

UBS total

Total available

Papyri

c. 200 /8th C.E.

53

88

Uncials

4th/10th C.E.

179

274

Minuscules

9th/ 18th C.E.

522

2795

Lectionaries

8th/15thC.E.

149

2209

Versions

Old Latin

4th/13th C.E.

58

86 4

Syriac

4th/7th C.E.

9

N/A

Coptic

3rd/4th C.E.

5

N/A

Ethiopic

6th C.E. j

[ 3

N/A

Georgian

5th C.E.

3

N/A

Other versions

4th/8th C.E.

8

N/A

Fathers

110/1135 C.E.

212

N/A

Table 1 0. Manuscript evidence supporting the UBS Greek text.
»275» • One may correctly draw the conclusion that Table 10 documents the supporting evidence for

3 Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, Metzger, p. 54

4 From UBS sources.

Appendix I: A Catalog of Greek Manuscripts 179

K yriOS ( KvpLOS) in the Christian Greek Scriptures. This large number of Greek Scripture manuscripts
(and supplementary documents) is used to validate the entire Greek Scripture text. Thus, any single
variant, such as mil", will be subject to evaluation by all known documents. In that light, contrast the
sources supporting mil" in the New World Translation and K yMOS ( Kupios) in the UBS text. (The UBS
text is comparable to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation text.) The New World Bible Translation
Committee used 26 Hebrew versions, all of which were translated (with the exception of y- and the
related recensions of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel) between 1385 and 1979, to introduce Jehovah into the
English Greek Scriptures. Each of these translations were made from the Greek text, which itself
contains K yMOS (Kupios). In contrast to 26 versions, the UBS has used 86 versions dating as early as
the third and fourth centuries. In addition, UBS has cited a total of 754 Greek manuscripts and 149
lectionaries. The New World Translation itself cites 12 Greek manuscripts and eight versions in
support of K yriOS ( Kupiog), but no Greek manuscripts in support of ITIIT.

180
Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla

• • 276* • Origen's Hexapla — which was his study of the Septuagint version of the Hebrew
Scriptures — is not a part of the textual literature used per se in studying the Tetragrammaton in the
Christian Greek Scriptures. Nonetheless, because the Watch Tower Society uses the Hexapla as
evidence for the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures, we have included this evaluation
in the appendix.

Because of the comprehensive nature of the Hexapla, Origen's work gives us valuable information
regarding the state of the Septuagint and related textual problems in the first two centuries C.E. From
this study we can learn much about the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Scriptures.

The man and the Hexapla

Origen was among the most prominent of the early patristics. He was probably born in Alexandria
about 182 C.E., and died in Caesarea not later than 251 C.E.

As a young man, he was given the best scholarly education possible through the efforts of his
father. In 202 C.E. his father was martyred for his Christian faith — an end Origen himself ideally
wished to pursue by accompanying his father. He was spared, however, through his mother's
intervention. He spent his early life in Alexandria as an impoverished but highly respected teacher of
the Scriptures. He then moved to Palestine where he spent much of the remaining years of his life in
teaching and producing voluminous writings. (He is credited with over 6,000 written editions, each
consisting of a completed scroll.)

Throughout his lifetime, Origen did extensive work on the Septuagint, producing several
variations of a similar study. The most complete, however, was the Hexapla in which he compared
the Septuagint with three parallel Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. The work was
organized in six columns. 1 (The name Hexapla is derived from hex- meaning six.) The columns were
arranged as follows: In the first column (headed The Hebrew), Origen wrote the verse in Hebrew
characters as it appeared in the Hebrew Scriptures. This column was written from right to left. In a
second column (headed '"E(Bp," with the full heading translated as The Hebrew [in] Greek Letters), the
Hebrew words were transliterated with Greek letters. The second column has no meaning as written
Greek, but the letters could be read to reproduce the Hebrew pronunciation of the »277» • words. (Since
written Hebrew during Origen's day had no vowel markings, only a fluent speaker of Hebrew could
read the characters with proper pronunciation. Thus, the Greek transliteration column provided the
vowel pronunciation for a Gentile reading the Hebrew characters.) This column read from left to right
as Greek is normally written. In the remaining four columns, Origen reproduced four Greek versions of
the Hebrew Scriptures. The first version was by Aquila in the column headed '"A." The second was a
translation by Symmachus in the column headed "S." The third was the Septuagint in the column
headed "OV The fourth column contained a version by Theodotion in the column headed "0." A final
column was occasionally used for variants or notations concerning any one of the versions, though it is
not counted as a true column. Figure 11 is a typeset reproduction of the actual arrangement of the
original Hexapla. Note that each row represents a word-by-word transcription of the entire Hebrew
Scripture text. The original Hexapla is thought to have consisted of nearly fifty volumes, with each
volume in the form of a scroll equivalent in length to a Gospel or the book of Acts.

Each of the three supplementary versions represented a unique translation style. Aquila's
translation, made in the first half of the second century C.E, was extremely literal. Symmachus'
translation, made in the later second century C.E., was more free. Theodotion's work, also made in the
second century C.E., was a free revision of the Septuagint.

1 See Aid to Bible Understanding, page 386.

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla

181

The Hexapla was the crowning work of Origen's life, yet nothing is known of its destruction. In all
likelihood, the original was the only complete copy ever made. From the writings of Eusebius 2 and
others, we know that the original was housed in a library at Caesarea for many years, where it was
probably destroyed in 653 C.E. when Caesarea was burned by the Saracens (Arabs).

Had the Hexapla survived, its value in the field of Hebrew Scripture textual criticism would have
been enormous. Origen was an exacting student and had extensively researched the transmission of the
Hebrew text. We must remember, however, that the focus of his • «279« • attention was not the Hebrew
text per se. His primary concern was an accurate reconstruction of the text of the Septuagint. His
purpose was to give the Greek-speaking world of his day a Hebrew Scripture version of the greatest
fidelity.

(••278««)

3 C
bC |

0)

X>

0)

C

G

q

CO

CT(J

en

U H

in

s ^

'3d 5

(fl q
3 J

q
o

G
73
G
0)
X,

mrr

yD2J

nirr

13

mrr

XL

kojX
Gavowa'l

mrr

6£ei
oi>|iayevvn

|3aTe

mrr

OTL

"r|Kouae
4>ojyfjs
Sefjcreus' [iov.

mrr

KarfdTOS p.ou

'o

' eTTaKoiiaas'

Tfjs' 4>iovfjs

Tfjs' iKeaias [iov.

mm

"OTL

eiafJKOwje
Tfjs' 4>covf|s'
Tfjs Sefiaews \iov.

mm "k?

Por|96s jiou

"cm

6LCTf|KODCTe
Tfjs (JKOVfjS'

Tfjs 8efjaec5s p.ou.

mm

Por|96s' \iov

(kol) Bupeos |ioir Kai irrTepaamarfjs' Kai <i)>TTepaamoTfis' (Kai) iiTTepacrmaTfis'

[IOV [IOV \iov

ev aiiTtoL auTWL ev aural ev auTtoi

eTrerfOL9r|CTey eTfeTroi9r|aev fjXmcrev fjXTTKjey

Figure 1 1 . The column arrangement of Origen's Hexapla from Psalm 25:6 and 7.

The reconstructed Hexapla

The original Hexapla has been entirely lost. Furthermore, because it was apparently never
reproduced in its entirety while it was still housed in the library at Caesarea, copies of complete
portions do not exist today. However, because the Hexapla was so widely quoted by others before its
destruction, substantial — though fragmentary — portions can be found scattered throughout the writings

2 Eusebius of Caesarea — generally referred to simply as Eusebius — made an immense contribution to our
understanding of the early church, its personalities, its disputes, and its writings. He was born sometime between
275 and 280 C.E. and died circa 339. In his own right, he was not an original thinker, but he became a prodigious
and exacting copier and recorder of others' works. Much of what is known of certain early writings has been
preserved only through the copies of Eusebius. Eusebius was particularly interested in Origen and the textual
problems of the Septuagint (as found in the Hexapla), and was thus responsible for much of the preservation of the
work which exists today.

182

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

of the early patristics. Fortunately, a copy of the corrected Septuagint column which was made by
Eusebius and Pamphilus has survived. 3

Because the Hexapla offers such important insights into the Septuagint and other Hebrew
Scripture literature in both the Hebrew and Greek languages, attempts have been made to reconstruct
the work by searching the writings of the early patristics for citations of the Hexapla.

(••280««)

M J. T. X i.". B 1 A

Ml

i -y-:- rv=T t?p .-:c

'Tie .T- -ITV |"S'r -"i^wi TJ

jtr, ycLiipj. -lpirixM -jp-ynci ^/.■.rry .. r 'tLV.
,?iil- r* lW' 1 :-. *■■' -r us* .i=i:i» r rr.'ipr.ru
.Hulix; /..[i. tt-j :r'i:V: J 1- !!-.!- 1 1:1.1. '.v r
■ I -11 pfl"'l <O^Jn.i .uijj- i ih'--«" ' rlcL -
1 irp- hEDA^lhlL W'^L-C- r|1 ri rr iTTT^:crfj]^
ex: Kxclfl" rvi TTihivLu i* jctx*.'

>,ll^> IV- •

15. i"? mn -st

.V -->rt"H^".

In-: yLi.i.". ^"-- ■ I --r-ilm-i;. a a :l: I. 1 -^ +}.•*.'..
0\ hV ■* ■•¥.'.<! 11. K IM-npl- ": :£< •»■'*■»: •
;|J5 ^"xl r:u Cii'ii.^ "| i't.:Vj< . a*J Ln.^nuyH
ti-m.l! ^ii«bj|!4i:M:kiT5L::;i. \ ';"").

,t. 4-t,.. .;-. ■ "■> .(.,— r^Sr^ i.^\kj^

Jill. IV-J.T + Ji H-. V «-■ ^"V^ -li. -1,.,-it-

4-j^^ji": ^nr"i "iHi^T^-jj. f, A^x! ">^i< rty
tic-h ■n'a.iiV-' br%:\-u'lii TTaLV t? -ur.fl-
£-p- :,ei- (,l- ^"' ^"j*-" **Mi J ^p. a. - ■"■ "i-y i^' 1
t ri *- ■■■ 1* ■*".":! rt oi^K c-: ^r^"-

*f(T*(*i? i'Tn:i!T: q u A l-i i ■ jni- : ■■ S^VrTV- ■"£■
'■■lirvrv-m ■■. Tri

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;ii.; T r.x. ; A. <rr_y- A .><< j? ;..■•■•.»••

.^lJ™| dt-IM

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!""*■■

;-. -\ 0', rcv-,',;-^, Vi - C-, ny.^".--.:-™,.'

It.TiT.-n r;x.l.r i-vj-wfi <T .-'^■Jmiv.rTi', Tit

(,. ..^; -« fi ^x. fr. Hi.-:, ^„: 3- '^ =1^ ^™ " ^^1 =T*? -^n

Hit,*?:- n 1 .'-Ifvrf <►«■ -TTii x-'f^ : Tl-^ T?3 Ci;"!;!?l. -Til ..•"r^^i.^: *■»;'

."i- . A ' •....■ .' '.xi...'. • -- i !W I'cj (in .''rLikjL-.'ii Hi. r.' ilcll^J -

ri eVrifl— ^» y.'iaizh^rj j _'\ ^bj ^""yuj •.?-*■%* ir f I I .' i ' !■' « '*

■.il u-iF^r-cr r Jn-* r:U ^j* <?!■■»■ "t't-.'v> ; i-pi.1. ■■''1 ■■ *■■.-■ ^ i.t,^--?' fti/; A.!t. i^u.

fn.-r- rV ,T. , ,Lj-oLr*.,jz. «zi I'rJiT- : !>■£!> (v ! jrr^f Li^'jrJ ji^- .r.i 1^1 iri ;il:i ^:(ir,fj. ,irrt J ;'

l. L ,.._. ^.._

: : : :V-

i-f-*y -zmi ■■J-'.-Ki

-■nij ■■■■ 1 rT T " r-'T'l

i-JTiJUZi p'jlk:i>. -, |iiyl H '' Mii'u ii "pi^i-ii n

T.J

K* "J^^ j h^_,j_i_^. I^i.- %.^.\. L-.

^- '■ I" ■ ^ \ .1 -j. i w 1 n |L q . "irt I I |n'Vl I- fc

iLuu' " f\ J. -C, 1 j. ib>.i|.it ^rv>. i W

v - ,rf.: ■. L. pvi: V..rwJ?.i 'j '-^. n I" '•■!•:■* -^-^■ r -J5. .„,„.L' T:"!. pails J- (1 p. '■. *. n. fr.v t. j.

fl-uahjL :*l:«vi* ILuni -jr^i% Jbii trrirriiF. r; cu:rck 2. »l J^^ ■ '^' ■ 1! ■. Jpll . m ulu-^n isi.ji v« ^

. nil. rL^. . .1 ;. n _.-. I' vwis .i If l ■ TjJlji jffi it. \j . x. in^jhi Tb^ lirrt /.V.^r^. a; i-j/in-^wfy K»t .cviyLji

a-: —■'ft- kj r^/i. [ T l_L- ,_ Lhl l|^h'L 1. ^(i M >H'ii Llil.':D rLlI rT.C.1 hAEJIkJl m^liui!. ' 'j/l^'h! 11, I

-^.' ^ i|i"-i." 111 ;^a -- 'i ■ ' ' -'J ■' "V".tt h^rrt Ml h i_i i>i rf mia. iliii.i ..■_.' Ji Jjki i: ■= ■ ■- ••

:iM.lu|'. Ijl'J Eli, ..ILlMri ^ '>t^Tl|, ij il^il, r ( ill iM^r'ix.Tiv : -V r r-jj" ,?^i'-; '-■■ ■--■'■■ ■^•■^

•-., i\ , ~l : . r .' . ■ L > '- : ■'■ 'r-H "' '■■ ^"! Br ■" |,r ■■"■l l"^i "■= ^ TTni Ttriy- --7BEX ThT ^Trliu'l 1-X *" ■ '!■'

,-e .""^iVIE e-iet v! •'-' -•':. rj 1-3. 1*^ u ^yr'' ui^nrr nii.ir ■■:.- iel~- il iK^-iii iVLiLLjij, i|jm jj.u:j

, .r. i. ■■ ■- = ||. ._h o fcj- ./. I .-I".'. |.' -y- ii"li< IMir^ii-ir :r nr-'idiNi- :■ !uaj.*.l 3

i'd*. '■' ' ■ "■ -"a Jfi— :" C. ^-iriTu^. H -i^jfi LuiiurM': 1 S.. .^ irMi-"^ 1/1 LI *«: -vi^c li^a-^i

I'-JJ .' rJilTI !yiU" --r-rfr^ .i ■ ■ ■ 1 ■ .J- -r--Li--r- r'- IH'-X ■ J' rfl ■"" hfer - .?! ^iVl I! ' 1.. ...-Iri. Ii K iTf,

■I...I .1 -r- '. ,.^,-m (■ '. ;."K . I-.|l ■ ^. . ■irj-u-Tt: i-^.jjE- '1J--I I- '«■ ■■■! ■'• t

T^LT iTJ-J, ^ .-!■ T .T^,-m^. 4 r^^.inr. S.,, \ . , I T, Ml _ : 1 IEI73 ^ y H J i !■<. ■ " 'I «« .

'lyr. ■■•'■ • TirrTjE .'. -"Trl k-:— r<f> ■- r K.- .-. V»r ■*■ ■*■'■'■ Sr. •/ir:. , ili.. in. J. El' -Ml |n mi :.

n™ij L'iUH.. -a. jli-nL .r:u.L7jk*.ii. *j: Tii*yi< r , j-*, :•>.. a l. U ,r-rr ' ^mrlr-r

Figure 12. The complete entry for Malachi 2:13 reproduced from a reconstruction of Origen's Hexapla.
Origen's entries miT, Kiipios, and nini are circled. His headings are octagonally boxed.
The most complete reconstruction of the Hexapla available today is contained in a volume entitled

3 For a complete (though dated) discussion of both Origen and the Hexapla, see these two headings in McClintock
& Strong's Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature.

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla 183

Origenis Hexaplorum published with Latin historical and textual comments by Fridericus Field. It
was first published by Field in 1867-74. The edition available for our study was republished in 1964 by
Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, from Hildesheim, Germany. The reconstructed material is so
extensive that this particular edition is bound in two volumes with each 8V2 by 11 inch page divided
into two columns. Just the text and critical apparatus (apart from the introductory commentary and
historical notes by the editor), contains 806 pages in Volume I and 1,095 pages in Volume II.

In contrast to the original six columns used by Origen, Field grouped all entries for a given word or
phrase into a single paragraph with each entry identified by Origen's original column headings. The
complete entry for Malachi 2:13 as shown in the Origenis Hexaplorum is reproduced in Figure 12. All
the Hebrew and Greek entries are reproductions of the work of Origen himself. The Latin explanations
in either the main entry or the notes are the work of the modern editor of this volume. The notes in
Greek or Syrian are presumably the textual apparatus which identifies the editor's sources of textual
information.

• »281» • A comment should be made regarding the incomplete nature of the Hexapla and its effect
on a study of the Tetragrammaton. By carefully examining Figure 12, the reader will notice that even
though verse 13 is complete, there is no entry for verse 14. Verse 14 has been entirely lost, and the entry
for verse 15 includes only a portion of the verse. The last two verses of Malachi 2 (verses 16 and 17) are
also lost. Chapter 4 has only single Hebrew word entries for verses 1, 3, and 5. Two word entries have
survived for verse 2. Verses 6 and 7 have been entirely lost, while verse 8 has a high degree of
completeness. Notice, however, that even when there is some completeness for a verse, not all of the
material is present. For example, the single word entry for chapter 3 verse 1 contains data for the
Septuagint as well as the translations by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. However, the single
word entry at verse 3 contains only the material from the Septuagint (though it includes a critical note
by Origen himself).

Available Hexapla materials

Initially, our study of the Hexapla text was done in Field's Origenis Hexaplorum (Origen's
Hexapla). However, it has one critical shortcoming for any study of the divine name in the Hexapla.
Field apparently had access to ancient manuscripts which used only the word K yrios (Kupios) in
columns 2 through 6. (Entries copied from the Hexapla would likely have been subject to the same
influence we discovered in Chapter 13.) The Origenis Hexaplorum does not use the Tetragrammaton in
any column entries other than the Hebrew language column. Thus, in our initial study, we were left
with the false impression that Origen did not use mil'' anywhere other than in his first column. 4

Following more detailed research, however, we found recent reference to extant manuscripts
containing the Tetragrammaton in Origen's original Hexapla. 5 The Ambrosiana palimpsest, a
manuscript • »282» • identified by Giovanni Mercati, was published in 1958 giving new insight into the
original form of the Hexapla. 6

In 1894, Mercati was studying a 13th or 14th century C.E. service-book of the Greek Orthodox
Church which was housed in Milan's Ambrosian Library. It was a palimpsest, meaning that an older
book had been erased, and a liturgical text had been written over the faint early manuscript. Mercati's
discovery gave biblical scholarship the earliest example of Origen's Hexapla. Though the manuscript
itself was from the ninth or tenth century, it was a faithful copy of a much earlier form. The
manuscript contained approximately 150 verses from the Psalms, it was organized in Origen's original
word-for-word arrangement, and, most notably, it used the Tetragrammaton in all six columns. (See

4 For obvious reasons, our search of Field was not comprehensive, even though over 1 ,000 pages were scanned
for m!"P in the latter columns. Nonetheless, we can safely say that the Tetragrammaton was not noticeably used.

5 Reference is made to the Ambrosiana palimpsest in Paul E. Kahle, The Cairo Geneza, 1959, p. 163, Bruce M.
Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, 1981, P.E. Kahle, "The Greek Bible Manuscripts used by Origen," Journal
of Biblical Literature, Ixxiv (1960), pp. 111-18, and J. A. Emerton, "A Further Consideration of the Purpose of the
Second Column of the Hexapla," Journal of Theological Studies, n.s. xxii (1971), pp. 15-29.

6 Psalterii Hexapli Reliquiae..., Pars Prima; Codex Rescriptus Bybliothecae Ambrosianae O 39, Vatican City, 1958.

184 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Figure 11 for a partial reproduction of Psalm 27 (28):6-7. 7 )

This document firmly established that Origen used the Tetragrammaton in all columns of his
Hexapla. Further, it verified his use of the square Hebrew characters mil" rather than the paleo-
Hebrew characters <S^<cV=fr. The photo-reproductions of the pages in Mercati's text are often difficult
to decipher because of the over-written text. However, because of the placement of margins (which
contained no writing), five Hexapla columns are clearly discernible across two pages. (The five columns
on a single page of the original book occupy the space of two opened pages of the latter text.) Verse 6 is
at the top of a page and clearly displays iTiT at the head of several columns. In their appropriate
spacing, one can again see ITliT heading verse 7. (Because verse 7 was inadvertently copied twice, a iTiT
heading appears in both places.) This plate (from which Figure 11 is taken) shows careful formation of
the Hebrew characters by the original scribe. 8 Clearly, the copyist transcribing the Hebrew
characters was familiar with Hebrew script. The characters are properly formed and are not a crude
representation as one would expect to find in poor transcriptions containing mill (PIPI). 9

••283* • On page 108 of Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, Metzger says,

[The photographic reproduction shows] palimpsest parchment leaves, originally measuring
about 1 5 3 /s X 1 1 inches. ..containing in the under-writing about 150 verses of the Hexaplaric
Psalter, written in a hand of the ninth or tenth century. In the thirteenth or fourteenth century the
codex was dismantled and the parchment reused for another book. The leaves were (partially)
erased and cut in half laterally, each half making two leaves and four pages of the new codex. The
Plate [which is reproduced in the book] shows one such leaf (formerly the upper half of a page of
the original codex), the under-writing, in five columns, giving for Psalm 27(28):6-7 the transliteration
of the Hebrew text and the translations made by Aquila, Symmachus, the Seventy [Septuagint],
and, instead of Theodotion as might have been expected, the Quinta.... The first column of the
Hexapla, giving the Hebrew text. ..is lacking.

By oversight ver. 7 is repeated, lota adscript occurs [on two separate lines]; accent and
breathing marks are provided even for the transliteration of the Hebrew. The Tetragrammaton is
written in square Hebrew letters, followed, in the Septuagint column, by the contraction for Kupios
(in ver. 8 on the next page its is followed by mm...).

The Watch Tower's representation of the Hexapla

With this background, we can turn to the Watch Tower Society's use of the Hexapla in its
documentation of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. On page 310, the writers of
"All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" say:

It is of interest that the divine name, in the form of the tetragrammaton, also appears in the
Septuagint of Origen's six-column Hexapla, completed about 245 C.E. Commenting on Psalm 2:2,
Origen wrote of the Septuagint: "In the most accurate manuscripts the name occurs in Hebrew
Characters, yet not in today's Hebrew [characters], but in the most ancient ones." The evidence
appears conclusive that the Septuagint was tampered with at an early date, Ky'ri.os (Lord) and
The. os' (God) being substituted for the tetragrammaton.

When we evaluate the most recent manuscript information for the Hexapla, the Watch Tower's
claim that Origen used ITiT' is fully vindicated. We can now carefully study the Ambrosiana
manuscript and determine exactly how Origen treated passages in those Psalms which used the divine
name.

••284* • We were able to locate a copy of Mercati's Psalterii Hexapli Reliquiae in a well-stocked
theological library. This large volume photographically reproduces all of the Ambrosiana
manuscript. The original manuscript pages are grouped in sets of either two or four on the left-hand

7 The English Bible does not always divide the Psalms the same as the Septuagint. This Psalm is number 28 in the
English Bible.

8 A better photograph of this page appears on plate 30 of Bruce Metzger's Manuscripts of the Greek Bible.

9 This graphic representation contains the two Greek letters p/(n) and iota (I) written in duplicate. (They may either
be written in upper-case as nini or lower-case as mm.) This letter combination allowed the Greek writers to
represent the four Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton (ITiT') with common Greek letters, mm was a known
Scripture notation of the time and was not confined to Origen's writings.

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla

185

page. The complete Hexapla text as found in these ancient manuscript pages is typeset on the right-
hand facing page. (There are over forty pages of photographs alone.) From the typeset text, we
reproduced Origen's complete six-column entry in each instance in which mm occurred in the Hebrew
language column. The result is the information given in Table 11. As far as can be determined today,
this is an exact reproduction of Origen's original entries for these verses. This table represents only the
iTiiT entries from the other-wise Greek language text.

••285* •

Reference
Hebrew language

S

6
o

u

1

Transliteration
Column 2

CO

3 o
<

u 5
(S C

£ J

en

s m

'3d 5

QJ KJ
C/J

O ^3
-t-» H

So

X, U

H

Psalm 17

6 nim

mm

mn 1

mm

mm lei

mn"

7a njm

mm

mn 1

mm

mm lei

mn"

7b njm

mm

mn 1

mm

mm lei

mn"

8 njm

mm

mn 1

mm

mn' KS TTLTTl

mm

29 njrr

31 njrr

mm

mn 1

mm

mm

32 njrr

mn 1

toi) mn 1

toi) mn"

too mn"

42 mm

mn 1

mn 1

mm

m<n>"ley

mrr lev

47 nirr

mn 1

mm

mn"

mm

mm

Psalm 28

i nim"?

mn 1

tojl mn"

tol mn"

tol mn 1

tol mn'

ulol 9u eveyKorre

L(i) KO)

i nim"?

mn 1

tul mn"

TOI KOJL

tol mn"

tol mm

2 njn ,£ ?

mn 1

to mn"

tol mn"

tol mn<">

tol mn"

2 nim"?

mn 1

to mn'

tol mn"

tol mn"

tol mm

3 nim

mn 1

mm

mm

mm leu

mn"

3 njm

mn 1

mm

mm

mm lei

mn"

Psalm 29

2 nim

mn 1

mm

mn"

mn"

mm

3 njrr

mm

mm

mn"

lei mm

mm

5 nim"?

xmm

tol mm

tol mn"

tol kwi mn"

tol mn"

8 mm

mn 1

mm

mm

lei mm

mn"

9 njm

mn 1

mm

mm

mm

mn"

li njm

mrr

mm

mn"

lei mm

mn"

li njm

mn'

mm

mn"

mm

mn"

13 njm

mm

lei mrr

mn"

lei mm

mm

Psalm 30

2 nim

mn 1

mm

mm

mn" lei

mn"

6 njn - ;

mn 1

mm

mm

mn" **

mn" lei

7 nim

mn 1

mrr

mn"

mn"

mm

10 njn"'

mn 1

mm

mn"

mm lei

mn"

22 nirr

mm

mm

mm

mn'lei

mn"

186

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

24 nin ,- nx ee mm tov mm tov mm

24 mm mm mm mm

25 nim^ mm tov mn\ em mm.

tov mm** tov mm
mm ks mm
em mm. em mm.

Psa

lm31

11

nirrq

mm

ev mm

ev mn 1

em mn"

em mn"

Psalm 34

1

nim

mm

mm

mn 1

mm Ice

mm

22

nin*

mm

mn 1

mm

ice, mn"

mn"

24

njm

mn 1

mn 1

mm

mn" lei

mn"

27

njm

mn 1

mm

mm

mn" 6 ks

mn"

Psalm 35

1

nim.

mn 1

mn 1

mm

mn" lei;

mn"

Psalm 45

8

nixn^

mn 1

mn 1

mn" t(uv)

mn" t(uv)

mn" t(c3v)

nim* '

oa$a<j£

OTpaTLUV

8uvdp.e(a)v)

8uvdp.e(cov)

6i)vd|ie(wv)

12

nixn^

mm

mn 1

mm t(uv)

mn" t(uv)

mn" t(c3v)

nim* '

aaPaioG

aTpcrreicov

8wdp.euv

8uvdp.e(cov)

6i)vd|ie(wv)

Psalm 88

50

•jix

dpiorovi

.[l. OL TfpWTOL

TO TTpCOTa

Ta dpx<ata

>

D'lcJKin nim

mn 1

SeaTTOTa

n<i>n<">

••286* •

52

mm

oipax-

oL ex9po[

oL exQpoL

oL ex9po[

ol exSpoCfe]

mmix

mn"

ood mn"

ood mn"

ood mn"

aou mn"

53

mm

Papoux

eiiXoynTOS

eiiXoynTOS

eiiXoynTOS

euXoynTOS

1"?

mm

mm

mn"

mn"

mn"

Table 1 1 : Origen's entries for the divine name as found in the extant Psalms portion of the Ambrosiana, O
39 Sup. manuscript. Note: This table contains only the mm entries; all Greek entries were
omitted. 10

Now that we understand exactly how Origen made his entries in each column, we can make the
following observations based on these verses from the Psalms:

1. As we expect, at each occurrence of the divine name, the Tetragrammaton was written in square

Hebrew characters in the Hebrew language column.

2. Further, with only the exception of an incomplete text at Psalm 17:29, Origen used the
Tetragrammaton in the Greek transliteration column. (Refer to Figure 11 where it is more obvious
that the second column was in Greek letters. The Tetragrammaton in Hebrew characters was the
exception to the Greek of the second column.)

3. We then discover that Origen transcribed mn" into the Greek text of columns 3 (Aquila's translation),

10 General notes to the material in Table 1 1 :

a. The above entries represent a comprehensive citation of the Hexaplaric Tetragrammaton from Psalm 17:26-

38:53. These entries are extracted from a complete text. However, as given here, each individual entry is
complete as found in Giovanni Mercati (ed.), Psalterii Hexapli Reliquiae..., Pars Prima: Codex Rescriptus
Bybliothecae Ambrosianae O 39 sup., Vatican City, 1958.

b. The figures <> enclosing a Hebrew character indicate that the character was omitted in the original transcription.

Two asterisks (**) indicate an indecipherable entry in the original manuscript which could not be supplied with
reasonable certainty by the editor. Letters included in parentheses (...) indicate an indecipherable entry in the
original manuscript which were supplied with reasonable certainty by the editor.

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla 187

4 (Symmachus' translation), and 6 (Theodotion's [or the Quinta] translation). Though we find
occasional Greek lettering which Origen included with the Tetragrammaton, we discover that these
are merely articles meaning "the" (toO, tcoi [a scribal error which should read tco], and tov),
prepositions (em meaning "upon," and ev meaning "in") or a further elaboration of the divine name
in the Psalms 45 and 88 entries.

4. When we look at the Septuagint column, however, we make an unexpected discovery. In all cases but

Psalm 17:29, Origen recorded ••287* • the divine name as mil 1 . In addition, however, he also used
the surrogate forms ks, ice, kv, kcoi 11 and ku. These are abbreviations for K yrios (Kupios'). Thus,
Origen also identified "Lord" as an alternate reading for the divine name in the Septuagint. (He
made similar entries at 28:1 for Symmachus, at Psalm 29:13 for Aquila, and at Psalm 30:6 for
Theodotion.)

5. Even more surprising, however, is Origen's entry in the Septuagint column at Psalm 17:8. In this verse

he recorded the Septuagint as using either miT or one of the Greek forms k? or mm.

6. Finally, at Psalm 28:1, we notice another unexpected variation which Origen recorded for the
Septuagint. He first recorded Tcoi mil" as we would expect. (He has included the article which
means "The Jehovah.") He then recorded the alternate form uioi Qv eveyKotTe which uses the
surrogate 9u (from T heos) meaning "God." It is his final alternate reading for this verse which
surprises us. He used the abbreviation up ku. The initial letter combination up is the Greek
surrogate for miT. The second entry is kco which is the Greek surrogate for K yrios (Kupios'). Thus,
Origen used the Greek surrogates for "Lord God" as his final alternate reading for the Septuagint in
this verse.

What is the meaning of the multiple entries miT/Ks/mm at Psalm 17:8, or tcol mn'/uioi Qv
eveyraTe/up kco at Psalm 28:1? Origen was an exacting analyst. Consequently, he had access to
numerous copies of the Septuagint and other Hebrew Scripture Greek translations. When there was
agreement between the copies of any given translation he was using, he made a single entry. When
there were variations between the copies of the same translation, he made multiple entries. Thus, a t
Psalm 17:8, we can presume that Origen was referring to copies of the Septuagint which used the
Tetragrammaton written as miT in Hebrew characters. For the same verse, however, he also had at
least one copy of the Septuagint which used ks, and another which used mm. Though less frequently,
we encounter the same pattern for Aquila's translation at Psalm 29:13 or Theodotian's translation at
Psalms 17:42 and 30:6.

We will return to the importance of this discovery at the end of the appendix. It must be obvious,
however, that Origen did not attempt to correct the variant "K yrios." He did not recognize miT as the
only appropriate form in which the divine name could be written in the Hebrew Scriptures. He may
have had a preference for the Tetragrammaton (though his order of Ke/iTliT for Aquila at Psalm 29:13
• •288* • is interesting) but he does not avoid using K yrios or its abbreviated forms, nor does he make any
comment that such a use is inappropriate. (It must be remembered that Origen used critical notations
where he found textual errors. He conspicuously used the symbol * throughout the Hexapla for this
purpose. Yet, he does not use it here.)

Origen's Commentary on Psalm 2

The quotation found on page 310 of "All Scripture is Inspired of God and Beneficial" also says:

Commenting on Psalm 2:2, Origen wrote of the Septuagint: "In the most accurate manuscripts
THE NAME occurs in Hebrew Characters, yet not in today's Hebrew [characters], but in the most
ancient ones."

Through personal correspondence, the Writing Department of the Watch Tower Society provided
the author with further information concerning the recorded source of this quotation. It appears in a
Latin work entitled Patrologix Cursus Completus (Complete Writings of the Church Fathers), edited
by J.P. Migne, Volume 12 Origenis Opera Omnia (The Complete Works of Origen), arranged by Caroli
and Caroli Vicentii Delarue, published in 1862. The quotation below comes from page section 1104. The

11 The final letter iota should be written under the omega as kco rather than after the omega as kcol. This error is
attributed to the scribe making the copy.

188 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

complete surviving work of Origen is preserved in these volumes as he wrote them in Greek.

In order to understand precisely what Origen was saying, both the sentence quoted by "All Scripture
is Inspired of God and Beneficial" and its surrounding context are given below. (Each portion of the
English translation 12 is followed by the Greek text from Origen's original commentary on Psalm 2. The
Greek text is taken directly from Patrologix Cursus Completus; the breathing marks as given may
differ from current usage. A vocabulary of the key words is given in the footnote for each Greek
paragraph. Both the English quotation from page 310 of "All Scripture is Inspired of God and
Beneficial" and the corresponding Greek text are enclosed in double bullets as • • ... • •.)

Wherefore it is said that these things have been done "against the Lord [K yrios] and against his
Anointed [Christ]." 13 It is no secret that one pronounces the name in Greek as "K yrios," but in
• •289* • Hebrew as "Adonai." God is called by ten names in Hebrew, one of them being "Adonai,"
which is pronounced 14 in Greek as "K yrios."

15 Ai6 XeyeTai Tairra ai>Toi>s TTeTroir|Kevai «raT& tou Kupiou mi Korrd toO XpiuToi) auToO.» Ovk
dyvor|Teoy 8e TTepl tou eK<f>wvoup,evou uapd \iev "EXXr|oi Tfj «Kupios» rfpoariyoptg, uapd 8e 'Eppodois'
tt) «'A8ojva'L.» Aera yap 6v6[iaai rrap' 'EPpaiois' 6voud£eTca 6 ©eds\ uv ecmv ev to «'A8cavat,» rai
eppr|vei3eTai «Kupios.»

And where it says "Adonai" in Hebrew, or "K yrios" in Greek, they both proclaim the wording which
was written in Scripture. This wording is found in [the writings of] lae, 16 where the name "K yrios" is
pronounced in Greek, and not in Hebrew, as in: "Praise the Lord [K yrios— Kupiov] with a good
psalm." 17 So K yrios is used in this Psalm earlier than the writer lae where the psalm begins in
Hebrew with "Alleluia."

18 Kcd eoriv ottou XeyeTai to «'A8wvaL» rap 'Eppoaoig, rai Trap "EXXr|oi «Kupios',» Tfjs XeCews Tfj?
yeypap.p.evris' ev Tfj rpacj)fj ••290«« toijto dTTayyeXXoi3or|S'. 'Eotl 8e ote to 'Iafj k6ltol, eKcjxoveiTai 8e
tt] «Kupios'» TfpoariyopLg Trap "EXXr|ai, dXX' oi> TTap 'EfSpoaois, us ev to' «AiveiTe Toy Kupiov, otl
dyaGog i|iO(Xp:6s'.» Kupiov yap ev9d8e dvTi toO 'Iaf| eLpr|Kev. Kai Iotiv r\ dpxf) toO iJ>aXp.oi) Trap
'EppaioLS «'AXXr|Xoi)'ia - »

12 A published English translation of Origen's commentary on the Psalms could not be found. Therefore, this
translation was done by a colleague of the author. Though we believe it to be carefully and accurately translated,
the reader must be aware of this limitation.

13 Psalm 2:2.

14 Metzger (op cit. p. 35) says, "Likewise Origen, in commenting on Psalm 2:2, says expressly that among Greeks
Adonai is pronounced Kupiog." His footnote cites this same Greek sentence in full, leaving no doubt that we are
examining the same citation. With this authority, we know that the emphasis is on the pronunciation and not the
mere written translation.

15 The partial vocabulary for each Greek paragraph is given as follows: Each key Greek word is identified from the
paragraph in which it first occurs. The vocabulary entry is identified by the form of the word in which it is first
encountered, rather than by its normal root (lexical) form. Successive forms of either verbs or nouns found
throughout the entire passage are placed within parentheses after the first occurrence. Verbs are identified only by
their English infinitive form. In some instances, the primary definition of a word differs from that of the word used in
the translation. The sense of the translation, however, is consistent with the Greek word's allowable range of
meaning.

AeyeTOU = to say; KupLOU (Kvpiog, Kfjpiov) = Lord; XpiCTTOl) = Anointed [Christ]; [OIJK] dyvor|Teov =

[not] a secret; €K<!pU)VOV\l€VOV (eK())COVelTai.) = to pronounce; "EAAr|0"l= Greek; 6v6\lOLOl = name;

'EPpouoig = Hebrew; 'Aocovat = Adonai; 6 ©60S = [the] God; 6vou_d£eTai = to be named;

ep|m,veiJeTai = to translate.

16 Presumably lae was an earlier writer known to Origen and his readers.

17 Psalm 146:1

18 XeCecos = wording yeypau.|ievr|g ( dTrayyeXXouaris dvayeypomTou, yeypau.u.evou) = to write;
rpad^fj = [Hebrew] Scripture(s); AlveLTe = praise; lpaAux>g (lpaXu_oO) = psalm; 'AXXr|Xoi)'La = hallelujah.

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla 189

Though the unpronounceable name of the Tetragrammaton is not said, it was also written upon the
high priest's gold diadem, and the name is pronounced as "Adonai." By no means is the
Tetragrammaton pronounced, but, when said in Greek, it is pronounced "K yrios." • • In the most
accurate manuscripts, the name occurs in Hebrew characters — yet not in today's Hebrew
[characters], but in the most ancient ones. • •

19 eoTi 8e tl TeTpaypd(i(iaTov dveK<t>ci)vr|Tov Trap airrois, OTrep Kal em toO TreTaXou tou xpwcoO toO
dpxiepeios dyayeypaTrrai, Kai XeyeTai \iev ttj «'A8uvat» TTpooTyyoplg, oux'i toijtoij yeypap:(ieyou ev
to T£Tpaypap:p:dTu' TTapd 8e 'EXXr|cri ttj «Kiipios» eK^wveiTai. • • Kal ey TOTS' aKpiPearepois 8e
t&v dvTLypd^uy 'EfSpalois x a P aKTr iP IJL KeiTai to 6yop.a, 'EppaiKoTs 8e ov toTs vvv, dXXd tois
dpxaioTaTois. • •

For Ezra says in the captivity that different characters besides the original ones had been
transmitted. But these are the ones we will remember, since the Tetragrammaton as "K yrios" is
found in "But in the law of the Lord [K yrios— Kuplou]..." 20 and in "For the Lord [K yrios— Kvjpios]
knows the way of the righteous..." 21 and in the present text: "Against the Lord [K yrios— Kuplou] and
against his Anointed 22 [Christ]..." 23

• •291* • 24 <£>aai ydp Toy "Ea8pay ev ttj alxnaXwolg eTepous airrois xapaKTfjpas Trapd tous TTpoTepous
TTapa8e8d)KeyaL. TouTwy 8e i)Trep:yf|a9Tmey, eTrei to T£Tpaypdp:p:aToy ug «Ki)pLOS'» KeiTaL ey to'
«'AXX' f) ey yo^icp Ki)p[ou - » Kal ey to' «"Otl yLyuaKei Kupios 68oy 8LKaidiy» Kal vvv «KaTa Tofj
Kuplou Kal KaTd toO XpLOTofJ ai)Tof3.»

This is observed in the Septuagint and Theodotion, both in the past age, Aquila [also] in the past,
and Symmachus coming later, all arranged in chronological order. 25

26 TofjTO 8e TTaparr|pr|Teoy, otl ol [Lev 'Ep8onf|KoyTa Kal 6 QeoSoTLwy TfdyTa elg Toy TrapeXr|Xu96Ta
Xpoyoy, 'AkiiXos 8e a \iev els Toy TrapeXr|Xu96Ta, a 8e els Toy p:eXXoyTa, Ei3p.p:axos 8e TfdyTa els Toy
eyeaTriKOTa eTa£ay.

From this extended quotation, it becomes evident that Origen acknowledged that K yrios was fully
acceptable as a (pronounceable) translation in the Greek text of the Hebrew Scriptures when he said,

It is no secret that one pronounces the name in Greek as "K yrios," but in Hebrew as "Adonai." God

19 TeTpaypd|l|J.aTOV (TeTpaypa|X|a.dT(j)) = Tetragrammaton; dveK())GJVr|TOV = unpronounceable;
TTeTdXou TOO XPUO~oO = [holy] golden diadem [see Exodus 29:6 note, NWT Reference Edition]; dpxiepecos =
high priest; OLKpifieOTepoi'S = most accurate; dvTiypd(j)GJV = manuscripts; X a P aKT 'nP (JL
(XapaKTfjpag) = characters; TO 6vO|0.a = the name (HIIT); VVV = present [in time]; dpxaiOTdTOig =
ancient.

20 Psalm 1:2

21 Psalm 1:6

22 The Greek word xplotos (K ristOS — Christ) is not a proper noun (name). It means [the] Anointed [one] when
translated into English.

23 Psalm 2:2

24 "Eo"8pav = Ezra; OUXU-aAcoCTLg = captivity; TTpOTepoug = former; TrapaoeoGJKevou = to transmit;

25 At this point, Origen specifically identifies the Septuagint (Ep8o|J.f|KOyTa) and the three Hebrew Scripture
Greek versions of Theodotion (06OOOTLGJV), Aquila (AkvXol'S), and Symmachus (2a)U_UJ1XOS), all of which he
used in his Hexapla. Note that Origen specifically says these four Hebrew Scripture Greek translations used

K yrios.

26 TTapaTr|pr|Teoy = to carefully watch; 'Ep8op,f|KoyTa = Septuagint; OeoSoTluy = [the Hebrew version by]
Theodotion; xpovoy = time (era); 'AkiiXos = [the Hebrew version by] Aquila; p.eXXoyTa = to be about to;
Si3p:p:axos = [the Hebrew version by] Symmachus; eyeorriKOTa = to stand close, to be present; eTa^ay = to
arrange.

190 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

is called by ten names in Hebrew, one of them being "Adonai," which is pronounced in Greek as
"K yrios."

and when he again said,

And where it says "Adonai" in Hebrew, or "K yrios" in Greek, they both proclaim the wording which
was written in Scripture.

and, finally, when he said,

By no means is the Tetragrammaton pronounced. Rather, when said in Greek, it is pronounced
"K yrios."

• »292» • On the other hand, we do not wish to minimize the importance of Origen's comment when
he said,

In the most accurate manuscripts, THE NAME occurs in Hebrew characters — yet not in today's
Hebrew [characters], but in the most ancient ones.

Origen was clearly drawing the reader's attention to the fact that the divine name was held in the
highest esteem — so much so, that it was written with palaeo-Hebrew letters within what Origen
identified as "the most accurate manuscripts." In these instances, Origen was telling us that the divine
name appeared as <5v^<cV=f- rather than iTIiT. (This is corroborated by seven Hebrew Scripture scrolls

and two apocryphal scrolls from the Dead Sea which used <2\\<b< < 1r rather than iTIiT. 27 )
This quotation must not be construed as saying that the most reliable translations must read <5^<cV=t- .
What is not clear (at least in our English translation) is whether Origen was identifying <5^<5^-=fr
within early Hebrew language texts or later Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. There are
examples of both within Hebrew Scripture manuscripts. 28

It is clear from Origen's statement that he recognized that the Tetragrammaton was embedded in
certain Septuagint texts. However, we must be particularly careful that we do not make the mistake of
identification-by-association. We cannot take this brief quotation from Origen's commentary on Psalm
2 out of its context and allow ourselves to believe that Origen was saying that the earliest copies of the
Christian Scriptures used the Tetragrammaton in palaeo-Hebrew characters.

In no way was Origen reporting that the Tetragrammaton was found in "the most accurate
manuscripts" of the Christian Scriptures. We must only read the context of this quotation which was
discussing a Hebrew Scripture passage to realize that this was not Origen's intent. Surprisingly, w e
also see that Origen fully accepted K yrios as an appropriate translation of the Tetragrammaton when
the Hebrew Scriptures themselves were translated into Greek.

An interesting contrast

••293 ,# In our first section dealing with Origen's Hexapla, we concluded that he wrote the
Tetragrammaton in square Hebrew letters. In his commentary on Psalm 2, however, Origen clearly
states:

For Ezra says in the captivity that different characters besides the original ones had been
transmitted. But these are the ones we will remember, since the Tetragrammaton as "K yrios" is
found in "But in the law of the Lord [K yrios— Kupiou]..." and in "For the Lord [K yrios— Kupios] knows
the way of the righteous..." and in the present text: "Against the Lord [K yrios— Kupiou] and against
his Christ..." This is observed in the Septuagint and Theodotion, both in the past age, Aquila [also]
in the past, and Symmachus coming later, all arranged in chronological order.

In spite of the paleo-Hebrew characters referred to by Ezra, in this passage, Origen identifies the
Greek word K yrios as replacing the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint, Theodotion, Aquila, and

27 Metzger, op cite, p. 33 footnote. These scrolls are identified as 2Q 3, 3Q 3, 4Q 161 , 1Q 14, IQpHab, 1Q 15, 4Q
171, 1Q 11, and, 11QPs a .

28 On page 886 of Aid to Bible Understanding, a clear illustration (albeit typeset) is given of the palaeo-Hebrew
characters <S^<cV=fr embedded in Aquila's Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Appendix J: Origen's Hexapla 191

Symmachus.

We can reconcile this apparent discrepancy in only one of two ways. First, we could argue that the
Hebrew characters found in the Ambrosian manuscripts were not the work of Origen, but were inserted
by later scribes. This would seem difficult to explain, however, in light of what we now know of
textual history. It is unlikely that Gentiles would introduce HIT into a Gentile text. We know, rather,
that it was the Gentiles who changed iTliT to K yrios in Hebrew Scripture manuscripts.

We could not attempt to reconcile this discrepancy by explaining that Origen's comments in the
passages we have quoted were originally written with — and referring to — the Tetragrammaton in
Hebrew characters. He was obviously giving a contrast between the Tetragrammaton and the Greek
word K yrios in the same Hebrew Scripture passages. There would be no logical reason for these
comments if these passages contained only iTliT.

Consequently, we are left with the second — and the only logical reconciliation — of the Ambrosian
manuscripts which contained Origen's use of ITliT in the Hexapla, and his reference to the Septuagint,
Theodotion, Aquila, and Symmachus as all containing K yrios. In all likelihood, Origen possessed
multiple copies of these Hebrew Scriptures which had been translated into Greek. Some contained
mrp, while others contained K yrios for the same passages. In light of his statement in the Psalm 2
commentary, this is the only way we could make allowance for Origen's use of HIT in the original
Hexapla.

• »294» • Present knowledge of available manuscripts verifies this last conclusion. Though fewer in
number, Hebrew Scripture translations containing the Tetragrammaton are now coming to light. We
could certainly imagine that Origen possessed some copies with the K yrios translation as well as other
copies with HIT embedded in the text.

Origen's view of the first two centuries

No individual is better placed than Origen to report on purported changes in the use of the
Tetragrammaton in the first two Christian centuries.

First, Origen lived during this period of time and would have reported the controversy.
Irrespective of his personal position, either a defense of the Tetragrammaton or an argument supporting
the change to K yrios would have been discernible in his writings. Though we have examined only a
small amount of his work in the Hexapla and one of his Commentaries, we discover that he argued for
neither. He freely used !TT when he was transcribing the Hebrew text. On the other hand, he used
Kijpios (K yrios) and its two derivative forms ks and mm (PIPI) without encumbrance when he was
working in the Greek language. In his commentary on Psalms, he openly acknowledged the propriety of
translating the Tetragrammaton with K yrios. (During the research for this book, many pages of
Origen's preserved Greek writings were evaluated from J. P. Migne's Origenis Opera Omnia [The
Complete Works of Origen]. From first-hand observation, it can be stated that Origen universally used
K yrios — and not HIT — in his commentaries and homilies from the Hebrew Scriptures. His use of K yrios
in the Psalm 2 commentary is no exception.)

Yet, Origen was not a casual observer. He passionately defended the fidelity of the Septuagint.
He devoted years of his life to the development of a textual tool which would aid in the transmittal of
a faithful translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language. Nonetheless, in spite of his
intense concern, he was content that Kupios (K yrios) appropriately represented HIT in the early part of
the third century.

The statement from "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" which says,

It is of interest that the divine name, in the form of the tetragrammaton, also appears in the
Septuagint of Origen's six-column Hexapla,

is completely true. But this statement must not be used to imply that Origen used the Tetragrammaton
to the exclusion of other Greek forms of the divine name. Origen's transcription of the Septuagint — as
well ••295 ,# as his representation of three other translations — unmistakably used surrogate forms of
Ki3pLo? (K yrios) (and infrequently mm) to represent the divine name.

The further statement from "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" which says,

192 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Commenting on Psalm 2:2, Origen wrote of the Septuagint: "In the most accurate manuscripts
the name occurs in Hebrew Characters, yet not in today's Hebrew [characters], but in the most
ancient ones,"

is at best unclear. In the context of the quotation, Origen clearly identified the Septuagint (as well as
Theodotion, Aquila, and Symmachus) as using Kupios ( K yrios). Origen then commented that ancient
manuscripts supported by Ezra did use paleo-Hebrew characters. However, he immediately reminded
his readers that the Tetragrammaton would be remembered as K yrios when he said,

...since the Tetragrammaton as "K yrios" is found in "But in the law of the Lord [K yrios]..." and in
"For the Lord [K yrios] knows the way of the righteous..." and in the present text: "Against the Lord
[K yrios] and against his Anointed [Christ]..."

Finally, the statement from "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" which says,

The evidence appears conclusive that the Septuagint was tampered with at an early date,
Ky'ri.os (Lord) and The.os' (God) being substituted for the tetragrammaton,

is untraceable to either the Hexapla or Origen's Commentary on Psalm 2. Origen did not make any
mention in this passage of a deliberate change of the Tetragrammaton to K yrios . The only evidence
which "appears conclusive" is that Origen recognized and used both the Tetragrammaton and K yrios .
He used miT when he wrote in Hebrew. He used KupLo? when he referred to (or translated) the same
passages in Greek. Origen raised no objection to Kiipios as an appropriate translation of mil" for the
Greek reader.

As we saw earlier, Origen lived between approximately 182 and 251 C.E. The Apostle John wrote
the book of Revelation in 96 and the Gospel in 98 C.E. Origen would certainly have known of the
original contents of John's writing. He would most certainly have known of an effort by Christian
heretics to alter the wording of the Septuagint because the purpose of his Hexapla was to ensure the
true wording of the original Septuagint.

On what basis can the Watch Tower Society say that "The evidence appears conclusive that the
Septuagint was tampered with at ••296»» an early date," wherein K yrios and T heos were substituted
for the Tetragrammaton? There is no evidence of any kind found in Origen's commentary on Psalm 2:2 to
indicate that he felt that "the Septuagint was tampered with." To the contrary, Origen readily
affirmed the use of K yrios as the proper Greek translation for iTliT.

Is it possible that an accommodation to national and linguistic heritage was all that occurred in
the second and third centuries C.E.? 29 For those with a Jewish heritage, a Septuagint version was
produced which transcribed the Hebrew characters of the Tetragrammaton as mil", whereas for the
Gentile readers, the Septuagint version translated the Tetragrammaton as Kupios. Is it possible that
this alteration was perceived by neither Jew nor Gentile as divisive or heretical, but as a mere choice
between transcribing or translating, depending on the cultural background of the reader? As the
Christian church grew, Septuagint copies which contained the Tetragrammaton became less available.
In successive generations, the Gentile Christian church possessed a Septuagint which contained only
Ki)pios\ After the Roman conquests of Palestine — when Messianic Jews were expelled from synagogue
worship and consequently amalgamated with the Gentile church — Septuagint copies solely for Jews
ceased to exist. 30

How else could we explain why Origen used both m!T and Kiipios in his writing while giving
neither explanation nor defense of his action?

29 Chapter 13 fully develops this possibility.

30 In an attempt to remove the offensive Christian K yrios in the second and third centuries C.E., Greek
translations of the Hebrew Scriptures for Jews characteristically embedded miT in the Greek text. After
Christianity became state-sponsored in Constantine's reign in the fourth century C.E., Jews systematically
destroyed their Greek translations and reinstated their Scriptures in the Hebrew language.

193

Appendix K: Nomina Sacra

• • 297* • The Latin term Nomina Sacra (Sacred Name) identifies a highly technical debate
somewhat related to our study of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Scriptures. This debate is so
specialized that according to the footnotes in Bruce Metzger's Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, less
than ten scholarly books have been devoted to the subject since the early part of this century. These
few books are more frequently written in Latin and German than English. 1

We have included this brief appendix to alleviate potential confusion. In the unlikely event that
this subject were to be encountered by the reader, the first impression may be that Nomina Sacra
support the New World Bible Translation Committee's assertion that the Tetragrammaton was used
in the original Greek Christian manuscripts. However, as we will see in our conclusion, had the
Committee introduced the Nomina Sacra into the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's textual
apparatus, the separate identities between Jehovah and Lord Jesus would have been greatly
diminished.

The Nomina Sacra identified

The Nomina Sacra are contracted Greek words representing 15 frequently occurring names (or
titles) in Scripture. The contraction was written with an overline. We have previously identified
these contractions as surrogates, with the earlier explanation that they were primarily used as
short-hand notations. These contractions occur in both the Septuagint papyri manuscripts and the
Greek Christian Scripture papyri manuscripts.

On page 36 of the book cited, Metzger lists all 15 of the Nomina Sacra found in the entire Greek
papyri collection, which includes the Septuagint. He reproduces them in their nominative (subject of
the sentence) and genitive (possessive) forms 2 as follows:

• •298"

English

Greek word

Nominative

Genitive

meaning

(subject)

(possessive

God

9eo<?

H

"eu

Lord

KUpiO?

KS

KV

Jesus

'ItictoOs'

IS

IV

Christ

Xpicrros'

xs

X^

Son 3

ULog

vs

VV

Spirit

TTveO(ia

TTVd

TTVS'

David

AaueiS

8a8

1 Only two sources were available for the author's personal study of the Nomina Sacra. The first consisted of
selected photocopied chapters from a book published in South Africa by A.H.R.E. Paap entitled Nomina Sacra in
the Greek Papyri of the First Five Centuries A.D., published in 1959. The second was a brief description of the
work of others on pages 36-37 in Bruce Metzger's book Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, published in 1 981 .

2 The highest frequency of occurrence of the Greek noun is in either the nominative or genitive form. A Nomina
Sacra may appear in other of the remaining Greek noun forms as well. Thus, KUpLOS (K y Tl OS) could appear as
any one of KS, KV, KCO, KV, or K6 in ancient Greek manuscripts.

3 Common words such as Son or Man become Nomina Sacra when used in conjunction with the name of Jesus.
The word Heaven is identified as a Nomina Sacra when used to replace the word God. For example, Matthew uses
the expression Kingdom of the heavens in many parallel passages where the other Gospel writers use the
expression Kingdom of God.

194

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

English

Greek word

meaning

cross

oraupos

Mary

HrJTTjp 4

Father

TTClTfjp

Israel

TcrpaTJX

Savior

cramp

Man 3

dvGpwrros

Jerusalem

TepouaaXfjp

Heaven 3

oiipavog

Nominative Genitive
(subject) (possessive)

(TTS

•rnp

IT|X

avos
iXrip

OWOS

GTU
TTpS
CTp?

Table 1 2. A complete list of all Nomina Sacra found in early Greek manuscripts of both the
Septuagint and the Christian Scriptures.

To those defending this specialized Greek contractual form, the technical designation
Nomina Sacra connotes a sacral (as against a profane) meaning. However, though the Nomina Sacra
may be used to identify deity, the term itself does not mean divine name. The use of the designation
Nomina Sacra does not imply the elevation of the addressee to the status of deity , though in certain
instances, the Nomina Sacra may directly identify God.

A study of the Nomina Sacra is germane to the entire collection of first- through fifth-century
Greek language Scripture texts. This includes the Septuagint as well as the Christian Scriptures. For
this ••299* • appendix, however, we are concerned only with the Nomina Sacra found in the
Christian Greek Scriptures. (The Hebrew Scriptures present no unsolved dilemma; we can readily
verify over 6.000 instances in which ks in any Septuagint text using Nomina Sacra was translated
from mrp in the original Hebrew text.)

The Nomina Sacra debate

The Nomina Sacra debate concerns the use and meaning of the contractions we have previously
identified as surrogates. Many scholars consider the overlined contractions which are readily
observable in ancient papyri to be mere abbreviations of frequently used words. This is the recognized
meaning of the term surrogate. The use of contractions can be expected considering the labor involved
in hand-copying scripture texts.

On the other hand, some scholars have identified these words as constituting a class of unique,
sacred names which the copyist has identified by an overlined and abbreviated form. The scholars
defending this position say that the intent of the copyist was far from merely a savings in papyrus
sheet material and the manual effort of writing by shortening the word. In defense of their thesis,
many examples have been identified in ancient manuscripts in which the word K yrios is written in
full as KupLos when referring to a human master, and yet is written as Kg when referring to Jesus (or
Jehovah) as Lord. Similar examples of other surrogate words also exist.

The debate also concerns the source of Nomina Sacra. It was originally argued by the Latin
palaeographer Ludwig Traube that the practice was of early, Septuagint era, Jewish origin. The
latter work by Paap argues that the form was introduced at a later date by Jewish Christians.

The Nomina Sacra and inspired Scripture

The reader must understand that this debate does not concern the content of inspired Scripture.
Many — including the author of this book — hold that the inspired Christian writers did not use
contractions in their original writings; they did not use surrogates. The alteration was one which was
introduced by scribes in later centuries. The best efforts of textual critics to reproduce the original

4 The ordinary meaning of this Greek word is mother. It is only in its sense as a Nomina Sacra in which it is used of
Mary, Jesus' mother. Needless to say, these Nomina Sacra notations were imported — we believe — into certain
Greek manuscripts at a later date and do not necessarily reflect the writing (or theology) of the inspired writers
themselves.

Appendix K: Nomina Sacra 195

work of the inspired Christian writers results in a text without surrogates as reproduced in the
Westcott and Hort or United Bible Societies Greek texts.

Therefore, the debate concerning Nomina Sacra versus surrogates is not dealing with the content of
inspired Scripture. Rather, it is merely evaluating the practice of scribes in succeeding centuries. If,
in ••300 ,# fact, the debate could be settled by identifying the surrogates as a simple short-hand
device, then the overlined words would have no implied, deeper meaning. If, on the other hand, the
debate were to be settled in favor of intentional Nomina Sacra, then some explanation would need to
be given for the meaning added to the text by the scribes. Yet, that meaning (in symbol form) is not
one which was placed in the text by the original, inspired Christian writers.
The meaning of the Nomina Sacra in our study

A study of the Nomina Sacra is a worthwhile, though very technical, undertaking. There is merit
in determining whether the early church regarded these Greek names as sacred names, or whether
these overlined words merely represented a scribal short-hand to reduce the labor of hand-copying
texts. However, the answer to the above examination of ancient Greek manuscripts is extraneous to
the primary question of our study. Our study is limited to the inspired writers' use of the
Tetragrammaton in their original written documents.

However, it is possible that the Nomina Sacra could give an important answer to our search for
the Tetragrammaton in the original writings of the inspired Christian authors. One of two conditions
would draw our immediate attention to the Nomina Sacra as probable descendants of the
Tetragrammaton:

1. If we found Nomina Sacra forms of K yrios (ks, ku, kw, kv, or Ke) (or similar forms for the word T heos )

within ancient Christian Scripture Greek manuscripts which were restricted to the 237 occurrences
of the Jehovah references within the New World Translation, we would be immediately alerted
to the probability that a manuscript change had occurred in the early centuries of the church.
This presence of the Nomina Sacra would give strong evidence that HUT was used in the original
writings.

2. If, at the very least, we found a consistent use of Nomina Sacra forms of K yrios (or T heos) restricted

to each of the 42 5 quotations of Hebrew Scripture passages in these same ancient Christian
Scripture Greek manuscripts, we could be alerted to the possibility that the Tetragrammaton was
used by the inspired writers when they quoted Hebrew Scriptures which contained the divine
name.

••301 ,# We must be careful not to overstate the material which was available to us from Paap's
extensive summaries. Nonetheless, these papyri studies clearly show use of surrogates (contractions)
in a considerably greater frequency than would be the cases were they restricted to Hebrew Scripture
citations of the divine name. 6 The forms (icg, ku, kw, kv, or Ke) are apparently used throughout the
papyri texts in those cases where K yrios is used of either the Lord Jesus or references to Jehovah of the
Hebrew Scriptures. Consequently, some contracted form will be found in the majority of the 714 K yrios
(or T heos) references in the Christian Greek Scriptures. In general, the word is written in full as Kupios'
only in those instances which refer to others besides Jesus or Jehovah in the Christian Scripture
accounts.

5 The number 42 represents the verified uses of the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew Scripture quotations as identified
by J 20 which is shown in Appendix G. This number could be expanded to the possible 112 Hebrew Scripture
citations as noted in the summary at the end of Appendix B.

6 This information is taken from Paap, Nomina Sacra in the Greek Papyri of the First Five Centuries A.D., pages 8-
118 in which he catalogs and summarizes the Nomina Sacra from a large number of ancient manuscripts. Paap
gives one of many examples from a Chester Beatty manuscript identified as "Facsimile III, New Testament," in
which he says (p. 101):

...in [this manuscript] (±A.D.200); in the sacral meaning there are 170 contractions, whereas in the 4 cases
where KUpLOS (plural) has the profane meaning the word has been written in full.

196 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Conclusion

It is outside the purpose of this Appendix to determine the meaning of the Nomina Sacra (Sacred
Names) as used in ancient Greek Scripture manuscripts. However, the recurrent appearance of the
Nomina Sacra throughout extant biblical manuscripts far surpass the frequency and location of the
237 Jehovah references in the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation.

We can only assume that the New World Bible Translation Committee was aware of the
Nomina Sacra, yet chose not to bring this material into their textual apparatus to establish the
presence of the Tetragrammaton in a limited 237 instances within the Christian Scriptures. The great
number of occurrences of Nom ina Sacra (surrogates) within the text of the Christian Scripture Greek
manuscripts would preclude such an attempt. Any appeal to the Nomina Sacra with the intent of
establishing the presence of the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures would, of consequence,
identify the person of Christ with Jehovah. If it were to be argued that the Nomina Sacra in the
form of ks (for Kupios) is a derivative of mil'', then it could be forcefully argued — with a large number
of examples of ks referring to Jesus — that the inspired Christian writers used iTIiT of Jesus himself.

197
Appendix L: The Magdalen Papyrus

••302* • In the early 1800's, Egypt was rediscovered by the Western world. By the end of that
century, avid tourism, antiquities marketing, serious archaeology, and blatant exploitation of national
treasures for profit were in full force. 1

Egypt's climate ideally preserved fragile papyrus documents. Egypt became a rich manuscript
source of the Hebrew Scriptures themselves (the Septuagint), very old copies of the Christian Greek
Scriptures, early writings from the Christian school of Alexandria, and later chronicles of theological
debates. From the mid-1800's through the early part of the 1900's, many of the earliest papyrus
manuscripts were sold by private antiquities dealers to serious and amateur collectors alike.

In 1901, Charles Huleatt sent three small scraps of a Greek manuscript to his alma mater in
England — the Oxford college of Magdalen. Huleatt was a knowledgeable papyrologist (one who
studies ancient papyri manuscripts), who had previously acquired the fragments in Egypt. He
tentatively identified these three scraps of papyrus as containing Matthew 26:7-8, 10, 14-15, 22-23, 31,
and 32-33 (there is writing on both sides, giving a total of six brief passages) and dated them as coming
from the third century. When the manuscripts arrived at Magdalen College, they were redated by a
recognized papyrologist as coming from the fourth century.

Because these manuscripts were small (the largest is only 1 5 /g X V2 i n -) an d presumably
relatively late (dated in 1901 as coming from the fourth century), these small scraps of papyrus were
relegated to an unimposing library display case. And there they remained until 1953. In 1953, a
papyrologist by the name of Colin Roberts again redated them to the late part of the second century.
Even with this earlier date, they commanded little attention.

Then, in 1994, Carsten Thiede, a well-recognized German papyrologist, publicly announced that
these manuscript portions were from the mid-first century. He dated them as having been written
before 70 C.E. His work was carefully based on the best available information and technology
(including a laser microscope examination of the manuscript for faint ink traces).

If Thiede's date is accurate, these papyrus fragments are the earliest known Christian Greek
Scripture manuscript portions in ••303* • possession today. (There are two additional fragments of the
same manuscript in Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish fragments contain Matthew 3:15 and 5:20-22 on the
recto [front], and 3:9 and 5:25-28 on the verso [back] portions respectively. If the date given to the
Magdalen papyrus is ultimately confirmed, the Barcelona papyrus will be similarly dated to the mid-
first century.) These combined papyri pre-date even the John Rylands fragment from the Gospel of John
mentioned in Chapter 2. (That fragment is dated as early as 125 C.E.)

Needless to say, there has been much controversy over Carsten Thiede's announcement. Those who
wish to de-emphasize inspiration want to date the Gospels from the second century. They want to
prove the fabrication of a gospel myth by later Christians rather than acknowledging the Gospels as
being eyewitness accounts of quotations and descriptions of Jesus himself. Finding a copy of the Gospel
of Matthew which was written before 70 C.E. dispels any notion that the Gospels were a second century
literary invention. Even those who fully acknowledge the early writing of the Gospels are reticent to
surrender the long-established dates commonly accepted for previously published Greek manuscripts.

Much more work needs to be done before a final consensus will be reached among Greek manuscript
scholars. Nonetheless, Thiede's work appears to be well-founded and convincing. The drama of new
light on ancient manuscripts is not lost in examining this controversy.

The Magdalen papyrus contains a feature of particular interest to our study. In Appendix K, we
evaluated Nomina Sacra. In the brief written material found in these three fragments, two nomina

1 All information in this appendix comes from Eyewitness to Jesus, by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D'Ancona,
published by Doubleday, 1996.

198 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

sacra appear. (The surrogate for Lord is used in verses 22 and the surrogate for Jesus is used in verse 31.
Verse 22 in English would read "Ld, it is not I, is it?" Verse 31 would read, "Then Js said to them...") In
both cases, the over-written line is no longer visible. There is no reason to believe, however, that the
line was not originally written and has merely become too faint to see.

We have not included Carsten Thiede's early dates — nor their implications to this study — in this
book. (He also argues for earlier dates for a number of the P manuscripts.) Nonetheless, in the context
of our study of new light on the ancient Greek manuscripts, we must alert the reader to this recent
controversy. The interested reader would find Eyewitness to Jesus worthwhile reading. (See the
Bibliography for complete information.)

print

199

Appendix M: Jehovah in Missionary Translations

• •304» • The Kingdom Interlinear Translation (1969 edition, pages 22-25) lists 38 missionary
translations which use the name Jehovah. The Malagasy translation is used as one such example.
(See page 22 of KIT.) The following page is from the Malagasy Bible concordance. Note that either
Jehovah or Jehovah 6 occur only 16 times in the entire Christian Greek Scriptures.

ran-iLjiA

hbhTDIlU fi-: ■—■-I - - 1 -. — -AT-i-ri.-ri

1-- 1 ...'- .1. -,.,.!

L j./ ni| urin ikiBhHM rnni

, J: ::■ .---^?±:~j.~^'-\i 'a

L L J ■■ lb _. iilJ m *ii-i. u .■ u
■ I ■ ■-.-■. ir.iii-w-i'1 J -■■■I n

iii-Jh Tl.l'l L

■ ,[-ir r.L-T.-. uiilV-r-k-B.

■ J i ia^ _i iuuiil 1 L_n. . -1 .ll i ^_i
n.-PilLn/.hL. ;. | l__-

B. I .LLBL-I _L ■ J. .. I__l

LL : In.'.u.u ulI'I^ hi
1 J Hi- YTilTi hJ!i'Lb ■ : lt ■

:q F<j ' J, :ik no r.Lir> ny l-rtf -n u -m litr. i H r jjji ■.
•]. 5 'J, «Ft niTTiirtnifi ry tv|[i.i "■• ^or til - : -iy ti±h
i. : j "JJ .sr.^ J, ^Kny di'r-nn nn nBrinrftrtBnti

■I I I jL ■■ '.il'iuirljiui

M ■-*■ I I-t -*■ l-m hi ti IU1_ r-p r Jill I i n ir-T-P-— « I — • ••-•- -••• ,,,.,, vinii.s/ ii.uiiii.i i«ii in

j & ii u u nnai i. ■ .Jiiibi i.!-. ■■ i i ATiirivii"ii aanmi m i l >t _•

jL'iitiiujniluin;. n uLiILlULI "ii^Wfll PPFIILI. IUI.R

_in_i_ r7Tbi_ui .urii-iiiL ■ J-r-ii ■: I Ij
■J ^LTi^EJVu."*" !Tv- ! ■--■■■■■■ -i-l-i.^-iiui. »'.-■ n *.•*••

..-.-.ml.*

l_r.- haJ i ■■ li _ . _ , - ..

Ti_u.n_i.cp r:_L i .xi i:

n i | T-. |i -■ HTi .r^_ . i| .

E JILt? i !^ l E'&*™:^l i -J;'

n A., j lJi j"L"."~"l1 i". -I," hV,

" k _"-i.V.^ 1 ^?T™. , |* "i . **"" d

□ u n.1 Lin i

m ■ ■ r.L.i,.

..L. II. I ll. I J l_ '. -'-"Tip"

d m --..- n-ji ■ -_■- • • ij ,^.i Jc-^^AlB. ^ — _

rtrn:ii Mi.-! i : l^^;.:^--i!^f P ',=.".d ^ J 1 "-'^

iTL..-_,.i, t ., . ^ .. h'il.i -^ ■ ^ ■-■■ ;--■ ri-h "! ■ r _ - t ^f

-I J ■ |J F H

■ J J"j; Li^x ?Z. ii ; A*h 7 n

■■ililim'l7M>i H m
r ■■ lb ill BBS* T apir. lai

Eii-::.-™:.v 1 l:r.v. 1 " 1 .v^'

r X nl- in u- l .■ ■ ■ ■ i ■ i ■. i _%«. i i . ■ i_
41 1. Ai fc"~"P ^1 I. i>r mil 1 ri Lla^llj.

!!* E liLi!n J'lTKLTu^ • 'v r. *^»-^_

n ■. Li L..ujr| ■

.. ■_ -- —_-....! ll |;"^_" .j

h 11L.I... !! -'"IlL- T.ji. 111 hinl
p. uliHhu m nilil.ibilnmiir

-I 'L.I...J.. .,L __ . I . -LIU 1.1

2i. i. I _■ ' j- .1.1 — 4_i.r ..- ■-!
U i 1 ulnhi-r. La its I ■ Uuu

A , ... . .. .-pi-- _ .... .....

F " H |LR#.>r'IP«-l-*'*'.»«»"
lav -i 11 u uinar

Lil . rv-r" ■!■ ' ■ - i"-- 1 — J

1 n ^ . f i- T. li- ■ ii.

■ ^ I'-i'i I 1 Br.b B-l-au.i n-riK-. 1-

| -| | J" . l_'^ .ILI'-J ■■ ■ .BTI ■■ ILUI

i. ^ I i^iL-ari n~-.™r+-r«n !-■■
P. "T 7 ." f

1 JrJrlil J-^ .ll"/

■ L Tl lil HH1 hi A I I ■! I I llk^jlll

f-i — ■. h ■'--■ .!-■"■ IijiJ..l_.."I l

Jlit I E
r. -i LJ i 1 _ir

■ i" Li Iliu I u piJ .ii i'uii. it Ban
L E mm- la I I .■ ■■ .' ■ ■■ 7- A ri

■ ■l^t. 4 h*- 1 -■■■■ h:'--

■ fVki ■ ■ - uJiLui.i.i. —

'■ "--I .1 ■■■■_[ * 4 -r^. ■■ ■■«■ ■ hr. . ■. .- -n «- "-J ™

..ai_-'.: B -j- ri .'__. r-k.
lar E likL^iJriJL^iih a -Liik'n I

|. t* ' J ' T -l"« ■■ "«| -in

Ud . lki-aaulai I I iw ■■ l; I uhu

, % . v t— - * ■ ■ - -^- 1 — ■< ■■ ■ —'1

Mr" ■ I ;■■■■■ "^.1™. -»i^a r I 1 M Fx .

• PI"-- M- J

- ';-m

I P I I ■!- I

lIZ^?.

mrui .i-iVt I ■ ■ huh
hi Uinrii-LI .1 " Mia. iirn.-B.li

LC HI-rlH in n II 1-iblLa ■V'"-d^r
ii —■ ap J "i ■■_■ ^-. ip^i ._ I|.L_

n.'a.li

Lr-nr. 11 I.Mri 1 '■■■■
1 n - ■ '"■'■' J- 7 ■■■ I '■ i.-Ly...
Li| -"-J #. Ii-mhi i| ni.lbv.i

'F. _ J--"" "^ """ """"T^™! - j_ ___ I ■ JJu"iiujI™.u ^'llTpi.^uj i,^™
'"!■ ifc ""* I ■ '.iiLki-Li.n- irfA ri _i ■ L.

6 1 ni ■ BmJ.r ■■ ■ — 1 iavL-i| i| x
jihal r l.-i^afl l-#i M i-aavi l-
fr 1 .'-.-u-uLi j r . ^"■■^L.i, .,.

M' ■. n M ■"■0"l H

in- l-iu- j.n.1'1 xi pi idairih ■■
■ r. m Unr. rii I -■■-. !■■■■ .. 1 —

LK-I

> ^_a-

r. *\_.- , ■.■lij-ib.- ii . — j.,.;

J-".rt--.. --J--^-, — Wrr.ni.:

■ Til bt i i -^^ -r — ^- ^ ■' -■ — ■ ^— ■■ *. n I J^^. li.'...'uilt i - — ■ 11 inh-nuii 1 jar. Li ihlii a.r

■ Tu. ■ Hi rn.-v-l h-. «■ 1 -i . k_. . iT^ij ja-ilni-uua ■ r-«-- V ~ "' d P"^ mJ ". m r I ■- '-«-!» lllrt^

■ tJ a ■ n.i .■■■.. hihi-.t li ■ 1 I..l; .... ■.-■_-.. il^i^u ■■ +1 f.^—. — -^ —— _, j _ --li ■■■

P rHI-...L .-■.. 1- ■ILIr 1 .,-_--l.--_ -J- .Ch.._ % " l._l/ ™- .1.J— ■ i- -L. -1 ■ -k-rT-aVl.

■ pi L^.iui-ibi^i v ri IL.U' I ±iS .1 -. hiu 1 1P.1111. : m I^h d^l- ^ I Ttiiui- J i. n — ^--rrii ^^

••305 ## The reader may be left with the impression by the Watch Tower Society that these 38
missionary translations use the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures with a frequency
similar to the New World Translation when they say,

200

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Many modern-language missionary versions, including African, Asian, American, and Pacific-
island versions of the Greek Scriptures, use the name Jehovah liberally, as do some European-
language versions. 1

An example from the Malagasy Bible indicates that the frequency is not liberal, but, rather, is
quite limited. In the Malagasy Christian Scriptures, only 16 verses which are derived from Hebrew
Scripture quotations use the divine name. However, one such verse (Hebrews 1:10) is clearly
describing the Lord (Jesus) in the New World Translation whereas the Malagasy Christian
Scriptures addresses him as Jehovah 0.

Many Missionary translations were done in the 1800's and were strongly influenced by the King
James version. A supplementary column was added which identifies the word used by the King James
Bible. 2 When "Jehovah" appears as a footnote reference, it is marked with an asterisk (*) by the
word used in the main text.

By comparing reference order in this missionary translation concordance, it is apparent that Asa is
Acts and Joda is Jude? The other Bible book names are easily determined by spelling similarity and
sequence. The following Malagasy Bible references use Jehovah in the Christian Scriptures:

Malagasy Bible

ew World Translation

King James Bible

Matt. 21:42

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

Matt. 22:44

Jehovah

Jehovah

Jehovah

Matt. 23:39

Jehovah

Jehovah

Lord

Mark 12:11

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

Mark 12:29

Jehovah

Jehovah

Lord

Mark 12:29

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

Mark 12:36

Jehovah

Jehovah

Jehovah

Luke 20:42

Jehovah

Jehovah

Jehovah

Acts 2:25

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

Acts 2:34

Jehovah

Jehovah

Jehovah

Romans 10:16

Jehovah 6

Jehovah

Lord

Romans 11:3

Jehovah 6

Jehovah

Lord

I Cor. 10:26

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

Hebrews 1:10

Jehovah 6

Lord 4

Lord

Jude(l):9

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

Jude(l):14

Jehovah

Jehovah

*Lord

1 "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial, " p. 327.

2 This footnote information may vary with each King James edition. The 1945 Scofield reference Bible published by
Oxford University Press was used for this comparison.

3 Joda lists a chapter number in this Malagasy concordance. English biblical references usually list only the
verse number for the short book of Jude.

4 The Hebrew version J 18 does not use m!T at Hebrews 1 :1 0.

201

Appendix N: Correspondence with the Society

June 5, 1997

••306««

Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , and Mr.

Elders of the [congregation name]
Portland, OR

Dear Elders :

I know that you are aware of my book entitled The Tetragrammaton and the
Christian Greek Scriptures . (Last year, four copies of a first-draft edition
were given to an Elder in the [other named congregation] for evaluation. I
have also personally discussed the first-draft edition with one of your
elders.) Since the preliminary edition a year ago, it has been completely
revised with much new material added...

...This has been a personal project stemming from a very pleasant contact
with two Witnesses in my home more than 13 years ago. It started as a
personal study of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation which took almost two
years to complete. At the onset I had no intention of publishing. I have no
formal affiliation with any religious group beyond church membership. My
relationship with the first publisher (to whom the present edition will also
be made available) was a professional contact between a prospective author
and publisher devoid of any endorsement on my part of their theological
stance or ministry procedure. (It was similar to my relationship with
McGraw-Hill when they published a prior electrical text.)

Understanding as I do that this book will have a wide readership...I am
particularly concerned that it be accurate. I do not want to misrepresent
manuscript evidence which may be available through the Watch Tower Society .
(The book examines the presence of the Tetragrammaton within the Christian
Scriptures from a historical and manuscript perspective. It avoids
theological arguments.)

I am sending copies of the final book draft to each of you as well as to
Mr. [Circuit Overseer] . Could you arrange a time at your convenience when
you, Mr. [Circuit Overseer] , and I could meet to evaluate the factual content
of the book ? Specifically, is there any manuscript evidence which I have
omitted which would establish the presence of the Tetragrammaton within the
early Christian Greek manuscripts ? If there is verifiable evidence which
alters the conclusions of my book, I will either amend the present text— or if
necessary— withdraw the book from publication . I do not wish to publish false
information .

••307* • Inasmuch as you have been aware of my work on this project,
I believe we can expedite this evaluation. I know that each of you will be
busy through the District Convention at the end of June. Could I suggest
that a meeting time no later than July 15th be arranged between us ? This
will give ample time for each of you to read the material before our
discussion. I will not release this book for publication prior to July 16,
1997 . If, as an outcome of our meeting, manuscript evidence for the
Tetragrammaton ' s presence in early Greek manuscripts becomes available, I
will carefully evaluate that information before proceeding. (I assume that

202 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

any such material would be readily available to you through the Service
Department. The presence of such manuscript evidence would be known if it
was used to substantiate the wording of the New World Translation . It would
be helpful if manuscript information could be provided to us at the time of
our meeting. Photocopies of first to third century Greek manuscripts of the
Christian Scriptures which use the Tetragrammaton would provide the most
conclusive evidence.)

It is difficult to write this kind of letter and properly convey my
personal feelings to you. Please understand that this is not intended as a
"demanding" letter. Nor am I attempting in any way to create an adversarial
relationship between us. I want to enjoy a time together in which we can
freely discuss the content of that which I have written. I will most
certainly include the most accurate material available within the book; I am
prepared to do extensive editing if Greek manuscript evidence of which I am
unaware is presented to me . I have learned much from you already. I have
also greatly profited recently by time spent in our home with an individual
from another congregation; I have learned much by listening and in dialogue
with him. I desire your input and will very carefully evaluate any new
information you can supply for me .

Thank you for your time on this matter. I have appreciated my association
with the [congregation name] over this past year. I trust our time together
will be mutually beneficial and will assure an accurate portrayal to future
readers of the place of the Tetragrammaton within the Christian Scriptures.

Sincerely yours,

(Author's name)

cc : Service Department Overseer
cc : Mr. [District Overseer]
cc : Mr. [Circuit Overseer]

••308* •

June 5, 1997
Mr. [District Overseer]
Puyallup, WA

Dear Mr. [District Overseer] :

I will let the copy letter to the [congregation name] Elders convey the
purpose of the meeting between myself and the [congregation name] Elders with
Mr. [Circuit Overseer] .

I am enclosing a copy of the book draft. I trust you will have
opportunity to read the main chapters as well as familiarizing yourself with
the appendix material .

I am sending this information to you primarily for the purpose of keeping
you informed of that which is taking place. However, were you free to join
us when I meet with the [congregation name] Elders, for my part I would be
delighted were you also free to be present.

I am aware that this book review will create a time involvement for you.
I want you to know of my appreciation in advance. Thank you.

Sincerely yours,
(Author's name)

Appendix N: Correspondence with the Society 203

cc : Service Department Overseer

cc : Mr. [Circuit Overseer]

cc : [congregation name] Elders

••309* •

June 5, 1997

Mr. [Circuit Overseer]
Portland, OR

Dear Mr. [Circuit Overseer] :

We have not met, though I have heard you both at the [congregation name]
Hall and in Woodburn. I am looking forward to meeting you.

I will let the copy letter to the [congregation name] Elders convey the
purpose of our meeting rather than repeating it here.

I am enclosing a copy of the book draft. I trust you will have
opportunity to read the main chapters as well as familiarizing yourself with
the appendix material . I very much want to be open to your comments and
observations as we sit down together to discuss this material. I am
particularly concerned that I not omit any information which might show
evidence of the Tetragrammaton in early Christian Greek manuscripts.

Again, I am looking forward both to meeting you and to our time together
with the [congregation name] Elders.

Sincerely yours,

(Author's name)

cc : Service Department Overseer

cc : Mr. [District Overseer]

cc : [congregation name] Elders

••310««

June 5, 1997

Department Overseer

Service Department

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society

100 Watchtower Drive

Patterson, NY 12563-9204

To the Service Department Overseer:

As seen from the copy letters enclosed, I am requesting a meeting with the
Elders of my local congregation to discuss the content of a book I am ready
to publish. I will let the copy letter to the [congregation name] Elders
convey the purpose of that meeting rather than repeating it here.

I am enclosing a copy of the book draft for your evaluation. ...you are
free to duplicate [this] material for others' evaluation as needed.
Remember, however, that there could be changes to the book draft resulting
from new information presented to me in my meeting with the Elders and
Circuit Overseer.

204 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

I am writing to you for two reasons. First, I want to keep you informed
of that which is taking place. I believe this subject has the potential of
becoming a much-discussed topic among Witnesses.

Secondly, I assume that you have the greatest access to early Greek
manuscript material regarding the Tetragrammaton within the Christian Greek
Scriptures. I am certain that the [congregation name] Elders and Mr,
[Circuit Overseer] would appreciate receiving from you any material which
might substantiate the presence of the Tetragrammaton ' s use by the inspired
Christian Scripture writers . After receipt from you, they can subsequently
make that information available to me in our meeting.

Thank you for your time with this matter. I appreciate your effort on my
behalf, as well as your effort on behalf of those who will be reading this
material in the future .

Sincerely yours,

(Author's name)

cc : Mr. [District Overseer]

cc : Mr. [Circuit Overseer]

cc : [congregation name] Elders

••311««

July 18, 1997

Department Overseer

Service Department

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society

100 Watchtower Drive

Patterson, NY 12563-9204

To the Service Department Overseer:

This letter is in regard to my June 5, 1997 request to the [congregation
name] elders for a meeting to review the contents of my book draft entitled
The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures .

I was greatly disappointed that I received no response from either the
congregation elders or the Service Department.

I am anxious that every detail of this book be accurate in its
representation of the textual and historical information regarding the
Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures . For that reason, I was
looking forward to a meeting with the elders which would have given us a
chance to evaluate the most current information available on the subject. As
I stated in my letter to them, I am prepared to edit— or entirely cancel
publication of the book— if I obtain authentic manuscript information which
negates the second and third century material I have used in my book draft .

I am puzzled by the lack of any kind of response on your part. I have
come to you with an unprecedented offer to bring my published writing into
agreement with the best historical information available. Why have you
failed to acknowledge my request with even the common courtesy of declining
the meeting? Does your lack of response tell me (and my readers) that you
truly have no manuscript evidence that the Tetragrammaton was actually used
by the inspired Christian Scripture writers?

Appendix N: Correspondence with the Society 205

May I again restate my earlier request? If you are aware of any textual

or historical information which verifies the Tetragrammaton within the
writings of the inspired Christian authors, I would appreciate receiving it
from you. In the ••312«« absence of a timely response from you, I will assume
that the Watch Tower Society does not possess authentic information
confirming the Tetragrammaton in the original Christian Scripture writings
and I will proceed with publication of the book.

Sincerely yours,

(Author's name)

cc : Mr. [District Overseer]

cc : Mr. [Circuit Overseer]

cc : [congregation name] Elders:

Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , Mr. , and Mr.

[Individual letters were sent to each Elder]

Note to the reader: Prior to, and during the duration of this correspondence (except for a short interval
at the death of a family member), the author regularly attended either a Theocratic School/Service
Meeting or a Book Study. (Weekly attendance continues until present.) At no time prior to the July
15, 1997 date suggested in the author's letters was there confirmation that the books and letters were
received, nor was any attempt made to explain why a meeting would not be convened. In addition, a t
no time has there been formal communication of any kind from the Service Department, the District-
or Circuit Overseers, or the congregation Elders to either this request or to the subsequent letter dated
July 18, 1997.

206
Appendix O: A Reply to Greg Stafford 1

••313 ,# Greg Stafford has published an enlarged second edition of his scholarly book Jehovah's
Witnesses Defended (copyright 2000, Elihu Books). On pages 18-36, he evaluates this book, The
Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Stafford's evaluation is fair and carefully written. His comments are well worth reading for
comparison with what has been said in this book.

Our basic agreement

Greg Stafford and I agree on many fundamental Biblical issues. We agree that all of Scripture was
inspired by God. We agree that it is imperative to translate Scripture in a way which communicates
God's intended message. We agree on basic issues of the transmission of the text; namely that we
possess no original manuscripts (autographs) but only Greek Scripture copies. We agree on the dates of
those copies; the earliest reliable dates are best placed in the first part of the second century. I
certainly believe that God has preserved Scripture through the ages with remarkable freedom from
both copying and intentional error. This did not result because each copy was accurate. Throughout the
centuries, hand written copies of the Greek manuscripts have introduced many errors. In addition,
there most certainly have been intentional errors introduced into the text for theological reasons.
Nonetheless, coming from the scholarly work of textual criticism, the end result today is a Greek
Scripture text which is remarkably close to that produced by the Christian Scripture writers. In spite
of his criticism at this point, I believe Stafford would agree with me on this also.

We most certainly agree that the divine name was used in the Hebrew Scripture almost 7,000 times
and that it is appropriate to use it freely today. (Though he would use a stronger imperative than my
choice of appropriate.)

Our fundamental area of difference

The reader must be aware that the difference between Greg Stafford's final conclusions and my own
stems from a difference in our initial frame of reference. In all likelihood, you the reader will also
have a frame of reference which is similar to one or the other of ours. Ultimately you will agree with
one of us and dismiss what the other has to say. You must also understand that my analysis does not
allow Brother Stafford a rebuttal — he, too, would have his own answer. (However, before this present
response was published, I sent Mr. Stafford a copy asking for his comments, lest I had misstated his
position. I stated my willingness to make any necessary corrections before publication. I received no
reply from him.) Understanding the risk of not having his response, however, I ••314»» suggest the
following two statements as representative of our respective initial frames of reference:

1. In all probability, Greg Stafford has a frame of reference which asserts that the Greek Scripture

(New Testament) writers could not identify Jesus with Jehovah. 1 This frame of reference requires
that the entirety of the Greek Scriptures — including the history of the early Christian
congregation — must be reconciled with this singular idea.

2. My initial frame of reference asserts that under inspiration of God, the inspired Christian writers

could say of Jesus what God directed them to say. No restriction is imposed which prevents the
Christian writers from identifying Jesus with Jehovah.

Consider the ramifications

• When Scripture is viewed from the first initial frame of reference, no citation in all of the Greek
Scriptures could say of Jesus that which is exclusively restricted to Jehovah. Consequently, this frame
of reference must establish that the divine name was used in the original writings because many verses

1 This appendix was written after the Second Edition of The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures was
published.

2 I am using the term identify in the sense I used it in Chapter 14 . This first frame of reference could not allow the
inspired Christian writers to say of Jesus regarding his eternal characteristics that which they also understood to be
true uniquely of Jehovah.

Appendix O: A Reply to Greg Stafford 207

would be inappropriate (blasphemous) if applied to the Lord. • When Scripture is viewed from the
second initial frame of reference, we can allow the inspired Christian writers to speak as God directed
them when applying these Hebrew Scriptures to Jesus. In this case, it is acceptable if the word Lord
was chosen by the original writers. This second initial frame of reference does not deny the use of the
divine name today, but it does not force it into the Greek Scripture text to preserve a distinction between
Lord and Jehovah. This frame of reference allows the inspired Christian writer to read ITiT in his
Hebrew text, but under inspiration quote it in the Greek Scriptures as Kupios (Lord). (See Chapter 14 of
this book.)

• Guided by the first frame of reference, there must be a heresy in the early life of the Christian
congregation which removed the Tetragrammaton from the Greek Scriptures. This must be true
irrespective of the absence of supporting manuscript or historical evidence. • The second frame of
reference does not require a heretical conspiracy and all of the problems of improbability and lack of
evidence it requires. (See Chapter 10.)

The perspective of authority

••315»» Greg Stafford objected to my statement that the New World Translation Committee gave
greater authority to Hebrew translations than to the Greek Scriptures. Yet he himself lists a total of
144 references (from the 237 total) to Jehovah in the NWT Greek Scriptures (NT) which have no
Hebrew Scripture precedent of any kind. The remaining 93 are quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures
which use !TiT in the Hebrew Scripture text but Kupios (Lord) in the Greek text. It matters little if the
authority behind this change was selected Hebrew translations or simply the subjective preference of
the New World Translation Committee as Stafford affirms. To an objective outsider, this substitution
of Jehovah for Lord in the Greek text certainly appears as an appeal to a higher authority than the
Greek text itself.

The final obstacle

We reach our final debate on a very simple conceptual level. For any of Jehovah's Witnesses, it is
imperative that certain passages in the Greek Scriptures identify Jehovah rather than Jesus. These are
the passages which identify the addressee with attributes of Jehovah. (See the discussion in Chapter
11.) Some are passages quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures; some are passages which have no Hebrew
Scripture source. The science (or art) of textual criticism has reproduced a Greek Scripture text which is
almost entirely free of error. All of us, including both myself and Greg Stafford, are dependent on this
reliable text for the foundation of our doctrinal faith. If we did not have a reliable text, we would be
theologically adrift.

For myself, I must allow the original writers to speak for themselves. If, under inspiration from
God, those writers identify Jesus with Jehovah in certain passages, then I must allow them to speak for
God and reconcile my faith with their writing. (This must be true in all issues of faith. Frankly, there
are areas in which Jehovah's Witnesses have been more faithful to the Biblical text than translators
within my own tradition. The use of the divine name in the Hebrew Scriptures [Old Testament] is an
outstanding example. See Chapter 12.)

The Watch Tower Society faithfully acknowledges the same Greek text. They also have an
identical objective of recovering the exact wording of the original writers. 3 However, they must
• •316* • introduce one important exception. They must establish a textual apparatus which brings the
divine name into the Greek Scriptures. They have done this by developing a hypothesis of textual
change from iTliT to Kyrios (Lord) without a single ancient Greek Scripture document to verify this
change; for their claim to be plausible, they must postulate a heresy in the early life of the Christian
congregation without any mention of it in copious post-New Testament writings; and finally, they used
Hebrew translations from 1385 CE and later derived primarily from the Textus Receptus (the King
James' Greek text which does not use iTliT) to buttress their argument that the divine name was used by
the Christian writers.

3 This reference is to the Greek text itself and not its interpretation or translation.

208 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

As a reader, you must be aware of the important change to the meaning of Scripture this exception
by the Watch Tower Society imposes. Ultimately, you must ask yourself if your final authority is
Scripture itself, or if it is another authority, whether that authority is Hebrew versions, the New
World Bible Translation Committee, or the Watch Tower Society.

I trust the reader will understand the nature of the debate between Greg Stafford and myself. We
each have a different frame of reference which leads us to differing expectations from Scripture.
However, this does not imply lack of respect or courtesy. Brother Stafford's book represents a scholarly
approach to many Biblical issues. I respect him for his work and can learn from him as I consider his
point of view. I also respect him for his courtesy in dealing with objections to my book. Scholarly
debate — when it is free from rancor — is profitable to both of us as writers. It should be profitable to you
as a reader as well.

Stafford's book Jehovah's Witnesses Defended is available from:

Elihu Books

PO Box 3533

Huntington Beach, CA 92605-3533

www. elihubooks.com.

209

Annotated Bibliography

• • 317* • The primary reference books used in this study were published by the Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society. The books included in this bibliography are useful resources for any study of the
Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The books identified with a double bullet (••) are
essential for such a study; a single bullet (•) indicates that the book should be consulted. The list
includes:

A. Materials published by the Watch Tower Society.

B. Reference materials cited by the Watch Tower Society.

C. Helpful reading from outside sources.

D. References citing miT in Greek manuscripts

A. Materials published by the Watch Tower Society These materials should be used by anyone
seriously studying the Watch Tower Society's teaching concerning the Tetragrammaton in the
Christian Greek Scriptures. For those involved in this study who are not ones of Jehovah's Witnesses,
it is imperative that the reference materials published by the Watch Tower Society be consulted
directly, rather than depending solely on books critical to the subject. (It should be added that this
book — The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures — should not replace a careful study of
the Kingdom Interlinear Translation itself.)

••The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, 1969 and 1985 editions. This is the
single most useful source of information for a Tetragrammaton study. The footnotes are an
unsurpassed source for textual dating of both the Greek word Kupios and the Hebrew versions using
miT. The 1969 Edition gives more complete information for both the early Greek manuscripts and y-
through j21 than does the 1985 Edition. However, the 1985 Edition adds newly researched
information for J 22 through J 27 and certain early Greek manuscripts such as P 45 , P 46 , P 47 , P 66 , P 74 ,
and P 75 . Appendices 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D give much useful information concerning the Greek alphabet
and language. All of the introductory material should also be read. For a complete study, both the
1969 and 1985 Editions should be used.

••New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, revised 1984. This volume will
be the second most important source of information for a Tetragrammaton study. The INTRODUCTION
beginning on page 6 gives information regarding the translation ••318 ,# philosophy as it concerns
the restoration of the divine name. Some "J" footnote material is found which is not included in the
Kingdom Interlinear Translation, though the reader is not given either the "J" or Greek manuscript
information contained within the Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes. Appendices 1A, IB, 1C,
ID, and 3A should also be consulted.

••The Holy Bible, American Standard Version, 1901 edition. This is an excellent translation and is
notable for its use of Jehovah in the Hebrew Scriptures. For the sake of comparison, this is an
excellent translation to use for general reading.

•"All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," 1990 edition. Study Five gives some interesting
information regarding the Septuagint (LXX) version (page 307 and following) and the Masoretic
vowel points and emendation of the Hebrew text (page 311 and following). Consult the chart on
page 309 for the relationship of the Hebrew versions to the Greek manuscripts. The charts on pages
313-314 give valuable Greek manuscript dating. Study Six gives important information regarding
the Greek text. The 1983 edition was cited in at least one instance because it contained slightly
different information.

Comprehensive Concordance of the NEW WORLD TRANSLATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES,

1973 edition. A comprehensive concordance gives all important biblical references for a given word.
This concordance is a useful tool when attempting a thorough study of such words as Jehovah or Lord
in either the Hebrew or Greek Scriptures. Though the entries are in English, a well defined word

210 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

such as Lord can be located in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation under entries such as Lord,
master, owner, sir, and the like.

•INSIGHT on the Scriptures, volumes 1 and 2, 1988 Edition. This is a particularly valuable reference
for a concise summary of the Watch Tower Society's viewpoint regarding numerous topics
encountered in a study of the Tetragrammaton. The topics "Jehovah," "Jesus Christ," and "Lord,"
should particularly be consulted. (For any reader who is not one of Jehovah's Witnesses, these three
headings will give much useful background information.) Regrettably, there are no headings for
either "Septuagint," or "Tetragrammaton," though these subjects are addressed under other
headings. Much pertinent language information is contained under the headings "Greek," and
"Hebrew II."

•Aid to Bible Understanding, 1969 edition. This was the original work which was re-published as a
the two-volume set INSIGHT on ••319* • the Scriptures. This volume could equally be consulted for
each of the subjects listed above. In many cases, the material in this volume is more technically
complete than the subsequent INSIGHT book.

The Emphatic Diaglott Containing the Original Greek Text (the 1942 edition was used). The primary
value of this volume to the Tetragrammaton study is the availability of a second interlinear
Greek/English text published and authorized by the Watch Tower Society. Some useful
supplementary material is also contained in the introductory pages.

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES, Proclaimers of God's Kingdom, 1993, Watch Tower Bible and Tract
Society. Chapter 27 (Printing and Distributing God's Own Sacred Word) gives important
information on the New World Translation and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. This chapter
strongly defends the textual reliability of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.

Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1989. This book deals topically with a number of important subjects. To
a reader unfamiliar with the Watch Tower Society's teaching, this is a practical reference book.
The sections headed "Jehovah," "God," and "Jesus Christ," are particularly helpful.

The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, 1984. This booklet will give information regarding the
divine name. The brochure encompasses material generally known by ones of Jehovah's Witnesses.
To those unfamiliar with the subject, this is a good, yet brief, introduction.

Should You Believe in the Trinity?, 1989. This booklet should be considered as a concise statement of
the position of the Watch Tower Society on the person of Jesus Christ. The subtitle reads, "Is Jesus
Christ the Almighty God?" This publication will give the reader a contrasting point of view to
that in this book.

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991. This book is a chronological account of the life of Jesus; it
was not used in this study in regard to the Tetragrammaton. It was only cited for a particular
reference to the person of Jesus.

"The Word," Who is He? According to John. This book was cited as a reference source merely to
illustrate the I John 5:7b passage which does not appear in the best Greek manuscripts.

B. Reference materials cited by the Watch Tower Society

Watch Tower Society publications frequently cite biblical materials produced by outside
publishers. This does not imply full ••320 ,# endorsement by the Watch Tower Society, but it
acknowledges their understanding of the merit and scholarship of the work. Generally (as in the case
of the Septuagint), the Watch Tower Society's endorsement is of the work and not the specific
publisher.

•The Greek New Testament, United Bible Societies, Third Edition (Corrected), 1975. The UBS Greek
text of the Christian Greek Scriptures is often used as the standard of comparison for textual
accuracy. Comparison can be made between this and the Westcott and Hort text when a detailed
study of Greek word usage is necessary. The text contains a critical apparatus which gives variant
readings and their sources.

Annotated Bibliography 21 1

A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Third Edition, 1971. The Watch Tower Society
does not list this volume per se. However, it is listed in this section inasmuch as it is the companion
volume to the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament listed above. The volume gives the
textual references and explanations to each of the critical apparatus entries in UBS.

•A Concordance to the Greek Testament, editors W. F. Moulton and A. S. Geden, T. & T. Clark,
Edinburgh. This is the J^" Jehovah reference. This volume gives two types of information which are
useful in the Tetragrammaton study. First, it lists all of the K yrios references in the entire Christian
Greek Scriptures. Secondly, it gives the HUT references for each Hebrew Scripture quotation. This
volume should be consulted for the 1 Peter 2:3 reference which was omitted by the translators of the
New World Translation. This source was also used as a reference for both 1 Peter 1:25 and 3:12.

The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament with an English Translation, Zondervan Publishing
House, 1994. Though not an essential part of a Tetragrammaton study, it is of interest to locate
K yrios (KupLog) references in the Hebrew Scripture Septuagint. This particular volume contains an
English translation. Though it is not interlinear, the student who is not familiar with Greek would,
nonetheless, be able to do a search for the single Greek word after locating the parallel verse in
English. Any publisher's Greek/English Septuagint would equally serve the purpose.

•Origenis Hexaplorum (Origen's Hexapla), edited by Fridericus Field, and published by Georg Olms
Verlagsbuchhandlung in Hildesheim, Germany, 1964. This is a two-volume set with over 1900 pages
of the reconstructed Hexapla. Regrettably, the foreword material is in Latin. Nonetheless, the
volumes are extremely helpful to us in our study of the Tetragrammaton in Origen's ••321* •
Septuagint. Even for the student who does not read Hebrew or Greek, the format of this book lends
itself well to sight identification of mil" as opposed to Kupios. The entries can be thoroughly
searched for either of the two words. Chapter and verse identification follows that of the English
text. This reference work must be studied for a definitive answer regarding Origen's use of miT in the
Septuagint.

• The Gospel of Matthew according to a Primitive Hebrew Text, by George Howard, published by
Mercer University Press, Macon, Georgia, 1987. (The book was re-published in 1995 with a new title:
Hebrew Gospel of Matthew.) This is an excellent book and one which makes an important
contribution to biblical studies. It reproduces the Shem-Tob Hebrew Gospel of Matthew with an
accompanying English translation. (This is the y- Hebrew version.) Included is a comprehensive
study of the Gospel which strongly suggests that the original Gospel written in Hebrew by Matthew
is its source. The book gives valuable information for a study of Matthew's Hebrew Gospel. If
Howard's thesis is correct, this English translation of the text gives an interesting insight into the
possible content of this lost Gospel.

Ante-Nicene Fathers; The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325, edited by A. Cleveland Coxe,
1994, Hendrickson Publisher, Inc., 10 Volumes. This set will give the reader insight into the issues
and thinking of the early church as seen through the writings of its leaders. In many cases, both the
antagonists and protagonists of a given issue are quoted. These volumes represent the earliest church
literature from its inception until 325 C.E. This material has been reprinted by several publishers,
including the series by Scribners and Sons and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff, also published by Hendrickson Publisher,
Inc., 1994. This 14-volume set is a continuation of the above volumes, covering the time period after
325 C.E.

• The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, published by Baker Book House,

1952. This 12-volume set (with two supplementary volumes and an Index) was frequently utilized
for historical, and general, non-sectarian information. The primary articles consulted were "Bible
Text," and "Bible versions," both found in Volume 2. (These sections included material on the
Septuagint, the Masoretic text, the Hexapla, Aquila's and Symmachus' Greek versions, Origen's
work, and the like.) In addition, the headings, "Origen" (Vol. 8), "Gnosticism" (Vol. 4), ••322* •
"Masorah" (Vol. 7), and "Arianism" (Vol. 1) were consulted with additional reference to
supplementary topics. An encyclopedia such as this is useful inasmuch as it is non-sectarian and is

212 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

concerned with historical data rather than present applications to doctrinal systems.

•The Cairo Geniza, by Paul I. Kahle, Oxford, 1959. This book gives much insightful information
regarding a number of topics related to the Tetragrammaton in the Greek translations of the Hebrew
Scriptures. Many specific manuscript illustrations are discussed. Important information regarding
Origen and the second column of the Hexapla is also included. The book is well worth reading.

McClintock & Strong Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, re-published
by Baker Book House Company, 1981. This 12-volume set was consulted only under the headings of
"Origen" (Vol. 7) and "Septuagint" (Vol. 9). Though somewhat dated because it is a reprint of the
original 1867 publication, the work still stands as the most comprehensive Bible literature
encyclopedia in English, and is well worth consulting for these two headings.

Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown (General Editor), Zondervan Publishing House,
1975. This three-volume set is cited frequently in Watch Tower publications. It is an extremely
valuable resource for the English reader who desires a complete description of Greek words found in
the Christian Greek Scriptures. (Frequent reference is made to Septuagint vocabulary and usage.)
The volume contains ample English indexing; a knowledge of the Greek language is not necessary for
use of this reference source. It is a translation of a German work and is generally non-sectarian in its
information.

Theological Word Book of the Old Testament, R. Laid Harris, Gleason Archer Jr., and Bruce K .
Waltke, Moody Press, Chicago, 1980. In Volume I, page 210 (entry 484), an excellent, non-sectarian
explanation of the word iTiiT is given. The writers hold the view that TiiT is not derived from the
common verb HjlH (hawa) and therefore has a unique (though unknown) meaning. In fact, this is a
position which is more favorable to the Watch Tower Society's viewpoint of the uniqueness of the
divine name than the statements generally made by the Watch Tower Society itself.

The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Descriptions and Texts of Twelve Manuscripts on Papyrus of the
Greek Bible, edited by Frederic G. Kenyon, Emery Walker Ltd. of London, 1937. This book contains
••323 ,# numerous photographs of the Chester Beatty manuscripts. From these facsimile
reproductions, the reader can study the actual texts as written in approximately 200 C.E. It is an
astonishing experience to view actual photographic reproductions of Scripture pages which were
read less than ten years after the death of the Apostle John!

Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, edited by M. Tenny, 1963. This one-volume dictionary gives a
wide range of technical information regarding Bible lands, history, manuscripts, and the like.

Patrologiee Cursus Completus [Complete Writings of the Fathers), edited by J. P. Migne and published
in Paris in 1862. This is the standard reference for the complete collection of writings of the church
fathers in their original Greek text. Unfortunately for the English reader, the Greek text is
accompanied by a Latin translation. Volume 7, Origenis Opera Omnia (Origen's Complete Works) is
a source used in Appendix J.

C. Helpful reading from outside sources

This bibliography has emphasized reading materials which are available to an active Jehovah's
Witness. However, for those able to obtain books from outside sources, the texts identified in this
section will give additional material regarding early manuscript data and the problems within
textual criticism. Because most of the works in this section are recognized reference sources, many of
them may be cited by the Watch Tower Society, though the citation is unknown to this author.

••The Divine Name Controversy (Vol. 1) by Firpo W. Carr, published in 1991 by Stoops Publishing, 10
N. Elliott, Aurora, MI 65605. Dr. Carr has done extensive work with computer aided reconstruction
from ancient Hebrew manuscripts for the pronunciation of the divine name. Even though the
Tetragrammaton's vowel sounds were not reproduced in ancient manuscripts, the pronunciation of
similar consonant-vowel combinations were preserved through later Masoretic vowel pointing. From
these preserved consonant-vowel combinations in other words of the Hebrew Scriptures, Carr has
reproduced the probable pronunciation of the divine name. This book is certainly worthwhile
reading.

Annotated Bibliography 213

••JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DEFENDED an answer to scholars and critics, by Greg Stafford, Elihu
Books, Huntington Beach, California, 1998. The scholarship represented in this book is superb; the
author knowledgeably uses both Greek and Hebrew languages to argue his position. As the title
suggests, the book is an apologetic ••324* • which covers a number of topics. Stafford emphasizes
the Watch Tower's position that Jesus is the highest of the Father's creation. Though the author of
this book (The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures) and Stafford hold entirely
different viewpoints regarding the deity of Christ, it is refreshing and informative to gain the
perspective of a scholar dealing with Scripture in depth. The reader who is not a Jehovah's
Witness would profit by carefully and thoughtfully examining this book.

••The Text of the New Testament, Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, Second Edition, by
Bruce Metzger, published by Oxford University Press, 1968. This volume is still in print. This book
is an excellent introduction to the subject of textual criticism. (Textual criticism considers the history
and restoration of the Greek manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures.) This book gives
sufficient descriptions and textual background to be completely understandable, and yet the reader
who does not have a prior knowledge of the Greek language will have no difficulty with the
material. A basic understanding of textual criticism is essential for anyone doing a serious study of
the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures inasmuch as the resolution of the Tetragrammaton's
presence primarily deals with this branch of textual study. This book is theologically neutral in
that it is dealing with textual history. It should be interesting reading for Witnesses intent on
understanding the process of Scripture transmission through the past two millennium.

Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism, by J. Harold Greenlee, William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1975. This is a similar book to the one above. It is a shorter volume and can
profitably be read as a supplement in that it contains additional information. However, the text by
Metzger should be the first choice.

A Greek-English Lexicon, by W. F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, University of Chicago Press, 1979
edition. This is a comprehensive Greek lexicon (dictionary) used for both the Greek Christian
Scriptures and other early Christian literature. This volume would not be used by most readers, but
was consulted for this study.

The Canon of Scripture, by F. F. Bruce, Inter Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1988. This book
gives an excellent introduction to the critical problems encountered in determining which ancient
writings are to be regarded as Scripture. The subject is handled in its historical context by a highly
recognized author; it is not • • •325* • • theologically oriented, and should be informative reading for
any one of Jehovah's Witnesses interested in pursuing the study.

Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, An Introduction to Greek Palaeography, by Bruce M. Metzger, Oxford
University Press, New York, 1981. This large size book gives much technical information regarding
ancient Greek manuscripts from one of the leading authorities in the field. Many facsimile
reproductions of actual manuscripts are included. This book is a valuable resource for the serious
student.

Eyewitness to Jesus, by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew DAncona, Doubleday, New York, 1996.
This is a revealing book considering our theme of the new light on ancient Greek manuscripts which
is becoming available today. In addition to their main topic of dating the Magdalen papyrus
manuscript of Matthew to the 60's C.E., the authors have suggested earlier dates for numerous P
manuscripts. In addition, the authors add considerable new information to the possibility of
Christian Scripture manuscripts found in the Dead Sea Caves. Reference is also made to Nomina
Sacra. This book is well worth reading.

Nomina Sacra in the Greek Papyri of the First Five Centuries A.D., by A.H.R.E. Paap, published by
E.J. Brill, [South Africa], 1959. This book is one of a limited number of books in English devoted to
the subject of the surrogates (contracted words) which are found in early Greek papyri manuscripts.
Paap argues that these abbreviated words (such as ks for Kupio? [Lord]) were not mere scribal short-
hand notations, but were used to indicate sacred names (Nomina Sacra). The book is highly
technical with copious citations of ancient manuscripts. The book is available only through library

214 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

loan services; for this book's research, the author was limited to an incomplete photocopy
reproduction of the material.

The Gnostic Gospels, by Elaine Pagels, Random House, Inc., New York, 1979. This book is included
merely because of the reference to the Gnostic Gospels in Chapter 8. Neither the author nor the
Watch Tower Society would consider these writings as coming from Jehovah. Nonetheless, the topic
could be profitably pursued inasmuch as the issue of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek
Scriptures is not unlike other areas of textual controversy throughout religious history.

D. References citing m!V in Greek manuscripts

•••326 ,,# This section cites journal articles and other reference materials which support the
presence of the Tetragrammaton in Greek manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Psalterii Hexapli Reliquiae, Iohannis Card. Mercati, Bybliotheca Vaticana, 1958. This large size
book shows the photographically reproduced Ambrosia manuscript of Origen's Hexapla. The
photographs are accompanied by type-set text for approximately 150 verses between Psalm 17 and
Psalm 88. The Tetragrammaton is clearly in evidence.

Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, An Introduction to Greek Palaeography, Bruce M. Metzger. See above.

The Cairo Geniza, Paul I. Kahle. See above.

The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11, J.A. Sanders, Oxford, 1965. This book shows an example of the
paleo-Hebrew Tetragrammaton embedded in a square character Hebrew text of Psalm 119.

The Septuagint and Modern Study, Sidney Jellico, Oxford, 1968. This book contains some discussion of
the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint.

The Journal of Theological Studies

"The Tetragrammaton in the LXX" W. G. Waddel, Vol. XLV, No. 179-80, July-October, 1944.

"Were Greek Transliterations of the Hebrew Old Testament Used by Jews Before the Time of
Origen?" J.A. Emerton, Vol. XXI, 1970.

"A Further Consideration of the Purpose of the Second Column of the Hexapla" J.A. Emerton, Vol.
XXII, April, 1971.

Journal of Biblical Literature

"The Greek Bible Manuscripts Used by Origen" P.E. Kahle, Vol. LXXIX, Part II, June, 1960.

215

Glossary

••327««

Apparatus, critical: See Textual Apparatus.

B.C.E.: Before common era. See C.E.

Blasphemy: To speak lightly or carelessly of God. An offense punishable in the time of the Hebrew
Scriptures by stoning (Lev. 24:10-16). Pronunciation of the divine name (mil") was, during certain
periods of Jewish history, considered blasphemy.

C.E: Common Era. The dating system based on the Gregorian calendar wherein year 1 follows the
traditional birth of Christ.

Canon: The writings which are accepted as being inspired of God. In reality, the accepted canon of
Scripture is the acknowledgment by men of the process of inspiration which has already been acted
out by God. Jehovah's Witnesses (and many in Christendom) recognize the 66 books of the Bible as
the canon.

Christendom: As used in this book, all organized religions outside the auspices of the Jehovah's
Witness organization which claim allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Church fathers: See Patristics.

Circumlocution: Evasion in speech of a word which should not be pronounced; the pronounceable word
itself. In Hebrew culture, the ineffable (unpronounceable) name of God was often replaced with the
circumlocution Adonai.

Codex: A book form of ancient manuscripts. By the second or third century of the Christian era,
documents were bound with thongs forming volumes, rather than being rolled in the form of scrolls.
The Greek Scriptures were originally written and circulated as scrolls. Soon after, however, they
were re-copied and bound in codex form. The codex could contain more written material than the
scroll. The majority of the early manuscript copies available today are codices.

Cognate: • •328* • The stem or root from which descendent words with a common meaning are derived.
As illustrated earlier in this book, sit, sat, and, to be seated, are cognates of the infinitive verb to sit.

Consonant: A speech sound characterized by constriction or closure at one or more points in the breath
channel. In contrast, a vowel is an unrestricted sound. In some ancient languages (Hebrew, for
example) only the consonant sounds had corresponding written characters (letters). Thus, the
alphabet used by the Hebrew Scripture writers consisted only of consonant sound symbols and did not
record vowel sounds.

Divine name: The personal name of God as represented by the Tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew
letters mil"). The divine name is transliterated as YHWH, and is often written as Jehovah or
Yahweh.

Embed: As used in this book, the placement without alteration of a foreign language word into the body
of a text of another language. Specifically, it describes the placement of the Tetragrammaton
written in Hebrew characters within a Greek manuscript.

Extant: As used of ancient manuscripts, a preserved or existing manuscript.

Gloss: A brief explanation of a difficult word or phrase in the margin of an ancient manuscript. The
gloss may be the work of either the original copyist or a later scribe, but it was not the work of the
inspired author himself.

Gnostic Gospels: Writings of the Gnostics. (See Gnosticism.)

Gnosticism: A widely held philosophy during the time of the early church. The name is derived from
the Greek word gnosis meaning knowledge. Though religiously independent of Judeo-Christian
thought, it often incorporated certain biblical teachings and raised its influence among early
Christians. It is classified as a mystery religion because it laid emphasis on secret or esoteric

216 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

revelations.

Greek Christian Scriptures: The 27 books of the Bible from Matthew through Revelation. Also known
as the New Testament.

Hebrew Scriptures: The 39 books of the Bible from Genesis through Malachi. The Septuagint (which
see) is properly called the Hebrew Scriptures. Also known as the Old Testament.

Inerrant (Inerrancy): In reference to the Scriptures, the quality of the original written documents which
were free from error.

Inspiration: ••329 ,# A prerogative of God whereby he caused human writers to express his will and
his intended words through their writings. Specifically, the Bible is held by Jehovah's Witnesses
and many in Christendom to be the inspired revelation of God to man.

Inspired: In reference to the Scriptures, their possession of the quality of inspiration. (See Inspiration.)

Interlinear text: A text wherein an exact word-by-word translation is juxtaposed below the original
foreign language text. For our consideration in this book, a Greek Scripture interlinear text has the
Greek text as written by the inspired authors with a literal English translation for each word.

Jehovah: An English pronunciation of the divine name. Historically, the name Jehovah is derived
from the consonants of the Tetragrammaton (mil") in combination with the vowels of Adonai. (See
Divine name.)

Kyrios (Kurios): The English transliteration of the Greek word Kupios. The word is generally
translated as Lord in reference to Jesus Christ. It conveys the meaning of Master when used as a
proper noun.

Lectionary: An ancient Scripture manuscript which was arranged according to calendar order for public
or private reading. Entire Scripture portions are included in lectionaries, though they consist of
selected biblical passages for reading on given days rather than in their traditional biblical form.
Lectionaries are valuable in the work of textual criticism (which see) because they reproduce
Scripture portions verbatim.

Manuscript: An ancient handwritten literary document. Biblical scholars study Greek manuscripts of
the Greek Scriptures in order to determine the actual words used by the inspired authors. The oldest
extant Christian Scripture manuscripts are from the second century. Some manuscripts as late as the
seventeen century may also be useful. An early version (which see) is also identified as a manuscript.

Masoretes (Masorah): The Jewish tradition (Masorah) which defined and preserved the pronunciation
of the Hebrew Scriptures during public reading. The original Hebrew Scriptures were written
without indicating vowel sounds; accepted vowel pronunciation was taught to a young Jewish boy
through rote memory and practice in the formal schools. (See Consonants.) The Masoretes (a Jewish
sect which advocated traditional pronunciation of the Hebrew Scriptures), worked in the period of
time between the sixth and eleventh ••330 ,# centuries C.E. Our interest in the Masoretes concerns
their work in adding vowel points to the Hebrew Scriptures. (See Vowel points.)

Minuscule: A Greek script of smaller letters developed about the beginning of the ninth century
especially for the production of books. Minuscule consisted of joined letters in a cursive or running
hand. Most extant Greek Scripture manuscripts available today are Minuscules. (See Uncial.)

New Testament: The 27 books of the Bible from Matthew through Revelation. (See Christian Greek
Scriptures.)

Nomina Sacra: From the Latin for Sacred Name, used for a certain class of surrogates (which see)
indicating sacral importance. Some scholars have argued that the entries Kg (for Lord) and 9s (for
God) do not represent mere contractions or abbreviations, but rather that they were used to identify
specific names of great importance in Scripture. The term Nomina Sacra is not used by these scholars
as a synonym for divine name.

Old Testament: The 39 books of the Bible from Genesis through Malachi. The Septuagint (which see)
is properly called the Hebrew Scriptures. (See Hebrew Scriptures.)

Glossary 21 7

Palimpsest: A velum (animal skin) document which was scrapped to remove the original writing and
re-used for a later document. Due to the scarcity and cost of writing materials, quality vellums were
often erased so that the skins could be used again. In most palimpsests, it is the original document
which is of greatest importance. The first writing can often be seen with ultra-violet light or special
photography techniques.

Patristics: In a general sense, the leaders of the Christian congregations (church) in the first five
centuries. The term more specifically identifies the leaders who left written material, irrespective
of their theological persuasion. The significance today of the patristics is their written documents
which give insight into the activities of the early Christian congregation period. Scripture was
often quoted in their writings. Therefore, they become a source of verification for the wording of the
Christian Greek- and Hebrew Scriptures. These writers are usually identified as the church fathers
in general religious writing.

Papyrus (Papyri): A reed paper produced in Egypt and exported to much of the known world during the
period of the inspired Christian writers. Undoubtedly, the Greek Scriptures were originally written
on this material. The manuscripts written on this material are called Papyri.

Recension: A critical revision of a text. A biblical manuscript recension is the result of deliberate
critical work by an early (and generally unknown) editor to correct presumed errors in the text. In
regard to biblical manuscripts, the term recension is often used to mean a particular family of
manuscripts; one may refer to the Alexandrian recension.

Recto: From the Latin rectus meaning "right." The right, or front, side of a leaf in reference to an
ancient manuscript. The side on which the papyrus run horizontally. Because of the folding system
in codices, ••331 , » the text on the back {recto) sometimes preceded that on the front (verso).

Scribe: A copyist who reproduced the Scriptures by hand. In the early Christian congregation era,
many copies were probably done privately. In later centuries (beginning with Constantine), copies
were often made in scriptoriums, where the text was read phrase-by-phrase while a group of scribes
(often educated slaves) copied as they listened.

Septuagint: A Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. It was completed approximately 280
B.C.E., and was the Scripture predominantly used in the early Christian congregation. It is often
identified by the Roman numeral "LXX" (70). The term Septuagint is often — though
imprecisely — used to identify any of a number of unique Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Surrogate: Common words often abbreviated in ancient (hand written) documents in order to save
writing effort and manuscript material. These abbreviations are known as surrogates. A line was
usually drawn over the surrogate to mark it as such. Examples of surrogates are KS (from loipios' for
Lord) and 9s from (9eog for God). (See Nomina Sacra.)

Tetragrammaton (or Tetragram): The divine name written in four Hebrew letters as mil". The word
Tetragram comes from the Greek words tetra, (TeTpd ) meaning four, and gramma, (ypd|ip.a) meaning
letters. Thus, Tetragram means four letters. (See Divine name.)

Textual Apparatus: Citations for the Greek Scripture text which establish probability. In certain
instances, a given passage will have alternate wording possibilities from assorted ancient
manuscripts. The Textual Apparatus will cite alternate wordings as an aid to the translator in
selecting the most probable word(s) used by the original writer.

Textual criticism: The study of copies of any written work of which the original is unknown, with the
purpose of ascertaining the original text. For our purposes, textual criticism is the art which brings us
the actual wording of the inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Theos: The Greek word Qeos translated into English as God.

Translate: The process of reducing (written) communication in the language of origin to (written)
communication which conveys the same message to a receiving language. Notice that by definition,
translation does not preserve word order, but rather communication sense.

Transliterate: ••332* • The process of transcribing the phonetic sounds of one language into a written

218 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

(or pronounceable) word in the receiving language. The word Christ is a frequently encountered
example. The Greek word xpicttos (christos) is transliterated into the English word Christ.

Uncial: The formal Greek penmanship style used during the time of the early Christian congregation.
As against the cursive (or running hand) used for non-literary documents, uncial orthography was
used for literary compositions. It consisted of individually formed upper-case letters. The written
document had no spacing between words. Most Greek Scripture manuscripts written before the tenth
century use uncial letters. (See Minuscule.)

Variant: An alternate reading which differs from the common wording within a majority of Greek
manuscripts for a given passage. Generally, the majority of extant Greek manuscripts will favor one
reading (or word) whereas a smaller number will favor a second. In this case, the second reading is
called a variant.

Version: A synonym for a translation when referring to a Scripture portion.

Verso: From the Latin vertere meaning "to turn." The back side of a manuscript leaf where the fibers
run vertically. (See Recto.)

Vowel point: A vowel marker added to written Hebrew consonants by the Masoretes. (See Masoretes
and Consonants.)

Vowel: (See Consonant.)

Yahweh: A representation of the personal name of God derived from the four Hebrew letters HUT
(YHWH). When incorporating the vowels from Adonai, this form of the divine name is written in
English as JEHOVAH.

••333-335* •

219

Scripture Index

Tabulated references
237 Jehovah references • 33, 213-216, 217-222
714 K yrios references • 227-35

K yrios and miT references in J 20 • 259-61

Hexapla miT entries for Psalm 17:6-88:53 • 284-86

References found in P 1 " 5 ' 7 " 8 ' n > 13 > 45 " 47 - 49 " 50 ' 59 " 61 ' 63 " (

References found in P 45 • 253-57

Jehovah references in a missionary translation • 304-05

3, 72, 74-76 . ln> n2 -15

Genesis

2:4, 16 • 5

Exodus
3:14-15
18:8 • 38
32:31 • 131fn

Leviticus
11:8 • 38
24:15-16

199

142

Numbers
32:12 • 38fn

Deuteronomy
1:36 • 38fn
4:34 • 131fn
5:11 • 132, 142
18:15 • 13
26:17 • 17
32:9 • 131fn

Joshua
2:9 • 130
14:8, 9, 14 • 38fn

2 Samuel
7:12 • 166

Psalm
1:1 • 170
1:2 • 289fn
1:6 • 290fn
2 • 174, 292-93
2:2 • 175, 283, 288
295-96

7:1, 3, 6, 8 • 169
11:1 • 170
12:3, 5 • 131
15:1 • 170
16:8-11 • 166
17:8 • 287

17:26-38:53 • 284, 286
17:29 • 286
17:42 • 287
18:1-2 • 171
20:1 • 171
21:1 • 172
22:1 • 181
22:6-8 • 131fn
24:1 • 131fn
25:6-7 • 278
26:1 • 172
27:1 • 172
27:9-10 • 181
28:1 • 287
28:6-7 • 282-83

289fn, 290fn,

28:9 • 65-66

29:13 • 287

30:6 • 287

32:2, 10 • 131fn

34:11, 15, 16, 17 • 131fn

45 • 286

69:25 • 181

69:31 • 131fn

88 • 286

89 • 166
89:8 • 15
104:35 • 15
109:8 • 181
113:1-5 • 178
118:6 • 202
118:18-19, 20 • 131fn
118:24 • 132

132 • 166
143:10 • 38
146:1 • 289fn
150:1, 6 • 15

Proverbs
3:12 • 131fn
4:18 • ivfn, vi
20:27 • 131fn

Jeremiah

7:2 • 132

Isaiah

1:10, 11 »132

1:18 • 130

6:3 • 131fn

7:14 • 186

21-24 • 144

23 • 149

40:3 • 37fn, 69fn, 241

40:10 • 131fn

40:13 • 190, 254

45 • 150

45:1 »132

45:21-24 • 144

45:22-24 • 194

45:23 • 149

46:11 • 38

53:1 • 131

65:13-14 • vi

Ezekiel

33:11 • 130

Daniel
4 • 10

Joel
2:28-32

166

Zechariah

11:13 • 180

Malachi

2:13-17 • 279-281
3:1 • 201
4:6 • vii

Matthew
1-25:6 • 206
1:1-3:6 • 211
1:20 • 66, 68, 128
1:20-24 • 65, 67-68, 186
1:22 • 64
l:22-23a • 186
1:22-24 • 31-32, 64,
1:24 • 31, 44, 68
2:13 • 64, 67-68
2:15 • 66, 67-68
2:19 • 64, 67-68
3:3 • 37fn, 67-68, 69fn, 241
3:9, 15 • 302
4:4 • 66, 67-68
4:7» 67-68
4:7 • 68
4:10 • 67, 128
5:3 • 133fn
5:20-22, 25-28 • 302
5:33 • 65, 67, 226
6:24 • 226
7:21 • 225
12:28 • 133fn
12:8 • 226
13:10-11, 13 • 181
13:31 • 133fn
19:24 • 133fn
21:12 • 64, 66
21:31 • 133fn
21:40 • 183
21:42 • 305
21:43 • 133fn
22:31, 32 • 64
22:34-40 • 199fn
22:44 • 305
23:39 • 305
25:24 • 227
25:26 • 184

26:7-8, 10, 14-15, 22-23 • 302
26:29 • 133fn
26:31 • 302
26:32-33 • 302
27:9-10 • 66, 182
27:46 • 181
28:2 • 64
28:9 • 64, 66

220 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

28:20 • 198

Romans

2:3 • 259

2:10-11, 14-17 • 197

3:15 • 259

4:24-5:2 • 194fn

3:14-15 • 241

Mark

6 • 38

2 Peter

1:3 • 241

8:1 • 197

1:21 • 84

5:19 • 37

8:2, 10-11, 14-17 • 197-198

IJohn

5:7 • 87

7:28 • 184

10:16 • 305

12:11,29, 36 • 305

10:16-17 • 241

15:34 • 182

11:3 • 305

Jude

16 • 87

11:3-9 • 187, 192

4 • 185fn

Luke

11:33 • 199

5 • 241

1:16 • vii, 73, 75

11:34 • 128

9, 14 • 305

1:16-34 • 73, 75

11:34-35 • 190

Revelation

1:38 • 187

13:9 • 189

1:1 • 22

1:6, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 25, 28 • 246,

13:14 • 189

1:4 • 125

250-251

14:1 • 144

1:8 • 4, 146-148, 185, 196, 243,

1:76-77 • 202

14:3-9 • 187-189, 192

263-268

2:10-11 • 202

14:4 • 72fn

1:11 • 148

3:1 »3

14:6 • 38

1:17-18 • 147

3:4 • 241

14:8 • 111

4:8, 11 • 148, 243

4:8 • 143fn, 184

14:10 • 241

4:11 . 47-49, 96, 150, 196

4:12 • 184

14:11 • 144, 149, 195, 241

7:14 • 147fn

5:17 • 186, 192

15:32 • 241

9:10-17:2 • 124, 207

6:20 • 133fn

1 Corinthians

11:4 • 147fn

9:61 • 38fn

2:16 • 241

11:17 • viii, 10, 16, 146-148, 243

10:21 • 185

5:5 • 241

15:3 • 148

10:27 • 40

7:17 • 38, 57fn, 259

16:7 • 148, 243

13:19 • 133fn

8:6 • 185fn

17:14 • 147fn, 226-227

13:25 • 36fn

8:5 • 226

18:8 • 49fn, 148, 243

13:35 • 40fn

10:9 • 112fn, 241

19:6 • 49fn, 148, 243

16:13 • 227

11:23-26 • 197

21:5 • 21

18:41 • 226

11:26 • 305

21:6 • 265

20:42 • 305

12:4 • 86

21:22 • 148, 243

24:27 • 166

15:8-9 • 86

22:5-6 • 148, 243

John

16:7 • 38

1:1-6:11 • 109

16:22 • 227

1:23 • 40fn

2 Corinthians

6:35b-14:15 • 109

4:13-12:6 • 206

6:45 • 40fn

5:20-21 • 194fn

6:50-8:52 • 206

5:21 • 198

12:13, 38 • 40fn

14:21 • 198fn, 199

Galatians

15:20 • 227

3:2-15 • 256-257

18:31-33, 37-38 • 25fn, 108

3:6 • 128, 256
6:11 • 3

Acts

1:8 • 183

Ephesians

1:20-21 • 181

4:5 • 185

2:25 • 129

6:5 • 184

2:34 • 305

Philippians

2:36 • 185

2:10-11 • 144fn, 150, 195

3:22 • 13

3:10 • 183

6:7 • 241

4:3 • 129

8:1 • 167
8:25 • 241
9:15-16 • 183

Colossians
1:10 • 111

10:28-29 • 167

3:13 • 111

12:21, 22 • 142

4:16 • 88

12:24 • 241

2 Timothy

13:5, 44, 48 • 241

3:16, 17 • 21, 143

13:47 • 167

3:14-17 • 166

14:25 • 241

Hebrews

16:6, 32 • 241

1:10 • 305

16:19, 30 • 226

9:14 -13:25 • 206

18:26, 28 • 166

10:8-20 • 107

20:14-15, 17-24 • 183

13:6, 20 • 201

21:10-13 • 183

22:17 • 72fn

James

22:20 • 182

1:12 • 18

25:26 • 184

1 Peter

1:25 • 21

221

SUBJECT INDEX

••336-340* •

CGS = Christian Greek Scriptures; HS = Hebrew Scriptures; NWT = New World Translation; MS(S) = manuscript(s);
fn = footnote

Africa • 98, 134
Against Heresies • 127-128
Aland, Kurt and Barbara • 28, 212, 157fn
Aleph (K) MS (see Greek MSS)
Alexander the Great • 95, 239fn
Alexandria • 9, 276
Alexandrine MS (see Greek MSS)
Alpha and Omega • 147
Ambrosian Library, Milan • 282
Ambrosiana MS (see Greek MSS)
American Bible Society • 209-210
Ancient Hebrew (see Hebrew characters: Palaeo-
Hebrew)

antiquities dealer • 105, 302
Apocrypha • 20fn, 83fn

Aquila • 10, 164-165, 176, 277, 283, 287, 291fn, 293, 295
Aramaic • 4, 10, 60fn, 73
Arian controversy • 103fn, 136
Augustine • 126
Babylonian exile (see Israel)
Barnabas, Epistle of • 131-132
Beatty, Chester • 106, 134, 207, 252
Beza, Theodore • 79-80fn
Biblica Hebraica • 158-159
blasphemy • 142-145, 196
Bodmer collections • 106, 207
Bodmer, M. Martin • 109
British and Foreign Bible Society • 210
Caesarea • 276

library at • 60, 277, 279
Cairo • ii, 11, 22fn, 165
Carthage, Council of • 86
Carr, F.W. • 19, 158m, 159fn, 162
Christendom • 193
Christian Greek Scriptures

Greek text reliable • 139

in Hebrew language • 133

Tetragrammaton removed from • 13, 40, 119-135, 165

translation of • iv

writing dates of • i, 11, 25, 313
Christian congregation, early • 103, 122, 124, 125-126,

129, 131, 134, 143, 164, 166, 177, 300
church fathers (see Patristics)
church, early (see Christian congregation)
circumlocution (see Divine name)
Clement • 129

Clement, Epistle of • 83fn, 86fn, 88, 129-131
codex • 95, 98, 252
consonants • 7
Constantine • 177, 296fn
cross reference • 35, 37-38, 44, 265
David, king • 9, 85

Dead Sea Scrolls (caves) • ii, 4, 17, 98, 105-106, 176, 237,
239
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) • 132
Divine name • 200

abbreviations of • 238

Adonai(y) • 7, 64, 66, 162, 289-291

circumlocution of • 7, 64, 133fn, 152

first use in Bible • 5

Greek imitative form (see PIPI)

He Causes to Become • 171-172

He Is • 171, 200

I am • 200

I shall prove to be • 200

IAO (IAQ) • 170, 175-176, 178, 237

in Shem-Tob's Matthew • 63-68

Jehovah • 172, 178

LORD • 7fn, 16, 158-160, 162-163, 172, 175, 179

occurrences in NWT • 50-51

orthographic simulation of • 121fn

pronunciation of • 6fn, 15-16, 19, 174
Jah (Yah) • 15
Jehovah • 7, 15-16, 172
Yaho • 171

Yahweh • 15, 171-172, 178
YHVH • 6-8, 15

YHWH • 4, 6, 158-159, 170, 178
YHWH • 7, 8, 15
Yehowah • 19

The Name (DOH) • 68-69, 133, 152

use today of • 18, 202fn

miT (general references too numerous to cite)
du Tillet • 62,67,208
Ebionites • 242
Egypt • 134,302

embeddment • 121, 167, 175, 179, 239fn, 292, 296
Emerton, J. A. • 177fn
Emphatic Diaglott • i-ii, 78, 211-212, 245
Ephesus • 25fn

Erasmus • 75fn, 79-80fn, 81, 87fn, 90fn, 102fn
Essenes • 176

Eusebius • 61, 70, 126, 277, 279
facsimile • 252
field service • 193, 197
Field, Fridericus • 279, 281
First and Last, the • 147
Fouad MS • llfn
Geniza • 22fn

Gentiles • 16, 167, 179, 202, 293
geography • 120, 134-135
Gesenius, William • 5
Gnostic Gospels • 84, 86
Gnostics • 136
God • 158

attributes of • 189

son of • 288fn
God's name (see Divine name)
Greek language • 95, 226

cognate form* 75fn

Koine • 95, 98

noun construction of • 226
Greek MSS • 14, 119, 137-138, 141, 151-152, 191, 194,
206, 252, 263, 269, 274, 297, 303

222

The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Aleph (X) MS • iii, 34fn, 41, 45, 46, 99fn, 100, lOlfn,
106, 112fn, 206, 265

Alexandrine MS • 142, 206, 266

Ambrosiana MS • 174, 281fn, 283, 293

as copies of original • 122

dating of • 96-98

discovery of • 105-108

early support of Lord • 32, 40-41, 47

extant • 79, 99, 111, 121-123

identification symbols for • 30, 45

minuscules • 96, 267, 269

P MSS • 25fn, 34fn, 40fn, 41, 110-112, 116-117, 124,
207, 252-253

papyri • ii, iv, 27, 95, 97, 100, 105, 108-109, 110,
112, 124, 134fn, 252, 269, 297, 299

parchment (vellum) • 95, 134fn

penmanship • 97-98

preservation of • 101-104, 134, 137

publication of • iv, 109-110

recto • 253, 303

uncials • 96, 206-207, 254, 269

Vatican MS. 1209 • 34fn, 41, 46, 99fn, 100, 206

verso • 253, 303

writing dates of • 33fn, 36, 44, 47, 50

writing materials for • 95, 97, 100, 105
Greenlee, Harold • 23fn
Gutenberg, Johannes • 22
Hebrew characters • 4, 167-168, 276-277, 283, 290, 295

He (H) • 4

palaeo-Hebrew • 3-4, 165, 180, 292, 295

square • 4, 168, 175, 286,293

vowel points • 6-7, 74, 200, 258, 277

Waw (1) «4,8

YohdhC) »4

Hebrew culture • 57

Hebrew language • 57, 61

Hebrew Scriptures

quotation of in CGS • 34, 35, 38-39, 50
translated for Jews • 164, 296
translation into Greek (see Septuagint)
without quotation of in CGS • 35, 38-39, 50

Hebrew versions • 30, 44-45, 58fn, 73-78, 82-83, 90, 133,
189fn, 206, 208, 213, 245, 262, 264

J 2 as a recension • 59, 62-63
jl8 . 72-78

J 20 • 39, 194, 205, 213, 258-259, 300fn

publication dates of • 45

supporting Jehovah in CGS • 34, 41, 57
heresy • 124, 164, 174-177, 242, 268, 314, 316
Herod, king • 3, 64
Hexapla • lOfn, 175, 276-296

destruction of • 277
higher criticism • 24, 108
Hort, F.J.A. (see Westcott and Hort)
Howard, George • iv, 13, 57-71, 119, 133, 194, 236-244
Huleatt, Charles • 302
Hutter, Elias • 30, 41, 45, 48, 209, 245
identity of Jesus with Jehovah • 144, 146, 148-149, 187-

190, 192, 196, 201, 301, 314-315
illustrations • 182
indistinct meaning • 181-184
inspired Christian writers • 40, 85, 164, 299
Irenaeus • 61, 70, 126-127
Israel

exile of • 9, 85

name of Jew • 9

preserved Scripture • 27

theocracy within • 9
J references (see Hebrew versions)

Jerome • 12fn, 46, 60-61, 70, 123, 126, 133, 165, 167, 211-

212
Jerusalem • 167
Jewish Christians • 176
Jewish heritage • 177
Jewish Theological Seminary • 59, 208
John Rylands Library • 108
John, Gospel of • 124, 207
Josephus • 60-61fn, 126fn
Justin Martyr • 126
Kenyon, Sir Frederic • 26-27

King James Version • i, 73, 79-80fn, 82, 87, 162, 245, 247,
249, 251, 267
Kingdom Interlinear Translation (general references too
numerous to cite)

as being reliable • 140

footnotes within • 29-31, 44-49

format of • 31-32
kingdom of God • 133fn
kingdom of heaven • 133fn, 298fn
Knorr, Nathan H. • v
K yriOS (K^pio?) (general references too numerous to cite)

as a title for Jesus • 201

frequency of in CGS • 36fn

having meaning of mil* • 201

spelling of • 32, 226
lectionaries • 100, 263, 269, 274
limit of inspiration (see Scripture, canon)
London Jewish Society • 210
Lord's Evening Meal • 196-198
love for Jesus • 198-199
Magdalen Papyrus • 302-303
Marcion(ists) '• 83, 136
martyr • 182-184
Mary, mother of Jesus • 187, 298fn
Masada • 106
Masoretes • 7, 102fn
Matthew (general references too frequent to cite)

Greek Gospel of • ivfn, 57, 59, 62, 67-68, 70, 75, 78,
91, 133, 208

Hebrew Gospel of • ivfn, 12, 57-68, 70, 75, 119, 123,
126, 133

Shem-Tob recension of • 58
Memorial service • 196
Mercati, Giovanni • ii, 173, 282, 284
Metzger, Bruce • 23fn, 25fn, 274fn, 281fn, 297fn
Migne, J.P. • 288, 294
minuscule (see Greek MSS)
missionary translations • 304-305
Moabite Stone • 4
Modalism • 192fn
Moulton and Geden • 34, 225, 258
Miinster, Sebastian • 59, 67, 208
Nebuchadnezzar, king • 10
New American Standard Bible • 158
New World Bible Translation Committee • i, v, 41, 57fn,
59, 69-70, 72fn, 73, 83, 89, 91, 105, 109, 116, 119, 140,
152fn, 160, 162-163, 173, 179, 275, 297, 301, 315-316
New World Translation (general references too numerous
to cite)

new light on since 1940's • i, v-vi, 69-70, 108, 110,
116-117, 137, 152

publication date of • 29, 70, 139, 181
New York Public Library • 208-210
Nicaea, council of • 125
Nomina Sacra (Sacred Name) • 297-301, 303
Old Testament • 157, 160, 162-163, 315
Origen • 10, 17, 23, 61, 70, 102fn, 103-104fn, 126-127,
175, 265, 267-268, 276-296

Hexapla • ii, 10, 167, 174, 180, 276-296

Subject Index

223

Origenis Opera Omnia • 288

orthography • 3

Palestine • 276

palimpsest • 172, 282, 283

Pamphilus • 279

papyrus (papyri) (see Greek MSS)

parent language • 169m

patristics • 120, 125, 137fn, 152, 264, 268, 279

Ante-Nicene • 126

writings of • 125, 127, 132, 194
Paul (Saul) • 85-86, 95, 122fn, 124, 129m, 131, 144, 150,
166-167, 179, 183-184, 187, 189, 195, 198, 201-202, 207,
252

Epistle to Laodicea • 88
Philo • 237

phonetic duplicate • 169-171, 173, 176
PIPI (Film) • 17, 121, 123, 167, 170, 174-175, 179-180,
280, 282, 287, 294-295
Polycarp • 126
printing press • 22, 102fn
probability (see random distribution)
prophesy • 180
Quinquarboreus • 59, 67
Quinta • 283

Qumran (see Dead Sea Scrolls)
random distribution • 101-102
recension • 75, 78
recto (see Greek MSS)
research, Bible • 53
resurrection • 194fn
Roberts, Colin • 302
Roman empire • 9, 95, 101, 125, 134, 176, 239fn

invasion of Palestine • 98, 176, 296
Russell, Charles Taze • ivfn
Rutherford, W.G. • 211
Rylands, John • 17, 25, 303
Saracens (Arabs) • 277

scribal error • 12, 22-23, 25, 119, 124, 129, 132, 143, 152
scribe • 242, 299
Scripture

canon of • 83-84, 86-89

guidance from • 140

inerrant (infallible) • i, 20, 121, 137, 187, 191

inspired (inspiration) • i, 20-22, 24fn, 26, 91, 121,
137, 140-141, 145, 151-152, 157, 160, 181, 187fn,
189-190, 196, 299, 313-315

knowledge of • i

non-canonical writings • 120, 125, 129, 135

preservation of • 27
scroll • 95, 98, 105
Septuagint • ii, 9-12, 16-17, 57, 119, 121, 126, 142fn,

162, 170, 176-178, 201-202, 237-239, 242-243, 265,
276, 279, 291, 293, 295-298

as a Greek translation • 9, 11

Bible of early church • 12, 164

distinct from GCS • 12

distinct from Hebrew language HS • 10

distinct from other Greek translations • 10

history of • 9

Jewish use of • 11, 16, 169, 176-177

Tetragrammaton removed from • 13, 164-166, 283,
295

Tetragrammaton within • 9-10, 16-18, 46
Shem-Tob (see Matthew)
Shepherd of Hernias • 83 fn
Sinai peninsula • 134
Smith, Joseph • 84, 86
Solomon, king • 9, 85
Spain, Barcelona • 303
special pioneering • 197

St. Catharine monastery • iiifn, 101-102fn, 106
Stafford, Greg • 19, 313-316
Stephanus, Robert • 79-80fn
Stoops Mfg. Co. • 19

surrogate • 13, 96fn, 179, 236, 238-240, 254, 256, 287,
297, 299, 301, 307

_uo or_iaio (Jehovah) • 175
lip km • 287
_Kj? (K yriOS) • 13, 174-176, 287

~Qv (T heos) • 287

" n (Name) • 64, 67
symbol • 169, 288

Symmachus • 10, 70, 277, 283, 291, 293, 295
synagogue • 176
Tacitus • 126
target language • 171, 174
Temple worship • 176
Tetragrammaton (general references too numerous to cite)

definition of • 3, 5, 172

found in Septuagint • ii, 46fn

importance of • 194

in Hebrew characters • 166, 169

inHS»8

in Watch Tower teaching • 12-13

removal of • 13, 164-166, 196, 283, 295
textual apparatus • 263-264, 315
textual criticism • 23, 24-26, 46, 59, 88fn, 99fn, 103fn,
109, 137fn, 157-158, 160, 194, 277, 313, 315

definition of • 24
Textus Receptus • 79-80fn, 87, 90fn, 267
Theodotion • 10, 164, 168, 176, 277, 283, 287, 291, 293,
295
Theos (Oeog) (references too numerous to cite)
Thiede, Carsten • 302-303
Tischendorf, Fredrich von • 101-102fn, 106
Titus • 176

transcription • 169-170, 178, 296
translation • 72, 178, 296

dynamic • 166

word-for-word • 166fn, 171
transliteration • 168-170, 178, 276-277
Trinitarian Bible Society • 73, 210

Tyndale, William • 162
uncials (see Greek MSS)

United Bible Societies • 112, 211, 213, 246, 263, 267, 269,
299

Textual Commentary • 48fn, 267

UBS apparatus • 112
variant • 66, 122-123, 240, 264, 266-268, 287
Vatican MS 1209 (see Greek MSS)
vellum • 95, 97, 100, 105
versions • 211, 263, 269

as translations • 75, 82

definition of • 72, 75

in textual criticism • 46

Latin • 30, 46, 100, 211

Syriac • 30, 46, 100, 212

Vulgate • 46-47, 75, 78, 211-212
verso (see Greek MSS)
Vespasian • 176
visual duplicate • 170
vowel points (see Hebrew characters)
Westcott and Hort • iii, 26, 31, 66, 75fn, 79-80, 87, 99-
100, 109, 122, 138fn, 140, 151, 157, 160, 213, 225, 245,
254, 264, 299
Westcott, B.F. (see Westcott and Hort)
Wilson, Benjamin • i, 212
witness (maitlireo) • 182-184
Writing Department, Watch Tower Society • 288

224 The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures

Yankee Stadium (1950) • v

Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses • 197