God’s Name in Christian Texts: Categories A, B, and D
Our source manuscript says ‘Lord’ here. However, we believe this is probably a circumlocution for YHWH (Jehovah/Yahweh), which was a common practice at the time. Therefore, we translate it as ‘[Jehovah]‘.
This reference is in these categories:
- Category A: The Greek source has the grammar ‘error’ that says ‘Lord’ instead of ‘the Lord,’ treating the title Lord as if it were a proper noun. This was the normal way in which the Greek Septuagint would indicate that Lord was a circumlocution for YHWH.
- Category B: In the Aramaic source, this verse uses the full spelling for Lord, maryah, instead of the more normal mara. This was often, but not always, an accepted circumlocution for YHWH.
- Category D: This verse is referring to the actions of God Almighty the Old Testament. If you look up the relevant account in the Hebrew source text, God is called YHWH (Yahweh/Jehovah) there. This alone is not enough to suspect a circumlocution, but it supports other reasons for suspecting it.
We are not dogmatic about any instance of God’s Name in our translations. Instances may be added or removed in later corrections. On our website, you can choose between the spellings Jehovah and Yahweh, or see the original circumlocution (“LORD”), by altering your settings.
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