| Home | Word format | Complete on-line NWT |
| Index: | |
| Chapter 1: | Mike Becomes a Witness |
| Chapter 2: | Mike's Tetragrammaton Dilemma |
| Chapter 3: | Inspiration and the Christian Scriptures |
| Chapter 4: | A Greek Interlinear Study |
| Chapter 5: | Concluding the Greek Interlinear Study |
| Chapter 6: | A Discovery Concerning Manuscript Dates |
| Chapter 7: | Mike's Search for the Original Greek Text |
| Chapter 8: | The Crucial Decision |
| Appendix: | A Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References |
Mike owed much to his local congregation. He had been one of Jehovah's Witnesses for only five years—yet those five years had changed his life!
Mike's high school years had been hard. As a result, he enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduation.
In the service, he discovered that he enjoyed mechanic work. After his military discharge, he enrolled in a community college automotive technology program. He earned good grades in school and was looking forward to starting his own shop.
He also met Sharon at the college. She was in the school's dental hygiene program. They were engaged at the end of the first year and married the following June after Mike finished his automotive training.
Their religious backgrounds were quite different—it was only after becoming ones of Jehovah's Witnesses that they shared a common interest in their faith. Mike's parents had no affiliation with any religious organization. Sharon, however, had been raised differently. Her parents had taken her to church meetings twice each Sunday and to a prayer meeting on Wednesday evenings.
On the outside, everything seemed to be normal for Sharon during high school. Inwardly, however, she was rebelling. A few months after high school graduation, she found a surprisingly high-paying job. Against her parents' wishes, she moved into an apartment. For the next two years, Sharon lived a reckless life.
She knew then that she needed to change. Though she wanted nothing more to do with her parents' religion, she knew that God was not pleased with her life. In an attempt to start over again, she had enrolled in the community college dental hygiene program. It was there that she met Mike.
You briefly met Mike and Sharon. In this study, you will follow Mike as he confronts some important issues in his faith. Watching Mike will help you to better understand your own faith, because the issues he considers as one of Jehovah's Witnesses are ones you might also wish to think about.
Mike is going to study an important question regarding the Tetragrammaton and its use in the Christian Greek Scriptures. In completing his study, Mike will need to use a number of study resources. Seeing how he formulates his questions and chooses reference materials[1] will help you understand the importance of a Tetragrammaton study.
[1] Two types of reference materials will be used in this study. The first will be materials published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. These materials are readily available to you either through your congregation library or directly from the Watch Tower Society. The second will be materials recognized by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society as primary sources for their written documents. These are less readily available because they are ancient manuscripts, library documents, and the like. In all cases, however, they are sources quoted by the Watch Tower Society as supporting documentation. In some cases, copies of these materials can be obtained directly from the Writing Department of the Watch Tower Society by special request. In other cases, they are available only through large or specialized libraries.
When we undertake any study, we must be certain that we use reliable information. Watching Mike secure information for his study of the Tetragrammaton will help you understand how you might pursue a similar study of Bible truth. All materials used in this study are publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society or are referred to in their literature. (The only exception is the New American Standard Bible, which gives additional support to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's footnotes.) However, our most important source of information for this study is God's precious Word. All Scripture quotations are from either the New World Translation or the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
Mike and Sharon discussed religion very little before marriage. Mike knew that Sharon resented her "legalistic" church upbringing. He also knew it was a topic of conversation she preferred to avoid. Her avoidance of the subject pleased him. He had little interest in God becoming a part of his life.
They were engaged at the end of their first year of college. Marriage plans were made quickly because they were both alone. Mike didn't have a real home to return to, and, although Sharon's parents always welcomed her, she didn't want to spend much time with them. After she and Mike were engaged, there was a tension when they visited because of Mike's lack of religion. It was simpler to stay away!
They were married as soon as Mike finished school. Mike knew they were moving too quickly, but the plans had been made and it seemed too late to change. Early in his second year, Mike wanted to change majors to a four-year engineering program. Yet, because of his commitment to Sharon, they decided that he would finish his two-year course first. Later, after Sharon was working, he would enroll in an engineering program.
After graduation, Mike found a job as a mechanic in a dealership garage. What he intended to be a temporary job for the summer turned into a career. By the end of the summer, they knew that Sharon was expecting their first child. Mike was angry at his own disappointment, but he was careful never to say anything to Sharon. With a baby on the way, Sharon could no longer consider a dental hygienist job. Mike knew his plans for more school were impossible.
In the following years, Mike became a dependable dealership mechanic. Their son was followed by a daughter two years later. They looked like a normal young family.
But Mike's disappointment was growing. He felt limited because he was unable to get an engineering degree. At the very least, he wanted to start his own auto repair shop. Yet, because of unexpected medical bills and an unstable economy, even owning his own business had not been possible. As a result, the hostility between Mike and Sharon was becoming intense. Divorce was starting to look like a possibility.
It was at this point that two Witnesses came to their home. They left literature with Sharon, though she didn't show much interest. It was Mike who first began reading the Watchtower.
Mike was intrigued by what the Watchtower had to say. He was interested in the articles about the family. He could certainly see Sharon and himself in the descriptions of troubled homes. More importantly, however, he enjoyed the lessons about the Bible. He knew nothing about God's Word, and he wanted to know more.
In the following months, Mike and Sharon began to study the Bible with other Witnesses. They began to regularly attend Kingdom Hall meetings and soon became a part of the congregation. Mike discovered that he particularly enjoyed studying. He read a great deal of the material which was available to him through the Watch Tower Society. He participated enthusiastically in the Theocratic Ministry School.
In time, both Mike and Sharon were baptized and became actively involved in field service.
Mike was troubled. He enjoyed accompanying Elder Hanson on field service assignments. Mike was amazed at how well he could redirect indifference—and even hostility—into a profitable conversation.
Mike was sorry when this time of field service had come to an end.
Householders seldom had questions about the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Nonetheless, a few conversations about the subject had taken place. Twice in their time together, Brother Hanson made a statement regarding his personal faith and the Tetragrammaton itself.
The first time, Brother Hanson's statement sounded unusual. This morning it struck Mike with remarkable force. An apartment resident who was apparently a theology student challenged the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Brother Hanson replied that his faith did not depend on whether or not the inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures used the Tetragrammaton. (He explained, however, that he was certain that the Tetragrammaton was used in the original manuscripts.)
Mike was troubled. With growing awareness, he realized his faith did depend on the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton. The statement in his Reference Bible which says, "The foremost feature of this translation is the restoration of the divine name to its rightful place in the English text,"[2] was a summary statement of much that he held as truth. He knew that his unique faith as one of Jehovah's Witnesses was dependent on the use of Jehovah's name in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
[2] The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, 1984, page 6.
We are familiar with the Watch Tower Society's teaching regarding the divine name. We are told that Jehovah's name—written as the Tetragrammaton—was used by the inspired Christian writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures. (The Tetragrammaton is written in Hebrew letters as יהוהi.[3]) We are also told that because of heresy and changes made by the scribes who copied the Scriptures, the four Hebrew letters were changed to the Greek word Kyrios[4] which is translated as the English word "Lord." Is the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the original writings merely a question of passing interest for one of Jehovah's Witnesses, or is it of greater importance? Something of much greater significance is involved, for the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the original Greek manuscripts is the stated reason for restoring Jehovah's name to the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation.
[3] During Jesus' time, Hebrew 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. 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 יהוה. (The English phonetic equivalent is YHWH.) These four letters are called the Tetragrammaton. After vowel points were added, the name of God was written. (So as to avoid pronouncing the divine name, the Masoretes used the vowel points from Adonai, the Hebrew title for God.) The Tetragrammaton without vowel points is the form with which we are concerned in this study.
[4] In this study, we will frequently refer to the Greek word Κύριος. However, rather than using Greek letters, we will write it as Kyrios, using English letters. For a more complete discussion of the use of the Greek word Kyrios, see The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, copyright 1984. Note especially the article starting on page 23, "God's Name and the 'New Testament.'" Also see Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, page 9.
Mike realized that his concern with the Tetragrammaton was also deeply personal. His relationship with Sharon's parents had been cool during their engagement. In the early years of their marriage, however, their relationship had changed. Sharon's father became the dad that Mike had never known. After their children were born, Sharon's folks made a great effort to be helpful and loving grandparents. Thankfully, there seemed to be a tacit agreement that they would avoid any further discussion of religion.
There were uncomfortable times after Mike and Sharon began studying with other Witnesses. Sharon's father said nothing, but Mike knew he was reading books written against them. On one occasion, a book about some supposed "Watchtower slavery" was conspicuously left in her parents' living room during a visit.
Three years earlier, however, the differences between them had became irreconcilable. That year, Mike and Sharon had decided to attend the Special Assembly Day rather than spending the Memorial Day holiday with Sharon's family. The following Saturday, Mike stopped by his in-laws' house to soothe their hurt feelings. Instead, Mike left abruptly after a heated argument arose. Sharon's younger brother was unexpectedly there and attacked Mike for "destroying Sharon's faith." The argument centered primarily on the Trinity doctrine.
After they discussed the events of that afternoon with the congregation Elders, Mike and Sharon were counseled to entirely break their relationship with both her parents and with her brother's family. Though it seemed necessary, it was a difficult decision to make. It was hard for Sharon. It was also hard for Mike because of his new friendship with Sharon's dad. And it was particularly painful when they had to explain to the children that they would not be seeing their grandparents anymore.
Now, three years later, Mike realized that the question of the Tetragrammaton was related to the same issue which had so painfully separated his family from Sharon's parents.
Mike decided to give the problem more study. Two years earlier, on the advice of the elders of his congregation, Mike had left his job as a dealership mechanic and had started his own business. It meant long hours and extra accounting work for Sharon, but the risk was finally paying off. With two fellow Witnesses as employees, Mike's auto repair shop was doing well enough that he could regularly take time off for field service as well as occasional family outings.
Mike was aware of the Watch Tower Society's encouragement to search for truth:
"We need to examine, not only what we personally believe, but also what is taught by any religious organization with which we may be associated…If we are lovers of the truth, there is nothing to fear from such an examination. It should be the sincere desire of every one of us to learn what God's will is for us, and then to do it.--John 8:32"[5]
[5] The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, copyright 1968, page 13.
On the following Tuesday, Mike took an extended lunch. He began with the question that had been raised the previous Saturday: "Does it make any difference if the original Christian Greek Scriptures used Jehovah's name?" The more he thought about the question, the more he realized how important it was.
Does it make any difference to you if the original Christian Greek Scriptures actually used the Tetragrammaton? Yes, it must! If you are one of Jehovah's Witnesses who follows the instruction of the Faithful and Discreet Slave, verification that Jehovah's name was written by the inspired Christian writers is essential. There are many reasons why this is so. In this brochure, we will consider only two of those reasons.
In the following weeks, Mike listed a number of reasons why his faith required substantial proof that the inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton.[6] He decided to give two of these reasons special attention.
[6] Mike understood that the primary issue was the actual use of the Tetragrammaton by the inspired Christian writers rather than a precise verification of each of the 237 "Jehovah" references in the New World Translation.
Mike understood the Jews' reverence for the divine name. Consequently, he understood that the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures would not quote a passage which used Jehovah's name in the Hebrew Scriptures and then apply it to any being other than God himself. Mike identified the following as the first reason why his faith required substantial evidence that the inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton:
(1) HEBREW SCRIPTURE REFERENCES DEPICTING JEHOVAH MUST DESCRIBE THE SAME DIVINE BEING WHEN QUOTED IN THE CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES. Many passages from the Hebrew Scriptures which use the divine name are quoted by the inspired Christian writers. These verses typically draw attention to a quality of Jehovah or make a statement regarding his character. It would be blasphemy for the inspired Christian writers to quote a passage which uniquely described Jehovah in the Hebrew Scriptures and then apply it in the Christian Greek Scriptures to anyone but God himself.
Before we look at an example of a Greek Scripture writer who quoted a passage from the Hebrew Scriptures, we need to define the term "blasphemy." Insight on the Scriptures says, "Blasphemy includes the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of God, or ascribing these to another person or thing."[7]
[7] See the entire discussion of "Blasphemy" in Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, beginning on page 337. This quotation is found on page 339.
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 to be true. It would certainly be blasphemy if Jehovah's attributes were ascribed to any being other than God himself.
There are many examples of the inspired Christian writers quoting Hebrew Scripture passages in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Among these many verses, we can count 112 instances in which the divine name was either quoted or was at least a part of the context of the Hebrew Scripture passage.[8] The following verses illustrate one of these 112 examples. First, 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.'"
[8] See the summary at the end of the Appendix for this information. In some cases, the category into which a verse should be placed may be uncertain. For that reason, it is best to use the number 112 as a close approximation rather than as an absolute figure. The primary reference used to obtain this total was J20, which is cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. Additional references from the New American Standard Bible (NASB), Lockman Foundation, 1971, were used because they supplement the number of direct quotation references given by J20. (That is, the NASB increases the number of allowable references over those given by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.)
If the Apostle Paul used the Tetragrammaton in his quotation at Romans 14:11, then it would read as it does in the New World Translation:
On the other hand, if the Apostle Paul was referring to Jesus when he used the title Kyrios (Lord) (which is the wording found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation), the verse would read:"'As I live,' says Jehovah, 'to me every knee will bend down, and every tongue will make open acknowledgment to God.'"
"'As I live,' says the Lord (Jesus), 'to me every knee will bend down, and every tongue will make open acknowledgment to God.'"[9]
[9] It is interesting to note that the same author (the Apostle Paul) quoted Isaiah 45:21-24 at 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 Kyrios (Lord) to the glory of God the Father." However, with the same wording and the same human author, the New World Translation renders Kyrios as Lord in one case, and as Jehovah (with added quotation marks) in the other. 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 credits both Jehovah and the Lord (Jesus) as receiving the worship which the Isaiah passage has reserved solely for Jehovah. A careful reading of the three passages in their entirety—using the Kingdom Interlinear Translation text where applicable—is encouraged.
It is necessary that we determine whether or not the Tetragrammaton was used by the Apostle Paul at the Romans 14 passage. If Paul himself used Jesus' title Kyrios (Lord), then Paul was either guilty of blasphemy, or, under the inspiration of God, he was identifying Jesus (Kyrios) with Jehovah.
We could examine a large number of these 112 passages and find a similar pattern.
Mike understood the importance of this first category. If the inspired Christian writers quoted passages from the Hebrew Scriptures which used the divine name, they could not use that verse to identify anyone but God himself in the Christian Greek Scriptures. It was of great importance to his faith as one of Jehovah's Witnesses that the inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton in these verses.
Mike listed a second category which identified verses which described attributes of Jehovah. When Mike first began the study of this second category, he was unaware that many of these verses were not quotations from Hebrew Scripture passages. That discovery would be made later in his interlinear study.
(2) MANY PASSAGES GIVE THE ONE ADDRESSED IN A VERSE EQUALITY WITH JEHOVAH. Many passages unique to the Christian Greek Scriptures give the one identified in a particular verse equality with the Father. These verses attribute qualities to the subject of the verse which are reserved for Jehovah God. These passages are translated using the divine name "Jehovah" in the Christian Scriptures of the New World Translation. (In the following paragraphs we will look at examples from Romans 12:11 and Revelation 11:17.) In this category of verses, the New World Translation gives the Greek Scripture addressee equality with Jehovah, even though the verse is not a quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures. (Said in another way, these verses say something about the addressee 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 determine whom the Christian Scripture verse is identifying, because the addressee is given attributes which are equal to those of Jehovah.)
As we saw in the first category, of the 237 occurrences of the name "Jehovah" in the New World Translation Christian Scriptures, only 112 are quotations in which the divine name is found in Hebrew Scripture verses or their context.
On the other hand, 125 of the 237 occurrences are not quotations from any Hebrew Scripture passages. They are passages which use the divine name "Jehovah" in the New World Translation, even though the Greek word found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is Kyrios (Lord)—or occasionally Theos (God). It is this latter group of references which concern us here—those 125 occurrences of the name "Jehovah" in the New World Translation's Christian Scriptures in which there is no quotation source in the Hebrew Scriptures. There are numerous examples. For instance, Romans 12:11 says, "Slave for Jehovah." This has no cross references to any Hebrew Scripture passage.
Thus, there are many passages in the Christian Greek Scriptures in which the Tetragrammaton must be the original word used, or else the passage would be giving Jesus equality with Jehovah God. For example, Revelation 11:17 would read quite differently depending on whether the Tetragrammaton or Kyrios was used. If the Tetragrammaton was used by the Apostle John, the verse would read as translated in the New World Translation:
"We thank you, Jehovah God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king.
If, on the other hand, the Apostle John used the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) as published in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, then the verse would read like this:
"We thank you, Kyrios [Lord] God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king."[10]
[10] This is but one example of a reference which is not based on a Hebrew Scripture quotation in which the addressee—be it Jehovah or Kyrios—is clearly equal with Almighty God. Other examples in the book of the Revelation would include: 1:8, 4:11, 16:7, 18:8, 19:6, 21:22, and 22:5-6. There are numerous similar examples throughout the Christian Greek Scriptures.
To any one of Jehovah's Witnesses who is concerned with the accuracy of his faith, it is essential to know whether the inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton (Jehovah's name) for such verses, or the Greek title Kyrios (Lord) referring to Jesus. The use of Kyrios in many of these instances would identify the Lord Jesus as being "The Almighty," "God," and similar titles used for Jehovah.
Mike often formulated his main topics as he studied during lunch. Back at the shop, however, he could think about the study and make applications. He realized the importance of his second topic when he applied it to a verse which had been discussed the previous Sunday in the Watchtower study. Mike was thinking of Revelation 1:8.
It should be clear how important it is to determine whether a passage was originally written using the Tetragrammaton or the Greek word Kyrios. In many passages, the presence of the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) identifies Jesus with Jehovah. Revelation 1:8 gives us an illustration of the importance of this contrast. If the Tetragrammaton can be verified for this verse, it would read as it does in the New World Translation:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says Jehovah God, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
On the other hand, if the word used by the inspired Christian writer was Kyrios (Lord) as published in the Greek section of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, then the verse would appropriately read:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says Kyrios God, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
In this second instance, Kyrios (Lord) is designated as "God" who is "the Almighty." That is, Kyrios, who is most frequently identified as Jesus, would be given the title of "God…the Almighty."
It is clear that verifying the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton is of great importance to you as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. In many verses, if Kyrios rather than the Tetragrammaton had been used by the original writer, Jesus would be identified with titles which are ascribed to Jehovah such as "God Almighty."
Mike was concerned by the forcefulness of these two possibilities. Over the next few days, while doing engine work in the garage, he considered the consequences of the answer he would someday need to find. He certainly had been correct when he started this search for truth. The Tetragrammaton was going to have an immense impact on his faith. If the Tetragrammaton was used by the inspired Christian writers, his present faith should continue to grow. But what if the Tetragrammaton was not used by the original writers? What if the original writers—with the early congregation's knowledge and approval—had substituted a title for Jesus in place of the divine name?
Brother Hanson was not correct in his assessment of the Tetragrammaton's importance. Even though he did not know it, his faith was very dependent on the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton. Mike was frightened. But he knew he must continue his search.
Consider the importance that these two options have to Witnesses. First, if the inspired Christian 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 another without providing ample evidence to correct the error. On the other hand, what if the inspired Christian writers did use Jesus' title, "Lord" (Kyrios), as a substitute for the Tetragrammaton? It was either the highest form of blasphemy, or it was the strongest statement possible of the unique identification of Jesus with Jehovah.
Mike sensed an extreme urgency in his study. He knew that his faith was entirely dependent on the truth behind the Tetragrammaton. He spent several days looking through Watch Tower publications. Within a week he realized he was losing his original direction. He was neither completing the portion of the study he had started, nor was he finding a simple answer to what he was now calling his "Tetragrammaton dilemma."
He decided to complete what he had started. He would continue his search for evidence of the Tetragrammaton in the original writings of the inspired Christian writers.
Before continuing, he briefly summarized in a notebook that which he had already discovered.
SUMMARY. We started by telling of a Witness who was puzzled by an elder's statement that his faith did not depend on the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton. What is your reaction? We considered two reasons why it is important for you as a Witness to know whether the inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton.
Mike decided to make a review of the inspiration of the Christian Greek Scriptures the first step in his study of the Tetragrammaton. He was certain of his position that all Scripture was inspired by God. He was also certain that the text of the inspired writers was entirely accurate. Still, a review of these topics seemed like a good place to start.
He had another reason for starting with the subject of inspiration. It was a subject for which he felt he could easily find material. That meant the first part of his study would be easier to manage. He was more concerned about the later parts of the study. He knew that finding information on the use of the Tetragrammaton in early Greek manuscripts would be difficult.
Mike had used a copy of "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial"[11] in an earlier study. He decided to reread the section entitled Study Four to the end of the book. He found Study Six "The Christian Greek Text of the Holy Scriptures," to be the most helpful.
[11] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, copyright 1990. This is an excellent book dealing with the subject of the Christian Greek Scripture and its accuracy. For a more complete evaluation than we can present here, we would suggest that you read the material from Study Four to the end of the book. Study Six, "The Christian Greek Text of the Holy Scriptures," is particularly helpful.
His first question was simply "What does inspiration mean?"
You have often heard the term "inspiration" used in reference to the Bible. Do you know what that term means? Does it simply mean that the Scripture is good literature? Or does it mean more? It certainly means much more. In the book already mentioned, we read,
"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."[12]
[12] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", 1990, page 7.
What kind of book do you think Jehovah would write? It would be a book which would be entirely free of error. Furthermore, because successive generations would read it, the Author would carefully protect his book so that later generations might also read it in the most accurate form possible. The authors of the book we have been quoting continue 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, and reproving and disciplining us so that we may walk humbly in truth and righteousness."[13]
[13] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", 1990, page 7.
When we understand the source of the Scriptures as Jehovah himself, we can certainly understand that they would be accurate. God would not give us a Bible with errors. But we need to be careful that we correctly understand what we mean when we say, "Scriptures without error." The original writings were without error. Could copies—and translations—of the original writing contain errors? Regrettably, history shows us that this has happened. That does not mean we cannot have confidence in our Bible. But it means we are talking about the original Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures when we say there was no error. (We will briefly come back to the subject of the accuracy of the Greek text later in this chapter.)
So far, we have only talked about the result of inspiration; that is, that God as an author would not make mistakes. But we still have not explained the process called inspiration. The process is best understood when we learn the definition of the word "inspiration." To quote our previous source: "The expression 'Inspired of God'… is translated from the Greek The op'neu-stos, meaning 'God-breathed.'"[14] For the most part, we don't know how God gave his revelation to each of the inspired Scripture writers. (In some cases, however, the writer himself tells us. The writers of both Daniel and Revelation gave information about the inspiration process itself.) But we do know 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. Thus, we know that the words in the original manuscripts are the exact words God wanted written.
[14] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", 1990, page 9.
After his brief review of inspiration, Mike was satisfied that the doctrine he had been taught regarding this subject was correct. He knew that Jehovah had communicated truth to the inspired writers of Scripture. He also knew that God could not make mistakes.
Now Mike needed to examine some specific information regarding the Christian Greek Scriptures. His primary question concerned the accuracy of the Greek text which is available today in comparison with the text as it was originally written.
Say, for instance, that the original manuscript of an important historical document had been destroyed. Also imagine that printing presses had not yet been invented before its loss. Thus, all that would be available would be copies of handwritten copies. (Of course, there would be errors made due to the copying process.) If you were assigned the task 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 of the lost document as you could find. Secondly, you would attempt to establish the date when each copy was made. Then, you would establish specific guidelines to determine the reliability of each copy. Finally, you would compare each of the existing copies in order to reconstruct the original document.
After you had gathered all of the materials, you would first look for the oldest manuscripts, because the older the manuscript, the greater the possibility of its being a faithful reproduction of the original document. (A very old manuscript might be the second—or possibly even the first copy—made from the original lost document. On the other hand, a recent manuscript might have a large number of copies between it and the original. The more copies which exist between the original and the manuscript which you are editing, the greater the possibility there is for copying mistakes.) The older the manuscript of any portion of Scripture, the more likely it is that it represents a faithful reproduction of the work of the inspired Christian writer. (We say "likely" because there may be exceptions. If, for example, it could be shown that a recent copy was made from a very early copy, then the recent copy might be more accurate than other older copies.)
Mike was intrigued by a discovery he made while reviewing material on the earliest Christian Greek manuscripts. He realized that many ancient copies of the Greek Scriptures exist.[15] In fact, he discovered that significant portions are available which were copied in the third century C.E. Some of these manuscripts, he noted, are cited in footnotes in the New World Translation. He would later discover that these are extremely important as "J" document references in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
[15] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", 1990, pages 313 - 314.
One afternoon at the garage, Mike was thinking about the significance of these third century manuscripts. He realized it meant that biblical scholars actually possessed copies of the Christian Greek Scriptures which were made between 201 and 300 C.E. But he also knew that the inspired Christian writers wrote between 41 C.E. (Matthew) and 98 C.E. (the epistles of John).[16] This meant that the oldest copies were made within a relatively few years—to at most 150 years—of their writing. In one case, a manuscript for the Gospel of John is available which was copied about 125 C.E. This was approximately 25 years after the original was written.[17] Was it possible that some of these copies were actually copies of the original? He would never be able to know for sure, of course, but he was fascinated with the idea.
[16] Scripture writing dates are not easily authenticated. For consensus, we will use the writing dates given in the table "Christian Greek Scriptures (C.E.)" from Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 1, page 310.
[17] This probable time span of 25 years between the Apostle John's death and the oldest manuscripts is given in "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", 1990, page 317.
We want to go back to our illustration of the important historical document. How would you compare the manuscripts after you had assembled them chronologically? Could you actually determine what the original text said? Again, the answer is "yes." Say, for instance, that each manuscript had ten copying errors. However, you would soon discover that each manuscript contained errors unique to that copy. Therefore, you would merely need to tabulate the highest agreement between each of the manuscripts for a particular sentence or word to find the most likely reading of the original document. For example, you might find that eight manuscripts used one specific word in a particular sentence, but two other manuscripts use other (but not the same) words with a similar meaning. You would understand that eight repetitions of the same word most likely represented the original text, whereas two synonyms which were different from each other, were most likely copying errors. (Again, there are exceptions to this rule. There is an exception when multiple copies were made from a single early, but faulty, manuscript.)
In the same way, biblical scholars have been able to compare the copies which are available today and determine the content of the original Greek Scriptures with amazing accuracy. This has been aided by the fact that there are over 5,000 ancient manuscript portions in the original Greek language available today. A very accurate summary of the reliability of our Greek text is given in the reference cited:[18]
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."
[18] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", 1990, page 319.
Mike was satisfied. He could have full confidence in the Greek text. Further, the text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation was completely satisfactory, inasmuch as it is the well-recognized Westcott and Hort text.
Mike again made concluding notations in his notebook.
SUMMARY. The question of inspiration and the reliability of the Greek text of the Christian Scriptures has been the primary concern of this chapter.
Mike now began the actual study of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
This was not a simple undertaking. He made several attempts before successfully starting his study. Mike had decided, however, that he wanted to do an original study rather than reading others' conclusions concerning the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the inspired writings. (Reports of others' studies are readily available.[19]) As much as possible, Mike wanted to look at the actual documents themselves.
[19] For this information in concise form, see The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, copyright 1984.
His final direction for the study came from a series of observations made over lunch. While glancing through his Kingdom Interlinear Translation, he examined several "Jehovah" passages. In reading the footnotes, he realized the information for his study was available in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation itself. From this reference book, he could find the basic documentation substantiating the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures,[20] published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, will be the primary reference source for this study. The bulk of the information comes from the 1985 edition. Information from the 1969 edition will also be used, inasmuch as the material given in the section "EXPLANATION OF THE SYMBOLS USED IN THE MARGINAL REFERENCES" (beginning on page 26 of the 1969 edition) is more comprehensive.
[20] The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1969 and 1985 editions.
A brief explanation of the footnotes and reference material found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation needs to be given. It is possible, however, that some readers are unfamiliar with the format of an interlinear Bible. 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, is shown in Figure 1. (Some may be more familiar with the term diaglott which has the same meaning as interlinear.) 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. This passage was selected merely because it contains two "Jehovah" references with their corresponding footnotes.
When the New World Translation text in the right-hand column uses God's name, an asterisk beside the word "Jehovah" identifies a footnote at the bottom of the page. This footnote cites a series of references listing two categories of textual evidence. The first category cites Hebrew translations which use the Tetragrammaton and are frequently identified as "J" references. The "J" references support the choice of the name "Jehovah" in the New World Translation. The second category cites early Greek manuscripts which substantiate the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) (or, in some cases, Theos [God]). These Greek manuscripts support the translation "Lord" in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. Various notation characters will be used for this second category of documents. (These notation characters, א, A, Arm, B, C, D, and It, will be explained in the following paragraph.)
Figure 1: The Greek and English format of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
In the introductory section of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, each of these footnote reference texts are listed with a brief description and corresponding manuscript dates. For example, J7 (which is the document most frequently cited) is identified as the "Greek Scriptures in Hebrew." This is a translation (version) of the original Greek Scriptures into Hebrew done by Elias Hutter of Nuremburg in 1599. The footnote reference "J7" in the New World Translation tells us that the selection of the name "Jehovah" in that particular verse is based on the use of the Tetragrammaton in this Hebrew translation made in 1599. The same footnote also cites early Greek manuscript sources for the Greek word found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In most cases, the Greek word is Kyrios, which is translated as "Lord." When the footnote cites "B," it refers us to a Greek Scripture manuscript identified as "Vatican MS. No. 1209" from the 4th century. Thus, when "B" is cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote, we know that the word Kyrios (Lord) can be substantiated as early as the 4th century C.E., which is between 301 and 400 C.E. In almost all cases, both the "J" references and the Kyrios (Lord) references will cite multiple manuscripts or versions.
Throughout the remainder of this study, we will often refer to the word Kyrios (Lord) as the Greek word used in the Christian Scriptures in these 237 instances. The word Kyrios (Lord) is almost always the Greek word which the New World Translation translates as "Jehovah," though there are a few exceptions where Theos (God) or other alternate readings are similarly translated. (A form of the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) is translated as Jehovah 223 of the 237 times.) We wish to be accurate, yet we need to avoid lengthy explanations at each occurrence. Therefore, we will use the word Kyrios to mean Kyrios (Lord), Theos (God), or an alternate reading unless it is necessary to specify the precise word.
Mike was finally ready to begin his study of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures. From the information available to him in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, he decided to list his information for each of the 237[21] "Jehovah" references in ten columns.
[21] Appendix 1D of the New World Translation Reference Edition of 1984 lists an additional 72 places 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 summary of the Appendix.
The following are the headings of each column in the study. Each heading is accompanied by a brief explanation of the purpose of the column. (The entire study is reproduced in the Appendix.)
(1) GREEK SCRIPTURE REFERENCE This column identifies the 237 references which use the name "Jehovah" in the New World Translation. They are cited in numerous sources, such as Appendix 1D of the Reference Edition Bible.
(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 Kyrios (Lord), though there are some exceptions. Spelling is not always identical, because the final letters of certain Greek 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.
(3) ENGLISH TRANSLATION IN KIT This column lists the English word used to translate Kyrios within the Greek portion of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
(4) EARLIEST MANUSCRIPT DATE SUPPORTING "LORD" (OR "GOD") This column lists the date of the earliest[22] Greek manuscript footnote citation using Kyrios (Lord). In most instances, more than one manuscript is cited in the actual Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote. 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.
[22] The New World Bible Translation Committee used a limited number of Greek manuscripts as the basis for their footnote citations. Five manuscripts with somewhat later dates (א, A, B, C, and D dated between 301 and 600 C.E.) are generally cited. A small, additional group of earlier manuscripts (P45, P46, P47, P66, P74, and P75, 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 earlier manuscripts are not cited in the Jehovah footnotes. 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 the Appendix.
(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 through 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 New World Bible Translation Committee to identify Hebrew Scripture references was J20 A Concordance to the Greek Testament by Moulton and Geden. When the Hebrew entry is found in J20, 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 the New American Standard Bible.
(8) HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION REFERRING TO THE DIVINE NAME In many cases, the Greek Scripture writer cited a Hebrew Scripture verse in which the divine name was not found in the verse itself, though Jehovah was 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.) The differentiation between columns 8 and 9 is made solely for interest's sake. Both columns represent passages quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures by the inspired Christian writers.
(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 inspired Christian writer and 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 columns 7 or 8 above. 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 Greek Scripture verse.
(10) NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES In a certain number of the 237 "Jehovah" references, the inspired Christian 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."
Mike started his study. He first located the reference for each "Jehovah" passage from his list of the 237 occurrences of the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. After locating the passage in his Kingdom Interlinear Translation, he copied the Greek word and the English translation from the interlinear portion. He then copied the translation from the New World Translation (which was always "Jehovah"). This identified the information for eventual comparison.[23]
[23] This study was originally done with all occurrences of the word Kyrios in the entire Greek Scriptures. In the original study, the column which identifies the translation in the New World Translation was more meaningful in comparison with the 237 "Jehovah" passages. (Refer to Appendix C: Kyrios in the Christian Greek Scriptures for this study.) In reference to the original study, the Greek portion of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation uses Kyrios 714 times. Of these occurrences, the New World Translation renders the word as "Lord" 406 times, as "Jehovah" 223 times, as "Master(s)" 53 times, as "sir(s)" 17 times, as "lord(s)" 8 times, as "owner(s)" 5 times, and as "God" once. One occurrence of Kyrios is not counted.
Obtaining the manuscript dates for the respective wording was relatively simple. The footnote always gives a "J" reference identifying one or more Hebrew translations, which has a known publication date. In addition, the footnote usually gives an ancient Greek manuscript reference with a "Lord" reading. From this information, Mike could turn to the "EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS" section in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation and find the manuscript date.
Completing the section on the Hebrew Scripture references was more time consuming. He first looked at the verse in his New World Translation Reference Edition Bible. When there was a quotation from a Hebrew Scripture source, it was given in the center column. He could then read the Hebrew Scripture passage and place it in the proper category. If the inspired Christian writer quoted a verse which used the divine name in the Hebrew verse, then Mike would note the reference in the column entitled HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION USING THE DIVINE NAME.
In many cases, the divine name is not a part of the verse quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures by the inspired Christian writer, but Jehovah is clearly identified in the Hebrew Scripture context. In these instances, Mike identified the passage in the column HEBREW SCRIPTURE QUOTATION REFERRING TO THE DIVINE NAME.
Some of the categories in Mike's study were added as he progressed. The column entitled CROSS REFERENCE CITATION ONLY was one of those instances. It was only after he was working with the center column cross references of the New World Translation Reference Edition that he realized he needed this category. This column identified cross references to the Hebrew Scriptures which contained important information but did not cite a passage quoted by the inspired Christian writers.
In many cases, however, the Greek Scripture passage had no quotation source in the Hebrew Scriptures. When this was the case, Mike noted it under the column NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES.
You would expect that most of the 237 uses of Jehovah's name in the New World Translation's Christian Greek Scriptures would come from passages where the writer quoted the Hebrew Scriptures. However, this is not the case. As you saw in Chapter 3, the New World Translation uses the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures 125 times in which there is no quotation source from the Hebrew Scriptures. Thus, a majority of the occurrences of the name "Jehovah" in the Christian Greek Scriptures will be listed in one of the two categories CROSS REFERENCE CITATION ONLY or NO QUOTATION OR REFERENCE TO THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES.
Mike set aside time each day to work on his Tetragrammaton study. The first five columns of information come from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. That means that all dates and information regarding the original Greek words which he was recording were dates and textual information verified by the Watch Tower Society. As Mike began making entries for each of the "Jehovah" citations in the Christian Scriptures, his entries for Matthew 1:20 through Mark 12:11 looked like the table below. (See the complete Appendix: A Comparison of 237 "Jehovah" References at the end of this book.) The completed study took many months to finish.
| Information from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
(KIT) published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society |
Hebrew Scripture references | ||||||||
| A - Christian Scripture reference | G - Hebrew Scripture Quotation using the | ||||||||
| B - Greek word used in KIT | divine name (Bold indicates J20 citation) | ||||||||
| C - English translation in KIT | H - Hebrew Scripture quotation referring | ||||||||
| D - Earliest manuscript date supporting | to the divine name | ||||||||
| "Lord" (or "God") | I - Cross reference citation only | ||||||||
| E - Earliest version date supporting "Jehovah" | J - No quotation or reference to the | ||||||||
| F - Name used in the New World Translation | Hebrew Scripture | ||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J |
| Matthew | |||||||||
| 1:20 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 [ 1 ] | 1537 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:22 | Κυρίου [ 2 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Is 7:14 | |||
| 1:24 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:13 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:15 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ho 11:1 | |||
| 2:19 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:3 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 [ 3 ] | |||
| 4:4 | θεου [ 4 ] | God | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 8:3 | |||
| 4:7 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 6:16 | |||
| 4:10 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 6:13 | |||
| 5:33 | Κυρίω [ 5 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Lv 19:12 | |||
| 21:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 21:42 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 118:23 | |||
| 22:37 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 6:5 | |||
| 22:44 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 110:1 | |||
| 23:39 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 27:10 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Zc 11:13 | |||
| 28:2 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| Mark | |||||||||
| 1:3 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 | |||
| 5:19 | κύριος [ 6 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 18:8 | |||
| 11:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 12:11 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 118:23 | |||
Mark 12:29 and following is found in the Appendix.
Chart footnotes:
[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.
[2-6] See the Appendix for other footnotes found in this section.
Mike was bothered by his discovery that more than half of the "Jehovah" references in the Greek Scriptures were not quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. He reviewed a portion from the New World Translation Appendix 1D he had heard many times which implied that the 237 "Jehovah" references come directly from the Hebrew Scriptures:[24]
To know where the divine name was replaced by the Greek words Kyrios and Theos, 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 Kyrios and Theos 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 Hebrew versions to confirm our rendering.
[24] The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, 1984, pages 1564-1565.
The New World Translation appendix citation does not say that all of the 237 references to Jehovah are found in the Hebrew Scriptures. But Mike was disturbed by that implication when only 112[25] occurrences of the divine name could actually be substantiated as being quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. (Of the 237 "Jehovah" passages, all but 1 Corinthians 7:17 have support from Hebrew versions. Nonetheless, only 112 are quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures.)
[25] See the summary at the end of the Appendix for this figure.
Mike was again startled to make a second discovery. He found a significant discrepancy between the dates supporting the Tetragrammaton and the dates supporting evidence that the inspired writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures used Kyrios (Lord).
Of the 237 "Jehovah" references, 232 of them can be documented with the word Kyrios (Lord) as early as the 4th century C.E. Mike realized that if the Tetragrammaton had been used by the inspired Christian writers, all indications of its use had disappeared within two or three hundred years of the time the authors wrote.[26] Yet, this is hard to imagine considering the large number of congregations spread over Asia, Europe, and Africa by the end of the 3rd century. This would require the complete loss of many thousands of Scripture manuscripts on three continents at almost the same period of time. It would also require that older manuscripts which were kept by the early congregations were never recopied. It would further require that many who had risked their lives for the Scriptures would raise no objection over the alteration.
[26] Five Kyrios references actually come from the 3rd century C.E., which moves the manuscript date to within one century of the original writing. These are found in the Chester Beatty 2 manuscripts which are designated as P46.
Secondly, the evidence for the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures was extremely late. The earliest evidence is from 1385 with the most frequently cited evidence coming from 1599.
It is interesting to note specific dates and the frequency of citation for several of the more important documents listed in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. The earliest Hebrew language version of the Greek Scriptures used to document the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures dates from 1385. (This is J2.) That version[27] is listed 17 times in the "J" footnotes. The most frequently cited version, which is J7, is the Elias Hutter translation dating from 1599, with 181 references. The two earliest Greek manuscripts indicating that Kyrios (Lord) is the preferred reading date from the 4th century C.E. These are Vatican MS. No. 1209, and א (Aleph) Sinaitic MS. These two documents account for 232 references in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation giving stronger evidence that Kyrios (Lord)—rather than the Tetragrammaton—was used by the inspired Christian writers.
[27] The August 15, 1996 Watchtower magazine introduced an important book by George Howard entitled The Gospel of Matthew According to a Primitive Hebrew Text. In his book, Howard indicates that J2 may actually be a recension (that is, a copy with editorial changes) of Matthew's original Hebrew Gospel. Throughout this brochure, we will continue to use the term "version" to describe J2. However, the reader should be aware that J2 may have much greater importance than that of a mere version.
The entire study of each of the 237 "Jehovah" references will not be duplicated in this chapter. However, you will find the complete study in the Appendix. We would encourage you to read through the Appendix carefully. Consider the question which prompted Mike's study: "Does my faith as one of Jehovah's Witnesses depend on the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton in their writings?" Would you expect a study such as this—researched entirely from Watch Tower Society sources—to give you the answers you anticipate?
Though his study was not complete, Mike wrote the following in his notebook:
SUMMARY. A study of the presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures must evaluate the earliest available texts from which our present Bible comes. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives substantial information in the following areas:
Mike worked longer to complete his study than he had first anticipated. Nonetheless, he was satisfied that he had learned a great deal about the Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures.
While studying each of the 237 "Jehovah" passages in the New World Translation, he copied both the Greek and English words from the "Jehovah" interlinear text. Then he used the footnote information given in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation to establish the earliest dates for both Kyrios (Lord) and the Tetragrammaton.
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives helpful reference and footnote material for each occurrence of the divine name. For example, we have already seen the interlinear portion for Matthew 1:24.
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. The footnote reads:
24* Jehovah, J1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24; Lord, אB.
When the reader consults the foreword section of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation under the heading EXPLANATION OF THE SYMBOLS USED, a complete description of all the Greek manuscript and "J" symbols used in this verse is given. The description includes the date of both the Greek manuscripts and Hebrew translations. (For the sake of brevity, we will only quote the earliest or most concise[28] of the textual references. The reader should study this entire section carefully. The 1969 edition gives more complete information than the 1985 edition, though in some cases, the 1985 edition will list a Hebrew translation with a later edition date.) For the Matthew 1:29 footnote, we will look at the dates for the Greek manuscript א (Aleph), and the Hebrew translation J7. The following descriptions come from the 1969 edition:
א (Aleph) Sinaitic MS. 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.
J7 Greek Scriptures in Hebrew. In 1599 Elias Hutter of Nuremburg, 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 Testament of 1599. (A copy is found at the New York Public Library.)
[28] The earliest "J" document used in this verse is J2 which bears a date of 1385. Because J2, J3, and J4 are all related documents, it is less confusing to use J7 for this illustration. (J7 is also the earliest complete Hebrew version.) In the Appendix information, however, the date from the earliest manuscript is always the one given.
The footnotes in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation are concise and easy to read, though a brief introduction will simplify their use. The footnote reading "24* Jehovah, J1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24; Lord, a B," contains the following information. The "24*" refers to the asterisk after "Jehovah" in verse 24. Following the verse number, the word "Jehovah" indicates the group of documents which support the use of the divine name for this verse in the New World Translation. These documents are identified as J1-4,7-14,16-18,22-24. This tells us that the Hebrew translations J2, J3, J4, and each of J7 to J14, J16 to J18, and J22 to J24 all contain the Tetragrammaton. The footnote then cites two Greek manuscripts identified by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, which substantiate Kyrios (Lord) in this verse. The Greek manuscripts are א (Aleph) Sinaitic MS, and B (Vatican Manuscript No. 1209).
(The reader should be aware that the Greek manuscripts cited as footnote references in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation are merely representative of a much larger number of Greek Scripture manuscripts. We referred earlier to the statement on page 319 in "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial" where we are told that over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the Christian Greek Scriptures exist. The Watch Tower Society has not documented any of these Greek texts as using the Tetragrammaton.[29] We may therefore assume that all Greek manuscripts use Kyrios (Lord) in these passages.)
[29] The Tetragrammaton is readily documented in certain Greek language translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. (The most notable are Palestinian and Jewish copies of the Septuagint as well as the translation by Aquila. See Appendix 1C, New World Translation Reference Edition, 1984.) However, the Septuagint is a distinctly different text from the later Christian Scriptures. In fact, there are no Greek manuscripts of the Christian Scriptures which have been documented as containing the Tetragrammaton.
It was, in fact, his careful use of Watch Tower Society information which caused Mike to become apprehensive after noticing an apparent conflict. Toward the end of his study, he realized that the Watch Tower Society had presented him with an irreconcilable contradiction. The word Kyrios 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, Mike realized that the Watch Tower Society seemingly endorses two conflicting positions. The first position is, that within the Greek text of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, the Tetragrammaton was not used by the inspired Christian writers. The second position is that the New World Translation properly restores the Tetragrammaton 237 times.
The Watch Tower Society does, in fact, introduce this irreconcilable contradiction. If the Greek text published by the Watch Tower Society is accurate as a result of Jehovah's inspiration, then the appropriate word is Kyrios. Generally, Kyrios is translated as "Lord," and would be a reference to Jesus Christ. (This is the preferred choice of the New World Translation in 406 cases.[30]) 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.
[30] Refer to footnote [23].
This irreconcilable contradiction is built on three viewpoints which cannot coexist without compromise. Yet, each of these viewpoints is strongly defended by the Watch Tower Society:
[31] "All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial", Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 1990, page 319.
Do you see the problem we encounter? If the Greek text is reliable, then is it not logical that all of its words are reliable? But if the Greek text is to be regarded as reliable, then how can the Tetragrammaton in a Hebrew translation made in the 14th century C.E. have precedence over the Greek text which was known to use Kyrios (Lord) by no later than the 4th century C.E.?[32]
[32] The material leading to the summary of paragraph 7 is far too limited. There are many additional topics relating to this discussion which must be explored before giving a final answer. Needless to say, the possibility of the removal of the Tetragrammaton from the inspired Christian writings in the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. must be examined. Regrettably, we have eliminated this topic in order to be brief. For a complete discussion of the removal of the Tetragrammaton from the inspired Christian writings, see, The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures published on this web site. In the chapter, Removal of the Tetragrammaton from Early Greek Manuscripts, the reader will discover five topics which—if true—would contribute to the argument that the Tetragrammaton was, in fact, removed: 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. 3) The writings of the early church fathers 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 church era. However, the Watch Tower Society does not give any evidence of the Tetragrammaton's presence in any one of these five areas. The only documentation comes from the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which is distinctly different from the inspired Christian Scriptures.
Mike was deeply bothered by this information. It was not merely that the dates seemed to be in conflict. After all, he knew that there were many areas in Scripture in which precise dates could not be established. But Mike was bothered because the problem was illogical.
He could not believe that the Greek text could be as reliable as the Watch Tower Society presented it to be if it was brought into question by a Hebrew translation dated 1300 years after the Greek text was written.
Most of all, he could not understand how, in a single book, the publisher of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation could so clearly demonstrate that early dates substantiate Kyrios (Lord) as the correct choice, while presenting other information to indicate that the Tetragrammaton should be restored.
How would you deal with Mike's dilemma? Can we simply decide that the Greek text, though highly reliable, is consistently at fault in this single area? That is, is the Greek word Kyrios the correct reading, and should it 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, can we decide that the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) is in error and needs to be translated as "Jehovah"?
Which evidence do you think is more reliable? Much evidence substantiates the existence of the word Kyrios (Lord) in the Christian Greek Scriptures from approximately 100 to 300 years after the original writings. On the other hand, the bulk of the evidence given for the Tetragrammaton in these 237 highly specialized cases comes from translations of the Greek text made more than 1300 years later.
Mike understood that passages such as Matthew 1:24 were not critical to his faith. In other cases, however, he realized that the choice between the Tetragrammaton or Kyrios (Lord) had great significance.
Mike thought back to one particular "J" reference he had noticed in Revelation 1:8. He realized that the choice between the Tetragrammaton or Kyrios was of crucial importance in this verse because the use of the word Kyrios by the inspired Christian writers would identify the Lord (Jesus Christ) with "God" and "the Almighty." To add to the confusion, supposedly reliable Watch Tower publications represented both possibilities as being correct.
We need to look at the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's rendition of Revelation 1:8 in order to understand Mike's conflict. The interlinear portion reads like this:
Therefore, the Kingdom Interlinear Translation would have us to read the verse:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says Kyrios God, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty,"
whereas the New World Translation quoted in the right-hand margin translates 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 "8*" footnote for "Jehovah" lists ten Hebrew versions which use the Tetragrammaton. It also lists two early Greek manuscripts which use Kyrios (Lord), and two versions which also substantiate "Lord." The footnote reads:
8* Jehovah, J7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24; Lord, אAVgSyh.
Thus, the evidence the Watch Tower Society presents in support of "Jehovah" is ten Hebrew versions with dates of 1599, 1661, 1838, 1846, 1866, 1981, 1885, 1979, 1975, and 1863 respectively.[33] The evidence used to support Kyrios (Lord) consists of two early Greek manuscripts from the 4th and 5th centuries (300 to 499) C.E. Also, two versions (the Latin Vulgate and a Syriac version) are listed which confirm the usage as being "Lord."
[33] The reader should be aware that discussions of Hebrew versions are frequently used to replace any direct evidence of early Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts which use the Tetragrammaton. In none of its literature does the Watch Tower Society cite a single example of actual use of the Tetragrammaton within Greek manuscripts of the Christian Scriptures. (Evidence for the Tetragrammaton in the Septuagint does not replace the need for textual evidence in the Christian Greek Scriptures.)
Notice also that both "God" and "Almighty" are articular nouns in the Greek Kingdom Interlinear Translation. (Both "God" and "Almighty" are preceded by the article "the."[34]) Appendix 6A in the New World Translation Reference Edition, 1984, says:
These translations [referred to as examples] use such words as "a god," "divine" or "godlike" because the Greek word θεός (theos') is a singular predicate noun occurring before the verb and is not preceded by the definite article. This is an anarthrous theos'. The God with whom the Word, or Logos, was originally is designated here by the Greek expression ό θεός, that is, theos' preceded by the definite article ho. This is the articular theos'. Careful translators recognize that the articular construction of the noun points to an identity, a personality, whereas a singular anarthrous predicate noun preceding the verb points to a quality about someone. (Emphasis added.)
[34] In fact, all the nouns in the verse are articular. Look carefully at the Greek text given in the example. "Alpha" and "Omega" are preceded by the neuter article to (το), and the remaining noun functions are preceded by the masculine article ho (ό).
From this evidence concerning the use of the Greek article, we would conclude that the Kyrios (Lord) of Revelation 1:8 is "the [one, true] God," "the [eternal] Almighty." We can understand Mike's confusion.
Mike had said little to Sharon about his inquiry regarding the Tetragrammaton. She knew he was studying during his lunch hour, but his reading and study never surprised her. Purposely, he had decided not to discuss it until he found sufficient information. (As a matter of fact, when he started the study he had not given it much thought because he assumed it would confirm his belief in the inspired Christian writers' use of the Tetragrammaton.)
That evening proved to be the worst Mike and Sharon had experienced in years! Mike realized later that he was too preoccupied with his own uncertainty with the Watch Tower Society's illogical conflicts; he had not let Sharon get settled after dinner before he started talking. He had rather abruptly started the conversation while she was busy clearing the table. Nor had he been careful in introducing the process he had thought through regarding the importance of the Tetragrammaton to his faith.
Later, Mike understood Sharon's response. He realized that what she heard sounded more like doubt than mere unanswered questions. But when he started explaining his confusion with the seemingly illogical conflict in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation to her, she became extremely defensive. She was not defensive because she knew more about the Tetragrammaton than he did; she was defensive because of her great indebtedness and appreciation to their congregation and friends.
For the first time in years, they had raised their voices at each other in anger.
The evening left Mike in a sour mood. He felt as though he had been misled by the Watch Tower Society. And he felt betrayed by Sharon. He also felt angry at himself—he had merely intended to talk about something that was bothering him.
How do you deal with new information which causes you to re-evaluate what you have been told? It is not easy to seriously consider new information, particularly when it challenges beliefs which we think are correct. It is especially difficult to be honest with ourselves when others we love and respect do not agree with us.
Mike did nothing more in his Tetragrammaton study for several weeks. When he did get back to his notebook, however, he wrote what he was thinking truthfully and completely. For the first time in five years, he realized that the Watch Tower Society was giving him conflicting information.
SUMMARY. As seen in earlier studies, a verification of the use of the Tetragrammaton by the inspired Christian writers is essential to the faith of any one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Therefore, considering its importance, verification of the Tetragrammaton's actual use by the Christian Greek Scripture's writers should be a relatively straightforward undertaking. That is, the earliest available texts—the oldest ancient Greek manuscripts—should give ample evidence supporting its use.
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation gives substantial information regarding each of the 237 locations in which "Jehovah" appears in the New World Translation text. This information includes the most ancient Greek texts for that passage, the interlinear (English) translation of the Greek text, and supporting information regarding the documents used to substantiate the use of "Jehovah" in the New World Translation.
It should be expected, therefore, that the evidence would lead to a logical proof of the correct English translation. Consequently, it is surprising to find irreconcilable differences presented by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation for the 237 "Jehovah" passages as follows:
[35] In a small number of these 406 instances, a capitalized "Lord" may refer to someone other than Jesus in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
Mike had not reached the conclusion he had expected from his Tetragrammaton study. It was true that he had learned much about the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures, but he was surprised and disappointed in the conflicting information he found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. His findings could be summarized in five statements regarding each of the 237 "Jehovah" passages:
Mike's conflict with Sharon added to his disappointment in the unexpected results of his study. He took responsibility for the way he had handled his discussion of it with Sharon. Nonetheless, he was angry and disappointed that this should have caused the animosity between them which had been absent since they became Witnesses.
Mike dropped his Tetragrammaton study for a number of months. A busy summer at the garage, a needed family vacation—and most of all, a reluctance on his part to return to it—kept him occupied with other things. Still, during this time he thought through the implications of what he had learned.
What are the implications of this translation conflict? Probably the best answer would recognize that much will depend on the particular verse in question.
In a first category which includes a small number of the 237 verses, the presence of either "Lord" or "Jehovah" would direct our thinking to one or the other as the subject of the verse, but it would not represent any new understanding in theology. For example, Romans 14:4, in the context of eating meat, says:
"Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Jehovah can make him stand," (according to the New World Translation)
or,
"Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Kyrios ([the]Lord) can make him stand," (according to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation).
According to the New World Translation, the one eating meat will stand before Jehovah. According to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, the one eating meat will stand before Kyrios ([the] Lord). Neither the one statement nor the other changes our understanding of who Jesus is in relationship to Jehovah.
However, in a second category, the difference between "Lord" or "Jehovah" becomes noteworthy. In the majority of these 237 verses, it is of great significance that both "Jehovah" and Kyrios (Lord) are presented as equal choices by the New World Translation and the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. In these verses, choosing between "Jehovah" on the one hand, or "Lord" on the other, would represent a significant change in our understanding of theology. These verses fall into two broad categories. First, many of these verses are identified with Hebrew Scripture quotations. Thus, if Kyrios (Lord) is the addressee in the Greek Christian Scriptures, "the Lord" is identified as being worthy of receiving an equivalent form of address as Jehovah of the Hebrew Scriptures. We see such examples as:
"'As I live,' says Jehovah, 'to me every knee will bend down…" (Romans 14:11, according to the New World Translation, as quoted from Isaiah 45:23),
in contrast to,
"'As I live,' says Kyrios ([the] Lord), 'to me every knee will bend down…'" (Romans 14:11, according to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, as quoted from Isaiah 45:23).
In a similar example we also see,
"Listen! Someone is crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of Jehovah…" (Matthew 3:3, according to the New World Translation, as quoted from Isaiah 40:3),
in contrast to,
"Listen! Someone is crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of Kyrios ([the] Lord)…" (Matthew 3:3, according to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, as quoted from Isaiah 45:23).[36]
[36] There are a total of 112 verses in the Greek Christian Scriptures which either directly or indirectly attribute a quotation to Jehovah from the Hebrew Scriptures. All of these verses would be included in this category.
Secondly, other such verses assign the addressee attributes or equality with Jehovah. Thus, if Kyrios (Lord) is the addressee in the Greek Christian Scriptures, "the Lord" would be identified as receiving glory or attributes reserved for Jehovah. We see such examples as:
With [the tongue] we bless Jehovah, even [the] Father… (James 3:9, according to the New World Translation),
in contrast to,
With [the tongue] we bless Kyrios ([the] Lord), even [the] Father… (James 3:9, according to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation),
Again, we also see another example,
"We thank you, Jehovah God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king," (Revelation 12:17, according to the New World Translation),
in contrast to,
"We thank you, Kyrios (Lord) God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king," (Revelation 12:17, according to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation).
After their children were back in school in the fall, Mike began a serious review of his Tetragrammaton notebook. In his earlier study, he realized that there was a significant discrepancy in the dating of the texts supporting Kyrios (Lord) and Jehovah. As he reviewed the material, this anomaly struck him with even greater force than it had earlier.
Mike realized that the Watch Tower Society's effort to prove the existence of the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Christian Scriptures was, in fact, a greater proof that Kyrios (Lord) was the more appropriate selection. He merely needed to compare the dates given by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation for each "Jehovah" reference to see that Kyrios (Lord) had a substantially earlier textual claim than did the Tetragrammaton.
A careful review of any "Jehovah" footnote reveals an interesting comparison of textual dates. We looked earlier at the "Jehovah" footnote of Revelation 1:8. Since we are already familiar with that verse and its footnote, we can refer to it again and pay particular attention to the dates of the texts which are identified. The footnote in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation appears like this:
8* Jehovah, J7,8,13,14,16-18,22-24; Lord, אAVgSyh.
It would be helpful to identify each of the references given for both the 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. We start with the information listed for various versions of the Greek Scriptures translated into Hebrew, each of which uses the Tetragrammaton:
| J7 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; Elias Hutter. | 1599 |
| J8 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; William Robertson. | 1661 |
| J13 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; A. McCaul and others. | 1838 |
| J14 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; John Christian Reichardt. | 1846 |
| J16 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; John Christian Reichardt and Joachim H. R. Blesenthal. | 1866 |
| J17 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; Franz Delitzsch. | 1981 |
| J18 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; Isaac Salkinson. | 1885 |
| J18 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; Isaac Salkinson. | 1885 |
| J22 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; United Bible Societies. | 1979 |
| J23 | Christian Greek Scriptures in Hebrew; J. Bauchet. | 1975 |
| J24 | A Literal Translation of the New Testament; Herman Heinfetter. | 1863 |
From this same verse, a similar—though shorter—list[37] is given for Kyrios.
| א (Aleph) | 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 CE |
| Syh | Syriac Peshitta Version. | 464 CE |
[37] The number of references to Kyrios (Lord) passages in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is scant only because the editors have chosen to refer to so few of the existing Greek manuscripts. As noted earlier, there are 5,000 Greek manuscripts available today. These manuscripts are uniform in their use of Kyrios (or Theos) rather than the Tetragrammaton. (The United Bible Society's Greek Scripture textual apparatus, which shows all textual variants in 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. 71 of the 237 references are specifically cited. A discussion of Kyrios (Lord) and Theos (God, in a small number of instances) as the choice for the specific verse occurs 31 times. (The discussion of the textual preference for Kyrios at Revelation 18:8 and 19:6 is particularly noteworthy.) The presence of the Tetragrammaton is never mentioned, however, 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.
Notice the information which is available regarding version and manuscript dates. In the case of the Hebrew versions which were consulted for the Tetragrammaton, this verse (Revelation 1:8) lists ten sources. The earliest version is 1599, while the latest version is 1981. In contrast, two Greek manuscripts of the 4th (301 to 400 C.E.) and 5th (401 to 500 C.E.) centuries are cited for this verse in support of the Greek word Kyrios (Lord).
The contrast is interesting. The translators of the New World Translation choose to use the word "Jehovah" rather than "Lord" in 237 selected verses. In doing so, 26 Hebrew versions (or version portions)[38] dating no earlier than 1385 are given more weight as biblical texts than are the Greek manuscripts from as early as 300 C.E. (the beginning of the 4th century) which support the word "Lord."
[38] This includes J1 through J27, excepting J20. J20 (A Concordance to the Greek Testament by Moulton and Geden is not counted as a version reference, though it is an important reference to the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures.
During Mike's study of the 237 "Jehovah" references, he had reviewed many Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote dates. He was familiar with the early Greek manuscripts dating from the 4th and 5th centuries (301 to 500 C.E.) and the Hebrew versions dating from 1385 and later. He had copied each of these dates into his notebook numerous times.
Still, it was not until he came back to his study after a summer break that he saw the true significance of these dates. 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 versions dated 1385 and later. In contrast, the earliest evidence available for the Greek word Kyrios (Lord), referred to in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's footnotes, was from reliable Greek manuscripts as early as 300 C.E.
Mike made a summary entry in his notebook:
SUMMARY. The footnote information supplied with each "Jehovah" reference in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation leads to the following conclusions:
a) First, because many of these verses are identified with
Hebrew Scripture quotations, "the Lord" (Jesus) would be
identified as worthy of receiving an equivalent form of
address as Jehovah of the Hebrew Scriptures.
b) Secondly, other such verses assign the addressee
attributes or equality with Jehovah. Thus, "the Lord" (Jesus)
would receive glory or attributes reserved for Jehovah.
Mike was dissatisfied with the results of his study of the Tetragrammaton.
He was not dissatisfied with the effectiveness of his research. In fact, he was quite happy with the information he had discovered in the helpful Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes. His dissatisfaction came from the way in which the New World Bible Translation Committee had used that same information.
Mike had no formal training in the Greek language. He was uncertain as he proceeded with the last portion of his study, yet he sensed that there would be a better answer to his "Tetragrammaton dilemma" if he could do limited research with the original manuscripts.
During this time of indecision, Mike reviewed his notebook numerous times. He also reviewed the introductory materials in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. Nonetheless, he had little sense of direction to complete his study.
His questions concerning the use of "Jehovah" in the New World Translation, however, were growing. He realized that it was impossible to be certain about the Tetragrammaton's presence in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Nonetheless, he remained active in congregation study and fellowship and fulfilled his monthly commitments in field service.
One Friday morning the following February, Mike needed to complete some garage business near the large central public library. He put his notebook and Kingdom Interlinear Translation in his truck. Business was generally slow enough during this time of year that his employees could manage the shop. After finishing his business, Mike went to the library.
Mike had a vague idea of what he wanted to accomplish. All "J" reference sources were listed in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation section entitled EXPLANATION OF THE SYMBOLS USED. Many of these brief "J" reference descriptions included a final notation which said, "(A copy is found at the New York Public Library.)" He decided to search for available "J" reference texts in his own public library.
The library computer search system was simple to use. Of all of the Hebrew versions listed, he most wanted to find the J7 version by Elias Hutter from 1599.[39] Though Mike found bibliographic information about Elias Hutter, he did not find a copy of his Hebrew version.
[39] This is the most frequently cited Hebrew version in the "J" references. It is an important citation because it is the earliest complete Christian Greek Scripture in Hebrew. Other earlier Hebrew version citations are limited to portions of the Gospels or the book of Hebrews.
However, Mike did find one Hebrew version used as a Tetragrammaton reference. It was J18.[40]
[40] Three separate editions of this Hebrew translation are listed as J18. (Each edition contains the same Hebrew text.) The first was published in 1885 and the second in 1939. The third was published in 1941 with an English side text. Though the imprint date is not given, the edition we consulted was published by the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and includes the English side text. This version can be definitively identified as J18 from two Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnote references which cite only this source. The first footnote is at Acts 22:17 and the second at Romans 14:4. The description of this Hebrew translation is given in the 1969 edition of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as:
J18 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 1941 by the same Society.
Information from this Hebrew Christian Scripture is important enough that it has been reproduced below. Refer particularly to the title page shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The English and Hebrew title
pages from the Hebrew version identified as J18.
Note the credit stating that the text was TRANSLATED OUT OF THE
ORIGINAL GREEK.
Figure 2: Luke 1 from the Hebrew version identified as J18.
Mike could readily use the text because it was printed in both English and Hebrew. He compared a number of references cited by the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. Because he was familiar with the characters of the Tetragrammaton, he was able to locate the divine name in the Hebrew text.[41]
[41] However, he discounted the vowel points. All the "J" reference texts are now printed with these pronunciation markers. (That is, J1 through J27 are modern Hebrew documents produced on present-day printing presses.) Refer to footnote [3] for an explanation of the Hebrew vowel point. Refer also to the New World Translation Reference Edition, 1984, page 1570, Appendix 3A for more complete information.
Refer to Figure 2 (the copy of Luke 1:16-34) above.[42] Luke 1:16, 17, 25, 28, and 32 all contain "Jehovah" references. In each of these verses, the use of the Tetragrammaton can be seen. The footnote material for these verses appears in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation as follows:
16*, 17#Jehovah, J7-18, 22-24; Lord, אAB.
25* Jehovah, J7-18, 22, 23; Lord, אAB.
28* Jehovah, J5, 7-18, 22, 23; Lord, אAB.
32* Jehovah, J5, 7-18, 22-24; Lord, אAB.
[42] These references were chosen simply because of the convenient number of "Jehovah" passages represented on a single page.
Mike was satisfied. He spent a limited time in the search process, but each reference confirmed the footnote information found in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. The Tetragrammaton was used in these versions just as the footnotes indicated.
Mike thought he was finished. He had done as much with the J18 reference as he was able. He was not in a hurry, and was randomly thumbing through the volume. He turned to the title page.
And then Mike made a startling discovery!
Not only had he been looking at the information for months, he had been writing it in his notebook.
But he had never completely understood what he was now seeing!
The English title page read:
THE
NEW TESTAMENT
OF
OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR
JESUS CHRIST
Translated out of the original Greek: and with
the former translations diligently compared
and revised, by his majesty's special command
Mike reread the words repeatedly:
Translated out of the original Greek: and
with
the former translations diligently compared...
Mike knew that the word "version" meant translation. And yet, while studying the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Scriptures, it had never occurred to him what was being said.
All the textual evidence which the Kingdom Interlinear Translation was using to substantiate that the Tetragrammaton was in the original writings of the Christian Greek Scriptures was itself translated from original Greek language manuscripts.
The New World Bible Translation Committee used 26 Hebrew versions—which are themselves translations of the original Greek text which is known not to contain the Tetragrammaton—to prove that the Tetragrammaton was used in the original Greek Scriptures.
Why did the translators not ask a simple question concerning the text and its word origins? They should merely have asked, "What word does the original Greek manuscript use?"
There were only two possible answers. Either the Tetragrammaton appeared in the original Greek text and was copied by the Hebrew version translators, or the Tetragrammaton was merely a translation of an original Greek word. In either case, it is the Greek text which gives the correct answer.
And Mike knew that the answer was already given in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
The best evidence available—in fact, the only evidence available—shows that the original Christian Greek Scriptures used the word Kyrios (Lord).
Mike knew that it could not be argued that the Hebrew versions came from more reliable ancient sources which have now been lost. All the Hebrew versions used as "J" references were translated after 1385, and the most frequently quoted early Hebrew translation was published in 1599. These were not translations from ancient, lost manuscripts. These translations came from the same Greek texts used for the King James version in 1611 which can still be examined today.
Has it occurred to you that the Hebrew Christian versions are translations made from the Greek text? Do you realize that the entire footnote evidence given in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation for the "restoration of the divine name" to the New World Translation is based on the very Greek texts which the translators are disputing?
Witnesses worldwide have made a wonderful contribution in reminding Christendom that God does have a name. Regrettably, many in these denominations have failed to understand that truth. Christendom has been negligently slow in learning to use His wonderful name.
The topic we are evaluating in this study, however, is not whether God has a name. He most certainly does, and his name should be used. Rather, the topic is what God communicated to man in his written Scriptures. No translator is ever justified in altering sacred Scripture. There is no Greek textual evidence which suggests that the 237 references to Jehovah in the New World Translation were originally written as the Tetragrammaton by the inspired Christian writers. All known evidence—including the evidence presented in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation's footnotes—verifies that the original writers used the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) in these passages.
Mike made a brief entry in his notebook before leaving the library.
SUMMARY. In spite of the fact that certain Hebrew translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures use the Tetragrammaton, there is no textual evidence in any Christian Greek manuscripts that the name "Jehovah" should be reinstated to the 237 passages of the New World Translation.
The decision to honestly evaluate truth is one of the most crucial decisions any of us will ever make.
Whenever we confront new information or insights concerning ourselves, our family, or our values, our first reaction is to retreat in order to avoid change.
At no time is this more true than when we confront new information regarding our faith. No matter what we believe, we tend to avoid that which causes us to rethink what we have been taught.
But we need to be honest with both Jehovah God and ourselves. We must be willing to remain open to the simple truths of God's Word. We must be certain that our faith conforms to the truth of Scripture. This is the only way to be assured that our faith is the true faith which pleases Jehovah.
The Importance of the Tetragrammaton
The presence of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures concerns much more than the reliability of the New World Translation of which its foreword says,[43] "The foremost feature of this translation is the restoration of the divine name to its rightful place in the English text." If the Tetragrammaton was not used by the original writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures, then our understanding of Jesus must be reevaluated.
[43] The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures Reference Edition, 1984, page 6.
In the early parts of this study, we looked at a number of verses which show this to be the case. We will review just two of those verses here.
When the Apostle John was on the Island of Patmos, he was given a revelation which is now the last book in our Bible. John extols a divine being numerous times throughout the book. At Revelation 1:8 he says:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says [and then John wrote either the "Lord" or "Jehovah" whom he identifies as God], "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
Again, at Revelation 11:17 John writes,
"We thank you, [again, John wrote either the "Lord" or "Jehovah" whom he again identifies as God], the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king."
If the Apostle John used the Tetragrammaton in these two verses, it is clear that Jehovah was the one John referred to as "God" and the "Almighty." On the other hand, if John used the Greek word Kyrios (Lord), then the addressee of these two verses is the one to whom the title Kyrios applies. John used the title Kyrios most frequently to identify Jesus throughout the book of Revelation.[44] Therefore, if John wrote Kyrios (Lord) in these two verses, the Apostle himself identified Kyrios (the "Lord") as "God" and the "Almighty."
[44] This becomes apparent when one evaluates the 23 Kyrios references found in the book of Revelation. These include Revelation 1:8, 4:8 & 11, 7:14, 11:4, 8, 15, 17, 14:13, 15:3- 4, 16:7, 17:14 (twice), 18:8, 19:6 & 16 (twice), 21:22, 22:5, 6, 20, and 21. A form of Kyrios is also used at Revelation 1:10. Each of these occurrences can be verified in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
Your understanding of the identity of Jesus is entirely dependent on whether the Tetragrammaton or Kyrios is used in these and similar verses.
Inspiration and Textual Evidence
How can we know whether the inspired Christian writers used the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) or the Tetragrammaton? We first considered Jehovah as the Author of the texts and the accuracy of the Greek manuscript copies we have today.
[45] The Watch Tower Society gives no evidence of the Tetragrammaton in any Christian Greek Scripture manuscripts. However, evidence for the Tetragrammaton in certain copies of the Septuagint (LXX) and Aquila's Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures can be readily verified.
After considering the actual Greek manuscript evidence, we should compare the dates supporting either the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) or the Tetragrammaton.
Thus, the evidence for Kyrios (Lord) comes from ancient Greek manuscripts dating between 201 and 400 C.E. In contrast, the evidence for the Tetragrammaton comes from translations made after 1385.
Translation Evidence
We are asking whether the inspired Christian writers used the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) or the Tetragrammaton. The answer to this question will greatly influence our understanding of who Jesus is. Consequently, we want to base our final conclusions on the most reliable evidence available.
Have you fully considered the basis on which your personal conclusions are founded? You already know that the Greek text for the Christian Scriptures published by the Watch Tower Society in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation is highly reliable. The Kingdom Interlinear Translation uses the Greek word Kyrios (Lord) in the 237 "Jehovah" references rather than the Tetragrammaton. You also know that all reliable Christian Scripture translations—including the Hebrew versions—have been made from Greek texts which do not contain the Tetragrammaton.
How, then, can the Hebrew translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures become a valid proof of the Tetragrammaton's presence when the Greek texts from which these translations were made do not contain the Tetragrammaton?
Earlier we examined one of these Hebrew versions identified as J18. What does the English title page of this version tell you?
THE
NEW TESTAMENT
OF
OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR
JESUS CHRIST
Translated out of the original Greek: and with
the former translations diligently compared
and revised, by his majesty's special command
Does it really matter?
Many times when one of Jehovah's Witnesses is confronted with the assertion that the Tetragrammaton was not used by the inspired Christian Scripture writers, the answer is given, "It isn't critical whether or not the original writers used the Tetragrammaton. The absence of the Tetragrammaton certainly does not change my faith!"
Yet the true answer is just the opposite. Your faith is entirely dependent on whether or not the inspired Christian writers used the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures.
Try this simple test to verify your answer. For the next month as you follow the talks, Bible lessons, and discussions from the Watchtower and Awake magazines, do an evaluation in the privacy of your own mind. Each time you read or hear the word "Jehovah" read from a Christian Greek Scripture verse, substitute the word "Lord Jesus" in your mind.[46] If the inspired Christian writers truly wrote the word Kyrios (Lord), what were they saying about Jesus?
[46] This "test" should not be applied to Hebrew Scripture references. The divine name should be read as "Jehovah" in all cases in which the New World Translation has rendered it as such in the Hebrew Scriptures. However, this test can be done with almost all of the 237 "Jehovah" references in the Christian Greek Scriptures of the New World Translation. (However, there are exceptions in the Christian Scriptures as well. For example, this could not be done when Jesus himself was addressing the Father, or when Gospel writers were quoting Hebrew Scripture passages regarding the coming of Messiah. This topic has been fully developed in the book The Tetragrammaton and the Christian Greek Scriptures, in the chapter The Indistinct Meaning of Kyrios.)
What do you discover from your "test?" Is the choice of the word used by the inspired Christian writers—whether it is the Tetragrammaton or Kyrios (Lord)—important to your faith?
You will soon realize that your understanding of the person of Jesus is entirely dependent on whether many of these 237 verses read "Jehovah" or "Lord."
Conclusion
Difficult as the decision to honestly evaluate truth is, are you willing to accurately consider the lack of evidence for the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures?
If the Tetragrammaton was not used at Revelation 1:8, then John was quoting Jesus as saying:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says the Lord God, "the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
Again, at Revelation 11:17, John was saying to Jesus:
"We thank you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king."
After considering Jehovah as the Author of Scripture and then evaluating the manuscripts themselves, we must consider the significance of the lack of evidence supporting the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Greek Scriptures.
The Crucial Decision
To what will each of us finally give our highest allegiance? Will it be to the pressures of friends? Will it be to the expectations of our families? Will it be to our congregation and the organization it represents?
Or will it be to Jehovah and his precious Word?
On the basis of the best evidence available from the Greek text, each of us must determine for ourselves who Jesus is.
According to the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, at Revelation 4:8 and 11 the Apostle John said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord (Kyrios) God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming… You are worthy, Lord (Kyrios)," 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."
| Information from the Kingdom Interlinear Translation
(KIT) published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society |
Hebrew Scripture references | ||||||||
| A - Christian Scripture reference | G - Hebrew Scripture Quotation using the | ||||||||
| B - Greek word used in KIT | divine name (Bold indicates J20 citation) | ||||||||
| C - English translation in KIT | H - Hebrew Scripture quotation referring | ||||||||
| D - Earliest manuscript date supporting | to the divine name | ||||||||
| "Lord" (or "God") | I - Cross reference citation only | ||||||||
| E - Earliest version date supporting "Jehovah" | J - No quotation or reference to the | ||||||||
| F - Name used in the New World Translation | Hebrew Scripture | ||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J |
| Matthew | |||||||||
| 1:20 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 [ 1 ] | 1537 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:22 | Κυρίου [ 2 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Is 7:14 | |||
| 1:24 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:13 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:15 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ho 11:1 | |||
| 2:19 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:3 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 [ 3 ] | |||
| 4:4 | θεου [ 4 ] | God | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 8:3 | |||
| 4:7 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 6:16 | |||
| 4:10 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 6:13 | |||
| 5:33 | Κυρίω [ 5 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Lv 19:12 | |||
| 21:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 21:42 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 118:23 | |||
| 22:37 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Dt 6:5 | |||
| 22:44 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 110:1 | |||
| 23:39 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 27:10 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | Zc 11:13 | |||
| 28:2 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1385 | Jehovah | X | |||
| Mark | |||||||||
| 1:3 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 | |||
| 5:19 | κύριος [ 6 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 18:8 | |||
| 11:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 12:11 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 118:23 | |||
| 12:29 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:4 | |||
| 12:29 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:4 | |||
| 12:30 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:5 | |||
| 12:36 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 110:1 | |||
| 13:20 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 1:9 | |||
| Luke | |||||||||
| 1:6 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Le 18:5 | |||
| 1:9 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X [ 7 ] | |||
| 1:11 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:15 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:16 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ml 4:6 | |||
| 1:17 | Κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 | |||
| 1:25 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Gn 30:23 | |||
| 1:28 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jr 1:19 | |||
| 1:32 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 2 Sa 7:12 | |||
| 1:38 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 1 Sa 1:11 | |||
| 1:45 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:46 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 1 Sa 2:1 | |||
| 1:58 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:66 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:68 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:76 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ml 3:1 | |||
| 2:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:15 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:22 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:23 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 13:2 | |||
| 2:23 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 13:2 | |||
| 2:24 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Lv 12:8 | |||
| 2:26 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:39 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:4 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 | |||
| 4:8 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:13 | |||
| 4:12 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:16 | |||
| 4:18 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 61:1 | |||
| 4:19 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 61:2 | |||
| 5:17 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 10:27 | Κύριον [ 8 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:5 | |||
| 13:35 | Κυρίου [ 8 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah [ 9 ] | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 19:38 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 20:37 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1639 | Jehovah | Ex 3:2 | |||
| 20:42 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 110:1 | |||
| John | |||||||||
| 1:23 | Κυρίου [ 10 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:3 | |||
| 6:45 | θεου [ 10 ] | God | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 54:13 | |||
| 12:13 | Κυρίου [ 10 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 118:26 | |||
| 12:38 | Κύριε [ 10 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | Is 53:1 | |||
| 12:38 | Κυρίου [ 10 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 53:1 | |||
| Acts | |||||||||
| 1:24 | κύριε | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:20 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jo 3:4 | |||
| 2:21 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jo 3:5 | |||
| 2:25 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 16:8 | |||
| 2:34 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 110:1 | |||
| 2:39 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jo 2:32 | |||
| 2:47 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:19 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:22 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 18:15 | |||
| 4:26 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 2:2 | |||
| 4:29 | κύριε | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 37:17 | |||
| 5:9 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 17:2 | |||
| 5:19 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 34:7 | |||
| 7:31 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1817 | Jehovah | Ex 3:6 | |||
| 7:33 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1817 | Jehovah | Ex 3:10 | |||
| 7:49 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1817 | Jehovah | Is 66:1 | |||
| 7:60 | Κύριε | Lord | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 8:22 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1885 | Jehovah | Is 55:7 | |||
| 8:24 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 8:8 | |||
| 8:25 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 8:26 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 8:39 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 1 Ki 18:12 | |||
| 9:31 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 86:11 | |||
| 10:33 | κυρίου | Lord | 201-300 | 1877 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 11:21 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 12:7 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 34:7 | |||
| 12:11 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 34:7 | |||
| 12:17 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 12:23 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 2 Sa 24:17 | |||
| 12:24 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 13:2 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 13:10 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 13:11 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 13:12 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 13:44 | θεου | God | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 13:47 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 49:6 | |||
| 13:48 | θεου | God | 201-300 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 66:5 | |||
| 13:49 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 14:3 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 14:23 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 15:17 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | Am 9:12 | |||
| 15:17 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Am 9:13 | |||
| 15:35 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 15:36 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 15:40 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 16:14 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 16:15 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 16:32 | θεου | God | 201-300 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 18:21 | θεου | God | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 18:25 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 19:20 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 21:14 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| Romans | |||||||||
| 4:3 | θεου | God | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Gn 15:6 | |||
| 4:8 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 32:2 | |||
| 9:28 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 10:23 | |||
| 9:29 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 1:9 | |||
| 10:13 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jo 2:32 | |||
| 10:16 | Κύριε | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 53:1 | |||
| 11:3 | Κύριε | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | I Ki 19:10 | |||
| 11:34 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:13 | |||
| 12:11 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 12:19 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 32:35 | |||
| 14:4 | κύριος | Lord | c. 200 | 1885 | Jehovah | Jr 35:19 | |||
| 14:6 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 14:6 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 92:1 | |||
| 14:6 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Lv 11:8 | |||
| 14:8 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 146:2 | |||
| 14:8 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Es 4:16 | |||
| 14:8 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 14:11 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 45:23 | |||
| 15:11 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 15:11 | |||
| 1 Corinthians | |||||||||
| 1:31 | Κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 9:24 | |||
| 2:16 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | Is 40:13 | |||
| 3:20 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 94:11 | |||
| 4:4 | κύριος | Lord | 3rd C.E. | 1599 | Jehovah | Pr 21:2 | |||
| 4:19 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 7:17 | κύριος | Lord | c. 200 | Ø [ 11 ] | Jehovah | X | |||
| 10:9 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Nm 21:6 | |||
| 10:21 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 116:13 | |||
| 10:21 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ez 41:22 | |||
| 10:22 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ez 34:14 | |||
| 10:26 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 24:1 | |||
| 11:32 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | Pr 3:11 | |||
| 14:21 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 28:11 | |||
| 16:7 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 16:10 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2 Corinthians | |||||||||
| 3:16 | Κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 34:34 | |||
| 3:17 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:17 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 61:1 | |||
| 3:18 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 138:5 | |||
| 3:18 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 6:17 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 52:11 | |||
| 6:18 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 43:6 | |||
| 8:21 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 10:17 | Κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jr 9:24 | |||
| 10:18 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Pr 29:26 | |||
| Galatians | |||||||||
| 3:6 | θεω | God | 201-300 | 1599 | Jehovah | Gn 15:6 | |||
| Ephesians | |||||||||
| 2:21 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Zc 6:12 | |||
| 5:17 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 5:19 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 33:2 | |||
| 6:4 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 6:7 | |||
| 6:7 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 6:8 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1863 | Jehovah | Ps 24:5 | |||
| Colossians | |||||||||
| 1:10 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | Mc 4:5 | |||
| 3:13 | κύριος | Lord | c. 200 | 1975 | Jehovah | Jr 31:34 | |||
| 3:16 | θεω | God | c. 200 | 1599 | Jehovah | 1 Ch 16:23 | |||
| 3:22 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1885 | Jehovah | Pr 8:13 | |||
| 3:23 | κυρίω | Lord | 201-300 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 9:1 | |||
| 3:24 | κυρίω | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1 Thessalonians | |||||||||
| 1:8 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 39:5 | |||
| 4:6 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 94:1 | |||
| 4:15 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 5:2 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Zp 1:14 | |||
| 2 Thessalonians | |||||||||
| 2:2 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | Zp 1:14 | |||
| 2:13 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:1 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 38:4 | |||
| 2 Timothy | |||||||||
| 1:18 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Zp 2:3 | |||
| 2:19 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Nm 16:5 | |||
| 2:19 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | Is 52:11 | |||
| 4:14 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 62:12 | |||
| Hebrews | |||||||||
| 2:13 | θεός | God | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 8:18 | |||
| 7:21 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 110:4 | |||
| 8:2 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 25:9 | |||
| 8:8 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 31:31 | |||
| 8:9 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 31:32 | |||
| 8:10 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 31:33 | |||
| 8:11 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 31:34 | |||
| 10:16 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 31:33 | |||
| 10:30 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 135:14 | |||
| 12:5 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Pr 3:11 | |||
| 12:6 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1574 | Jehovah | Pr 3:12 | |||
| 13:6 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1537 | Jehovah | Ps 118:6 | |||
| James | |||||||||
| 1:7 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 1:12 | έπηγγείλατο [ 12 ] | he | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 2:23 | θεω | God | 301-400 | 1846 | Jehovah | Gn 15:6 | |||
| 2:23 | θεου | God | 301-400 | 1877 | Jehovah | Is 41:8 | |||
| 3:9 | κύριον | Lord | 301-400 | 1885 | Jehovah | Ps 34:1 | |||
| 4:10 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 2 Ch 7:14 | |||
| 4:15 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 143:10 | |||
| 5:4 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 24:15 | |||
| 5:10 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 2 Ch 36:17 | |||
| 5:11 | Κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | Job 42:10 | |||
| 5:11 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 103:8 | |||
| 5:14 | κυρίου | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 5:15 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ho 6:11 | |||
| 1 Peter | |||||||||
| 1:25 | Κυρίου [ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 40:5 | |||
| 3:12 | Κυρίου [ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 34:16 | |||
| 3:12 | Κυρίου[ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 34:17 | |||
| 2 Peter | |||||||||
| 2:9 | Κύριος [ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1661 | Jehovah | Ps 34:19 | |||
| 2:11 | Κυρίω[ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | Zc 3:2 | |||
| 3:8 | Κυρίω[ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 90:4 | |||
| 3:9 | Κύριος[ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | X | |||
| 3:10 | Κυρίου[ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jo 2:3 | |||
| 3:12 | θεου[ 13 ] | God | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jo 2:3 | |||
| Jude | |||||||||
| 5 | Κύριος [ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 12:41 | |||
| 9 | Κύριος [ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Zc 3:2 | |||
| 14 | Κύριος [ 13 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Dt 33:2 | |||
| Revelation | |||||||||
| 1:8 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 48:12 | |||
| 4:8 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 6:3 | |||
| 4:11 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Gen 2:3 | |||
| 11:17 | κύριε [ 14 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 6:3 | |||
| 15:3 | κύριε [ 14 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ps 111:2 | |||
| 15:4 | κύριε [ 14 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 10:7 | |||
| 16:7 | κύριε [ 14 ] | Lord | 301-400 | 1838 | Jehovah | Ex 6:3 | |||
| 18:8 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Jer 50:34 | |||
| 19:6 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 6:3 | |||
| 21:22 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Ex 6:3 | |||
| 22:5 | Κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | Is 60:19 | |||
| 22:6 | κύριος | Lord | 301-400 | 1599 | Jehovah | 2 Sa 23:2 | |||
| Totals | |||||||||
| 237 | K=223 th=13 |
200 to 400 C.E. |
1385 to 1957 |
Jehovah = 237 |
J20 =43 [ 3 ] Othr=50 |
20 [ 15 ] | 58 [ 16 ] 64 [ 18 ] |
61 [ 17 ] | |
| Summary | NWT | Heb. Scrip. quote | None | ||||||
| 237 | 112 [ 14 ] | 125 [ 14 ] | |||||||
[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 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. return Chapter 4 return Appendix
[2] 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. return Chapter 4 return Appendix
[3] Bold type identifies the reference as coming from J20 wherein the divine name is listed. In all cases, where multiple cross references are possible, preference is given to the citation found in J20. 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 J20 are cited in the Kingdom Interlinear Translation footnotes or Appendix 1D in the New World Translation Reference Edition. (For example, see Mark 1:3.) return Chapter 4 return Appendix return Appendix Totals
[4] Refer to footnote [2] for an explanation of capitalization of Greek words. The Greek word θεος (God) is written with a lower-case theta ( θ ). Though not occurring in any of the references cited in this appendix, the upper-case theta is written Θ. return Chapter 4 return Appendix
[5] The noun identified in the English text as Kyrios is shown in this appendix with five spelling variations ( κυρίου , κύριον , κυρίω , κύριος , and κύριε ). 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 Kyrios 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 ( θεος [God]). (See Appendix C for an identification of the function of each of these Greek word forms.) return Chapter 4 return Appendix
[6] Refer to footnote [2] regarding upper- and lower-case first letters. return Chapter 4 return Appendix
[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. return
[8] This passage is shown in the Bodmer 14 and 15 (P75) 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 Kyrios 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 אAB. return
[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." return
[10] This passage is shown in both the Bodmer 14 and 15 (P75) manuscripts (see footnote [8] above) and the Bodmar 2 (P66) 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 Kyrios 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. 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 later date shown in the footnote of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation which is restricted to Greek manuscripts אAB. return
[11] See the footnote in the New World Translation Reference Edition for this verse. return
[12] The suffix ...ατο (from the Greek word έπηγγείλατο) 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 κυρίου in verse 8 which is translated as "Jehovah." Thus, έπηγγείλατο is translated in verse 12 as "Jehovah promised." return
[13] This passage is shown in the Bodmer 7 and 8 manuscripts (together classified as P72) dating from the 3rd century C.E. Bodmer 7 and 8 manuscripts record no use of the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Greek entry of Kyrios is verified by P72 as dating from 201 to 300 C.E. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," p. 313.) The later date of 301-400 C.E. used in this appendix reflects the date shown in the foreword material of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. return
[14] This passage is shown in the Chester Beatty 3 (P47) manuscript dating from the 3rd century C.E. The Chester Beatty 3 manuscript records no use of the Tetragrammaton. Thus, the Greek entry of Kyrios is verified by P47 as dating from 201 to 300 C.E. ("All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial," p. 313.) These verses were written by the Apostle John in 98 C.E. thus allowing negligible time for change. The later date of 301-400 C.E. used in this appendix reflects the date shown in the foreword material of the Kingdom Interlinear Translation. return
[15] The total number of Hebrew Scripture quotations appearing in the 237 Jehovah references includes inclusively the 42 J20 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 per se. Thus, 112 is the correct total for this category. return
[16] The total of 58 includes all instances of subject or parallel-thought Jehovah cross references. return
[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 quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures. This is quite different from a criteria which 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. return
[18] 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. return
Note 1: The summary totals expressed in footnotes [14] and [15] must be used cautiously. Aside from the J20 citations which can be counted with precision, 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.
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.