<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<title></title>
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.4 (Unix)">
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in }
-->
</style>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">“<font size="3"><b>TWO
ARE BETTER THAN ONE” MINISTRIES</b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><font size="3"><b>Jim
& Marie Watt</b></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><b><font size="3">Tel:
253-517-9195 - Email: <a href="mailto:jmbetter@gmail.com">jmbetter@gmail.com</a></font></b></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><b><font size="3">Web:
<a href="http://www.2rbetter.org/">www.2rbetter.org</a></font></b></p><p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><b><font size="3"><a href="http://www.2rbetter.org/">2009-05-29<br></a></font></b></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"></p><p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><br>
</p>
<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<title></title>
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.4 (Unix)">
<style type="text/css">
<!--
@page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in }
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in }
-->
</style>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><u>“<b>THE
NAME OF GOD”</b></u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><b> -
2009.05.19</b></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="center">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<b>Introduction: </b>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
It is only within the last year that I have begun to use the ASV '01
(The American Standard Version, 1901). Originally, British and
American Scholars pooled their resources to make a new translation in
1881-1885. They had an agreement that should the American translators
not be satisfied with their joint effort, that they would refrain
from putting out their independent translation for 14 years. 1901
released them to put out the ASV.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
One of the American goals was to use “Jehovah” as their
translation for “LORD”, as it appears in the Authorized King
James translation of 1608. Allow me to let them tell this in their
own words:</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left">
<span style="text-decoration: none;"><b>Reasons for the ASV. </b></span><span style="text-decoration: none;">There
were two rationales for the ASV. One reason was to obviate any
justification for the unauthorized copied editions of the RV (The
English version) that had been circulating. Another reason was to use
more of the suggestions the American team had preferred, since the
British team used few of their suggestions in the first place, even
in the latter version which they had published incorporating some of
them. Interestingly, while many of the suggestions of the American
scholars were based on the differences between American and British
usage, many others were based on differences in scholarship and what
the American revisers felt the best translation to be. Consequently,
there were several changes to the KJV text in the ASV that were not
present in the RV.</span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><b><span style="text-decoration: none;">Features
of the ASV. </span></b><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">The
divine name of the Almighty (the Tetragrammaton) is consistently
rendered </span></span><u><i><span style="">Jehovah</span></i></u><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
</span></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">in
the ASV Old Testament, rather than </span></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">LORD</span></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
as it appears in the </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">King
James Bible</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">.
The reason for this change, as the Committee explained in the
preface, was that “...the American Revisers...were brought to the
unanimous conviction that a Jewish superstition, which regarded the
Divine Name as too sacred to be uttered, ought no longer to dominate
in the English or any other version of the Old Testament...” Other
changes from the RV to the ASV included (but were not limited to)
substituting “who” and “that” for “which” when referring
to people, and </span></span></span><i><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">Holy
Ghost</span></span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
was dropped in favor of </span></span></span><u><i><span style="">Holy
Spirit</span></i></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">.
Page headings were added and footnotes were improved.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Revisions
of the ASV. </span></span></b><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">The
ASV was the basis of four revisions. They were the </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Revised
Standard Version</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
(1946-1952/1971), the </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Amplified
Bible</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
(1965), the </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">New
American Standard Bible</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
(1963-1971/1995), and the </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Recovery
Version</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
(1999). A fifth revision is in the making, the </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">World
English Bible</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">.
The ASV was also the basis for </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">Kenneth
N. Taylor's</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
Bible paraphrase, </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">The
Living Bible</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">,
which was published in 1971.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
I have listed my study of this subject for the past 65 years, and the
reason for my final decision to use this edition for my OT Outline
Studies, and the use of “Jehovah” for the “Name of God.”</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
I quite regularly receive objections for my decision, but really no
suggestion is given for anything more acceptable to God that I have
discovered. For those of you who no doubt have unexpressed doubts
concerning the wisdom of my decision, I believe you deserve to hear
and know the reasoning behind it.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">Many
among you are correct in believing that numbers of students side with
retaining of the translation of the Tetragrammaton to the 4 Hebrew
consonants. However, there is also a very large number of students
who prefer the choice I have made. Dr. William F. Fouts, Professor of
Old Testament and Hebrew at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary of
Chicago expressed the following when I graduated in 1952. He
preferred translating the tratragrammaton “Ye-h</span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">o</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">VAH.”
We as a class heard him out in his reasoning. Jehovah isn't exactly
an English equivalent, but is far closer that “YAHweh.”</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">Once
a year the High Priest of Israel on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement)
went into the Holy of Holies and pronounced the Tetragrammaton, and
though that ceased at the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, numbers
believe that is was not “YAHweh” that he pronounced.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
In the Newberry Reference Bible by Thomas Newberry published by
Kregel Publications of Grand Rapids, Michigan - in his Introduction
on p.xx, he deals with the title Jehovah appearing 6000 times in the
OT, and demonstrates how it is based upon the 3 tenses of the verb
“to be”, according to Hebrews 13:8 and Revelation 1:8.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
But - most of all - I believe God would have us settle on the
“Jehovah” translation because of the Orthodox Jewish use of
“Adonai” to replace the Tetragrammaton. This is such a perversion
of the true meaning, that it seems to be time to challenge this
corruption with what in the days of the ASV answer this challenge so
effectively. A number of times in the prophets the combination of
“Sovereign Jehovah” (Adonai Jehovah, Zephaniah 1:7; Zechariah
9:14, two of these) appears. Because the strictest of Religious Jews
do not believe in pronouncing the “Tetragrammaton”, and
substitute “Adonai” for it - they <u>now</u> have a problem with
this combination of Sovereign LORD, which would be “Adonai Adonai”.
“Adonai Jehovah” would solve the problem.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
I studied Theology for a year and a half in a Modernistic Seminary,
because I felt God wanted me to thoroughly understand the perversion
of Scripture that takes place in these institutions. My forebears are
Scottish Presbyterian going back to the inventor James Watt, but
Modernism has degraded our early heritage. The Modernists are happy
to discard the ASV rendering. Later I graduated after 3 years from
NBTS, an Evangelical Seminary.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
Evangelicals often follow the use of Yahweh, but many of them
acknowledge that this solution is really not too satisfactory either.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">I
have considered using the translation “Jehovah” for many years,
but have hesitated. What finally launched me in the last year of my
65 years of ministry was Dr. Ivan Panin. He produced a Numeric Greek
Text of the NT at the turn of the 20</span></span></span><sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">th</span></span></span></sup><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
Century, and followed up with an English Translation of this text. He
later stated - “The ASV 1901 is closer to the Numeric Hebrew OT
than any other translation extant at that time. It was this word that
after more than 60 years encouraged me to take the stand to which
many object.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
I of course do not ask any to follow my example - but I do believe it
offers more merit than any other I have come across since 1944.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
One other point. Some are sticklers that the 4 Hebrew consonants of
the Tetragrammaton can not be translated.
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">Let
me offer a challenge! </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">The
Hebrew language has no vowels!</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
It wasn't until the days of our A.D., that rabbis recognized many
could no longer pronounce their language, so they put in the present
vowels we see; but they are not inspired - just the 22 consonants. So
what some object to concerning the Tetragrammaton, applies likewise
to the entire Hebrew language. To be consistent, we would, if we held
the above view, put ourselves into a serious bind. </span></span></span>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">Also,
the Jerusalem daily papers have </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">no</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
vowels, the way it was at the beginning. For in the beginning all
Jews knew the Hebrew pronunciation for their entire language apart
from vowels, including Jehovah. Only in the times when Jesus came to
earth, the Pharisees and rabbis stopped pronouncing the Sacred Name -
but they did permit the High Priest to do so once a year. So - do </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">we</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
follow the example of these Jews and </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">not</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
pronounce what they </span></span></span><u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="">originally</span></span></u><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="">
did pronounce? I prefer to follow the reasoning of the ASV
translators.</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
I have had but 5 years of Latin, Greek and Hebrew in formal
schooling, so see myself as a student, but do not count myself as a
scholar. I have however put in well over 40,000 hours on the Bible
languages. I love God and His Word. Today this email came to me: “The
name “Jehovah” isn't in the original text. It's supposed to be
“YHVH”. Jehovah is a name made up by man. It is a transliteration
of the true name YHVH.”
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none;" align="left">
I have written the above answer to refute this Email. It is true that
the writer may not receive my answer, but perhaps some of you may see
more sense in my approach than this friend. - J.A.W.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"></p><p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"></p><p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"></p><p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><font size="4"><u><b>TO
SUBSCRIBE -- Please Email: <a href="mailto:mailing-subscribe@2rbetter.org?subject=Just%20hit%20send%20be%20automatically%20subscribed">mailing-subscribe@2rbetter.org</a></b></u></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><font size="4"><u><b>TO
UNSUBSCRIBE -- Please Email: <a href="mailto:mailing-unsubscribe@2rbetter.org?subject=Just%20hit%20send%20be%20automatically%20unsubscribed" target="_blank">mailing-unsubscribe@2rbetter.org</a></b></u></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><font size="4"><u><b>FOR
ARCHIVE ARTICLES -- Web: <a href="http://2rbetter.org/pipermail/mailing/" target="_blank">http://2rbetter.org/pipermail/mailing/</a></b></u></font></p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0.01in; margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center"><br>
</p>