is furnished with vowels), Jehorah, yet, at the present day, most scholars agree that this pointing is not the original and genuine one, but that these vowels are derived from those of "^inX, Adonai. For the later Hebrews, even before the time of the Sept. version, either following some old superstition (compare Herod, ii, 8G ; Cicero, De nat. dear, iii, 56) or deceived by a false interpretation of a certain Mosaic precejit (Lev. xxiv, 16), have always regarded this name as too sacred even to be pronoimced (I'hilo, De rit. Mosis, iii, 510, 529, ed. Colon.; Joseph. Ant. ii, 12, 4; Talmud, Sanhed. ii, 90, a ; ]\Iaimonides in Jad. Chasaka, xiv, 10 ; also in More Nebochim, i, 61 ; Theodoret, Qimsf. 13 in Exod. ; Euse- bius, PrcF]}. Evangel, ii, 305). Wherever, therefore, this ineffable name is read in the sacred books, they pro- nounced "^S^X, "Adonat/" Lord, in its stead ; and hence, when the Masoretic text came to be supplied with the vowels, the four letters •l"rT' were jiointed with the vowels of this word, the initial "^ taking, as usual, a sim- ple instead of a compound Sheva. This derivation of the vowels is evident from the peculiar pointing after the prefixes, and from the use of the Dagesh after it, in both which particulars it exactly imitates the peculiarities
of Aaron (Exod. vi, 23), and Elisabeth, the wife of ' of "'JIX, and likewise from the varied pointing when Zechariah (Luke i, 7). As she is called (2 Kings xi, 2) i following "^inX, in which case it is written nilT] and
' the daughter of Joram, sister of Ahaziah," it has been conjectured that she was the daughter, not of Athaliah, but of Joram bj' another wife (comp. Josephus, Ani. ix.
pronounced D"^n'5X, '' Elohim,'" God, the vowels of which it then borrows, to prevent the repetition of the sound
7, 1, 'OxoZia o;uo7rn-ptoc dCi\<pi,). She is the only ! -1^'««^- '^^at a similar law or notion prevailed even recorded instance of the marriage of a princess of the before the Christian »ra may be inferred from the fact royal house with a high-priest. On this occasion it | that the Septuag. renders ri*n|' by o Ki'^piog, like ■^:~X;
JEHOVAH
810
JEHOVAH
nncl even the Samaritans observed the same custom, for they iLsed to pronounce !TliT' by the word H^''V,Shima, i. e. THE NAAIE (Rclaud, Be Samaritanis, p. 12 ; Hunt- ington, Letters, p. 33). (See, on this subject generaUy, Hacb. Keland, Vecas exercitationum philol. de verapron. nominis Jehova [Traj.ad Khen. 1707]).
11. True Pointing of the (Fo?t7.— ISIaimonides {More NebocUm, i, G2) gives an obscure account of the tradi- tional and secret method of teaching its true pronuncia- tion to the priests, but avers that it was unknown from its form. Many adduce the statements of Greek writ- ers, as well profane as Church fathers, that tlie deity of the Hebrews was called Jao, lAQ (a few Itvto, laov), Theodoret alone adding that the Samaritan pronuncia- tion was I ABE (Diod. Sic. i, 94; Porphyry in Eusebius, Prap. Ev. X, U; Tzetzes, Chiliad, vii, 126; Hesychius often ; Clemens Alex. Strom, v, p. 6G6, Oxon. ; Origen, in Dan. vol. ii, p. 45 ; Irenajus, Ilceres. ii, G6 ; Jerome, in Psa.viii; Theodoret, Qiuest. 15 in Exod.; Epiphanius, Jlcer. xx). The Gnostics classed law, as the Hebrew divinity, among their sacred emanations (Irena3us, i, 34; Epiph. liar. 2G), along with several of his appellations (see JIather, Uistoire da Gnosticisme, tab. 8-10 ; Beller- mann, Ueher die Gemmen der Allen mil dem Abrax- asbilde, fasc. i, ii, Berlin, 1817, 1818) ; and that famous oracle of Apollo, quoted by ]\Iacrobius {Sat. i, 18), as- cribing this name ('law) to the sun, appears to have been of Gnostic origin (.Jablonski, Panth. ^Ef/ijpt. i, 250 sq.).
Hence many recent writers have followed the opinion of those who think that the word in question was orig- inally pronounced iTlf^l!', Yahcoh', corresponding to the Greek 'law. But this view, as well as that which maintains the correctness of the common pointing ni<Tp (Michaelis, Supplem. p. 524; Meyer, Blatter far hohere Wahrheit, xi, p. 306), is opposed to the fact that verbs of the class (n b) from which this word appears to be derived do not ad:.iit such a pointing (Cliolem) with their second radical. Moreover, the simple letters nifT^ would naturally be pronounced Jao by a Greek without any special pointing. Those, therefore, appear to have the best reason who prefer the pointing Min^, Yahveh' (not iTirt^, Yuhaveh', for the first fi being a maj^j^ik-he [as seen in the form il'^, kindred sum, esse'\ does not take tlic compound Sheva), as being at once agreeable to tlie laws of Hebrew vocalization, and a form from whicli all the Greek modes of writing (including the Samai-itan, as cited Ijy Theodoret) may naturally have sprung (1= J, 1 = 0 as a "mater lectionis," and Ti being silent ; thus leaving a as the representative of the first vowel). From this, too, the apocapated forms W and rl^ may most readily be derived ; and it is further cor- roborated by the etymology. Ewald was the first who used in all his writings, especially in his translations from the O.-T. Scriptures, the form Jahve, although in his youth he had taken ground in favor of Jehovah (comp. his Ueber <l. ('<iiiijiiislllnii der Genesis, Brunswick, 1823). Another dt fiiidcr of Jahi-eh was Hengstenberg {lieitrdf/e zur Eiiikit. ins A. T. Berlin, 1831-39, vol. ii). Strongest in defence of Jehovah is, among prominent German theologians, Holemann, Bibelstudien (Leipzig, 1859-60), vol. i.