February 28, 2025
Is God’s Name Yahweh or Jehovah? David the Psalmist proclaimed, "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (Ps. 8:1). Certainly the Lord's name is excellent, but what is this excellent name? The Lord's name (יְהֹוָה) is referred to as the Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek word that means four (“Tetra”) letters (“grammaton”). The Tetragrammaton (יְהֹוָה) is the Lord's name of JHVH which is pronounced in two differing manners: Yahweh or Jehovah. But only one is right and Biblical. The difference originates out of the argument for or against the inspired Hebrew vowel points. One side says that God inspired the Old Testament (OT) with all its Hebrew words containing vowels intact and thus correctly pronounces God's holy Name as Jehovah, while others claim that God never inspired a pointed, vocalized original Hebrew text; that the Hebrew vowels were an addition during the Middle Ages by Hebrew Masoretic scribes. The latter group frequently posit that the Lord gave an oral tradition of vocalization for the non-pointed consonantal text to the Jewish people, but then the vocalized pronunciation was lost.
Important point before continuing: In the language of Hebrew, the jot (smallest Hebrew consonent) is transliterated in English as jodh or yodh, with either a "y" or "j." Likewise, the vau (waw) may be transliterated with either a "w" or "v." For the purposes of this report the yodh will be transliterated with a "j" and the vau will be transliterated with a "v," hence the tetragrammaton will be designated JHVH rather than YHWH.
The controversy surrounding the Tetragrammaton (the Divine Name of God) lies in the pronounciation, which is based upon the other controversy, whether the Hebrew vowel pointing always existed in God's Word, or were added later by the Masoretes as the modern notion affirms. Hence the exploration of both the Tetragrammaton and Hebrew vowel points in this report, and the controversies related to these, which will either consequently exalt or debase God's name, and support or deny the doctrine of preservation of God's Word.
The Hebrew vowels of the Tetragrammaton which spell the Divine Name of God, יְהֹוָה Jehovah (Ex 6:3; Ps 83:18; Is 12:2; 26:4) and not Yahweh, are not a late addition as modern critical scholars proclaim, but represent the original and true pronunciation of the profoundly significant Divine Name.
The Tetragrammaton (the Lord's name of JHVH or Jehovah) appears 6,519x in the Hebrew Bible, beginning in Gen 2 referring to God’s creation of Adam and Eve. Jehovah is usually translated LORD (all caps) in the King James Version (KJV), but it is also translated GOD (all caps) 310x. The name “Jehovah” encompasses everything God is, but it particularly emphasizes God as Redeemer, Saviour, Shepherd. “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD [Jehovah]” (Ps 3:8); “The LORD [Jehovah] is my shepherd” (Ps 23:1); “I, even I, am the LORD [Jehovah]; and beside me there is no saviour” (Is 32:11); “I the LORD [Jehovah] am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer” (Is 49:26; 60:16). Jehovah is also Judge. He is the covenant-keeping Redeemer to the believer as well as the holy God of judgment to the unbeliever (De 7:9-10). The very characteristics and attributes of God are thus tied directly to His name, reflecting the critical importance of the pointing, which is the Hebrew vowel system, and the clear fact it must've always been present in God's inspired text, not the Masoretes adding them into God's Word at a latter time. The denial of this calls into question both the inspiration and preservation of God's Word.
To help with understanding this matter, here is an example of the difference between a Biblical text with and without the vowel pointing:
A critical position taken by many Bible critic scorners goes something as follows. Since we don’t know what language the original language was and since (as they claim) it couldn’t be Hebrew since Hebrew evolved out of latter languages, when God spoke in the conveniently forefront Hebrew language in the time of Moses, He just gave consonants even though He spoke words, so that the pronunciation was to be memorized and never written down and in due time the Jews forgot to memorize part of it and all they had was the written consonants and so they forgot to pronounce certain names like the Name of the Lord, Jehovah. This is the position they take. But its actually right up there with the diabolical system of evolution.
Rejecting the Biblical promises for perfect words preservation, modern critical scholarship argues that the original Hebrew text was only in consonant form, that the vowels were not inspired, and the pronunciations were simply passed on by oral tradition until the Masoretic scribes invented a vowel pointing system during the middle ages for the inspired consonantal Hebrew text. This is essentially an attack on the preserved Hebrew Masoretic text, to create doubt on this God-given text and to reject it, but also to reject the Authorized KJV translated from it, which follows suit on the preserved Greek Textus Receptus. An attack on the OT is basic to the attack on the NT.
The popular position, that the Masoretes invented the vowel system denies the Scriptures claims of perfect words preservation of Scripture. This corrupted view posits the first and final authority of God’s Word of Scripture upon man and not God. It is held to that the Masoretic Scribes merely passed on the divine vowel points not the consonants, but this falsely assumed Masoretic invention must be rejected along with the fallacious tradition of the Divine Name of the Tetragrammaton as Yahweh. According to the inspired and preserved Masoretic Hebrew text behind the KJV, the proper pronunciation of LORD (יְהֹוָה) is Jehovah. Yahweh, which is derived from a Tetragrammaton that limited God's name to only consonents, is pagan. Modern Bible perversions promote this paganism, as they were born out of the corrupted and false stream of Scripture.
The Lord has promised to preserve all of His inspired, canonical Words through His ordained institutions for all generations subsequent to the inscripturation of these Words. Therefore, He has preserved His OT Words, consonants and vowels, jots and tittles, including the inspired vocalization of His name, the Tetragrammaton. Since the Lord God has preserved the proper pronunciation of His Divine Name, JHVH, scholars have no need to restore their vocalization of it, and, as history, philology, and critical scholarship have demonstrated, they are incapable of restoring authoritatively the pronunciation of JHVH. We will cover this in greater detail further below.
Heretical Textual Critics Taking up the Corrupted Position, and Its Origin
Recently the broadcaster Joe Rogan had Wesley Huff on his podcast, a non-separatist, culturally liberal, reformed Calvinist, and neo-evangelical textual critic, who blatantly lied about the Hebrew vowels, and unfortunately Rogan didn't know the better and took it in as gospel truth. Huff claimed that the Hebrew vowel points were invented during medieval times, which is a blatant case of bearing false witness to the truth:
“Modern Hebrew adopts the Hebrew in the Dead Sea scrolls but modern Hebrew has, hum, it has vowels that were developed in the Middle Ages to figure out how to pronounce it. It was basically ancient Hebrew doesn’t have a vowel system in its writing thats overly comprehensive and so in the Middle Ages when you have these groups of Jews who were copying these Hebrew Scriptures who aren’t speaking it as much as they are reading it, you’ve gotta figure out how to pronounce it because vowels make a difference . . . so in the Middle Ages the Masoretic scribes come up with these vowel point systems and thats what you see when you like look at a Hebrew Bible today, as you see these vowels. And sometimes the introduction or removal of a vowel is significant in the changing of a word.”
Everything he says here is pure fabrication made out of sheer cloth, besides the last sentence. He is a parrot parroting lies from higher textual criticism. It is true, introducing or removing vowels does change words, but ironically that is what his kind, the textual critic, not only have embraced, they justify it as well. You would think that a so-called Bible "scholar" would ponder the words that exit his mouth, tell-tale words such as "sometimes the introduction or removal of a vowel is significant in the changing of a word,” and reconsider his corrupted postion. So essentially anyone could make the Bible say whatsoever it is they would like it to say, merely by adding or removing vowels or moving around vowels, since God, after all, did not actually inspire them?! This is the ungodly textual critic position of the hypocrites that claim to be "Christian" but are in fact subtle servants of Satan, hammering confusion, contradiction and doubt upon the very Word of God to the unsuspecting and ignorant masses encumbered with the flattered oration of higher learning and smooth speech, the very battleground Satan has attempted to enter for millennia, right from the garden of eden (Gen 3). No wonder these "liars, evil beasts, slow bellies" (Ti 1:12) adore modern "Bible" perversions, corrupted texts for corrupted and carnal minds.
The apologetic for Textual Criticism and Reformed Calvinism, is a nobody that wants to be a somebody, likely drawn by an affection for the spotlight (which is very, very normal in that circle, since the flesh and natural man is the only driver of euphoria in their lives), with zero Biblical testimony of salvation, one who attended a secular university with its evil liberalism and post-modernism, to become a so-called “expert” on ancient Bible texts and languages. He's not a "scholar" in fact. This so-called "scholar" didn't even know the most basic and simple knowledge of 500 having seen the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15), not 400. This is an obvious mistake that a scholar should never make, among many other errors that he made. Rogan was enamoured with Huff, but Rogan is no scholar and is ignorant to the truth of the historicity of Scripture and truth itself, for someone does not need to be a scholar to do what Huff is doing. Huff's popularity was cemented in when he made a fool of a Christ-rejecting, lying, demon-possessed debater by the name of Billy Carson in an informal “debate,” which anyone with a kindergarten level of Bible knowledge could have done. But it was enough to catch the eye of people who are always scratching after some new and novel thing. In comes the reformed calvinist/neo-evangelical to fill the void. This is how they row. They like to make a splash and they do it with skewed, corrupted and contradictory information, while hijacking the truth, and this is what they peddle to the unsuspecting masses and individuals such as Joe Rogan. This was only one of many lies and half truths and heresies that Huff peddled on Rogans podcast, which we will be exposing here shortly.
Its no accident that he is advancing this egregious philosophy, not only because he is a textual critic but since this is what is being taught in essentially all schools, colleges, and seminaries, with very few exceptions. But where did it come from?
The German Elias Levita in the 16th century came up with the false and ungodly idea that Hebrew vowels were invented by the post-Talmudic Massoretes of Tiberias. He challenged the inspiration of vowels, and its been an ongoing issue since then. John Owen, contemporary to Levita, ridiculed his position, because it had ZERO evidential or factual support; it was merely based upon “Levita said so.” (John Owen, Biblical Theology: The Nature, Origin, Development, and Study of Theological Truth, p. 522).
Others that have continued to popularize the unBiblical lie and falsehood include the following:
"Originally BH (Biblical Hebrew) text consisted of consonants only. In order to prevent the eventual complete loss of the correct pronunciations, a group of Jewish scholars began to devise a system of signs (from about 600 CE) to record and standardize the received pronunciation (inasmuch as it was known)." ( Christo H. J. van der Merwe, Jackie A. Naude and Jan H. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar," 2002, p. 17)
“But they made one very important innovation. They developed a system by which the vowels of the Hebrew words could be indicated in writing.” (David Ewert, From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations, 1983, p. 90).
A part of the problem of vowel point system denial can be traced to the unscriptural traditions of the Jewish people. The Jewish Talmudic (an extraBiblical traditional Jewish source) tradition forbids the speaking of the Tetragrammaton, God’s name Jehovah, which is composed of four Hebrew consonants along with the appropriate vowels (יְהֹוָה JHVH). During the silent years between the canonization of the OT and revelation of the NT, rabbinical tradition determined that the name of God was too holy to be spoken (because of a faulty interpretation of Lev 24:16). The falsehood was supported by the allegation that God’s name was pronounced in ancient times only by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, which is clearly contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture. Thus, God’s glorious name was replaced in Jewish tradition by the bland Hashem, meaning “the name,” and therefore meaning nothing.
The Masoretes Did Not Invent the Vowel Points, A Denial of Perfect Preservation
The popularly repeated mantra and position that Masorete scribes invented vowel forms for the inspired consonantal OT Hebrew text during the Middle Ages (around the 10th century A.D.) is both a ridiculous myth and a falsehood. Its a blatant denial of the Bibles claim of perfect words preservation.
Words need vowels, that is a no brainer. It is unBiblical and a falsehood that the inspired Hebrew text contained only consonants and that vowels and pronunciations were passed on by oral tradition. It is also false that Masorete scribes invented vowel forms for inspired consonantal Hebrew text. The Hebrew text of the Bible and whole Bible overall is replete with divine promises of the perfect preservation of divine words, and not merely parts of words (e.g., Ps 12:6-7; 119:111, 152, 160; Matt 4:4; 5:18, 24-25; 24:35, etc.). Consonants are not words. Words include both consonants and vowels, obviously, what anyone knows that speaks any language. The Bible declares that "every word of God is pure." (Pr 30:5-6). Every word. These pure words are complete words with consonants and vowels. God used complete words, not partial words, to speak the heavens and earth into existence (Gen 1:3). All revelation given to the prophets and apostles were complete words.
Consequently, adding vowels to the text of Scripture would have meant the Masoretes were adding to Scripture, violating the clear injunction of De 4:2,
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
The main fallacy historically with positing the invention of the Hebrew vowel points by the Masoretes is the lack of any recorded testimony. In contrast, John Gill gives an abundance of historical evidence that the points were known at least far back as 454 B.C., and consequently could not have been invented by the Masoretes (John Gill, A Dissertation Concerning the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, Letters, Vowel Points, and Accents, 1767, pp. 38-66).
Consonants are Not Words and God Sang Creation Into Existence with Completed Words
The Word of God is an extension of God, just like my words are an extension of me. When I die, I stop speaking. God’s Word always continue on, they are eternal. They will be preserved forever. Every word of God is pure. Consonants without vowels are not words. They are not the pure words of God.
God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence (Gen 1 and 2). God spoke words that had vowels, not just consonants. More accurately, He sang creation into existence since He is a musical God creating a musical creation and we are musical creatures. The verb and the noun have accents that could be put to music. So when God spoke He really sang creation into existence. All of the OT has musical accents and all of the OT can be put to music. That is the key here. All the OT words are musical words and they are foundational. Hebrew was the original language and it was musical and it was with complete words, or you wouldn't even know the melody many times. Greek has accents as well, but it is different. Greek is a confounded language and its really confounded Hebrew, since Hebrew is the mother tongue. So the musical aspect of language starts and stops with Hebrew. It doesn’t extend over to the accents of the Greek, even though Greek has accents.
One cannot distinguish between some nouns and verbs, conjugations or stems without vowel pointing. The other ancient languages of the Samaritans, Syrians, Chaldeans, and Arabs had consonants and vowels.
When God spoke creation into existence, He didn’t hum words only consisting of consonants. He sang complete words. These are simple truths, even children can understand this. The Bible critics however can’t because they have a different agenda. Thats unfortunate because it questions the condition of their heart, whether they are actually saved and in a relationship with the Lord. If a persons agenda relative to the Bible, God, salvation is different than God’s agenda, who is in trouble? That person.
God wrote complete words on the tablets when He gave His commandments to Moses (Ex 34:1; cf. 20:1 ff.; De 10:2). They consisted of a combination of consonants and vowels as we read in Ex 20. All the prophets wrote complete words when they saw or heard God's revelation (cf. Am 1:1; Ob 1:1; Hab 1:1). The words that the Lord gave to Amos (Am 1) were actual words that he saw, complete words that he wrote down, not "words" consisting only of consonents. The words God gave Amos were complete words.
“The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.” (Am 1:1).
These are a few examples amongst scores. Nowhere in Scripture do we ever get the idea or hint that all or even some of the words God gave were in the form of consonants only. Those that claim God inspired His words without vowels, are either ignorantly parroting something they have heard, or are actually, in a subtle manner, denying and rejecting God’s Word. Textual critics do this, and what they routinely expose themselves to really be is Bible rejectors. Fervently looking for anything to discredit the absolute truth of perfect Scripture and buttress their wrath stored up against God for the day of wrath (cf. Rom 2:1-5).
God promised availability and preservation of His words. Consonants and vowels have always existed in the Hebrew language since that is what words are made up of.
The Orginality and Authority of the Hebrew Pointing Down to the Jot (Smallest Vowel)
Christ recognized the preserved Words of the Hebrew OT (Matt 4:4) and affirmed the inspiration and preservation of the consonants ("jot") and vowel points ("keraia") in Matt 5:18. In this passage the Lord Jesus Christ declares that everything in Scripture is inspired, preserved, important and will come to pass down to the "insignifcant" jot and tittle.
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
The "jot," called the yodh, is the tenth consonant of the Hebrew alphabet, and the smallest of them all. Its the "tittle" however that we are interested in, which is the smallest of Hebrew vowels, and thus the smallest member of Hebrew grammar. It is literally a dot; the Hebrew vowel system is essentially a system of dots and dashes. The Hebrew vowel "tittle" or dot is called the “Daghesh Forte” and it always indicates doubling of the letter. The Bible writers recognized the Daghesh Forte, as evident in Matt 5:18, a Hebrew expression. It was inspired of God. Jesus said it will never fail. According to textual criticism, it failed.
Dot = Daghesh Forte. The Daghesh Forte can occur in any consonant except the gutturals (ע ,ח ,ה ,א) and ר. The small dot in the ב here is the Daghesh Forte, which always indicates doubling: →
God said that everything down to the smallest vowel was inspired, which then consequently means they existed from the very beginning.
Referring to the Matt 5:18 text, the prominent and late Harry A. Ironside affirmed the inspiration of the vowel points:
“The inspired word of God . . . ‘not one yod or tittle’ (the smallest letter, or vowel-point) ‘shall pass from the law till all be fulfilled.’ How soon difficulties vanish when faith is in exercise! Seemingly insuperable objections are swept away in a moment when the light of heaven shines into the soul and on the page of Scripture” (H. A. Ironside, Notes on the Book of Proverbs, 1908, p. 79)
The inspired Bible writers consistently followed a pattern for the inspired vowel pointings of the proper Hebrew nouns to which they alluded. Here are some word examples where they recognized the inspired dagesh forte (the small vowel dot in the Hebrew letter to indicate doubling), which are further expanded below: Emmanuel/Immanuel (Matt 1:23; cf. Is 7:14), Anna/Hannah (Lk 2:36; cf. 1 Sam 1:2), Abaddon (Rev 9:11; cf. Ps 1:6), Armageddon (Rev 16:16; cf. Ze 12:11), and Sabbaton (Matt 12:5; cf. Ex 20:11).
- KJV translators wrote a double “m” for “Emmanuel” (Matt 1:23) but the actual Hebrew word only has one “m” (עמּנוּאל, Is 7:14). Why did they write two "m's"? The inspired gospel writers wrote two “m’s” in Greek (Ἐμμανουήλ) because the Hebrew letter has the dot (dagesh forte) as you can see (עמּנוּאל, Is 7:14), so they followed the Hebrew text, and English follows the Greek text. Matthew in writing this would have known that the “m” (“mu”, single maime) had been doubled by a dot so he writes it as a double “mu” (which is the Greek letter for “m”). This indicates Matthew knew and recognized the dagesh forte there in the Hebrew letter, which meant it had to be doubled. Otherwise he wouldn’t have written it in such a fashion, as a double “mu,” which was translated as double “m.”
- “Anna” in Greek (Lk 2:36) is the equivalent name “Hannah” in Hebrew (1 Sam 1:2). The “h” drops out when going from Hebrew to Greek, but that’s not even the point here. The important point is the Hebrew letter “nun” which is the letter for “n,” has a dot in it which means the writer under inspiration saw the dot so he gives a Greek word with a double “nun,” with two “n’s.” How did he know how to do that? He saw the dot there, the dagesh forte. So the dot is part of the point system, the Hebrew vowel system, and its always been.
- “Abaddon” (Rev. 9:11) referenced from Ps 1:6, has a double "d" in Revelation. The God-inspired writer saw the the “dolif” doubled so he made the equivalent “delta” doubled and consequently the “d” is doubled in English.
- “Armageddon” (Rev 16:16) from the Hebrew word "Megido" is the same, the “delta” doubled, so the “d” that follows.
- “Sabbaton” in Ex 20 found in Matt 12:5 has the the dagesh forte, the double “beta,” and thus double “b” in English.
These are just some examples where the writers of the NT under inspiration doubled the letter because they saw the dot which represents the “daghesh forte” the smallest of Hebrew vowels. This establishes the idea of what the Lord was saying about dots and jots. Some dots are above the letter, some are in the letter and some below the letter, but the position doesn’t matter because its part of the dot system or the vowel system.
Still not proof enough? How about this one?
- “Arrhabon” is the Greek word behind the transliterated word “earnest” in Eph 1:14. The Apostle Paul was well versed with the Hebrew vowel pointing in the inspired Hebrew words, noted for instance in the inspired Greek "Arrhabon" (“earnest”) in Eph. 1:14 because he doubled the rho (letter “r” in Greek) in his inspired transliterated spelling of the Hebrew word (errabon) from Gen 38:17. "Earnest" carries the idea of "pledge," which is the actual translated word from “errabon” in Gen. 38:17 (ערבון). The shape of “resh” (ר), is a backwards “r” in the English alphabet. The “resh” cannot take the dagesh forte like all the other letters. But if the vowel before it is heightened, then the "resh" gets doubled. The only way Paul could have known this and transliterated this word is if the vowels, consonants and accents were all there. And so they were. Critics don’t like this, including many commentaries (though they admit that Paul had to have seen the vowels) but they won’t change their position to a Biblical conclusion. These scorners and scoffers are purposefully playing ignorant. If Paul saw vowels, that means vowels existed in Paul's days which means vowels existed 600 years before the Masoretes came along and allegedly invented the vowel system. The textual critics don’t connect the dots, pun intended.
These are just some examples where the writers of the NT under inspiration doubled the letter because they saw the dot which represents the “Daghesh Forte,” the smallest of Hebrew vowels. This establishes the idea of what the Lord was saying about dots and jots. Some dots are above the letter, some are in the letter and some below the letter, but it doesn’t matter because its part of the Hebrew vowel system. The authority of the inspired NT text demands that the vowel pointings were part of the inspired OT text. KJV proponents can be assured that their translation was built upon the preserved Hebrew text.
Linguistically, the very nature of grammar requires both consonants and vowels since God and man spoke and wrote words from the beginning, complete words, not partial words absent of vowels. Words need to be precise to convey accuracy, even as Scripture indicates referencing the "jot" and "tittle" (Matt 5:18), and this precision comes only with vowels present. God created the perfect language of Hebrew, the original tongue of Adam and Eve and all the inhabitants of the earth until the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:9, whereafter it continued through the lineage of Shem), and linguistic perfection requires vowels.
Not only that, the nature and genius of the Hebrew language require vowel points, as does learning, reading, and pronouncing any language whatsoever, Hebrew not exempt. The vowel points and accents are useful and necessary. Imagine for a moment, learning a new language but the responsibility being put on you, who doesn't know the language, to guess what the vowels are within consonantal-only words. Its ludicrous, but so goes the constant and unrelenting Satanic attack on the Word of God, the Devil doing his very best to cast doubt upon Scripture, the very Word of God that is necessary for the salvation of sinners (cf. Rom 10:17; 1 Pet 1:23-25; 1 Cor 1:21), what he did from the very start, noted in his very first words towards mankind: "Yea hath God said?" (Gen 3). In that exchange with Eve, Satan omitted, added, and changed the very words of God, and he's been doing it ever since. He knows that in so doing, he can bring mankind to the eternal lake of fire with him.
The difficulty of maintaining and asserting clarity of God's Word would become difficult without vowel points and accents, which leads to denying and rejecting the the infallibility of the Scripture, and the doctrine of inspiration and preservation, since both are affected by the points and accents, and that is precisely what we see everywhere in Christendom today.
Jeremiah 30 and 36 Point to the Pointing
Jeremiah 30 and 36 are classic passages on the inspiration and preservation of God’s Word:
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.” (Jer 30:1-2)
“And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.” (Jer 36:1-2)
It was roughly between the years of 605 and 627 B.C. that Jeremiah was to write the words God would give him on a scroll. Was he only to write consonants? Can a solely consonantal text serve as the perspicuous, final, and ultimate authority in all matters pertaining to God, or would its ambiguity lead to the necessity of church tradition to properly understand God’s Word?
The text makes it clear that Jeremiah was to write everything God told him, and God would not have spoken to him only in consents with the absence of vowels (“all the words that I have spoken unto thee” v. 2). You cannot speak and write consonants: words without vowels. You can only hum them. “Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.” (Jer 36:4). LORD —> Jeremiah —> Baruch —> scroll. All the words from the LORD were perfect and pure, not missing any letters. Vowels are letters. There were NO errors. NO erroneous words. NO words missing important letters. God is perfect and makes NO mistakes. NO confusion with mere consonants in the absence of vowels. This includes the entire process of the LORD giving the words to Jeremiah, who then spoke to Baruch who then wrote them on a scroll. God inspired His perfects words onto a perfect scroll using imperfect tools (humans), all of which He superintended. This is the inspiration of Scripture. Denying the pointing (Hebrew vowel points) would consequently deny the inspiration of Scripture.
After Jeremiah (and Baruch) were complete with documenting the words of God, Jehudi the son of Josiah king of Judah cut up the scroll (which at that point contained chapters 1 through 35) and burned it in the fire (Jer 36:23), thinking he could destroy Gods judgment upon him. So the whole process of inspiration is repeated again (vv. 28, 32) and this time with the added words of chapter 36, what had just transpired. What we see in all this is God’s inspiration, perseveration, inerrancy, His infallibility and availability of His Word, which contains whole words right down to the jot and tittle. Jeremiah, and then Baruch, did not have to try to figure out what vowels would go where with the consonants. They were given in whole by the LORD, just like when He spoke everything into existence, creating everything wholly by whole words, everything in the heavens and the earth and therein, and when He heals people, exemplified by Christ in His earthly sojourn. Whole healing, whole creation and whole words.
The Tetragrammaton Was Pointed (Voweled) thus God’s Name is Jehovah, Not Yahweh
We come to answering the title of this report: "Is God’s Name Yahweh or Jehovah?," which by now should be evident. As noted, the Tetragrammaton is the Divine name of God, which is a Greek word that means four (“Tetra”) letters (“grammaton”). The four consonant letters of God's name in the OT, JHVH or it could be YHVH, since "j" and "y" are interchangeable in Hebrew, or JHWH or YHWH, since the "v" and "w" are also interchangeable in Hebrew. We go with JHVH, but JHVH is not a word in the absence of vowels, as many "scholars," and others, proclaim. It needs vowels and that is where things take a change of course for the worse when it comes to higher Textual Criticism.
The error that Yahweh is the correct pronunciation of the Divine Name is connected to the error that only the consonants of the Hebrew text are inspired, while the vowels were invented by a class of Jewish scribes during or around the 10th century A.D. Bible Textual Critics falsely assume that man invented the pointing, which has to do with Hebrew vowels, and that consequently the proper pronunciation of is Yahweh based upon these four letters absent of any vowels. On the contrary, Scripture and solid evidence demonstrates that the words of the Hebrew text—including the vowels—are inspired and were recorded by the Biblical authors.
The controversy comes out in the pronunciation, which directly ties into whether the Hebrew vowels always existed in God's Word, or were added later by the Masoretes, as the modern notion affirms. Many people claim, even dogmatically, that the Hebrew tetragrammaton JHVH ((יְהֹוָה) was originally pronounced "Yahwe" or "Yahweh." Based on extra-biblical authorities, critics assume the best rendering for the Tetragrammaton should be Yahweh (e.g., Gustave F. Oehler, Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 92-93), since the vowels were allegedly a late edition. The commonly repeated modern idea that the pronunciation Jehovah is a late and incorrect invention, while Yahweh is the true pronunciation of the Name, is absolutely false. The Hebrew vowels of the Tetragrammaton that give us the LORD's Divine Name of Jehovah (Ex 6:3; Ps 83:18; Is 12:2; 26:4) are not a late addition, but represent the original and true pronunciation of the profoundly significant Divine Name. There is no known Hebrew manuscript on earth that contains the vocalization Yahweh. But on the other hand, the form of Jehovah is found in a variety of locations in the oldest Hebrew copies, such as the Aleppo codex and a variety of Biblical fragments dated between 700 and 900 A.D., as well as being the universal pointing in the OT Textus Receptus. Jewish scholars such as Maimonides (1138-1204 A.D.) affirmed that the Tetragrammaton was pronounced according to its letters as JeHoVaH.
There are also Bible critics that assume that man invented the pointing and that consequently the proper pronunciation for the Divine name of the tetragrammaton JHVH (יְהֹוָה) is not totally known of any certainty. This view alleges that the Jews refused to pronounce the name of the Lord because of a faulty interpretation of Lev. 24:16, which reads “And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death...” Orthodox Jews substitute the word HaShem ("The Name") into their commentaries to avoid taking the name of the Lord in vain, which literally means nothing. An addition to this faulty interpretation is the influence of the fallacious Septuagint (LXX) translation, that corrupts this passage, incorrectly rendering the caveat as “he that names the Lord shall be put to death.” After many centuries of not pronouncing the Divine Name of God, the Jews claimed the proper pronunciation was lost. Then the Masoretes interjected the so-called Qere perpetuum reading into the text and allegedly produced the impossible name Jehovah.
Both the OT saints and sinners named the name of Jehovah without fear of punishment. For instance Moses in Ex 3:13-14; 4:1, and Pharaoh in Ex 8:8, and Rahab and Canaanites in Jos 2:10. Even the Mishna (oral Torah) states that the Name was pronounced as it was written, that is, as Jehovah. This pronunciation is also consistent with Talmudic evidence. It is a grievous thing that so-called "conservative" commentaries refer to the God of the Bible by the pagan name "Yahweh." Is it important that believers know the correct vocalization of the Lord's special OT name? If a business man gets a customers name wrong, it just might be troublesome; if a man calls his wife by the wrong name, it wold be appalling; what about when someone calls the Thrice Holy God and their Creator by the wrong name? Is it possible that Satan has inspired and promoted through his Bible critics a different name for Jehovah?
The Masoretic Hebrew Text behind the KJV renders the vocalization of the tetragrammaton as Jehovah (יְהֹוָה). This has been the accepted pronunciation of JHVH for at least the last four hundred years in the western world. Scripture, translations, commentaries, prayer books, theological works, hymns and Christians at large have utilized this standardized pronunciation Jehovah. Yet recently in scholarly circles the notion has been advanced that the pronunciation Jehovah should be replaced with Yahweh. Were, as the common modern notion affirms, the vowels of the Divine Name simply lifted from Adonai, the yod of the tetragrammaton would have a hateph pathach (horizontal line, e.g. אַ) underneath it, not a sheva (two vertical dots beneath a letter). Furthermore, all the names in Scripture that begin with portions of the Tetragrammaton possess the vowels of Jehovah, not of Yahweh. If someone wants to argue that the vocalization of God’s Name had been corrupted in Scripture, contrary to God's declarations that nothing of the kind would or could happen (i.e., Ps 12:6-7; Matt 5:18), one would also need to argue that every name in the Bible that begins with part of the Tetragrammaton has also been corrupted. There is also no theophoric names anywhere in Scripture that end with an "eh," the expected ending were the name pronounced Yahweh. In contrast to the strong evidence in favour of the pronunciation Jehovah, very little supports the pronunciation Yahweh. This latter pronunciation is not supported by any evidence in the Hebrew Bible, nor in other ancient Jewish documents, therefore its advocates must look outside of Scripture and Jewish texts for evidence in its favour.
It is evident that Jehovah is the correct pronunciation of the Name of God. Jehovah has not allowed the pronunciation of His Name to be lost. The plain facts concerning that the vowels on the Name actually are in the Hebrew text, NT writers saw them there as they penned God's inspired Word accordingly, other theophoric names, the Mishna, the Talmud, and a variety of other evidences demonstrate that the Tetragrammaton is correctly pronounced Jehovah.
Consequence on the Doctrine of Inspiration and Preservation of God's Word
Would the lack of a vowel pointing in the text not negatively impact the doctrine of inspiration and preservation, and even transgress Scripture that warns about changing the text? Wouldn't the addition of points, accents, and other things to a supposedly consonantal-only original text violate the warning of passages such as De 4:2 and Rev 22:19?
The answers are in the affirmative. On the original parchment where God inspired His words, which very words continue to be with us today as promised, every sentence, word, line, mark, point, pen-stroke, jot, tittle (the smallest of the Hebrew vowels) was put there by God. They were all inspired and all have importance. Removing any of them falls under the great and fearful condemnation of De 4:2 and Rev 22:19, taking away from the inspired and preserved words of God:
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (De 4:2)
"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Rev 22:19)
The denial of the inspiration of Hebrew vowel points and the subsequent replacement of God's holy Divine Name of Jehovah with Yahweh, denies God's promise of the verbal plenary preservation of Scripture.
Yet the Word of God is replete with the teaching that God will perfectly preserve His words. This teaching then constitutes the doctrine of the verbal plenary preservation of the words of God. We find a number of OT Scripture passages that promise the preservation of the Words of the Lord forever, though one reference would be sufficient to establish this doctrinal truth: Ps 12:6-7; 119:111, 160, et al; Pr 22:20-21; Is 40:6. In the NT, the Lord Jesus Christ claimed the perfectly intact Hebrew OT words (Matt 4:4), the preservation of the consonants and vowels of Hebrew words (Matt 5:18), and the perfect preservation of all of His canonical words including the NT words (Matt 24:35). The Scriptures also teach the respective agencies which God promised to use for His preservation process. For the OT Scriptures, His agency was the Jewish nation (Rom 3:2) and for the NT Scriptures, the pillar and ground of the truth—the NT churches (1 Tim 3:15). In fact, bound up in the great Commission is the requirement of the churches to observe or guard His canonical words (Matt 28:19-20). The Lord's people, in their respective agencies, have the sole responsibility to preserve for their generation and following, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It should be evident to those who believe God has promised to preserve His Words perfect, and this preservation is in the Masoretic Hebrew text and the Received Greek text, that the critical textual history of late vowel additions and consequently change of God's name contradicts Scriptural promises and is therefore unbiblical and fabricated by unbelievers.
Closing
For greater indept reading please see the following articles by Thomas Ross: Hebrew Vowel Points and "The Debate over the Inspiration of the Hebrew Vowel Points."
Does this actually matter, is it even important? Is it important that believers know the correct vocalization of the Lord's special OT name? How would believers "sing praise to the name of the LORD" (Ps 7:17), if they do not know how to pronounce it? A consideration of the origin, inspiration, and authority of the Hebrew vowel points, and the true and proper manner in pronouncing the Tetragrammaton has tremendous bibliological and hermeneutical significance. It does if you believe the Bible to be the perfect, inerrant, inspired and preserved Word of God. It matters if you exalt the Word of God above your ownself, feelings, and knowledge, just like God exalting His own Word above His own name (Ps 138:2). It is important if you love and adore the Divine Name of Almighty God, our Saviour, Shepherd, Lord, and Redeemer. During the era of the Reformation, this subject generated great controversy, and that has unfortunately not gone away, with ungodly and unBiblical presuppositions continuing to plague much of the historicity and philology of Hebrew, dominating both higher textual criticism and lower textual criticism, which we vehemently oppose. Many Bible critics, compromisers and heretics, and those that are wilfully ignorant don’t consider these mattes from a standpoint of Biblical truth because they are not so much interested in what the Bible says but rather how to maintain their position status quo or what their favourite textual critic has to say over the matter, frequently motivated by pride, arrogance, self-deception, or something else sinister. The true Bible believer is interested in what Scripture says, and will align his position to the truth of God’s Word.
The truth that Jehovah is the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton is one of many strong and sound reasons to reject the critical Hebrew text (the Leningrad MS) underlying the generality of modern English Bible perversions. While the OT Received Text that underlies the Authorized KJV properly and fully vocalizes the Tetragrammaton, the Hebrew critical text corrupts the Divine Name by omitting one of its vowels in thousands of passages. This is merely one of many serious corruptions are present in the Leningrad MS.
Every true believer can have complete confidence in the verbal plenary preservation and authority of the pointed autographa, the available Masoretic Textus Receptus, and Greek Textus Receptus — which is a "more sure word" than the audible voice of the Father that the Apostle Peter heard on the Mount of Transfiguration (2 Pet 1:16-21) — which provide solid theological support for the doctrine of the originality and authority of the Hebrew vowels and its prophetic Divine authorship, and subsequent exaltation of the Tetragrammaton, God's Divine Name of Jehovah, versus the convoluted problem that Textual Criticism and multivocality of the text brings to Scripture and God's Name, largely presupposed on a simple-minded acceptance of the inspiration of the 'original' autographa while abandoning the doctrine of preservation of the Hebrew text, by a compromised and mostly heretical people who cannot say, “Thus saith the LORD” without adding “unless there is a variant.” There is no way they can truly and single-mindedly, embrace the truth of 2 Tim 3:16-17,
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
The KJV is found to be absolutely correct in its vocalization of the Divine Name of God as Jehovah, while it rightfully omits the modern fictitious and pagan pronunciation of Yahweh. Born again believers should do the same, and call, not on Yahweh, but on the Triune Jehovah.