E-mailed Questions, Comments, and our Answers
Questions - Dear Sir, I recently came across your web site. I find your material interesting and worthy of further consideration. With regards to one of your issues, I have a couple of questions for you. The first pertains to the use of the name of the Creator in the Greek Scriptures. Why, if the original manuscripts (which are not available now) contained the Tetragrammaton (and this is speculation), do none of the extant copies also contain it? Why would the Creator have allowed so many copies of His Word to go out in this way without His Name in them? Incidentally, I would not argue with you that the use of the word kurios or Lord is confusing when one is trying to determine whether the allusion is to The Almighty or to Yashuah/Jesus. The second question relates to the name of the Messiah, Yashuah in Aramaic and the transliteration of his name into Greek. If the names of other people, for example the Apostles, are all Hellenized in the Greek scriptures, and subsequently used as such by all Christians, why not the name of the Messiah? Alternatively for consistency, the names of other characters in the narrative such as Peter, Judas, Matthew etc. should also be kept in the original language.
Answer - In the Greek, when reference is made to Yahweh, and in a few cases to Yahshua, the word "theos" is most often used. Theos in the Greek is not a proper name, but a title. It means "mighty" or "powerful one" sometimes referring to a celestial being like Yahweh, a few times possibly to a terrestrial being as was Yahshua when he was on earth. Most often when used with the definite article "the" the reference will be to Yahweh, the Almighty Creator, and not to Yahshua, or a terrestrial being. This Greek word "theos" in its usage is very similar to the Hebrew "elohim."
It is very clear from the Old Covenant, that the Creator's Name is "Yahweh" (Is. 42:8) and as found in many other Old Covenant passages, so we will not debate this issue. Those familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, knew the name of the Elohim of Israel as "Yahweh."
Consider very carefully the words of Messiah to his Apostles as recorded in Yohannan (John) 17:6,8,11,12,26 - "I have made known Your Name unto the men that You gave me out of the world....For I have given to them the words that You gave me; and they have received them....And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Set Apart (holy) Father, keep through your own Name those whom You have given me, that they may be one, as We are....while I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your Name, and will declare it: that the love where with You have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
As you can see from these few passages, the Father's Name is of great importance. Yahshua revealed and made know the Father's Name "Yahweh." The personal proper name of the Elohim of Israel was made obscure by the many false (man made) Talmud laws. In fact, during the time of the apostles, uttering the Name of the Almighty was punishable by death. No wonder, that the Name of the Almighty was not used in Public by the Apostles. Yet Yahshua revealed the Name to them!
The New Covenant Scriptures as we now have them in the Greek., was written for Israel, and only Israel (Heb. 8:8-10).) To Israel, through the Son and by way of the teaching of the Apostles was the Name of the Creator revealed to all of Israel, i.e. the Nations (Gentiles). The New Covenant is not meant for all peoples, or races of mankind, and it can not be understood by them, for it is only the History of Yahweh's dealing with Israel. True Israel knows the Proper Name of their Father, The Almighty Creator even though in our existing Greek New Covenant Scriptures His Name is not used. Of further interest, to New Covenant Israel there is now a new and personal relationship with the Creator Father Yahweh, through the Son, as he himself had. We are now as True Israel, taught by Yahshua to address Yahweh using this personal relationship as "Our Father."
In the Greek, "kurios" means master, or authority. Some times this word has the meaning equivalent to our English "Mr." The word "Lord" is traced to the Roman house-deity, and back to the name of an Etruscan Sovereign, "Larth," (in those days when sovereigns were considered deities, with power over ones life.) To use the word Lord, in relationship to Yahweh is a violation of Ex. 23:13.
Yes, it is confusing with all these poor translations, but that is why we need to study the word (2 Tim. 2:15) and correctly divide it. When a name is correctly transliterated from one language to another, the corresponding sounds from the letters in the new language will approximate those of the language translated (subject to the limits of the new language), otherwise it would not be a transliteration, but an interpretation. You might say that the proper names of the Apostles in the Greek were Hellenized, but only to the limits of the Greek letter sounds. When pronounced in the Greek, the proper names are very close to the Hebrew. The problem we have is not with the Greek, but the English. Modern English has adopted the sounds of many early languages, and does in fact derive from many Greek words. Although the proper names could very easily be correctly transliterated from the Greek or the Hebrew, with the exception of a few Bible translation, they are not. This is shameful.
For example, from the Greek, the English name John would be "Ioanne," Peter "Petros," and James "Iakobos". These are just some that many modern English translations have completely missed. But, to be fair, many others are very close. When we transliterate from the Greek into the English we are transliterating a name which has already been transliterated. We should always go back to what we know to be correct, and not build upon a transliteration, because when we do we develop error. From the Hebrew the English name John would be "Yohannan," Peter "Kepha," and James "Ya'aqob". So, as you can see, the English does not correctly transliterate either the Hebrew or the Greek although it can very easily do so.
As for the name "Iesou(s)" in the Greek, the etymology is a bit more difficult. There are many opinions on the origin and the derive of this name, many leading to pagan sources. Rather then provide our own etymology for this name, let's go directly to what we do know is factual. The English Jesus is "Iesou" in the Greek, therefor it is not correctly transliterated as Jesus. If we were to correctly transliterate from the Greek, we would be using "Iesou" or "Iesous" but not Jesus. However, we do know as fact, that the Son did not have a Greek Name, it was Hebrew. In Hebrews 4:8, we can clearly establish the relationship of the word "Iesou(s)" in the Greek with the Hebrew name Yah-oo-shua. So we can clearly see that "Iesou(s) in the Greek is the Hebrew name Yah-oo-shua (soft on the "oo"). Some pronounce the proper name of the Son Ye-hoo-shua (Yehoshua). Others influenced by the Murashu Text suggest the pronunciation is "Yahushua". The truth is, it is not possible to be 100% positive of the exact pronunciation of the name, because there is no one alive today who heard the name pronounced. But, we do know that the Son's name was never Jesus! We here at the Assembly of Yahweh, Cascade, use the more common name "Yahshua."
Not having an absolute knowledge of the exact pronunciation of the proper names does not give us permission to adulterate those names. We should never be building upon error when we know the truth. You are correct when you state "for consistency, the names of other characters in the narrative such as Peter, Judas, Matthew etc. should also be kept in the original language."
We have not been given the liberty to change names. I suggest you obtain a copy of "The Scriptures" for a Scriptural translation that has removed all pagan words, and uses only properly transliterated proper names. Visit their web site at The Scriptures
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