The Name of God

The Old Testament

In the Old Testament, the UPDV Bible uses "Yahweh" — the personal name of God — instead of what is rendered in many English versions as "LORD" (in small capitals). The name appears nearly seven thousand times in the Hebrew text and is the most frequently used name for God in the Old Testament. Most English translations, following a tradition that began in the Septuagint and continued through the King James Version, replace the name with "the LORD." The UPDV restores the name as it appears in the original text.

The contracted form "Yah" is also retained where it appears in the Hebrew, most notably in the expression "Hallelujah" (literally, "Praise Yah").

Sovereign Yahweh

When the two Hebrew words for "Lord" (אֲדֹנָי, Adonai) and "Yahweh" appear together, the UPDV renders the phrase as "Sovereign Yahweh." This is intended to portray an emphatic title incorporating both majesty and authority, rather than the awkward "Lord GOD" or "Lord LORD" found in other translations. The combination appears frequently in the prophets, particularly in Ezekiel, where it serves as a solemn formula introducing divine speech.

The New Testament

In the New Testament, the existing Greek manuscripts do not contain the name "Yahweh" as the Old Testament Hebrew manuscripts do. Almost all references to God or "Yahweh" in the New Testament are in the form of κύριος (kyrios, "Lord"), θεός (theos, "God"), or δεσπότης (despotēs, "Master").

However, many New Testament passages are direct quotations from or clear allusions to Old Testament texts where "Yahweh" stands in the Hebrew original. In these cases, it is possible to determine where "Yahweh," or another title for God, was likely to be the meaning.

The UPDV Bible attempts to maintain the distinction between "Yahweh" and "the Lord" in the New Testament when possible. Where an Old Testament passage using "Yahweh" is quoted or clearly referenced, the UPDV restores the name to help the reader see the connection to the original text.

The reader should understand that this is done to facilitate understanding and that the existing underlying Greek manuscripts generally only say "the Lord." The UPDV does not claim that the original New Testament authors wrote "Yahweh" in their Greek texts — only that their audience, steeped in the Scriptures, would have understood which passages referred to God by name.

Sirach

The same approach applies to the Greek sections of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus). Where the underlying Hebrew text — available for portions of the book through the Cairo Geniza manuscripts and the Dead Sea Scrolls — contains the divine name, and the Greek appears to be translating a passage that originally used "Yahweh," the UPDV restores the name. For further background on Sirach in the UPDV, see The Book of Sirach.

Why This Matters

The replacement of "Yahweh" with "the LORD" in most English translations, while rooted in reverence, obscures a basic feature of the original text. The Hebrew authors did not write a title — they wrote a name. When a reader encounters "the LORD" in a passage where the Hebrew says "Yahweh," the personal, covenantal character of the name is lost. The UPDV restores this distinction so that readers can see what the original text actually says.

For the authoritative texts and translation method behind the UPDV, see Authoritative Texts and Translation Method.