「耶和华」与「耶威」字义考


关于「耶和华」一词的演变,为了平息各种臆测与争论,我特别查考了手边的资料,并为大家节录或引用出来。期待日后大家对这个词不再有争论。

所引的相关资料中,基本上各家的说法相当一致,而其中以中译的TWOT说明最为详细,想要对此字有进一步了解的人,可以自行去查考。基本上YHWH,发音应该是近似「雅威」,都是希伯来文,是圣经中上帝的名字。由「雅威」变成「耶和华」,是中世纪以后的事(新旧约都已完成)。因此以希腊文写作的新约圣经,自然不会出现错误的音译:「耶和华」。

至于有网友提到「耶威」既然失传为何现在可以知道,这个方面的资料在TWOT的中译本里面也有详细提出(也可以参考里面所附的参考资料)。

以下是检索的相关字词:

耶和华、雅威、YHWH、TWOT编号 484、Strong number 03068

以下节录自「旧约神学辞典」,华神出版社(TWOT的中文翻译本)

本字根意思是「存在」或「发展」,原文是由四个子音字母组成,意思是「主」。是圣经中神的名字。

THWH起先没有相称的希伯来文元音,不过参照其它的资料,此字比较可能的读法是「YaHWeH」(亦即「雅威」)。

在圣经写成之后的时期,因尊敬这不可名状之名:「雅威」,在犹太人聚会的会堂就念成「adonay」(「我的主」的意思)。到了中世纪,犹太学者开始为旧约的子音经文加上元音时,就加上了「adonay」的马所拉元音,就变成一个原文所不可能的念法「YaHoWaH」(翻译就是「耶和华」)


以下是 The Jerome Biblical Commentary 的说法

11 (D) Yahweh. This is the personal name of the God of Israel. The pronunciation "Yahweh" has been recovered in recent times. In the Hebr Bible the name is written with the four consonants (Tetragrammaton) YHWH and the vowels of the word adonai (adonai ="lord"梐t some time in the late pre-Christian centuries Jews ceased to pronounce the sacred name out of an exaggerated reverence, and said instead Adonai). This combination produced the non-word Jehovah that appeared in the AV.

以下是另一本参考资料:

Achtemier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper抯 Bible Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.) 1985.

Yahweh. The most important name for God in the ot is the tetragrammaton YHWH (occurs about 6,800 times), usually pronounced Yahweh,?though the known pronunciation was lost in the postexilic period. Due to the increasing sanctity attached to the name and the consequent desire to avoid misuse, the title Adonai (Heb., 扢y Great Lord? Was pronounced in place of the tetragrammaton. In written texts the vowels of Adonai were combined with the consonants YHWH to remind readers to pronounce Adonai instead of Yahweh.

The incorrect hybrid, Jehovah,?arose from Christian misunderstanding in the late Middle Ages. The respect for the sanctity of the personal name of God is reflected in modern Judaism.


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