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Author Topic: Why doesn't the Vulgate use YHWH (LORD)?  (Read 2221 times)

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Offline AnthonyPadua

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Why doesn't the Vulgate use YHWH (LORD)?
« on: December 26, 2023, 08:50:42 AM »
Why did the Fathers/Church not keep the Divine Name in scripture?

Re: Why doesn't the Vulgate use YHWH (LORD)?
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2023, 11:20:37 AM »
I would assume that as the Vulgate (for point of reference, the Church now uses the Sixto-Clementine or Clementine Vulgate, the 1592 revision of St. Jerome's Vulgate) is a translation of Greek and Hebrew texts into Latin, the corresponding Latin words would be used.

From some quick "look-it-up": Yahweh and Jehovah are older English representations of YHWH.  The only English bible I know of that uses the word "Yahweh" in the Old Testament is the Jerusalem Bible (it's revision in the late 1980's is the New Jerusalem Bible).  I did a quick check of a few passages where Yahweh is used in the New Jerusalem.  In the Vulgate it is translated as Domnius and in the Douay-Rheims (Bishop Challoner revision) it is rendered as Lord.




Offline Matthew

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Re: Why doesn't the Vulgate use YHWH (LORD)?
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2023, 11:30:13 AM »
I assume you're just curious, so please don't take this personally.

But when you think about it, a decent answer would be "It was good enough for the Catholic Church for centuries; it's good enough for me."

Frankly, there are some things I just don't question. I trust. Yes, I have some trust left. Some may be jealous ;)

It's a testament to the depth and length of the Crisis that we Catholics find ourselves questioning literally EVERYTHING, going back further and further in search of goodness, truth, and purity, trusting literally NO ONE along the way.

Sad, and tragic.

But we have to keep our head on straight. The Catholic Church up to Vatican II we can trust. A few foibles here and there due to its human instruments, yes -- but in its core, the Catholic Church is the Bride of Christ and chosen vessel of Truth, founded by Christ Himself and maintained by His own promise to St. Peter.

Offline Ladislaus

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Re: Why doesn't the Vulgate use YHWH (LORD)?
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2023, 11:42:40 AM »
I assume you're just curious, so please don't take this personally.

Knowing Anthony (only from his posting), I imagine he's just asking why and not questioning its validity.

Prots try to turn Yahweh into some proper name, but the entire point of the expression by God was to say that He HAS NO NAME.  Names define the essences of things, but God has no essence, only an existence, so to use "Yahweh" as if it were some kind of name directly contradicts what God was trying to reveal when He said, "I am Who am."  Nevertheless, a designation for "I am Who am" (as referring to God) needs to be there as a placeholder for its appearance in various grammatical constructions, so the Hebrews inserted "Adonai"  in place of Yahweh when reading or explicating the text, since the Divine Name (or, rather Non-Name) was ineffable and unknowable.

So, the bottom line is that it's a mistake to think of "Yahweh" as some kind of name, or, as you put it, the "Divine Name", when it's really a Divine Non-Name, i.e. a reference to God denying that He has a name at all.

Offline AnthonyPadua

  • Supporter
Re: Why doesn't the Vulgate use YHWH (LORD)?
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2023, 05:17:14 PM »
I assume you're just curious, so please don't take this personally.

But when you think about it, a decent answer would be "It was good enough for the Catholic Church for centuries; it's good enough for me."

Frankly, there are some things I just don't question. I trust. Yes, I have some trust left. Some may be jealous ;)

It's a testament to the depth and length of the Crisis that we Catholics find ourselves questioning literally EVERYTHING, going back further and further in search of goodness, truth, and purity, trusting literally NO ONE along the way.

Sad, and tragic.

But we have to keep our head on straight. The Catholic Church up to Vatican II we can trust. A few foibles here and there due to its human instruments, yes -- but in its core, the Catholic Church is the Bride of Christ and chosen vessel of Truth, founded by Christ Himself and maintained by His own promise to St. Peter.
A heretic keeps bothering me with the question so I am trying to shut them down.