Jehovah
English
Etymology
Transliteration of Hebrew יְהֹוָה (yəhōwā), the Masoretic vocalization of the Biblical Hebrew יהוה (variously pronounced). The Masoretic vocalization is a so-called qere perpetuum, the deliberate insertion of the vowels of another word than the one represented by the consonant text, in this case אֲדֹנָי (“my lord”) ('Adonai').
Continuing earlier Iehoua. In English, the name is first attested in 1530, in Tyndale's Bible: I appeared vnto Abraham Isaac and Iacob an allmightie God: but in my name Iehouah was I not knowne vnto them (Exodus 6:3). Tyndale used Iehouah instead of Wycliffe's Adonay. The KJV also has Jehovah in this verse specifically, while it uses Lord otherwise. Young's Literal Translation (1898) has Jehovah. The New King James Version (1982) has Lord.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /d͡ʒəˈhoʊ.və/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /d͡ʒəˈhəʊ.və/
- enPR: jə-hōˈ-və
- Rhymes: -əʊvə
- Hyphenation: Je‧ho‧vah
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Proper noun
Jehovah
- (religion) A transliteration of the Masoretic pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 6:2–3:
- 2 And God spake vnto Moses, and said vnto him, I am the Lord.
3 And I appeared vnto Abraham, vnto Isaac, and vnto Iacob, by the Name of God Almighty, but by my name IEHOVAH was I not knowen to them.
- 2015 July 11, Kimberly Winston, “Serena Williams’ secret weapon: The surprising faith of the Wimbledon champ”, in The Washington Post[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 July 2015, Acts of Faith[2]:
- After Serena Williams’ win at Wimbledon today, she will likely say — as she usually does after a big win — “I want to thank Jehovah God.” […]
“I have to thank Jehovah God for this,” Serena Williams told the crowd after receiving the trophy at the Australian Open in January, her sixth win there.
- 1979, Scene 5: Premature Ejection, in Monty Python's Life of Brian, spoken by High Priest (John Cleese):
- Stop! Stop, will you?! Stop that! Stop it! Now, look! No one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle! Do you understand?! Even, and I want to make this absolutely clear, even if they do say Jehovah.
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Tokelauan: Ieova
Translations
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Noun
Jehovah (plural Jehovahs)
- (informal) A Jehovah's Witness.
- I've never had Jehovahs at my door, but the other day two Mormons came to my door.
Translations
See also
Afrikaans
Proper noun
Jehovah
Portuguese
Proper noun
Jehovah m
- Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of Jeová.
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /xeˈoba/ [xeˈo.β̞a]
- Rhymes: -oba
- Syllabification: Je‧ho‧vah
Proper noun
Jehovah m
- alternative form of Jehová