ZECHARIAH CHAPTER 6: A SIMPLE EXEGESIS BASED ON GRAMMATICAL OBSERVTIONS OF THE HEBREW TEXT

Read exegesis of Zechariah 7, click here. 

Zechariah chapter 6

A simple exegesis based on grammatical observations of the Hebrew text

By Stephen Ng

Zech. 6:1‏ וָאָשֻׁ֗ב וָאֶשָּׂ֤א עֵינַי֙ וָֽאֶרְאֶ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֨ה אַרְבַּ֤ע מַרְכָּבוֹת֙ יֹֽצְא֔וֹת מִבֵּ֖ין שְׁנֵ֣י הֶֽהָרִ֑ים וְהֶהָרִ֖ים הָרֵ֥י נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃

‎Zech. 6:2‏ בַּמֶּרְכָּבָ֥ה הָרִֽאשֹׁנָ֖ה סוּסִ֣ים אֲדֻמִּ֑ים וּבַמֶּרְכָּבָ֥ה הַשֵּׁנִ֖ית סוּסִ֥ים שְׁחֹרִֽים׃

‎Zech. 6:3‏ וּבַמֶּרְכָּבָ֥ה הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖ית סוּסִ֣ים לְבָנִ֑ים וּבַמֶּרְכָּבָה֙ הָרְבִעִ֔ית סוּסִ֥ים בְּרֻדִּ֖ים אֲמֻצִּֽים׃

‎Zech. 6:4‏ וָאַ֙עַן֙ וָֽאֹמַ֔ר אֶל־הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ הַדֹּבֵ֣ר בִּ֑י מָה־אֵ֖לֶּה אֲדֹנִֽי׃

‎Zech. 6:5‏ וַיַּ֥עַן הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֑י אֵ֗לֶּה אַרְבַּע֙ רֻח֣וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם יוֹצְא֕וֹת מֵֽהִתְיַצֵּ֖ב עַל־אֲד֥וֹן כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

‎Zech. 6:6‏ אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֞הּ הַסּוּסִ֣ים הַשְּׁחֹרִ֗ים יֹֽצְאִים֙ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ צָפ֔וֹן וְהַלְּבָנִ֔ים יָצְא֖וּ אֶל־אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֑ם וְהַ֨בְּרֻדִּ֔ים יָצְא֖וּ אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ הַתֵּימָֽן׃

‎Zech. 6:7‏ וְהָאֲמֻצִּ֣ים יָצְא֗וּ וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙ לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ לְהִתְהַלֵּ֣ך בָּאָ֔רֶץ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לְכ֖וּ הִתְהַלְּכ֣וּ בָאָ֑רֶץ וַתִּתְהַלַּ֖כְנָה בָּאָֽרֶץ׃

‎Zech. 6:8‏ וַיַּזְעֵ֣ק אֹתִ֔י וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֵלַ֖י לֵאמֹ֑ר רְאֵ֗ה הַיּֽוֹצְאִים֙ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ צָפ֔וֹן הֵנִ֥יחוּ אֶת־רוּחִ֖י בְּאֶ֥רֶץ צָפֽוֹן׃ ס

‎Zech. 6:9‏ וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃

‎Zech. 6:10‏ לָק֙וֹחַ֙ מֵאֵ֣ת הַגּוֹלָ֔ה מֵחֶלְדַּ֕י וּמֵאֵ֥ת טוֹבִיָּ֖ה וּמֵאֵ֣ת יְדַֽעְיָ֑ה וּבָאתָ֤ אַתָּה֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא וּבָ֗אתָ בֵּ֚ית יֹאשִׁיָּ֣ה בֶן־צְפַנְיָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֖אוּ מִבָּבֶֽל׃

‎Zech. 6:11‏ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ כֶֽסֶף־וְזָהָ֖ב וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ עֲטָר֑וֹת וְשַׂמְתָּ֗ בְּרֹ֛אשׁ יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ בֶּן־יְהוֹצָדָ֖ק הַכֹּהֵ֥ן הַגָּדֽוֹל׃

‎Zech. 6:12‏ וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת לֵאמֹ֑ר הִנֵּה־אִ֞ישׁ צֶ֤מַח שְׁמוֹ֙ וּמִתַּחְתָּ֣יו יִצְמָ֔ח וּבָנָ֖ה אֶת־הֵיכַ֥ל יְהוָֽהּ׃

‎Zech. 6:13‏ וְ֠הוּא יִבְנֶ֞ה אֶת־הֵיכַ֤ל יְהוָה֙ וְהֽוּא־יִשָּׂ֣א ה֔וֹד וְיָשַׁ֥ב וּמָשַׁ֖ל עַל־כִּסְא֑וֹ וְהָיָ֤ה כֹהֵן֙ עַל־כִּסְא֔וֹ וַעֲצַ֣ת שָׁל֔וֹם תִּהְיֶ֖ה בֵּ֥ין שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃

‎Zech. 6:14‏ וְהָעֲטָרֹ֗ת תִּֽהְיֶה֙ לְחֵ֙לֶם֙ וּלְטוֹבִיָּ֣ה וְלִידַֽעְיָ֔ה וּלְחֵ֖ן בֶּן־צְפַנְיָ֑ה לְזִכָּר֖וֹן בְּהֵיכַ֥ל יְהוָֽה׃

‎Zech. 6:15‏ וּרְחוֹקִ֣ים ׀ יָבֹ֗אוּ וּבָנוּ֙ בְּהֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֔ה וִידַעְתֶּ֕ם כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה֙ אִם־שָׁמ֣וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְע֔וּן בְּק֖וֹל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ ס

  

         Let me begin by saying this is a novice’s attempt to exegete Zechariah chapter 6 strictly based on the grammatical observations of the Hebrew text. This is a simplified version of an exegesis, not meant for academic grading but for general reading. Please do not take this 100% accurate interpretation of the text, but merely as an attempt at the Hebrew text. Efforts are made to refine my ability to exegete using the Hebrew text. Of course, it would help you to appreciate this exegesis better when you can read the Hebrew text for yourself.

         Chapter 6 of Zechariah is divided into two sections with a minor break represented by the letter Samech ס which was probably inserted by the Masoretic scholars at the end of verse 8 and subsequently at end of verse 15.

         The first passage (6:1-8) is on God’s judgement and the second passage (6:9-15) highlights the New Branch.

 

Verse 1

         Verse 1 begins with the prophet Zechariah telling us what he saw (ראה): four chariots (מַרְכָּבוֹת֙) going out from between two bronze mountains. From carvings of chariots in the Temple we understand it is a display of power, as the cherubim are known to ride on them (BDB).

         The Masoretic cantillation Athnah, which divides this verse into two parts of equal weightage, is at the word הֶֽהָרִ֑ים (the mountains), leaving behind only three words; herein, is the emphasis that this vision was about God’s judgement.

וְהֶהָרִ֖ים הָרֵ֥י נְחֹֽשֶׁת

         This clause refers to the two mountains which are described as ‘the mountains of bronze.’ Bronze is usually associated with judgement (see Numbers 21:9 ‘bronze serpent’); hence, this vision of the four chariots is associated with God’s judgement.

 

Verses 2 & 3

         In these two verses, Zechariah tells us that each chariot is accompanied by horses of four different colours: red (אֲדֻמִּ֑ים), black (שְׁחֹרִֽים), white (לְבָנִ֑ים) and dappled (בְּרֻדִּ֖ים).

         Although mentioned in different orders, these four coloured horses appear again but in the singular form in Revelations 6; whereas chariots are mentioned in Zechariah’s vision, in John’s vision, the horses are seen with their riders.

         Unless clearly revealed by Scriptures, any attempt to interpret the meanings of each colour can only be speculative. However, their roles are obvious as explained by the angel: to judge the world.

 

		Biblia Hebraica	Septuagint	NA28 Greek
Zech 6:2	Red	אֲדֻמִּ֑ים	πυρροί	λευκός	White	Rev 6:2
Zech 6:2	Black	שְׁחֹרִים	μέλανες	πυρρός	Red	Rev 6:4
Zech 6:3	White	לְבָנִים	λευκοί	μέλας	Black	Rev 6:5
Zech 6:3	Strong Dappled	בְּרֻדִּים אֲמֻצִּים	ποικίλοι	χλωρός	Ashen	Rev 6:7

 

 

Verses 4-8

         Verses 4-8 is a dialogue between Zechariah and the angel, who reveals who these horses and their chariots are. They are the four spirits of the heavens (רֻחוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם) who stand (מֵהִתְיַצֵּב) before the Lord. ‘הִתְיַצֵּב’ being the Hithpael (intensive, reflexive form) of יצב, would be better translated as ‘spirits in attendance’ (similar to the serjeant-at-arm in a legislature).

         Here, we see that the horses and their chariots are sent forth to different corners of the earth their specific roles:

	Colour of Horses	Roles Played	Ref
הַסּוּסִים הַשְּׁחֹרִים	Black horses	North country; “appeased My wrath in the land of the north.”	Zech 6:6, 8
הַלְּבָנִים	White (horses)	Followed after the black horses	Zech 6:6
בְּרֻדִּים אֲמֻצִּים	Strong dappled (horses)	South country; patrol the earth	Zech 6:6, 7
	Red (horses)	NOTE: Scripture is silent about the role they are supposed to be playing.

 

         The strong dappled horses (בְּרֻדִּים אֲמֻצִּים) are assigned to patrol the earth. The word ‘patrol’ is translated from the Hithpael form (הִתְהַלֵּך). This is an intensive, reflexive form of the verb, ‘to walk’ or ‘to go’.

         The use of the Hithpael shows the intensity of which the horses obey fully God’s command; the Athnah in verse 7 here also suggests the emphasis given to the last two words with equal weightage to the first 10 words. During their patrol, there is peace throughout the entire earth.

וַתִּתְהַלַּכְנָה בָּאָרֶץ׃

(Translated: ‘So they patrolled the earth.’)

         Whether these four chariots and their horses represent the different empires before and during Jesus’ ministry of earth is merely a matter of speculation. We will not delve into something of this nature, but to keep an open mind that if it any prophecy is yet to be fulfilled, when it is fulfilled, God will bring to mind what He had foretold.

Verses 9-15

         Verse 9 marks the shift of focus toיְהוָה  and His dialogue with the prophet, Zechariah. The main theme is now about the Branch (צֶמַח). The message is apparently to raise hope for the people who had returned from the land of Babylon during the post-exilic era (see verse 10).

         A crown (עֲטָרוֹה (absolute form))[1], usually meant for a king, is to be placed on the High Priest, Joshua the son of Jehozadak. Why? Obviously, it is because Joshua, being a type (or foreshadow) of the Messiah who was to come, foreshadows the kingly priesthood role that this Branch would be given. This role was fulfilled by One Man.

         When Jesus came, He lived under the Law and fulfilled all the requirements under the Law. He was found blameless and without sin. Having lived a perfect life according to the Law, He laid His life as a sacrifice as an atonement (for which Yom Kippur foreshadowed), not for His own sins, but for the sins of those whom He came to deliver. Just before He gave up His spirit, He uttered a very significant last word τετέλεσται (as recorded in koine Greek, translated as, “It is finished!”). This word, which can also be translated as ‘It is accomplished, completed; performed, carried out!’ remind us that Jesus came, not to abolish, but to fulfil all the requirements under the Law, so that by the cross, He sets us free from the condemnation and servitude under the Law and sin, and that we may now live in the Spirit. Believers can now say, “We are no longer under law but under grace. We live by the Spirit, not under the Torah.”

         The significance of this merger of both offices of the king and priest is further explained by the writer to the Hebrews (see Hebrews 7:11, 15, 17):

Heb. 7:14 Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?

Heb. 7:15 And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek,

Heb. 7:17 For it is attested of Him,

         “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER

         ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.”

        

         Here, we see the importance of the Branch. It means a new lease of life, a new beginning. In verse 12 we read that His Name will be known as the Branch.

הִנֵּה־אִישׁ צֶמַח שְׁמוֹ

 וּמִתַּחְתָּיו יִצְמָח

 וּבָנָה אֶת־הֵיכַל יְהוָהּ׃

         The word יִצְמָח is the qal imperfect third masculine singular (3ms) that can be translated as ‘to grow, sprout.’ The branch is not just another branch of the tree, but has the potential of growing into a full blown tree after the old tree is truncated.

         Verse 13, “וְהוּא יִבְנֶה אֶת־הֵיכַל יְהוָה” tells us that our Lord Himself would build the temple (הֵיכַל יְהוָה), a reference to the ἐκκλησίαν, often translated as church (John 2:19-21; Matthew 16:18). Christ told His adversaries that, if Herod’s temple were destroyed, He would raise up the temple in three days; a reference to His resurrection. Because ἐκκλησίαν refers to the universality of the body of Christ, it is no longer the physical Jewish or Jerusalem temple that we are looking forward to, but the temple in the spiritual sense – the body of Christ – that is built from God’s people, both Jews and Gentiles. Prophetically, the temple will no longer be a physical building but the idea of God living with us.

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them (Revelations 21:3).

         There is no more division between Jews and Gentiles; in this new temple (בְּהֵיכַל), God’s chosen people (or the elect) are no longer of a particular cultural or ethnic identity as seen from verse 15:וּרְחוֹקִים יָבֹאוּ וּבָנוּ בְּהֵיכַל יְהוָה. Therefore, it is obvious that Zechariah was NOT – I emphasise again, NOT referring to a physical temple – either Herod’s temple or a third temple to be built at the physical site on Mount Moriah, which we will see the “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (Matthew 24:15). We should not be eagerly waiting for the third Jerusalem temple to be built and flocking to it, as the Lord warned “those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains” (.

         The new temple of the LORD (בְּהֵיכַל יְהוָה), which Zechariah speaks about is fulfilled, where Christ now holds the office of both King and High Priest. For this reason, we now understand better why the writer to the Hebrews (in Heb 5:10, 6:20, 7:10-17) said that we have a High Priest, who no longer comes under the order of the Levitical priesthood but after the order of the king of righteousness, Melchizedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק).

         We are now being made members of this royal priesthood.

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9)

         In the Old Testament times, the High Priest could only enter into the Holy of Holies once a year during Yom Kippur, but after the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn into two, our High Priest and King, our Lord Jesus Himself, now sits on the throne.

         We see in this last verse of chapter 6 that YHWH was not interested to tell the people when this prophecy of the Branch would be fulfilled. Instead, the emphasis was on the obedience to the voice of the LORD:

אִם־שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּן בְּקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃

         The word ‘obedience’ is a conjugation of the root word, Shema (שׁמע), which is translated as ‘hear’ – the same word used in the Shema Yis’rael (“Hear, O Israel that the Lord is one”). Obedience and hearing the voice of YHWH is more important than to know when things will take place as prophesied.

Summary

         From this chapter, we see two important events, one following the other. The judgement of God executed by the four chariots and the coloured horses had preceded the coming of the Branch. And when the Branch appeared, He would build a temple that are no longer the physical temple but the ἐκκλησίαν which are not confined to any one particular ethnicity. Having become part of His temple or ἐκκλησίαν, we look forward to the New Jerusalem, where there is no longer a physical temple but God dwelling in our midst. This is the glorious hope that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord!

 Read exegesis of Zechariah 7, click here. 

END

 

 

 

 

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[1] The word is translated into Greek Septuagint as στεφάνους, from whence the name Stephen was derived

DOES THE WAY HOW THE JEWS TREAT THE HOLY NAME BASED ON SCRIPTURES?

 

If you look at the tetragrammaton in the Hebrew text יְהוָה, I am beginning to question the practice of not reading the Name. The Jews, for example, would not pronounce the Name but would replace it with the word Adonai, which means, "My Great Lord."

         I have no firm convictions yet and I would not like some who say, "God spoke to me about this," but we need to see how the Name appears in the Hebrew text. 

        For example, לַיהוָה (appears 580 times in the entire Tanakh. Examples: Gen 12:8, 13:18) and בַּיהוָה (appears 107 times in the Old Testament. Examples: Micah 7:7). The Name is used along with a preposition!

        Would this not raise an eyebrow when a preposition can be attached to the Most Holy Name? This is not from any book but from the Word of God itself! 

        If you think about it, the Talmudic Jews' tradition would never have allowed this to happen. They would not even mention the Name Yehovah or Yahweh, but how can we attach a preposition to the Most Holy Name?

        Could it be -- and I don't know for now -- that the tradition of the Talmudic Jews is overdone by the Talmudic Jews themselves? 

        We also see in Exodus 3:14 that even God did not give Moses His Name, because there is no Name that can fully represent who He is. That's why He merely told Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." 

        Let's give this more thoughts and stay faithful to the Hebrew text. For now, I think we are following a Talmudic tradition that is, in fact, alien to the teachings of the Bible. Throughout the New Testament, our Lord describes God as 'Our Heavenly Father.' To the Jews, this would be an absolute blasphemy, too! 

        Not everything that the Jew practices is from God's Word. That's a fact! Even Nehemia Gordon in this interview explains his own observations about the red strings tied around someone's hands. 

            If you listen to the lecture by Dr Bill Barrick of Masterskill Seminary, you will see that I have someone who shares the same view: 

        Here is another one that I just found today (Dec 14, 2020). It's worth watching while you are having your meals (multitasking):

BLESSED BE THE LORD OUR GOD: IS HIS NAME JEHOVAH, YEHOVAH OR YAHWEH?

        In recent months, I have started to memorize Sriptures from the original Hebrew text and one of these verses is Isaiah 12:2. 

 הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד כִּי־עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יְהוָה וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה׃

        In the 80s, when I memorized this verse, the King James Version renders it as:

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.

        In the Hebrew text, the Name יָהּ (or Jah) and the tetragrammaton יְהוָה were  used simultaneously. 

        The tetragrammaton יְהוָה that we know and translated as LORD in our Bibles is based on the קְרֵי/  כְּתִיב tradition (i.e. the tetragrammaton is written as יְהוָה Jehovah/Yahweh, but read as אֲדֹנָי  Adonai).

        We must bear in mind that the Hebrew word   אֲדֹנָיis a majestic plural used only for the LORD God, which literally means, "My great Lord." See the definition given in sefaria:

אֲדֹנָי m.n. pl. the Lord, God. [Lit.: ‘my Lord’, the pl. of majesty of אָדוֹן (= Lord), with the suff. of the first person. The spelling with Qamatz serves to distinguish it from אֲדוֹנַי (= my lords).

        Someone asked, "What about יָהּ (or Jah)?" or the tetragrammaton יְהוָה ?"

        As mentioned in my earlier post, I think it does not matter whether יָהּ (or Jah) or the tetragrammaton יְהוָה but that we know who we are referring to. 

        The name has been translated as Jehovah, Yehwah, Yahweh by different scholars. Going by the Hebrew nikud, the closest transliteration that we can get is, in fact, Jehovah (with the J pronounced as a Y) or as some prefer to put it, Yehwah or Yehowah. The Mandarin Bibles also use this name. 

The Fallacy of 'Jehovah as God of wickedness'

       It is a serious matter of blasphemy against the Holy Name of God when there are people who claim that the name is the 'god of the supremely evil,' 'god of calamnity' or 'god of wickedness.' May our LORD have mercy on them.

       I have no intentions whatsoever to raise doubts about their teachings except to contend with these flawed teachings perpetuated by some people who claim to know Hebrew: 

        (1)  Edlin Abraham:

    

        This video clip is sufficient to caution us against such teachings. 

        (2) This same teaching is being perpetuated by another person Lily Khaw in her Zoom sessions. 

        I quote her verbatim: "Now, is Jehovah innocent, artificial, Latinised name? It is a harmless traditional hybrid name? Is that so?

        "This is one question I want you to take a look at it. Now, I want to tell you here, as the mouthpiece of God, I want to tell you, it is not! It is not innocent. It is not harmless. It is not merely a hybrid name. It is not. It has a deeper meaning to it." 

        Then, taking the illustration of backmasking of casette tapes (a method of playing the cassette backwards to surface a hidden message), she claims that the Name Jehovah may appear harmless on the surface, but it is "not so innocent." 

        She then claims that the name Jehovah is a combination of two words, quoting from Strong's Concordance: 

• Yah (3050) = God
• Hovah (1943) = ruin, calamnity, mischief, very wickedness

        My simple response: 

        I do not dispute the meaning of these two words. However, you cannot get pineapple by marrying a pine tree with an apple tree. In some cases, words are a hybrid of two individual words (like "appleseed" or even Abraham's name being  the "father of a multitude"), but not in this case the way she has made it up, then claiming that the Holy Name Jehovah is the "god of wickedness."  

         I quote her again verbatim: "If you combine the two words together, Yah-hovah or Jehovah, it is actually God of Wickedness." Any unsuspecting listener would have missed how she happily changes from Yah-hovah to Jehovah just to prove her point; there is, in fact, no basis for the swap of the a-vowel in Yah to the e-vowel-like in Jehovah as the tetragrammaton carries an e-vowel-like in the first syllable (יְהוָה).

        She then repeated this three times, identifying Jehovah as the 'God of Wickedness,' which I think is a serious blasphemy of the Holy Name of God.

      This is the folly of someone trying to combine two words that are totally unconnected and make the name Jehovah to "sound" like He is the "god of ruin, calamnity, mischief or wickedness."

        I find her explanation strange and too simplistic when she responded to a faculty member of hers who asked, "What about the name Yehowah in Chinese Bibles?" She replied (quoted verbatim), "Yeah, there is one scripture that is full of Jehovah. You know the 'New World Translation.' Straightaway, he said, 'Ah, that's a cult!' (referring to Jehovah's Witnesses)." 

        To such a point, my question is: "Do we not have the word Elohim in the Hebrew text that can refer to either the God of Israel, or even the gods of the Canaanites?" This does not mean that the Elohim who created the world is the same as the Canaanite gods. Having the same names does not mean that everyone with the name John Smith is the same John Smith that I know. Therefore, we cannot equate Jehovah of the Bible with the Jehovah of the Jehovah's witnesses. 

        

        Her reason for persuading people to drop the name Jehovah is because she claims that the sound you make carries the meaning "God of wickedness" or "God of ruin". This is simply a lack of understanding of the etymology of the tetragrammaton יהוה. 

        If sound is what she claims to be the same as 'god of wickedness' or 'god of ruin', there are words that have similar sound in different languages. Going by her rationale, for those of us who know Cantonese, shouldn't both Malachi and Haggai immediately drop their names, since these names pronounced in Cantonese sound like, "skinny chicken" and "black chicken," respectively? 
       To further illustrate my point, there is a word in Greek that is translated as 'I toil/ labour.' Now, if you go to the coffee shop and you shout out κοπιαω to tell everyone that you have been working very hard for the entire week, you will see a cup of kopi-o on your table. You just cannot equate a word from one language with word of another language. Words may sound alike, but they have totally different meanings. This is the fallacy of people who have been spreading rumours that the name Allah cannot be used just because there is a word in Hebrew אָלָ֔ה (Zech 5:3) that sounds the same, but meaning 'curse.' To these people, I said there is also a word in Greek αλλα which means 'but' and in Hebrew, we have a word in Genesis 1:1 בְרֵשִׁית which means 'beginning' and has nothing to do with the human or animal excretion. 

        Only those who have been brought up with the idea that the number four is a taboo for the Cantonese just because it sounds like "death" in Cantonese would come out with a theory that tries to relate God's Name as the 'god of destruction' or 'god of wickedness.' Why not suggest that all chapters four in the books of the Bible be changed to Chapters 3A just because four in Cantonese sounds almost the same as death.

        I wish to reiterate that our Heavenly Father, our LORD Jehovah is not the god of wickedness and to say that He is the god of wickedness, it is nothing but a blasphemy of the Name of God. 

        If she were correct in her interpretation, millions of believers at a time when the KJV used the Holy Name of Jehovah would now be in Hell. Far be it! To say that the Holy Name of Jehovah is the 'god of the supremely evil' or the 'god of wickedness' is nothing but a blasphemy. 

More Errors

        She quoted the work of Emil Gustav Hirsch, a major Reform Movement (Jewish) Rabbi in the US, that it was "grammatically impossible to transliterate 'Jehovah' from YHWH." My question is, "Why not?" 

        יְהוָה

       יְ - yә

       ה 

     וָה - vâ or wa

        According to Jewish biblical scholar, Nehemia Gordon, one of the actual pronunciation of the Name was intentionally hidden from the Gentiles. However, based on his research, Gordon found six Masoretic manuscripts where there were slip-ups in the copying process where the יהוה were copied with the full vowels for 'Jehovah' (fastforward the video below to 52:47 min). "The full vowels are never Yahweh," Gordon claims. Gordon reveals that he also found eleven rabbis who told him that the name is pronounced as Yehovah (listen to the video from 54:27 min onwards). 

        Now, for this lady to then claim that Jehovah is a mispronunciation caused by "Christian theologians," is simply irresponsible. 

        Her attempts to squeeze in the Hebrew vowels (or nikuds) from the word Adonai and Elohim into the tetragrammaton (יהוה) to give it a different קְרֵי/  כְּתִיב rendition to the same tetragrammaton is done to show why the name should not be pronounced as Yehovah or Jehovah.  

        There are also others who say that the Name Jehovah should not be used because it is used by the Jehovah Witnesses. This is ridiculous as the word Elohim is also used in the Bible to refer to the gods of the Canaanite. Does that mean we drop the Name Elohim from Genesis 1:1?

        Dr Bill Barrick in his lecture (watch from time 15:00 min - 30:00 min) explained very well about the Name Jehovah. He explains how although he prefers the name Yahweh, the Name Jehovah was formed using the vowels in Adonai to the tetragrammaton. I agree with him on this.

        In fact, Weingreen also explains it very well in his book, "A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew" (page 23). The name Jehovah or Yehovah, although impossible form of the tetragrammaton, is just a combination of the tetragrammaton with the vowels of Adonai. 

       

        Therefore, although I do not use the name or even Yahweh in my worship, whenever I sing the Scripture chorus, "Jehovah Jireh, My Provider" I have no problem using the name Jehovah. Just because the sound of the Name appears similar to something else, let us not bring God's Name to the point of blasphemy calling our God the god of wickedness. (Read until the end of this article and you will understand why).

Source: Weingreen, page 23

        My response: This clearly shows her lack of understanding of the Hebrew language and how it works:

        (A) It is more appropriate to say that a verb becomes a qal imperfect when the yod carries a segol as in the word יֶאֱהַב (meaning, 'he loves') in Prov 3:12. 

        (B) She has failed to convince me how the hiriq in Elohim makes the last syllable which is 'vih' or 'wih' to suddenly sound as 'him' (as in Elohim). Or, how qamats-hey in Adonai can become a qamats-hey. All except that this is a קְרֵי/  כְּתִיב rendition to the tetragrammaton; but everyone knows that in the standard Hebrew text words such as יֶהֹוִה simply do not exist!  

    Going a bit further, the name יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonathan) means, 'God gives.' The first part of the name is, in fact, Yeho where the second syllable clearly carries the o-vowel. יְהוֹנָתָן (Yehonathan) is the Hebrew name for Jonathan in English/ German/Dutch/French/other European languages where the J is pronounced as a Y as in the case of Johann being pronounced as Yohann). The same with the name Jehozadak (יְהוֹצָדָק) and Jehozabad (יְהוֹזָבָד). If Yeho (or Jeho) can be accepted as 'God', there is no reason why the tetragrammaton cannot be read with the missing 'o-vowel' to it as Yehovah or Jehovah.                   

    The  קְרֵי/  כְּתִיב tradition simply means that whenever the Name Jehovah appears in the Scriptures, the Jews would read it as Adonai (Weingreen, 22). In my post here, I pointed out that all things Jewish may not necessarily be correct as the tetragrammaton can be prefixed with some inseparable prepositions! Wouldn't this be something unthinkable for the Jewish mindset but words such as לַיהוָה  appears 580 times through the entire Old Testament).

        At best, this is just her attempt to prove that the name Jehovah is not correct and to then conveniently link it to the 'god of destruction' or 'god of wickedness.'  

      

       Finally, I encourage us to watch this video by Jeff Benner which explains that the Name of God should not cause any unnecessary division in the church, especially when someone claims that the Name which has been used in the Bibles for centuries is, as both persons claim, the 'god of wickeness' and the 'god of the supremely evil.' This is divisive as it touches on the sensitivity of people who have been worshipping God and have identified Him as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, and so on. Millions of people have also been singing the Scripture choruses, "Jehovah Jireh, my Provider..." 

        While having my devotion, I stumbled upon Psalm 40: 5 which appears to have all the Nikud. This could possibly be due to the scribe who copied the manuscript: 

        In my discussion with this lady, I noticed that she is fond of saying, "God spoke to me." The danger of this is, of course, when two persons of opposing views come together and say that God revealed to them something. Which God is the right God or whom has God really spoken to? 

        It is okay for anyone who feels that he/she does not want to use the Name Jehovah, but to call Jehovah the God of Wickedness or the Name of the Supremely Evil is to blaspheme the Name of the LORD. 

        I pray for God's mercy upon all of us that such heresies will not spread and the blasphemies will not be uttered against the Name of our LORD God Jehovah, who alone is the אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (I AM WHO I AM). Amen. 

Read further another blogpost..