Bible Translation Decisions - God's Name

One of the most influential Bible translation decisions in history is also one of the strangest. This was the decision to not translate or transliterate the name of God used in the Old Testament - Yahweh. "Yahweh" appears 6828 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, far more than any other name and nearly three times as much as "Elohim" (God). Since Yahweh is a name, one would normally expect to see it or something close to it in translations.  Instead, in most modern English Bibles, Yahweh is translated as "The LORD," with LORD in all capital letters.

This translation decision did not originate in English translations. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament made before the time of Christ, rendered Yahweh with the Greek word "Kurios," meaning Lord. Kurios does not always refer to a divine being, but can also be an earthly lord or master. The Septuagint was a translation made by Jews, and perhaps the Jewish custom of not speaking the name of Yahweh out loud figured into this translation decision. The Greek New Testament continued the tradition, as did the Latin Vulgate, which uses "Dominus." More recently, the Holmann Christian Standard Bible chose to use "Yahweh" in some places (such as Exodus 6:3), yet it retains the usage of "The LORD" in most places.

This translation decision is too nearly unanimous and has too much church tradition behind it to call it seriously into question. Still, it has some disadvantages. Some passages have a confusing sound: "The LORD said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool" (Psalm 110:1, quoted also in Luke 20:42). Who is speaking, who is listening and who are they talking about? It would be easier to understand if the translation was "Yahweh said to my master..."

Also, in English, the words "Lord" and "God" are completely interchangeable - most any sentence that uses one of those words could use the other instead. However, the usage of the Hebrew originals "Yahweh" (The LORD) and "Elohim" (God) are very different. We tend to lose this distinction, possibly due to the translation decision. For example, Yahweh is used in an Israelite context (Daniel 9) and Elohim is used in a Gentile context (Daniel 1-8, 10-12). Elohim is used in a creation context (Genesis 1, Psalms 19:1) and Yahweh is used in a lawgiver/judge context (Genesis 2 and 3, Psalms 19:7). Because Yahweh is a personal name and Elohim is a title, the use of Yahweh is usually more personal than Elohim.

The best thing a non-Hebrew reader of the Bible can do is look for and notice the distinction between "The LORD" and "lord." The first is the translation of the name, Yahweh, while the second is a translation of "adonai," a word which can mean either a divine or an earthly master.