Was God's name removed from the Bible?

[suihcteg]

I’ve heard attacks on any Bible that does not use the name Yahweh, citing that the letters YHWY were used thousands of times in the original text. If that name was important enough that it was used thousands of times, why was it replaced by the term God? I don’t really know how to answer that question.

 

[puzzleannie]

The name of God as revealed to Moses was never deleted from the original Hebrew scriptures because it never appeared there, but was replaced on his direct command by words and symbols, Adonai, Lord, that replaced the actual Name, too holy and sacred to commit to human writing. Hebrew btw is written without vowels, which is how YHWH comes to be expressed in English letters. In Catholic tranlations of the Bible into other languages, some of which such as the Jerusalem bible have used the Name in the past, it has indeed been replaced with Lord or another term as a mark of respect for the Jews, whose gift the Hebrew Scriptures are to us, and to honor their adherence to the original command not to speak or write the most holy Name.

 

[Fidelis]

The name of God as revealed to Moses was never deleted from the original Hebrew scriptures because it never appeared there, but was replaced on his direct command by words and symbols, Adonai, Lord, that replaced the actual Name, too holy and sacred to commit to human writing. Hebrew btw is written without vowels, which is how YHWH comes to be expressed in English letters. In Catholic tranlations of the Bible into other languages, some of which such as the Jerusalem bible have used the Name in the past, it has indeed been replaced with Lord or another term as a mark of respect for the Jews, whose gift the Hebrew Scriptures are to us, and to honor their adherence to the original command not to speak or write the most holy Name.

That’s right. In most English Old Testament translations, you usually see the word “Lord” rendered in two different ways. When it is rendered as simply “Lord”, the Hebrew word behind it is usually adonai. When it is rendered all in caps-- LORD-- it is a replacement for the divine name, YHWH, for the reasons that Puzzleannie mentioned.

Here is an example of both uses from 2 Samuel, chapter 1, which recounts the news of Saul’s death being brought to David:

10 So I stood beside him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen; and I took the crown which was on his head and the armlet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord." 11 Then David took hold of his clothes, and rent them; and so did all the men who were with him; 12 and they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.