Why does the King James version of the Bible remove the divine name of god when the ancient holy scriptures preserved it?

Answer

That is truly a good question. The Ancient Hebrew Scriptures which were inspired by God, did indeed preserve His Divine name. Any thorough research will reveal this. The Christian Greek Scriptures which were used by the Apostle Paul also had God's Divine name in it. It is not clear why the King James Version and other versions removed God's name from the Bible. It could only be found in a few places for instance Psalms 83:18. And more Bibles these days remove it completely.

It goes without wonder why if God wanted us to know all about him then why would he approve of teaching from a source that removes His name. Any other contributions to this question are greatly appreciated!

Answer

Actually it does not remove GOD'S NAME. It does however attempt to pronounce it in english. The Hebrew characters YUD HEY VAV HAY are usually pronounced or spelled YHWH in english. How would one pronounce that. In most Hebrew scriptures the NAME is simply pronunced YAH. The simplest translation of the tetragramaton as it is called is 'I AM'. Which for all practical purposes is 'I WAS' - 'I AM'- 'I WILL BE'

Answer

I think the other answers make good points. I want to add that the KJV was made at a time when English was a much different language, and that the knowledge of its relations to other languages was not fully understood. The way we speak and the way we understnad the words today has changed a lot since 1611.

For example, the traditional KJV describes the shepherds as being "sore afraid," and modern translations say "terrified." From a grammatical standpoint, they're pretty similar, but there are many who will tell you that the latter is more accurate.

But I digress. The name YHWH is usually translated in a particular way for each edition of the Bible. For example, they put LORD in small capital letters, or explain it in footnotes. I don't think it's a matter of removing the name--it's a matter of preserving the mystery of God and the inherent beauty of the scriptures.

More of an opinion, maybe, than an answer, but I felt it should be added.

First answer by Rshelby. Last edit by Landog. Contributor trust: 218 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 60 [recommend question]