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Dear Father Angelo,

Why do some people present themselves as  “Jeovah’s witnesses”, rather than “God’s Witnesses”?

The answer from father Angelo

My dear,

1.The Jews didn’t want to even pronounce the name of God, in superstitious fear (J.L. McKenzie, Biblical dictionary, p. 250), because the second commandment states that “You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. For the Lord will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20, 7).

2. God had revealed His name to Moses when He said that He was Yaweh (YHWH), which means “ I am”, or “I am who I am”, or even “I am who that is”. Therefore, when one wanted to say the name of Yaweh (YHWH), which appears 6823 times in the old testament, he should have used other names, such as Eloim and Adonai.

3. Yaweh means “I am”, in accordance with what God said to Moses. 

El (Eloim in its plural form) means God. In  the Old Testament this term is used 2550 times.

Adonai (Aoa) means Lord.

4. But a new name emerged as the combination of the vocals of Yaweh (YHWH) with those of Adonai (Aoa). That’s how the hybrid Jehovah was born.

5. It was probably believed that by using the word Jehovah one wouldn’t be susceptible to the punishments for those who pronounced the Lord’s name in vain. The word Jehovah, however, never appears in Sacred Scripture.

6. It should be noted that in the Hebrew language the word Jesus translates as Yeshua, or Yehoshua, and it means ‘God saves’. No wonder if in the past it was said that the name of Jesus derives from the Hebrew Yeovah, which means ‘God saves’. 

7. So when Yeovah’s witnesses use this name thinking that it refers solely to God, in fact they apply it to Jesus Christ and implicitly declare what they openly deny: that Jesus Christ is God, the God that Saves.

I bless you and will remember you in my prayers,

Father Angelo