Why did the authors of the New Testament, including Paul, not transliterate the divine name "יהוה" into "Yahweh" like some modern translators do?
The authors of the New Testament, including Paul, were writing in Greek and were following the tradition of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.
In the Septuagint, the divine name "יהוה" is consistently translated as "κύριος" meaning "Lord" in Greek, rather than being transliterated into a specific pronunciation like "Yahweh".
This tradition was continued by the New Testament authors, who followed the Septuagint's rendering of the divine name.
Additionally, the reverence for the divine name in ancient Jewish tradition may have also played a role in this decision.
The modern transliteration "Yahweh" is an attempt to approximate the original pronunciation of the Hebrew name, but it is not certain how the name was pronounced in ancient times.
The decision not to use "Yahweh" in the New Testament may also reflect the linguistic and cultural context of the authors, who were writing in Greek and addressing both Jewish and Gentile audiences.
How the word “God” is pronounced in the language of Jesus?
The language spoken by Jesus and the people of his time was Aramaic. In Aramaic, the word for "God" is "Alaha" (ܐܒܐ). This is the term Jesus likely used when referring to God. It is important to note that Aramaic has different dialects, so the exact pronunciation might vary slightly depending on the specific dialect spoken in Jesus' region.
