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To: jmax

It’s a Jewish tradition of not using the Hebrew name for God, it has nothing to do with political correctness.


33 posted on 05/26/2012 6:53:10 AM PDT by MikeSteelBe (Austrian Hitler was, as the Halfrican Hitler does.)
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To: MikeSteelBe

Right!

IIRC, Jewish folks use “YHWH”, called the “Tetragammaton” (Greek = Four Letters), as the Name of God. Ancient Hebrew writing does not use vowels.

YHWH is usually translated as Jehovah or Yahweh.

Folks who write G_d are just being reverent.

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_Two/Introduction/introduction.html

“Unlike English, however, the Hebrew alphabet is a consonantal one: there are no separate letters for vowels in the written alphabet (though some letters, in particular Vav and Yod, can function as “consonantal vowels”). This does not mean, of course, that vowels are not used in Hebrew. In fact, it is impossible to say anything at all without vowel sounds. But ancient Hebrew contained no written vowels as distinct letter forms: the actual vowel sounds were “added” to the reading by means of oral tradition and long-established usage.

As an experiment, try reading the following:

Lv th Lrd yr Gd wth ll yr hrt

If you were able to “figure out” that the above string of letters reads “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,” (Deut 6:5), then you might be able to see how a language could be entirely made up of consonants—with the reader supplying the missing vowels.”


39 posted on 05/26/2012 7:14:24 AM PDT by BwanaNdege (Man has often lost his way, but modern man has lost his address - Gilbert K. Chesterton)
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To: MikeSteelBe; BwanaNdege
>>> "Folks who write G_d are just being reverent." <<<

>> "It’s a Jewish tradition of not using the Hebrew name for God, it has nothing to do with political correctness." <<<

Thank you both for the explanation. Makes me feel better.

42 posted on 05/26/2012 7:29:40 AM PDT by jmax (Be warned....I'm armed. Round is chambered, full magazine is inserted, safety is off.)
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