When Moses was instructed to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt he asked God who he should say had sent him. God replied, "...Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Exodus 3:14.
The Hebrew word "I AM" is written YHWH. This is because the ancient Hebrew writing did not include written vowels such as the English a,e,i,o and u. Their language was only written in consonants. When a Hebrew word was read out loud, the reader simply added in the necessary vowel as he spoke. However, when this name of God (YHWH) was to be read, it received special treatment. Instead of adding in the vowels, the speaker substituted in a whole new word or simply left it blank. This was because of the sacredness they attached to the word YHWH and their fear of profaning the name of God. Therefore the reader would say the word "Lord" instead of YHWH when he read it. This worked well until the use of the ancient Hebrew language died out. People forgot what vowels were to be used when they pronounced the words.
In the 7th century, to preserve their ancient language, a group of Jewish scholars called the Masoretes inserted vowels with the words. However, when they came to YHWH they included the vowels for the word "Lord" which is spelled "Adonai." This error was made worse when the English Bible translators from the 12th century on, unknowingly made the combination of the two words into the new word "Jehovah" or YHWH plus Adonai. The word Jehovah is an invention of the English Bible translators that has the consonants of one word and the vowels of another.
The word YHWH occurs over 6,800 times in the Old Testament. The King James Translators generally translated the word as "Lord". However, examples of the word translated as "Jehovah" can be found in Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18 and Isaiah 12:2. It is ironic that today the proper pronunciation of the word still remains a mystery. The one word that people would not dare say has become the word they cannot say.
Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

There is never a charge for my articles, and if you have a good reason, there is no limit to how many you may request. However, if you find them valuable you may want to order my latest book, History, Mystery and Facts About the Bible. Order at 1-800-845-7618 (ext. 301). You may also order from Amazon.com. Proceeds from the book go to support this ministry.

Blessings!
Marvin Hunt

Http://www.biblehistory.com

p.s. A new column is posted weekly. Be sure and bookmark the site or put it on your favorites list.