Tetragrammaton - Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB

In August, 2008, the Bishops received an instruction from the Congregation for Divine Worship concerning the Tetragrammaton, which is Greek for “four letters” and is the code reference to God’s name YHWH as it appears in the Hebrew Bible.

In the liturgy and in Bible translations, the divine name may not be pronounced or rendered as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.” In English it must be either “Lord” or “Lord God.”

This may be appear as an arbitrary decision, something minor and out of the blue, but there are very good reasons for it. From ancient times, the People of God considered the name of God as too sacred to pronounce, and when coming on the Tetragrammaton in the Bible would automatically substitute “Adonai” (Lord or my Lord). This tradition was maintained in the Christian Church.

The first to break with the tradition in English were the translators of the King James Bible (1611) who rendered YHWH as Jehovah (a misunderstanding of the Hebrew vowel pointing). The Catholic Church did not write or pronounce the sacred name until after Vatican Council II when Yahweh was used in the Jerusalem Bible and some new liturgical hymns. Though this was meant well, some saw it as insensitivity to an ancient faith tradition and even an affront to Jewish believers.

With the instruction, the Catholic Church officially resumes the tradition of not pronouncing the sacred name out of reverence for God.