Early German Bible Uses God’s Name
Early German Bible Uses God’s Name
GOD’S personal name, Jehovah, appears thousands of times in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, published in the German language in 1971. * However, this was not the first German Bible to use the divine name. It seems likely that the first German Bible in which the name Jehovah appeared was published almost 500 years ago by Johann Eck, a prominent Roman Catholic theologian.
Johann Eck was born in 1486 in southern Germany. By the age of 24, he was professor of theology at the university of Ingolstadt, a position he held until his death in 1543. Eck was a contemporary of Martin Luther, and the two were friends for a time. However, Luther went on to become a leading figure of the Reformation, whereas Eck was a defender of the Catholic Church.
The duke of Bavaria commissioned Eck to translate the Bible into German, and the translation was published in 1537. According to the Kirchliches Handlexikon, his translation stuck faithfully to the original text and “deserves more recognition than it has received so far.” Eck’s translation of Exodus 6:3 reads: “I am the Lord, who appeared to Abraam, Isaac, and Jacob in the Almighty God: and my name Adonai, I have not revealed to them.” Eck added a marginal comment to the verse: “The name Adonai Jehoua.” Many Bible scholars believe that this was the first time God’s personal name was used in a German Bible.
However, God’s personal name has been known and used for thousands of years. Its earliest recorded use is in the Hebrew language, in which “Jehovah” is used to identify the only true God. (Deuteronomy 6:4) Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus’ statement that he had made God’s name known was recorded in the Greek language. (John 17:6) Since then, the name has been published in countless tongues, and soon, in fulfillment of Psalm 83:18, all will know that the one whose name is Jehovah is the Most High over all the earth.
[Footnote]
^ par. 2 Published by Jehovah’s Witnesses, initially in English in 1961. Now available in whole or in part in over 50 languages.
[Picture on page 32]
A 1558 edition of Eck’s Bible, with marginal reference to the name Jehovah at Exodus 6:3