The tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH in Roman script) is most likely to have been pronounced 'Yahweh', not 'Jehovah' by the Hebrews.* It's meaning is explained in Exod 3 - it means 'he who is'. It might also mean 'he who causes [things] to be' i.e. the creator. Because of the second commandment the scribes, when reading from Scripture, avoided pronouncing the divine name, and substituted either ha shem 'the name' or adonai 'lord'. In the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, the word used to translate YHWH was kyrios 'lord'. This usage carried on into the New Testament, so when believers said 'Jesus is Lord' they were equating Jesus with the YHWH of the Old Testament, as well as threatening the political status quo where, in the Roman empire, Caesar was given the title 'Lord'. The usage of YHWH is interesting. In the Old Testament it frequently used with the sense 'God
Discussing issues to do with Scripture (Bible) engagement, mission, and Bible translation.