Must we call God by a Sacred Name?

The purpose of this article is to show why it is important to understand how "YHWH" (or YHVH) and its derivatives are used in God's Word, to further assist us in rightly understanding scripture and receiving the blessings of this knowledge. We also hope this article will allow everyone, on their own, to answer the question, "Is it mandatory, or not, to actually call God by a '"sacred name?"

The translators of the King James Bible replaced God's name with an ALL CAPS TITLE. The name for God, "YHWH" (Hebrew word #3068] originally appeared in the Old Testament texts 6,519 times, being printed YH, YW, YHW, and YHH also! But God's name was replaced, at some point in history, with a title. When you see the word "GOD" or "LORD" in all capital letters in the King James Bible, it means this was where the name for God, "YHWH," originally appeared in the Hebrew texts. And when "God" or "Lord" ("god" or "lord"), are spelled in upper and/or lower case letters, they were translated, not from "YHWH," but from the corresponding Hebrew titles of 'God' (Elohim) and 'Lord' (Adonay).

When a text contains the name "YHWH" (GOD or LORD), this word applies only to the One True Creator, and never applies to anyone else. When a text contains the title "God" or "Lord" ("god" or "lord"), it may apply to Almighty God, Christ Jesus, angels, satan, or mere men, depending upon the context. Let's look at some examples.

The first time YHWH appears is in Genesis:

Genesis 2:4, "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,"

The first title of "LORD" is spelled in all caps. This tells us that this is where YHWH originally appeared in scripture. So, this helps us understand that it is Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth. The second title of "God" is spelled in upper and lower case letters, which can apply to anyone. But by reading the context of this verse, we can see it applies to Almighty God.

Now let's look at Psalms:

Psalms 110:1, "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."

The first "LORD" is spelled in all caps. This tells us that this is where YHWH originally appeared in scripture. So, this helps us understand that it is Almighty God who is doing the talking. The second "Lord" in spelled in upper and lower case letters, which can apply to anyone. By comparing scripture with scripture, we understand this "Lord" to be referring to Christ Jesus (Matthew 22:42-46, Mark 12:35-37).

Abraham is a lord:

Genesis 18:12-13, "Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the LORD said unto Abraham..."

The first "lord" in spelled in lower case letters, which, by reading the context, is referring to Abraham (which is confirmed at 1 Peter 3:6, "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord"). The second "LORD" is spelled in all caps. This tells us that this is where YHWH originally appeared in scripture, which means that it is Almighty God who is doing the talking to Sarah and Abraham.

Moses is a god:

Exodus 7:1, "And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh:"

The first "LORD" is spelled in all caps. This tells us that this is where YHWH originally appeared in scripture, which tells us that it is Almighty God who is doing the talking to Moses. The second title of "god" in spelled in lower case letters, which, by reading the context, refers to Moses.

More Examples of Others being called God and Lord

The word "God" and "Lord" is attributed to the Creator most of the time this word is used in scripture, but not always. The Hebrew term that is used throughout the Old Testament for "god(s)" is "elohim." The New Testament Greek term is "theos."

Christ Jesus is God and Lord

Christ Jesus is called "God" in some passages (Isaiah 9:6, John 1:1,14,18; 20:28, 1 Timothy 3:16, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8), and "Lord" (Matthew 9:28, Mark 10:51, Luke 5:8, John 8:11, Acts 1:21) because He was the only begotten Son of God, and was sent by the Father to do His Will.

Judges are God

In John 10:34-38, Jesus himself refers to the text of Psalm 82:6 and applies these words to the "Jews" (Pharisees) who were trying to "stone" him for supposedly making a claim to "deity." Of course, Jesus used this passage to show the Pharisees that using the word "God" to describe himself (as "Son of God") is no more a claim to "equality" with God than when the Psalmist uses "Gods" to identify these "leaders of Israel" in the Old Testament . In other words, Jesus was saying "how can you stone me for calling myself the 'Son of God' when the Old Testament uses the term "God" to describe other "men" who are sent by the Father, just like me and you." This just shows that the word "God" is used in different senses and not exclusively for "Yahweh."

For example, the Old Testament judges were called "gods" (Psalm 82:6, John 10:34-36) because they were appointed and commissioned to act as God's agents in ruling and administering justice in his stead among men. In 1 Samuel 2:25, "If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him," the word "judge" here is translated from Elohiym. The word "judges" in Exodus 21:6 and 22:8-9 is also translated from Elohiym. God even made Moses a "god" (Exodus 7:1). And to reject a prophet of God is the same as rejecting God himself (1 Samuel 8:7).

Strangers are Lord

In Genesis 24, Rebekah was able to meet God's divine appointment for her life (marriage) because she was faithfully carrying out her current obligations. She had a ready willingness to serve others. These qualities put her in the right place at the right time with the right attitude when God intended to match her with Isaac. Isaac's servant asked for some water from her, "And she said, Drink, my lord..." (Genesis 24:18). She reverenced a stranger, and God used that stranger to bring Rebekah and Isaac in marriage.

Angels are God

"Angels" are called "God" many times in scripture as well. The word "angels" in Psalm 8:5 is translated from Elohiym.

Acts 23:9, "...but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God." To fight against an angel is like fighting against God, because he is God's minister.

When Phillip was directed to baptize an eunuch in Acts 8, the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip (verse 26), this angel is described as the Spirit (verse 29) and the Spirit of the Lord (verse 39).

In Exodus 2, when Moses climbed up Mount Horeb, verse 2 says the angel of the LORD appeared in a burning bush. This same angel is described in verse 4 as the LORD and as God. And in verse 6, this same angel is described as "the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Acts 7:30-32,35,38 confirms that this angel is called "God."

The angel of the Lord, who spoke to Jacob in Genesis 31:11, revealed himself as God in verse 13. Then, in the next chapter, after Jacob wrestled with this angel (Genesis 32:24-25), he asked the angel to bless him (verse 26). Then Jacob asked this angel for his name (verse 29), and Jacob said, "...I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30), yet is was only God's angel.

In Genesis 18, three men appeared before Abraham. These were actually three angels. Abraham called one of them "Lord" throughout this chapter. You will see two of these angels were sent to Sodom and Gomorrah, and they saved Lot and his daughters from the destruction of these sites. But in Genesis 18, you will see where Abraham talks with God about Sodom and Gomorrah, but it is actually one of these angels he is talking to.

Later, Abraham was told by God to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:1-3), and just as he took the knife to his son:

Genesis 22:11, "And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven,..."

And this angel addresses himself as God (verse 12), and Abraham says he saw the Lord God himself:

Genesis 22:14 (Septuagint) "And Abraam called the name of that place, The Lord hath seen; that they might say to-day, In the mount the Lord was seen."

And in the next two verses, we see that the angel of the Lord is spoken of as the Lord himself:

Genesis 22:15-16, "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD,..."

"Angels" were the vehicles of all divine revelation before the birth of Jesus. As the scripture explicitly says "no man has seen God (the Father) at any time." This is stated emphatically even after the appearance of Jesus on Earth (John 1:18; I Timothy 6:16). Men have only "seen" God the Father in the "sense" that He is represented by "angels" and, of course, the "man" Christ Jesus.

Satan is God

For that matter, even Satan is called "the God" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. And "...Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). Therefore, false apostles and deceitful workers are also called gods.

Pagan Gods are God

The Hebrew word "Elohiym" is used to describe pagan gods as well (Exodus 22:20, Deuteronomy 32:39, Judges 16:23-24, 1Samual 5:7, Isaiah 37:38, Daniel 1:2, Micah 4:5).

This is why it is important to understand the many different ways "GOD, God, god, LORD, Lord lord" are used in scripture, to assist us in understanding the meaning of passages. Now, let us continue by addressing the question "Is it mandatory, or not, to actually call God by a '"sacred name?"

Pronouncing YHWH and Jehovah?

Many today insist on pronounciating YHWH, not knowing that the original pronunciation of the Hebrew language is lost! There were no vowels in the original Hebrew language, and therefore, nobody today really knows what vowels go between the consonants, to wit:

"The English names of the Hebrew letters are written with much less uniformity than those of the Greek because there has been more dispute respecting their powers. This is directly contrary to what one would have expected. Since the Hebrew names are words originally significant of other things in the letters and the Greek are not. The original pronunciation of both languages is admitted to be lost." The Grammar of English Grammar, 9th Edition, 1865.

Note that they did not say that the meaning of the words wwas lost, but only the pronunciation. So we must beware of those running around saying you must pronounce a particular name a certain way (Yahweh, Yashua, Jehovah, etc). And where do they learn how to pronounce YHWH? You don't get pronunciation from reading a book, you get pronunciation from other people telling you, or by hearing the sound of it being pronounced. What is important is the spirit and character behind the Word.

Here is further testimony that the original pronunciation of the name of God is unknown!

"God, names of: YHWH (the Tetragrammaton, whose original pronunciation was unknown, but scholars have suggested Yahweh - to avoid pronouncing it, Adonai was substituted, and later Ha-Shem or Adoshem were used)." Cecil Roth, The Concise Jewish Encyclopedia, 1980, pages 202-203.

Not only is the original pronunciation of YHWH unknown, but the name "Jehovah" was derived from YHWH by adding vowels to it (the original Hebrew alphabet did not have vowels) thus adding to God's Word!

"The Masoretes who from the 6th to the 10th century worked to reproduce the original text of the Hebrew Bible replaced the vowels of the name YHWH with the vowel signs of Adonai or Elohim. Thus the artificial name Jehovah came into being." The New Encyclopedia Britannica, vol. 12, 1993 edition.
"Jehovah — False reading of the Hebrew YAHWEH." Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1973 edition.
"Jehovah — erroneous form of the name of the God of Israel." Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 16., 1972 edition.
"Jehovah — a mispronunciation of the Hebrew YHWH the name of God. This pronunciation is grammatically impossible." The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 7, 1904 edition.
"It is clear that the word Jehovah is an artificial composite." The New Jewish Encyclopedia, 1962 edition.

Where did the word "Jehovah" come from?

The books of the so-called "Old testament" Scriptures (the books of the so-called "Old Testament") were originally written almost totally in the Hebrew language, plus some sections in Aramaic. Neither language contained any vowels, only consonants. The Jews knew what vowel sounds were to be used in the pronunciation of the words based on the construction of the sentence, the context, and their excellent memories. Since very few people could afford to have written copies of even small portions of the Scriptures, huge amounts of Scripture were committed to memory.

In the 8th-10th century after the birth of Messiah, a group of Scribes know as the Masoretes added a system of vowel points to enable the preservation of the original pronunciation. Their version of the Scriptures is know as the Masoretic Text.

The Name by which God revealed Himself to the patriarchs and to Moses was the Hebrew word for "I AM" or "I AM THAT I AM" — meaning something similar to "The One Who exists by His own power." This Name was spelled with the Hebrew equivalent of "YHWH" and was considered too sacred to pronounce. This four-letter word is also know as the Tetragrammaton (meaning "four letters"). When reading the Scriptures or referring to the Sacred Name (HaShem), the Jews would substitute the word "Adonay," which means "Lord."

To indicate this substitution in the Masoretic Text, the Masoretes added the vowel points from the word "Adonay" to the Sacred Name, and came up with a word that would look to them something like YaHoWaH. Since there was no such word in the Hebrew language, the reader would be forced to stop and think about what he was reading, and thus would avoid accidentally speaking the Sacred Name aloud.

Later, some Christian translators mistakenly combined the vowels of "Adonay" with the consonants of "YHWH" producing the word "YaHoWaH." Since there was no such word in the Hebrew language, the reader would be forced to stop and think about what he was reading, and thus would avoid accidentally speaking the "Sacred Name" aloud.

Later, some Christian translators mistakenly combined the vowels of "Adonay" with the consonants of "YHWH" and produced the word "YaHoWaH." When the Scriptures were translated into German during the Reformation, the word was transliterated into the German pronunciation, which pronounces "Y" as an English "J," and pronounces "W" as an English "V" — or "Jahovah." Then in the early 17th century, when the Scriptures were being translated into English with the help of some of the German translations, the word was again transliterated as "Jehovah," and this error has carried over into many modern English translations.

Jehovah is now recognized by all proficient Bible scholars to be a late hybrid form, a translation error, that was never used by the Jews. And since no one today knows the correct pronunciation of YHWH anyway, there is no need to guess at it. We have the assurance, from scripture, that we only need to call the Creator, "our Father."

Our Father

Now, some claim that we must call our Father by a sacred name. They say if we don't, He won't hear us. Contrary to their belief, there is and was no command anywhere in scripture given by God to call Him by any sacred name. We do not hear or read God instructing instructing anyone to use the terms 'Elohim', 'Yahweh', 'Yashua', 'Jehovah', 'El-Shaddai', 'Adonai'', 'Ha-Shem', 'Adoshem', 'Abba,' or other words that merely describe God. Love for Him is what is required; not the lust for the sacred letters of a sacred name.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said when we pray, we are to pray to "our Father." He did not use or insist on a "sacred" name.

Consider this. By exclusively using a sacred name, you are saying you are a stranger to God. It's like your dad telling you that he won't hear you unless you address him by his "personal" name. A dad doesn't say to his children, "Don't call me daddy, call me John." Loving fathers don't say things like that to their children. Likewise, Almighty God is our Father, and we are His children, and He requests only that we call Him 'Father.' "Father" is how Jesus called to Almighty God, and it was additionally used throughout the law, the prophets, and the psalms, for instruction:

Jeremiah 3:4, "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?"
Jeremiah 3:19, "…Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me."
Psalms 89:26, "He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation."
Isaiah 63:16, "Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting."
Malachi 2:10, "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?"

Did Jesus ever call God by a "sacred" name? No. He called YHWH based upon the relation between them. He always called Him "Father" (Matthew 5:16,45,48; 6:1,4,6,8-9,14-15,18,26,32; 7:11,21; 8:21; 10:20,29,32-33; 11:25-27; 12:50; 13:43; 15:13; 16:17,27; 18:10,14,19,35; 20:23; 23:9; 24:36; 25:34; 26:39,42,53; 28:19, etc.).

Is it the pronouncing of the name itself that is important, or the meaning of the name? For example, Revelation is describing Jesus, the Son of God. Notice, 'King' and 'Lord' are titles, but this was the name written on his vesture.

Revelation 19:16, "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

If a name is written, does it mean we should call him only by such a name? Or is the meaning of the name more important than the written name itself? And this is the meaning of God's name and how it is called:

Revelation 19:13, "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."

We see that if one really desires to know God's "sacred" name, they must first know the Word of God, and do His Will and obey His Law. This is our Father's command for all of us. He does not command us to exclusively call him by any "personal" name, but to keep His Word! That is truly keeping His name "sacred."

We are also told that Christ's "name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). Obviously, The Word is not mandating that we are to go around insisting that all must call the name of their Lord and Saviour "Wonderful" or "Councellor," etc. These are simply His descriptions of His character, for our edification!

Name = Character

Scripturally, a name represents one's character. This is why our Father changed the name of his servants (Genesis 17:5,15; 32:28; 35:10), and told parents what to name their unborn child (Genesis 16:11; 17:19, 1 Chronicles 22:9, Isaiah 7:14, Hosea 1:4,6,9, Matthew1:21,24, Luke 1:13,31), and why men have chosen one name over another for their child (Genesis 35:18, Luke 1:59-60), and why name's of cities have been changed (Genesis 28:19): to reflect their character!

God desires to seal His name, His character, and His Law in us (Isaiah 8:16). God's name and character is His Word, which contains His Law.

Characteristic	God Is	The Law Is
Good	Luke 18:19	1 Timothy 1:18
Holy	Isaiah 5:16	Romans 7:12
Perfect	Matthew 5:48	Psalm 19:7
Pure	1 John 3:2,3	Psalm 19:8
Just	Deuteronomy 32:4	Romans 7:12
True	John 3:33	Psalm 19:9
Spiritual	1 Corinthians 10:4	Romans 7:14
Righteousness	Jeremiah 23:6	Psalm 119:172
Faithful	1 Corinthians 1:9	Psalm 119:86
Love	1 John 4:8	Romans 13:10
Unchangeable	James 1:17	Matthew 5:18
Eternal	Genesis 21:33	Psalm 111:7,8

Must we address Jesus by his Name?

The name "Jesus" is the name associated with "the shame" which he endured in order to "save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Therefore, his people (those who had a personal relationship with him) never addressed him as "Jesus," but as "master" or "lord" (John 13:13-14, Luke 6:46), or by other titles, and so should all his people today.

The only ones who irreverently called him "Jesus" were demons, his enemies, and those who did not have a personal relationship with him. We should not follow the examples of them, but we should follow the examples of those who had a close, personal relationship with him. Those who had a personal relationship with Jesus never addressed Jesus, face to face, as "Jesus."

The following passages are all the verses in scripture in which Jesus was personally addressed as "Jesus," face to face. Notice who was addressing him, face to face, in each case.

A man possessed with devils (Matthew 8:29)
A man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue (Mark 1:23, Luke 4:34)
A man with an unclean spirit in the country of the Gadarenes, (Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28)
Jews in a crowd (Matthew 21:11)
Unbelieving Jews (John 6:42)
The accusers of Peter, who were enemies of Christ (Matthew 26:69,71, Mark 14:67)
Pilate, the one who delivered Jesus to be crucified (Matthew 27:17,22,37, John 18:33, John 19:19)
Chief priests and elders, who persuaded the multitude to destroy Jesus (Matthew 27:20).

Did anyone else call him Jesus? Yes. Some of the people Jesus healed called him "Jesus," but they had no personal relationship with him at that time.

Lepers called him "Jesus" (Luke 17:13).
A man who was sick for 38 years told others that "Jesus" healed him (John 5:15).
Bartimaeus, who was blind, called him "Jesus" (Mark 10:47, Luke 18:37-38). But notice the reason why he called him "Jesus." It was because when he asked what the commotion in the crowd was all about, a Jew told Bartimaeus that "Jesus" was passing by.

Notice the following three parallel passages. Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was. Peter did not say, "Thou art Jesus." Instead, Peter called him according to the relationship between the two of them.

Matthew 16:13-16, "When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Mark 8:27-29, "And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ."
Luke 9:18-20, "And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God."

Therefore, when someone asks you, "Who are you?" do not tell them your name, but tell them who you are according to the Word and Spirit of God. You are a bondman of Christ.

Your Questions Answered

But Christ told the apostle Paul that his name was "Jesus." Therefore, it must be okay to call him "Jesus."

Acts 9:5, "And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:"
Acts 22:8, "And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest."
Answer: But the apostle Paul was not an apostle at this time. His name was not even "Paul," it was "Saul." He was an enemy of Christ at the time. As you can see from this same passage, Saul was "persecuting" Christ by persecuting believers in Christ.
What about the parents of Jesus? Did they not call him Jesus?
Answer: No, they did not call "him" Jesus, they called "his name" Jesus.
Concerning Joseph:

Matthew 1:21, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:25, "And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."
Concerning Mary:

Luke 1:31, "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."
Concerning both Joseph and Mary:

Luke 2:21, "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb."
Notice in the above passages, it does not say they called "him" Jesus, it says they called "his name" Jesus. There is a difference. There is not one scriptural passage where they began talking to their son with, "Jesus..."
But what about the many times in scripture where the epistles refer to him as "Jesus?"
Answer: It is okay to refer to Christ as "Jesus" in the 3rd Person (when speaking about Christ), but not in the 2nd person (when speaking to Christ directly).
For example, when Jesus appeared to his disciples during his resurrection, his disciples did not know it was Jesus, and they talked to him about "Jesus" (Luke 24:19). But once they realized it was Jesus they were talking to, they addressed him as "lord" and "master."
When believers were talking to one another about Jesus, they would address Christ as "Jesus," but these same people would never call Christ "Jesus" while addressing him to his face, while in his presence. For example, Philip called Christ "Jesus" when speaking to Nathanael (John 1:45) about Jesus, but Philip never called Christ "Jesus" when speaking to Christ.
The same with angels. When angels talked to believers, they would refer to Christ as "Jesus" (Matthew 28:5, Mark 16:6, Acts 1:11), because they were speaking about Jesus to another. And the same goes for all the epistles in scripture. The epistles speak of "Jesus" when talking about Jesus, but never does anyone with a personal relationship with Christ call him "Jesus" when speaking to Christ.
Regarding the name of our Saviour, the dictionary indicates, the letter "J" did not come into existence for at least another 1000 years after Christ. In the Greek alphabet, the letter J never existed during the time of Christ!
Answer: Yes, the English language did not even exist at the time of Christ. However, the J sound itself did exist in both the Hebrew and the Greek.
That being true, there is no way Christ could have been called "Jesus" when he walked this earth!
Answer: Here's a question for you. Did God say "Thou shalt not kill?" when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments? According to your argument, "No he did NOT!" Why? Because the letters "t,h,o,u, s,h,a,l,t, n,o,t, k,i,l,l" did not exist at the time of Moses. Moses spoke Hebrew, and God wrote the Ten Commandments in Hebrew.
You see, this is a translatation into the English Language. All of scripture is a translation into English. We do not speak Hebrew or Greek today, but we do speak English. That is why it was translated into the English. We must be careful to not go to the letter, but to the spirit. It is not the lusts for the letters of a name that are important, but the meaning behind the name that's important. That's all names are, they descibe the character.
Why wasn't our Savior's name left as in the original language?
Answer: For the same reason "Thou shalt not kill" was not left in the original language.
We should not spell or pronounce "Jesus" at all, but we should call Him according to his Hebrew Name, Yeshua.
Answer: Names are often translated into the English equivelant. For example:
- John Clavin. He is from France. But his name was not John Calvin in France, it was Jean Chauvin.
- Robert Stephanus is the first man to divide the New Testament into verses, but in English we call him Robert Stephens.
- Have you heard of Saint Augustine? In Latin, his name was Aurelius Augustinus.
- Saul is the Jewish name for Paul. In scripture, Paul, the apostle, uses both names. "Saul" when speaking to Jews, and "Paul" when speaking to Greeks (Acts 13:9). Thus showing that names are spelled and pronounced differently in other languages.
The same is true for names of cities as well:
- In Italian, Rome is actually Roma.
- Venice is actually Venicia.
- Florence is Firenze.
- And in German, Munich is actually Munchen.
We do not pronounce or spell these names in their original tongue, but we pronounce and spell them according to our language. Again, it is the meaning of the name that is important, it is the spirit of the name that's important, and not the lust for the letters of a name. The meaning of names are communicable through different languages.

Conclusion
Even though it is important to understand the many different ways "GOD, God, god, LORD, Lord lord" are used in scripture, to assist us in understanding the meaning of passages, it is not necessary to actually pronounce or spell our Father's name, or His Son's Name, in their original tongue. The reason being that nobody knows for sure how to pronounce or spell these names today. Even if the original names were known, names are often traslated, pronouced, and spelled differently from one language to another anyway. Besides, it is not the lust for the letters of a name that is important, it is the spirit and meaning behind the Name that's important.