God's Name In Bible Translations

One of the main aims of the early missionaries was to produce understandable translations of the Bible in Pacific-island languages. Because of their diligent efforts, the Bible became available in many of the languages spoken throughout the Pacific region. It seemed natural to these translators to transliterated all other names in the Bible.

It is of interest to the serious Bible student that these early translators used Jehovah's not only in their translations of the Hebrew Scriptures but also in the Christian Greek Scriptures, the so-called New Testament. A survey of seven Pacific-island languages reveals that Jehovah's name is used in 72 different verses in the Christian Greek Scriptures. These were not exclusively translations made in the 19th century. Included also is a modern translation in the Rotuman language that was released in 1999. This Bible uses Jehovah's name in 48 verses in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

At the end of the 19th century, William Wyatt Gill, a long-time missionary in the Pacific, wrote concerning one of the early translations: "Having used the Rarotongan Bible for forty-two years, I may be pardoned for saying that I regard it as an admirable rendering of the original... As in all other Pacific and New Guinea versions, the sacred name 'Jehovah' is transliterated, never translated, thus adding immeasurably to the force of the contrast between the ever-living God and the objects worshipped by the heathen."

Next time: Why They Used God's Name