THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT - Was Jehovah the Tribal God of the Jews?

IN MANY lands today, the name Jehovah is closely associated with the modern-day organization of Jehovah's Witnesses.  Yet, this name appears in some Bible translations that are used by religions besides Jehovah's Witnesses.  Indeed, the name Jehovah as represented by the Tetragrammaton has been in use for thousands of years. 

Jehovah is sometimes called "the God of Israel." ( 1 Chronicles 17:24) This expression has led  some to believe that he was merely a local tribal  god whom the Hebrews either borrowed from another culture or invented for themselves."[Jehovah] began life as a  very aggressive tribal deity of the Israelites," claims Karen Armstrong, writer of the book A History of God.  "Later, the prophets of Israel . . ., in about the seventh and sixth centuries B.C., made this tribal God a symbol for the absolutely indescribable reality." 

A number of religious historians have attempted to trace the origin of the name Jehovah to Canaanite or Egyptian sources.  Others assert that it "is an old tribal name" and does not identify the God portrayed in the "New Testament."  Is that true? What does a careful reading of the Bible reveal? 

Next time: THE BIBLE'S VIEWPOINT - Was Jehovah the Tribal God of the Jews?/Jehovah-the God of All People

From the Awake! magazine