Insight on the Scriptures records that the Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the printed Hebrew text of Biblia Hebraica and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, while the New World Translation carries the divine name 6,979 times in the Hebrew Scriptures; the 2013 revision gives a whole-Bible total of 7,216, six more than the 1984 edition.
Claim ID claim-bible-hebrew-scriptures-name-countConcerns 1988Explicit statement
Insight on the Scriptures records that the Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the printed Hebrew text of Biblia Hebraica and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, while the New World Translation carries the divine name 6,979 times in the Hebrew Scriptures; the 2013 revision gives a whole-Bible total of 7,216, six more than the 1984 edition. Source: Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, 1988Source: The Watchtower (study edition), 15 December 2015
The organisation’s position or later explanation: The organisation explains the excess by saying ‘the translators took into account, among other things, the fact that in some places the scribes had replaced the divine name with ʼAdho·naiʹ or ʼElo·himʹ’, and attributes the six added occurrences in 2013 mainly to Dead Sea Scrolls readings.
1988 · pp.5, 8 · pars. 4, 23 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
“The Tetragrammaton occurs 6,828 times in the Hebrew text printed in Biblia Hebraica and Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. In the Hebrew Scriptures the New World Translation contains the divine name 6,979 times, because the translators took into account, among other things, the fact that in some places the scribes had replaced the divine name with ʼAdho·naiʹ or ʼElo·himʹ.”
Earlier in the same article the organisation states: “‘Jehovah’ is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although ‘Yahweh’ is favored by most Hebrew scholars.” Taken together the two statements show that the organisation openly records both that its preferred form is not the scholarly favourite and that its Hebrew Scriptures text carries the name more often than the printed Hebrew text carries the Tetragrammaton.
Provenance and verification note for Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, Jehovah (sections “Correct Pronunciation of the Divine Name” and “Importance of the Name”)
Confidence note. Article opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026; both quotations confirmed and located by the document’s embedded page markers (pages 5 and 8).
15 December 2015 · pp.9-13 · pars. 2, 6, 7 (pp. 9-11) · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“The 2013 revision of the New World Translation includes the name 7,216 times, which is 6 more than the 1984 edition. Five of the additional instances are found at 1 Samuel 2:25; 6:3; 10:26; 23:14, 16.”
The article states the three principles the committee set in the 1940s — sanctify God’s name, translate literally where possible but convey the correct sense where a word-for-word rendering would distort, and use easy-to-understand language. It also records a change in the meaning assigned to the divine name: the 1984 edition said the name means He “causes himself to become the Fulfiller of promises”, whereas Appendix A4 of the 2013 edition says “it is not limited to what he himself chooses to become. It also includes what he causes to happen with regard to his creation and the accomplishment of his purpose.” A footnote to the new meaning adds: “Some reference works present this understanding, though not all scholars agree.”
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower (study edition), A Living Translation of God’s Word
Confidence note. Opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the issue was confirmed from the Online Library listing for the study edition of 15 December 2015 and page numbers from the document’s embedded page markers.
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