The supports cited in the New World Translation’s footnotes for restoring ‘Jehovah’, designated ‘J’ with a superior number, are translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Hebrew — made, in the committee’s own words, ‘throughout the centuries’ — and not ancient Greek manuscripts. The committee’s own foreword says so.
Claim ID claim-bible-j-references-are-hebrew-versionsConcerns 1 January 1985Explicit statement
The organisation’s position or later explanation: The organisation regards these versions as corroboration rather than as manuscript evidence: it says it ‘looked for some agreement with us by the Hebrew versions we consulted to confirm our rendering’, in order ‘to avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis’, and notes that Appendix A5 also lists recognised translators who used the name independently.
1 January 1985 · pp.10-12 · pars. 11-16 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
“Thus, out of the 237 times that we have restored Jehovah’s name in the body of our translation, there is only one instance wherein we have no support or agreement from any of the Hebrew versions. But in this one instance, namely, at 1 Corinthians 7:17, the context and related texts strongly support restoring the divine name.”
The foreword states the committee’s reasoning: “The evidence is that the original text of the Christian Greek Scriptures has been tampered with, the same as the text of the LXX has been”; that “Sometime during the second or third centuries C.E., the Tetragrammaton (YHWH, or JHVH) was eliminated from the Greek text by copyists”; and that “the modern translator is warranted in using the divine name as an equivalent of those two Greek words” where the Christian writers quote Hebrew Scripture passages in which the name occurs. It explains that its supports, “designated in this work by ‘J’ with a superior number”, are translations of parts or all of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Hebrew made over the centuries, and says the committee “looked for some agreement with us by the Hebrew versions we consulted to confirm our rendering”, in order “to avoid overstepping the bounds of a translator into the field of exegesis”.
Provenance and verification note for The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures (1985 edition), Foreword (section “Restoring the Divine Name, Jehovah”)
Confidence note. Foreword opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the 1 Corinthians 7:17 admission and the description of the “J” references confirmed word for word, with page numbers from the document’s own page markers.
Notes. This is the organisation’s own, explicit statement that the “J” supports are Hebrew translations rather than ancient Greek manuscripts, and its own acknowledgement of one restoration with no textual support at all.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-nwto-int-1985-foreword-divine-name
2013 · Appendix A5 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“The New World Bible Translation Committee determined that there is compelling evidence that the Tetragrammaton did appear in the original Greek manuscripts.”
The appendix states that the New World Translation “uses the name Jehovah a total of 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures” and sets out the organisation’s seven-point case: that surviving Greek manuscripts are copies made at least two centuries after the originals; that first-century Greek Septuagint fragments carry the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew characters; that Jesus spoke of his Father’s name; that “the sudden disappearance of Jehovah’s name from the text would seem inconsistent”; that “Hallelujah” preserves the short form; that the Tosefta refers to “the Divine Name” in Christian writings; that The Anchor Bible Dictionary and George Howard allow the possibility; and that earlier translators such as Heinfetter (1863), Benjamin Wilson (1864), Stevens (1898), Rutherford (1900) and Wand (1946) used the name. It closes: “Without a doubt, there is a clear basis for restoring the divine name, Jehovah, in the Christian Greek Scriptures.”
Provenance and verification note for New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), Appendix A5: The Divine Name in the Christian Greek Scriptures
Confidence note. Full appendix, including the list of over 300 languages, fetched from JW.org and read on 19 September 2026; quotations confirmed from the page text.
Notes. Appendix A5 nowhere claims that a Greek New Testament manuscript containing the Tetragrammaton has been found; the argument is one of inference from the Septuagint evidence and from later Hebrew versions.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-nwto-nwtsty-a5-divine-name-greek
1988 · pp.9-10 · pars. 31-38 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
“In view of this evidence it seems most unusual to find that the extant manuscript copies of the original text of the Christian Greek Scriptures do not contain the divine name in its full form.”
The article poses the question in its own sub-heading: “Why is the divine name in its full form not in any available ancient manuscript of the Christian Greek Scriptures?” It answers that the earlier explanation — that the Septuagint had already substituted Kyʹri·os — “is no longer valid” in light of the Septuagint fragments, quotes Paul Kahle (The Cairo Geniza, 1959, p. 222) to the effect that “It was the Christians who replaced the Tetragrammaton by kyrios”, and concludes: “Evidently because by the time those extant copies were made (from the third century C.E. onward) the original text of the writings of the apostles and disciples had been altered.”
Provenance and verification note for Insight on the Scriptures, Volume 2, Jehovah (section “In the Christian Greek Scriptures”)
Confidence note. Article opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quoted sentence sits immediately after the embedded page marker for page 9. The scholarly works it cites were not opened.
Notes. The organisation’s own reference work states plainly that no available ancient manuscript of the Christian Greek Scriptures carries the divine name.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID.src-nwto-it-jehovah-greek
A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-bible-j-references-are-hebrew-versions/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.