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The Bible and the translation · Claim record

The “J” references cited in the New World Translation's footnotes for the divine name are, on the organisation's own account, translations rather than Greek manuscripts: J2 is Shem-Tob ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut's Even Bohan of about 1385, and the rest run from 1555 to 2012.

Claim ID claim-bible-j-references-are-translationsConcerns 2013Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 2013 Verified

The “J” references cited in the New World Translation's footnotes for the divine name are, on the organisation's own account, translations rather than Greek manuscripts: J2 is Shem-Tob ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut's Even Bohan of about 1385, and the rest run from 1555 to 2012. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), 2013In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi, 2020New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), 2013

The organisation’s position or later explanation: Appendix C3 states: “It should be noted, though, that the New World Bible Translation Committee did not rely on these translations as the basis for restoring the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Rather, these J-References provide proof that other translators have made similar decisions”.

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), “Appendix C4: Translations and Reference Works Supporting the Use of the Divine Name in the “New Testament””

2013 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“J [1] בשורת מתי, Euangelium Hebraicum Matthæi (Gospel of Matthew, in Hebrew), edited by Jean du Tillet, with a Latin translation by Jean Mercier, Paris, 1555. The translation into Hebrew uses יהוה or an abbreviated form of the Tetragrammaton in the main text of some verses. … J [2] Even Bohan (אבן בוחן, “Tested Stone; Touchstone”), by Shem-Tob ben Isaac Ibn Shaprut, Spain, c. 1385.”

The 'J' references cited in the New World Translation's footnotes are, on the organisation's own account, translations into Hebrew and other languages, together with reference works. The earliest, J2, is a fourteenth-century polemical work; the others run from 1555 to 2012.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Appendix C4 opened on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026 and the entries for J [1] to J [22] and several later entries read directly; the dates quoted were read from those entries. I did not read every one of the several hundred entries in the list. Independent audit, 19 September 2026: the quotation previously gave J2 before J1, joined by an ellipsis, and wrote the labels as ‘J1’ and ‘J2’ where the appendix prints ‘J [1]’ and ‘J [2]’. Both corrected.

Corroborated by. src-nwtv-span-2020

Notes. The key point for readers is simply what the list is: translations, not Greek manuscripts. The organisation says this itself.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-nwtsty-c4-j-refs

Peer-reviewed / scholarly Verified

In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi, “Rendering the Divine Name in Romans 10:13”

2020 · pp.vol. 54, no. 1 · A. Tim Span, Stuart T. Rochester and Fika J. van Rensburg (Faculty of Theology, North-West University, South Africa) · AOSIS Publishing (open access); DOI 10.4102/ids.v54i1.2560

“There are no extant Greek New Testament manuscripts that contain the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew or Greek characters, and the multiplication of late Hebrew versions carries little weight. The Greek corpus of New Testament manuscripts and all early versions fail to yield an original New Testament Tetragrammaton, and the J versions offer little extra.”

A peer-reviewed, open-access article evaluating George Howard's 1977 hypothesis — the hypothesis on which the New World Translation's practice partly rests — through the test case of Romans 10:13. The authors conclude: 'An original Tetragrammaton lacks documentary and contextual support in Romans 10:13.'

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The full text of the article was opened on scielo.org.za on 19 September 2026 and the quoted sentences read in context. The journal is peer-reviewed and open access; the article carries a DOI.

Corroborated by. src-nwtv-nwtsty-c1

Notes. The article is written from a confessional Reformed standpoint, which the site should say plainly when citing it. Its factual statement about the manuscript corpus is not in dispute among textual critics, including those who are sympathetic to Howard.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-span-2020

Primary JW publication Verified

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), “Appendix C3: Verses Where the Name Jehovah Does Not Appear as Part of Direct or Indirect Quotations”

2013 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“These verses do not contain either a direct or an indirect quotation from the “Old Testament” that uses the Tetragrammaton. However, there are either strong contextual grounds or linguistic reasons for restoring the divine name in these verses. … It should be noted, though, that the New World Bible Translation Committee did not rely on these translations as the basis for restoring the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures.”

The 237 occurrences are divided into two lists: Appendix C2 covers verses that quote or allude to Hebrew Scripture passages containing the Tetragrammaton; Appendix C3 covers the rest, where the name is supplied on contextual grounds alone.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Appendix C3's introductory text opened in full on wol.jw.org on 19 September 2026 and read directly. I did not count how many of the 237 occurrences fall under C3, so no figure is claimed.

Corroborated by. src-nwtv-nwtsty-c1

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-nwtv-nwtsty-c3-intro

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-bible-j-references-are-translations/. 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.