Is Jehovah a Pagan Name for a Pagan god?

Written by Nab B. 

July 12, 2022

Updated May 2022

Question:

Is Jehovah the same as Jahbulon, the Freemason god?

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Answer:

Some claim the name Jehovah is derived from the Freemason god Jahbulon, a mixture of three gods in one, the architect of the universe. They base this on what others have claimed and from observing the name Jehovah alongside the name Jahbulon inscribed on Masonic altars and symbols. 

I know it could be daunting to research this topic. My aim here, as suggested by my website's name, is to make things simpler and clearer. To accomplish this, I will do the following: 

1. Examine those who claim Jahbulon to be a Masonic god. 

2. Check Freemasons' claim about Jahbulon. 

3. Present the scriptural view.

Those who claim Jahbulon to be a Masonic god 

The English priest Walton Hannah (1912–1966) claimed that Jahbulon is a compound name of God, Baal, and On (aka Osiris); adding that it a compound of the names of three gods worshipped in the ancient Middle East: Jah (= Yahweh), Baal, and On (Hannah, Walton (1998) [1952]. Darkness Visible. Saint Austin Press. pp. 34–5.) 

The Journalist Stephen Knight (1951–1985) explained that each syllable of the "ineffable name" represents one person of this trinity: JAH = Jahweh, the God of the Hebrews; BUL = Baal, the ancient Canaanite fertility god associated with 'licentious rites of imitative magic'; ON = Osiris, the Ancient Egyptian god of the underworld. (Knight, Stephen (1994). The Brotherhood. Harper Collins. p. 236)

The references above were from a Wikipedia article titled Jahbulon

What do Freemasons Claim about Jahbulon?

In an article published here on freemasonsnz.org/sranz/, the writer explained that Jahbulon is a threefold word that caused them "No end of grief."  The article claims that "The word (Jahbulon) itself appears to have been created by a committee in 1834 in the UK when they were revising the Royal Arch ritual to recreate how the three original Grand Masters would have uttered the name of God in their native tongues...Hebrew, Syriac, and Egyptian."

The article also claims that Jahbulon represents the three aspects or qualities of God: Eternal existence, Transcendence, and Omnipotence. An explanation of the tripartite word was given by the Rev. Canon Richard Tydeman in 1985, claiming that "YAH, indicates eternal existence; BUL, on high, in heaven; and ON, strength."

The article hints that Freemasons follow Jewish Kabbalah practices when it claims that: "In Hebrew, letters and words hold far more power than we English speakers treat our language; for Jews, Hebrew words are words of power resonating on many levels." 

The Freemason article mentioned above seems to deny that the name Jah-Bul-On refers to the Canaanite god Ba'al or the Egyptian god On (aka, Osiris). Masons claim that the syllable 'Yah' refers to Almighty God in Hebrew; the Canaanite syllable 'Bul' or 'Ba'al' does not refer to the devil, but it simply means “Lord” or “Master” in the Canaanite tongue. To them, Ba'al is "generally an early tribal god, one of the many, of which Yahweh was another." As to the Egyptian syllable 'ON', it refers to God as the eternal.

Accordingly, it is unreasonable to believe that the invented name Jahbulon represents the true God, Yahweh or Jehovah, even if it shares the same Hebrew syllable (Jah)! Besides, according to the Masons, the syllables (Bul) and (On) are Canaanite and Egyptian words that respectively mean lord and eternal.

My conclusion is this: Despite Freemasons' claim to worship the Almighty God Jehovah, whom they call Jahbulon, and despite inscribing His name on their altars and monuments, IT DOES NOT, in any way, make YHWH or Jehovah a pagan Masonic god! More on this later.

YHWH is the Same as Jehovah

There is evidence to show that Jehovah is as close as you can get to the Tetragrammaton YHWH. It is true that ‘Jehovah’ may not be the original vocalization since ancient Hebrew vowel pronunciation was lost. Hebrew also did not have the letter ( J ) sound. Also, the Hebrew letter (vav) is pronounced (w) more than (v). Most Hebrew names which begin with the letter Y are often pronounced as J in English. For example, Yirmeyah (יִרְמְיָה) is Jeremiah and Yaʿaqōḇ (יַעֲקֹב) is Jacob in English.

Now, let me illustrate how the name Jehovah is the transliteration of the Tetragrammaton  YHWH  with its presumed most accepted vowels (e, o, a). If you disregard the underlined vowels, you will readily see that YHWH =  JHVH as shown below.

Y      H      W      H 

Je     Ho     Va     H 

Be aware that since vowels (e, o, a) were not noted in Biblical Hebrew (it was only spoken), no one knew the exact pronunciation. But this should never be an issue! Today, some pronounce it ‘Yahweh’, others ‘Yehowah’, and the majority of the English-speaking world uses 'Jehovah', which is the Latinized version of Yahweh used by Christians since the Middle Ages. 

Why the Jews Stopped Using the Name YHWH?

When reading the Scriptures aloud, the Jews substituted Adonai (Lord) for YHWH. The pronunciation of God's name was prohibited, neither because it was false nor because it was too sacred to pronounce. Rather, the returning Jews followed a superstitious practice adopted during their Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. It was based on a gross misinterpretation of Exodus 20:7, naively believing that just mispronouncing the name could be dangerous, especially after the standardized pronunciation of Hebrew vowels was lost following their exile. Although the name YHWH (Jehovah) occurs abundantly over 6,000 times in the Old Testament, the Jews were still superstitiously afraid to pronounce or use it freely.

Could not the same argument be used for the name 'JESUS'? You see, in the original Koine Greek, Jesus is pronounced IÉSOUS (Yeh-soos). Our letter (J) is rendered as (I) because Koine Greek did not use the letter (J). But, in English, the letter (I) is replaced by the letter (J) (Iésous > Jesus). In Spanish, Jesus is pronounced Heh-soos, Yay-soos in German, Ya-soo in Arabic, and Oo-jay-soo in Zulu. And yet, no one stops pronouncing the name Jesus in their language or substitutes it. Check different language pronunciations of Jesus' name in this Wikipedia article entitled, Jesus (name).

Sadly, this superstition, of not mentioning God's name, found its way into most modern Bible translations, substituting YHWH (or Jehovah) with LORD in capital letters. It seems to me that removing the name Yahweh or Jehovah from most translations has deepened the imaginative claim some Christians make that the name YHWH (Jehovah) is altogether a pagan name for a false god! 

YHWH (Jehovah) — An unparalleled Name!

Far from it to claim the name YHWH to be a pagan name. The name's uniqueness and distinctiveness are unparalleled once we see its meaning, which no other being can claim except God alone. The name Yahweh means “The Self-existing One”, or “I Am that I Am” or "ego eimi ho ōn" in the Greek according to the Septuagint (for more on this, please check my article Why Jesus said, 'I AM'). The name Yahweh reveals God's nature in relation to all other creatures, declaring Him as the "Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Eph 4:6) He is "The Father of spirits” (Num 16:22), and "Of whom are all things, and we in him." (1 Cor 8:6)

Why the Name YHWH (Jehovah) Absent in the NT?

The reason the name Yahweh or Jehovah is absent in the NT has nothing to do with being a pagan name. It has to do with a fundamental change in our relationship to God after the death of Jesus Christ. Because of his death, those believing on the Son are adopted as "sons of God." The following scriptures attest to this new relationship or spiritual birth:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12)

"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Gal 4:6)

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Gal 3:26)

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." (Rom 8:16)

Those born again as "sons and daughters" deeply recognize God as their heavenly Father, as much as any human son or daughter feels toward their loving earthly fathers. And although they can at times address Him as Jehovah, it would definitely feel unnatural! For them, the endearing title Father is more apt than addressing Him as Jehovah or Yahweh.

Being Reasonable and of Sound Mind

Is it reasonable to reject the Tetragrammaton YHWH (Jehovah) as the true God, in favour of an unprovable fable assuming Him to be the false god Jahbulon? Such a claim falls apart in light of the sheer number of times (over 6,000) the name YHWH (Jehovah) appears in the Old Testament. At such a rate, one is only led to believe that the name YHWH is the name of the true God that is meant to be freely used rather than being hidden and unspoken.

Even if Freemasons use the name Jehovah or Jahbulon, it does not turn them into true worshippers, nor does it affect the name Jehovah, making it false! When Jesus said, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works" (Matt 7:22), should we then assume that just because some false teachers use the name of Jesus, it makes Jesus' name false or worse, makes them true believers? Surely, it neither makes these abusers true believers nor discredits the name Jesus as false!

Notice also what James said, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19) Although demons believe in God and even tremble, it does not make them true believers. Similarly, if some Freemasons express belief in God and even inscribe His name on altars and monuments, it does not mean they are true believers!

In 1931, the Watchtower organization adopted the name "Jehovah's Witnesses." Although this organization misleads its members through a maze of false doctrines (See Exposing JWs' Doctrines), it does not, in any way, make the name Jehovah false just because they adopted his name! The same logic can be applied to Freemasons who use the name Yahweh or Jehovah. 

So, rather than quibbling over semantics or following fables, we are to keep in mind that “God...give us a spirit...of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Being of “sound mind” (Greek: sóphronismos) literally means to be moderate, safe-minded and sensible. Soundness of mind and reasonableness ought to be the hallmark of a true believer's thoughts and actions. It will greatly help in discerning between what is reasonable and unreasonable.

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