The LORD and the Lord: an interactive online study
Psalm 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
Links for Further Study:
I. Other biblical studies on the Old and New Testament Phrases:
This site contains a series of teachings on many of the Old Testament names of God. In the process Old Testament phrase 1 (angel of the LORD) and Old Testament phrase 19 (the LORD of Hosts) are discussed in tremendous detailed.
II. The Nomina Sacra (the Sacred Names: special abbreviations in the oldest manuscripts):
Nomina Sacra in P46. (http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/k12/reading/Paul/nominasacra.html). This article explains that the earliest manuscripts had the fewest number of words abbreviated as sacred names. This interesting piece suggests the reasons for the first uses of a codex and supposes that many of copies we have of the original texts have a common origin starting in the second century. The use of a special abbreviation with "man" is when "man" is used as part of the phrase "the Son of Man".
Medieval Writings: Nomina Sacra. (http://medievalwriting.50megs.com/scripts/abbreviation/nomina.htm). A wonderfully illustrated article explaining the reverence attached to the use of sacred names in the transmission of the sacred scripture. Although, this site deals primarily with the Latin and Medieval abbreviations for sacred titles, the religious beliefs connected to the uses of abbreviations for the divine titles is made extremely plain.
Trobisch2001rev-x.html). This review of Trobisch's book is replete with rare and important observations. Of special importance is note #4 that ends with this conclusion, "The upshot is that since the notation of nomina sacra does not appear to have originated with authors of the autograph texts (my emphasis), their presence reflects 'a conscious editorial decision made by a specific publisher' " The second note of special value is #11 which discusses the tradition of sacred name abbreviations as it is related to the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. Trobisch seems to conclude that the early scribes of the New Testament copied the word "kurios" (Greek for "lord") to replace the abbreviations for Jehovah found in the Hebrew text. He seems to conclude that the use of KY was the original designation for "lord" when used with the "Lord Jesus Christ." That is an odd conclusion since the Greek Septuagint uses KY as the substitute for the tetragrammaton. Still, he reaches an important conclusion that, over time, as more sacred name abbreviations were added to the New Testament, the distinctions between KY for LORD and KY for Lord became blurred. Hence, the need for this website.
III. On the sacred name for the LORD.
This is a detailed look at the origin, pronunciation and traditions surrounding the name of Jehovah or Yahweh in the Hebrew Old Testament.
This is an online book about the debate concerning the use of the tetragrammaton in the originally inspired word of God given in the first century A.D. Although the publishers of this online text do not agree with some of the definitions of the uses of Lord found in this interactive study, the detailed examination of the subject is of great value.
These two web pages, Yahweh's name in the Dead Sea Scrolls (http://www.eliyah.com/yhwhdss.html) and Tetragrammaton Found in Earliest Copies of the Septuagint (http://www.eliyah.com/lxx.html) each show the abbreviation for the tetragrammaton given in a formal ancient Hebrew script right in the midst of the Greek translation of Psalms and the "minor" prophets. Even before the first century AD the powerful reach of religious tradition concerning the name of the LORD is very evident.
This web page: BIBLES with a FORM of GOD'S NAME (http://web.archive.org/web/20040606042729/hector3000.future.easyspace.com/yhwh.htm) lists a number of Bibles that have translated Hebrew Tetragrammaton as "Jehovah." The New World Translation seems to be the only major English Bible translation that has substituted "Jehovah" for "Lord" in the New Testament.
IV. The Search for First Century Manuscripts
A. Herculaneum: The Villa de Papyri
"In search of Western civilization’s lost classics" documents the one known site where first century manuscripts almost certainly can be found but have not yet been fully excavated. There is a possibility that there could there be biblical manuscripts such as Hebrew or Greek versions of the Old Testament. There is even a remote possibility that New Testament church epistles from the first century could be part of this subterranean library of antiquities.
"The unknown treasures of the Villa of the Papyri" explains how much more of the Villa de Papyri is left for archeologists to uncover. All modern excavations of this subterranean palace have revealed what has been duplicated at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. However, there is evidence that this is only a quarter of what may still be uncovered.
