Why Was “Jehovah” Added to the New Testament?

3 min read

For Jehovah’s Witnesses, the name Jehovah holds deep meaning. It represents God’s identity, His uniqueness, and His personal relationship with His people. Because of this, many Witnesses feel reassured knowing that the New World Translation (NWT) contains the name Jehovah nearly 7,000 times—including in the New Testament.

But this raises an important and honest question worth examining: Why does the name “Jehovah” appear in the New Testament when no known Greek manuscripts contain it?

This article is not written to criticize, but to carefully examine the historical and biblical reasoning behind this decision.

What the Manuscripts Actually Say

All existing New Testament manuscripts—over 5,000 Greek copies—were written in Greek.
In every single one of them, the divine name (YHWH / Jehovah) does not appear.

Instead, the Greek word κύριος (kyrios) is used.
This word means Lord.

This is not a small detail. It is universally acknowledged by scholars, including Watchtower scholars, that no Greek New Testament manuscript contains the tetragrammaton (YHWH).

So why, then, does the New World Translation insert Jehovah 237 times into the New Testament?

This Is Not a Small Translation Issue

The New Testament never uses the name Jehovah—not once.

Adding a word that does not exist in any manuscript is not a matter of preference, tradition, or clarification. It is a deliberate alteration of the text.

Most Bible translations wrestle with how to translate existing words.
The New World Translation is unique in that it adds a word that is not there.

That distinction matters.

If Scripture can be adjusted to align with doctrine in one area, then the question becomes unavoidable: What else has been adjusted—and why?

The Watchtower’s Explanation

The Watchtower teaches that:

  • Jesus and the apostles likely used God’s name when quoting the Hebrew Scriptures

  • Later copyists removed the divine name and replaced it with Kyrios (Lord)

  • The NWT is therefore “restoring” God’s name where it was supposedly removed

This explanation may sound reasonable at first. However, it raises several serious questions.

The Missing Evidence

If God’s name had been removed from the New Testament, we would expect to find some evidence of that removal.

But:

  • No Greek manuscripts contain YHWH

  • No early church writings complain about its removal

  • No ancient translations (Latin, Syriac, Coptic) include it

  • No manuscript fragments show a transition from YHWH to Kyrios

In other words, there is no textual evidence that the divine name was ever present in the New Testament to begin with.

This leads to an important realization:
The use of Kyrios appears to be intentional, not accidental.

Why “Kyrios” Matters

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), Kyrios was often used to represent YHWH.
By the time of Jesus, this was already a familiar and accepted practice.

But here’s where things become especially significant.

The New Testament writers frequently apply Old Testament passages about YHWH directly to Jesus—using the word Kyrios.

For example:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” — Romans 10:13
(This is a quotation from Joel 2:32, which refers to YHWH.)

Just a few verses earlier, Paul says:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:9

The connection is unmistakable.
Paul is identifying Jesus with the Kyrios of the Old Testament.

If the New Testament writers had used the name Jehovah instead, this powerful theological connection would be far less clear.

A Translation Decision—or a Theological One?

By inserting Jehovah into New Testament passages that refer to Jesus, the NWT often:

  • Redirects attention away from Christ

  • Separates Jesus from Old Testament texts about YHWH

  • Preserves the Watchtower’s teaching that Jesus is not fully divine

This leads to another honest question:

Is the insertion of “Jehovah” in the New Testament based on manuscript evidence—or theological necessity?

Most Bible translations choose to follow the manuscripts as they exist.
The New World Translation stands alone in adding a word that does not appear in the original Greek text.

Why This Matters for Faith

This issue is not about diminishing God’s name.
It’s about honoring what Scripture actually says.

The New Testament presents Jesus as:

  • Lord (Kyrios)

  • Savior

  • The one who fulfills Old Testament promises

  • The one through whom we come to know God

When organizational theology requires altering the text to protect certain doctrines, it is worth pausing and reflecting.

A Gentle Question to Consider

If the apostles were inspired by God, and if God wanted His personal name used in the New Testament, would He not have preserved it in the manuscripts?

And if the apostles chose Kyrios intentionally—especially when speaking of Jesus—what might they have been communicating about who Jesus truly is?

Final Thought

The Bible does not need to be adjusted to protect truth.
Truth stands on its own.

Examining why Jehovah was added to the New Testament is not an act of disloyalty—it is an act of sincerity. It reflects a desire to let Scripture speak clearly, without additions or assumptions.

And often, when we allow the Bible to speak for itself, it points us—not to an organization—but to a Person.

Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Behind The Tower