To restore English Bible names means to return the Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) forms of the Creator’s Name and of people and places, such as YAHUAH, Yahusha, Yahuhanan and Yirushalam, in place of the forms that came into English through Yuuniy (Greek), Latin and French. Readers who ask this question usually want three things: what changed, why it changed, and how to tell whether a restored-name translation is careful work. This guide covers all three, and it ends with how we handle names in the Truth Scriptures.
TL;DR
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Most English Bible names passed through Yuuniy (Greek), Latin and sometimes French before they settled into the forms we know, so “John” and “James” are far from Yahuhanan and Ya’aqab.
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Restored-name Scriptures (Bibles) especially the Truth Scriptures aim to bring the Abariy (Hebrew) forms back, beginning with the Set-Apart (divine) Name, which is written YAHUAH in the Abariy (Hebrew) text.
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Even mainstream translators admit that no single standard exists for proper names, so every reader should check how a translation makes its choices.
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The strongest evidence is manuscript evidence: the Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) texts, not a tradition of substitutes such as “LORD.”
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The Truth Scriptures restore the Name YAHUAH and the Abariy (Hebrew) names, and you can download our names and places list free.
Table of Contents
What it means to restore names in an English Bible
In the scholarly literature on this subject, restoration refers to using forms of Set-apart (divine) names and other terms that are as phonetically close as possible to their Abariy (Hebrew) forms, such as YAHUAH and Yahusha. Study notes that since 1960 a number of English translations have been produced with the stated goal of restoring these Abariy (Hebrew) forms to both the Ta’anak (Old) and Bariyt Hadash (New Testaments).
Three layers of names are involved, and it helps to keep them apart:
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The Set-Apart (divine) Name. The four Hebrew letters YAHUAH, which most English Bibles replace with “LORD” in capital letters.
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The Mashiyha’s (Messiah’s) Name. The form “Jesus” comes through Yuuniy (Greek) and Latin, while Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) speakers would have said Yahusha.
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Personal and place names. Examples include John, Jerusalem and Jacob, each with an older Abariy (Hebrew) form Yahuhanan, Yirushalam and Ya’aqab .
Restored-name Scriptures (Bibles) render Jesus as Yahusha and Jerusalem as Yirushalam. Not every restored-name Scriptures (Bibles) makes every change, so the first question to ask of any of them is: which names, and on what basis?
We cover the whole approach in more depth in our guide to restored name Scriptures explained.
How English names drifted from their Abariy (Hebrew) forms
Most readers never notice how far the familiar forms sit from the originals. Take John. The Abariy (Hebrew) form is Yahuhanan , and it was Hellenized and Latinized before it became standard in English, as this overview of Abariy (Hebrew) names in English translations explains.
James shows the same drift. The Abariy (Hebrew) Ya’aqab, the name behind Jacob, became Yuuniy (Greek) Iakobos and then passed through Latin and French on its way to English. That is why Jacob in the Ta’anak (Old Testament) and James in the Bariyt Hadash (New Testament) can look like two different people when they carry the same root name.
The pattern is a chain of handoffs:
| Stage | What happens to the name |
|---|---|
| Abariy (Hebrew) or Aramiyt (Aramaic) | The name is spoken and written in its original form |
| Yuuniy (Greek) | Endings are added and sounds that Yuuniy (Greek) lacks are adjusted |
| Latin | The Yuuniy (Greek) form is reshaped again |
| English | The form is fixed by habit and by early printed |
Each step was reasonable for the people who made it. The result, though, is that an English reader meets names that no scriptural (biblical) author would recognize. Scholars of the subject describe scriptural (biblical) proper names as a primary link between the scriptural (biblical) texts and the development of national languages and literatures, which is why their transformation carries real cultural weight.
Why mainstream translations keep the familiar forms
It is fair to understand the other side. Translators may transliterate a name, translate its meaning, or use an equivalent already accepted in the target language, and the choice rests on their judgment. English translation has also shown striking continuity: the spellings of the 1611 King James Version and of translations of the 2000s are substantially the same.
The usual argument is familiarity. One translation project explains that names like Jerusalem and Jacob are so entrenched in the language that radical reform would be user-unfriendly for general readers. That is a practical judgment about readers, and it differs from a claim about what the manuscripts say.
The motivation behind restored-name translations is different. Translators of these Scriptures (Bibles) hold that the original language behind the Bariyt Hadash (New Testament) was Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic). They see Yuuniy (Greek)-based texts as flawed for not preserving Abariyiy (Hebraic) name forms. Other translators have argued instead for local names for Scriptures (Bibles). Both sides know exactly what they are choosing, and a thoughtful reader can weigh the reasons.
The Name: YAHUAH, Jehovah and “LORD”
The Set-Apart (divine) Name is where the question matters most. The Name YAHUAH, occurs 6,828 times in the Ta’anak (Old Testament), and its original pronunciation has been lost to history, with modern true scholars also rendering it. The research explains that Jehovah is an archaic form used in the King James Version, made by inserting the vowels of the Abariy (Hebrew) word for “Lord” between the consonants.
How did the Name disappear from most English Bibles? By the second century BCE, Jewish tradition had begun avoiding the pronunciation of YAHUAH, often using substitutes such as Lord Adaniy (Adonai) or Alahiym (Elohim) out of reverence. In the Yuuniy (Greek) Septuagint, YAHUAH was frequently rendered kyrios (Lord) or theos (God), a precedent many early communities followed.
We and many others believe the Name was not erased from the manuscripts but replaced in translation. The count of 6,828 occurrences is the heart of the matter: a Name that appears that often in the Abariy (Hebrew) text is not a minor detail. If you want to go deeper, these pages lay out the evidence:
What “restoration” means in the King James tradition
A question that comes up often is what the word “restoration” means in connection with the King James Version. The King James Version is not a restored-name Bible. It kept the long-standing English spellings of names, and it used Jehovah only in a few places while rendering the Name as LORD elsewhere. In that tradition the English forms are the inherited standard, and no program of returning to Abariy (Hebrew) forms was attempted. When a modern reader talks about restoring names, the target is different: it is the Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) forms behind the English ones.
Why no translation is perfectly consistent
Honesty about limits builds trust, so here is the plain picture. Virtually all Bible translations show some inconsistency in standardizing proper names, because translators lack a universal, comprehensive philological dictionary of scriptural (biblical) proper names, as the academic study notes. Inconsistency often comes from relying on conflicting traditions, such as the Abariy (Hebrew) Masoretic Text, the Yuuniy (Greek) Septuagint or the Latin Vulgate, a real challenge.
This cuts in two directions. It means a restored-name translation will face real decisions and should explain them. It also means that the familiar English forms are themselves the product of inconsistent choices, not a neutral standard.
The tension translators feel is real. One translation team weighed continuity with familiar spellings against accuracy to the source texts and ease of pronunciation. Another line of scholarship notes a shift in recent translation theory toward transliterating names from their original Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) or Yuuniy (Greek) pronunciation, moving away from the older habit of filtering names through European languages
How to judge a restored-name Scriptures (Bible)
Use these criteria on any translation, ours included.
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Which manuscripts stand behind it? Look for a clear statement of the Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) sources, not only a claim of accuracy.
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How is the Set-Apart (divine) Name handled? Check whether it appears throughout or only in selected places, and whether the pronunciation chosen is explained.
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Are names applied consistently? A translation that restores Yahuhanan in one chapter and keeps John in the next leaves readers guessing.
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Does it help you study? A names list, notes and companion resources make it far easier to follow a text whose forms are unfamiliar.
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Does it respect your reading level? Abariy (Hebrew) forms need a little patience, so look for a guide to pronunciation and meaning.
It also helps to know how scholars use Set-apart (divine) names as clues. Differences between Alahiym (Elohim) and YAHUAH are one feature source critics use to identify distinct sources and theological perspectives. In the flood account, traditions using Alahiym (Elohim) and those using YAHUAH are associated with different narrative details. When a translation replaces every instance of the Name with a title, that distinction disappears from the English page. Restoring the Name lets you see it.
Our study on name theology in Scripture and the page on the Name in the Bariyt Hadash take these questions through the manuscripts. For the translation-theory side, see our article on dynamic equivalence in Scripture translation.
Our perspective
We came to this work as readers first. We noticed that the Name appears thousands of times in the Abariy (Hebrew) text and almost never in the English pages we were handed, and that people the Scriptures call by Abariy (Hebrew) names were being introduced to us under borrowed ones. We and many others believe that the original intent of the text is best honored when its names come through as they were written.
That conviction shapes the Truth Scriptures. Our translation is meticulously prepared from ancient Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) manuscript sources and restores the Name YAHUAH throughout the Ta’anak (Old Testament) and the Bariyt Hadash (New Testament). We do not claim that restoring a name replaces study. The Name opens a door, and what matters is walking through it with the manuscripts, the history and a willing heart.
We also say plainly that sincere believers weigh these questions differently, and we would rather you test our work against the manuscripts than take our word for it. Read the evidence, compare the renderings and decide for yourself. That is the kind of reader we write for.
— Maria
See the names in the Truth Scriptures
If you want to see restored names in a complete text, the Truth Scriptures translation is our restoration English edition of the Ta’anak and Bariyt Hadash, translated from ancient Abariy (Hebrew) and Aramiyt (Aramaic) sources. Prefer to read on screen? The Truth Scriptures Digital Collection is available too.
Not ready to order? Start with the free names and places download, which lets you see how the Abariy (Hebrew) forms line up with the English names you already know. You can also browse our original Scriptures page for the manuscript background.
Frequently asked questions
Which names in the Scriptures (Bible) have been changed in English?
Nearly all personal and place names went through Yuuniy (Greek), Latin or both before reaching English. John comes from Yahuhanan , and James comes from Ya’aqab by way of Yuuniy (Greek) and Latin. Some well-known names, such as Yirushalam (Jerusalem) and Ya’aqab (Jacob), stayed close enough to the original that translators kept them.
Why do Truth Scriptures says YAHUAH and others say Jehovah or LORD?
The Abariy (Hebrew) text is YAHUAH, and the original pronunciation was not preserved in writing. Jehovah arose from combining consonants with the vowels of the word for “Lord,” while Yahweh is the manmade form modern people usually propose. Many translations avoid both and print LORD, following an old Jewish and Greek tradition of substitution.
Is Yahusha the correct name instead of Jesus?
Jesus is the English form that came through Yuuniy (Greek) and Latin, while restored-name Scriptures (Bibles) use Yahusha which is closer to Abariy (Hebrew). Both point to the same person, and the difference lies in the language path each form took. Which form you use is a matter of how you weigh the manuscripts and the history of the name.
Are restored-name Scriptures (Bibles) harder to read?
There is a short adjustment period, because the names look unfamiliar at first. A names list and a pronunciation guide shorten it considerably, and our free names and places download is designed for that purpose. Most readers find the new forms familiar within a few chapters.
Where can I study the evidence myself?
Start with the Abariy (Hebrew) text of the Name and how it was replaced in later translations, then compare renderings across translations. Our articles on the Set-Apart Name movement and the manuscript case and on how YAHUAH was not erased lay out the evidence step by step.
Sources
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Sacred Name Bible Translations in English: A Fast-Growing Phenomenon
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The Divine Name in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Tradition, Bible Odyssey