The Divine Name Controversy [Paperback]

Firpo W. Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991

The most important name in the universe is the personal name of God. However, it is also the most controversial name in existence. Bible scholars and translators have debated whether the name should be vocalized for millennia. Even the group that claims the Divine Name as part of their name, Jehovah's Witnesses, say they aren't sure of the correct pronunciation of God's name. But, if the Almighty gave himself a name, the question is, Is he capable of preserving it in his word the Bible? The author of The Divine Name Controversy (Vol. 1) searched God's name is a great number of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. What he came up with will captivate the reader.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

"Is Almighty God capable of preserving the true pronunciation of his name? Has he? How are the secret Dead Sea Scrolls [DSS] involved?" These questions grace the cover of Carr's first book and are the ones he asked himself while working at the world-renowned Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center (ABMC) in Claremont, California. In October 1989, the official newsletter of the ABMC, The Folio, said: "Dr. Firpo Carr...is currently working...in the Dead Sea Scrolls Inventory Project. At present he is performing an initial inventory of the collection of DSS photos [published and unpublished at the time] at the Center." There he examined the unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls where he found many occurrences of the unique name of the Creator of the Universe. But, according to Jewish tradition, the correct pronunciation of this name has been lost forever. Carr respectfully begs to differ and provides sound logic as to the reasons for his conclusions. He worked with such internationally respected scholars as Professor James A. Sanders, a well known Bible scholar and translator who served as president of the ABMC, and the late Professor Doctor John C. Trever, the first scholar to have had initial contact with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Not only was Professor Trever the director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project, he was the very first scholar to photograph and announce to the world the existence of the Dead Sea Scrolls back in 1947. For years before his death he was the last living scholar of the small band of scholars who handled the Scrolls shortly after World War II. The Divine Name Controversy (Vol. 1) is the first book of its kind, containing the first information on the unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls. It is an in-depth consideration of the most popular name in the most popular book in history: the Holy Bible. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Scholar Technological (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963129317
• ISBN-13: 978-0963129314
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,061,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Bible scholar's view of the pronounciation "Jehovah"., May 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Divine Name Controversy (Paperback)

God has a name. So why is it that many English Bible translations have replaced it with the title "LORD" in all capital letters? Why is it that the King James Version has the name standing by itself only 4 times? On the other hand, why do some versions like the American Standard Version include it over 6,000 times in the OT? And why do even fewer contain it in the NT? And is the correct pronounciation of the divine name Jehovah or Yahweh? Dr. Firpo W. Carr, a recent Bible scholar who has earned his PHd in biblical languages, discusses and answers those and other questions.He is well qualified to do so; he has examined several Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible, including the Lenigrad Codex. He was also the first to take photographs of the Dead Sea scrolls which were later saved in electronic format

5.0 out of 5 stars Author Brings to Light a Long Overdue Topic, January 20, 2012

By 

Kingfisher Memorial Library "LibraryMan" (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Divine Name Controversy (Paperback)

The Author has brought to light a very important topic and therefore deserves the purview of all those having an interest in the Bible. The previous negative comment suggested that Dr. Carr does not have the qualifications to write such a book. However, at the outset, I did not see any place in the book preview nor in the front or back cover, where Dr. Firpo W. Carr claims to have a degree in "biblical languages" as the other commentator said. Obviously Dr. Carr has some type of doctorate degree. In my humble opinion this does not disqualify him from writing a much needed book that brings to light the divine name controversy. After all, Jesus own apostles were men "unlettered and ordinary" except perhaps the apostle Paul and maybe Luke. Jesus himself did not have a degree, but was rather a "carpenter's son". However Dr. Carr does claim to be a Bible scholar. By definition a scholar "has a sharp focus that delimits the area of inquiry in which s/he works. He works to develop a complex, depth and sophisticated understanding of any of the topics of study". Therefore anyone who applies himself and devotes his life to a particular study can become a scholar.

Rather than losing the focus of this discussion to such matters, more importantly, even though there may be some inaccuracies, the topic itself is hugely important. If you were the author of a book and the publisher left out your name from the credits and merely quoted you as the "Writer" this would be an outrage. On the other hand, to leave out the author's name from the Bible in more than 7000 locations, as many Bible publishers do, this is an abomination! Therefore Dr. Carr brings up a long overdue subject which is customarily shrouded with prejudice and conspiracy. Dr. Carr deserves the credit for bringing this issue into the lime-light. Other honest individuals are also bringing this to light, such as the producers of the new Divine Name King James Bible. Therefore, as a library director, I will go ahead and order this book for my patrons.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do Not Purchase the DNC 1, July 20, 2011

By 

Amazon customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divine Name Controversy (Paperback)

The "May 15, 1997" posting regarding "Dr. Firpo W. Carr, a recent Bible scholar who has earned his PHd in biblical languages" is misleading since Carr has never held any degrees in biblical languages. Additionally, because Carr viewed and supposedly photographed "several Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible, including the Leni[n]grad Codex" that did not make him "well qualified" to write "The Divine Name Controversy, Vol. 1." In fact, that volume is riddled with foolish blunders that have not been revised for many years. Neither was Carr "the first to take photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were later saved in electronic format." It is not worth purchasing a copy of the DNC 1. The most reliable information on God's sacred name can be found in Bible scholar Gerard Gertoux's 2002 study.