Theonyms Jehovah and Yahweh in the Ukrainian literature in the second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries

Abstract

The occurrences of the names Jehovah and Yahweh in the Ukrainian classical literature, poetry
and early academic writings are analyzed. The authors concluded that both theonyms were widely
used by different Ukrainian authors in various contexts and styles. It is established that although
a number of variant renderings occur for both words in the 19th century writing, reflecting minor
spelling and pronunciation differences which existed before the unified literary norm stabilized, by
far, both theonyms were used in the form which has until now remained dominating in the Ukrainian
language (Yehóva and Yáhve respectively).
The name Jehovah was known in Ukraine long before the 19th century, yet its occurrences
start counting dozens in language corpora only after 1850. As for the theonym Yahweh, it became
a regular part of the language in the last third of the 19th century. The theonym Jehovah occurs
more often than Yahweh in the available sources. It became widespread in fiction and journalism,
and it was prevailing over the theonym Yahweh in texts in poetry and in fiction, especially in
pieces reinterpreting Bible stories (such as “Moses” by I. Franko), or describing Jewish history and modernity, both in ancient Judea and in early modern Ukraine (such as “Adventures on the Road”
by O. Konyskyi). Meanwhile the word Yahweh was used extensively in research works, especially
in articles on Bible criticism and archeology. Some authors, including I. Franko and L. Ukrainka
were using both theonyms depending on the theme of text, which proves that choosing one or the
other was a matter of style.
While neither the word Jehovah nor the word Yahweh became the most common way of describing
God in the Ukrainian language, they both became an integral part of the literary language.
Keywords: Jehovah, Yahweh, Ukrainian literature, theonyms, Franko, Lesya Ukrainka,
Ohienko