The Divine Name and the New Testament: Defending the Traditional Dating of the New Testament

One striking example of the Jewish imprint on the Greek New Testament is the circumlocution of the Divine Name. The Jewish authors, reverent of the Tetragram, never wrote it explicitly in Greek, even when translating or quoting Hebrew Scripture. Instead, they often used Kyrios (Lord) or other titles, preserving a subtle layer of Jewish tradition within the Greek text. This practice reflects both linguistic and theological consciousness: it shows that the authors were fluent in Greek yet shaped their writing according to Hebrew norms and religious sensitivities. Such traces are evidence not only of the Jewish origin of the texts but also of their historical reliability: the apostles and early Christian authors were carefully transmitting the Jewish understanding of God, even while addressing a broader Greek-speaking audience. By examining these patterns, one sees that the New Testament carries within its language the echoes of Hebrew thought and worship, affirming the continuity between