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Genesis 21:33 – NASB vs. HCSB
Genesis 21:33 NASB Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
Genesis 21:33 HCSB (2004) Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he worshiped the LORD, the Everlasting God.
Genesis 21:33 HCSB (2010) Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God
Here is an example of where the older version of the HCSB is inferior to the NASB, and yet the 2010 update of the HCSB shines brilliantly and better than the NASB. While “called on the name of” is definitely worship, it should not be translated as such. The word for worship or bow down is first used in Genesis 22:5. Translating 21:33 as worship confuses the English reader into thinking they are the same Hebrew.
Translating YHWH should always be done as Yahweh and never as LORD. The argument that we do not know how to pronounce the Tetragrammaton is flawed, because while we do not know how to pronounce, we do know how it is not pronounced – as L-O-R-D.
I am thankful to the updated version of the HCSB for using more often Yahweh to translate the Tetragrammaton. I just wish they would have used it constantly which would have been the consistent choice.
We see the same again in Genesis 26:25.
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