Only Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Umberto Eco, world-famous historian, philosopher, and specialist in languages, reported in a newspaper column recently that two correspondents had taken him to task. Why? He says that they “advised me that I should not say ‘Geova’ [Italian for “Jehovah”] to indicate the God of the Old Testament, but ‘Iahveh’ or ‘Yahveh,’ because ‘Geova’ is spoken only by the Witnesses of the same.” His answer? “This is humbug because the dictionaries show ‘Geova’ as the current Italianization of Iahveh.”

Professor Eco is correct, of course. Interestingly, at one time Jehovah’s name must have been widely known in Italy, since it is used in the decoration of many churches there. One example can be seen in the accompanying photograph. It should be noted that in earlier times God’s name was spelled ‘Jeova’ rather than ‘Geova’ on Italian churches. Today, though, as the comments of Professor Eco’s correspondents indicate, if an ordinary Italian knows of the name Geova, it is more than likely because he heard it from one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.