Here's a breakdown:
* YHWH: This is the four-letter name of God in Hebrew, often transliterated as "Yahweh" in English. It was considered too sacred to pronounce aloud, so Jewish tradition substituted the word "Adonai" (Lord) when reading it.
* Mispronunciation: During the Middle Ages, some Christian scholars incorrectly assumed that the Hebrew vowels for "Adonai" (which were used in conjunction with the consonants of YHWH) belonged to the name itself. This led to the pronunciation "Jehovah".
* Modern understanding: Scholars now generally understand that the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton is likely closer to "Yahweh". However, "Jehovah" remains a common, though inaccurate, pronunciation used by some Christian traditions.
It's important to note that the proper pronunciation of the divine name remains a subject of debate among scholars. However, "Jehovah" is understood to be a mispronunciation stemming from a historical misunderstanding.