Names of God

In English we use names as handles to identify each other. (Even though English names generally have meanings the meanings are not usually considered important.) The Bible uses the notion of a name more as a description than a handle. In the Bible names have meanings that are generally important to the story. When it comes to God there is more than a little confusion about the name of God these days. This stems from a general lack of understanding of the Jewish and Christian concepts of God and the use of names in the Bible. To the Jew and Christian, God is a God who is outside our physical reality yet condescends to reveal Himself to those of us who are inside of our reality. This God is unique and because of this understanding it is unnecessary to distinguish Him from any other gods there might be. So, from the perspective of most English translations, the Bible does not worry about God's name until we, along with Moses, arrive at the burning bush in Exodus 3. At this point in the story there is a need to distinguish between the God who is sending Moses to deliver Israel and the other gods there might be, specifically in this story, the Egyptian gods including, in some sense, Pharaoh himself. When Moses asks for God's name he gets a rather odd answer that has perplexed translators ever since:

¹³ Then Moses said to God, "When I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" ¹⁴ And God said to Moses, "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh." He continued, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites, 'Ehyeh sent me to you.'" ¹⁵ And God said further to Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.'
This will be my name forever,
This is my appellation [name or title] for all eternity. (Exodus 3.13-15 JPS)

God said his name is "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh" which the Jewish Publication Society does not translate, perhaps because their target audience has some understanding of the following material. Most other English Bibles do translate the phrase, for example, the King James version renders it: "I Am that I Am" and subsequently uses the phrase as a proper name for God.  

Hebrew grammer is a bit confusing and as near as I understane here is why there is a translation difficulty:  

Ehyeh is the first-person singular imperfect form of hayah, "to be" so, Ehyeh is usually translated "I will be." (Hebrew does not have a present tence for ehyeh.) This is because the imperfect tense in Hebrew tells us that the action is not yet completed. Asher is a pronoun which can mean, depending on context, "that", "who", "which", or "where." So while Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh is generally rendered in English "I am that I am," it might be that a better renderings might be "I will be what I will be" or "I will be who I will be", or "I shall prove to be whatsoever I shall prove to be" or even "I will be because I will be." Other renderings include: "I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE"; "I Will Become whatsoever I please." Some of these will be familiar from footnotes in your Bible. The problem is not unique to English translations, the Greek phrase, Ego eimi ho on (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν), "I am The Being" is the translation used in the Septuagint, and the writings of Philo. The point being that God is wholly other, He is the self-existing one, The Being. Both Greek and English being somewhat more concrete than Hebrew. The hebrew phrase points to the uniqueness of God. Greek, wanting to nail things down has some dificulty with that notion.

Assuming that we have all arrived at verse 15 we still need to tackle 'The Lord,' which is a substitution (rather than a translation) that appears in many Bibles. This substitution is used to indicate the Tetragrammaton, יהוה, (YHVH; Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei) which is really more a symbol than a name.

...Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei (YHVH).... is often referred to as the Ineffable Name, the Unutterable Name or the Distinctive Name. Linguistically, it is related to the Hebrew root Hei-Yod-Hei (to be), and reflects the fact that God's existence is eternal. In scripture, this Name is used when discussing God's relation with human beings, and when emphasizing his qualities of lovingkindness and mercy. It is frequently shortened to Yah (Yod-Hei), Yahu or Yeho (Yod-Hei-Vav), especially when used in combination with names or phrases, as in Yehoshua (Joshua, meaning "the Lord is my Salvation"), Eliyahu (Elijah, meaning "my God is the Lord"), and Halleluyah ("praise the Lord"). (Judasim 101)

At some point in history the Jews stopped pronouncing the name and so the original pronunciation is lost. The meaning, however, hearkens back to God's first answer God gave Moses which indicates that God is past, present and future all at once. All of this is really only part of the problem we limited imperfect creatures have trying to relate to our God and creator. This is why there are various "names" used for God in the Bible. Because God is more than we can comprehend there could not be one way to describe Him fully. Again we need to remember that the name in the Bible is more a description than a handle. 

Many of the names for God fall into broad categories that can be divided as follows:

Name	Translation	Rendered in many Bibles	Comment
Adonai	Lord, Master or owner	lord	Adonai is actually the plural form of Adon but it is functionally singular when used to refer to God. In Hebrew the verbs and modifiers in the sentences must agree with the nouns in number. When Adonai is used to refer to God the verbs and other modifiers are singular. Some call this an emphatic plural. Some translations use Adonai to substitute for the Tetragrammaton (see below).
El/Elohim/Elohe	The name of God as the creator and judge of the universe.	God	Most commonly it is thought that Elohim is the masculine plural form of El. There are some who think that it is from Elo'ah or Eloi. El is also sometimes used for the god of the Canaanites and elohim is sometime translated the gods. Depending on the context. (see Words for God)
YHVH or Jehova or Yahweh	The Tetragrammaton יהוה (Yod Hei Vav Hei)	Lord	This is the most common name used for God in the Hebrew Bible. In current Jewish practice this name is not pronounced. Although this has not always been the case and it is unclear as to when this taboo entered the tradition. Theophoric names containing the diminutive "Ja" are common. In Jewish tradition, when this name of God occures in the text HaShem is substituted.
HaShem	The Name		Used in Jewish tradition as a substitute for the unpronounceable Tetragrammaton when reading scripture. This is likely the reason for the use of Lord described above.

 

In the Bible the above names are used with other modifiers to describe God as in the following table. There are other descriptions of God that are more from context than from complex constructions that could be also be construed names they are in the next table.

Construction notice: As with most of this site I pinch much of this material from the references that are listed at the bottom of the page, paste it together and then work to harmonize it. This is often a messy process and these tables are proving to be a monumental task. I have pointed out above that the "names" are often used with modifiers that tell us about the nature of God. Because of differences in grammar the modifier is often separated from the nown in the English which can make this a bit more confusing. As I am a language hacker rather than a language scholar the Hebrew transliterations are inconsistent a best.

 

Name		Story	Example Reference
Hebrew	English
Adonai - lord
Adonai	Lord	Israel Encouraged to Follow God's Guidance	Deuteronomy 10.17
Adonai Tsuvah	The Lord my salvation	A Psalm of repentance: The whole psalm is a good example of how many of the names of God are used poetically and often interchangeably.	Psalm 38.22
Adonai-Tzva’ot	Lord of Hosts	The introductory section of Isaiah listing the national sins of Judah and proving the need for a prophet.	Isaiah 3.1
Adonai Yir'eh	The LORD Will Provide	Abraham - at the 'lifting up' of Isaac. The Lord provided the sacrifice to redeem Isaac, so it is said in the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.	Genesis 22.13-14
Adonai Rof'echah	The LORD Who Heals you	Israel on the receiving of the covenant.	Exodus 15.26
Adonai Nisi	The LORD (my) Banner	Moses - when the Amalekites are defeated	Exodus 17.15; 19.4-6
Adonai M'kadishchem	The LORD Who Sanctifies (you)	Israel - Reinforcing the sabbath during the construction of the tabernacle.	Exodus 31.13
Adonai YHWH	Lord God	Abram's response in a vision when he had no offspring	Genesis 15.2
Adonoi YHWH TSABA	The Lord, the LORD Almighty	The introductory section of Isaiah listing the national sins of Judah and proving the need for a prophet.	Isaiah 3.1
Adonai Eloheinu	The LORD (our) God	The Shema	Deuteronomy 6.4, 5
Adonai Roee	The LORD (my) Shepherd	David - the Shepherd Psalm	Psalm 23
Adonai Tz'vaot	The LORD of Hosts	A Psalm of David	Psalm 24
El - God
EL	God	This is the end of the story where Jacob meets Essau on his return from Haran.	Genesis 33.20
EL AMAN	Faithful God	This is part of the story where Israel is commanded to destroy the Canaanites and their idols	Deuteronomy 7.9
El Berith	God of the Covenant	In the story of Abimelich, son of Gideon, who succeeds Gideon in a coup. He is the anti-judge.	Judges 9.46
EL CHUWL	The God who gave you Birth	In the Song of Moses, after Joshua has been installed as the leader. Moses recounts the history of Israel	Deuteronomy 32.18
EL DEAH	God of Knowledge	In Hannah's prayer at the dedication of Samuel.	I Samuel 2.3
El Elyon	God Most High	The story of Melchizedek of Salem.	Genesis 14.18-22
			Psalm 18.13
			Genesis 14.18-22
			Numbers 24.16
EL GADOL GIBOR YARE	The Great, Mighty, Awesome God		Deut. 10:17
EL GHAH'Y	Living God		Jos. 3:10
EL-GIBHOR	Mighty God		Isaiah 9.6
EL G'MULAH JEHOVAH	The LORD, God of Vengeance		Jeremiah 51.56
EL HAKABODH	God of Glory		Psalm 29.2
EL KAHVOHD	God of Glory		Psalm 29.3
EL MELECH	God the King		Psalm 68.24
EL MOHSHAHGOTH	God of Salvation		Psalm 68.20
EL NAHSAH	God who Forgives		Psalm 99.8
EL NATHAN N'QAMAH	God who Avenges for Me		Psalm 18.47
EL-OLAM	Everlasting God		Genesis 21.33; Psalm 90.1-3, 93.2; Isaiah 26.4
EL RACHUM	Merciful God		Deuteronomy 4.13
El Roee	The God who sees (me)	Hagar - when she has been sent away	Genesis 16.13Isaiah 55.3-5
EL SHADDAI	God Almighty		Genesis 17.1
EL SEHLAG	God my Rock		Psalm 42.9
El SIMCHAH GIYL	God my Exceeding Joy		Psalm 43.4)
EL NASA	Forgiving God		Psalm 99.8
Elohe Avraham, Elohe Yitzchak ve Elohe Ya'aqov	God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob
Elohe Sara, Elohe Rivka, Elohe Leah ve Elohe Rakhel	God of Sarah, God of Rebecca, God of Leah, and God of Rachel
ELOHIM	God		Genesis 1.1
ELOHIM BASHAMAYIN	God in Heaven		Deuteronomy 4.39
Elohim Chayim	The Living God	Israel - Recalling the 10 commandments.	Deuteronomy 5.24, 26
ELOHIM MISGAB	God my Defense		Psalm 59.17
ELOHIM TSEDEQ	God my Righteousness		Psalm 4.1
ELOHIM YAKOL	God, the Most Able		Daniel 3.17
ELOHIM YARE	God Most Awesome		Psalm 68.35
ELOHIM YESHUA	God my Salvation		Psalm 62.1
ELOHIM KEDOSHIM	Holy God		Joshua 24.19
Tetragrammaton - יהוה
YHWH	Self-Existing Lord	first used in Gen 3.4. Explained in the Burning Bush story of Ex 6	Exodus 6.2
YHWH AZAR	The Lord my Helper		Psalm 30.10
YHWH AMAN	The Faithful Lord		Isaiah 49.7
YHWH BORE	The Lord Creator		Isaiah 40.28
YHWH GAAL	The Lord thy Redeemer		Isaiah 49.26
YHWH-JIREH	The Lord will Provide	Abraham's dedication/sacrifice of Isaac. Strictly speaking Abraham names the place YHWH-jireh.	Genesis 22.1-14
YHWH-NISSI	The Lord Our Banner	Moses is on the hill holding the staff of God.  After the battle he builds an alter, the name of the alter is "the Lord my banner"	Exodus 17.8–15
YHWH-M'KADDESH	The Lord Who Sanctifies		Exodus 31.13 Leviticus 20.8
YHWH ORI	The Lord is my Light		Psalm 27.1
YHWH-ROHI	The Lord Our Shepherd	The Shepherd Psalm	Psalm 23
YHWH-RAPHE	The Lord Who Heals	The Bitter made sweet at Marah	Exodus 15.22-26
YHWH-Sabaoth	Jord of hosts	YHVH and Elohim occur with Sabbath over 285 times. It is most frequently used in Jeremiah and Isaiah.	I Sam 1.3
YHWH-Shammah	The LORD Is Present		Ezekiel 48:35
YHWH-Shalom	The LORD Our Peace	Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace.  This is actually the name of the alter but by extension the name of the Lord.	Judges 6:24
YHWH SHAPHAT	The Lord our Judge		Is. 33:22
YHWH-TSIDKENU	The Lord Our Righteousness	The Righteous Branch	Jeremiah 23:6
YHWH TSUR	The Lord my Strength		Ps. 144:1
Other "Names" - some from tradition
Name		Story	Example Reference
Hebrew	English
Adon Olam	Master of the World	Adon Olam is a short hymn that summarizes the Jewish understanding of G-d
Abhir	Mighty One	Used in conjunction with another noun like Jacob or Israel. Gen 49 is the story of Israel blessing his sons.	Gen. 49:24; Ps.132:2
Abhir Yisreal	Mighty One of Israel	Adonai-Tzva’ot	Is. 1:24
ADDIYR JEHOVAH	Glorious Lord		Is. 33:21
CETHER	My hiding Place		Ps. 32:7
CHYAHLUTH	My Strength		Ps. 22:19
EYALUTH	Strength		Ps. 22:19
GELAH RAZ	Revealer of Mysteries		Dan. 2:28
GAOL	Redeemer		Job 19:25
K'dosh Israel	The Holy One of Israel	Isaiah -	Is 55.3-5 Ps. 71:22; Is. 40:25, 43:3, 48:17
KANNA	Zealous		Ex. 20:5, 34:14; Deut. 5:9; Is. 9:7
MAGEN	Shield		Ps. 3:3, 18:30
MELEK KABOWD	King of Glory		Ps. 24:7
MARE'	Lord		Dan. 2:47
OLAM ZEROWA	The Everlasting Arms		Deut. 33:26
PALET	Deliverer		Ps. 18:2
RAB	Lord, Nourisher		Dan. 2:10
RUMN RO'SH	The One who lifts my head		Ps 3:3
SHAPHAT	Judge		Gen. 18:25
TSADDIQ	Righteous One		Ps. 7:9
Tzur Israel	The Rock of Israel	David's song of praise when he had been delivered from his enemies -	II Sam 22.47, 23.3
Uri Gol	The New LORD for a New Era		Judges 5:14
YESHAU (Y'shua)	Savior		Is. 43:3
Tzur	Our Rock		Deut. 32:18; Is. 30:29
Tzur Israel	Rock of Israel

 

 Scraps:

Avinu Malkeinu — "Our Father, Our King"

Emet — "Truth"

E'in Sof — "Endless, Infinite", Kabbalistic name of God

HaKadosh, Barukh Hu (Hebrew); Kudsha, Brikh Hu (Aramaic) — "The Holy One, Blessed Be He"

HaRachaman — "The Merciful One"

Kadosh Israel — "Holy One of Israel"

Melech HaMelachim—"The King of Kings" or Melech Malchei HaMelachim "The King, King of Kings", to express superiority to the earthly rulers title.

Makom or HaMakom — literally "The Place", perhaps meaning "The Omnipresent" (see Tzimtzum)

Magen Avraham — "Shield of Abraham"

Ribono shel 'Olam — "Master of the World"

Ro'eh Yisra'el — "Shepherd of Israel"

 

 

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism 1/2/15

http://wahiduddin.net/words/99_pages/app_d_hebrew.htm 1/2/15

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Adonai/adonai.html 1/15/15

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Elohim/elohim.html 1/15/15

http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/monotheism/context-elohim.html 1/15/15

http://www.jewfaq.org/name.htm 1/31/15

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/misc/name_god.cfm 1/31/15

 

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 Words for God

In the Hebrew Bible there are four words translated "God" El, Elah, Elo'ah, and Elohim.

1. The oldest Semitic word meaning "God" is El. Linguists believe its base meaning is strength or power. "El" is the Strong One, or the Deity (God). It occurs 238 times in the Bible, and is first used in Genesis 14:18 in the phrase "God Most High" [El Elyon].

   The Canaanites called their chief deity El, the Mighty Bull. After the Israelites entered Canaan, they adopted this generic word "El" for their God, though "Elohim" took precedence. In some Canaanite myths, one of El's sons was the notorious Ba'al, the nemesis of the true God throughout much of Israel's history.

   In the Bible, El is often combined in proper names to produce theophorics: Isra-El; Shmu-El (Samuel); El-ijah; Immanu-El; Jo-El; Dani-El; Beth-El. It's also found in compounds: El Shaddai, El Elyon, El Roi, El Olam.

2. Elah is the Aramaic word for "God" used in the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra and one verse in Jeremiah (10:11). Its plural form Elahin is used at least once for the true God (Dan 5:23).
3. The word Elo'ah is used some 57 times, mostly in the book of Job. It is likely the singular form behind Elohim.
4. The generic term Elohim refers to the true "God" (2507 times), as well as to "gods," "goddesses," and things divine or mighty. In total, it occurs 2602 times in the Hebrew Bible.

http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/monotheism/context-elohim.html

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