THE NAMES OF GOD
By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.
© July 23, 2010
www.godsbreath.net
We
all have names and they are very important to us. But God has several names
that have significant meaning because they are directly related to His
character, identity, abilities, purpose, will, emotions and authority. His
names are intricate and complex because He is intricate and complex in nature.
There are mysteries about the names of God as there are mysteries about God.
Part of the mystery is, while we know much about our Heavenly Father, He really
is beyond our understanding and comprehension. The Bible is the best source for
finding out about Him and discovering who He is, but even in scripture there
are mysteries that boggle our mind concerning His name. Hopefully as we investigate the different
names of God we will learn more about Him so that we can continue to grow in
our relationship with Him.
The
most important name of God is the four-letter name represented by the Hebrew letters
YHWH. This is known as the Tetragrammaton (Greek: having four letters). The
Tetragrammaton appears 6,828 times in the Old Testament. These four letters are
usually transliterated from Hebrew as JHWH in German, French and Dutch and
JHVH/YHWH in English. This has been rendered as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” based on
the Latin form of the name. But we must remember that these names are
transliterations or conversions of the original Hebrew name for God that
possessed no vowels.
There
is great respect on the part of Jews for the name of God. His name is not
casually written nor spoken. Much of this tradition came from the Talmud, which
is a collection of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law. Various names
of God were used often, but the YHWH name was to remain unspoken with reverence
and was in a sense regarded as too holy to be spoken by mortal man. Originally
there was a correct pronunciation of this YHWH name of God but this was lost
down through the centuries and we have no certainty of its proper
pronunciation. We do not know the vowels that were used so theologians and
scholars have attempted to offer possibilities so that we might pronounce God’s
name. One suggestion for the four-letter YHWH was “Jehovah” but this
pronunciation is probably unlikely. The word “Jehovah” was suggested because
Jewish texts used to put the vowels of the name “Adonai” (the usual substitute
for YHWH) under the consonants of YHWH to remind people not to pronounce YHWH
as written. It was once thought that “Jehovah” was unknown until 1520 A.D.,
when it was introduced as a possible pronunciation by Galantinus. He combined
the consonants of YHWH with “Adonai.” But now it has been discovered that
“Jehovah” was used as early as 1270 A.D.
When
you see the numerous names of God in the Bible, including “Jehovah,” we must
remember it is an attempt by translators to communicate a name of God that
relates to the doctrines of the Bible, how God manifests Himself at the moment,
or how God wishes to be addressed in a particular situation.
But
what we should remember is that amidst all the confusion over what the true and
proper name of God is, the main point is that God should be honored and
revered. We may not know for sure what His real name is nor how it should be
pronounced, but we should call out to Him by whatever name is easy and
comfortable for us. He is aware of our ignorance of what His name is and
desires a relationship with us whether we know His proper name or not. He knows
our heart and whether it is to praise Him or call out to Him in a time of need,
He will respond. The various names used in scripture help us understand
something of the multi-faceted nature of our God. Remember He is “triune.”
Within the nature of the ONE God there are THREE Persons, each are divine and equally
God but each manifests and works in different ways.
Following
is a list of various names of God as presented in scripture and translated by
theologians and Bible scholars. This comes from a document by Lambert Dolphin
entitled, “The Names of God.”
EL:
God ("mighty, strong,
prominent") used 250 times in the OT See Gen. 7:1, 28:3, 35:11; Nu. 23:22;
Josh. 3:10; 2 Sam. 22:31, 32; Neh. 1:5, 9:32; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5. El is
linguistically equivalent to the Moslem "Allah," but the attributes
of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews.
ELAH is Aramaic, "god." Elah appears in the Hebrew Bible in Jer.
10:11 (which is in Aramaic, and is plural, "gods"). In Daniel (the
Aramaic sections) Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God, also
plural. Elah is equivalent to the Hebrew Eloah which some think is dual; Elohim
is three or more. The gods of the nations are called "elohim." The
origin of Eloah is obscure. Elohim is the more common plural form of El. Eloah
is used 41 times in Job between 3:4 and 40:2, but fewer than 15 times elsewhere
in the OT.
ELOHIM: 
God (a plural noun, more than two, used
with singular verbs); Elohim occurs 2,570 times in the OT, 32 times in Gen. 1.
God as Creator, Preserver, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong. Eccl., Dan. Jonah
used Elohim almost exclusively. See Gen. 17:7, 6:18, 9:15, 50:24; I Kings 8:23;
Jer. 31:33; Isa. 40:1.
EL SHADDAI: 
God Almighty or "God All
Sufficient." 48 times in the OT, 31 times in Job. First used in Gen. 17:1,
2. (Gen. 31:29, 49:24, 25; Prov. 3:27; Micah 2:1; Isa. 60:15, 16, 66:10-13;
Ruth 1:20, 21) In Rev. 16:7, "Lord God the Almighty." The Septuagint
uses Greek "ikanos" meaning "all-sufficient" or
"self-sufficient." ADONAI: 
Lord in our English Bibles (Capital
letter 'L ', lower case, 'ord') (Adonai is plural, the sing. is
"adon"). "Master'' or "Lord" 300 times in the OT
always plural when referring to God, when sing. the reference is to a human
lord. Used 215 times to refer to men. First use of Adonai, Gen. 15:2. (Ex.
4:10; Judges 6:15; 2 Sam. 7:18-20; Ps. 8, 114:7, 135:5, 141:8, 109:21-28). Heavy
use in Isaiah (Adonai Jehovah). 200 times by Ezekiel. Ten times in Dan. 9.
JEHOVAH:
LORD in our English Bibles (all
capitals). Yahweh is the covenant name of God. Occurs 6823 times in the OT
First use Gen. 2:4 (Jehovah Elohim). From the verb "to be", havah,
similar to chavah (to live), "The Self-Existent One," "I
AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE" as revealed to Moses at the
burning bush, Ex.3. The name of God, too sacred to be uttered, abbreviated ( .
. . . ) or written "YHWH" without vowel points. The tetragrammaton.
Josh., Judges, Sam., and Kings use Jehovah almost exclusively. The love of God
is conditioned upon His moral and spiritual attributes. (Dan. 9:14; Ps. 11:7;
Lev. 19:2; Hab. 1:12). Note Deut. 6:4, 5 known to Jews as the Sh'ma uses both
Jehovah and Elohim to indicate one God with a plurality of persons.
JEHOVAH-JIREH: 
"The Lord will Provide." Gen.
22:14. From "jireh" ("to see" or "to provide," or
to "foresee" as a prophet.) God always provides, adequate when the
times come.
JEHOVAH-ROPHE: 
"The Lord Who Heals" Ex.
15:22-26. From "rophe" ("to heal"); implies spiritual,
emotional as well as physical healing. (Jer. 30:17, 3:22; Isa. 61:1) God heals
body, soul and spirit; all levels of man's being.
JEHOVAH-NISSI: 
"The Lord Our Banner." Ex.
17:15. God on the battlefield, from word which means "to glisten,"
"to lift up," See Psalm 4:6.
JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH: 
"The Lord Who Sanctifies"
"To make whole, set apart for holiness." The Lord says:
"Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep
my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy." (Leviticus
20:7-8)
JEHOVAH-SHALOM: "The Lord Our Peace" Judges
6:24. "Shalom" translated "peace" 170 times means
"whole," "finished," "fulfilled,"
"perfected." Related to "well," welfare." Deut. 27:6;
Dan. 5:26; I Kings 9:25 8:61; Gen. 15:16; Ex. 21:34, 22:5, 6; Lev. 7:11-21.
Shalom means that kind of peace that results from being a whole person in right
relationship to God and to one's fellow man.
SHEPHERD: 
Psa. 23, 79:13, 95:7, 80:1, 100:3; Gen.
49:24; Isa. 40:11.
JUDGE: 
Psa. 7:8, 96:13.
JEHOVAH ELOHIM: "LORD God" Gen. 2:4; Judges
5:3; Isa. 17:6; Zeph. 2:9; Psa. 59:5, etc.
JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU 
"The Lord Our Righteousness"
Jer. 23:5, 6, 33:16. From "tsidek" (straight, stiff, balanced - as on
scales - full weight, justice, right, righteous, declared innocent.) God our
Righteousness.
JEHOVAH-ROHI: 
"The Lord Our Shepherd" Psa.
23, from "ro'eh" (to pasture).
JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH: "The Lord is There" (Ezek.
48:35).
JEHOVAH-SABAOTH: 
"The Lord of Hosts" The
commander of the angelic host and the armies of God. Isa. 1:24; Psa. 46:7, 11;
2 Kings 3:9-12; Jer. 11:20 (NT: Rom. 9:29; James 5:4, Rev. 19: 11-16).
EL ELYON: 
'Most High" (from "to go
up") Deut. 26:19, 32:8; Psa. 18:13; Gen. 14:18; Nu. 24:16; Psa. 78:35,
7:17, 18:13, 97:9, 56:2, 78:56, 18:13; Dan. 7:25, 27; Isa. 14:14.
ABIR: 'Mighty One', ("to be
strong") Gen. 49:24; Deut. 10:17; Psa. 132:2, 5; Isa. 1:24, 49:26, 60:1.
BRANCH: 
(tsemach), The Branch: Zech. 3:8, 6:12;
Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5, 33:15.
KADOSH:
"Holy One" Psa. 71:22; Isa. 40:25,
43:3, 48:17. Isaiah uses the expression "the Holy One of Israel" 29
times.
SHAPHAT: "Judge" Gen. 18:25
EL ROI: "God of Seeing" Hagar in
Gen. 16:13. The God Who opens our eyes.
KANNA: "Jealous" (zealous). Ex.
20:5, 34:14; Deut. 5:9; Isa. 9:7; Zech. 1:14, 8:2.
PALET: "Deliverer" Psa. 18:2.
YESHUA: (Yeshua) "Savior" ("he
will save"). Isa. 43:3. Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew
"Joshua." The latter is a contraction of Je-Hoshua.
("Christ", the anointed one is equivalent to the Hebrew Maschiah, or
Messiah).
GAOL: 
"Redeemer" (to buy back by
paying a price). Job 19:25; For example, the antitype corresponding to Boaz the
Kinsman-Redeemer in the Book of Ruth.
MAGEN: "Shield" Psa. 3:3, 18:30.
EYALUTH: "Strength" Psa. 22:19.
TSADDIQ: "Righteous One" Psa. 7:9.
EL-OLAM: "Everlasting God" (God of
everlasting time) Gen. 21:33; Psa. 90:1-3, 93:2; Isa. 26:4.
EL-BERITH: 
"God of the Covenant" Used of
Baal in Judges 9:46. Probably used originally to refer to the God of israel.
EL-GIBHOR: Mighty God (Isa. 9:6)
TSUR:
"God our Rock" Deut. 32:18;
Isa. 30:29.
MELEKH: 
"King" Psa. 5:2, 29:10, 44:4,
47:6-8, 48:2, 68:24, 74:12, 95:3, 97:1, 99:4, 146:10; Isa. 5:1, 5, 41:21,
43:15, 44:6; 52:7, 52:10.
FATHER: 2 Sam. 7:14-15; Psa. 68:5; Isa. 63:16,
64:8; Mal. 1:6.
May
we humble ourselves before our Heavenly Father and with reverence call out to
Him using any one of His holy names.