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Names of God
(see also “Some
Thoughts on the Sacred Name”)
This article was written in response to a question from one of my students:
“In what instances are the names of God used? I listened to a study one time that briefly touched on it but I’m still unsure. The person conducting the study was all over the place and very hard to follow. He said “Elohim” refers to God as Creator… Yahweh, as deliverer — and beyond that he lost me completely.”
I don’t have an answer for all of HaShem’s many Names and how they are used on what occasions, but I have gleaned at least of partial list of His many Names and Titles (and some of their uses) that I thought might interest you.
In Judaism, both Rabbinical and Messianic, the appellation[1] “HaShem” or “ADONAI” is probably most frequently used to avoid uttering the Name of God that is considered by Jewish takanot to be too sacred to be pronounced. HaShem is the Hebrew term that translates into English as “The Name.” ADONAI is the Hebrew word for Lord. Sometimes “The Eternal” is also used.
First and foremost, if HaShem has a “personal” Name we should probably consider that it is the Name that is considered too sacred to pronounce, represented by the four letters known as the Tetragrammaton. In Hebrew that Name is represented by the letters יְהוָֹה (yud-hey-vav-hey), and always pronounced (and usually written) in Judaism as “ADONAI,” the Hebrew word for “LORD.” In English the Tetragrammaton is represented by the letters YHVH or YHWH and when represented in most English Bibles, “The Name” is represented by the word “LORD” in small capital letters. When it appears in the text as ADONAI Elohim, it is generally rendered as either LORD God or Lord GOD, depending upon the word order in the Hebrew text. Most recent scholarship has located ancient Hebrew Bible texts in which the vowel points are found on the Tetrartammaton, allowing us to finally know that the proper pronunciation of the Sacred Name is “YeHoVaH.” [See “Some Thoughts on the Sacred Name]
The use of a V or W as the third letter depends on what part of the world you are from. In some parts of the world Hebrew speakers call the third letter “vav” and use the English letter V to represent it. In other parts of the world the same letter is called “waw” and is represented by English letter W. That’s why you will see it represented both ways. (It’s kind of like Hawai'i or Havai'i for the island state.) Hebrew scholars disagree on the “proper” pronunciation.
There is, in fact, no adequate English translation for YHWH. The approximation “I AM WHO I AM” is inadequate. Some claim that the Hebrew word contains past, present, and future tenses and would be the equivalent of “I was Who I was, I am Who I am, I will be Who I will be.” Thus, to translate the Name as “I AM” (first person singular, present tense, of the verb “to be”) is not actually grammatically accurate. Additionally, the “tenses” in Hebrew are determined more from the context than from the actual word construction. This is one of the reasons that I believe that Hebrew is the language spoken in Heaven and taught by HaShem to Adam and Cheva [Eve] in Gan Eden [the Garden of Eden]. It is the language that was spoken by all of humanity up until the dispersion from Babel, and I am convinced it will be the language of the olam haba [the world to come]. I think it very appropriate that the eternal Creator, Who exists outside of the space/time continuum that He created, should teach our first parents to speak a language which has no tenses; that is, no past, present, or future tense per se.
Thus any approximation we attempt to provide for “YHWH” that uses any form of the verb “to be” will remain inadequate: “I am Who I am” or “I will be Who I will be,” neither really works for Him Who was, and is, and is to come. Possibly the “best” English equivalent might be “The Self-Existent One” or simply “The Eternal.”
This (יְהוָֹה, yud-hey-vav-hey, Yehovah) is the Name by which He speaks of Himself in direct relation to His covenants, and is therefore most often referred to as His “Covenant Name.”
One thing that we know with absolute certainty, the word “Jehovah” is definitely not His name. In fact, “Jehovah” is not even a real word, and certainly neither Hebrew nor Aramaic, in that neither language has a letter equivalent to “J” and neither language has a “jay-sound.” The word “Jehovah” is therefore completely impossible to utter in either Hebrew or Aramaic. Go here for an expanded discussion.
When reading the four letters יְהוָֹה (yud-heh-vav-heh) aloud nearly universal Jewish consensus is that respect for the Creator dictates that it be pronounced as “ADONAI,” the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָ֤י (’ă·ḏō·nāy)[2] which indicates lord, master, owner, sovereign, controller.
YHWH vs ELOHIM: The Hidden Meaning of God’s Name
Media Disclaimer: Presence of video or audio recordings on this website does not
necessarily indicate agreement with all (or any) of the speaker’s theological position.
There are 16 Names/Titles of HaShem which are compounded from the Name ADONAI, with an approximation of the meaning of the Title, with a reference to a representative verse or verses in which it is used:
1. ADONAI-Elohim: YHVH God; the Eternal Creator (usually represented in English Bibles as “LORD God”) (Gen. 2:4-25)
2. Adonai-YHVH: Lord YHVH; Master YHVH; YHVH our Sovereign (usually represented in English Bibles as “Lord GOD”) (Gen. 15:2,8)
3. ADONAI-Yireh: YHVH our Provider; Yehovah Who Provides; Yehovah Who Sees (Gen. 22:8-14)
4. ADONAI-Nissi: YHVH our Banner (Exod. 17:15)
5. ADONAI-Ropheka: YHVH our Healer (Exod. 15:26)
6. ADONAI-Shalom: YHVH our Peace (Judges 6:24)
7. ADONAI-Tsidkenu: YHVH our Righteousness (Jer. 23:6; 33:16)
8. ADONAI-Mekaddishkem: YHVH our Sanctifier (Exod. 31:13; Lev. 20:8; 21:8; 22:9,16,32; Ezek. 20:12)
9. ADONAI-Tzva'ot: YHVH of Hosts/Armies (1Sam.1:13,11; 4:4, 15:2; 17:45, etc.; used 281 times); (KJV has Lord of Saba0th in Rom. 9:29; Jas. 5:4)
10. ADONAI-Shammah: YHVH is Present (Ezek. 48:35)
11. ADONAI-Elyon: YHVH Most High (Ps. 7:17; 47:2; 97:9)
12. ADONAI-Rohi: YHVH my Shepherd (Ps. 23:1)
13. ADONAI-Hosenu: YHVH our Maker (Ps. 95:6)
14. ADONAI-Eloheinu: YHVH our God (Ps. 99:5,8,9)
15. ADONAI-Ekoheka: YHVH your God (Exod. 20:2,5,7)
16. ADONAI-Elohay: YHVH my God (Zech. 14:5)
Some of the additional Names and Titles of God include the following:
1. Elohim (2,701 times) / Plural of Eloah; literally, Gods / the Supreme God; the Creator God. Used to indicate the relation of HaShem to man as Creator, in contrast with יְהוָֹה (yud-heh-vav-heh, YHVH) which indicates Him in covenant relationship with His creation. The word elohim literally means “mighty ones” and is used also of the B'nei Elohim, false gods, idols, and the elders of Israel.
2. יְהוָֹה (yud-hey-vav-hey, YHVH, YeHoVaH) (6,427) / The Eternal One / The covenant Name He revealed to Israel, and therefore became their national Name for Him and always pronounced (and usually written) in Judaism as “ADONAI,” the Hebrew word for “Lord or Master.” יְהוָֹה (yud-heh-vav-heh) is represented in most English Bibles as LORD (all upper-case) or small capitals (LORD) except when used with Adonai (Lord) as part of a compound designation. For example: (yud-hey-vav-hey) יְהוָֹה-Elohim would be LORD God, whereas Adonai-יְהוָֹה (yud-hey-vav-hey) would be Lord GOD.
3. El (220 times) / Strength; the Strong and Mighty One; the Almighty; the Most High God
4. Eloah (56 times) / Deity; God; the Divine One
5. Elah (76 times) / God (used only in Ezra and Daniel)
6. Tsur (once) / Rock; Refuge (Isa. 44:8)
7. El-Elyon (250 times) / Most High God; the Mighty One; Highest Sovereign; the First Cause; possessor of the heavens and earth
8. El-Shaddai (218 times) / God Almighty / El signifies Strong One; Shaddai signifies Breasted One. Signifies HaShem as the Strong Nourisher, Strength-Giver, Satisfier, All-Bountiful, Fruitful One, Life Giver; Supplier of the needs of His people. Used in the narrative of making Avraham and Sarah fruitful.
9. Adon (30 times) / Ruler, Master, Lord, Possessor
10. El-Olam / Literally, the Mighty Everything or the Mighty Eternity. The name of HaShem which expresses His eternal Being as well as His authorship of all eternal things, plans, and purposes in the universe. The word “olam” conveys the idea of time out of mind, eternity, everlasting, perpetual, always, everyplace and every time; the entire universe. It is translated in the KJV as “everlasting” 67 times, “ever” 238 times, “evermore” 15 times, “perpetual” 22 times, and “eternal” 11 times; it is also translated as “ancient,” “always,” “of old,” “for ever and ever,” “at any time,” “never,” “alway,” “the world,” and “long.” In every case, it expresses that which is without end whether used of HaShem, covenants, possessions, hills, mercy, distance, direction, or other subjects.
11. Yah / An abbreviation of Yehovah
13. Father
14. Most High
This list doesn’t include any of the titles of Messiah or of Ruach HaKodesh, which would be a whole other study in and of itself. I am sure that there numerous additional Names and Titles that I have missed.
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This list of names is gleaned from numerous locations throughout Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible by Finis Jennings Dake, Dake Bible Sales, Inc., Lawrenceville GA 30246, copyright 1963. Dake’s approach and interpretation appears to be “hyper-Pentecostal” so I approach his commentary with considerable caution; but I doubt that you will find a more extensive and exhaustive resource for sheer statistics about the Bible.
Why we refer to God as HaShem • Names of God in Judaism
1. An appellation is a title used in place of a name, also called a circumlocution (a roundabout way of referring to someone or something), to avoid the use of the actual name. In Judaism, the name of God is considered too sacred to be pronounced except on the rarest of occasions, so alternate forms of reference are nearly always used instead. [BACK]
2. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/113.htm [BACK]
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