The Names of God - Part II
Once again, what are all the names of God? Why are there so many different names for God? Why do most of our new translations not keep the different names?
Remember, no one name captures the entirety of God’s essence and character because He is infinite and eternal. He has revealed much about Himself in the multitude of His names. In so doing, He wants to be known personally and intimately. And the more we know Him, the more we understand His glorious uniqueness.
Many gods, One Yahweh
Let’s begin with the first commandment: “I am the Lord (Yahweh) your God (Elohim), who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods (Elohim) before me.”
General names for God like Elohim are plural and speak of God’s triune nature. On occasion it refers to lesser, rival gods as in the text above. Here are two other prominent examples:
Deuteronomy 32:8 & 9, “When the Most High (El Elyon) gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God (Elohim). But the Lord’s (Yahweh) portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”
The other is found in Psalm 82. “God (El Elohim) has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods (Elohim) he holds judgment:”
This may come as a shock to your world view, but Yahweh acknowledges the existence of lesser, rival Elohim. In the Decalogue, God does not prohibit the worship of nothing, or the trivial, or the frivolous. He prohibits the worship of other Elohim, other gods, whose origins stem from the original rebellion of Satan (see 1 Corinthians 10:19 - 20).
But there is only One Yahweh. He is distinct, separate, other than, and above all. He is the God of Redemption, merciful, gracious, infinitely forgiving, and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:5, 6). Therefore, when He says you shall have no other gods before Me, He is saying there are none like Me. He is the only Yahweh, while there are other Elohim. As the Apostle Paul declared in Ephesians 4:6, there is “…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
One God, Many Names
God’s many names are superlatives that speak of volume and immensity. No one name will suffice, nor will they all. However, they are God’s self-disclosure. This is is how He names Himself, and therefore they are worthy of our consideration. This is not an exhaustive list, but only a sample that is intended to show depth.
Eloah. The great majority of its usage occurs i in Job, who alone with his friends use the term to seal of God’s universal dominion over His creation.
El. The common Semitic name for deity in ancient Near Eastern cultures. Every divine being was properly designated by this generic name. El possessed all authority and ordered the world by divine decree. El was a doer and a producer.
El Shaddai. Many English Bibles translate El Shaddai as God Almighty. It literally refers to the God who is sufficient, and as such, the God who supplies.
El Elyon. This name is translated as God Most High in Genesis 14. Melchizedek is the priest-king of Jerusalem blesses Abraham in the name of God Most High, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One who gave Abraham’s enemies into his hand.
El Olam. God of Eternity, or as Abraham called Him in Genesis 21:33, the Everlasting God.
El Roi. A name of comfort and consolation, meaning the God of Seeing or the One who sees me. Hagar called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” (Genesis 16:13–14).
Adonai. In Hebrew, the name means my Great Lord. This was a title of respect, and came to replace the name Yahweh in common Israelite worship. (Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). In Harper’s Bible dictionary (1st ed., pp. 686–687). Harper & Row.)
As with El, so it is with Yahweh. The name is compounded in further effort to describe God’s activities and His attributes. One great example of this is found in Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd - Yahweh-Rohi. This is an especially meaningful name because Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. (Van Groningen, G. (1988). God, Names Of. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 885). Baker Book House.)
Name above all Names
Jesus. His name means Savior, for that is what He does. Importantly, in Him we see and know the Father. Jesus has made Him known (John 1:18, 14:9).
What is more, because of what He has done, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
If we want to know what God is like, we can immerse ourselves in His many names. For full disclosure of His nature, we need only look to Jesus Christ. If we know Him, we know the Father also (John 8:19).
Remember, no one name captures the entirety of God’s essence and character because He is infinite and eternal. He has revealed much about Himself in the multitude of His names. In so doing, He wants to be known personally and intimately. And the more we know Him, the more we understand His glorious uniqueness.
Many gods, One Yahweh
Let’s begin with the first commandment: “I am the Lord (Yahweh) your God (Elohim), who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods (Elohim) before me.”
General names for God like Elohim are plural and speak of God’s triune nature. On occasion it refers to lesser, rival gods as in the text above. Here are two other prominent examples:
Deuteronomy 32:8 & 9, “When the Most High (El Elyon) gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God (Elohim). But the Lord’s (Yahweh) portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”
The other is found in Psalm 82. “God (El Elohim) has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods (Elohim) he holds judgment:”
This may come as a shock to your world view, but Yahweh acknowledges the existence of lesser, rival Elohim. In the Decalogue, God does not prohibit the worship of nothing, or the trivial, or the frivolous. He prohibits the worship of other Elohim, other gods, whose origins stem from the original rebellion of Satan (see 1 Corinthians 10:19 - 20).
But there is only One Yahweh. He is distinct, separate, other than, and above all. He is the God of Redemption, merciful, gracious, infinitely forgiving, and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:5, 6). Therefore, when He says you shall have no other gods before Me, He is saying there are none like Me. He is the only Yahweh, while there are other Elohim. As the Apostle Paul declared in Ephesians 4:6, there is “…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
One God, Many Names
God’s many names are superlatives that speak of volume and immensity. No one name will suffice, nor will they all. However, they are God’s self-disclosure. This is is how He names Himself, and therefore they are worthy of our consideration. This is not an exhaustive list, but only a sample that is intended to show depth.
Eloah. The great majority of its usage occurs i in Job, who alone with his friends use the term to seal of God’s universal dominion over His creation.
El. The common Semitic name for deity in ancient Near Eastern cultures. Every divine being was properly designated by this generic name. El possessed all authority and ordered the world by divine decree. El was a doer and a producer.
El Shaddai. Many English Bibles translate El Shaddai as God Almighty. It literally refers to the God who is sufficient, and as such, the God who supplies.
El Elyon. This name is translated as God Most High in Genesis 14. Melchizedek is the priest-king of Jerusalem blesses Abraham in the name of God Most High, Maker of Heaven and Earth, the One who gave Abraham’s enemies into his hand.
El Olam. God of Eternity, or as Abraham called Him in Genesis 21:33, the Everlasting God.
El Roi. A name of comfort and consolation, meaning the God of Seeing or the One who sees me. Hagar called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” (Genesis 16:13–14).
Adonai. In Hebrew, the name means my Great Lord. This was a title of respect, and came to replace the name Yahweh in common Israelite worship. (Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). In Harper’s Bible dictionary (1st ed., pp. 686–687). Harper & Row.)
As with El, so it is with Yahweh. The name is compounded in further effort to describe God’s activities and His attributes. One great example of this is found in Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd - Yahweh-Rohi. This is an especially meaningful name because Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for His sheep. (Van Groningen, G. (1988). God, Names Of. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 885). Baker Book House.)
Name above all Names
Jesus. His name means Savior, for that is what He does. Importantly, in Him we see and know the Father. Jesus has made Him known (John 1:18, 14:9).
What is more, because of what He has done, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
If we want to know what God is like, we can immerse ourselves in His many names. For full disclosure of His nature, we need only look to Jesus Christ. If we know Him, we know the Father also (John 8:19).
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