More On The Names of God

From a Bible study I wrote on the subject:

El (Or Elohim) & Yahweh- El literally just means “God”, and is used as a proper name for God in the Exodus passage below. Elohim, used interchangeably with El, means ‘God of gods’. The use of the plural Elohim when referring to God has long been an issue of debate. Yahweh can be translated “I Am” or “I Am What I Am” or “I Will Be What I Will Be”. It is also used as a proper name for God in the Exodus passage.

Genesis 4:26

To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon the name of [Yahweh].

Exodus 3:13-15

³ Then Moses said to [El], “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ [El] said to Moses, “[Yahweh]” and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘[Yahweh] has sent me to you.’” ¹⁵ [El], furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘[Yahweh], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

 El Shaddai- El Shaddai is usually translated “God Almighty”. It may literally mean ‘The God of the Mountains’ or ‘The God Who Nurses’. Another possible meaning is ‘God the Destroyer’. Most Bibles combine the first and third meanings and emphasize ‘Almighty’. Some translators suggest that we should combine the first and second meanings and translate it ‘The Breasted Lord’ or ‘The God of the Two Mountains’

Genesis 17:1-5

 ¹ Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him,

   “I am [El Shaddai];
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
² “I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
 ³ Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
 ⁴ “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
⁵ “No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Exodus 6:1-9

¹ Then [Yahweh] said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for ^[under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.”

 ² God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am [Yahweh]; ³ and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as [El Shaddai], but by My name, [Yahweh], I did not make Myself known to them. ⁴ I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. ⁵ Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶ Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am [Yahweh], and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷ Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am [Yahweh] your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸ I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am [Yahweh].’” ⁹ So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.

Ezekiel 10:4-5

⁴ Then the glory of [Yahweh] went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of [Yahweh]. ⁵ Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of [El Shaddai] when He speaks.
 ⁶ It came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel.

 El Elyon- Means literally ‘God Most High’.

Genesis 14:17-24

 ¹⁷ Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of [El Elyon]. ¹⁹ He blessed him and said,

   “Blessed be Abram of [El Elyon]
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be [El Elyon]
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
   He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to [Yahweh] [El Elyon], possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”


Yahweh Rapha- Translated literally this means ‘I Am Your Healer’, “I Will Be Your Healer” or ‘Yahweh The Healer’. Eventually this aspect of God’s character was attributed to an archangel, Raphael. Notice in the name “Raphael” the terms ‘Rapha’ and ‘El’…Raphael means ‘God heals’.

Exodus 15:26

²⁶ And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the [Yahweh] your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for [I am Yahweh Rapha]


Qanna – Literally translated “Jealous” God tells the Hebrews this is His proper name when they are thinking about going after to worship other gods.

Exodus 34:14

¹⁴ —for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is [Qanna], is a jealous God—

 El Roi- This is the name that Hagar gave to God when she encountered him in the desert. It literally means “The God That Sees”.

Genesis 16:13-14
¹³ Then she called the name of [Yahweh] who spoke to her, “You are [El Roi]”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called [The Well of the One Who Sees]; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.


Shekinah- The name Shekinah means ‘the Presence’ or ‘The Face’. It is the name Jews use to describe the physical manifestation of God that was present in the Ark and the Temple. Shekinah is closely related to the idea of the Holy Spirit, at least in some parts of the Bible, and became one of the names of the Holy Spirit for Christians. Shekinah is a feminine term in Hebrew, and one of only two such terms used as names for God. Eventually, in some mystical sects of Judaism and Christianity, this term became very important indeed. People thought of Shekinah as the name of God within, the God we could access within ourselves.

Exodus 25:29-31

²⁹ You shall make its dishes and its pans and its jars and its bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. ³⁰ You shall set the bread of [Shekinah] on the table before Me at all times.

Exodus 33:12-22

 ¹² Then Moses said to the [Yahweh], “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ ¹³ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “[Shekinah] shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If [Shekinah] does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. ¹⁶ For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?” 

Abba- This is the word sometimes used for ‘Father’ in the New Testament. Wherever it is used, the Greek translators include the Aramaic term, ‘Abba’ used as a proper name, and the Greek translation, which is ‘Father’. But literally translated Abba means ‘daddy’, it is a childlike way to talk about one’s parent.

Mark 14:36

³⁶ And He was saying, “[Abba], all things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.”

Romans 8:15

¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “[Abba, which means] Father!”

 Adonai- Adonai is the name that is always used to refer to God when Jews make their prayers. They translate the name “Yahweh” as “Adonai”. It literally means “Lord”, and so in the Bible the name Yahweh is translated THE LORD (capitalized to emphasize its relationship with the name YHWH). Adonai expresses greatness, or beauty. It is a way to recognize that someone is ‘better than’ you are. The name Adonis has the same root.

Joshua 7:6-9
⁶ Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. ⁷ Joshua said, “Alas, O [Adonai Yahweh], why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O [Adonai], what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?”






Yahweh Shalom- Shalom is a very powerful, complex word in Hebrew. It is usually translated ‘peace’, and that is one aspect of Shalom. But a better translation may be something like ‘made complete’ or ‘made whole’. Translated literally this can mean “Yahweh Makes Us Whole”; “Yahweh Is Our Peace”; “I Am The One Who Makes You Whole” or “I Am The One Who Brings Peace”.

Judges 6:24

²⁴ Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and named it [Yahweh Shalom]. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.


Yeshua Mesiah- The Aramaic/Hebraic equivalent of Jesus Christ. Literally translated Yeshua or Jesus means “God Saves”. Christ means “God’s Chosen” Jesus Christ would mean “The Anointed One Through Whom God Saves”.

Revelation 1:1-7

 ¹ The Revelation of [Yeshua Mesiah], which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, ² who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of [Yeshua Mesiah], even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

 ⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from [Yeshua Mesiah], the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— ⁶ and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 

Ruach Hakodesh- Literally “The Holy Breath” this is the proper name of the Holy Spirit. It emphasizes the Spirit as a life-giving force. It is sometimes closely associated with Shekinah and like Shekinah is a feminine phrase.

Acts 8:14-19

 ¹⁴ Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them that they might receive [Ruach Hakodesh]. ¹⁶ For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving [Ruach Hakodesh]. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive [Ruach Hakodesh].”