What are the different names of God, and what do they mean? | GotQuestions.org

What are the different names of God and what do they mean? Each of the many names of God describes a different aspect of his many -faceted character.

Here are some better known names of God in the Bible. El Eloha – God, Mighty, Strong, Prominent.

Etymologically, El appears to mean Power and Might. El is associated with other qualities such as Integrity, Jealousy, and Compassion, but the root idea of Might remains.

Elohim – God, Creator, Mighty, and Strong. The plural form of Eloah, which accommodates the doctrine of the

Trinity. From the Bible's first sentence, the superlative nature of God's power is evident as God, Elohim, speaks the world into existence.

El Shaddai – God Almighty, the Mighty One of Jacob, speaks to God's ultimate power over all.

Adonai – Lord, used in place of Yahweh, which was thought by the Jews to be too sacred to be uttered by sinful men.

In the Old Testament, Yahweh is more often used in God's dealings with His people, while Adonai is used more when

He deals with the Gentiles. Yahweh – Jehovah, Lord, strictly speaking the only proper name for God, translated in English Bibles as Lord, all capitals, to distinguish it from Adonai.

The revelation of the name is first given to Moses in Exodus chapter 3, I am who

I am. This name specifies an immediacy, a presence. Yahweh is present, accessible, near to those who call on Him for deliverance, forgiveness, and guidance.

Yahweh Jireh – The Lord will provide, the name memorialized by Abraham when

God provided the ram to be sacrificed in place of Isaac. Yahweh Rapha –

The Lord who heals, I am Jehovah who heals you both in body and soul, in body by preserving from and curing diseases, and in soul by pardoning iniquities.

Yahweh Nisi – The Lord our banner, where banner is understood to be a rallying place.

This name commemorates the desert victory over the Amalekites in Exodus 17. Yahweh Mekedesh –

The Lord who sanctifies, makes holy. God makes it clear that He alone, not the law, can cleanse

His people and make them holy. Yahweh Shalom – The Lord our peace.

The name given by Gideon to the altar he built after the angel of the Lord assured him he would not die as he thought he would after seeing

Him. Yahweh Elohim – Lord God, a combination of God's unique name,

Yahweh, and the generic Lord, signifying that He is the Lord of Lords. Yahweh Tzidkenu –

The Lord our righteousness. As with Yahweh Mekedesh, it is God alone who provides righteousness to man, ultimately in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Yahweh Rohi – The Lord our shepherd. After David pondered his relationship as a shepherd to his sheep, he realized that was exactly the relationship

God had with him, and so he declares, Yahweh Rohi is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Yahweh Shema – The Lord is there. The name ascribed to Jerusalem and the temple there, indicating that the once departed glory of the

Lord had returned. Yahweh Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts.

Hosts meaning hordes, both of angels and of men. He is the Lord of the host of heaven and of the inhabitants of the earth, of Jews and Gentiles, of rich and poor, master and slave.

The name is expressive of the majesty, power, and authority of God and shows that He is able to accomplish what

He determines to do. El Elyon – Most High. Derived from the

Hebrew root for go up or ascend, so the implication is of that which is the very highest.

El Elyon denotes exaltation and speaks of absolute right to lordship. El Rohi –

God of seeing. The name ascribed to God by Hagar, alone and desperate in the wilderness after being driven out by Sarah.

When Hagar met the angel of the Lord, she realized she had seen God Himself in a theophany.

She also realized that El Rohi saw her in her distress and testified that He is a

God who lives and sees all. El Olam – Everlasting God.

God's nature is without beginning or end, free from all constraints of time, and He contains within Himself the very cause of time itself.

From everlasting to everlasting, You are God. El Gibor –

Mighty God. The name describing the Messiah, Christ Jesus, in this prophetic portion of Isaiah.

As a powerful and mighty warrior, the Messiah, the Mighty God, will accomplish the destruction of God's enemies and rule with a rod of iron.