Names of God in Judaism


considers seven names of God in Judaism so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, [|El], [|Eloah], [|Elohim], Shaddai, Ehyeh, and Tzevaot. Other names are considered mere epithets or titles reflecting different aspects of God, but Khumra sometimes dictates special care such as the writing of "G-d" instead of "God" in English or saying Ṭēt-Vav instead of Yōd-Hē for the number fifteen in Hebrew.
The documentary hypothesis proposes that the Torah was compiled from various original sources, two of which are named for their usual names for God.

Seven names of God

The seven names of God that, once written, cannot be erased because of their holiness are the Tetragrammaton, El, Elohim, Eloah, [|Elohai], [|El Shaddai], and Tzevaot. In addition, the name Jah—because it forms part of the Tetragrammaton—is similarly protected. Rabbi Jose considered "Tzevaot" a common name and Rabbi Ishmael that "Elohim" was. All other names, such as "Merciful", "Gracious" and "Faithful", merely represent attributes that are also common to human beings.

YHWH

The name of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible is , and is called the Tetragrammaton. Hebrew script is an abjad, so that the letters Yōd, Hē, Vav, Hē in this name are normally consonants, usually expanded in English as "Yahweh".
Modern Jewish culture judges it forbidden to pronounce this name. In prayers it is replaced by the word Adonai, and in discussion by HaShem. Nothing in the Torah explicitly prohibits speaking the name and the Book of Ruth shows it was being pronounced as late as the 5th century It had ceased to be spoken aloud by at least the 3rd century , during Second Temple Judaism and vowel points began to be added to the Hebrew text only in the early medieval period. The Masoretic Text adds to the Tetragrammaton the vowel points of Adonai or Elohim, indicating that these are the words to be pronounced in place of the Tetragrammaton, as shown also by the subtle pronunciation changes when combined with a preposition or a conjunction.
The Tetragrammaton appears in Genesis and occurs 6,828 times in total in the Stuttgart edition of the Masoretic Text. It is thought to be an archaic third-person singular of the imperfective aspect of the verb "to be". This agrees with the passage in Exodus where God names himself as "I Will Be What I Will Be" using the first-person singular imperfective aspect, open to interpretation as present tense, future, imperfect.
Rabbinical Judaism teaches that the name is forbidden to all except the High Priest, who should only speak it in the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur. He then pronounces the name "just as it is written". As each blessing was made, the people in the courtyard were to prostrate themselves completely as they heard it spoken aloud. As the Temple has not been rebuilt since its destruction in 70 , most modern Jews never pronounce YHWH but instead read Adonai during prayer and while reading the Torah and as HaShem at other times. Similarly, the Vulgate used Dominus or very occasionally Theos to translate the many thousand occurrences of the Name.

El

appears in Ugaritic, Phoenician and other 2nd and 1st millennium texts both as generic "god" and as the head of the divine pantheon. In the Hebrew Bible El appears very occasionally alone, but usually with some epithet or attribute attached, in which cases it can be understood as the generic "god". In theophoric names such as Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Ariel, Daniel, Israel, Immanuel, and Ishmael it is usually interpreted and translated as "God", but it is not clear whether these "el"s refer to the deity in general or to the god El in particular.

Eloah

Elohim

A common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is Elohim. Despite the -im ending common to many plural nouns in Hebrew, the word Elohim when referring to God is grammatically singular, and takes a singular verb in the Hebrew Bible. The word is identical to the usual plural of el meaning gods or magistrates, and is cognate to the lhm found in Ugaritic, where it is used for the pantheon of Canaanite gods, the children of El and conventionally vocalized as "Elohim" although the original Ugaritic vowels are unknown. When the Hebrew Bible uses elohim not in reference to God, it is plural. There are a few other such uses in Hebrew, for example Behemoth. In Modern Hebrew, the singular word ba'alim looks plural, but likewise takes a singular verb.
A number of scholars have traced the etymology to the Semitic root *yl, "to be first, powerful", despite some difficulties with this view. Elohim is thus the plural construct "powers". Hebrew grammar allows for this form to mean "He is the Power over powers ", just as the word Ba'alim means "owner". "He is lord even over any of those things that he owns that are lordly."
Theologians who dispute this claim cite the hypothesis that plurals of majesty came about in more modern times. Richard Toporoski, a classics scholar, asserts that plurals of majesty first appeared in the reign of Diocletian. Indeed, Gesenius states in his book Hebrew Grammar the following:
The Jewish grammarians call such plurals … plur. virium or virtutum; later grammarians call them plur. excellentiae, magnitudinis, or plur. maiestaticus.
This last name may have been suggested by the we used by kings when speaking of themselves. It is, however, either communicative, or according to others, an indication of the fullness of power and might implied. It is best explained as a plural of self-deliberation. The use of the plural as a form of respectful address is quite foreign to Hebrew.

Mark S. Smith has cited the use of plural as possible evidence to suggest an evolution in the formation of early Jewish conceptions of monotheism, wherein references to "the gods" in earlier accounts of verbal tradition became either interpreted as multiple aspects of a single monotheistic God at the time of writing, or subsumed under a form of monolatry, wherein the god of a certain city would be accepted after the fact as a reference to the God of Israel and the plural deliberately dropped.
The plural form ending in -im can also be understood as denoting abstraction, as in the Hebrew words chayyim or betulim. If understood this way, Elohim means "divinity" or "deity". The word chayyim is similarly syntactically singular when used as a name but syntactically plural otherwise.
In many of the passages in which elohim occurs in the Bible it refers to non-Israelite deities, or in some instances to powerful men or judges, and even angels as a simple plural in those instances.

Elohai

Elohai or Elohei is a form of Elohim along with the first-person singular pronoun enclitic. It appears in the names "God of Abraham" ; "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" ; and "God of Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel".

El Shaddai

El Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism, with its etymology coming from the influence of the Ugaritic religion on modern Judaism. El Shaddai is conventionally translated as "God Almighty". While the translation of El as "god" in Ugarit/Canaanite language is straightforward, the literal meaning of Shaddai is the subject of debate.

Tzevaot

Tzevaot, Tsebaoth or Sabaoth appears in reference to armies or armed hosts of men in Exodus and Isaiah but is not used as a divine epithet in the Torah, Joshua, or Judges. In the First Book of Samuel, David uses the name YHWH Tzavaot and immediately glosses it as "the God of the armies of Israel". The same name appears in the prophets along with YHWH [|Elohe] Tzevaot, [|Elohey] Tzevaot, and Adonai YHWH Tzevaot. These are usually translated in the King James Version as the "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord God of Hosts". In its later uses, however, it often denotes God in his role as leader of the heavenly hosts.
The Hebrew word Sabaoth was also absorbed in Ancient Greek and Latin. Tertullian and other patristics used it with the meaning of Army of angels of God.

Jah

The abbreviated form Jah or Yah appears in the Psalms and Isaiah. It is a common element in Hebrew theophoric names such as Elijah and also appears in the forms yahu, yeho, and yo.

Other names and titles

Adonai

Adonai is the plural form of adon along with the first-person singular pronoun enclitic. As with Elohim, Adonai's grammatical form is usually explained as a plural of majesty. In the Hebrew Bible, it is nearly always used to refer to God. As pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton came to be avoided in the Hellenistic period, Jews may have begun to drop the Tetragrammaton when presented alongside Adonai and subsequently expand it to cover for the Tetragrammaton in the forms of spoken prayer and written scripture. Owing to the expansion of chumra, the word 'Adonai' itself has come to be too holy to say for Orthodox Jews, leading to its replacement by HaShem.
The singular forms adon and adoni are used in the Hebrew Bible as royal titles, as in the First Book of Samuel, and for distinguished persons. The Phoenicians used it as a title of Tammuz, the origin of the Greek Adonis. It is also used very occasionally in Hebrew texts to refer to God
Deuteronomy 10:17 has the proper name Yahweh alongside the superlative constructions "God of gods" elōhê ha-elōhîm and "Lord of lords" adōnê ha-adōnîm .
The final syllable of Adonai uses the vowel kamatz, rather than patach which would be expected from the Hebrew for "my lord". Prof. Yoel Elitzur explains this as a normal transformation when a Hebrew word becomes a name, giving as other examples Nathan, Yitzchak, and Yigal.

Adoshem

Up until the mid-twentieth century, the use of the word Adoshem combining the first two syllables of "Adonai" with the last syllable of "Hashem" was quite common. It took a few centuries for the word to fall into almost complete disuse. Despite being obsolete in most circles, it is used occasionally in conversation in place of Adonai by Jews who do not wish to say Adonai, but need to specify the substitution of that particular word. It is also used when quoting from the liturgy in a non-liturgical context, especially as a substitute in musical pieces where a replacement for "Adonai" must have the same number of syllables. For example, Shlomo Carlebach performed his prayer "Shema Yisrael" with the words Shema Yisrael Adoshem Elokeinu Adoshem Eḥad instead of Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad.

Baal

, properly Baʿal, meant "owner" and, by extension, "lord", "master", and "husband" in Hebrew and the other Northwest Semitic languages. In some early contexts and theophoric names, it and Baali were treated as synonyms of Adon and Adonai. After the time of Solomon and particularly after Jezebel's attempt to promote the worship of the Lord of Tyre Melqart, however, the name became particularly associated with the Canaanite storm god Baʿal Haddu and was gradually avoided as a title for Yahweh. Several names that included it were rewritten as bosheth. The prophet Hosea in particular reproached the Israelites for continuing to use the term:

Ehyeh asher ehyeh

Ehyeh asher ehyeh is the first of three responses given to Moses when he asks for God's name in the Book of Exodus. The King James Version of the Bible translates the Hebrew as "I Am that I Am" and uses it as a proper name for God. The Aramaic Targum Onkelos leaves the phrase untranslated and is so quoted in the Talmud
The word ehyeh is the first-person singular imperfect form of hayah, "to be", usually translated into English as "I will be". Because Classical Hebrew had an aspectual system rather than grammatical tense, in which the imperfect denotes any actions that are not yet completed, the verb form ehyeh can be translated as "I am/I am being/I will be" .
Although Ehyeh asher ehyeh is generally rendered in English "I am that I am", better renderings might be "I will be what I will be" or "I will be who I will be", or "I shall prove to be whatsoever I shall prove to be" or even "I will be because I will be". Other renderings include: Leeser, "I Will Be that I Will Be"; Rotherham, "I Will Become whatsoever I please", New World Translation : "I Will Become What I Choose to Become." Greek, Ego eimi ho on, "I am The Being" in the Septuagint, and Philo, and Revelation or, "I am The Existing One"; Lat., ego sum qui sum, "I am Who I am."
The word asher is a relative pronoun whose meaning depends on the immediate context, so that "that", "who", "which", or "where" are all possible translations of that word.

Elah

Elah is the Aramaic word for God. The origin of the word is uncertain and it may be related to a root word, meaning "reverence". Elah is found in the Tanakh in the books of Ezra, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Elah is used to describe both pagan gods and the Jews' God. The word 'Elah - إله' is also an Arabic word which means god. The name is etymologically related to Allah الله used by Muslims.
In the Book of Genesis, Hagar is said to use this name for God who spoke to her through his angel. In Hebrew, her phrase "El Roi" is taken as an epithet of God although the King James Version translates it as a statement: "Thou God seest me."

Elyon

The name Elyon occurs in combination with El, YHWH, Elohim and alone. It appears chiefly in poetic and later Biblical passages. The modern Hebrew adjective "`Elyon" means "supreme" or "Most High". El Elyon has been traditionally translated into English as 'God Most High'. The Phoenicians used what appears to be a similar name for God, one that the Greeks wrote as Έλιον. It is cognate to the Arabic `Aliyy.

Eternal One

"The Eternal One" is increasingly used, particularly in Reform and Reconstructionist communities seeking to use gender-neutral language. In the Torah, Hashem El Olam is used at Genesis 21:33 to refer to God.

Hashem

It is common Jewish practice to restrict the use of the names of God to a liturgical context. In casual conversation some Jews, even when not speaking Hebrew, will call God Hashem, which is Hebrew for "the Name". Likewise, when quoting from the Tanakh or prayers, some pious Jews will replace Adonai with HaShem. For example, when making audio recordings of prayer services, HaShem will generally be substituted for Adonai.
A popular expression containing this phrase is Baruch HaShem, meaning "Thank God".

Shalom

ic authors, ruling on the basis of Gideon's name for an altar, write that "the name of God is 'Peace'" ; consequently, a Talmudic opinion asserts that one would greet another with the word ' in order for the word not to be forgotten in the exile. But one is not permitted to greet another with the word ' in unholy places such as a bathroom, because of the holiness of the name.

Shekhinah

Shekhinah is the presence or manifestation of God which has descended to "dwell" among humanity. The term never appears in the Hebrew Bible; later rabbis used the word when speaking of God dwelling either in the Tabernacle or amongst the people of Israel. The root of the word means "dwelling". Of the principal names of God, it is the only one that is of the feminine gender in Hebrew grammar. Some believe that this was the name of a female counterpart of God, but this is unlikely as the name is always mentioned in conjunction with an article. This kind of usage does not occur in Semitic languages in conjunction with proper names.
The Arabic form of the word " سكينة" is also mentioned in the Quran. This mention is in the middle of the narrative of the choice of Saul to be king and is mentioned as descending with the Ark of the Covenant, here the word is used to mean "security" and is derived from the root sa-ka-na which means dwell:

Uncommon or esoteric names

In Jewish tradition the sacredness of the divine name or titles must be recognized by the professional sofer who writes Torah scrolls, or tefillin and mezuzah. Before transcribing any of the divine titles or name he prepares mentally to sanctify them. Once he begins a name he does not stop until it is finished, and he must not be interrupted while writing it, even to greet a king. If an error is made in writing it may not be erased, but a line must be drawn round it to show that it is canceled, and the whole page must be put in a genizah and a new page begun.

Kabbalistic use

One of the most important names is that of the Ein Sof, which first came into use after 1300.
Another name is derived from the names אהיה יהוה אדוני הויה. By spelling these four names out with the names of the Hebrew letters this new forty-five letter long name is produced. Spelling the letters in יהוה by itself gives יוד הא ואו הא. Each letter in Hebrew is given a value, according to gematria, and the value of יוד הא ואו הא is also 45.
The seventy-two-fold name is derived from three verses in Exodus 14:19–21. Each of the verses contains 72 letters. When the verses are read boustrophedonically 72 names, three letter each, are produced. Some regard this name as the Shemhamphorasch. The Proto-Kabbalistic book Sefer Yetzirah describe how the creation of the world was achieved by manipulation of these 216 sacred letters that form the names of God.

Erasing the name of God

From this it is understood that one should not erase or blot out the name of God. The general halachic opinion is that this only applies to the sacred Hebrew names of God, not to other euphemistic references; there is a dispute as to whether the word "God" in English or other languages may be erased or whether Jewish law and/or Jewish custom forbids doing so, directly or as a precautionary "fence" about the law.
The words "God" and "Lord" are written by some Jews as "G-d" and "L-rd" as a way of avoiding writing any name of God in full out. The hyphenated version of the English name can be destroyed, so by writing that form, religious Jews prevent documents in their possession with the unhyphenated form from being destroyed later. Alternatively, a euphemistic English reference such as Hashem may be substituted, or an abbreviation thereof, such as BH.
This issue is most controversial in the context of the motto of the United States, "In God We Trust", which has been minted or printed without hyphenation since its first appearance in 1864. While many Jews write the name "God" in English, others will not or will only under special circumstances. By comparison, the nation of Israel struck down efforts to enshrine an allusive reference to God on its currency in 2002, 2003, and 2009 because the frequency of currency destruction was considered too high. According to Talmudic Tractate Rosh Hashana, Jews in the times of the Hasmonean Kingdom were "weaned off" the practice of writing the name of Heaven by the Sages, an event that was commemorated as a holiday on the third of Tishrei, a date now dedicated to the Fast of Gedaliah.

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