God's Names; What do they mean?
- Terry J. Autry
- May 30, 2015
- 1 min read
What are the Different Names of GOD, and What Do They Mean?
Each of the names of GOD used in the Bible describes HIS characteristics. First it’s important to remember, that whenever we see the word LORD in all capital letters in the Old Testament in English Bibles, it is used in the place of YHWH or YAHWEH. This is also used to distinguish it from Lord or lord. But why is this so? In the book of Exodus, whenever Moses was called by GOD from out of the Burning Bush in the book of Exodus (Exodus 3), Moses asked GOD who shall he say it was that sent him. GOD said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM, and HE said thus you shall say to the sons of Israel I AM has sent me to you. This can be found in Exodus chapter 3
verses 13 and 14. To make this easy to understand, I will break it down further. The Hebrew for I AM is ehyeh which means I will be or I AM. I AM is a title that means GOD exists already. That’s basically where the name YHWH or YAHWEH comes from, but it’s not actually a name, it’s more like an action word or a verb or a title explaining HIS Character. Hebrew language does not normally contain vowels, which is why GOD’s name appears as YHWH. In the original Hebrew, HIS name is therefore given as YHWH. This is known as the tetragrammaton. Due to the lack of vowels in the ancient Hebrew language, not even scholars are sure how the name was pronounced. So for the tetragrammaton you can say something like YAHWEH or something similar to it. It’s a title that refers to HIS self-existence. It’s a reflection of HIS being. HE is the self-existent and self-sufficient one. It means that GOD exists already. It means HE does not change. It can also mean that nothing exists without HIM or outside of HIM. It means HE always WAS and IS. Whenever you see the word Lord and not LORD in our English Bibles, it means master or owner. Whenever you see Lord not in all capital letters it refers to in the Old Testament, it still refers to GOD. In the New Testament whenever you see the word Lord, it most often times refers to Jesus HIMSELF. However, whenever you see lord instead of LORD or Lord, it refers to man. There are other names for GOD:
EL, ELOAH: which means God, mighty, strong
ELOHIM: Creator, Mighty and Strong
EL SHADDAI: GOD Almighty
YAHWEH-JIREH: The LORD will Provide
YAHWEH-RAPHA: The LORD who Heals
YAHWEH-NISSI: The LORD our Banner
YAHWEH-M’KADDESH: The LORD who sanctifies or makes holy
GOD does not randomly choose names for HIMSELF. HE decides those names for HIM but HE does so in order to reveal everything about HIM and HIS nature. This helps to deepen our love for GOD and it also helps strengthen our faith in HIM, by knowing the different names HE has and what they mean.
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