The Names of God
Every name is a window onto who He is
In Scripture a name is never only a label; it is a revelation of character. God does not hand us a dictionary definition of Himself. He gives us His names, scattered through the story, each one disclosed at the moment His people most needed to know that part of Him. To read them together is to watch a portrait fill in, line by line, of the God who is, who provides, who heals, who is there.
✦ The Sayings of God — not only His names but His own words, gathered from creation to the prophets →
Yahweh (YHWH, "the LORD")
The covenant name, too holy to pronounce, revealed at the burning bush: "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus 3:14). The self-existent One who depends on nothing and gives being to everything. When your Bible prints LORD in small capitals, this is the name beneath it.
Elohim ("God")
The first name in the Bible: "In the beginning God created" (Genesis 1:1). A plural form carrying the fullness of His power and majesty, the God of creation, strong and supreme.
Adonai ("Lord, Master")
God as sovereign owner, the Master whose servants we are: "Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me?" (Genesis 15:2). To call Him Adonai is to put your life under His authority.
El Shaddai ("God Almighty")
"I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect" (Genesis 17:1). The all-sufficient One, mighty enough to keep every promise, who met Abraham when the promise seemed impossible.
El Elyon ("God Most High")
"the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:18-20). The sovereign above all rivals, all powers, all gods. None is higher.
El Roi ("the God who sees me")
Spoken by Hagar, alone and cast out in the desert: "Thou God seest me" (Genesis 16:13). The God who sees the overlooked and the running, and is not done with them.
Jehovah-Jireh ("the LORD will provide")
Named by Abraham on the mountain when God gave the ram in Isaac's place: "the LORD will provide" (Genesis 22:14). The God who sees the need ahead and has already answered it.
Jehovah-Rapha ("the LORD who heals")
"I am the LORD that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26). The God who makes the bitter waters sweet, who heals body, covenant, and soul.
Jehovah-Nissi ("the LORD my banner")
Raised by Moses after the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:15). The God under whose banner we fight and win, the rallying standard His people gather to.
Jehovah-Shalom ("the LORD is peace")
Built as an altar by Gideon, afraid he would die for seeing God: "The LORD is peace" (Judges 6:24). The God who speaks peace to the trembling and makes whole what was broken.
Jehovah-Raah ("the LORD my shepherd")
"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). The God who leads, feeds, and goes after the one that strays, the name Jesus took for Himself.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu ("the LORD our righteousness")
"this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6). Not a righteousness we manufacture, but One He is and gives, the promise that points straight to Christ.
Jehovah-Shammah ("the LORD is there")
The last words of Ezekiel, the new city's name: "The LORD is there" (Ezekiel 48:35). The God whose final answer to exile is His own unending presence, the same promise the New Jerusalem keeps.
El Olam ("the Everlasting God")
"called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God" (Genesis 21:33). Without beginning, without end, the same yesterday and forever, when everything else gives out.
Scripture from the King James Version, linked to BibleHub. Companion pages: the sayings of God, the names of Christ, and the names of the Holy Spirit.