Although God was believed to have been unique, many names were used to designate this reality. The exclusive name for God, known as the tetragrammaton, was Yahweh, often pronounced in English as Jehovah.
Within the Bible various theories exist about it's precise origin, during the days of Enosh (Gen 4:26) or later still in Moses' day (Ex 3:6; 6:2-3). Moreover, the explanation of this name may conceal something at the same time it divulges truth, so that it is capable of more than one meaning, for example, "I am" or "I cause to be" or "I shall be present" as we see in Exodus 3:14.
It is also possible that a shorter form of the name was original (Yah or Yahu) and that it arose as an exclamation: "Oh that one!" This would identify the deity as the self-revealing Lord who appears in theophany. Isaiah seems to echo such usage in the expression: "I am he" (Is 41:4).
Numerous other names for God occur in the Bible, many of which call attention to an attribute; this is especially true of combinations with El, such as, Shaddai- strength (Gen 17:1), Elyon- majesty (Gen 14:17-21), Olam- eternity (Gen 21:33), Ro'i- protective watchfulness (Gen 16:14; 22:14), Elohe Yisrael- patronage (Gen 33:20).
Other names for God point to a relationship, such as, Rock (Deut 32:18; Ps 18:31), Father (Is 63:16; Jer 31:9), Shield (Ps 3:3; 84:11), Redeemer (Ps 19:14; Is 63:16), Fear (Gen 31:42, 53), King (Ps 47:7, Judg 8:23), Judge (Is 33:22) and Shepherd (Gen 49:24; Is 40:11).
The numerous epithets and metaphors indicate how the biblical faith drew from personal and national experience in order to describe Yahweh.
In addition to all of these names, God was also described by certain expressions such as, "The Living God" (I Sam 17:26; II Kings 19:4), "The First and the Last" (especially Is 41:4; 44:6) "The Alpha and Omega" (Rev 1:8), "The Ancient of Days" (Dan 7:9,13,22) and "Rider of Couds" (Deut 33:26; Is 19:1).
Some of these descriptive titles were shared with other peoples of the ancient world, for example, "Rider of Clouds" in Ugaritic Literature). Back to Bible Page
