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Judaism has different names given toGod, which are considered sacred:יהוה (YHWH),אֲדֹנָי (Adonaitransl. my Lord[s]),אֵל (Eltransl. God),אֱלֹהִים (Elohimtransl. God[s]),[n 1]שַׁדַּי (Shaddaitransl. Almighty), andצְבָאוֹת (Tzevaothtransl. [Lord of] Hosts); some also includeI Am that I Am.[1] Early authorities considered other Hebrew names mereepithets or descriptions of God, and wrote that they and names in other languages may be written and erased freely.[2] Some moderns advise special care even in these cases,[3] and many Orthodox Jews have adopted thechumras of writing "G-d" instead of "God" in English or sayingṬēt-Vav (טו,lit. '9-6') instead ofYōd-Hē (יה, '10-5', but also 'Jah') for thenumber fifteen or Ṭēt-Zayin (טז, '9-7') instead of Yōd-Vav (יו, '10-6') for theHebrew number sixteen.[4]
The names of God that, once written, cannot be erased because of their holiness[5] are theTetragrammaton,Adonai,El,Elohim,[n 1]Shaddai,Tzevaot; some also includeI Am that I Am.[1] In addition, the nameJah—because it forms part of the Tetragrammaton—is similarly protected.[6] The tannaJose ben Halafta considered "Tzevaot" a common name in the second century[7] andRabbi Ishmael considered "Elohim" to be one.[8] All other names, such as "Merciful", "Gracious" and "Faithful", merely represent attributes that are also common to human beings.[9]
Also abbreviatedJah, the most common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton,יהוה, which is usually transliterated as YHWH. TheHebrew script is anabjad, and thus vowels are often omitted in writing. YHWH is usually expanded toYahweh in English.[11]
Modern Rabbinical Jewish culture judges it forbidden to pronounce this name. In prayers it is replaced by the wordאֲדֹנָי (Adonai,Hebrew pronunciation:[adoˈnaj]'My Lords',Pluralis majestatis taken as singular), and in discussion byHaShem 'The Name'. Nothing in theTorah explicitly prohibits speaking the name[12] and theBook of Ruth shows that it continued to be pronounced as late as the 5th century BCE.[13][n 2] Mark Sameth argues that only a pseudo name was pronounced, the four lettersיהוה (YHVH, YHWH) being a cryptogram which the priests of ancient Israel read in reverse ashuhi, 'he–she', signifying a dual-gendered deity, as earlier theorized byGuillaume Postel (16th century) andMichelangelo Lanci [it] (19th century).[15][16][17][18] It had ceased to be spoken aloud by at least the 3rd century BCE, duringSecond Temple Judaism.[19] The Talmud relates, perhaps anecdotally, that this began with the death ofSimeon the Just.[20]Vowel points began to be added to the Hebrew text only in the early medieval period. TheMasoretic Text adds to the Tetragrammaton the vowel points of Adonai or Elohim (depending on the context), indicating that these are the words to be pronounced in place of the Tetragrammaton (seeQere and Ketiv),[21][22] as shown also by the pronunciation changes when combined with a preposition or a conjunction. This is in contrast toKaraite Jews, who traditionally viewed pronouncing the Tetragrammaton as amitzvah because the name appears some 6800 times throughout the Tanakh; however, most modern Karaites, under pressure and seeking acceptance from mainstream Rabbinical Jews, now also use the termAdonai instead.[23] TheBeta Israel pronounce the Tetragrammaton asYahu, but also use theGeʽez termIgziabeher.[24]
The Tetragrammaton appears inGenesis[25] and occurs 6,828 times in total in theBiblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia edition of theMasoretic Text. It is thought to be an archaicthird-person singular of theimperfective aspect[n 3] of the verb "to be" (i.e., "[He] is/was/will be"). This agrees with the passage inExodus where God names himself as "I Will Be What I Will Be"[26] using thefirst-person singular imperfective aspect, open to interpretation aspresenttense ("I am what I am"),future ("I shall be what I shall be"), orimperfect ("I used to be what I used to be").[27]
Rabbinic Judaism teaches that the name is forbidden to all except theHigh Priest of Israel, who should only speak it in theHoly of Holies of theTemple in Jerusalem onYom Kippur. He then pronounces the name "just as it is written."[28] As each blessing was made, the people in thecourtyard were toprostrate themselves completely as they heard it spoken aloud. As the Temple has not been rebuilt since its destruction in 70 CE, most modern Jews never pronounce YHWH but instead readאֲדֹנָי (Adonai,Hebrew pronunciation:[adoˈnaj],'My Lords',Pluralis majestatis taken as singular) during prayer and while reading theTorah and asHaShem 'The Name' at other times.[29][30] Similarly, theVulgate usedDominus ('The Lord') and mostEnglish translations of the Bible write "the LORD" for YHWH and "the LORD God", "the Lord GOD" or "the Sovereign LORD" for Adonai YHWH instead of transcribing the name. TheSeptuagint may have originally used the Hebrew letters themselves amid its Greek text,[31][32] but there is no scholarly consensus on this point. All surviving Christian-era manuscripts useKyrios (Κυριος 'Lord') or very occasionallyTheos (Θεος 'God') to translate the many thousand occurrences of the Name.[33]
אֲדֹנָי (ăḏōnāy,Hebrew pronunciation:[adoˈnaj],lit. transl. My Lords,pluralis majestatis taken as singular) is the possessive form ofadon ('Lord'), along with thefirst-person singular pronounenclitic.[n 4] As withElohim, Adonai's grammatical form is usually explained as aplural of majesty. In the Hebrew Bible, the word is nearly always used to refer to God (approximately 450 occurrences). As pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton came to be avoided in theHellenistic period, Jews may have begun to drop the Tetragrammaton when presented alongside Adonai and subsequently to expand it to cover for the Tetragrammaton in the forms of spoken prayer and written scripture. Owing to the expansion ofchumra (the idea of "building a fence around theTorah"), the wordAdonai itself has come to be too holy to say for Orthodox Jews outside of prayer, leading to its replacement byHaShem ('The Name').
The singular formsadon andadoni ('my lord') are used in the Hebrew Bible as royal titles,[34][35] as in theFirst Book of Samuel,[36] and for distinguished persons. ThePhoenicians used it as a title ofTammuz (the origin of theGreekAdonis). It is also used very occasionally in Hebrew texts to refer to God (e.g. Psalm 136:3.)[37]Deuteronomy 10:17 has the proper nameYahweh alongside the superlative constructions "God of gods" (elōhê ha-elōhîm, literally, "the gods of gods") and "Lord of lords" (adōnê ha-adōnîm, "the lords of lords":כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים; KJV: "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords").[38]
The final syllable of Adonai uses the vowelkamatz, rather thanpatach which would be expected from the Hebrew for 'my lord(s)'. Professor Yoel Elitzur explains this as a normal transformation when a Hebrew word becomes a name, giving as other examplesNathan,Yitzchak, andYigal.[39] AsAdonai became the most common reverent substitute for the Tetragrammaton, it too became considered un-erasable due to its holiness. As such, most prayer books avoid spelling out the wordAdonai, and instead write twoyodhs (יְיָ) in its place.[40]
The formsAdaunoi,Adoinoi, andAdonoi[41]representAshkenazi Hebrew variant pronunciations of the wordAdonai.
El appears inUgaritic, Phoenician and other 2nd and 1st millennium BCE texts both as generic "god" and as the head of the divine pantheon.[42] In the Hebrew Bible, El (אל,ʾel) appears very occasionally alone (e.g. Genesis 33:20,el elohei yisrael, 'Mighty God of Israel',[43] and Genesis 46:3,ha'el elohei abika, 'El the God of thy father'),[44] but usually with some epithet or attribute attached (e.g.ElElyon, 'Most High El',El Shaddai, 'El ofShaddai',El 'Olam 'Everlasting El',El Hai, 'Living El',El Ro'i 'El my Shepherd', andEl Gibbor 'El of Strength'), in which cases it can be understood as the generic "god". Intheophoric names such asGabriel ("Strength of God"),Michael ("Who is like God?"),Raphael ("God healed"),Ariel ("My lion is God"),Daniel ("My judgment is God"),Ezekiel ("God shall strengthen"),Israel ("one who has struggled with God"),Immanuel ("God is with us"), andIshmael ("God hears/ will hear / listens/ will listen") 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.[45]
El also appears in the formאֱלוֹהַּ (Eloah).
A common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is Elohim (אלהים,ʾĕlōhīm), the plural ofאֱלוֹהַּ (Eloah). When Elohim refers to God in the Hebrew Bible, singular verbs are used. The word is identical toelohim meaning gods and is cognate to the'lhm found inUgaritic, 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 useselohim not in reference to God, it is plural (for example,Exodus 20:2). There are a few other such uses in Hebrew, for exampleBehemoth. InModern Hebrew, the singular wordba'alim ('owner') 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.[46]Elohim is thus the plural construct 'powers'.Hebrew grammar allows for this form to mean "He is the Power (singular) over powers (plural)", just as the wordBa'alim means 'owner' (see above). "He is lord (singular) even over any of those things that he owns that are lordly (plural)".
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 ofDiocletian (CE 284–305).[47] Indeed,Gesenius states in his bookHebrew Grammar the following:[48]
The Jewish grammarians call such plurals ...plur. virium orvirtutum; later grammarians call themplur. excellentiae,magnitudinis, orplur. maiestaticus.This last name may have been suggested by thewe used by kings when speaking of themselves (compare1 Maccabees 10:19 and 11:31); and the plural used by God inGenesis 1:26 and 11:7;Isaiah 6:8 has been incorrectly explained in this way. It is, however, eithercommunicative (including the attendantangels: so at all events in Isaiah 6:8 and Genesis 3:22), or according to others, an indication ofthe fullness of power and might implied. It is best explained as a plural ofself-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 ofmonotheism, wherein references to "the gods" (plural) 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 ofmonolatry, wherein the god(s) of a certain city would be accepted after the fact as a reference to the God of Israel and the plural deliberately dropped.[49]
The plural form ending in-im can also be understood as denoting abstraction, as in the Hebrew wordschayyim (חיים, 'life') orbetulim (בתולים, 'virginity'). If understood this way,Elohim means 'divinity' or 'deity'. The wordchayyim is similarly syntactically singular when used as a name but syntactically plural otherwise. In many of the passages in whichelohim occurs in the Bible, it refers to non-Israelite deities, or in some instances to powerful men or judges, and even angels (Exodus 21:6, Psalms 8:5) as a simple plural in those instances.
El Shaddai (אל שדי,ʾel šadday,pronounced[ʃaˈdaj]) is one of the names of God in Judaism, with itsetymology coming from the influence of theUgaritic religion on modern Judaism.El Shaddai isconventionally translated as "God Almighty". While the translation ofEl as 'god' inUgaritic/Canaanite languages is straightforward, the literal meaning ofShaddai is the subject of debate.
Tzevaot, Tzevaoth, Tsebaoth or Sabaoth (צבאות,ṣəḇāʾōṯ,pronounced[tsvaot]ⓘ,lit. "Armies"), usually translated "Hosts", appears in reference to armies or armed hosts of men but is not used as a divine epithet in theTorah,Joshua, orJudges. Starting in theBooks of Samuel, the term "Lord of Hosts" appears hundreds of times throughout theProphetic books, inPsalms, and inChronicles.
The Hebrew wordSabaoth was also absorbed inAncient Greek (σαβαωθ,sabaōth) andLatin (Sabaoth, with no declension).Tertullian and otherFathers of the Church used it with the meaning of "Army of angels of God".[50]
Ehyeh asher ehyeh (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה) is the first of three responses given toMoses when he asks for God's name in theBook of Exodus.[26] TheKing James Version of the Bible translates the Hebrew as "I Am that I Am" and uses it as a way to describe God.
The wordehyeh is thefirst-person singularimperfect form ofhayah, 'to be'. Biblical Hebrew does not distinguish betweengrammatical tenses. It has instead anaspectual system in which the imperfect denotes any actions that are not yet completed,[51][52][53] Accordingly,Ehyeh asher ehyeh can be rendered in English not only as "I am that I am" but also as "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", Greek,Ego eimi ho on (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν), "I am Being/the Existing One" in theSeptuagint,[54] andPhilo,[55][56] andRevelation;[57]Latin,ego sum qui sum, "I am Who I am."
The wordasher is arelative pronoun whose meaning depends on the immediate context, so that "that", "who", "which", or "where" are all possible translations of that word.[58]
Baal meant 'owner' and, by extension, 'lord',[59] 'master', and 'husband' in Hebrew and the otherNorthwest Semitic languages.[60][61] In some early contexts andtheophoric names, it andBaali (/ˈbeɪəlaɪ/; "My Lord") were treated as synonyms ofAdon and Adonai.[62] After the time ofSolomon[63] and particularly afterJezebel's attempt to promote the worship of the Lord ofTyreMelqart,[62] however, the name became particularly associated with theCanaanitestorm godBaʿal Haddu and was gradually avoided as a title for Yahweh.[63] Several names that included it were rewritten asbosheth ("shame").[64] TheprophetHosea in particular reproached theIsraelites for continuing to use the term:[65]
"It will come about in that day," declares theLord, "That you will call Me Ishi[n 5] And will no longer call Me Baali."[67]
Elah (Hebrew:אֱלָה,romanized: ʾelāh, pl.Elim orElohim;Imperial Aramaic:אלהא) is theAramaic word for God and the absolute singular form ofאלהא,ʾilāhā. The origin of the word is fromProto-Semitic*ʔil and is thus cognate to theHebrew,Arabic,Akkadian, and otherSemitic languages' words for god.Elah is found in theTanakh in the books ofEzra,Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:11,[68] the only verse in the entire book written in Aramaic),[69] andDaniel.Elah is used to describe both pagan gods and the Abrahamic God.
In theBook of Genesis,Hagar uses this name for the God who spoke to her through hisangel. In Hebrew, her phraseEl Roi, literally, 'God of Seeing Me',[70] is translated in theKing James Version as "Thou God seest me."[71][72]
The nameElyon (עליון) occurs in combination withEl,YHWH,Elohim and alone. It appears chiefly in poetic and later Biblical passages. The modern Hebrew adjective'Elyon means 'supreme' (as in "Supreme Court":Hebrew:בית המשפט העליון) or 'Most High'.El Elyon has been traditionally translated into English as 'God Most High'. ThePhoenicians used what appears to be a similar name for God, one that the Greeks wrote asΈλιονα.
The Eternal One orThe Eternal is increasingly used, particularly inReform andReconstructionist communities seeking to usegender-neutral language.[73] In the Torah,YHWH El Olam ("the Everlasting God") is used at Genesis 21:33 to refer to God.[74]
It is common Jewish practice to restrict the use of the names of God to aliturgical context. In casual conversation some Jews, even when not speaking Hebrew, will call God HaShem (השם), which is Hebrew for 'the Name' (compareLeviticus 24:11 andDeuteronomy 28:58). When written, it is often abbreviated toה׳. Likewise, when quoting from the Tanakh or prayers, some pious Jews will replaceAdonai withHaShem. For example, when makingaudio recordings of prayer services,HaShem[75] will generally be substituted forAdonai.
A popular expression containing this phrase isBaruch HaShem, meaning "ThankGod" (literally, 'Blessed be the Name').[76]
Samaritans use theAramaic equivalentShema (שמא, 'the name') in much the same situations as Jews useHaShem.
Talmudic authors,[77] ruling on the basis ofGideon's name for an altar (YHVH-Shalom, according toJudges 6:24), write that "the name of God is 'Peace'" (Pereq ha-Shalom, Shabbat 10b); consequently, aTalmudic opinion (Shabbat, 10b) asserts that one would greet another with the wordshalom in order for the word not to be forgotten in theexile. But one is not permitted to greet another with the wordShalom in unholy places such as a bathroom, because of the holiness of the name.
Shekhinah (שכינה) 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 theTabernacle 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 (e.g.: "the Shekhina descended and dwelt among them" or "He removed Himself and His Shekhina from their midst"). This kind of usage does not occur in Semitic languages in conjunction with proper names.[citation needed] The term, however, may not be a name, as it may merely describe the presence of God, and not God Himself.
In Jewish tradition the sacredness of the divine name or titles must be recognized by the professionalsofer (scribe) who writesTorah scrolls, ortefillin andmezuzah. Before transcribing any of the divine titles or name, they prepare mentally to sanctify them. Once they begin a name, they do not stop until it is finished, and they 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 agenizah (burial place for scripture) and a new page begun.
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One of the most important names is that of theEin Sof (אין סוף 'Endless'), which first came into use after 1300 CE.[94] Another name is derived from the namesאהיה יהוה אדוני הויה. By spelling these four names out with the names of the Hebrew letters (אלף,הא,וו,יוד,דלת andנון)[clarification needed] this new forty-five letter long name is produced. Spelling the letters inיהוה (YHWH) by itself givesיוד הא ואו הא. Each letter in Hebrew is given a value, according togematria, and the value ofיוד הא ואו הא is also 45.[citation needed]
The 72-fold name is derived from three verses inExodus 14:19–21. Each of the verses contains 72 letters. When the verses are readboustrophedonically 72 names, three letters each, are produced (theniqqud of the source verses is disregarded in respect to pronunciation). Some regard this name as theShem HaMephorash. The Proto-Kabbalistic bookSefer Yetzirah describes how the creation of the world was achieved by manipulation of these 216 sacred letters that form the names of God.
3 And ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall destroy their name out of that place. 4 Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.
— Deuteronomy 12:3–4[95]
From this it is understood by the rabbis that one should not erase or blot out the name of God. The generalhalachic 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.[96]
The wordsGod andLord are written bysome Jews asG-d andL-rd as a way of avoiding writing any name of God out in full. The hyphenated version of the English name (G-d) 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 reference such asHashem (literally, 'the Name') may be substituted, or an abbreviation thereof, such as inB''H (בְּעֶזרַת הַשֵׁםB'ezrat Hashem 'with the help of the Name').[97]
[...] the Perfect Name Adonoi or Adonai.
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