The Names of God: Revealing God’s Personality Traits

One of the reasons for the existence of the Bible is to help us to get to know God. As we study the Bible, we see His work, how He relates to His people, what He’s capable of and more! It’s through Bible study that we meet Him and get to know who He is.

In the Hebrew culture of the Old Testament, names weren’t merely for identification like they are in our culture today. A name exposed someone’s deeper identity, their purpose, or their place in the world. Through a name, you could learn of a person’s story and it’s the same with God.

But we don’t know God’s true name. The closest we have is the Hebrew letters יהוה, usually pronounced “Yahweh”. That doesn’t stop us from having a chance to get to know Him though His many names though. Each name used to refer to God reveals a different aspect of His character so studying these names can help us to get to know Him better. Through learning the characteristics that give Him these names, we get to learn more of who He is!

In many cases, the names given to God are given not by Himself but by people that encounter Him. Like much of the Bible, one of the ways we get to know God is through the relationship He has with His people and the names they give Him are not an exception to that. When the patriarchs of the people of Israel give God a name, that name reveals to us an aspect of God’s character.

Below are the basic names of God but they’re only a starting point. There are many, many more names of God. To see more, click on the links in the headings.

If you’re interested in even more names of God, here are other articles in this series you may enjoy.

The Names of God: יהוה, the God of Israel

The Names of God: Elohim, The Mighty One

The Names of God: Adonai, Our Lord and Master

Find the free printable PDF Names of God Chart here!

If you’re new to the Hebrew language, it may be helpful to start with my posts on the Hebrew Alphabet and the Hebrew Vowels. You’ll also find my Hebrew Language Resources page helpful.

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה

This is the name that God used to refer to Himself as “I AM THAT I AM” in Exodus 3:14 when Moses asked what to say when the people ask who sent him. He said again to tell the people that “I AM” sent Moses and He followed that by referring to Himself as “Elohim”. Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh can also be translated as “I will be what I will be”.

Why did He give such a complicated answer instead of just a name? We often forget when thinking about God that we’re attempting to get our mortal minds around the supernatural Creator of the Universe. Such a creature would have to be far beyond our understanding for if He fit within the confines of it, He could not be the all-powerful being He is. So it makes sense that a name which labels this awesome supernatural being would be beyond our human capability to understand as well!

Furthermore, this name gives us a glimpse of our God’s eternal nature. He has no beginning and no end – at least not by our human comprehension. He exists now and always has and always will. But to say that he merely exists is too passive. He’s not just “there”. He’s active. He creates, loves, judges, etc., constantly and forever. He simply is.

Yahweh – יהוה

Found almost 7,000 times and in all but three books of the Old Testament, these 4 Hebrew letters, יהוה, are the consonants used to refer to God. This name is often referred to as the Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek word meaning “made of four letters” and it’s translated into English as “LORD”.

Since no vowels accompany these four consonants in the original Hebrew texts, there’s some speculation on the pronunciation of this name. Many agree that it’s pronounced “Yahweh” (or “Yahveh”), with the vowels appearing as יַהְוֶה, yet others propose that the vowels are as such instead יְהֹוָה. This second pronunciation would render another familiar name for God – “Yehovah” or the common translation of “Jehovah”.

Regardless of pronunciation, יהוה comes from the root word meaning “to be”. This would make sense as God referred to Himself as “I AM”, which is a form of the verb “to be”.

As the name of God is holy, many don’t speak it out of reverence and respect. Instead, it’s often replaced by “HaShem”, meaning “the Name” or “Adonai”, meaning “my Lord” as well as other terms of honor.

The name יהוה is used in situations where God’s interacting with His people, like when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush or breathed life into Adam. It’s combined with other words to show us His character even more specifically.

Elohim אֱלֹהִים

Plural for Eloah (אֱלֹוהַ ) and from the word El (אֵל), this is the first name of God given in the Bible in Genesis 1:1, just before God created the universe. This name implies God’s mighty nature. Like יהוה, Elohim is attached to other words to expose additional aspects of His character.

Elohim doesn’t just refer to the God of Israel but to gods in general or even to angels, although it’s not capitalized in this case to indicate that. For example, it’s the word used in Exodus 20, verse 3, in the command “You shall have no other gods before Me”.

Why is the plural form Elohim, used? Well, the Bible doesn’t directly explain it but it’s not uncommon in Hebrew for something we think of as singular to be found in the plural form. Some examples are “water”, which is mayim (מַיִם) and “face”, which is panim (פָּנִים). Some say Elohim in the plural form refers to the Trinity but others say that it’s a form of royal “we”, or an “honorific plural” used by or in reference to those of great importance and power.

Elohai, meaning “my God”, can be found where Ruth stays with Naomi in Ruth 1:16, when she says “Your people shall be my people and your God, my God”. It’s used in many places throughout the Old Testament and was used by Jesus when he quoted David (Ps. 22:1) before his death on the cross by saying “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”.

Adonai אֲדֹנָי

Translated into English as “Lord”, Adonai is an extended form of the word Adon (אָדוֹן), which is also a name for God but can be used to refer to men or angels as well.

As I said above, Adonai is also often used as a substitute for יהוה when reading scripture or praying out loud out of respect for God’s name. It’s also said in Jewish liturgy when יְיָ has been written in place of יהוה.

This name of God can be found in combination with Yahweh as Adonai Yahweh (אֲדֹנָי יַהְוֶה), which is another name translated as “Lord GOD” as in Genesis 15:2, “Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will You give me…”.

Adonai can also be conjugated to be “our Lord” or “our Master” as Adoneinu (אֲדֹנֵנוּ) and Adoni (אֲדֹנִי), which means “my Lord”. These are shown in 1 Samuel 16:16 and Joshua 5:14, respectively.

Other Names of God

There are many names of God that aren’t used in conjunction with Yahweh, Elohim, or Adonai but are important to learn in that they also reveal attributes of God that can help us get to know Him. They’re words typically used to describe human attributes, such as Chatan (חָתָן), meaning “bridegroom” or Shofet (שֹׁפֵט), meaning “judge”.

In studying these names, we conclude not that God is human-like but that we are somewhat God-like. This aligns with what we already know about our creation, that we’re created in God’s image. Thus the human attributes we use to describe God are actually His attributes that we get a glimpse of even through our humanity.

If you’re being blessed by the study of God’s names and attributes, make sure not to miss the many additional names by clicking on the links found in the headings above.