Names of God
Yahweh or Jehovah is the sacred name of the God of Israel, used especially with
reference to His being the covenant God of His people. The name itself is spelled
by only four letters in Hebrew, YHWH. The liberal meaning of the name seems to
be “He is”; it is similar to the “I AM” name by which God calls Himself when speaking
to Moses by the burning bush . When Moses asked God what to tell the children of
Israel His name was (Exodus 3:13-15) says “and Moses said to God, behold when I
come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them. The God of your fathers has
sent me to you, and they shall say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to
them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and He said, thus shall you say to
the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. And God said moreover to Moses,
thus shall you say to the children of Israel, the Lord Yahweh God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you;
this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial to all generations”. The bush was
a vivid symbol of the inexhaustible dynamism of God who burns like a fire with love
and righteousness, yet remains the same and never diminishes.
The divine name Yahweh is usually translated “LORD” in English versions of the
Bible. Because it became a practice in late Old Testament Judaism not to
pronounce the sacred name YHWH, but to say instead “my lord” (Adonai). A
practice still used today in the synagogue. When the vowels of Adonai were
attached to the consonants YHWH in the medieval period, the word Jehovah
resulted. Today many Christians use the word Yahweh, the more original
pronunciation, not hesitating to name the divine name since Jesus taught believers
to speak in a familiar way to God. Jesus taught us to say “Our Father”.
It is very important that we learn the names of God and their meanings, because it
lets us see the character of God and how He worked on the behalf of His people.
God favored His people by revealing Himself by several names that offered special
insight into His love and righteousness. Lets look at some of His names.
Jehovah-Jireh – The LORD will provide. Commemorating the provision of the ram in
place of Isaac for Abraham’s sacrifice. Abraham was told by God to take his son
Isaac, to Mount Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering. And the scriptures
says that Abraham rose up early in the morning and took Isaac, along with two of his
men, and went to the place which God had told him. As he arrived, he told his
young men, to stay there with the donkey, and that he and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and come again to them. And as they were going Isaac spoke and
said behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And
Abraham said, my son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering, so they
went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of,
and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his
son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his
hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called to him out
of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, here am I. And He said, lay
not your hand upon the lad, neither do you any thing to him; for now, I know that
you fear (reverence) God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son
from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in the thicket by its horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered
him up for a bornt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of
the place Jehovah-jireh as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord Yahweh it
shall be seen” (Genesis 22:1-14).
God had told Abraham that in Isaac would his seed be, so Abraham hang on to that
word and was fully persuaded that if he killed Isaac, God would have to raise him
up from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). We can learn much from this, because when
God speaks to us, we have to stand on His word and we will see it come to pass for
us.
Jehovah-Repheka – The Lord your healer. God delivered the children of Israel
from Pharaoh, He took them through the Red Sea on dry ground, but when they
reached Marah, the waters was bitter and they could not drink, so Moses cried out
to the Lord, “and he cried out to the Lord Yahweh, and the Lord Yahweh showed
him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet,
there He made for them a statute and an ordinance and there He proved them. And
said, if you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God and will do that
which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His
statutes. I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the
Egyptians, for I am the Lord that heals you” (Exodus 15:25-26). How God
intervened to aid His Old Testament people at crucial moments of need; the various
covenant benefits that we His people today derive from our faith relationship to Him.
Jehovah-Nissi – The Lord my banner. In honor of God’s defeat of the Amalekites.
When Amalek, came to fight with the children of Israel, Moses told Joshua to choose
out men to go out and fight with Amalek. As they fought as long. “it came to pass,
when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand,
Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone, and put it
under him, and he sat thereon; ad Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on
the one side, and the other on the other side; an his hands were steady until the
going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek, and his people with the
edge of the sword. And the Lord said to Moses, write this for a memorial in a book,
and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of
Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it
Jehovah-nissi. For he said, because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war
with Amalek, from generation to generation”.
Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord is peace. Gideon was called of God to deliver the
children of Israel from the Midianites. Even though he was afraid, when he realized
that he had heard from God, he followed God’s instruction, and even after God
reduced his army to 300 men (Judges 6:22-24) “and when Gideon perceived that
he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas O Lord God, for because I have
seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said to him, peace be to you;
fear not; you shall not die. Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord Yahweh,
and called it Jehovah-Shalom; to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites”. We
can learn that when we follow the instruction of the Lord, we will be victorious.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu – The Lord our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-8 says “behold,
the days come, says the Lord Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the
earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His
name whereby He shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness”. This prophecy
was fulfilled with Jesus.
Jehovah-Rohi – The Lord my Shepherd. Psalms 23 is a beautiful promise for us, it
says “the Lord Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in
green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads
me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and
Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever”.
Jehovah-Shammath – This phrase expresses the truth that “the Lord is there”,
referring to the city which the prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision (Ezekiel 48:29-35)
“this is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance,
and these are their portions says the Lord God. and these are the goings out of
the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. And the gate
of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel; three gates northward; one
gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. And at the east side four
thousand and five hundred, and three gates and one gate of Joseph, one gate of
Benjamin, one gate of Dan. And at the south side four thousand and five hundred
measures and three gates one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachur, one gate of
Zebulum. At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates,
one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. It was round about
eighteen thousand measures, and the name of the city from that day shall be, The
Lord is there”.
Jehovah-Tsebooth – The Lord of hosts. This is the story of Samuel, his mother was
barren, and when she prayed and told God, that if she had a son she would
dedicate him to the temple (I Samuel 1:10-11) “and she was in bitterness of soul,
and prayed to the Lord Yahweh, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O
Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid, and
remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a man
child, then I will give him to the Lord Yahweh all the days of his life, and there shall
no razor come upon his head”. God blessed her with a son, and she did bring him
to the temple, and he served the Lord Yahweh all his life. After she brought him to
the Lord, she had three sons, and two daughters.
Jehovah-Elohe Yisrael – The Lord God of Israel. It appears in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
the Psalms. Other names similar to this are Netsah Yisrael, “The Strength of Israel”
(I Samuel 15:29); and Abir Yisrael, “the Mighty One of Israel” (Isaiah 1:24).
In learning these names of God, you can see how God was with His people in some
difficult times and how He brought them out of their troubles (Psalms 34:17-20,22)
“the righteous cry, and the Lord Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their
troubles. The Lord Yahweh is near to them that are of a broken heart, and saves
such as be of a contrite spirit. many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord
Yahweh delivers him out of them all. The Lord Yahweh redeems the soul of His
servants, and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate”. As we begin to
meditate on this, our faith grows.
Jesus gave us a more sure name to call our God, He tells us to call Him “Our
Father”, John 1:12 says “as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name”.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: January 5, 2010
Yahweh or Jehovah is the sacred name of the God of Israel, used especially with
reference to His being the covenant God of His people. The name itself is spelled
by only four letters in Hebrew, YHWH. The liberal meaning of the name seems to
be “He is”; it is similar to the “I AM” name by which God calls Himself when speaking
to Moses by the burning bush . When Moses asked God what to tell the children of
Israel His name was (Exodus 3:13-15) says “and Moses said to God, behold when I
come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them. The God of your fathers has
sent me to you, and they shall say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to
them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and He said, thus shall you say to
the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you. And God said moreover to Moses,
thus shall you say to the children of Israel, the Lord Yahweh God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you;
this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial to all generations”. The bush was
a vivid symbol of the inexhaustible dynamism of God who burns like a fire with love
and righteousness, yet remains the same and never diminishes.
The divine name Yahweh is usually translated “LORD” in English versions of the
Bible. Because it became a practice in late Old Testament Judaism not to
pronounce the sacred name YHWH, but to say instead “my lord” (Adonai). A
practice still used today in the synagogue. When the vowels of Adonai were
attached to the consonants YHWH in the medieval period, the word Jehovah
resulted. Today many Christians use the word Yahweh, the more original
pronunciation, not hesitating to name the divine name since Jesus taught believers
to speak in a familiar way to God. Jesus taught us to say “Our Father”.
It is very important that we learn the names of God and their meanings, because it
lets us see the character of God and how He worked on the behalf of His people.
God favored His people by revealing Himself by several names that offered special
insight into His love and righteousness. Lets look at some of His names.
Jehovah-Jireh – The LORD will provide. Commemorating the provision of the ram in
place of Isaac for Abraham’s sacrifice. Abraham was told by God to take his son
Isaac, to Mount Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering. And the scriptures
says that Abraham rose up early in the morning and took Isaac, along with two of his
men, and went to the place which God had told him. As he arrived, he told his
young men, to stay there with the donkey, and that he and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and come again to them. And as they were going Isaac spoke and
said behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And
Abraham said, my son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering, so they
went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of,
and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his
son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his
hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called to him out
of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, here am I. And He said, lay
not your hand upon the lad, neither do you any thing to him; for now, I know that
you fear (reverence) God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son
from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram
caught in the thicket by its horns, and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered
him up for a bornt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of
the place Jehovah-jireh as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord Yahweh it
shall be seen” (Genesis 22:1-14).
God had told Abraham that in Isaac would his seed be, so Abraham hang on to that
word and was fully persuaded that if he killed Isaac, God would have to raise him
up from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). We can learn much from this, because when
God speaks to us, we have to stand on His word and we will see it come to pass for
us.
Jehovah-Repheka – The Lord your healer. God delivered the children of Israel
from Pharaoh, He took them through the Red Sea on dry ground, but when they
reached Marah, the waters was bitter and they could not drink, so Moses cried out
to the Lord, “and he cried out to the Lord Yahweh, and the Lord Yahweh showed
him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet,
there He made for them a statute and an ordinance and there He proved them. And
said, if you will diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord your God and will do that
which is right in His sight, and will give ear to His commandments, and keep all His
statutes. I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the
Egyptians, for I am the Lord that heals you” (Exodus 15:25-26). How God
intervened to aid His Old Testament people at crucial moments of need; the various
covenant benefits that we His people today derive from our faith relationship to Him.
Jehovah-Nissi – The Lord my banner. In honor of God’s defeat of the Amalekites.
When Amalek, came to fight with the children of Israel, Moses told Joshua to choose
out men to go out and fight with Amalek. As they fought as long. “it came to pass,
when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand,
Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone, and put it
under him, and he sat thereon; ad Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on
the one side, and the other on the other side; an his hands were steady until the
going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek, and his people with the
edge of the sword. And the Lord said to Moses, write this for a memorial in a book,
and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of
Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it
Jehovah-nissi. For he said, because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war
with Amalek, from generation to generation”.
Jehovah-Shalom – The Lord is peace. Gideon was called of God to deliver the
children of Israel from the Midianites. Even though he was afraid, when he realized
that he had heard from God, he followed God’s instruction, and even after God
reduced his army to 300 men (Judges 6:22-24) “and when Gideon perceived that
he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas O Lord God, for because I have
seen an angel of the Lord face to face. And the Lord said to him, peace be to you;
fear not; you shall not die. Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord Yahweh,
and called it Jehovah-Shalom; to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites”. We
can learn that when we follow the instruction of the Lord, we will be victorious.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu – The Lord our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-8 says “behold,
the days come, says the Lord Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the
earth. In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is His
name whereby He shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness”. This prophecy
was fulfilled with Jesus.
Jehovah-Rohi – The Lord my Shepherd. Psalms 23 is a beautiful promise for us, it
says “the Lord Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in
green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads
me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and
Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever”.
Jehovah-Shammath – This phrase expresses the truth that “the Lord is there”,
referring to the city which the prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision (Ezekiel 48:29-35)
“this is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance,
and these are their portions says the Lord God. and these are the goings out of
the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures. And the gate
of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel; three gates northward; one
gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. And at the east side four
thousand and five hundred, and three gates and one gate of Joseph, one gate of
Benjamin, one gate of Dan. And at the south side four thousand and five hundred
measures and three gates one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachur, one gate of
Zebulum. At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates,
one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali. It was round about
eighteen thousand measures, and the name of the city from that day shall be, The
Lord is there”.
Jehovah-Tsebooth – The Lord of hosts. This is the story of Samuel, his mother was
barren, and when she prayed and told God, that if she had a son she would
dedicate him to the temple (I Samuel 1:10-11) “and she was in bitterness of soul,
and prayed to the Lord Yahweh, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O
Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid, and
remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a man
child, then I will give him to the Lord Yahweh all the days of his life, and there shall
no razor come upon his head”. God blessed her with a son, and she did bring him
to the temple, and he served the Lord Yahweh all his life. After she brought him to
the Lord, she had three sons, and two daughters.
Jehovah-Elohe Yisrael – The Lord God of Israel. It appears in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and
the Psalms. Other names similar to this are Netsah Yisrael, “The Strength of Israel”
(I Samuel 15:29); and Abir Yisrael, “the Mighty One of Israel” (Isaiah 1:24).
In learning these names of God, you can see how God was with His people in some
difficult times and how He brought them out of their troubles (Psalms 34:17-20,22)
“the righteous cry, and the Lord Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their
troubles. The Lord Yahweh is near to them that are of a broken heart, and saves
such as be of a contrite spirit. many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord
Yahweh delivers him out of them all. The Lord Yahweh redeems the soul of His
servants, and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate”. As we begin to
meditate on this, our faith grows.
Jesus gave us a more sure name to call our God, He tells us to call Him “Our
Father”, John 1:12 says “as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power
to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name”.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: January 5, 2010
