Knowing the names of God and their meanings opens us to different encounters with him because each name relates to the role he plays in our lives and in the world at large. The Bible helps us in this regard.
Some names associated with God came directly from him, however some names are what men in the Bible associated with him. They are names of places commemorated after God in honour of an encounter with him. His actual name is YHWH which in the modern world, is pronounced YAHWEH/JEHOVAH (depending on the Bible translation)
Psalm 83:18 (HCSB) ~ May they know that You alone— whose name is Yahweh— are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 83:18 (KJV) ~ That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
Names of God
- Jehovah Rapha – The Lord who heals (Exodus 15:26) This was one of the ways God revealed himself to the Israelites.
- Jehovah Nissi – The Lord my banner (Exodus 17:15). This was the name of the altar Moses built after God gave them victory over the Amalekites.
- Elohim/El Elyon – Most High God. This name appears in several verses such as Genesis 14:18-20, Psalm 97:9, Psalm 91:1, Numbers 24:16 and so on. It is used in direct reference to God (YHWH).
- El Shaddai – God Almighty. God revealed this name personally to Abraham in Genesis 17:1.
- Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is there. This was the name of a city in one of Ezekiel’s visions (Ezekiel 48:35). It was God’s promise to the people of Israel.
- Jehovah Shalom – The Lord of peace. This was the name of an altar Gideon built in Judges 6:24 after an encounter with God.
- Jehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord my Righteousness. This name was revealed to Jeremiah in a prophecy about Jesus. Jeremiah 23:6 ~ “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” This prophecy appears again in Jeremiah 33:16.
- Adonai – Lord. This was used in direct reference to God over 430 times in the Bible. Its first appearance was in Genesis 15.
- Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will provide. This named first appeared in Genesis 22:14 after God provided a ram for the burnt offering in place of Isaac. Abraham named the place of this encounter Jehovah Jireh in commemoration of this encounter.
- Jehovah Sabaoth – Lord of (Heavenly)Hosts this name was revealed in a prophetic word to Amos where God identified himself as Jehovah Sabaoth. The name was also used in direct reference to God earlier in 1 Samuel 1:3.
- Jehovah Bara – God the creator (Isaiah 40:28).
- Jehovah El Gibor – Mighty God. This was one of the names of Jesus revealed to Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6. It is also repeated in Isaiah 10:21.
- El Olam – The everlasting God. Isaiah 40:28 ~ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable.
- El Roi – The God who sees. This name was given to God by Hagar after an encounter in Genesis 16:13: “Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
- Jehovah Rohi – The Lord my shepherd. David referred to God as his Shepherd in Psalm 23:1 but Jesus also refers to himself as a shepherd in John 10:11.
- Jehovah Mekoddishkem – The Lord who sanctifies. This was how God revealed himself to the Israelites in Exodus 31:13 and Leviticus 20:8.
- Jehovah Tsuri – The Lord my rock. Multiple people referred to God as their rock throughout the Bible. Jehovah Tsuri appears in several verses such as Psalm 18:2.
