Rishon Rishon

Names of God

Languages have words for things that are important to their speakers. I, for one, am always astounded by the numerous words English has for articles of clothing (I also have only vague notions about what differentiates a lot of them from each other – sweater, jumper, pullover, for example, only the first of which is a word I would use). Surely this is a measure of the importance of clothing in our society. In spite of the myth of Eskimo words for snow (debunked here), I think this is generally true. In Hebrew, there are a lot of words for God.

However, there are only a few basic words for God – the others are words or phrases that are used to describe God, like “the Almighty” in English. The most common word for God is Elohim (אֱלֹהִים) which looks like a plural form of Eloha (אֱלֹהַּ) another word for God, but isn’t – it is always used with singular verbs when it refers to God. (Elohim can also mean gods, as in Elohim aherim – other gods, in which case it is used with a plural verb.) These words are clearly both from the root ’-l-h, as is Arabic: Allah. In fact, eloha is a cognate of Arabic: ilah, God. In addition, there is a word from a related root: El (אֵל). There is also the mysterious word: shaday (שַׁדָּי), not often used, and frequently found together with El: El Shaday. And then there is the name of God.

Up till now, we have been talking about words for God, but Hebrew also has a name for God, which is a proper noun. But before I start talking about it, I have to give some background about a related topic. Judaism prohibits erasing, or otherwise destroying the name of God. For that reason, you will not see it written in contexts where it is not meant to be long-lasting, such as newspapers, nor will people write it casually on a piece of paper. Documents which contain the name of God cannot be thrown away, instead, when they must be retired, they are put in a g’niza (root: g-n-z – hidden). A particularly famous g’niza was discovered about 100 years ago in Cairo, which contained an enormous number of important documents written between 1000 and 1250. In addition, there is a prohibition on speaking the name of God, which was consequently forgotten before Hebrew vowels were invented, we can therefore only guess at its pronunciation. As a result, the Hebrew name of God is read as “my Lords” – and this too has been proscribed in usage: it can only be spoken when praying, saying a blessing, or quoting a passage from the Bible in its entirety. Instead, in everyday usage, people usually say: Hashem, which means “the Name”. I presume that this originally referred to the name itself, but it has come to be used as God’s name. English translations of the Bible reflect the Hebrew usage, the name of God is translated as: the Lord, while the words for God are translated as: God.

Now, though closing a window on a computer screen is not considered erasing, it is the custom not to display God’s name online in contexts in which it would not appear if it were a printed document. I will abide by that custom. There are several ways in which people get around the rule: replace one of the letters with a dash, change one of the letters to a different letter, or separate the letters with a dash. I will use the latter strategy, so in reading what follows, ignore any dashes you see.

The name of God is Y-H-V-H (י-ה-ו-ה). This is clearly from the root: h-v-h (also called h-w-h, h-w-y, h-y-y depending on the root-naming scheme that you’re using) which means something like: being. It looks to me like a passive verbal noun, which would mean something like: is being. This relationship is explicitly acknowledged in the Bible (Exodus 3:14) when God tells Moses to call him: Ehye asher Ehye – I am that I am (אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה).

Now, since pronouncing the tetragrammaton (the four-letter name of God, usually called in Hebrew: shem Hashem) is forbidden, and in any case has been forgotten, we say a-donay instead (אֲ-דֹנָי), which literally means: my lords. Lord in Hebrew is: adon, the plural of which is adonim, and to say: my, in this case you replace the –im with –ay. But remember: use this pronunciation only when praying, blessing, or saying a Biblical passage in its entirety! Otherwise use: Hashem.

When writing a passage that contains the tetragrammaton, in a non-permanent context, the most common transcription is: 'ה. That is the transcription that I usually use.

Hebrew also has numerous words and phrases, which refer to God. I will list some of them off the top of my head:

Adon `Olam – Lord of the Universe
Ribon `Olam – Master of the Universe
Ribono shel `Olam – Master of the Universe
Haqadosh barukh hu – The Holy One blessed be He
Eyn Sof – The Infinite
Hamaqom – The Omnipresent
Avinu shebashamayim – Our father in heaven
Sur `Olamim – Rock of Universes

UPDATE: I forgot two names of God, yah and yahu. For more go here.

Posted by David Boxenhorn at October 1, 2004 05:57 AM