What are the names of God and their meanings?

This is one everyone is interested in and everyone want to know the pronounciation of the tetragrammaton.We will discuss these things and we will start with the most simple and move on to the more sacred and holy.

El אל

El (pronounced eil in theory but most say el and (Il, pronounced eel in Arabic) was a common name for gods or dieties divine beings in the middle east in ancient times.It fairly easily would mean in English simply god.Avraham knew god as “El shadai” אל שדי meaning the highest of the gods.So this name El or Il in Arabic is not unique to Judaism,Chistianity or Islam but is frequent in the Bible especially the Torah.

elyon עליון

If you notice I did not capatilize ,it just means higher or upper not really a name and it’s popular for atheists to use Deut.32:8 to say God has a father but that is nonsense,don’t buy that.D 32:8 was saying the Biblical God is higher not that God has a father.I only added this because of the nonsense spread by online skeptics these days.

Eloah (Allah) אלוה Arabic (Ilah)

This is rare in the Bible ,used in Job/I’ov I believe but it’s another common ancient middle eastern word for god and it is the Islamic Allah.The Arabic for Eloah is Illah and adding the Arabic definite article “al” hence Al Illah ,shortended to simply “Allah” .So Allah means god is one or there is one god or simply “The God”

Elohim אלהים

This is plural of both El and Eloah and is very common and is the very first word for God in Genesis.Pronounced “el lo heem” the first E vowel in Hebrew “chataf segol” is a very short e like pet,so it’s a shorter E than the E like they in El.

Does Elohim mean two or more gods,sometimes it can like in Psalm 82 or it can mean in certain context angels too.However most of the time it means God,often pluralized Hebrew words can mean a magnification of meaning and not two or more in some cases when the plural is in the masculine.You can take Elohim as to mean higher power or greater god,sort of like El shadai ,a higher god.The name Elohim is much analyzed and atheists use it to say the Bible is polytheistic but this is not the case.The word is used differently in different contexts but when referring to God it means God.

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה

Whom Moseh/Moses met in the burning bush.

Litterally meaning “I will be who I will be” but it’s more profound meaning is ” I will be revealed as I will be revealed” meaning that the glory of God is not yet fully revealed.The King James (among others) yields this as “I am that I am” but that betrays the true original meaning.This name is very holy and pronounciation is discouraged.

Yah יה

This means God or the one who exists ,not very common.

YHVH יהוה

The name of the true God ,pronounciation lost and this name should not be pronounced.It means “The one who causes to exist” creator basically.

How is this name pronounced when it is needed,there are three very common substitutions.

Adonai ,meaning our Lord (formal synogogue readings) this is not found in the Bible much it’s a Holy name substitute

Hashem ,meaning the name השם used in Hebrew prayers and common speech

HaKadosh Barukh Hu הקדוש ברוך הוא meaning “The Holy one, blessed he be” very affectionate and sacred.

Although the true pronounciation is lost there are some reconstructions

but I discourage pronounciation and I’ll write them all lower case for that reason ,they are just possible reconstructions

yahveh/yahweh

yehovah/jehovah

yahuah

yahuh

But no one really knows for sure.

Here are some other common pagan gods you might hear:

The Canaanite god “baal” is simply Hebrew for master ,it’s was and still is considered wrong to pronounce pagan gods ,so the Bible used master ,meaning the master of the Canaanites but it is not a name for god at all.

Ashur/Ashurah ,the god of the Assyrians and where the names Syrian and Assyrian come from ,the Jews called Assyians in the Bible Ashuri.

Dzuesh pater

A ancient Iranian Father (pater)sky god.Pronounced J like the Dutch Jean or Russian Zh or like Jaque Cousteau

In Greek just “Zeus” and in Latin “Jupiter” Jupiter is for Dzeush pater

The Akkadian and sumerian for this was Marduk.