What Names In The Bible Can Tell Us
I never really had a name that stuck. Do you have a nickname? Not just a shortened version of your given name, but a term of endearment or description given to you by family, friends, or even a school bully. Names hold significant meaning and can reveal a lot about a person. Names like Big Jack, Princess, Buddy, or Stinky paint vivid pictures of individuals.
I love that when we delve deeper into the text on the pages of the Bible, we uncover astonishing insights! Did you know that our amazing and unique God has many names? And it makes perfect sense! God’s names reveal a great deal about His character and nature, too.
Listening To Names Like The Ancients
The Bible is filled with the names of God like Elohiml Yahweh, Ed Shaddai, Adonai, Jehovah, Messiah, and Christ, among others, reveal much about God. However, in our English Bibles, we often see His name simply as God or Lord, which can obscure the deep significance of His names and what they tell us about who God is.
To the ancients, a name was a window into a person’s character and abilities, including God Himself. God instructed Mary and Joseph to name their firstborn Jesus, meaning God saves. Thus, when the Jews heard the name Jesus, they understood it as God saves, a perfect description of the Savior of the world.
I sympathize with individuals like Jabez, Mahlon, and Achan, whose names mean sorrow, sickness, and trouble, respectively. This makes me wonder if the phrase here comes trouble originates from Achan.
God’s Names Reveals His Character
Exploring the Bible can help us discover God’s names and learn about His wonderful and awe-inspiring character.
One of my favorite names for God is El Shaddai, found in Genesis 17. In the ancient world, people believed in many gods, often represented by idols (literally blocks of wood). The test for the true or best god was simple: the strongest or mightiest god was the real one. When God appeared to Abram and declared Himself as El Shaddai (God Almighty), He was asserting His supremacy as the true God.
Abram, at ninety-nine years old, had a successful life but lacked a child, which was a source of great shame, especially since his name meant exalted father. God, El Shaddai, promised to show His might by changing Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning father of a multitude of nations. This transformation demonstrated God’s unparalleled power as He made Abraham the patriarch of countless descendants, as numerous as the stars.
What challenges are you facing that requires a mighty God? If you need to see God’s power in your life, don’t turn to idols or other solutions. Trust in El Shaddai, the Almighty God who loves you beyond measure. Just ask Him and keep on asking.
Name Of God In The Bible
God is also known as Jehovah-Jireh (Genesis 22), the God Who Provides. Our Almighty God will provide what you need. Here are some other names of God that highlight His wonderful character and abilities:
- El Sabaoth: The God of the Armies of Heaven
- El Elyon: The Most High God
- Adonai: Master
- Jehovah: The Lord, The Self-Existent God, God’s Covenant Name
- Jehovah Raah: The Lord, My Shepherd
- Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Who Heals
- Jehovah Mekoddishkem: The Lord Who Sanctifies You
- El Olam: The Everlasting God
- Jehovah Shalom: The Lord Of Peace
- Elohim: The Creator, The Triune God
There are many more names of God that reveal His magnificent character and abilities. No wonder the Bible says He is our ALL IN ALL, everything we could ever need or want!
So, call on the God of the Universe, your Creator, by name for what you need, and be sure to give Him all His magnificent worth!
Meditate On His Word
This week’s verse: In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ Jeremiah 23:6
More Posts About The Name Of God
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Why Know About The Names In The Bible
Happy Sunday!
Happy Sunday Yvonne, and thank you for the reminder that we serve a Mighty God!
How appropriate your blog was today for me. This morning in church our choir sang El Shaddei, a song that I love. I have been singing it all afternoon. It was so meaningful to understand what all the names for our Almighty God mean. Thank you for this message and I thank God for His blessings.
The translators may have chosen to render El Shaddai as “God Almighty”; they did so based on the root shadad (שָׁדַד) meaning to destroy; however, they ought to have used the root is shad (שַׁד) meaning the breasts of a woman. For example, in Genesis 49:3, we find both Shaddai (שַׁדַּי) translated as “Almighty” and shad (שַׁד) translated as breasts, thus definitively linking the two. Thus, El Shaddai would better be rendered as God, the Nurturing One. Now that does NOT mean that God is female or that God has breasts! It is just an analogy like the one in which God is depicted as a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings (Psalm 91:4, Matthew 23:37).
by the God of your father who will help you,
by the Almighty (שַׁדַּי) who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts (שַׁד) and of the womb.
(Genesis 49:25, ESV)
Yes, that is exactly right.
I enjoyed reading about the names of our wonderful God and look forward to reading the other articles you wrote.
Jesus Christ has many descriptive names also and would like to see them also.
Have a blessed week. Ramona in NC