NAMES OF GOD

A number of traditions have lists of many names of God, many of which enumerate
the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word "God" (and its equiva
lent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun or name to refe
r to different deities.[1] Ancient cognate equivalents for the word "God" includ
e proto-Semitic El, biblical Hebrew Elohim, Arabic 'ilah, and biblical Aramaic E
lah. The personal or proper name for God in many of these languages may either b
e distinguished from such attributes, or homonymic. For example, in Judaism the
tetragrammaton is sometimes related to the ancient Hebrew ehyeh (I will be).
Correlation between various theories and interpretation of the name of "the one
God", used to signify a monotheistic or ultimate Supreme Being from which all ot
her divine attributes derive, has been a subject of ecumenical discourse between
Eastern and Western scholars for over two centuries.[2] In Christian theology t
he word must be a personal and a proper name of God; hence it cannot be dismisse
d as mere metaphor.[3] On the other hand, the names of God in a different tradit
ion are sometimes referred to by symbols.[4] The question whether divine names u
sed by different religions are equivalent has been raised and analyzed.[5]
Exchange of names held sacred between different religious traditions is typicall
y limited. Other elements of religious practice may be shared, especially when c
ommunities of different faiths are living in close proximity (for example, the u
se of Om and Gayatri within the Indian Christian community) but usage of the nam
es themselves mostly remains within the domain of a particular religion, or even
may help define one's religious belief according to practice, as in the case of
the recitation of names of God (such as the japa).[6] Guru Gobind Singh's Jaap
Sahib, which contains 950 names of God.[7] The Divine Names, the classic treatis
e by Pseudo-Dionysius, defines the scope of traditional understandings in Wester
n traditions such as Hellenic, Christian, Jewish and Islamic theology on the nat
ure and significance of the names of God.[8] Further historical lists such as Th
e 72 Names of the Lord show parallels in the history and interpretation of the n
ame of God amongst Kabbalah, Christianity, and Hebrew scholarship in various par
ts of the Mediterranean world.[9]
The attitude as to the transmission of the name in many cultures was surrounded
by secrecy. In Judaism, the pronunciation of the name of God has always been gua
rded with great care. It is believed that, in ancient times, the sages communica
ted the pronunciation only once every seven years;[10] this system was challenge
d by more recent movements.
The nature of a holy name can be described as either personal or attributive. In
many cultures it is often difficult to distinguish between the personal and the
attributive names of God, the two divisions necessarily shading into each other
.[11]
Contents
1 Abrahamic religions
1.1 Judaism
1.2 Christianity
1.2.1 Mormonism
1.2.2 Jehovah's Witnesses
1.2.3 Other Christian movements
1.3 Islam
1.3.1 Sufism
2 Bah' Faith
3 Hinduism
4 Arya Samaj
5 Jainism
 6 Sikhism
7 Zoroastrianism
8 See also
9 References
9.1 Citations
9.2 Sources
10 External links
Abrahamic religions
Further information: El (deity)
Judaism
Main article: Names of God in Judaism
Further information: I Am that I Am, Yahweh, Tetragrammaton, Elohim, El Shaddai,
and Elyon
El comes from a root word meaning might, strength, power. Sometimes referring to
God and sometimes the mighty when used to refer to the God of Israel, El is alm
ost always qualified by additional words that further define the meaning that di
stinguishes him from false gods. A common title of God in the Hebrew Bible is El
ohim (Hebrew: ?????). The root Eloah (???) is used in poetry and late prose (e.g
., the Book of Job) and ending with the masculine plural suffix "-im" ?? creatin
g a word like ba`alim ("owner(s)" and adonim ("lord(s), master(s)") that may als
o indicate a singular identity.
In the Book of Exodus, God commands Moses to tell the people that 'I AM' sent hi
m, and this is revered as one of the most important names of God according to Mo
saic tradition.
Moses said to God, Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of
your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? Then what shall
I tell them? God said to Moses, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the
Israelites: I am has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, Say to the Israeli
tes, The Lord, the 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 forever, the name you shall call
me from generation to generation".
?Exodus 3:13-15
In Exodus 6:3, when Moses first spoke with God, God said, "I used to appear to A
braham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make myself known to them
by my name YHWH."
YHWH (?????) is the proper name of God in Judaism.[citation needed] Neither vowe
ls nor vowel points were used in ancient Hebrew writings and the original vocali
sation of YHWH has been lost.[12]
Later commentaries additionally suggested that the true pronunciation of this na
me is composed entirely of vowels, such as the Greek ?a??e.[13] However, this is
put into question by the fact that vowels were only distinguished in the time-p
eriod by their very absence due to the lack of explicit vowels in the Hebrew scr
ipt. The resulting substitute made from semivowels and glottals, known as the te
tragrammaton, is not ordinarily permitted to be pronounced aloud, even in prayer
. The prohibition on misuse (not use) of this name is the primary subject of the
command not to take the name of the Lord in vain.
Instead of pronouncing YHWH during prayer, Jews say "Adonai" ("Lord"). Halakha r
equires that secondary rules be placed around the primary law, to reduce the cha
nce that the main law will be broken. As such, it is common religious practice t
o restrict the use of the word "Adonai" to prayer only. In conversation, many Je
wish people, even when not speaking Hebrew, will call God HaShem (???), which is
Hebrew for "the Name" (this appears in Leviticus 24:11).
Almost all Orthodox Jews avoid using either Yahweh or Jehovah altogether on the
basis that the actual pronunciation of the tetragrammaton has been lost in antiq
uity. Many use the term HaShem as a euphemism, or they use "God" or "The Lord" i
nstead.
Christianity
Main article: Names of God in Christianity
Further information: Jehovah
See also: Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament
Some biblical scholars say YHWH was most likely pronounced Yahweh.[12] Reference
s, such as The New Encyclopdia Britannica, validate the above by offering additio
nal specifics to its (Christian) reconstruction out of Greek sources:
Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, h
ad used a form like Yahweh, and claim that this pronunciation of the tetragramma
ton was never really lost. Other Greek transcriptions also indicated that YHWH s
hould be pronounced Yahweh.[13]
The Hebrew theonyms Elohim and YHWH are mostly rendered as "God" and "the LORD"
respectively, although in the Protestant tradition the personal names Yahweh and
Jehovah[14] are also used. "Jehovah"[14] appears in the Tyndale Bible, the King
James Version, and other translations from that time period and later. Many Eng
lish translations of the Bible translate the tetragrammaton as LORD, thus removi
ng any form of YHWH from the written text and going well beyond the Jewish oral
practice of substituting Adonai for YHWH when reading aloud.[15]
English Bible translations of the Greek New Testament render ho theos (Greek: ?
Te??) as God and ho kurios (Greek: ? ??????) as "the Lord".
Jesus (Iesus, Yeshua[16] was a common alternative form of the name ?????????? ("
Yehoshua" - Joshua) in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jews of the Sec
ond Temple period. The name corresponds to the Greek spelling Iesous, from which
comes the English spelling Jesus.[17][18] "Christ" means "the anointed" in Gree
k (???st??). Khristos is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah; while
in English the old Anglo-Saxon Messiah-rendering hland (healer) was practically a
nnihilated by the Latin "Christ", some cognates such as heiland in Dutch and Afr
ikaans survive also, in German, the word Heiland is sometimes used as reference to
Jesus, e.g., in church chorals).
In the Book of Revelation in the Christian New Testament, God is quoted as sayin
g "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the E
nd". (cf. Rev. 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13)
In Messianic Judaism YHWH (pre-incarnate) and Yeshua (incarnate) are one and the
same, the second Person, with the Father and ruach hakodesh (Holy Spirit) being
the first and third Persons, respectively, of ha'Elohiym (the Godhead). YHWH is
called haShem.
Some Quakers refer to God as The Light. Another term used is King of Kings or Lo
rd of Lords and Lord of the Hosts. Other names used by Christians include Ancien
t of Days, Father/Abba, "Most High" and the Hebrew names Elohim, El-Shaddai, Yah
weh, Jehovah and Adonai. Abba (Father) is a common term used for the creator wit
hin Christianity because it was a title Jesus used to refer to God the Father.
Mormonism
In Mormonism the name of God the Father is Elohim [19] and the name of Jesus in
his pre-incarnate state was Jehovah.[20][21] Together, with the Holy Ghost they
form the Godhead; God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.[22] Mormons
typically refer to God as "Heavenly Father" or "Father in Heaven".[23]
Although Mormonism views the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as three disti
nct beings, they are one in purpose and God the Father (Elohim) is worshiped and
given all glory through his Son, Jesus Christ (Jehovah). Despite the Godhead do
ctrine, which teaches that God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are t
hree separate, divine beings, many Mormons (mainstream Latter-day Saints and oth
erwise, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
view their beliefs as monotheist since Christ is the conduit through which human
ity comes to the God the Father. The Book of Mormon ends with "to meet you befor
e the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the eternal Judge of both the quick and
dead. Amen."[24]
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that God has only one distinctive name, represented
in the Old Testament by the tetragrammaton. In English, they prefer to use the f
orm Jehovah.[25] According to Jehovah's Witnesses, the name Jehovah means "He ca
uses to become".[26]
Scriptures frequently cited in support of the name include Isaiah 42:8: "I am Je
hovah. That is my name", Psalms 83:18: "May people know that you, whose name is
Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth", and Exodus 6:3: "And I
used to appear to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but with regard to
my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them."[27][28]
Other Christian movements
Shngd (?? pinyin shng d, literally 'King Above') is used to refer to the Christian G
od in the Standard Chinese Union Version of the Bible. Shn ? (lit. "God", "spirit
", or "deity") was adopted by Protestant missionaries in China to refer to the C
hristian God. In this context it is usually rendered with a space, " ?", to demo
nstrate reverence. Zhu and Tianzhu ?,?? (lit. "Lord" or "Lord in Heaven") are eq
uivalent to "Lord"; these names are used as formal titles of the Christian God i
n Mainland China's Christian churches.[citation needed]
Korean Catholics also use the Korean cognate of Tianzhu, Cheon-ju, as the primar
y reference to God in both ritual/ceremonial and vernacular (but mostly ritual/c
eremonial) contexts. Korean Catholics and Korean Anglicans also use a cognate of
the Chinese Shngd (Sangje), but this has largely fallen out of regular use in fav
or of Cheon-ju. Also used is the vernacular Haneunim, the traditional Korean nam
e for the God of Heaven. Liberal-minded Korean Protestants also use Haneunim, bu
t not Sangje, and conservative Korean Protestants do not use Sangje or Haneunim
at all but instead use Hananim, which implied the oneness of the Almighty distin
ct from the mythological implications they see in the term Haneunim.[29]
Many Vietnamese Christians also use cognates of Shngd (expected to have a distribu
tion in usage similar to Korean Christians, with Anglicans and Catholics using t
he cognates of Sangje in ritual/ceremonial contexts and Protestants not using it
at all), to refer to the biblical God.[citation needed]
Tagalog-speaking Filipino Catholics and other Christians use Maykapal (glossed a
s "creator") an epithet originally applied to the pre-colonial supreme deity Bat
hala to refer to the Christian godhead in most contexts. When paired with anothe
r term for God (e.g. Panginoong Maykapal "Lord Creator", Amang Maykapal "Father
Creator"), it functions as a descriptor much like the adjectives in the English
"God Almighty" or Latin Omnipotens Deus.
Among the Nguni peoples of Southern Africa, he is known as Nkosi (roughly glosse
d as "king"). This name is used in Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika.[citation needed]
Followers of the Rastafari Movement call God Jah Rastafari.[citation needed]
In the Yorubaland region of West Africa, meanwhile, he is known as Olodumare.[ci
tation needed]
Islam
99 names of Allah, in Chinese Sini (script).
Main article: Names of God in Islam
Further information: Allah and God in Islam
Allah meaning "the God" is the name of God in Islam.[30] God has many names in Islam
, the Qur'an says (translation) to Him Belong the Best Names (Lahu Al-Asmao Al-H
usna), examples like Ar-Rahman (The Entirely Merciful), Ar-Rahim (The Especially
Merciful). Besides these Arabic names, Muslims of non-Arab origins may also som
etimes use other names in their own languages to refer to God, such as Khuda in
Persian, Bengali and Hindi-Urdu.
"He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the wi
tnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah, othe
r than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Best
ower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior.
Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creato
r, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the
heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise." (
Translation of Qur'an: Chapter 59, Verses 22-24)
Sufism
In Tasawwuf, the inner, mystical dimension of Islam, Hu, Huwa (depends on placem
ent in sentence), or Parvardigar in Persian are used as names of God. The sound
Hu derives from the last letter of the word Allah, which is read as Allahu when
in the middle of a sentence. Hu means Just He or Revealed. The word explicitly a
ppears in many verses of the Quran:
"La ilaha illa Hu"
?Family of Imran:18
Bah' Faith
See also: God in the Bah' Faith
The Bah' scriptures often refer to God by various titles and attributes, such as A
lmighty, All-Possessing, All-Powerful, All-Wise, Incomparable, Gracious, Helper,
All-Glorious, and Omniscient.[31] Bah's believe the greatest of all the names of
God is "All-Glorious" or Bah in Arabic. Bah is the root word of the following name
s and phrases: the greeting Allh-u-Abh (God is the All-Glorious), the invocation Y
Bah'u'l-Abh (O Thou Glory of the Most Glorious), Bah'u'llh (The Glory of God), and B
ah'i (Follower of the All-Glorious). These are expressed in Arabic regardless of
the language in use (see Bah' symbols).[32] Apart from these names, God is address
ed in the local language, for example Ishwar in Hindi, Dieu in French and Dios i
n Spanish.[citation needed] Bah's believe Bah'u'llh, the founder of the Bah' Faith, i
the "complete incarnation of the names and attributes of God".