Editing Names of God in Judaism (section)

==Seven names of God==
The names of God that, once written, cannot be erased because of their holiness<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11305-names-of-god "If an error is made in writing it, it may not be erased, but a line must be drawn round it to show that it is canceled..."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114234306/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11305-names-of-god |date=2011-11-14 }}, "Names of God", 1906 ''Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref> are the [[Tetragrammaton]], [[Adonai]], [[#El|El]], [[#Elohim|Elohim]],{{refn|group=n|name=plural}}  [[#Shaddai|Shaddai]], [[#Tzevaot|Tzevaot]]; some also include [[I Am that I Am]].<ref name=":0" /> In addition, the name ''[[Jah]]''—because it forms part of the Tetragrammaton—is similarly protected.<ref name="moshe">{{cite book |author=Maimonides |title=Mishneh Torah - Sefer Madda |publisher=Chabad.org |translator-first=Eliyahu |translator-last=Touger |chapter=Yesodei ha-Torah - Chapter 6 |access-date=2017-08-10 |chapter-url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/904982/jewish/Chapter-Six.htm |archive-date=2017-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811000049/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/904982/jewish/Chapter-Six.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The tanna [[Jose ben Halafta]] considered "Tzevaot" a common name in the second century<ref>[[Jose ben Halafta]], ''Soferim'', 4:1, ''Yer. R. H.'', 1:1; ''Ab. R. N.'', 34.{{clarify|date=September 2015}}</ref> and [[Rabbi Ishmael]] considered "Elohim" to be one.<ref>[[Rabbi Ishmael]], ''[[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]]'', 66a.</ref> All other names, such as "Merciful", "Gracious" and "Faithful", merely represent attributes that are also common to human beings.<ref>''Sheb.'' 35a.{{clarify|date=September 2015}}</ref>

{{anchor|Tetragrammaton|The Tetragrammaton|Tetragrammaton (YHWH)}}

===Tetragrammaton===
{{Main|Tetragrammaton|Yahweh|Lord#Religion}}
[[File:Tetragrammaton_scripts.svg|thumb|{{nwr|The Tetragrammaton in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]]}} ({{floruit|1100&nbsp;BCE}}{{snd}}500&nbsp;CE) (two forms), and [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]] ({{floruit|1100}}&nbsp;BCE&nbsp;– 200&nbsp;CE) or [[modern Hebrew]] scripts]]
[[File:Tetragrammaton benediction.png|thumb|The Tetragrammaton in the [[Ketef Hinnom]] silver scrolls with the [[Priestly Blessing]] from the [[Book of Numbers]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Num.|6:23–27|HE}}.</ref> ({{circa|lk=no|600}}&nbsp;BCE)]]
Also abbreviated ''Jah'', the most common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton, {{lang|he|יהוה}}. The [[Hebrew script]] is an [[abjad]], and thus vowels are often omitted in writing. The Tetragrammaton is sometimes rendered with vowels, though it is not known which vowels were used originally. Direct transliteration is avoided in Jewish custom.<ref>{{citation |first=Robert |last=Alter |year=2018 |title=The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary |volume=3 |publisher=W. W. Norton |page=intro |isbn=978-0-393-29250-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S75SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT696 |access-date=2023-03-31}}</ref>

Modern Rabbinical Jewish culture judges it forbidden to pronounce this name. In prayers it is replaced by saying the word {{lang|he|אֲדֹנָי}} ({{tlit|he|Adonai}}, {{IPA|he|adoˈnaj}} {{gloss|My Lords}}, [[Pluralis majestatis]] taken as singular), and in discussion by {{tlit|he|HaShem}} 'The Name'. Nothing in the [[Torah]] explicitly prohibits speaking the name<ref>{{citation |last=Byrne |first=Máire |title=The Names of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: A Basis for Interfaith Dialogue |publisher=A&C Black |year=2011 |page=24}}</ref> and the [[Book of Ruth]] shows that it continued to be pronounced as late as the 5th century&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{bibleverse|Ruth|2:4|HE}}</ref>{{refn|group=n|The [[World English Bible]] translation: "Behold, [[Boaz]] came from [[Bethlehem]], and said to the reapers, 'Yahweh be with you.' They answered him, "Yahweh bless you.{{'"}}<ref>[http://biblehub.com/web/ruth/2.htm Ruth 2:4] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011193012/http://biblehub.com/web/ruth/2.htm |date=2015-10-11 }} ([[World English Bible|WEB]]).</ref> The book is traditionally ascribed to the [[Jewish prophet|prophet]] [[Samuel]], who lived in the 11th and 10th centuries&nbsp;BCE; but a date of the 6th or 5th century BCE for the passage is more common among subscribers to the Documentary Hypothesis regarding the [[development of the Hebrew Bible canon]].}} Mark Sameth argues that only a pseudo name was pronounced, the four letters {{script|he|יהוה}} (YHVH, YHWH) being a cryptogram which the priests of ancient Israel read in reverse as {{transliteration|he|huhi}}, 'he–she', signifying a dual-gendered deity, as earlier theorized by [[Guillaume Postel]] (16th century) and {{ill|Michelangelo Lanci|it|vertical-align=sup}} (19th century).<ref>{{citation |last=Sameth |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ozzpDwAAQBAJ&q=%22The+Name:+A+History+of+the+Dual-Gendered+Hebrew+Name+for+God%22 |title=The Name: A History of the Dual-Gendered Hebrew Name for God |publisher=Wipf & Stock |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5326-9384-7 |page=25 |access-date=2023-03-19}}</ref><ref>"At one point he [Guillaume Postel] observes that the [[Tetragrammaton]] יהוה‎ yhwh contains both feminine and masculine pro-nouns — וה‎ wh, and יה yh. He then finds this discovery is corroborated in {{bibleverse|1 Kings|17:15}}, when the Prophet [[Elijah]] sits down with the Widow of Zarephath and the Hebrew says "she ate, she and he" וַתֹּאכַל הוא-והיא הִיא-וָהוּא. What is striking here in Kings is that the vowels of the pronouns are swapped around: הוא hw' (he) is vocalized as היא hy' (she), and vice versa. This was exactly the sort of divine gender-bending he was after." — {{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1xyoBgAAQBAJ&dq=%22earlier+form+1551;+final+state+1566%22&pg=PA337 |title=Tetragrammaton: Western Christians and the Hebrew Name of God |publisher=Brill |year=2015 |isbn=978-90-04-28817-1 |location=Boston |page=337 |access-date=2023-03-19}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Postel |first=Guillaume |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EmkytAEACAAJ |title=Le thrésor des prophéties de l'univers |publisher=Springer |year=1969 |isbn=978-90-247-0203-9 |editor-last=Secret |editor-first=François |page=211 |language=fr |author-link=Guillaume Postel |access-date=2023-03-19}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Lanci |first=Michelangelo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-q4WAAAAQAAJ&dq=Paralipomeni+Alla+Illustrazione+Della+Sagra+Scrittura&pg=PR15 |title=Paralipomeni alla illustrazione della sagra Scrittura |publisher=Dondey-Dupre |year=1845 |isbn=978-1-274-01691-1 |edition=Facsmile of the 1st |pages=100–113 |language=it |access-date=2023-03-19}}</ref> It had ceased to be spoken aloud by at least the 3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, during [[Second Temple Judaism]].<ref>{{citation |last=Harris |first=Stephen L. |author-link=Stephen L. Harris |title=Understanding the Bible: A Reader's Introduction |edition=2nd |location=Palo Alto, CA |publisher=Mayfield |year=1985 |page=21 |isbn=978-1-55934-083-0 }}</ref> The Talmud relates, perhaps anecdotally, that this began with the death of [[Simeon the Just]].<ref>Yoma; Tosefta Sotah 13</ref> [[Niqqud|Vowel points]] began to be added to the Hebrew text only in the early medieval period. The [[Masoretic Text]] adds to the Tetragrammaton the vowel points of Adonai or Elohim (depending on the context), indicating that these are the words to be pronounced in place of the Tetragrammaton (see [[Qere and Ketiv]]),<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znB4gOMlb3AC&dq=Tetragrammaton+%22came+to+be+pronounced%22&pg=PA71 |title=אדון ādhōn |dictionary=Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament |publisher=Eerdmans |volume=I |page=71 |isbn=978-0-8028-2325-0 |last1=Johannes Botterweck |first1=G. |last2=Ringgren |first2=Helmer |last3=Fabry |first3=Heinz-Josef |date=6 December 1974 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JQKyfwYlQV4C&dq=%22Origen+on+Psalm+2%3A2%22&pg=PA20 |title=New Testament and Christian Apocrypha: Collected Studies II |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2009 |page=20 |isbn=978-3-16-149050-7 |last1=Bovon |first1=François}}</ref> as shown also by the pronunciation changes when combined with a preposition or a conjunction. This is in contrast to [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite Jews]], who traditionally viewed pronouncing the Tetragrammaton as a [[mitzvah]] because the name appears some 6800 times throughout the Tanakh; however, most modern Karaites, under pressure and seeking acceptance from mainstream Rabbinical Jews, now also use the term ''Adonai'' instead.<ref>{{Citation|title=Pseudo-Qumisian Sermon to the Karaites|year=1976|journal=American Academy for Jewish Research|volume=XLIII|pages=49–105}}</ref> The [[Beta Israel]] pronounce the Tetragrammaton as ''Yahu'', but also use the [[Geʽez]] term {{lang|gez-Latn|[[Igziabeher]]}}.<ref>{{citation |last=Kaplan |first=Steven |title=The Beta Israel (Falasha) in Ethiopia |page=29 |year=1992 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=0-8147-4848-1 }}</ref>

The Tetragrammaton appears in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Gen.|2:4|HE}}</ref> and occurs 6,828 times in total in the [[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]] edition of the [[Masoretic Text]]. It is thought to be an archaic [[third-person singular]] of the [[imperfective aspect]]{{refn|group=n|Biblical Hebrew did not have strictly defined past, present, or future tenses, but merely perfective and imperfective aspects, with past, present, or future connotation depending on context: see [[Modern Hebrew verb conjugation#Present tense]].}} of the verb "to&nbsp;be" (i.e., "[He] is/was/will be"). This agrees with the passage in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] where God names himself as "[[#Ehyeh asher ehyeh|I Will Be What I Will Be]]"<ref name="ex314">{{bibleverse|Exod.|3:14|HE}}</ref> using the [[first-person singular]] imperfective aspect, open to interpretation as [[present tense|present]] [[grammatical tense|tense]] ("I am what I am"), [[future tense|future]] ("I shall be what I shall be"), or [[imperfect]] ("I used to be what I used to be").<ref>[https://www.laits.utexas.edu/hebrew/drupal/themes/hebrewgrid/bh/bhonline/grammar/aspect.pdf "Biblical Hebrew Grammar for Beginners"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319043541/http://www.laits.utexas.edu/hebrew/drupal/themes/hebrewgrid/bh/bhonline/grammar/aspect.pdf |date=2015-03-19 }}, [[University of Texas at Austin]]</ref>

[[Rabbinic Judaism]] teaches that the name is forbidden to all except the [[High Priest of Israel]], who should only speak it in the [[Holy of Holies]] of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] on [[Yom Kippur]]. He then pronounces the name "just as it is written."<ref>{{citation |contribution-url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Theology/God/About_God/Speaking_about_God/Gods_Names/Tetragrammaton.shtml |contribution=The Tetragrammaton—The Unpronounceable Four-Letter Name of God |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ |title=My Jewish Learning |access-date=17 September 2014 |archive-date=18 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918070901/http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As each blessing was made, the people in the [[temple of Jerusalem#Physical layout|courtyard]] were to [[prostration|prostrate themselves completely]] as they heard it spoken aloud. As the Temple has not been rebuilt since its destruction in 70&nbsp;CE, most modern Jews never pronounce YHWH but instead read {{lang|he|אֲדֹנָי}} ({{Transliteration|he|Adonai}}, {{IPA|he|adoˈnaj}}, {{gloss|My Lords}}, [[Pluralis majestatis]] taken as singular) during prayer and while reading the [[Torah]] and as [[#HaShem|HaShem]] 'The Name' at other times.<ref>{{citation |contribution-url=http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/Adonai/adonai.html |contribution=Hebrew Name for God—Adonai |url=http://www.hebrew4christians.com/ |title=Hebrew for Christians |access-date=21 May 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153725/http://hebrew4christians.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |contribution-url=http://www.theopedia.com/Adonai |contribution=Adonai |url=http://www.theopedia.com/ |title=Theopedia |access-date=2015-03-25 |archive-date=2015-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329045246/http://www.theopedia.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Most [[English translations of the Bible]] write "the {{Lord}}" for YHWH, and "the {{Lord}} God" or "the Lord {{GOD}}" for Adonai YHWH instead of transcribing the name. The [[Septuagint]] may have originally used the Hebrew letters themselves amid its Greek text,<ref>[[Origen]], ''Commentary on Psalms 2:2''.</ref><ref>[[Jerome]], ''[[Prologus Galeatus]]''.</ref> but there is no scholarly consensus on this point.

=== Adonai ===
[[File:Shefa Tal.png|thumb|right|300px|Shefa Tal – A [[Kabbalah|Kabbalistic]] explanation of the [[Priestly Blessing]] with ''Adonai'' inscribed]]
{{listen
| filename     = He-Adonai.ogg
| title        = Adonai
| description  = 
| format       = [[Ogg]]
}}
{{lang|he|אֲדֹנָי}} ({{Transliteration|he|ăḏōnāy}}, {{IPA|he|adoˈnaj}}, {{translation|My Lords|literal=yes}}, {{lang|la|[[pluralis majestatis]]}} taken as singular) is the possessive form of {{transliteration|he|[[adon]]}} ('Lord'), along with the [[first person singular|first-person singular]] pronoun [[enclitic]].{{refn|group=n|[[Wilhelm Gesenius|Gesenius]], ''Hebrew Grammar'', §124i (on [[pluralis majestatis]]): "Further, {{lang|he|אֲדֹנִים}}, as well as the singular {{lang|he|אָדוֹן}}, (lordship) lord, e.g. {{lang|he|אֲדֹנִים קָשֶׁה}} a cruel lord, Is 19:4; {{lang|he|אֲדֹנֵי הָאָרֶץ}} the lord of the land, Gn 42:30, cf. Gn 32:19; so especially with the suffixes of the 2nd and 3rd persons {{lang|he|אֲדֹנֶיךָ, אֲדֹנַיִךְ}} ψ 45:12, {{lang|he|אֲדֹנָיו}}, &c., also {{lang|he|אֲדֹנֵינוּ}} (except 1 S 16:16); but in 1st sing. always {{lang|he|אֲדֹנִי}}. So also {{lang|he|בְּעָלִים}} (with suffixes) lord, master (of slaves, cattle, or inanimate things; but in the sense of {{lang|la|maritus}}, always in the singular), e.g. {{lang|he|בְּעָלָיו}} Ex 21:29, Is 1:3, &c."}} As with {{transliteration|he|Elohim}}, Adonai's grammatical form is usually explained as a [[pluralis excellentiae|plural of majesty]]. In the Hebrew Bible, the word is nearly always used to refer to God (approximately 450 occurrences). As pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton came to be avoided in the [[Hellenistic period]], Jews may have begun to drop the Tetragrammaton when presented alongside Adonai and subsequently to expand it to cover for the Tetragrammaton in the forms of spoken prayer and written scripture. Owing to the expansion of {{transliteration|he|[[chumra]]}} (the idea of "building a fence around the [[Torah]]"), the word {{transliteration|he|Adonai}} itself has come to be too holy to say for Orthodox Jews outside of prayer, leading to its replacement by {{transliteration|he|[[#HaShem|HaShem]]}} ('The Name').

The singular forms {{transliteration|he|adon}} and {{transliteration|he|adoni}} ('my lord') are used in the Hebrew Bible as royal titles,<ref>{{citation |title=International Standard Bible Encyclopedia |page=157 |contribution=Lord}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Focus on the Kingdom |url=http://focusonthekingdom.org/ |contribution=Adonai and Adoni (Psalm 110:1) |contribution-url=http://focusonthekingdom.org/articles/adonai.htm |publisher=[[Restoration Fellowship]] |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=9 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609164010/http://focusonthekingdom.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> as in the [[First Book of Samuel]],<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|29:8|HE}}</ref> and for distinguished persons. The [[Phoenician religion|Phoenicians]] used it as a title of [[Tammuz (deity)|Tammuz]] (the origin of the [[ancient Greek religion|Greek]] [[Adonis]]). It is also used very occasionally in Hebrew texts to refer to God (e.g. Psalm 136:3.)<ref>{{bibleverse|Psalm|136:3|HE}}</ref> [[Deuteronomy]] 10:17 has the Tetragrammaton alongside the superlative constructions "God of gods" ({{transliteration|he|elōhê ha-elōhîm}}, literally, "the gods of gods") and "Lord of lords" ({{transliteration|he|adōnê ha-adōnîm}}, "the lords of lords": {{lang|he|כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים}}; JPS 2006: "For your God יהוה is God supreme and Lord supreme").<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|10:17|HE}}</ref>

The final syllable of Adonai uses the vowel {{transliteration|he|[[kamatz]]}}, rather than {{transliteration|he|[[patach]]}} which would be expected from the Hebrew for 'my lord(s)'. Professor Yoel Elitzur explains this as a normal transformation when a Hebrew word becomes a name, giving as other examples [[Nathan (given name)|Nathan]], [[Yitzchak]], and [[Yigal]].<ref>Yoel Elitzur, ''Shemot HaEl VeTaarichei Ketivat Sifrei HaMiqra'', published in ''Be'einei Elohim VaAdam'', Beit Morasha Jerusalem: 2017, p. 407 footnote 24; see also [https://www.academia.edu/27330839/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9C_%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%99_%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90 link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826205735/https://www.academia.edu/27330839/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%90%D7%9C_%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%99_%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90 |date=2019-08-26 }}.</ref> As {{transliteration|he|Adonai}} became the most common reverent substitute for the Tetragrammaton, it too became considered un-erasable due to its holiness. As such, most prayer books avoid spelling out the word {{transliteration|he|Adonai}}, and instead write two {{transliteration|he|[[yodh]]s}} ({{large|{{lang|he|יְיָ}}}}) in its place.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Robert James Victor Hiebert |title=The Old Greek Psalter: Studies in Honour of Albert Pietersma |author2=Claude E. Cox |author3= Peter John Gentry |date=2001 |publisher=Sheffield Acad. Press |isbn=1-84127-209-4 |location=Sheffield |page=129 }}</ref>

The forms {{transliteration|he|Adaunoi}}, {{transliteration|he|Adoinoi}}, and {{transliteration|he|Adonoi}}<ref>{{cite book
 |author1           = Salomon Ibn Gebirol
 |author-link1      = Solomon ibn Gabirol
 |editor-last1      = Myer
 |editor-first1     = Isaac
 |translator-last1  = Myer
 |translator-first1 = Isaac
 |chapter           = Excerpts from the Zohar
 |year              = 1888
 |title             = Qabbalah: The Philosophical Writings of Solomon Ben Yehudah Ibn Gebirol or Avicebron and their connection with the Hebrew Qabbalah and Sepher ha-Zohar, with remarks upon the antiquity and content of the latter, and translations of selected passages from the same [...]
 |url               = https://books.google.com/books?id=96pb89Wg4X4C
 |location          = Philadelphia
 |publisher         = Isaac Myer
 |page              = 341
 |access-date       = 8 September 2023
 |quote             = [...] the Perfect Name Adonoi or Adonai.
 |archive-date      = 8 September 2023
 |archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20230908045743/https://books.google.com/books?id=96pb89Wg4X4C
 |url-status        = live
}}</ref>
represent [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]] variant pronunciations of the word {{transliteration|he|Adonai}}.

===El===
{{See also|El (deity)#Hebrew Bible}}
{{listen|filename=He-El.ogg|title=El|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}

[[El (deity)|El]] appears in [[Ugarit]]ic, Phoenician and other 2nd and 1st millennium&nbsp;BCE texts both as generic "god" and as the head of the divine pantheon.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&q=Bene+elohim |title=K. van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst, ''Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible'', pp. 274-277 |access-date=2011-12-05|isbn=978-0-8028-2491-2 |year=1999 |last1=Toorn |first1=Karel van der |last2=Becking |first2=Bob |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans }}</ref> In the Hebrew Bible, El ({{lang|he|אל}}, {{transliteration|he|ʾel}}) appears very occasionally alone (e.g. Genesis 33:20, {{transliteration|he|el elohei yisrael}}, 'Mighty God of Israel',<ref>KJV margin at Gen. 33:20</ref> and Genesis 46:3, {{transliteration|he|ha'el elohei abika}}, 'El the God of thy father'),<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|46:3|9}}</ref> but usually with some epithet or attribute attached (e.g. {{transliteration|he|El [[Elyon]]}}, 'Most High El', {{transliteration|he|El Shaddai}}, 'El of {{transliteration|he|[[Shaddai (god)|Shaddai]]}}', {{transliteration|he|El 'Olam}} 'Everlasting El', {{transliteration|he|El Hai}}, 'Living El', {{transliteration|he|El Ro'i}} 'El my Shepherd', and {{transliteration|he|El Gibbor}} 'El of Strength'), in which cases it can be understood as the generic "god". In [[theophoric names]] such as [[Gabriel]] ("Strength of God"), [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]] ("Who is like God?"), [[Raphael (angel)|Raphael]] ("God healed"), [[Ariel (angel)|Ariel]] ("My lion is God"), [[Daniel (biblical figure)|Daniel]] ("My judgment is God"), [[Ezekiel]] ("God shall strengthen"), [[Jacob|Israel]] ("one who has struggled with God"), [[Immanuel]] ("God is with us"), and [[Ishmael]] ("God hears/ will hear / listens/ will listen") it is usually interpreted and translated as "God". 

El also appears in the form {{lang|he|אֱלוֹהַּ}} ({{Transliteration|he|Eloha}}).

===Elohim===
{{Main|Elohim}}
A common name of God in the Hebrew Bible is Elohim ({{lang|he|אלהים}}, {{transliteration|he|ʾĕlōhīm}}), the plural of {{lang|he|אֱלוֹהַּ}} ({{transliteration|he|Eloha}}). When Elohim refers to God in the Hebrew Bible, singular verbs are used. The word is identical to {{transliteration|he|elohim}} meaning gods and is cognate to the {{transliteration|he|'lhm}} found in [[Ugarit]]ic, where it is used for the pantheon of Canaanite gods, the children of El and conventionally vocalized as "Elohim" although the original Ugaritic vowels are unknown. When the Hebrew Bible uses {{transliteration|he|elohim}} not in reference to God, it is plural (for example, [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 20:2). There are a few other such uses in Hebrew, for example ''[[Behemoth]]''. In [[Modern Hebrew]], the singular word {{transliteration|he|ba'alim}} ('owner') looks plural, but likewise takes a singular verb.

A number of scholars have traced the etymology to the Semitic root {{lang|sem-x-proto|*yl}}, 'to be first, powerful', despite some difficulties with this view.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmCVZ5mHsboC&q=elohim+etymology |author=Mark S. Smith |title=God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World |publisher=Coronet Books Incorporated |date=2008 |page=15|access-date=2011-12-05|isbn=978-3-16-149543-4 }}</ref> {{transliteration|he|Elohim}} is thus the plural construct 'powers'. [[Hebrew grammar]] allows for this form to mean "He is the Power (singular) over powers (plural)", just as the word {{transliteration|he|Ba'alim}} means 'owner' (see above). "He is lord (singular) even over any of those things that he owns that are lordly (plural)".

Theologians who dispute this claim cite the hypothesis that plurals of majesty came about in more modern times. Richard Toporoski, a classics scholar, asserts that plurals of majesty first appeared in the reign of [[Diocletian]] (CE&nbsp;284–305).<ref>R. Toporoski, "What was the origin of the royal 'we' and why is it no longer used?", ''[[The Times]]'', May 29, 2002. Ed. F1, p. 32</ref> Indeed, [[Wilhelm Gesenius|Gesenius]] states in his book ''Hebrew Grammar'' the following:<ref>''Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar'' (A. E. Cowley, ed., Oxford, 1976, p.398)</ref>

<blockquote>The Jewish grammarians call such plurals ... {{lang|la|plur. virium}} or {{lang|la|virtutum}}; later grammarians call them {{lang|la|plur. excellentiae}}, {{lang|la|magnitudinis}}, or {{lang|la|plur. maiestaticus}}.

This last name may have been suggested by the ''we'' used by kings when speaking of themselves (compare [[1 Maccabees]] 10:19 and 11:31); and the plural used by God in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 1:26 and 11:7; [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 6:8 has been incorrectly explained in this way. It is, however, either ''communicative'' (including the attendant [[angels]]: so at all events in Isaiah 6:8 and Genesis 3:22), or according to others, an indication of ''the fullness of power and might'' implied. It is best explained as a plural of ''self-deliberation''. The use of the plural as a form of respectful address is quite foreign to Hebrew.</blockquote>

[[Mark S. Smith]] has cited the use of plural as possible evidence to suggest an evolution in the formation of early Jewish conceptions of [[monotheism]], wherein references to "the gods" (plural) in earlier accounts of verbal tradition became either interpreted as multiple aspects of a single monotheistic God at the time of writing, or subsumed under a form of [[monolatry]], wherein the god(s) of a certain city would be accepted after the fact as a reference to the God of Israel and the plural deliberately dropped.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CmCVZ5mHsboC&q=Mark+S.+Smith,+God+in+translation Mark S. Smith, ''God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World'', vol. 57 of Forschungen zum Alten Testament, Mohr Siebeck, 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605042607/https://books.google.com/books?id=CmCVZ5mHsboC&q=Mark+S.+Smith,+God+in+translation |date=2023-06-05 }}, {{ISBN|978-3-16-149543-4}}, p. 19.; Smith, Mark S. (2002), "The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel" (Biblical Resource Series)</ref>

The plural form ending in {{transliteration|he|-im}} can also be understood as denoting abstraction, as in the Hebrew words {{transliteration|he|chayyim}} ({{lang|he|חיים}}, 'life') or {{transliteration|he|betulim}} ({{lang|he|בתולים}}, 'virginity'). If understood this way, {{transliteration|he|Elohim}} means 'divinity' or 'deity'. The word {{transliteration|he|chayyim}} is similarly syntactically singular when used as a name but syntactically plural otherwise. In many of the passages in which {{transliteration|he|elohim}} occurs in the Bible, it refers to non-Israelite deities, or in some instances to powerful men or judges, and even angels (Exodus 21:6, Psalms 8:5) as a simple plural in those instances.

{{anchor|Elohei}}

===Shaddai===
{{Main|El Shaddai}}
{{transliteration|he|El Shaddai}} ({{lang|he|אל שדי}}, {{transliteration|he|ʾel šadday}}, {{IPA|he|ʃaˈdaj|pron}}) is one of the names of God in Judaism, with its [[etymology]] coming from the influence of the [[Ugaritic religion]] on modern Judaism. {{transliteration|he|El Shaddai}} is [[English Bible translations|conventionally translated]] as "God Almighty". While the translation of {{transliteration|he|El}} as '[[god (word)|god]]' in [[Ugarit]]ic/[[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] languages is straightforward, the literal meaning of {{transliteration|he|Shaddai}} is the subject of debate.

===Tzevaot===
{{For|the Gnostic deity|Sabaoth (Gnosticism)}}
Tzevaot, Tzevaoth, Tsebaoth or Sabaoth ({{lang|he|צבאות}}, {{transliteration|he|ṣəḇāʾōṯ}}, {{IPA|he|tsvaot|pron|He-YhwhTzevaot.ogg}}, {{abbr|lit.|literally}}&nbsp;"Armies"), usually translated "Hosts", appears in reference to armies or armed hosts of men but is not used as a divine epithet in the [[Torah]], [[Book of Joshua|Joshua]], or [[Book of Judges|Judges]]. Starting in the [[Books of Samuel]], the term "Lord of Hosts" appears hundreds of times throughout the [[Nevi'im|Prophetic books]], in [[Psalms]], and in [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]].

The Hebrew word {{transliteration|he|Sabaoth}} was also absorbed in [[Ancient Greek]] ({{lang|grc|σαβαωθ}}, {{transliteration|grc|sabaōth}}) and [[Latin]] ({{lang|la|Sabaoth}}, with no declension). [[Tertullian]] and other [[Fathers of the Church]] used it with the meaning of "Army of angels of God".<ref>[[Karl Ernst Georges|Georges]], O. Badellini, F. Calonghi, ''Dizionario latino–italiano'' [Latin-to-Italian Dictionary], Rosenberg & Sellier, [[Turin]], 17th edition, 1989, page 2431 of 2959</ref>

=== Ehyeh{{anchor|Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh|I am that I am}}===
{{Main|I Am that I Am}}
{{transliteration|he|Ehyeh asher ehyeh}} ({{lang|he|אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה}}) is the first of three responses given to [[Moses]] when he asks for God's name in the [[Book of Exodus]].<ref name="ex314" /> The [[King James Version]] of the Bible translates the Hebrew as "[[I Am that I Am]]" and uses it as a way to describe God.{{listen
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The word {{transliteration|he|ehyeh}} is the [[grammatical person|first-person]] singular [[imperfect]] form of {{transliteration|he|hayah}}, 'to be'. Biblical Hebrew does not distinguish between [[grammatical tense]]s. It has instead an [[grammatical aspect|aspectual system]] in which the imperfect denotes any actions that are not yet completed,<ref>{{cite web |title=Biblical Hebrew |url=https://biblicalhebrew.org/hebrew-tenses.aspx |access-date=2020-11-05 |archive-date=2020-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812101010/https://biblicalhebrew.org/hebrew-tenses.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hebrew Tenses |date=31 January 2022 |url=https://christian.net/pub/resources/text/m.sion/hebrtens.htm |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308040500/https://christian.net/pub/resources/text/m.sion/hebrtens.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Biblical Hebrew Grammar do Beginners |url=https://hebrew.laits.utexas.edu/drupal/themes/hebrewgrid/bh/bhonline/grammar/aspect.pdf |access-date=2020-11-05 |archive-date=2021-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227235230/https://hebrew.laits.utexas.edu/drupal/themes/hebrewgrid/bh/bhonline/grammar/aspect.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Accordingly, {{transliteration|he|Ehyeh asher ehyeh}} can be rendered in English not only as "I am that I am" but also as "I will be what I will be" or "I will be who I will be", or "I shall prove to be whatsoever I shall prove to be" or even "I will be because I will be". Other renderings include: Leeser, "I Will Be that I Will Be"; Rotherham, "I Will Become whatsoever I please", Greek, {{transliteration|grc|[[Ego eimi]] ho on}} ({{lang|grc|ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν}}), "I am Being/the Existing One" in the [[Septuagint]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Exodus 3:14 LXX |url=http://bibledatabase.net/html/septuagint/02_003.htm |access-date=2014-05-21 |publisher=Bibledatabase.net |archive-date=2011-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810013425/http://bibledatabase.net/html/septuagint/02_003.htm }}</ref> and [[Philo]],<ref>Yonge. Philo Life Of Moses Vol.1 :75</ref><ref>Life of Moses I 75, Life of Moses II 67,99,132,161 in F.H. Colson Philo Works Vol. VI, Loeb Classics, Harvard 1941</ref> and [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]];<ref>Rev.1:4,1:8.4:8 UBS Greek Text Ed.4</ref> [[Latin]], {{lang|la|ego sum qui sum}}, "I am Who I am."

The word {{transliteration|he|asher}} is a [[relative pronoun]] whose meaning depends on the immediate context, so that "that", "who", "which", or "where" are all possible translations of that word.<ref name="Seidner, 4">Seidner, 4.</ref>