Course Content
God is known by His character and His actions. He is Everlasting. He is a Healer. He is there for His people. He is jealous. He provides. He gives us peace. He is our Banner, our Righteousness, our Father, and so much more.
Throughout scripture, we see that God is referred to by a number of different names or titles. Despite all of these, many have wondered what God’s name really is. This question is nothing new, it has been a question that has been asked for millennia.
In Exodus 3:13-15, Moses asks God what he should do when the Israelites ask who sent him with the message he was bringing.
In verse 13, he asks God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
God’s response in verse 14:
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Moreover, God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord 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, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
So God states to Moses that His name is “I AM WHO I AM,” which is often shortened to, “I AM” in scripture, which in Hebrew is written YHWH.
It’s important to note that written Hebrew doesn’t include the spoken vowel sounds, but it is accepted by many today to be pronounced as YAHWEH. (There is dispute over that pronunciation due to the lack of vowels.)
Throughout history, the Jews, particularly after the Babylonian captivity and through the inter-testamental period, held this name to be so sacred it was blasphemy to utter it. In some places in the Old Testament, the word YHWH was changed to Adonai, meaning "my Lord," to reflect the importance of preserving the sanctity of the name YHWH and preventing blasphemy in the Jewish people.
Interestingly, there has been a movement over the past century, with a resurgence recently, that has attempted to reverse that. They hold that you can only refer to God and Jesus Christ by their Hebrew names, respectively YAHWEH and YESHUA, and that anything else is blasphemy. But that doesn't hold up to Scripture since God told Moses He had been called by a different name—El Shaddai, or God Almighty—by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 6:2-4). And when Jesus Christ called out to His Father in Aramaic just before His death, He spoke the Aramaic word for God, not the Hebrew.
In fact, God is known by many names and titles.
He is El Elyon (Lord God Almighty), Adonai (Lord, Master), YHWH Nissi (The LORD My Banner), YHWH Raah (The LORD My Shepherd), YHWH Rapha (The LORD that Heals), YHWH Shammah (The LORD is There), YHWH Tsidkenu (The LORD Our Righteousness), YHWH Mekoddishkem (The LORD Who Sanctifies You), El Olam (The Everlasting God), Qanna (Jealous), YHWH Jireh (The Lord Will Provide), YHWH Shalom (The LORD is Peace), YHWH Sabaoth (The LORD of Hosts)...
This is only a sampling of the names and titles by which God reveals Himself and refers to Himself throughout scripture. There are many more.
Why is this?
Because He is known by his actions and His character.
He is Everlasting. He is a Healer. He is there for His people. He is jealous. He provides. He gives us peace. He is our Banner, our Righteousness, our Father, and so much more.
