I’ve been wondering for a while what we should call God, always having been frustrated with the term God (in its extreme similarity to god) and with The LORD (because when used in normal English speech, preceding something with “the” automatically objectifies it). Berto and I talked about this a little the other day, and we mentioned that we weren’t even sure that God is ever called just “God” in the Bible. This isn’t (in ANY way) an exhaustive study, but more a quick look over a passage I was reading… but I figured I’d put it up here to see if anyone has an insights that I missed, or even better, has more knowledge on the idea of the name of God that I do.
Also, really quickly before the e-mail: does anyone have any strong opinions on just always calling God Yahweh? I like the idea, but I’m worried that we just claim that that’s all the Jews used to refer to God, and that’s just not true; also, when they said Yahweh it meant more to them than just a name. It meant both “I am” AND a name, so for us to pick it up as merely a name would be missing some of the meaning it had for them. Honestly, I’ve often wished that that cat food wasn’t named Iams, because I feel like that would be an appropriate consideration were it not already taken. OK. On to the e-mail.
So I’ve been thinking for a while about what we should call God, so I really appreciated our conversation the other day.
I was reading through 2 Samuel and noticed that David called him God… I looked up the Strong’s for that, and it looks like he actually did use the generic term God/god. So there’s one hit against our crusade against people using abstracted terms to refer to a personal God. I still there there’s plenty of good reason to use/campaign for more specific terms, but it was used in the Bible.
2 Samuel 22:31-32 (and plenty of other verses in ch. 22) As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a rock, save our God?
God: Strong’s 0410 / 0430 (0410 when it’s “God”, 0430 when it’s “my God” or “our God”)
410 ‘el (ale) shortened from 352; strength; as adjective, mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity):–God (god), X goodly, X great, idol, might(-y one), power, strong. Compare names in “-el.” see HEBREW for 0352
430 ‘elohiym (el-o-heem’) plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:–angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty. see HEBREW for 0433
433 ‘elowahh (el-o’-ah); rarely (shortened) eloahh {el-o’-ah probably prolonged (emphat.) from 410; a deity or the Deity:–God, god. See 430. see HEBREW for 0410 see HEBREW for 0430
So.. yah. It’s used not entirely interchangeably with The LORD (Strongs 3068), but similarly..
3068 Yhovah (yeh-ho-vaw’) from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:–Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069. see HEBREW for 01961 see HEBREW for 03050 see HEBREW for 03069
1961 hayah (haw-yaw) a primitive root (compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):–beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use. see HEBREW for 01933
I dunno if you care about this at all, but I love it. You may already be a master of this from your schooling.. I dunno. Anyway. enjoy.
-m
In our small group we just did a weekly study on the names of God. There is a really great book called “Praying the Names of God” I don’t remember who it’s by but you should check it out. It’s awesome!
I’ve always been captured by the different names that God uses to reveal himself to us, but I am almost glad that there is not one word in any human language that can accurately describe him…I am reassured that God is indeed even greater than the language we use to express our love for him.
But if I had to choose, Yahweh has always been a favorite
um i personally like Daddy… but that’s cause i’m a Daddy’s girl…
Ah, the names of God. One of my all time favorite topics! Seriously. I can’t get enough of it. Kay Arthur wrote a book about the names of God that is awesome. As for my opinion about choosing a name for Him, it may be lengthy, but here it goes. My given name is Kreshelle. My husband only calls me this when he’s really serious about something. He calls me “Shelle”. My close friends and family call me this. If I was in trouble as a child, I was “Kreshelle Kristine”. My Dad prefers to call me “kristine” when he is being affectionate with me. Most people call my husband “Chad”. To me, he’s usually “Honey”, but he is also “Daddy” and “Bro”. You see, names are constantly in flux depending on the relationship and situation. This is why God (who is definitely referred to as “God” many times in the Bible) has been given so many names. In fact He has given several of them to himself. Sometimes, I feel like calling Him “Daddy”. Sometimes, I need Him to be “Father”. AT other times, He is “My sweet Jesus” or “My Beloved”, “My Groom”. There are most definitely times when He is “Lord” because only a Master will do. You get the point I am sure. The beauty of our God is that He is all of these things. He is all of these names. And I, for one, am so glad that I get to choose everyday what I will call him. But one thing I will never call him is insufficient! Love you Matt!
Thanks all of you guys for putting in your input. I really doubt anyone’s going to read my comment this far down, but here’s a little clarification for my question:
I’ve always been aware of the different names we call God–I’m often quick to point out Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Daddy, Lord, Jesus, and all of those, and as I’ve begun to add them to my vocabulary I’ve had to be aware that they’re appropriate in differing contexts. I guess my question was limited to a very specific context which I didn’t specify (sorry!), which doesn’t make y’all’s input any less wonderful, just less an answer to the question I was asking in my head and more a preaching to the choir.
Here’s the deal. I don’t just call him God. I call him many things, and have honestly been trying to, in a non-cheesy way, slip those other names more into my usage. However, my concern is more for the regular day-to-day interaction name that the majority of Americans use to refer to him, and how the character of those terms affect people’s understanding of him. My discussions about these issues are often less about what we as the church should do within our own circles and more about how better to interact with people outside of the church, and that’s where Daddy and My Beloved become less and less meaningful. Rather, if there was ONE CHANGE to be made in the thought process of someone who always calls him God, or of someone who always calls him The LORD, or someone who thinks we’re serving the same God because they have the same name (merely an abstraction), what could it be? What change would most truthfully and effectively connect them with the true God, not the made-up American God that so many people in our culture “serve”? I’m not saying one semantic change will make all the difference, but I think it’s a BIG start.
AH! Sorry Matt! I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was preaching to the choir. I am, in no way, even remotely questioning your understanding of the names of God and his character. So in answer to the latter, I simply call Him Jesus when speaking to others. Because I never want anyone to assume that I am in any way lenient in terms of who I am calling God. Some people have grown quite comfortable with prayer, church, and God, and still are on a totally different page. So, when speaking to others, I always refer to Him as Jesus. Because, that is the name by which they must be saved! I’m not sure that a name change will affect people’s response to Him if they already have been convinced that they already follow Him. Only the Holy Spirit can bring that kind of revelation.Maybe I make it too simple in my mind. Maybe I should get more relevant to society. I can ponder that too. But in the end, it’s always the name Jesus that I come back to.
You know, Kay Arthur’s book is wonderful. I could try to dredge it up for you if you’d like more study material on the names of God. The way that she talks about it is amazing to me. I love it. That book literally changed my life a while back. You’re pretty brilliant, so I know you don’t need information. But I think Holy Spirit uses her to bring some unique revelation to some of the scriptures. Peace!
I’m interested in this topic so I’ll jump in. I’ve thought several times lately that we are way too casual in our references to God. I appreciate the fact that many of the Jewish people in the past did not dare to pronounce or even fully write out the personal name for The Lord.
For some reason I’m not fully comfortable using Jehovah or Yahweh in regular speech though I’m open to being convinced. I think I’m more comfortable with referring to him as God Almighty. Maybe that is because if I get ready to say that it makes me pause a bit and consider the gravity of the One whose name I’m about to speak. I don’t know. This is getting long so I’ll stop for now…
Kreshelle, you certainly didn’t offend me–I just wanted to clarify a bit. I don’t consider preaching to the choir a horrible, offensive thing.
However, I appreciate that.. I was considering mentioning something about always saying Jesus. I’ve wondered about that, and just always wondered if it’s a bit one-sided… in the same way that I don’t always say Father.. and in the same way I don’t think ANYONE always says Spirit. Hm. But yah, Jesus is the only currently available term that refers only to the Christian God. So I like your answer. I think it may be the best one I have available to me right now. 
Berry, I agree that Yahweh is not my first choice, but someone might effectively persuade me of it. I like God Almighty, because it keeps the personal nature of God (versus the LORD) but maintains a specificity and reverence that “God” loses.) Thanks.
I see what you mean about it being one-sided. I think I got in the habit of saying “Jesus” all the time when I had kids. It just made things simple when teaching them. I figure I can get into the difficult task of trying to explain the Trinity to them later. So when we pray, we pray to Jesus. Sometimes we say “Father” and sometimes we ask the Holy Spirit to do things. But for the most part when we refer to “God” we just say Jesus. I guess I figure that since the Bible makes it very clear that it is by no other name that we can be saved….that is the best base to start with.
But you’re right, it can be a daunting task to bring understanding to the society as a whole. I think at times it’s just most important for me to be representing a specific God with my behavior and love in a way that is altogether distinct to the true God and let the name follow. I love you Matt! You challenge me in a way that i need to be challlenged. Sometimes I can get stuck in these four walls and I need to venture out!
hooray – ONS buddy!
hm, I feel like that was an impertinent comment for such an insightful entry/discussion. I think I’ll try to contribute while I’m here…
It’s interesting, because my chapter spent the last 2 LGs talking about the names of God, so it was great for me to read your thoughts/research. So, I haven’t thought too much about the significance of the names of God until recently. I guess I never made the connection that there’s almost a miscommunication when I use God’s name because it’s been diluted so much by our culture (everyday language, political speeches). I like your point about using a name that shows that He’s a personal God. I feel iffy about YHWH not so much because it’s how the Jews referred to Him, but because of its roots as an unspeakably powerful name. Should I be iffy? I can confidently call Him by YHWH because of Jesus right? I like how you noted that its both a description of the nature of God and a name. It’s such a beautiful one.
I also feel iffy about Jehovah since I learned recently that it was made up (since 1961?) name for YHWH. But – should I feel free to use Jehovah if I feel iffy about YHWH? So many questions!
Ok, I guess I’m leaving this comment with more questions than conclusions. That’s probably a good thing…
I don’t know you- but found this blog while doing a search.
As a new christian, the girl who introduced me to the faith asked me if I had met the creator?
I was in awe because I had always heard about Jesus and God and you never know whats going to be said following those names but the creator really summed it up fast. I knew right where she was going.