I ran across a book a year ago that gives many of the Hebrew and Greek names for God. As I have felt in the past and still feel, knowing about God’s name can be quite foreign to me as I am neither Hebrew nor Greek, and rarely speak about God in terms other than by saying “God” or “Lord.” The reality is that whether foreign to me or not, there are an abundant number of terms that could be used to describe God. Elohim, El Roi, Yahweh, and Adonay are a few of the many terms used for the name of God. Each term has some specific meaning as it connects to the master, creator, and lord of the Israelite and Christian people. While I will confess to feeling “swamped” at times by Biblical terminology and phrases to define God, I must admit that I do understand the point. God is many, many things and no one name can define him. Maybe this is why Moses asked God his name and God responded with “I am.” Possibly God wants us to realize that he is so many things, and we will never truly grasp all of the terms and meanings that are found in the name “GOD.”
8/22/2008
What's In A Name?
I ran across a book a year ago that gives many of the Hebrew and Greek names for God. As I have felt in the past and still feel, knowing about God’s name can be quite foreign to me as I am neither Hebrew nor Greek, and rarely speak about God in terms other than by saying “God” or “Lord.” The reality is that whether foreign to me or not, there are an abundant number of terms that could be used to describe God. Elohim, El Roi, Yahweh, and Adonay are a few of the many terms used for the name of God. Each term has some specific meaning as it connects to the master, creator, and lord of the Israelite and Christian people. While I will confess to feeling “swamped” at times by Biblical terminology and phrases to define God, I must admit that I do understand the point. God is many, many things and no one name can define him. Maybe this is why Moses asked God his name and God responded with “I am.” Possibly God wants us to realize that he is so many things, and we will never truly grasp all of the terms and meanings that are found in the name “GOD.”
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2 comments:
I read something about this a little while ago and I loved it. Each name given to describe God was a special encounter or experience that had with him. The Called him God the Creator or God the provider. We can have many names for God as we experience him more and more each day. Good post. I love them.
I think this is so true. God's names many times reflect the experiences we (or Biblical characters rather) are going through. Wonderful reply... I love the idea.
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