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The Name of God is the way that we refer to God, but it is more than this. In the Bible we have the name by which God has chosen to reveal himself. This is more than just a name; it tells us something about God, and because the name is revealed by God this is something important.

In the Bible there is only one name for God. However, this name has several variants; sometimes it is shortened and sometimes it is qualified by the addition of other words. God is also known by several different titles and descriptions; strictly speaking these are not names of God; rather they are titles. Nevertheless they refer to the one God.

It is important to realise that the Bibles that we use today are usually translations from the original languages. The translation of the name of God is not always reliable.

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The Old Testament

Hebrew is the main language of the Old Testament. It refers to God by His name YHWH and also by the titles 'Elohim' and 'Adonai'.

 

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The New Testament

As the New Testament was written in Greek it uses different words for God. It is always careful to distinguish between God and Jesus.

 

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The name of God used by other beings

People and angels have often been tasked with delivering a message from God. When this happens they are sometimes referred to as God.

 

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God our Father

With these different titles how should a Christian refer to God?

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