Names of God

By Venessa Holtzhausen

Gen 17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, Adonai appeared to Abram, and He said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Continually walk before Me and you will be blameless.

Let’s look at the Name “El” used in verse one.

The word El appears as an ordinary name of God in Assyrian and Phoenician, as well as in Hebrew. It is also found as an element in proper names in the South-Arabian dilects, Aramaic, Arabic, Ethiopian, as well as in Hebrew. It is used in both the singular and plural, both for other gods and for the God of Israel. As a name of God, however, El is used chiefly in poetry and prophecy, rarely in prose, and then usually with some attribute attached, as ‘a jealous God’.

Other examples of its use with some attribute are:
El Elyon – God most high
El Shaddai – God Almighty
El Olam – Everlasting Do
El Ḥai – Living God
El Roi – God of seeing
El-Elohei Yisrael – God, the God of Israel
El Gibbor – Mighty God

Gen 17:2 “My heart’s desire is to make My covenant between Me and you, and then I will multiply you exceedingly much.”

The word b’rit (covenant) is found no less than 13 times in this chapter, emphasizing the fact that the covenant is the central idea of Genesis 17. It still is today.

Amen!