Divine Titles And Their Significance / Part One

Series – November 2014 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Divine Titles
AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE / Part One

The greatest word that can be said is God – God from eternity to eternity, uncreated, self-sustained, omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), the mighty Creator and Sustainer; the One in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NKJV ).

Seeing that divine inspiration has employed different titles to bring before us the character and workings of God, we do well to consider them, being at the same time careful not to allow the working of the human mind in the things of God, but keeping closely to all that Scripture reveals on this theme of themes. The following is a list of divine titles in the order of their first mention in the Old Testament.

Divine Titles In The Old Testiment

TITLEMEANINGFIRST MENTIONEDElohimCreatorial, supreme power (plural)Genesis 1:1JehovahContinuous existenceGenesis 2:4ElVictorious powerGenesis 14:18ElyonHigh, Highest, Most HighGenesis 14:18AdonaiLordship (plural)Genesis 15:2Angel of the LordMessengerGenesis 16:7ShaddaiThe AlmightyGenesis 17:1JahContraction of JehovahExodus 15:2AdonLordship (singular of Adonai)Exodus 23:17EloahSupreme Being (singular of Elohim)Deuteronomy 32:15Lord of all the earthOwnershipJoshua 3:11ElahThe Supreme (Chaldee)Ezra 4:24 TITLE MEANING FIRST MENTIONED Elohim Creatorial, supreme power (plural) Genesis 1:1 Jehovah Continuous existence Genesis 2:4 El Victorious power Genesis 14:18 Elyon High, Highest, Most High Genesis 14:18 Adonai Lordship (plural) Genesis 15:2 Angel of the Lord Messenger Genesis 16:7 Shaddai The Almighty Genesis 17:1 Jah Contraction of Jehovah Exodus 15:2 Adon Lordship (singular of Adonai) Exodus 23:17 Eloah Supreme Being (singular of Elohim) Deuteronomy 32:15 Lord of all the earth Ownership Joshua 3:11 Elah The Supreme (Chaldee) Ezra 4:24

TITLE MEANING FIRST MENTIONED

Elohim Creatorial, supreme power (plural) Genesis 1:1

Jehovah Continuous existence Genesis 2:4

El Victorious power Genesis 14:18

Elyon High, Highest, Most High Genesis 14:18

Adonai Lordship (plural) Genesis 15:2

Angel of the Lord Messenger Genesis 16:7

Shaddai The Almighty Genesis 17:1

Jah Contraction of Jehovah Exodus 15:2

Adon Lordship (singular of Adonai) Exodus 23:17

Eloah Supreme Being (singular of Elohim) Deuteronomy 32:15

Lord of all the earth Ownership Joshua 3:11

Elah The Supreme (Chaldee) Ezra 4:24

Note how many of the names of God begin with El – El, Elohim, Elyon, Eloah, Elah.
Seven titles for God appear for the first time in the book of Genesis.
Well may Genesis be called the seed-plot of the Bible.

Elohim (Creatorial Power)
This is one of the outstanding names of God in the Old Testament, occurring well over 2,000 times – 27 times in Genesis 1. It is the plural of Eloah and means creatorial power. Why is this sacred name in the plural? Brought up in the idolatrous land of Egypt, Moses, the inspired writer of Genesis, was not an idolater, nor did he believe in a plurality of gods as the heathen around him did. He was no worshiper of the sacred bull, the ibis, the cat or the beetle. Although brought up in all the splendor of the Egyptian court as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, there is no trace in Genesis of the idolatrous thoughts and ways of the Egyptians.

Why then is God introduced to us in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” as Elohim, a plural word? As we read through God’s holy Word we find He is revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Even the reader who is only familiar with the English Bible can gather that more than one divine Person was involved in the mighty work of creation. We read for instance, “Let Us [plural] make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26).

Note too that the plural word Elohim is followed by a singular verb. It is clear that we have here the first intimation [indication] of the Godhead as Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet one God. Hence the verb is in the singular. The two words, “God [plural] created [singular]” set forth a plural unity never known except in relation to the being of God. Did God give the Hebrew language its special Hebrew plural number, meaning three or more, simply to intimate this wonderful truth though the time had not arrived for it to be fully declared? What other answer can we give than to believe it was so?

Another very striking intimation of the same truth is found in Deuteronomy 6:4. We read, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD [Jehovah, singular] our God [Elohim, plural], the LORD [Jehovah, singular] is one.” Here in this majestic declaration of the oneness of the Godhead, care is taken to state it consistently with the truth afterwards revealed concerning its three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three Persons, of one Substance, completely united in thought, will, purpose and counsel are not three Gods, but one God – not a tri-theism [three Gods], but a Holy Trinity. We cannot understand the mystery of all this, but this truth lies at the very foundation of the Christian faith.

It is remarkable, knowing the Jews were stout [strong] believers in the one God, that the very first name of God in their sacred writings is in the plural and occurs over 2,000 times in the Old Testament.

Elohim (plural), translated gods, occurs nearly 200 times in the Old Testament as referring to heathen gods. It is particularly frequent in Deuteronomy where the children of Israel, about to go to possess the land of Canaan, are warned again and again against the gods of the heathen around them. In Deuteronomy 32:17 we read, “They sacrificed to demons, not to God; to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals, that your fathers did not fear.”

Note how the worship of idols is traced to its vile source of demon worship. First Corinthians 10:19-22 connects idol worship similarly with “fellowship with demons,” “the cup of demons” and “the table of demons.” Here is a warning much needed in these boasted days of civilization. In Exodus 21:6 we find the word elohim describing earthly judges. In Psalm 8:5 angels are mentioned under the name of elohim (plural).

Jehovah (“I Am Who I Am”)
This is the second name of God found in the Old Testament. Its first occurrence is found in Genesis 2:4. It is translated God some 300 times and LORD about 6,000 times. Some, like the Darby (JND) translation, directly translate this name as Jehovah. It means, “He who always was, always is, and always will be, the Eternal.” It is far more numerously mentioned in Scripture than any other name of God. Wherever the reader finds the name of GOD or the name LORD printed in small capital letters in his Bible he may in both cases know it refers to Jehovah.

The meaning of Jehovah is furnished directly by God. It is a name setting forth God’s covenant relationship with man. You may remember how the Angel of the LORD (Jehovah Himself) spoke to Moses out of the bush which burned with fire but was not consumed. He announced He had come down to deliver the children of Israel from the cruel bondage of Egypt. He said, “And God” [Elohim] “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’” (Ex. 3:14). Thus was Moses commissioned to be Jehovah’s servant in this matter.

The Jews had a special reverence for this name, so much so that they would not say it. They substituted for it Elohim or Adonai, according to the vowel points by which it was accompanied. Smith’s Concise Dictionary of the Bible affirms that the true pronunciation of Jehovah, by which God was made known to the Hebrews, has been lost through the Jews avoiding its use. Would that we Christians showed more reverence when we speak of the sacred name of God!

Exodus 6:3 has caused considerable inquiry. It says, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name LORD [Jehovah] I was not known to them.” The answer is that up to the time of the burning bush, though the name Jehovah occurs frequently in Scripture, in God’s oral communications with the early patriarchs the meaning of Jehovah was not fully revealed but He presented Himself again and again as the Almighty God. The patriarchs were the early heads of the families of Israel (Acts 7:8; Heb. 7:4). They knew the name but did not know its significance. We read, “When Abram was 99 years old, the LORD [Jehovah] appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am Almighty God [Shaddai, Hebrew singular]; walk before Me and be blameless’” (Gen. 17:1). See Genesis 28:3, 35:11, 43:14, 48:3 and 49:25 as these confirm that God presented Himself to the patriarchs as Almighty God.

To come back to Genesis 1 and 2, why is the name for God Elohim in chapter 1 while in chapter 2 from verse 4 we get the double name Jehovah Elohim? Some theorize that because Genesis 1 used the single word Elohim and Genesis 2 the double name Jehovah Elohim for God, there must have been two original documents written by two different authors which must have been incorporated by some unknown editor into one book.

The real answer shows the wonderful inspiration of Holy Scriptures. It is fitting that Genesis 1, that great chapter describing the creation of the mighty universe and how it was fashioned for man’s residence before man arrived, should use the word Elohim, the name of the Creator-God, of Trinity acting in unity. In Genesis 2 we do not have a second story of Creation, but of how everything was ordered when man arrived on the scene. How fitting that the name of Jehovah (God’s covenant name for man’s blessing) should appear with the name Elohim connected with it. How wonderfully the stamp of divine inspiration is seen in the choice of the names of God!

To show how fully the name of Jehovah is linked with covenant blessing, in next month’s section we will draw attention to the different ways in which this wonderful name is brought to our notice by the addition of a second name added to Jehovah, showing how one blessing after another comes to men through our Lord’s Manhood, His wondrous life and atoning death on the cross.

By A. J. Pollack

Look for Part Two of this Series next month.

Related thoughts shared by Walter Scott
(adapted from The Bible Handbook) The Holy Ghost – the Divine penman – would in the 2,700 occurrences of the name Elohim, afford abundant and undeniable evidence of the fullness, glory and unity of the persons of the Godhead. What a triumphant answer is thus supplied in the name itself to those who would with unhallowed lips dare to devalue the glory of our God, of His Christ or of the Holy Ghost. Creation is not ascribed to the “Father,” but to “God” and to the “Son.” Thus in the divine account of Creation (Gen. 1:1-2:3), God (Elohim) occurs 35 times. In Genesis 7:9, where we read, “There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God [Elohim] had commanded Noah” (KJV), the propagation of the species and God’s right and title in creation sufficiently account for the name in this connection. But in Genesis 7, where moral relationship is presented as seen in the seven pairs of clean animals and birds (vv.2-3; for sacrifice, 8:20) that were to be preserved in the ark, the great relationship title is then used: “And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him” (Gen. 7:5). We find that the ideas of might and authority are contemplated in all the instances of Elohim. But of all the divine names Jehovah was held in peculiar reverence by the Jews, its importance perfectly understood as expressing absolute existence – the name of the great I AM (Ex. 3:14). The force and value of this divine name is much more difficult for a Gentile mind to perceive than for a Jewish one; the latter’s religious training and education, by Jehovah Himself, making the ancient people perfectly familiar with the name and in some measure with its value to them as a people. But the Holy Spirit has been pleased to communicate the meaning of the name Jehovah to the saved Gentile, as he too stands related to Him. Is not Jesus of the New Testament Jehovah of the Old (compare Matthew 14:14-21 with Psalm 132:15)? It is also written, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). We learn the absoluteness of His being, of Him who is the independent, self-existing One, in the words “which is” (compare with John 8:58), while Jehovah’s relation to the past is expressed in the words “which was,” and His relation to the future in the sentence, “which is to come.” Both man (Gen. 4) and Israel (Ex. 6:3) were placed by Jehovah in distinct moral relationship with Himself; the latter in special covenant relationship. In the book of Psalms, God (Elohim) occurs about 360 times, while LORD (Jehovah) occurs about 700 times. Psalms 14 and 53 furnish us with an illustration of the Spirit’s careful use of these names. Psalm 14 says, “the LORD looked down from heaven” and the wicked “call not upon the LORD.” In Psalm 53 where “God” alone occurs seven times it reads, “God looked down from heaven” and they have not “called upon God.” These distinctions are not unimportant. Judah in her land, in Jerusalem and consequently in covenant relationship with is, in the main, the subject of the first book of Psalms (1-41); hence the frequent use of the covenant name “LORD” or . But in the second book (Ps. 42-72) Judah is regarded as outcast from her land and glorious city, the mass of the people having totally deserted God and truth, and is identified with the Antichrist, thus “God” is the leading title. Read Psalms 14 and 53 in this light and instead of confusion the perfect God (Creator-name) and (covenant title) explain differences which have baffled man’s wisdom and logic.