What’s in a Name? Discovering the Names of God

What’s in a name? When it comes to God, everything. Scripture reveals God through many names, and each one shows us something true about who He is. This article explores two foundational names of God—Elohim, the mighty Creator, and Yahweh, His personal name—and opens our series on the names of God. As you reflect on them, may your awe for the Lord grow and your relationship with Him deepen.

Studying the names of God opens our eyes to His authority and glory. And when we catch even a glimpse of His majesty, we are filled with reverence and praise for who He is. As the psalmist wrote, “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:10).

Why Do the Names of God Matter?

In the Bible, a name often reveals character. When God makes Himself known by name, He is telling us who He is and how He relates to His people. Each name shows us another side of His nature, and together they invite us to trust Him more fully.

Elohim: The Mighty Creator

Elohim is the first name used for God in Scripture: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). It presents God as the supreme, all-powerful Creator, and it appears more than 2,500 times in the Old Testament. Other names built on El, a related Hebrew word for God, reveal still more of His might, such as El Shaddai, God Almighty (Genesis 17:1).

Yahweh: The Personal Name of God

While Elohim reveals God’s power as Creator, Yahweh reveals His personal, relational nature. It is God’s covenant name, the name He gave His people to know Him by, and it appears more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament, far more than any other name for God.

Most English Bibles print this name as LORD, in capital letters, to set it apart from “Lord” (Adonai, meaning “master”). Out of reverence, Jewish tradition does not pronounce the name aloud and reads Adonai in its place. The English form Jehovah came from combining the four Hebrew consonants of the name, YHWH, with the vowels of Adonai. So whenever you read LORD in your Bible, or hear names such as Jehovah Jireh, you are meeting Yahweh, the personal name of God.

“I AM WHO I AM”: What the Name Yahweh Means

The name Yahweh appears from the opening chapters of Genesis, and Abraham “called upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 12:8). Yet God revealed the meaning of His name in a new way when He met Moses at the burning bush.

When Moses asked what name he should give the people, God answered, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). The name Yahweh is related to the Hebrew verb “to be.” God is the eternal, self-existent One, and He does not change. Just before revealing His name, God gave Moses a promise: “But I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). The God who simply is has chosen to be with His people.

Later God told Moses, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them” (Exodus 6:3). They called on this name, but they never saw Yahweh rescue a nation from slavery. Through the Exodus, Israel would know Him as “the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:7).

The comforting, powerful truth God wants conveyed through His name Yahweh is this:

Yahweh is all we need, and He is always with us.

Know Him by Heart

Centuries later, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). His listeners understood exactly what He meant, and they picked up stones to throw at Him (John 8:59). Jesus was not merely claiming to have existed before Abraham. He was claiming the name God revealed to Moses.

The great I AM had come to dwell among us. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). He lived without sin, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again, and through repentance and faith in Him, we can be forgiven and know God personally.

We can know God by name from a distance. But when we open the door to Him, we can know Him by heart (Revelation 3:20). God longs for each of us to draw close to Him so we can truly grasp who He is.

Ask God to reveal Himself to you as the Great I AM … as the sovereign, supreme LORD who is always by your side!

Explore more of the names of God:

• Elohim: The God Who Was There Before the Light, on the mighty Creator who spoke light into darkness
• Jehovah Jireh: The God Who Sees and Provides, on the LORD who sees your needs and provides

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