God In Scripture :: By Nathele Graham
What’s in a name? Names are special to each person and are usually given at birth by parents who have given much thought as to how that name will affect their son or daughter throughout life.
Remember the song “A Boy Named Sue”? I never liked that song but heard it often. I have an unusual name, “Nathele,” and it’s usually mispronounced. I get called Natalie quite often, but the name is pronounced “Nuh-theel.” Once I was even lectured by someone about why I pronounce it wrong. Well, it’s been my name for 73 years, and that’s how I pronounce it. My mother helped me find humor when someone pronounced it wrong, so I grew up not being offended.
We find that names in Scripture have a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface. For instance, Jacob, which means “heel holder” or “supplanter,” got his name from an event when he and his twin brother, Esau, were born.
“And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them” (Genesis 25:26).
By the way, Esau means “hairy.” The twins never got along, and Jacob ended up going out on his own. Along the way, he met a “man” with whom he wrestled all night. At the breaking of dawn, Jacob insisted the man bless him. The man changed Jacob’s name.
“And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:28).
“Israel” means God prevails. This name was given to the nation that God established and loves, Israel. The people of Israel have had many struggles with God, and those struggles continue to this day. One day soon, Israel will submit to God and recognize Jesus as their Messiah, and the struggle will be over.
Throughout the Old Testament, God is called by many names. These names are always translated God or LORD, and we miss the deeper meaning. First, let’s look at the creation account.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
God was in the beginning, in fact, before the beginning. He always was and always will be. In the above verse, “God” is Elohim, a plural noun. In Hebrew, a plural means at least three. In fact, we get a clear picture of the Trinity here.
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
The Spirit of Elohim was upon the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).
God spoke all things into being. Jesus is the Word, and is seen in the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3).
That leaves no room for doubt that Jesus created everything and is the second person of the Trinity. Elohim is found in over 2,000 verses, including Exodus 34:14, Psalms 30:12, Isaiah 35:4, and Hosea 3:5.
Speaking of Exodus 34:14, in it we find another name of God. “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). His name is Qanna, which is translated “jealous.” The context, this verse is for Israel to have no gods other than God Almighty. That’s true for Christians also. God should always be first in our life, and our actions as well as our words need to honor Him.
Qanna relates to the way a marriage is to work. One man and one woman; they love, honor, and cherish each other. God looks upon Israel as His bride, and only He is worthy of their love and worship. Christians are the bride of Christ and need to be faithful to Him. Qanna only occurs six times in the Old Testament, but it is worth doing a word study on it in order to dig deeper into Scripture.
Many of the names for God are first found in Genesis. That’s not really surprising, but it does surprise me a bit to think that people who had no access to the Bible as we know it today were able to know God so well. In those days, fathers faithfully passed God’s truth on to their sons. Today, we have Scripture available and many study tools but still don’t know God as we should. Faithful fathers seem to have gone missing.
Quite often, the word “El” is used for God, and at times it appears with other words. Such as El Olam, which is first used in Genesis 21:33. Olam means forever, eternity, or everlasting. “And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33).
Abraham was raised in a pagan culture where idol worship was a way of life. God called him out of that life, and it’s through him that the nation of Israel was established. Abraham was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who was the father of 12 sons who established the 12 tribes of Israel.
Abraham truly left his pagan ways behind and was very close to God. We must also leave our pagan ways behind when we ask Christ for forgiveness. Abraham knew that God was El Olam, the Everlasting God. In Jeremiah we read, “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation” (Jeremiah 10:10).
In this passage, Jeremiah was mocking idol worship, and speaking clearly about worshipping God Almighty. He called God “emet Elohim” (true God), “living God” (hay Elohim), and “olam melek” (everlasting king). Sounds a lot like Jesus.
In Revelation, we read about the wrath of the Lamb: “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).
Jeremiah warned of the coming wrath, and so does the New Testament. It will be a time of Great Tribulation on Earth, and only faith in Jesus can save you from the wrath of the Lamb. Faith in Jesus will bring the blessing that you will be Raptured prior to the Great Tribulation. Christians, comfort each other with these words.
Speaking of the Lamb, what about the Shepherd? “[[A Psalm of David.]] The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). This psalm goes on to talk of how the shepherd cares for the sheep. Yehova (the Existing One) is my raah (shepherd).
King David had spent his younger years as a shepherd and knew how the shepherd cared for his flock. David spoke of God as his Shepherd and knew he was loved by God. In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Lamb of God and refers to Himself as the good Shepherd. “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Jesus did give His life for the sheep. Because of His love, He willingly laid down His life in order to give eternal life to anybody who comes to Him in humble repentance. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The Lord is my Shepherd, and I hope He is yours too.
There are many other names for God in the Old Testament, and each one has a special meaning or description of one of the attributes of God. Adonai, meaning Lord, Master, appears over 400 times, including Genesis 15:2.
God had promised Abraham a son, but Abraham and his wife were quite old. Abraham trusted God but was curious how he would become a father. “And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” (Genesis 15:2).
Abraham called God “Adoni Jehovah” showing trust and respect. Adoni appears quite often in Ezekiel and Daniel. Another name for God is Jehovah Rapha, which means the Lord who heals. When the Israelites were freed from Egyptian captivity, they complained. God provided for them, but they still complained. The way to be blessed by God is obedience.
“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that health thee” (Exodus 15:26).
In Jeremiah we read, “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6).
Jehovah Tsidkenu is “The Lord our Righteousness.” This whole passage in Jeremiah is a prophecy of Jesus. No one can be righteous without Him, In the Book of Judges, we see that Gideon built an altar and called it Jehovahshalom. “Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites” (Judges 6:24).
Even in the time of the judges, when everybody did what was right in their own eyes, Gideon was able to understand that God is peace (shalom), and so he named the altar “The Lord is Peace.” I could go on and on with the names of God, but I’ll stop here. Do some digging for yourself and find a name for God that you like best. Jesus is on every page of Scripture.
What’s my favorite name for God? Maybe Immanuel, meaning “God with us.” “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
That speaks of the virgin birth as well as who Jesus was. He was God incarnate. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be n end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Jesus is all of that. Or maybe my favorite name is simply Jesus, meaning Jehovah is salvation. Peter said it clearly when talking to the Pharisees about Jesus. “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 14:11-12).
No other name. Not allah, not buddha, not the pope. Only Jesus. As you study the names of God in Scripture, you’ll see that they all describe Jesus.
Do you know Him? Have you taken His name into your life? If so, don’t use His name as a cuss word, but take it seriously and live to honor Him.
God bless you all
Nathele Graham
Recommended prophecy sites:
All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).
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