144 Names of God in the Hebrew Bible: Part One
The list of names of God I offer in this and upcoming posts breaks with
previous tradition but is indebted to tradition in various ways. The Tetragrammaton
does not appear, either by itself or in conjunction with other elements. On the
other hand, names that seem fundamental to a description of the biblical God,
but were neglected by tradition, are included.
Outside the list, in scripture that frames sections of the list, the
Tetragrammaton recurs in accordance with its unique importance.
The list is designed for memorization, along with, not apart from, the
scripture that frames it. Commentary on the components of the list is offered ad
seriatim.
The text to be memorized is given in unvocalized Hebrew. It should be
mastered in this form. In the commentary the components of the list are given
with vowels added.
שמע ישראל
יהוה אלהינו
יהוה אחד
אל חנון
אל רחום
ארך אפים
רב־חסד ואמת
נצר חסד לאלפים
נשא עון ופשע
פקד עון־אבות על־בנים
אל קנא
אל אמונה
אל גדול
אל עולם
אל אלהי הרוחת
אל זעם
אל נקמות
אל צדיק
אל גמלות
אל השמים
אלהי הצבאות
ישוב ירחמנו
יכבש עונתינו
ותשליך במצלות ים
כל חטאותם
תתן אמת ליעקב
חסד לאברהם
אשר נשבעת לאבתינו
מימי קדם
The Shema serves as a preface to the entire list of 144 names. The last two verses of the book of Micah serve to cap the 18 designations which stand at the list's head and are given above. The first seven of the 18 are derived from the description of God’s attributes God revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Moses asks to behold the Lord in all his glory. The request is not granted.
The Lord allows Moses to catch a glimpse of his back and no more.
But the Lord reveals himself to Moses in words. The words are “the name of
the Lord” proclaimed, spelled out, expounded. They are foundational to the
biblical understanding of God. They echo throughout later tradition.
Insofar as they elaborate on the name of the Lord, it is exact to refer to
them as names of God. The key graph reads as follows:
וַיֵּרֶד יהוה בֶּעָנָן
וַיִּתְיַצֵּב עִמֹּו שָׁם
וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יהוה
וַיַּעֲבֹר יהוה עַל־פָּנָיו
וַיִּקְרָא
יהוה יהוה
אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם
וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת
נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים
נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה
וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה
פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת
עַל־בָּנִים וְעַל־בְּנֵי בָנִים
עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִים
YHVH came down in a cloud,
stood next to him there,
and expounded the name YHVH.
YHVH passed in front of him and called out:
YHVH, YHVH!
A compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger,
and abounding in kindness and faithfulness,
who maintains kindness to the thousandth generation,
forgives iniquity, transgression, and fault,
but will not remit punishment;
who visits the iniquity of parents
on their children and children’s children,
on the third and fourth generations.
Exodus
34:5-9
אל חנון without רחום following makes
perfect sense as biblical Hebrew, but is not actually attested (אל רחום without following חנון, however, is). I nevertheless list אל חנון among the biblical
names of God for the express purpose of leaving no doubt in the reader’s mind
that the list is not a string of excerpted phrases from the Bible. It is a
recasting and arranging of them in accordance with a perception of acceptable
diction in biblical Hebrew.
The contents of Exodus 34:6-7,
traditionally referred to as the “Thirteen Middot,” are found elsewhere.[1] In each case, details are
omitted, compressed, embroidered upon, or fundamentally altered. The compendium
of 144 names of God in the Bible I offer occasionally omits and compresses, but
does not add to or fundamentally alter.
רחום comes before חנון in Exod
34:6, Ps 86:15, and Ps 103:8. More often, חנון comes first: Joel 2:18, Jonah 4:2; Ps
111:8; 116:5; 145:8; 2 Chron 30:9; and Neh 9:17, 31. In prayer, it is always
appropriate to ask God to show favor, as in חנני יהוה (Ps 6:3 is the classic instance). In a more limited set of circumstances, it is
appropriate to ask God to show compassion (Ps 51:3 is the classic instance).
It is all too common to think of compassion or mercy as a form of
indulgence and justice as the opposite of mercy. On the contrary, faithfulness to
another sometimes takes the form of retributive justice and expresses itself as
anger in the face of transgression which has become the overriding reality of
the life of the other. Not to get angry and not to confront would be signs of
cowardice and lack of interest.
Is it possible to be both forgiving and a stickler with regard to
meting out punishment for defiant behavior? I try to be both with my children. Predictability
and unpredictability of parental response to the behavior of children are both strategic in the pursuit of behavioral modification. The dual strategy vis-à-vis
humankind is attributed to God in the Bible.
The fact that the (consequences of) sins of person A are visited on person
B has always been a stumbling block for many. The books of Deuteronomy,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel take up the issue. Each resolves it in a
different way.[2]
No one minds that the (consequences of the) good person A does redounds to
the benefit of person B. We are happy to benefit from the good others do. We
just don’t want to pay the piper for the bad someone else does.
What do the vows say? “To have and to hold, from this day forward, for
better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.”
The analogy will be obvious. Life involves being joined at the hip, for
better or worse, with other human beings. You can’t have the better without the
worse. That God is the author of this situation is affirmed in the Bible.
Five more biblical designations of God
follow the initial seven. Like the first seven, they are all derive from the
Torah, the first division of the Tanakh.
The contents of the first four echo
throughout the Hebrew Bible: אל קנא, אל אמונה, אל גדול, and אל עולם. The last of the five, found
in an intercessory prayer, is unusual: אל אלהי
הרוחת "El, God of
the spirits," that is, of the life-breaths he gives and takes away from all
creatures (Num 16:22; cf. Ps 104:29-30).
Six more names conclude the first
tranche of 18. They are not found in the Torah, but are characteristic
expressions of the theology or “God-speak” of ancient Israel nonetheless. I have grouped them thematically into three pairs.
Here are the 18 names all over again, framed
by Deut 6:4 and Mic 7:19-20, the whole furnished with vowels. Sources for the
names are listed. A translation follows.
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל
יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ
יהוה אֶחָד
אֵל חַנּוּן
אֵל רַחוּם
אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם
רַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת
נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים
נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע
פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן־אָבוֹת עַל־בָּנִים
Exod 34:6-7; Jon 4:2; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:13; Num 14:18; Exod 20:5
אֵל קַנָּא
Exod 20:5; Deut 4:24;
5:9; 6:15; cf. Josh 24:19; Nah 1:2
אֵל אֱמוּנָה
Deut 32:4; cf. Pss 88:12;
89: 2, 3, 6, 9; Isa 25:1; Hos 2:22; Lam 3:21
אֵל גָּדוֹל
Deut 7:21; cf. Deut
10:17; Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4
אֵל עוֹלָם
Gen 21:33; cf. Isa 40:28;
Ps 89:53
אֵל אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת
Num 16:22
אֵל זֹעֵם
Ps 7:2
אֵל נְקָמוֹת
Ps 94:1
אֵל צַדִּיק
Isa 45:21; cf. Deut 32:4;
Jer 12:1; Ps 7:10; Job 34:17
אֵל גְּמֻלוֹת
Jer 51:56; cf. Ps 94:2;
Isa 35:4
אֵל הַשָּׁמָיִם
Psalm 136:26; cf. Jonah
1:9; 2 Chron 36:23 = Ezr 1:2
אֱלֹהֵי הַצְּבָאוֹת
Amos 3:13; 6:14; Hos 12:6;
cf. Amos 4:14; Mic 4:4; Ps 24:10
יָשׁוּב יְרַחֲמֵנוּ
יִכְבֹּשׁ עֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ
וְתַשְׁלִיךְ בִּמְצֻלוֹת יָם
כָּל חַטֹּאותָם
תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת לְיַעֲקֹב
חֶסֶד לְאַבְרָהָם
אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתָּ
לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ
מִימֵי קֶדֶם
Hear, o Israel,
the Lord is our God,
the Lord alone!
A gracious God,
a compassionate God,
slow to anger,
abounding in kindness and faithfulness,
who maintains kindness to the thousandth generation,
who forgives iniquity and
transgression,
who visits the
iniquity of parents on their children.
A passionate God,
a faithful God,
a great God,
an everlasting God,
God, the
source of life-breath.
A raging God,
a God of vengeance,
a God who makes things right,
a God of retribution,
the God of heaven,
the God of hosts.
He will again have compassion on us,
and tread our iniquity
underfoot.
May you cast to the sea-depths
all their sins,
May you show faithfulness to Yaacov,
kindness to Avraham
as you promised our ancestors
in days long ago.
Thanks very much for this John. I even mentioned your blog in my preaching today and encouraged my church members to read your posts and deepen their understanding of the OT. I look forward to your posts on "The 144 Names of God".
Posted by: Tony Siew | September 08, 2007 at 09:57 PM
Dude! You got mentioned in a sermon. I am jealous. Are these "names" or descriptions? Seems like cheating. But I'll have to take your word for it as all those squiggles mean nothing to me. ;-)
Posted by: Lingamish | September 09, 2007 at 08:11 AM
When you get to be my age, you too may get mentioned in a sermon.
You're right to ask about what I mean by names. Something close to what Islam means when it speaks of 99 names of God.
Something close to what Jewish tradition means by "middot" or attributes of God.
Nothing like the Jewish tradition, which Madonna and many others have latched onto, of the "72 names."
Posted by: JohnFH | September 10, 2007 at 12:53 AM
Madonna, 72 names. I don't get out much. You might have to blog on that since you've already enlightened us on Victoria's scarification.
Suzanne kicked this whole thing off with a desire to tackle the names of God but she meant something different. Thanks for the clarification.
Posted by: Lingamish | September 10, 2007 at 12:17 PM