Names of God
Several divine names and titles run through the Tanakh. Jewish reading treats the four-letter name with care.
The Tetragrammaton
יְהוָה is the four-letter name. Printed vowels are a qere guide, not a reconstruction of ancient pronunciation. In synagogue reading it is typically spoken as אֲדֹנָי, or as הַשֵּׁם in speech about the name. This module transliterates the consonants as YHWH.
the LORD
my Lord
Yah
Elohim and El
אֱלֹהִים is grammatically plural and usually takes singular verbs for the God of Israel. אֵל appears alone and in titles. Etymology of שַׁדַּי is disputed; English "Almighty" is traditional, not a settled derivation.
God; gods
God
El Shaddai (traditional: God Almighty)
God Most High
Hosts, and Exodus 3:14
יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת pairs the name with "armies/hosts." In Exodus 3:14 the first-person אֶהְיֶה is related to the root היה; English "I AM" is one reading of a Hebrew imperfect.
LORD of hosts
I will be what I will be
Exod 3:14Read next
The Shema word by word
Deuteronomy 6:4–5 is short, liturgical, and packed with suffixes, construct, and the name of God.
Ketiv and qere
The written consonants (ketiv) and the reading tradition (qere) sometimes disagree. Both are in the Masoretic notes.
What is Biblical Hebrew?
Biblical Hebrew is the language of the Tanakh: a Northwest Semitic tongue written in a 22-letter abjad, later pointed by the Masoretes.