John Gill
Being about to treat of God,
and of the things of God, it may be proper to begin with his names: the names of
persons and things are usually the first that are known of them; and if these
are not known, it cannot be thought that much, if any thing, is known
of them; and where the name of God is not known, he himself cannot be known;
and the rather the consideration of his name, or names, is worthy of regard,
because they serve to lead into some knowledge of his nature and perfections;
and therefore a proper introduction to such a subject. Indeed, properly
speaking, since God is incomprehensible, he is not nominable; and being but
one, he has no need of a name to distinguish him; and
therefore Plato {1} says, he has no name; and hence he commonly calls him to
on, "Ens", "The Being". So when Moses asked the Lord, what
he should say to the children of Israel, should they ask the name of him that
sent him to them, he bid him say, "I am that I am"; that is, The
eternal Being, the Being of beings; which his name Jehovah is expressive of:
nevertheless, there are names of God in the Scriptures taken
from one or other of his attributes, which are worthy of consideration.
The names of God, as Zanchy
{2} observes, some of them respect him as the subject, as Jehovah, Lord, God:
others are predicates, what are spoken of him, or attributed to
him, as holy, just, good, &c. Some respect the relation the divine Persons
in the Godhead stand in to each other, as Father, Son, and Spirit: others the
relation of God to the creatures; and which are properly said of him, and not
them, as Creator, Preserver, Governor, &c. some are common to the Three
divine persons, as Jehovah, God, Father, Spirit; and some peculiar to each, as
the epithets of unbegotten, begotten, proceeding from the
Father and the Son: some are figurative and metaphorical, taken from creatures,
to whom God is compared; and others are proper names, by which he either calls
himself, or is called by the prophets and apostles, in the books of the Old and
New Testament; which are what will be particularly considered.
1. "Elohim" is the
first name of God we meet with in Scripture, and is translated God, #Ge 1:1 and
is most frequently used throughout the whole Old Testament; sometimes, indeed,
improperly of creatures, angels, and men, and of false deities, #Ps 8:5 82:1,6
Jer 10:11 but properly only of God.
Some derive this word from a
root, which signifies to curse and swear; but as to the reasons why this name
is given to the divine Being on that account, it is not agreed; some {3} of
late, have given this as a reason, because the three divine Persons, as they in
a shocking manner express it, bound themselves with an oath, under a curse, to redeem mankind; which, to say no worse of, is indecent and
unworthy of the dignity and majesty of God, "who is blessed for
evermore"; for to bind himself with an oath, and that under a conditional
curse; which is no other than to imprecate a curse upon himself, if his oath
and covenant are not fulfilled; is so harsh, if not something worse, as is not
to be endured: and though Christ agreed to redeem men, and
to be made a curse for them, that they might receive the blessing; yet he was
not accursed through any failure of his oath and covenant; but on another
account, being the Surety of his people; nor is he ever called Eloah on that
account, and still less the other two persons: besides there are other and
better reasons to be given for this name of the divine Being, supposing it to
be taken from the word signifying as above; as, because he
adjures and causes others to swear, and binds them with an oath to himself; in
which sense the word is used of men, #1Sa 14:24 1Ki 8:31 and is the business of
judges; by which oath men are bound to God {4}, and not he to them; and so,
according to the Jewish writers {5}, the word is expressive of God as a judge;
in which they are followed by some learned men {6}: or, because he pronounces a man accursed who breaks his law, and neglects and
despises the sacrifice and righteousness of Christ; so Cocceius {7}: or,
because he is the object men must swear by, whenever they swear at all; see #De
6:13 Isa 65:16. Though this word Elohim cannot be derived from the word so
signifying, because it has the immoveable and immutable h, as appears from the
point "mappick", in its singular Eloah, and from
the construction of it, which that word has not; and besides, that is never
used of God when he is said to swear, but always another.
The word Elohim may be better
derived from a word in the Arabic language, which signifies to
"worship", as is thought by many learned men {8} and so is a fit name
for God, who is the sole object of religious worship and
adoration; not idols of gold, silver, &c. nor living men, nor persons
deified after death, nor angels; but the Lord God only, #Mt 4:10. It is a word
of the plural number; and though it has a singular, which is sometimes used, yet
it is most frequently in this form; and being joined with a singular verb, as
in #Ge 1:1 it is thought {9} to denote a plurality of persons in
the unity of the divine essence; and certain it is, that three persons, Father,
Son, and Spirit, appeared, and were concerned in the creation of all things,
#Ge 1:1-3 Ps 33:6.
2. Another name of God is
"El"; and which may be observed in the word Beth-el, which
signifies, "The house of God", #Ge 12:7,8. Both the singular and
plural, El Elim, the God of gods, are used in #Da 11:36 and the word is left
untranslated in #Mt 27:46 "Eli, Eli; my God, my God". It is commonly
rendered, by Junius and Tremellius, the strong or mighty God; an epithet that
well agrees with the divine Being, #Job 9:4,19 Ps 89:8,13 and is one of the
names of the Messiah, #Isa 9:6. Hillerus {10} takes this to
be a part of the word Eloah, the singular of Elohim; which, according to him,
signifies the first in essence; being the first and the last, the beginning and
the end, #Isa 44:6 Re 1:8 it is expressive of the power of God.
3. The next name of God we
meet with is "Elion", the most high, #Ge 14:18-20,22. So
Christ is called "The son of the Highest", and the Spirit, "the
power of the Highest", #Lu 1:32,35 and which name God has either from his
habitation, the highest heavens; which is his palace, where he keeps his court,
and which is his throne; in which high and holy place he, the high and lofty
One, dwells, #Isa 57:15 56:1 or from his superiority, power, and dominion over
all creatures, over the highest personages on earth, and the
highest angels in heaven, #Ps 83:18 97:9 see also #Ec 5:8 or from the sublimity
of his nature and essence, which is out of the reach of finite minds, and is
incomprehensible, #Job 11:7,8. This name was known among the Phoenicians, and
is given to one of their deities, called Elioun, the most high {11}; it is
expressive of the supremacy of God.
4. Another name of God is
"Shaddai": under this name God appeared to Abraham, #Ge 17:1 and to
which reference is had, #Ex 6:3 we translate it Almighty in both places, and in
all others, particularly in the book of Job, where it is often mentioned; and
it well agrees with him whose power is infinite and uncontrollable, and appears
in the works of his hands, creation and providence. Some
choose to render it "sufficient", or "all-sufficient" {12}
God; having a sufficiency in and of himself, and for himself, to make himself
completely and infinitely happy; nor does he need, nor can he receive any thing
from his creatures to add to his happiness; and he has a sufficiency for them;
he can, and does, supply all the wants of his people, temporal and
spiritual; "his grace is sufficient for them." Others render it
"Nourisher" {13}; deriving it from a word which signifies "a
breast"; that being what creatures nourish their young with; and is made
mention of when this name of God is spoken of, #Ge 49:25. God not only fills
mens' hearts with food and gladness, but "he opens his hand, and satisfies
the desire of all creatures, and gives them their meat in due season",
#Ac 14:17 Ps 145:15,16. Hillerus {14} derives it from a word which signifies to
pour out, or shed; and it well agrees with God, who pours forth, or sheds his
blessings, in great plenty, on his creatures; and which flow from him as from a
fountain; to which he is often compared: though others give a very different
etymology of it; deriving it from a word {15} which signifies to
"destroy"; to which there seems to be a beautiful
allusion in #Isa 13:6. "Destruction from Shaddai, the destroyer", who
destroyed the old world, Sodom and Gomorrah, the firstborn of the Egyptians,
and Pharaoh and his host: though God is so called, previous to most of these
instances; indeed he is "the lawgiver, that is able to save and to destroy";
even to destroy body and soul in hell, with an everlasting destruction. And
some render the word the "Darter", or
"Thunderer" {16}; whose darts are his thunderbolts, #Job 6:4 #Ps
18:13,14. The heathens called their chief god, Jupiter, "Tonans, The
Thunderer": and, perhaps, from another etymology of this word before
given, from dv "a breast". Some of their deities are represented as
full of breasts; so Ceres, Isis, and Diana. This name seems to be expressive of
the all-sufficiency of God, and of the supply of his creatures
from it.
5. Another of the names of God
is, the "Lord", or "God of hosts"; it is first mentioned in
#1Sa 1:3,11 but frequently afterwards; and is left untranslated in #Jas 5:4
where the Lord is called, "the Lord of Sabaoth", not "Sabbath",
as it is sometimes wrongly understood; and as if it was the
same with "Lord of Sabbath", #Mt 12:8 for though the words are
somewhat alike in sound, they are very different in sense; for
"Sabbath" signifies "rest", and "Sabaoth" means
"hosts" or "armies": the Lord is the God of armies on
earth, a man of war, expert in it; that teacheth mens' hands to war, and their
fingers to fight, and is the generalissimo of them, as he
was particularly of the armies of Israel, as they are called, #Ex 7:4 which he
brought out of Egypt, and went at the head of them, and fought their battles
for them; see #Ex 14:14 15:3 and who gives success and victory on what side
soever he takes: and he is the Lord of the hosts of the starry heavens; the
sun, moon, and stars, called the host of heaven, #Ge 2:1 2Ki 21:3 23:5 and by
this military term, because under the Lord they sometimes
fight as the stars did against Sisera, #Jud 5:20 and also of the airy heavens;
and the locusts that fly there are his army, #Joe 2:7,11 and the meteors,
thunder and lightning, snow and hail, which are laid up by him against the day
of battle and war, are the artillery he sometimes brings forth against the
enemies of his people; as he did against the Egyptians and Canaanites, #Job 38:22,23 Ex 9:24,25 Jos 10:11 the angels also are the
militia of heaven, and are called "the heavenly host", #Lu 2:13 see
#1Ki 22:19 the place where the angels of God met Jacob, was called from thence
Mahanaim, #Ge 32:1,2 two hosts or armies, one going before him, and the other
behind him; or the one on one side him and the other on the other, to guard
him; hence they are said to "encamp" about them that fear
the Lord, #Ps 34:7. These are the creatures of God by whom he is adored and
served; they are at his command, and sometimes employed in a military way, to
destroy his and his peoples' enemies; see #2Ki 19:35. This name is expressive
of God's dominion over all his creatures, and the several armies of them.
6. Another
name of God is "Adonai", or "Adon", #Ge 15:2 and is
commonly rendered Lord. Hence the Spanish word "don" for
"lord". God is so called, because he is the Lord of the whole earth,
#Zec 4:14. Some {17} derive it from a word which signifies the basis, prop, or
support of any thing {18}. So a king in the Greek language is called basileuv,
because he is the basis and support of his people: and so God
is the support of all his creatures; "he upholds all things by the word of
his power"; he bears up the pillars of the earth; all men move and have
their being in him; and "he upholds his saints with the right hand of his
righteousness"; and even his Son as man and mediator, #Isa 41:10 42:1.
Some think it has the signification of a judge {19}; "God is the judge of
all the earth"; and is a righteous one, protects and
defends good men, and takes vengeance on the wicked; and will judge the world
in righteousness at the last day. Though, perhaps, Hillerus {20} is most
correct in rendering it "the Cause", from which, and for which, all
things are; as all things are made by the Lord, and for his will, pleasure, and
glory, see #Ro 11:36 Heb 2:10 Re 4:11. Adon is used in the plural number of
God, #Mal 1:6 and so Adonai is used of the Son, as well as
of the Father, #Psalm 110:1 and of the Holy Spirit, #Isa 6:8 compared with #Ac
28:25. Hence Adonis, with the heathens, the same with the sun, their chief
deity, according to Macrobius {21}, by whom Bacchus is called {22} Ebon, or
rather Edon; who, he says, is also the same with the sun.
7. The
famous name of God is "Jehovah"; this is a name he takes to himself
and claims it, #Ex 6:3 Isa 42:8 and is peculiar to him; his name alone is
Jehovah, and incommunicable to another, #Ps 83:18 because this name is
predicated of God, as a necessary and self-existent being, as a learned Jew
{23} observes, which no other is; for though it is sometimes spoken of another,
yet not singly and properly, but with relation to him. So
the church is called "Jehovah-shammah", because of his presence with
her, #Eze 48:35. The Jews, from a superstitious abuse of it, assert it to be ineffable,
and not to be pronounced, and even not to be read and written, and therefore
they substitute other names instead of it, as Adonai, and Elohim. This might
arise, originally, from their very great awe and reverence of this name, according to #De 28:58 but every name of God is reverend, and
not to be taken in vain, nor used in common, nor with any degree of levity, #Ps
111:9. It is written with four letters only; hence the Jews call it
"tetragrammaton", and is very probably the tetraktuv of the Pythagoreans,
by which they swore; and it is remarkable, that the word for God is so written
in almost all languages; denoting, it may be, that he is the God
of the whole world; and ought to be served and worshipped, and his name to be
great and had in reverence in the four quarters of it; it takes in all tenses,
past, present, and to come {24}: the words of the evangelist John are a proper
periphrasis of it; "which is, and which was, and which is to come",
#Re 1:4 or, "shall be", as in #Re 16:5 it comes from the root hyh or
hwh which signify, "to be", and is expressive of
the essence of God; of his necessary and self-existence, for God naturally and
necessarily exists; which cannot be said of any other: creatures owe their
being to the arbitrary will of God; and so might be, and might not be, as he
pleased; but God exists in and of himself, he is a self-existent and
independent Being, as he must needs be, since he is before all creatures, and
therefore cannot have his being from them; and he is the
cause of theirs, and therefore must be independent of them; and yet, when we
say he is self-existent, it must not be understood as if he made himself; for
though he exists, he is not made. He is the Being of beings; all creatures have
their beings from him and in him, "the heavens, earth, and sea, and all
that is in them"; he is the former and maker of all things; he is
eminently "the Being", and all in comparison of
him are mere non-entities; "all nations", and the inhabitants of
them, "are as nothing before him; yea, less than nothing, and
vanity", #Isa 40:17.
8. "Jah" is another
name of God, which is mentioned in #Ps 68:4 150:6 #Isa 26:4 though it may be
only an abbreviation or contraction of the word Jehovah, and may signify the same; according to Cocceius {25}, it comes from
hay #Jer 10:7 and signifies "decency", or what is meet and becoming.
9. "Ejeh" is a name
God gave as a name of his to Moses, when he sent him to the children of Israel;
and is translated "I AM that I AM", #Ex 3:13,14 and may be rendered, "I shall be what I shall be", and what I
have been; so the Jews {26} interpret it; "I am he that was, I am he that
is now, and I am he that is to come, or shall be." It seems to be of the
same signification with Jehovah, and to be derived from the same word, and is
expressive of the same things; of the being and existence of God, of his
eternity and immutability, and of his faithfulness in performing his promises: our Lord has a manifest respect unto it, when he
says, "Before Abraham was I AM", #Joh 8:58. Hillerus {27} renders it
"I remain", that is, always the same.
10. The names of God in the
New Testament are these two kuriov and yeov, the one is usually rendered Lord
and the other God. The first is derived either from kurw, "to
be" {28}, and signifies the same as Jehovah, to which it commonly answers,
and denotes the essence or being of God; or from kurov {29}, "power and
authority"; and agrees with God, who has a sovereign power and authority
over all creatures, having a property in them, by virtue of his creation of
them; it is generally used of Christ, "who is Lord of all", #Ac 10:36
1Co 8:6 Eph 4:6. The etymology of yeov, "God", is
very different; as either from a word which signifies "to run", or
from one that signifies "to heat", or from one that signifies
"to see"; which seem to be calculated by the heathens for the sun,
the object of their worship, applicable to it, for its constant course, being
the fountain of light and heat, and seeing all things, as they affirm: though
each of them may be applied to the true God, who runs to the assistance
of his people in distress, #2Ch 16:9 Ps 46:1 is light itself, "the Father
of lights", and "a consuming fire", #1Jo 1:5 Jas 1:17 Heb 12:29
and sees all men, their ways and works, and even their hearts, and the thoughts
of them, #Job 34:21,22 1Sa 16:7. Some derive it from a word which signifies to
dispose; and which agrees with God, who disposes of, and orders all things
"in the armies of the heavens, and among the
inhabitants of the earth, according to the council of his will", and to
answer the purposes of his own glory, and the good of his creatures. Though,
perhaps, it may be best of all to derive it from a word which signifies
"fear" {30}, and so describes God as the object of fear and reverence;
who is not only to be stood in awe of by all the inhabitants of the earth, #Ps
33:8 but more especially is to be feared with a godly fear
by his saints, #Ps 87:7 Heb 12:28 and fear sometimes takes in the whole worship
of God, both internal and external; and so the true God, in distinction from
others, is called, "the fear", that is, the God of Isaac, #Ge 31:53,
and alxd "fear", is sometimes used in the Targum {31} for the true
God, as it sometimes is of idols. From all these names of God we learn that God
is the eternal, immutable, and almighty Being, the Being of
beings, self-existent, and self-sufficient, and the object of religious worship
and adoration.
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{1} oud'
ara onoma estin austo, in Parmenide, p. 1120. Ed. Ficin. So. Trismegistus apud
Lactant. Institut. l. 1. c. 6.
{2} De Natura Dei, l. 1. c. 4.
{3} Called Hutchinsonians; see
Catcott's Sermon, called The Supreme and Inferior Elahim, p. 8.
{4}
Marckii Compend. Theolog. c. 4. s. 5. Mastrict. Theolog. l. 2. c. 4. s. 9.
Leigh's Critica Sacra in voce hla.
{5} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 87. 1.
Sepher Cosri, par. 4. fol. 197. 2. Maimon. Moreh Nevochim. par. 2. c. 6.
{6} Lud. Capellus et alii.
{8} Stockii Clavis S. Ling. p.
61. Hottingeri Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 123. Schultens in Job i. 1.
Noldius, No. 1093, Alting. Dissert. 4. de plural. Elohim, p. 177.
{9} Schindler. Lexic.
Pentaglott. col. 78.
{10} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 254,
256.
{11}
Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Evangel. praepar. l. 1. c. 10. p. 36.
{12} So Cocceius in Lex. col.
859. Jarchi in Gen. xvii. 1. Maimon. Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 63.
{13} Paschii Dissert. de Selah
p. 2. s. 6.
{14} Onomast. Sacr. p. 260,
261.
{16} So Schmidt in Job vi. 4.
{17} Paschius in Dissert. de
Selah, ut supra. Alsted. Lexic. Theolog. p. 82.
{18} ynda
"foundations", "bases", Job xxxviii. 6. often rendered
sockets in Exodus.
{19} A Nwd
"judicavit".
{21} Saturnal. l. 1. c. 21.
{22} Ibid. c. 18.
{23} R. Joseph Albo in Sepher
Ikkarim, l. 2. c. 28.
{24} Buxtorf. de Nomin. Dei,
Heb. s. 10.
{26} Shemot Rabba, s. 3. fol.
93. 3.
{27} Onomast. Sacr. p. 248.
{28} kurei, "est,
existit", Suidas: kuriw, "sum", Scapula.
{29} kurov,
"autoritas"; kuriov, "autoritatem habens", Scapula; so
Philo, quis rer. divin. Haeres, p. 484.
{30} apo tou yeein,
"currere", so Plato in Cratylo, p. 273. Clem. Al. protrept. p. 15.
vel ayein "adurere, accendere", vel yeasyai, "cernere", vel
a yw "dispono"; so Clem. Al. Stromat. in fine, Herodot. Euterpe, c.
52. vel a deov "timor", Philo ut supra. These several etymologies may
be seen in Zanchy de Natura Dei, l. 1. c. 16. Alsted.
Lexic. Theolog. p. 8.
{31} Targum Hierosol. in Deut.
xxxii. 15.