In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

Commentary and explanation. The Bible begins with these words, and the name of God appears immediately, a name that will be repeated 15,000 times in the whole Old and New Testament, although not using the same word all the time.

The names in Hebrew (the language in which the books of the Old Testament were written) are important, because every name has its meaning, that is, the names given in Hebrew mean something; thus the names are inseparable from the persons. The names of the persons in the Old Testament, and even of the places and things, have meaning. Name in Hebrew means mark or signal. The Bible constantly explains the meaning of the names that it uses; just read the Old Testament and you will see.

If all names happen to have a meaning, the name of the Creator of the universe must have a very special meaning. Even more, God reveals Himself by His deeds and by His names; that is why the Bible uses different names, because only one name wouldn't be enough to say everything that God is. Let us see then the main names of God in the Bible, and what they mean.

El, is used 200 times, and Elohim, which is the plural of El, is used 2,500 times. This is the first name the Bible uses referring to God as the Creator of the whole universe, as One who is over everything, One who has the power and authority over everything. It is used frequently in plural as it were several, not because God is several but because that is a way to refer to God as somebody magnificent. On the cross, Jesus called God by that name, as we read in Mark 15:34.

Yahveh, appears in the Bible 6,800 times. This is the proper name of God, this is the name which says what God is, who He is, because this name means I AM. When Moses told God: If the children of Israel ask me, Who sent you to us? what shall I say to them? God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said: "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). God is the One who exists by Himself, the One who does not depend on anybody else to be: HE IS.

Jehovah is an incorrect translation of the Hebrew name Yahveh. The children of Israel were very respectful when pronouncing the name of God, being afraid of breaking the commandment of Exodus 24:16; thus, on the consonants of the name Yahveh, they put the vowels of Adonai (another name of God which means Lord), and, when they read the combination of those consonants with these vowels, they did not pronounce Yahveh but Jehovah, a name that never existed. The translators of the Bible in the XVII century, ignoring this fact, translated simple Jehovah, instead of Yahveh. Jehovah is not, therefore, a Hebrew name of God; His real name is Yahveh.

Adonai, used 360 times. This name, as we just said, means Lord; God is The Lord. This means that He has power over all mankind and the whole universe, and He deserves our reverence and service. This is a name that says what God is, and His relationship with us, His creatures: He is The Lord.

Shaddai or El Shaddai, means God Almighty, Sustainer, and was the name given to God before the name of Yahveh was revealed to Moses, as we read in Exodus 6:3: I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.

Eloah, which means The Only One, The Incomparable, The Truthful, as we read in Isaiah 44:8: Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one. This name is found in particular in the poetic books of the Bible; Job uses it 57 times. Eloah means also Dread, in the sense that we must "fear" God, that is, that reverence is due to God; this is the meaning of the fear of God.

Yahveh of Sabaoth, which is 279 times and means Lord of Hosts; that is, that God has "hosts," probably of angels, who serve Him. This concept of God with "armies" was very familiar to the children of Israel who lived in war all the time.

There are other names of God, used less frequently in the Bible, some of them combinations with the name El or with the name Yahveh; but those enumerated here are the most important.

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Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:18-19).

Commentary and explanation. God, who reveals Himself through His deeds and through His names (Step 83), began revealing Himself in the Old Testament, and continued revealing Himself in the New Testament.

It is mainly through Jesus Christ that we received the revelation of God in the New Testament, as we read in Hebrews: God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1,2).

It was Jesus Christ who, in a clear and distinctive way, revealed to us the mystery of the Trinity in God, and the names that we can use to call Him: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; three different persons, to whom we attribute different functions, but that posses the only one and indivisible nature of God. How? This is a mystery that we can not understand, but was revealed by Jesus Christ.

The principal names of God in the New Testament, are:

God. This is a word equivalent to Elohim of the Old Testament, which in Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written) is said Theos. It appears 1,000 times in the New Testament, and has the meaning of Almighty, the Governor of the whole universe.

The Father. First person of the Trinity, which is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6). This is the name most often used by Jesus Christ to name God, and in Romans 8:17, as well as in Mark 14:36 and Galatians 4:6, appears in its Aramaic form, Abba, whose English translation is Father. We should hallow Him and ask from Him, saying: Our Father, who are in heaven (Matthew 6:9).

It is also to the Father to whom obedience is due and from whom we will receive His inheritance (Matthew 7:21; Romans 8:18, 17).

The Son. Second person of the Trinity, who proceeds from the Father, and who is eternal as He is, who became flesh (John 1:14), and died as ransom for all mankind. The New Testament refers to the Son, usually, with the name of Lord, or Lord Jesus Christ, as we will explain soon.

The Holy Spirit. Third person of the Trinity, who proceeds from the Father (and, for some churches, from the Son also). The Greek name is Parakletos, which means Comforter, Counselor, Advocate. The Holy Spirit is the source of action for the believer, and His presence comes with salvific and sanctifying power. The believer experiences the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in his life.

The Lord. This name corresponds to the Greek name Kyrios, and to the Hebrew name Adonai; it is 719 times in the New Testament, of which 630 times it is referring to Jesus Christ, the glorified Son of God. It is not the equivalent of the name Yahveh of the Old Testament, although it has the same power.

Jesus. This is the name of the Son of Man made flesh, and it means Savior, as the angel said to Joseph: You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Christ (in Greek) and Messiah (in Hebrew), both names mean Anointed; Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed.

The Word. This name corresponds to the Greek name Logos, and to the Latin name Verbum (Spanish Verbo); it is said of Jesus Christ, the Son and eternal Word of God; He is the Word that God "says," and through whom everything was done: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 3, 14).

Alpha and Omega, that means the Beginning and the End, because Alpha is the first word of the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last one. This is the name used in the Revelation by John, where he says about the Son of Man: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Revelation 22:13. Se also 1:11 and 21:6).

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