Without Divine Revelation we can know nothing about God or His attributes. Yet God has revealed Himself to us through His Word. The various Names of God we find in Scripture are one way we can learn about His attributes.
For example, Herman Bavinck writes:
Holy Scripture not only describes God’s perfections but also reveals to us God’s personal names. The simplest name for God in the Old Testament is El (Elohim, El Shaddai). This name emphasizes God’s power and might; he is high and strong.
When considering God’s names, the passage I immediately think of is where God first reveals Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14.
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”
The phrase translated “I am who I am” in Hebrew is ehyeh asher ehyeh. The word ehyeh is the first person common singular of the verb to be. It would be used in any number of normal situations: “I am watching the sheep,” “I am walking on the road,” or “I am his father.” However, when used as a stand-alone description, I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish.
The article goes on to compare the statement “I am who I am” with the New Testament expression “I am the Alpha and the Omega.”
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev 1:8
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last” Rev 1:17
In a previous article we connected Christ’s self-revelation to verses found in Isaiah 41:4, 43:12-13, 44:6, 48:12. There we’re informed that Yahweh is First and the Last; He is Eternal; that there are no gods beside Yahweh, and that He made all things (Compare with John 1:1-3).
There are a number of expressions for God which reveal His characteristics and relationships to us. Here are a few examples:
El Echad: “The One God” (Mal 2:10); El Hanne’eman: “The Faithful God” (Deut 7:9); El Elyon: “The Most High God” (Gen 14:19; Psalm 9:2; Dan 7:18, 22, 25); El Roi: “The God Who Sees Me” (Gen 16:13); El Yisrael: “The God of Israel” (Psalm 68:35); Immanuel: “God With Us” (Isa 7:14); Adonai: “Master” or “Owner” (Gen 18:2; 40:1; 1 Sam 1:15; Exodus 21:1-6; Josh 5:14) etc…
To be honest, I have a considerable gap in my knowledge of God’s names. So I did some research and came up with some helpful links on the subject. I hope they’ll be useful to others as they are to me:
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