Learning About God From His Attributes And Names

The Hebrew word, ʾelōhîm, for "God" was used two thousand six hundred and six times in the Old Testament. Its first use in the Scriptures was in Genesis 1:1. The Hebrew word, yhwh, for "LORD" was used six thousand five hundred and nineteen times in the Old Testament. Its first use in the Scriptures was in Genesis 2:4-5. Those two Hebrew words when put together become yhwh ʾelōhîm and form the expression "LORD God." That combination appears five hundred and nineteen times in the Old Testament. But each of those two words was also used separately throughout the Scriptures with other combinations of words to describe some different, unique characteristics about the Lord.

Many of those characteristics or names will be discussed beginning with chapter three of this text. But the first two chapters will describe some of God's more significant personal attributes. Among them will be His omnipotence, His omniscience, and His omnipresence. Other personal attributes to be discussed in those two chapters will be that He is a person and personal. He is also love, truth, holy, righteous, gracious, merciful, longsuffering, good, and eternal. But while those attributes do not relate directly to His names, they do provide a very useful introduction to His nature and to His being a person. Beginning in chapter three, this text will consider ʾelōhîm (God) and His role in Creation. Even though science offers alternative theories about Creation, the conclusion of the chapter will be as the Apostle Paul had written in Romans 3:1-4. He wrote to let God be true and to let every person be a liar. In the fourth chapter, the name yhwh ʾelōhîm (the Lord God) will be discussed. His goodness is forever and ever and from everlasting to everlasting. He answers the prayers of His saints. He is a great God that does many wondrous things for those people that come to Him by faith and that trust in Him. He is always upset with the halfhearted prayers of non-repentant people. But He is also the yhwh ʾelōhîm of hosts. That means that He can deliver anyone from any obstacle or from any conflict. God as yhwh ʾelōhîm also gave the Ten Commandments by which all people can interact with and relate to Him. Following those discussions will be succeeding chapters about ʾēl ʿelyôn (the Most High God), ʾadōnāy yhwh (the Lord God), ʾēl roʾî (the Lord that Sees), ʾēl shadday (the Almighty God), ʾēl ʿôlām (the Everlasting God), yhwh yirʾeh (the Lord Will Provide), yhwh râphâh (the Lord that Heals), yhwh nissî (the Lord is my Banner), ʾēl qannāʾ (the Jealous God), yhwh qādash (the Lord that Sanctifies), yhwh shālôm (the Lord is Peace), yhwh tsebâʾâh (the Lord of Hosts), yhwh rāʿâ (the Lord my Shepherd), yhwh ṣidqēnû (the Lord our Righteousness), and yhwh shāmmâ (the Lord is There). Then, the final chapter will show that Jesus was and is yhwh ʾelōhîm (the Lord God) and that He has all the qualities shown by each of the other names for God. So in closing, the desires of this text are to glorify the Lord, to uplift Him, and to show people how they can relate to Him on a more personal basis. His desire is for every person to come to Him by faith, to commit to Him, to trust in Him, and to enter into a personal relationship with Him. Thus, as this text will attempt to show, He has gone to a great extent just to reveal Himself to people through His names because He does not want anyone to die lost. The Apostle Peter even wrote in II Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."