Why is the name El Shaddai so important; what wisdom can a name contain? The Israelites of Old Testament times firmly believed in God’s revelation to them, Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV) says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law”. Steadfastly, the Israelites waited for what God revelation, so that they could live rightly in His eyes and learn more about His character. Andrew Jukes writes, “We cannot yet see the things of heaven. God therefore reveals them as we can bear it, with the accuracy of One who sees them as they are, and in a way in which they may be seen and understood by us” (7). God chose the form of names as revelations to His people, but names held greater significance in Old Testament times than they do today. J.I. Packer writes, “In the modern world, a person’s name is merely an identifying label, like a number, which could be changed without loss. Bible names, however, have their background in the widespread tradition that personal names give information, describing in some way who people are” (23). In calling Himself El Shaddai, God Almighty, God uses the form of names to reveal His character of being both strong and the provider of great blessings.
The first time the name El Shaddai appears in the Bible can be traced to Genesis 17:1-2, which reads, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers’”. Immediately, God ties the name El Shaddai with His power, the power that can make a childless old man into a great ...
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...ty, or the riches and fulness of His grace in self-sacrificing love pouring itself out for others” (42). God used the form of names to reveal His character in a way that the Israelites would understand. By choosing to combine the word “El”, which means “strength”, with the word “Shaddai”, which is representative of bounty or blessing, God shows himself as a mighty provider who fulfills and pours out His blessings.
Works Cited
Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. Print.
Jukes, Andrew John. The Names of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1967. Print.
Loeks, Mary Foxwell. The Glorious Names of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1986. Print.
Packer, J.I. Concise Theology a Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2001. Print.
Stone, Nathan J. Names of God. Chicago: Moody, 1996. Print.
Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Canada: DC Heath and Company, 1990. 584-595.
Hurston, Lora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1990.
Their Eyes Were Watching God. By Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Bantam-Dell, 1937. xv.
Salisbury, Neal, ed. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God by Mary Rowlandson with Related Documents. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997.
The book of Revelation gives us our greatest insight to the use of God's name in the New Testament. The imagery of the book of Revelation is very similar to the prophetic books of the Old Testament where the name was used frequently. But even more, the book of Revelation can be used to disprove most theories as to why the divine name was not used in the NT. The book uses many references to God's name. These are not just some kind of reference to God's character, since we are told this name is written on something on a number of occasions. You can not write someone's character on a forehead. These must be references to a literal name.
Starr, M. (2007). Teresa of avila: The book of my life. Boston, MA: New Seeds Books
Abraham is deemed the founder and one of three patriarchs of the Jewish faith. In Fundamental Theology, by Heinrich Fries, a detailed description of Abraham’s journey and faith is given. A summary of Fries explanation is that Abraham’s name was originally Abram. He was considered a “nomadic chief” from Mesopotamia. God spoke to Abraham and told him to leave his home and country. This was one of many tests Abraham faced. In the words of the Bible, Abraham was t...
King, Karen L. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle. Santa Rosa, California: Polebridge Press, 2003.
...hat God was trying to disclose with Moses. God wanted Moses to know Him and who He was through His name. He is not an unloving god who watches over his children and does nothing when they suffer. He is not a god that ignores old promises. He is an omnipresent God that helps his children and doesn’t break a covenant. God allows himself to be known by his people because he is a devoted god. He is, has been, and always will be our god.
Woolger, Jennifer Barker with Roger. J. Woogler. The Goddess within: A Guide to the Eternal Myths That Shape Women's Lives. Fawcett Book Group, 1989.
Campbell, Joseph. The Masks of God: Creative Mythology. New York: The Viking Press, Inc., 1968.
Tomkins, Stephen. A Short History of Christianity. 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006)
...He would protect this promise through the birth of a child from a virgin. Maher-shalal-hash-baz was the sign that God was faithful to keep Israel, and Jesus is the promise that God will be with us, even to the end of the age.
On top of these name-changes for the characters within the pages of the Bible, there is an additional name-change that affects the readers of the Bible and followers of Christianity. “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17). This provides a name-change for all believers that listen to the Lord and overcome the false teachings of the world, which results in a stronger life of faith and a deeper relationship with God. Just when you thought names were supposed to be a permanent form of identification, the book of Revelation challenges this preconception and recognizes that a change in name is not as uncommon as we may have
Douglas, J. D., Philip Wesley Comfort and Donald Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992.