The Bible uses several names, titles, and descriptions for deity. Their differences matter: a personal divine name, a general word for a god, an honorific, and a phrase commemorating an event are not interchangeable. Later Jewish and Christian habits of reading them should also be distinguished from their original contexts.
YHWH is the four-consonant divine name often represented by LORD in English translations. That convention reflects a Jewish practice of avoiding pronunciation of the name in ordinary reading and substituting a title such as Adonai. It can obscure distinctions when both a divine name and a word meaning “lord” appear in the same passage. Psalm 110:1, for example, distinguishes YHWH from the speaker’s lord; the English word alone does not make both figures the same being.
Exodus 3:13–15 connects the name with God’s response to Moses, commonly rendered “I am who I am” or “I will be what I will be.” Those renderings reflect the Hebrew verb’s possibilities, not two separate names revealed in two different verses. The passage emphasizes identity and presence within the mission to free Israel. It is not simply a philosophical definition detached from that story.
Exodus 6:2–3 says the ancestors knew God as El Shaddai but not by the name YHWH, while Genesis already depicts people using YHWH, including Abraham in Genesis 15:2. Readers explain this as a difference between knowing a name and experiencing its significance, as narrator usage, or as evidence of distinct inherited traditions. The tension should be named; one explanation should not be silently built into the translation.
Elohim can refer to Israel’s God, other gods, or divine beings, depending on context. Its plural-looking form does not by itself teach the Trinity. El is another word for god, and El Elyon means God Most High. The traditional rendering “God Almighty” for El Shaddai is familiar, but the exact derivation of Shaddai is disputed. “YHWH of hosts” evokes divine command of hosts or armies; these titles express claims about authority rather than supplying a modern list of separate personalities.
Some popular “names of God” lists include phrases given to altars or places. Genesis 22:14 names a place in connection with YHWH’s provision, and Exodus 17:15 names an altar YHWH-my-banner. Jeremiah 23:6 gives the coming ruler a name involving YHWH our righteousness; Jeremiah 33:16 applies that designation to Jerusalem. The divine element in a name does not automatically identify its bearer as God.
The New Testament applies some divine scriptural language to Jesus, as Romans 10:9–13 uses Joel’s language of calling on the Lord. Christians take such moves as evidence for high claims about Jesus; Jewish interpretation does not have to accept that identification. “Jesus” is his personal name in English, while “Messiah” and the Greek-derived title “Christ” mean anointed one. Using the title as though it were merely a surname can hide the very claim under discussion.
Read in context: Exodus 3; Exodus 6; Genesis 15; Jeremiah 23; Jeremiah 33.