In the Bible, the names of God can be divided into two categories:
- Creatorship (Elohistic) Names of God
- Redemptive (Jehovahistic) Names of God
In this blogpost the Creatorship Names of God are discussed. The Redemptive Names of God will be discussed in the next blogpost.
EL – To be strong, mighty, powerful
The Father is EL:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, na kusema, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth (Mkuu 14:18-22)
The Son is EL:
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Tazama, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isa 7:14)
The Holy Spirit is EL:
The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life (Job 33:4)
By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened (Job 37:10)
Elohim – Plurality of divine Persons (The Trinity)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Mkuu 1:1)
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, na, tazama, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, na kusema, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God (Ex 3:1-6)
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you:this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (Ex 3:15)
Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever (Ps 45:2)
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre (Ps 45:6)
Eloah – The one God
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation (Deu 32:15)
El-Beth-El – God of the House of God
I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred (Mkuu 31:13)
So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, hiyo ni, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother (Mkuu 35:6-7)
El-Elohe-Israel – Mungu, the God of the Prince of God
And he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe (Mkuu 33:20)
El-Elyon – The Most High God
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High God (Mkuu 14:18)
Elohim-Elyon – Mungu, The Most High
Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not His testimonies (Ps 78:56)
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust (Ps 91:1-2)
El-Gibbor – The Mighty or Great God
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6)
Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work:for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men:to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (Jer 32:18-19)
El-Olam – Mungu, the everlasting
And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God (Mkuu 21:33)
El-Roi – The God that sees
And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; tazama, it is between Kadesh and Bered (Mkuu 16:13-14)
Elohim-Sabaoth – God of Hosts
Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved (Ps 80:7)
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine (Ps 80:14)
El-Shaddai – God Almighty, God all-sufficient
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, akamwambia, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect (Mkuu 17:1)
Adonai – Mater(s), Owner(s), Ruler of all
Nitakusifu, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore (Ps 86:12)
Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (Ps 147:5)
Immanue-EL – God with us, God made flesh
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Tazama, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isa 7:14)
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus:for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, akisema, Tazama, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Kitanda 1:21-23)
Summary of the Creatorship Names of God
In the table below, I’ve summarised the Creatorship Names of God:
‘Kuweni chumvi ya dunia’
