In the world of theological conversations, the word “God” is the de facto, universal name to describe the supreme Source of Judeo-Christian belief. Yet the etymology of God, just in the Jewish tradition alone, comes from a variety of sources. Further, various names ascribed to God are clearly used in the Torah – which begs the question: Why? This post will give a primer on the reason, as well how the “God of our Fathers” fits in with the answer.
Beginning with Yahweh, the most common term for God used in the Torah, and which mostly has roots in the J source (Boadt et al. 114), the word itself draws from the Hebrew word havah, or “to be”; and the definition, as it pertains to Jewish belief, is “the god who is always present in Israel” (Boadt et al. 137). That said, while Yahweh is used as a name, it has roots as a verb.
Although scholarly research has not pin-pointed how the word Yahweh became infused with early Hebrew belief and Scripture, scholars believe the Hebrews borrowed the word from the Midianites, with whom Moses had a relationship (through his Midianite father-in-law), and who perhaps were already worshipping Yahweh before Moses’ arrival at Sinai (Boadt et al. 138).
In addition, an inscription, “…the tribes of Yhw”, associated with Pharaoh Amenhotep III, and which also pre-dates Moses’ time at Sinai, reinforces that the word Yahweh was not first exclusive to Hebrew belief. Yet while Moses may have borrowed the word from the Midianites, any possible pagan roots related to it were flushed out and given way to the one God belief that is now so pervasive in Judeo-Christian belief (Boadt et al. 138).
But what about other names for God: Elohim, Adonai, Shaddai, etc.?
Putting aside that the field of etymology is highly complex – hence why there are a wealth of resources just on Hebrew word etymology – words such as Elohim, Adonai, and Shaddai indicate the authors of the Torah took a rather holistic, yet monotheistic, approach to God’s role and relationship with the Hebrew people (Byrne 27).
For instance, the name Elohim, and its related words, el and eloah, can be translated as “God” or as the plural “gods”. What’s more, the variations of these words are used in different contexts throughout Scripture, making the word seem a bit subjective (Byrne 24). However, although switching between the words “God” and “gods” may sound confusing, ancient history shows the plural form of “gods” being used to describe a specific god – such as the moon god, Sin, in Akkadian culture (Byrne 28).
Furthermore, because Elohim possibly had meant “power”, prior to the word being incorporated into the Torah — and because Elohim, Adonai, Shaddai, and other words to describe God are used in conjunction with Yahweh (or to reinforce God as the one, supreme God) – the culmination of terms uphold God as the one, absolute deity and foundation for monotheism (Byrne 29).
Therefore, when taking a closer look at Scripture and considering how the patriarchs referred to God, the J, E, and P sources help show the evolution of God’s name, the combined approach to defining God, and how He is to be worshipped. And though the J source, when compared to E and P, claims that pre-Exodus Hebrews had already been referring to God as Yahweh, E and P point to Elohim as the pre-Exodus name and Yahweh as the post-Exodus name (Boadt et al. 125).
Overall, all of the names designated to God in the Torah appear to aggregate up to “God of our Fathers”. Yet while this term may not have first roots in Hebrew culture – for example, the Assyrians in Abraham’s time referred to their more personal deities as “god of the fathers” – it does show the early Hebrew movement towards one God as supreme and personal to His creation. This, in turn, allowed various Hebrew tribes to recognize and embrace a family-like structure with each other, prompting them to merge the various names and definitions into one, supreme God, who eventually would be the one God of all the patriarchs – and all of Israel (Boadt et al. 126).
Works Cited
Boadt, Lawrence, et al. Reading the Old Testament : An Introduction. New York, Paulist Press, 2012.
Máire Byrne. The Names of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam : A Basis for Interfaith Dialogue. Continuum, 2011.